#i basically work in a book/toy store

[pickled-flowers]

Saw some of the grossest parenting today in the bus

[flawseer]

What's your opinion on Chameleon? (I'm still confused how he learned to read and write when rainwings don't have literature from what I remember, but apparently his handwriting is also horrible.)

Rainwings do indeed not have literature, or a concept of currency or wealth for that matter. But keep in mind that Chameleon was banished from his tribe and spent a significant portion of his life outside the rain forest. Presumably he picked up a rudimentary understanding of how to read while having to live within these new environments.

We don't really know where he went, if I recall correctly--outside of the fact that he eventually wound up in the Sky Kingdom, presumably after Scarlet found him and made him her newest toy.

While thinking about this question, I settled on a personal headcanon that, after he was exiled from the Rain Kingdom, he ended up in the desert at first. Either at the Scorpion Den, or some outlier Sandwing town that went unmentioned in the books (I like to imagine the continent bigger, with a lot of smaller dragon settlements dotted around in every territory in addition to the big ones).

In the desert, unsure of how to subsist in this unfamiliar climate, Chameleon temporarily got roped into the service of some Sandwing merchant who owned the dragon equivalent of a pawn shop/curiosity store. There he was taught enough to be able to read labels and sort merchandise correctly, and figured out the very basics of literacy from that.

As a bonus, this kind of background would also put him into proximity of antique items which might explain how he eventually came into possession of Darkstalker's scroll. It also introduces him to the concept of personal wealth (Sandwings being a particularly mercantile and materialistic tribe) and informs his later obsession with acquiring it. And lastly it tells us how he turned villainous, as being forced to work in retail for long enough will turn even the most patient and virtuous of souls to the brink.

[biscuitdolly]

౨ৎ ⁺ . my bedroom cleaning formula .ᐟ 🎀

📧 -> to get me motivated before cleaning, i like to imagine that I've invited a really hot person to my house and they're going to see my room. works like a charm.

this is a guide for people who struggle to get motivated when cleaning their room, or for people with ADHD like me who get side-tracked and easily bored!!

step O1 -> clean up any dishes 𝜗𝜚

you don't have to wash them right now, just get them out of your room!

step O2 -> throw out any visible food-related trash 𝜗𝜚

food packets, scraps etc.

step O3 -> pick up and put away anything red 𝜗𝜚

i get bored easily when cleaning, so i like to split things up by picking up colour-coded things too! this has helped me the most when keeping a tidy space.

step O4 -> throw away any makeup related trash 𝜗𝜚

make up wipes, q tips, makeup packaging, etc

step O5 -> pick up any makeup products 𝜗𝜚

put them back on your dresser / wherever you store them!

step O6 -> pick up anything orange 𝜗𝜚

step O7 -> pick up any paper, cardboard, etc 𝜗𝜚

loose sheets of paper, cardboard packaging, etc. put it in the recycling!

step O8 -> pick up any dirty washing 𝜗𝜚

you don't have to wash them right now, just put them in the washing basket!

step O9 -> pick up anything yellow 𝜗𝜚

step 1O -> pick up and put away any clean clothes 𝜗𝜚

make sure to fold them !!

step 11 -> pick up any craft materials / stationary 𝜗𝜚

pens, pencils, erasers, markers, etc

step 12 -> pick up anything green 𝜗𝜚

step 13 -> pick up any accessories 𝜗𝜚

jewelry, hair accessories, hats, scarves, etc

step 14 -> put away anything beauty related 𝜗𝜚

skincare, nail polish, hair brushes, perfume, etc

step 15 -> pick up anything blue or purple 𝜗𝜚

step 16 -> make your bed! 𝜗𝜚

a clean bed is a literal game changer. makes your whole room suddenly look neater.

step 17 -> put away any entertainment 𝜗𝜚

books, cds, toys, games, etc

step 18 -> pick up anything pink 𝜗𝜚

step 19 -> pick up anything monotone 𝜗𝜚

white, grey, and black !

step 2O -> rearrange things! 𝜗𝜚

neaten up your bookshelf, dressing table, desk, wardrobe, etc

Now you're basically done! things should (hopefully) seem a lot less stressful now that everything's where it should be. 🫧🧁

the last step is just to vacuum, dust, and wipe down any surfaces!

[jasperxkuromi]

Play ideas for chronically ill, disabled, or otherwise bed bound/low energy littles

Hi all! I am chronically ill. I am not comfortable sharing my specific diagnosis, but I am more than okay with talking about disability in general. Everything below is based on my own personal experiences and activities I like to do while stuck in bed. Everyone's body and experiences are different. I may list some things that just aren't an option for you, and that's okay. You are more than welcome to add on to this post with activities you do too!

🐛 Open the curtains and cloud watch! I like to look for clouds that remind me of animals or characters and day dream a story about them. If the weather is nice, consider opening your window a little bit and letting some fresh air into your room.

🐦 Bird watch! I have a bird feeder outside my window that I painted myself from a kid's kit. There are also bird feeders that have suction cups that can be stuck right on your window. You can also make your own seed ornaments. You could pick yourself up a kids book or two on learning to identify birds.

🌷 Get a window planter. You may need someone's help to set one up, but once they are in place they are fairly easy to care for. I like pansies and marigolds because they remind me of childhood, and they are low maintenance and do well in containers.

📖 Audiobooks are great for middles who want to read chapter books. If you have a library card you can borrow tons of audiobook, ebooks, and comics through hoopla and Libby for free. There are some audiobooks for younger kiddo books, but honestly I think YouTube is better for that.

🖼️ Scrapbooks and journals! Being penpals with another little is also an option, but I do recommend using basic internet safety and common sense. (I don't think you should do this if you are under 18). You could always scan/take pictures of your letter and send it digitally to your penpal instead.

🛏️ If you spend a lot of time in bed, and have the money to do so, I really recommend getting items to make your time in bed more comfortable. Extra pillows, or even a reading pillow can be helpful. Lap desks or bed tables can give you space to color or set up play scenes with small toys.

🌟 You can also decorate the area around your bed to make it more child like! Fairy lights, glow in the dark stars, bed canopies, posters, and the like.

🪑 I have a floor chair I use for times I am playing outside of my bed. Being close to the floor helps me feel small, but not having back support hurts after a short while. I have an adjustable one that I can lay flat on the floor as a sleeping mat. Very helpful for the times when I need a quick nap after playtime.

🎨 Check the seasonal and kids sections at dollar stores and Five Below. I usually find fun craft kits that can keep me occupied for a bit for really cheap.

🧶 Do your own crafts! I like the knit and crochet. Some people can do them in bed, but I find it difficult to find a comfortable way to do that. However making friendship bracelets in bed works out pretty well. They make great gifts, even for non little friends. Or you could make matching ones for you and your CG or favorite plushie!

🪀 Make your own sensory bin! You can find tons of tutorials and ideas online. Bonus is you can get most of the items you would use at the dollar store. There are tons of other DIY sensory toys you can make as well if you look around. Glitter/shaker bottles are pretty popular too.

🐇 Cuddle with your stuffed animals. Tell them stories. Play pretend. Read to them. They will appreciate all of it.

🎮 If you have an old 3DS stuffed away in a drawer somewhere, pull it back out. 3DS are fairly easy to install homebrew and there are toooons of kiddo friendly games you could get (check 3ds.hacks.guide for this, do not follow tutorials on YouTube or random websites as they very well could be outdated)

💊 Decorate your medicine organizers with stickers. If you use mobility aids you can decorate them as well! Fake flowers are great for decorating mobility aids and there are tons of ideas you can find online.

🍼 I have stomach problems that makes it hard for me to eat enough. I often drink Ensure to make sure I am getting enough calories/nutrients. I get the strawberry flavor and sometimes put it in my sippy cup and pretend it is strawberry milk 😋

😴 If you need rest, rest! You deserve to get as much sleep as your body needs. Babies and toddlers take naps all the time! Trying to just exist with chronic health issues is difficult enough. You don't need to push yourself.

[ixiot-ghostrebel]

Hey dude. It's me - anon with that SAGAU!kid!reader idea. Well, I was thinking about Liyue or Sumeru men (I'm that kind of person, that's into guys LOL). If there is a relationship, then only platonic one (or maybe father-child in Zhongli's case).

So I will try to go with Zhongli, Baizhu, Alhaitham and Cyno (probably Gaming, cuz he's like a son to me) That's it for now Hope I didn't ask for much tho 😅

CONNECTED TO THIS IDEA!

Aye aye, Anon! God!Child! Reader Platonic Meets Ups It is!

Also plz note that I might not be able to list every Sumeru/Liyue man there is in Genshin bc Im doing this at the top of my head—

Sumeru And Liyuen Men (And Gaming) With The God Child.

(Warning: Might be OOC!)

Cyno

The General Mahamatra may not exactly be well-versed when it comes to comforting words (except his puns—and even then, many people would say otherwise), but Cyno is a sincere man. You can trust that he will stick to his word.

And he does, when he promised to look after the Almighty Creator who is a child (not unlike Nahida, but they certainly have more of a mindset of a child—). But was he expecting your chaotic behavior (explosives Klee Style)? Yeah...No.

Bro nearly thought you were held at gunpoint or tricked/manipulated into doing it until he realized you did on your own.

"...Your Grace...Please don't blow up the store again." So instead of protecting you from harm by others, Cyno is more focused on protecting others from harm by you. As much as he doesn't like to think of it that way, you were a lot more dangerous than any eremite or sand monster there was out there.

At least he's still doing his job, being the General Mahamatra! You gift him a flower crown, and he has to take it or else. :)

Tighnari

Since he works with many young forest rangers, and tutors Collei, Tighnari is probably used to dealing with children. Dealing with the Almighty Creator certainly wasn't going to be an issue under this Forest Watcher's eyes.

That was...until you blew up a rishboland tiger. By yourself. On your own. Without getting hurt.

He was not the only freaking out, mind you. Collei was losing it, and Tighnari? He's internally screaming and getting metaphorical heart attacks.

"Your Grace, what were you thinking, running off like that? I know you're strong and you want to protect everyone, but you can really hurt the environment and—" He tries his best to hold back his sassiness while he scolds you, considering some children are much more emotional than others.

He sets up some basic rules for you to follow to make sure that you respect the Avidya Rainforest grounds, but also protect yourself from any form of harm.

Bro becomes a helicopter parent while you're under his care. Have fun, and I hope you enjoy mushrooms. Collei will cook you something else if you don't like what Tighnari cooks, though. :)

Kaveh

This man. He will BUILD you toys. He will DRAW you stories. He may even tell you stories himself.

Mehrak is your best friend when you're around Kaveh. And that man tries his best to make sure your time with him is good. He also refrains from drinking, which is nice! He's improving a little! :D

Absolutely gets worried if you run off without him knowing or if you're hiding from him for too long while playing hide and seek. He goes into an utter MELTDOWN.

And if you blow something up? Boy, if you thought Tighnari getting metaphorical heart attacks was bad, think again—Kaveh might actually get a heart attack.

"Your Grace! What—What were you thinking? Where were you? What did you do? Why did I hear an explosion?!" He's trying to keep himself as calm as possible, but Kaveh is an emotional man. He's kind of failing—

Luckily, with your go-lucky attitude, you pull Kaveh around and take his mind off of work and your explosions! Win-win! :D

Al-haitham

The moment Nahida assigned him the task of taking care of the Almighty Creator, who is a child, bro is planning his things carefully. He is safe-keeping his books, he's renovating Kaveh's bedroom (bc yes), he's buying a few colouring books and crayons.

What he caught him by surprise was not how trusting you were to new strangers you barely knew. It was how you had fun with explosions and exploding everything in your path.

You can imagine as you're being carried away by the Scribe, he's giving you a one-sentence scolding.

"Your Grace, don't ever do that again, it's not nice." He would go into further detail, but he's sure you wouldn't care all that much about data and analysis and stuff like that, so he just ends it as it is.

You're still gonna do it, there's no doubt. It's just now Al-haitham is preparing for your next incoming attack as well.

Zhongli

Grandpa gramps is here woohoo! He's probably the most calmest out of everyone on this request list LOL. You can imagine he's following you calmly, apologizing and paying (through Childe's money cough) for the damages you caused.

Believe it or not, but it was Hu Tao who found you first and decided to take you to Mr. Zhongli for babysitting. He contemplates how the Director found you and brought you back.

The first time you explode something, he is definitely surprised. And concerned of the people who got hurt. You can't fault him for being worried for the mortals that were involved—Liyue Harbor is basically his child. Bro's been governing it for thousands of years.

"Your Grace, Little One, let's try not to put strain in the efforts of an adult's day-to-day life." He scolds you, and will definitely be more keen on your whereabouts, but he does this in a gentle tone. At the very least, you give him something to do that doesn't require him to present himself as the supposedly "deceased" Geo Archon.

Baizhu

With the guy's health issues...it's hard to say if he'll be able to keep up with you and your constant outings all around Liyue Harbor. Changsheng is definitely worried about Baizhu's stress levels as he has to figure out what you did this time and make sure no one was harmed.

He constantly has to ask Qiqi to go find you since he literally cannot keep up with your speed, lest he actually faints or something. You were that quick.

Luckily, if he hears of your whereabouts, he will definitely arrive just in time to apologize and give free check-ups to everyone involved in your explosion party.

"Now, Your Grace, please refrain from hurting others. It's not good to hurt someone's health." You can certainly expect Baizhu to give you a scolding—as well as a basic understanding of medical care in case either you or someone else will need it, and he can't make it there in time.

Like Kaeya (And Tighnari in this post), Baizhu will definitely write you some rules in a notebook and makes you recite them at least twice a day so that you remember not to hurt other people or damage your own health.

He is a doctor for a reason. It's his job to look out for others—even chaotic children with explosives.

Gaming

HAVE NO FEAR, GAMING IS HERE!

Bro is basically your Big Brother who does cool dances and gives you snacks and protects you. Since he's a real foody, you'll definitely know which places are the best to buy snacks!

You find his Wushou Dancing cool as well. He takes pride in it tbh. I mean, who wouldn't be ecstatic if the Almighty Creator loves it?

He does get a bit panic-y when he sees you blow things up, though. As much as he wants to pursue Wushou Dancing as his daily career, he still needs his job as a Shipment Guard.

"Y/N! No! Don't blow that up—!" Yes, he took you out once to travel with the shipment goods for one time, and he's never taken you with him again unless you promise not to blow anything that are near the goods.

He usually leaves you in Liyue Harbor when he's making these Shipment trips, but once he returns, you can certainly count on him to give you some tasty snack or a fulfilling dinner, as well as a free small Wushou Dance.

Big Brother Gaming does not disappoint!

Ghost Rebel Side Notes: I AM VERY DEAD. I AM SO SORRY SOBBING. Life hits you hard and fast sometimes sigh. I've been so busy I haven't been posting much—but rest assured, I have quite a lot of posts for you guys very soon!

✦ Check out The Ghost Rebel’s Blog Description & Info Page to See if Their Mailbox is Open! ✦

[cocopuffsstillinside]

So this is my 6 year old, Lily.

For her birthday (which was several months ago, but I wasn't on tumblr much at that point, so I didn't share, but now I feel compelled to share her awesomeness) she asked for two things - a Nico di Angelo teddy and a stygian sword.

Of course, these are not things one can just buy off the shelf, so once again, a very nerdy, creative, and determined mama set to work.

Making him was... stressful and tiring but so worth it, despite that fact, this teddy has become the bane of my existence. He has to go EVERYWHERE with her. These pictures were taken on the way back from our trip to London to see the #PercyJacksonMusical. During which she made him give running commentary on what was funny, inaccuracies, and general opinions. If she can't find him at bedtime, the house bares a striking resemblance to the underworld riots. She has had him for 4 month and he already looks like the toy completed the fictional quests himself.

Then there is the sword.

My sibling and I started with a basic foam sword and turned it into the one in the video. Safe to say she was a very happy girl. The notches were placed purely cause it looked too boring without them, but my daughter came up with a theory on how they happened:

"He was fighting a monster and hit a rock. Then he thought it looked cool, so he did it again." - Lily, the six-year-old PJO fanatic.

For world book day, she insisted on going as Nico. When I said she couldn't take her sword, she pouted and put it down. Them immediately picked up her bow and arrow and said, "Fine, I'll go as Bianca." Once I explained it was no weapons at all, she switched back to Nico.

I would like to note that no one in her class knew who she was (cause what six year old would? Other than mine...) yet it did not discourage her and she even got up in front of the class and told them all about Nico and the monsters he fights and his boyfriend Will who can "sing and glow and heal like Rapunzel". Her teacher said she had them all hooked.

A week later, I had a Dad come up to me at collection and thank me for letting her go as Nico, cause now his son was wrapped in the show and they had started reading the books as his bedtime story. He had been trying to get his son more involved with reading, but he just didn't have any interest in the younger kids' books, apparently. As of 2 months later, (He is giving me updates in the playground every time they start a new book) they are now on BotL and his little boy has never been so enthusiastic about reading or bedtime before, and the dad has started to get a little invested in the series as well.

She has also come to me with very serious questions, such as: "If Nico is the son of Hades, can he eat the underworld food?" I always happily prod and poke at the questions, trying to help her form her own conclusion. Which for this particular one was "No. He was born in the human world. He just eats the pomegranate seeds. He takes happy meals with him before he goes down." And honestly, I can't fault that logic.

Lily also seems to have a death wish of some kind as she regularly yells at thunder clouds telling Zues to "Stop wingeing!"

For her birthday, as you can probably tell or even guess, she wanted everything PJO themed but heavy on the Nico part. This involved way too much blue food, like these birthday breakfast pancakes...

There was blue lemonade that sparkled with mica powder. There were blue sweets, and if it came in a packet, it was only allowed to be a blue packet. All the presents wrapped in blue or black paper and skeleton decorations littered the place like pop-up Halloween store.

And finally her cake.

The inside was blue, of course (I still don't think my toilet has recovered from the copious amount of blue dye). The decorations are all made of chocolate, either solid or modelling. After blowing out the candles, she politely asked if she could have the trident. I smiled and pulled it free, telling her to be careful because there was a wooden stick in the centre. Taking it, she promptly raised it in the air and yelled, "THE SEA DOESN'T LIKE TO BE RESTRAINED!" Then hid behind the sofa giggling as she ate it. I asked why she was hiding, and stated very plainly, "Poisidon will be mad if he knows I'm eating his trident, so I have to do it secretly."

There really is no point to this post other than to state how amazing this girl is and how proud I am to call her my daughter!

I suppose if you want a moral or something, it would be to just let them be who or what they want. The kids that are free from pressure are often the most amazing to witness grow.

[thepunkranger]

Resident Evil Characters with A Neurodivergent Partner

Chris Redfield

Chris has no idea what he’s doing. Like actually. The kind of man to white-knuckle his way through diagnosed PTSD. But that’s not gonna stop him from trying to be the best partner he can be.

Does amazing when you tell him you do best with clear communication. You mean he doesn’t have to try and figure out what non-verbal signals you’re trying to give him? Because you’ll just tell him? He’s delighted.

The kind of guy to keep a list on his phone with all of your preferences and needs. Like, down to the minutiae that you were pretty sure only you cared about. Has notes like “likes x brand chips, but NOT y flavor. Do not buy y flavor. You’ll make them cry”

Fucks up a lot early on in your relationship, but he just needs a little guidance

Jill Valentine

Jill will be your #1 defender in everything. Like, everything. Even if she doesn’t get it. Goes off on anyone who gives you a hard time for your accommodations without a second thought.

Jill is also reading up on everything. After you explain things to her she goes out and buys every book she can find on your diagnosis, even if she knows she won’t have time to read them all.

A safe place to lose control. Jill takes meltdowns and bad episodes in stride (not that she can extend that same care to herself, but I digress), and is always prepared with regulation tools when necessary.

Makes no secret about the fact that she hates anyone who’s ever made you feel bad about your diagnosis and will fight them if they ever meet. Yes that includes family members. It’s on sight with this woman.

Rebecca Chambers

She’s already got a life of being autistic under her belt, she’s got this.

Knows all the lingo, all the best places to get accommodation tools, and already has the menu for that new restaurant printed out for you to look over together.

The kind of person who won’t bother anyone else about her own needs, but the second someone she cares about isn’t getting their needs met, she’s making sure that changes.

Keeps basic AAC cards and stim toys in her bag at all times. Will add noise-canceling headphones, safe snacks, chew stims and anything else you can think of if asked.

Leon S. Kennedy

Swears he’s neurotypical, but you’re pretty sure he’s undiagnosed with something.

Happy to provide deep pressure therapy anywhere and everywhere. Just pulls you over silently when you start getting overwhelmed/anxious and squeezes you in a tight hug. Or flops his whole body on top of you like a big dog if you can lie down.

Great at working through meltdowns and bad episodes. Like actually amazing. Always meets you right where you are and works down from there.

Keeps a close eye on you while out in easily overstimulating situations so he can see if things start to get to be too much. The kind of guy to show up from across the venue like “hey I saw your body language change minutely into something uncomfortable, do you need a sensory break?”

Definitely spends way too much time and money on your special interests and hyperfixations. Like, way too much. Shows up after every mission with something related to it as a gift (even if he just grabbed it from the airport gift shop) and gets overly excited to take you out on dates related to it.

Claire Redfield

Like Rebecca, she’s got this shit down. No, she doesn’t have personal experience, but she has been in therapy since she was a child and is legitimately excited to learn how best she can help you.

Hits you with a “tell me more” or “how can I help?” anytime things start to get bad or overwhelming. No, she won’t take “I can handle it” as an answer. You’re in this together or not at all.

If you live together, she’s taking on home renovation projects constantly to make things more accessible. Stim-friendly furniture, low-sensory areas, clearly marked cabinets or open shelving to be able to see important things, a big wall calendar with anything important going on. Just ask and she’s going to the store to get supplies. DIY queen.

Calls or texts on a set schedule whenever she’s away for work so that you’re able to stay connected. Also has your number set to come through no matter what with a loud ringtone so she doesn’t miss it if you reach out, even if she’s asleep.

Will throw hands for you. Big “excuse me, they asked for no pickles” energy. Has actually gotten you both kicked out of establishments because she wouldn’t let someone’s ableism go. She’s not sorry.

Carlos Oliveira

Co-regulation king. Is constantly pulling you out of any thought spirals with silly shit to help you feel better.

Please info-dump to him. He says he just loves to listen to your voice, but also secretly finds it fascinating.

Another lover of deep pressure therapy. Big squeezes and bear hugs all the time. However, this does mean that he’s not the best person to be around if you’re touch-adverse, because he just can’t help himself. He loves physical contact.

Like Chris, probably fumbles a lot early on, but he takes care of any mis-steps fairly quickly so long as he’s told what he did wrong.

Probably the kind of dork to wear a “I love someone with (diagnosis)” t-shirt while out with you, despite the fact the he knows it makes you cringe

[montrealmadison]

in your palace warm, mighty king

okay i’ve recently found myself on angel tree tiktok. if you’re unfamiliar with the concept, basically, some stores will put out a tree around the holidays with gift tags for anonymous local kids, and people coming in to do their own shopping can take a tag off the tree and buy kids gifts off their wishlists for the store to pass off to them. (the linked video shows it in action!)

anyway this got me thinking about jack zimmermann at the beginning of his career. he has been fabulously wealthy and privileged for his whole life, but he’s only recently started earning a massive salary of his own and has no real idea of what to spend it on. he’s comfortable. he has a car and a nice apartment and an engagement ring hidden somewhere in said apartment. he knows he should probably donate to a worthwhile cause, but he hasn’t figured out what.

one day, though, bitty’s visiting for the weekend and comes to the store with him, and right there in the entryway, he just… stops. jack doesn’t notice and consequently almost runs him over with the cart.

“you alright? careful, eh?”

bitty does not respond, because he’s looking at the tree.

“bud?”

jack follows his gaze. it really doesn’t look like much. it’s fake, unlit, and has seen better days if the way it’s a little flattened on one side is anything to go by. there is an equally squashed-looking stuffed snowman sat on the floor next to it. it’s the kind of thing your eyes slide over easily, hurrying from one place to another. blink and you’ll miss it.

bitty isn’t blinking.

“lord, i haven’t seen one of these in years,” he says. his voice is soft. he still isn’t looking at jack. “do you know what it is?”

jack doesn’t, so bitty explains. and when they inch closer, jack sees that all the ornaments he thought were plain paper before are actually printed with ages, shoe sizes, requests for warm coats and toys and cute jeans and deodorant. here and there is a specific wish—a bluetooth speaker. a particular board game. one kid, age eight, is fervently hoping for a bike.

and—okay. here’s the thing. they’ve been together for more than a year, and bitty is pretty willing to go along with jack’s desire to spoil him. but although he’s so open and accepting when jack wants to kiss him, or cook dinner for a change, or lay him out on their bed and make him feel good—he will always, always get uncomfortable where significant amounts of money are involved. it was the subject of the one and only fight that sent them to bed still heated. the fundamental difference between their upbringings is the hardest for them to grasp: jack has never known a life without plenty. and bitty—

“i think my parents put me on one,” bitty says. “the year we moved back to madison, after—”

the closet looms between them, black and yawning.

“well. you know. coach had to leave a good job in lawrenceville. took us a while to get back on our feet, i think. and that year, they couldn’t—i mean, i heard them talking at night about how we might not be able to make christmas work, when they thought i couldn’t hear them. but i still wrote my letter to santa, and there were a couple presents when i woke up christmas morning, so.” he scuffs one shoe on the industrial carpet. “maybe an angel sent ‘em.”

the words make something sizzle down jack’s spine and settle low in his gut. he steps forward, reaches out, turns over the nearest tag.

boy, age 11. shoe size: 8. wishlist: sneakers, earbuds, basketball, patriots merch, chapter books. loves fantasy and mythology.

once upon a time, jack spent three months in a rehab center designed specifically for the privacy needs of celebrity clients. his parents footed the bill, had the windows on all their cars tinted for him to hide behind when he got out. at the same time, thousands of miles away, bitty sat at the top of the stairs in his parents’ house and listened to them wonder if they could afford to keep the magic of christmas alive another year.

people are stepping around them to get out of the cold, now, their eyes skipping right over the tree and the boys in front of it. once upon a time, strangers on the street picked apart jack’s overdose like a piece of tabloid gossip. strangers on the street made sure a thirteen-year-old kid had something to unwrap with his family on christmas morning.

“bits?”

bitty sniffles, swipes at one eye with the sleeve of his sweater. “yeah?”

jack lifts the tag gently off its branch, catches bitty’s gaze. bitty’s intake of breath is so sharp it’s audible over the music playing overhead. do you see what i see?

“what do you think? wanna go get us another cart?”

[dumbasslesbi2]

Let Me Read To You ~ Chapter 1 (Agatha x Rio Bookstore AU)

Summary:

Agatha has just finished finalizing her divorce to Wanda and now has to move to a new town with her son Nicholas. When she moves in her neighbors recommend she joins the lesbian book club. However she can't help but fall for the owner of the store, Rio Vidal.

Notes:

Hi! Omg we're back with another series! This one may or may not be longer than the last one and we may or may not be smut in this one.

Agatha needed to leave, she needed a new place to go. She needed a place that would be safe for Nicky, her precious baby boy. She had recently been divorced by her ex wife Wanda, even though she was the toxic one. For the years they were together she had been cheating on Agatha and now basically had a whole other family that Agatha never knew about. Luckily for Agatha, Wanda wanted no custody of their child but that didn't mean the divorce went easily. Agatha said fuck it and drove. She drove and drove with Nicholas until she found a quaint place, Westview. She was able to afford a house there and since she did remote work it didn't matter where they lived. The house had everything she needed, 2 bedrooms and an office for her to work in. She couldn't have been happier with her decision.

“Hi! You must be the new neighbor, I'm Jennifer but you can just call me Jen. Do you need any help?” Jen said, walking up to Agatha who was getting boxes out of her car. “ Oh perfect! Could you please? I didn't realize how much of a pain it would be to take the boxes out of the car than putting them in. My name's Agatha” she told Jen, putting down a box to shake her hand. It was then after the handshake that Agatha heard crying in the house and ran inside to go check on Nicholas. She had already set up his playpen and let him have his tablet but of course he still wanted attention. “What's wrong my precious prince?” She asked Nicholas as she lifted him up. “Wanted Mommy” he said in-between sniffles. “Well, I'm right here, we still need to unpack baby.“ She said, kissing the crown of her son. “Hey Agatha where do you want me to put this one?” Jen asked as she entered the house. “Right here in the living room is fine for now, it's just more of Nicholas’s toys” she told her, still holding her child. “Nicholas, say hello to Jen” she told her son with a smile. “Hi Jen!” He said, giggling. “Why hello there mister. Looks like we're going to be neighbors now” Jen said, taking the small child's hand and shaking it. Nicholas couldn't help but laugh more. Agatha put him back in his play pen and unloaded the rest of the boxes. They got all of them squared away and Agatha thanked Jen for all her help. “If you ever need help just come on over, me or my wife should be home” Jen told Agatha before taking her leave. “Noted, thanks again for all the help!” Agatha said before tending back to Nicholas. 

It took Agatha a couple days to become adjusted to their new lives, she enrolled Nicholas into pre-school since he was only three and he had a tough time being away from his mother. She felt heartbroken that he was crying so often for her but the teachers reassured her that it just takes children a bit to adjust and that he’ll get used to it. She talked to Jen more and even met her wife Alice, after learning about Agatha’s situation they both recommended that she join them for the sapphic book club. Apparently the town had a famous lesbian bookstore that had a lesbian book club that met every saturday. She gave it some thought and said heck with it, she even made sure to book a babysitter for Nicholas. “I’m so happy you agreed to come with us!” Alice said as she was starting the car. “Thank you guys so much for inviting me, I really have to repay you two for all the help you’ve done for me” Agatha said as she was putting on her seatbelt. “Nonsense, everyone deserves friends and a support system” Jen said, fixing her makeup. 

As the three pulled up to the bookstore Agatha couldn’t help but admire it for a moment. It looked old and relic but in a good way, she loved the vintage look of things. “Come on girl!” Jen said to Agatha holding the door. As the three went through Agatha couldn’t help but space out and stare once again. “Rio! We got a new member, this is Agatha!” Alice said, getting the bookstore owner. “Perfect, we really need to recruit more people” Rio said, coming out from the back of the store. Agatha turned around to greet the woman but was speechless. She was absolutely stunned by the woman that appeared before her. Rio was wearing an oversized sweatshirt and some jeans with her big nerdy glasses that she always wore but Agatha couldn’t help but find her adorable. “Oh uh, hi! I’m Agatha” she said to Rio, shaking her head slightly to take herself out of her daze. Little did Agatha know that Rio was doing the exact same thing Agatha was. Rio couldn’t stop herself from checking out the total milf that Agatha was. Even though Agatha was also in casual wear just wearing a button of shirt and some jean, Rio thought Agatha was the sexiest milf she ever laid eyes on. “Hi, I’m Rio” she said, taking Agatha’s hand and kissing her knuckles. Jen and Alice couldn’t help but snicker, they kind of planned on this happening especially since Rio was a total milf lover. “Follow us to the next room, that’s where we hold our meeting, we should be all set to start” Rio said, showing Agatha over to their reading room. It was a candle lit room with a very calming vibe that Agatha couldn’t only think of as eternal and unworldly. In the room was already another woman, much older than the rest of the group. “Oh a new member, how exciting!” said the lady, already sitting down. “Lilia, this is Agatha, our newest member” Rio said as she was grabbing a book. “Hi! It’s nice to meet you” Agatha said, taking Lilia’s hand and shaking it. 

The women spent two hours talking about different sapphic books but also talked about town drama and problems in their own lives. Also complaining how homophonic the small town could be. Agatha didn’t know anything about the town before moving but she learnt that the town had deemed them as “witches” and thought of their book club as a “coven of witches”. Agatha couldn’t help but laugh at the names, being unused to such labels since she came from a big city. “Besides that though, most town folk don’t care about us and leave us alone” said Alice, giggling with Agatha. “You should have seen this town before the club and bookstore, it used to be horrible when I was growing up. Now you all can at least be yourselves” Lilia said, thinking of her olden days. “That’s why I built this bookstore as soon as I got enough from all my books,” Rio said with a chuckle. “Books? Do you write?” Agatha asked, looking over at Rio. “Yeah, my Rio Vidal if that helps” Rio said before getting up to get some snacks and drinks for the club. Agatha was starstruck, she thought Rio’s name sounded familiar. Rio was a famous sapphic author, known for writing pure lesbian smut. She had actually gotten into hot water since one of her books were being picked up by a large teen audience and many parents thought Rio was trying to turn their kids gay. Once Rio came back with the snack, the group picked up conversation again for about an hour or so before everyone deemed it time to leave. 

“Oh Agatha, can I actually talk to you before you leave?” Rio asked, winking at Jen and Alice. “We’ll be waiting in the car!” Jen said to her before Agatha could even respond. “I- oh, sure, what is it Rio?” Agatha asked, helping Rio clean up. “By any chance are you free tonight or maybe tomorrow? I would love to take a lady like you out and about” Rio said, smiling at her. “Oh! Um, I think tonight would be good, I have a babysitter for the day so I’m free right now if you wanna maybe go out?” Agatha, trying her best to maintain eye contact with Rio. “Perfect, why don’t you tell Jen and Alice while I close up shop” Rio said, hurrying to clean the store. Agatha went outside and told Jen and Alice what happened, getting an instant approval and congrats from the two. Rio was outside quickly, with a jacket on while she was locking the store. “Have a fun date you two!” Alice said before the two of them drove away. Agatha couldn’t help but blush, it only just hit her right then that she was on a date with the Rio Vidal. “So, what’s on the agenda?” Agatha asked, looking up at the woman. “I was thinking maybe a small stroll in the park and dinner? They’re both walking distance from here so up to you” Rio said, offering her arm.

“So what made you pick a quiet and small town like Westview to move to?” Rio asked as they arrived at the park. “I don’t want to spoil the mood but let’s just say I unfortunately got a divorce” Agatha said, wincing hoping that Rio would still want her. “Ouch, that’s rough. If you wanna ever talk about it, I’m all ears.” Rio said, tugging on Agatha’s arm more. Agatha couldn’t help but smile at Rio’s response, it was the first time she felt actually comfortable and open with someone since the divorce. “Thank you, it’s just been rough having to raise a three year old on my own” Agatha said with a groan. “Aw I’m sorry, I bet you have a cute kid though” Rio said, smiling down at Agatha again. “The cutest, his name’s Nicholas” Agatha told her, getting her phone out to show her a picture. “Yup, I was right. Cutest kid I’ve ever seen” Rio said with a chuckle. “Thank you” Agatha said, giving Rio a kiss on the cheek. She couldn’t help herself anymore, she thought Rio was so cute laughing and the least she could do was kiss her on the cheek. Rio instantly blushed and tried to calm herself down. “Do you wanna sit at that bench? We’ve been walking for a minute” Rio asked, hoping that sitting would help her from being flustered. “Sure!” Agatha said, letting Rio take the lead. “So what made an author like yourself choose such a small town to live in?” Agatha asked, playing with Rio’s fingers. “Honestly, I got tired of the big city and wanted a break from so many people,” Rio said, still blushing. “Oh I couldn’t agree more. I just hope Nicholas doesn’t mind growing up here” Agatha said with a sigh. “He’ll be fine as long as he has you” Rio said, smiling once again at Agatha. There was a moment of quietness as the two just enjoyed each other’s company. Agatha hadn’t felt this at ease with someone else for some time now and was relishing in the feeling. “Do you wanna head over to the restaurant, it’s only a block away from here” Rio asked. “Yeah, that sounds good” Agatha said, clearing her throat to take her mind off of wanting to kiss Rio. 

As they walked to the restaurant they kept asking questions about each other, trying to get more info out of each other. As they arrived at the place, Rio held the door out like the gentleman, well gentlewoman in this case, that she was. They got situated in a booth and ate while also drinking a glass of wine each. Agatha hadn’t had a date go this well since the divorce and was scared of how much she was attracted to Rio. Rio couldn’t help but feel the same, it had been long since she had a date go this well, especially in a small town like this with such a small lesbian population. Agatha couldn’t help herself and excused herself to go to the bathroom to calm down. However, Rio decided to follow her after a minute of waiting. As soon as Rio saw it was just Agatha in the bathroom, she held her by the hips and kissed her. Agatha was taken aback for a moment but then reciprocated the kiss. They stayed like that for a minute or two before leaving the kiss. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself” Rio said with a giggle and her and Agatha’s foreheads touched. “No don’t worry, I’m happy you followed me” Agatha said, also laughing at their antics. “Making me feel like I'm in highschool” Agatha told Rio, pecking her lips. “How about I pay for the bill and we get out of here” Rio asked,swaying their bodies. “That sounds perfect, thank you” Agatha said, stealing another kiss. 

As the two walked back to Rio’s bookstore they couldn’t help but laugh and steal kisses here and there. “Let me drive you home gorgeous,” Rio said as they stopped at her bookstore. “Well, if you insist” Agatha said, giggling and kissing her cheek. “I do, come on” Rio said, taking Agatha’s hand and taking her behind the bookstore. Rio opened the passenger door for Agatha to which Agatha couldn’t help but tease her about it. “Quite the charmer I see” Agatha said, giving Rio another peck on the cheek. Rio closed the door gently as she ran over to the driver’s side. “What can I say, I can’t help myself with such a pretty lady” Rio told her, shifting the car to drive. The car ride was silent but that was only because of how much Agatha was admiring Rio. As Rio pulled up to Agatha’s home she was almost sad that their time together was ending. “I don’t know if this is too forward but can I see you tomorrow?” Rio asked, playing with the rings on her hand. “Let me ask if Jen and Alice can look after Nicholas. If they say yes then I would love nothing more but to see you tomorrow” Agatha said, taking Rio’s hand and kissing it. Rio couldn’t help but blush, “If they say no, they’re banned from book club” she said jokingly. “I wouldn’t mind if we kicked out everyone and just had it be the two of us” Agatha told Rio, winking at her. Rio short circuited and had no snarky reply, she could only blush and be flustered in her seat. Agatha reached in her purse to give her number to Rio before giving her a goodbye kiss. “Call me” she said with a wink before getting out of the car. Rio sighed a breath of relief as she started putting Agatha’s number in her cell. 

Agatha greeted her son and the babysitter. She thanked them for taking care of her son and paid them for their service. Once she was alone with her son, she sat on their couch and let out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding. She felt her phone buzz and already saw a text message from Rio. 

Hi sexy lady. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow, tonight was amazing 💚

Agatha couldn’t help but smile at the text as she was replying back with her own snarky remarks

Sexy? Have you not seen yourself honey? We’ll see what Jen and Alice say about tomorrow. Hopefully we can see each other. Tonight was perfect, can’t wait till the next time 😘💖💖

Agatha put her phone away and spent the rest of the night getting Nicky to bed while also doing her own night routine. She thought about all the kisses her and Rio shared while laying in bed, hoping that she could see Rio tomorrow . It had been less than a day and she was already falling for her. 

[box-dwelling]

So I saw this post talking about how grace is the most tied to Nibbly which makes sense. She hungers for power, sex, food metaphors with dirty girl soup, which said post already discussed. But also Nibbly is kind of the most prominent one in the summoning scene other than wiggly which would make sense if this is Nibblys ending. Especially because grace is consuming the souls of the horny, those who desire sex, those who are hungry for it. Which aligns with Nibblys modus operandi in Honey queen. Those who hunger taste sweeter. Also makes sense as to why Nibbly's apocalypse is basically a happen ending. He has a pretty sweet gig already. Cult of followers, regularly getting fed, he even gets to walk the earth annually. I make sense that he wouldn't want to change hatchetfield that much and he needs to keep some people alive so he keeps getting fed.

So if TGWDLM, BF, and NPMD show Pokey, Wiggly and Nibbly's respective apocalypses then maybe we'll get 2 more musicals for blinky and Tinky.

From what it looks like, the next show in Hatchetfield (which might not be the next Starkid show, I heard they wanted a break) is going to be about Miss Holloway. And who did she explicitly make a deal with? Tinky! So my guess is he's going to be our next apocalypse. Miss Holloway talks explicitly about him in Killer track and also we know there's a ton of time shenanigans going on with her. I'm like 99% certain if they do the Holloway show he's our main villain. They could do a time loop story, that could be fun, or a million other time travel concepts. I think it would be cool if Frank was involved. We know he was friends with Miss Holloway from Daddy and having a toy store owner and collector would be fun as hell to face off against Tinky. I think a Tinky show is also the perfect time to properly address the lore around the split timelines. We have some stuff but we could get more and now would be a great time as presumably the penultimate show.

As for the 5th show, this is understandably more amorphous. But if I'm right we're talking Blinky. I have a few vauge ideas of places it could head. So one is that they could focus on Rose from Killer track. She's a musician so performance is kind of her thing, maybe the band gets big and that deal with celebrity voyerism and spectacle. And hey I'd like to see her more developed. My other theory is linked with his reference in TTTO. So Jack Bauer mentioning "the watcher with a thousand eyes" in that show is an explicit forth wall break. Said watcher is the audience. And that makes me wonder if a Blinky show could lean into that more. Have the audience be Blinky in some way. And of this would presumably be the finale, a forth wall breaking ending could be a good way to bring closure to the fact that this is a split timeline. Or maybe go full TTTO hand have multiple endings the audience gets to choose. Like which ending they want. Maybe one apocalypse does have to happen so the audience gets to choose who's. This is way more speculative though.

As for setting for these two it's complicated. They like to set the shows at a black altar. But there's 5 and all 5 have already been settings. I think either it's completely new or Tinky is CCRP and Blinky is the starlight theatre. It kinda feels like it's stepping on Pokeys toes a bit but they're both more backdrops. I can't see either at the Wayland's (maaaaaybe Tinky because it's where the black book is in NPMD and Miss Holloway obviously uses it but eh) and Hatchetfield high is so clearly the setting for NPMD where as TGWDLM dots about places so much that there doesn't seem to be as definitively a setting. That being said I do think the high school is Blinkys alter and all the others have come through at their alter (Nibbly's being the Wayland's where grace gets the book) so maybe we get another teen show for blinky. But then again Miss Holloway is working at Hatchetfield high too now so maybe her show will be there as well. At the very least I think the finales will be at their set altars. Blinky comes through at the high school and Tinky at the CCRP

[stellar-constellations]

(Very late) Christmas special! Yuri Briar

Yuri Briar x Fem! Reader

        Beware! This fic DOES contain SPOILERS for the manga and for the Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series: An Alliance (part 1)!

        This can be read with or without reading my Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series: An Alliance (part 1).

        Series information: Setting is AFTER the reader rejoined WISE (so Yuri and [Y/N] are married and [Y/N] becomes an official double-spy).

        This is NOT a replacement or part 10 for the Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series!

        The city air smelt like hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts. The town’s street lamps were decorated with yellow christmas lights and green wreaths. Children squished their faces against the cold windows of toy stores, gazing at what they want on their Christmas lists. Candies filled with marshmallows and peppermint advertised at the local grocery store. Yuri and I strolled through the town hand-in-hand, looking for gifts for the Forger family.

        “Do you have any idea what they’d want for Christmas?” I questioned, looking into store windows for anything that caught my eye.

        “I’m not sure. Yor said that she was fine with anything.” Yuri spoke, just as lost as me. 

        “Well what about Loid and Anya?” I asked, turning my head to look at Yuri.

        “Do we have to buy them gifts?” Yuri grimaced. 

        “They’re family.” I huffed. “Don’t be mean. And don’t even think about going to the Christmas party with an attitude to Loid. I’ll whack you.” I threatened.

        “I don’t even know what we’d give Loid. He’s so… reserved?” Yuri spoke. “He doesn’t talk much about himself other than work.” 

        “I see what you mean.” I hummed. “So work is obviously an important thing in his life.”

        “His main priority should be caring for Yor…” Yuri huffed.

        “We can talk about this later. The shops will close early because it's Christmas Eve, so we have no time to be complaining about stuff like that.” I pointed out. "Loid values work, we could get him something for work. Like, maybe a new journal to write notes? He is a psychiatrist after all.” I suggested.

        At least his public cover is. I thought to myself. 

        I tried to think more deeply on what Twilight likes without accidentally revealing to Yuri that I know him more than just his sister's husband. Of course I know things about him that Yuri and Yor won't, I did basically grow up with him almost my entire life, so I consider him like a brother and my best friend. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I basically knew nothing of Twilight's interests or hobbies. He's always been so work-oriented compared to my laid-back nature. 

        My realization led me to questioning everything I knew about Twilight. Is the personality I've associated with him almost my whole life a cover personality? Am I such a bad sister and best friend that I don't even know his favorite damn color? What he likes to do in his free time? 

        While I had an internal existential crisis, Yuri dragged me out of my thoughts. 

        "Hey, there's a bookstore over there. We can go find Loid's journal there?" Yuri suggested, pointing his finger at a small bookstore.

        "Yeah, okay." I nodded, dragging Yuri into the store with me. "Along with a journal, we can get Loid a book too. I'm just unsure of what types of books he'd enjoy." 

        "We have to get him more than one gift?" Yuri sighed, obviously displeased at the idea. 

        "Just wait till we get to Anya." I hummed. "She's a child, so she should get the most presents." 

        "When I was a kid, I didn't celebrate Christmas." Yuri pointed out.

        I did. Growing up as a West spy, the Handler would put time aside and host a Christmas party at HQ. She made sure to give small gifts to all spies (most likely to avoid promotions). Since I was a kid and the youngest on the team, she made sure my gifts were a little more special than my fellow spies. I remember the first year I joined WISE, she gifted me a warm sweater with comfortable short fur inside and the exterior was soft and gray, along with a raspberry candy cane. I cried so hard that day because I was so touched she bothered getting me something despite our relationship being something of a teacher and student. Now a days, I see her more of the closest thing I have to a mother in my life, and I make sure to give her a present every year too. 

        Speaking of the Handler, I need to find a gift for her too. I might be able to sneak out later and buy something while Yuri is sleeping. I thought to myself. 

        "Maybe a book on psychology?" Yuri questioned.

        "No. I wanna get him something for him to enjoy that's not all work-related." I spoke.

        Besides, me and him already know quite a bit of psychology as it is. I thought. 

        Maybe something like mystery? No, he'd figure out the mystery too quick. Suspense? No, he'd just get mad at the character's decisions for being stupid. Romance? Nope, he seems to have little interest in the subject. Maybe something dystopian? Eh, we've faced a war together and live under oppressed governments with the possibility of war, we have our own silent dystopian going on. Maybe something involving self-help, like how not to be robotic. It'd be a good gag gift, but like I said, I want him to enjoy it. Historical? No, we know just about everything in history.

        "Ah! Science fiction!" I exclaimed loudly. 

        "Like... robots?" Yuri questioned. 

        "I dunno, maybe. I think Loid would enjoy the genre." I spoke. 

        "How so?" Yuri questioned.

        "He's smart, he is a psychiatrist after all. He'll probably like something that's mixed with reality but still have hints of fiction in it. Smart people like smart things like science! It'd be something to get his brain working and still enjoy it." I spoke.

        "Pssh, anyone can listen to a person's problems and give out solutions." Yuri huffed.

        "That's not all they do, Yuri. They also—" I paused, deciding it wasn't worth going in depth. "Ah, never mind. Let's just find something good for him to read." 

        Me and Yuri walked to the science fiction section, looking for anything that caught our eyes. Yuri didn’t exactly do much of the searching since it included being “too buddy-buddy with Loi-Loi” so I did the searching myself.

        “Oh, what about 1984? I heard that was good.” I spoke. “I remember hearing it was featured in the newspaper, it’s relatively new, published in 1948.” 

        I might steal this after Twilight finishes reading it. I thought to myself.

        “Yeah, sure.” Yuri spoke.

        “Hm… what do you think Yor would like? I was thinking of giving her a new set of earrings as my gift. What’s on your mind?” I questioned. 

        “Well… she likes apples, specifically this Whistle Candy we had as kids, the apple flavored ones.” Yuri explained. 

        “That’s a good start. We can go to the market and buy those.” I smiled. “I want to stop by a jewelry store and buy her a set of gold earrings, I noticed her jewelry was gold so I figured she’d might appreciate it.” 

        “You noticed.” Yuri spoke, tears in his eyes.

        “Why are you tearing up?” I questioned, a little confused.

        “Just… you’re so thoughtful of her too. She loves you so much as her sister-in-law so it’d make her so happy to know you paid attention to her interests.” Yuri cried, wiping his nose.

        I resisted the urge to tell him I was observing her to make sure she wasn’t an obstacle in STRIX’s mission or a hazard to Twilight’s mental health (now that I’ve spent time with her, I’m aware she’s a wonderful person, but I was on my guard when we first met, especially knowing how hard she can hit someone). 

        “Of course I care, Yuri. She’s family to me, just like Anya and Loid are.” I smiled.

        The names of his sister’s husband and daughter leaving my lips immediately dried his eyes and made him grimace. “Blegh…”

        “Wow. I should use that more against you when you’re upset if it makes you forget what you were crying about in the first place.” I smiled, a little impressed.

        “Don’t you use those two… imbeciles... against me.” Yuri threatened, a glint in his eyes.

        “Yeah, yeah.” I hummed. “Let’s find an empty notebook now. I'm thinking something blue, or blue and white." 

        Yuri nodded as we walked together, looking around to find a journal. I've seen empty journals in bookstores before, so surely this bookstore can't be an exception. I took Yuri to the front of the bookstore where there would usually be little souvenirs or many pens. I found a plain midnight blue journal and held it up to Yuri. 

        "What do you think?" I questioned.

        "Looks like a journal." Yuri spoke.

        "Helpful." I hummed sarcastically, before opening the journal.

        I felt the texture of the pages and the cover, along with the page colors, the spacing and colors of the lines, and the sturdiness of the spine before deeming it acceptable. 

        "Okay, Yuri. Let's go pay for these then we can go for Yor's presents." I spoke. 

        Yuri nodded, grabbing my hand as we walked to the cash register together. 

        "How about you pay for Loid's and Anya's gifts, and I'll pay for Yor's? Her earrings will probably be expensive." Yuri spoke.

        "I mean, I have certain earrings I'm looking for, so I can buy them." I explained.

        "No. I got them. Loid's and Anya's gifts will probably tally up to around the earrings price." Yuri explained.

        "And you wanna buy your sister's presents yourself?" I smiled.

        "Yes." Yuri admitted quickly. 

        "Well, if you really insist." I sighed, deciding it wasn't worth fighting him. 

        When we got to the cashier, I took out my wallet from my purse and handed the cashier the amount of dalc they wanted from me. The bagged the books and handed it to me, telling us "happy holidays" as we left.

        "Okay. Let's go to the jewelry store first, then the grocery store for that whistle candy you were talking about." I hummed, rearranging the fluffy red scarf wrapped around my neck.

        Yuri nodded as I grabbed his red mitten, having him follow me. During our walk, I looked around at the shop windows to see if I could find any present for Yuri. I wasn't exactly sure what to get him; he was a pretty simple guy who'd love just about everything I'd give him, but I wanted to give him something that was actually meaningful and something he could really enjoy. The problem is Yuri doesn't have many interests besides Yor and work, so I'm really limited with potential gift ideas.

        "Why are you glaring at me like that?" Yuri questioned, confused.

        "I'm cold." I lied.

        I'm glaring at you because you're a troublesome brat to make happy. I thought.

        "Even in all those layers? We'll be at the store soon enough, so don't worry." Yuri spoke.

        I nodded, thinking of what I could get him. Maybe he likes whistle candy like Yor? But that's so boring, not to mention unoriginal since we're getting Yor it. I could get him something like a candle? But that's not long lasting, and I have no idea what his favorite scents are.         

        "Yuri, I'm thinking of changing my perfume sometime soon. What do you think I should go with?" I questioned.

        "I don't know? Something floral or citrus like most perfumes? It's your perfume." Yuri hummed.

        "Yeah, but I want your input. You're my husband so I don't want to get a scent you don't like." I explained.        

        "I doubt there's a perfume that I don't like. Just don't have it too strong?" Yuri spoke.

        Sometimes I wanna punch his stupid face for being so damn hard to shop for. Seriously, how can someone simple be such a challenge to shop for? Even Twilight is easier to shop for! 

        Yuri and I walked to the store to get the whistle candy Yuri said Yor liked. During the time, I thought of what good gifts Anya would have. I wanted to spoil the kid and give her a good Christmas. I've always wanted to be a cool aunt but now that I lost my entire family I can't do that anymore.

        No, I didn't lose my entire family, only a part of it. I still have Twilight and the Handler, and Yuri and Yor and Anya. My mother is still out there too, somewhere in this world. The thought left me feeling a little better from the other sudden intrusive depressing thought I had. 

        Anya likes peanuts and stuffed toys, I know that. She likes that one spy tv show too, whatever it was called. The episodes I watched with her are a little interesting, I might watch it myself to be honest (perhaps I can learn a thing or two I'm unaware of). I briefly thought about getting her a coat or a cute dress, but then I remembered being a kid and disliked getting clothes as gifts. She does like sweets too. 

        Oh! They have dog too! I remember Twilight telling me about that, trying to train it to attack on command. Apparently the dog is a rescue from Project Apple, where he was trained along with many other dogs to become highly intelligent military animals. I wonder if the dog is huge and scary, like a German Shepard or a Pit Bull with that kind of reputation? Hey, maybe I can convince Yuri to get a dog or a cat!

        Wait, focus. We're here for gifts. 

        "Yuri, when we get the candy let's go to the toy section next." I spoke.

        "Aren't you a bit old for toys?" Yuri smirked, earning him a glare from me.

        "Shut it." I huffed. "It's for Anya, I wanna see if there's any good toys around here she might like. I always wanna get her peanuts and stuffed animals." 

        "Peanuts?" Yuri spoke, making a face. "What kid wants peanuts for Christmas?"

        "Apparently Anya." I shrugged. "Don't question it, kids are weird and have weird Christmas lists. Besides, it's better than like, I dunno, a 20 dalc dolly or something."

        "I guess that's true." Yuri hummed, grabbing a bag of candy from the shelves.

        It was the whistle candy Yuri was talking about. It's comes in a pack of eight circular candies with a hole in the middle. Yuri grabbed two apple flavored packs, holding them in his hands since we didn't grab a cart.

        "Hey, it looks like the American candy Life Savers!" I pointed out. "This whistle candy you speak of, does it actually make you whistle?" I questioned, glancing at the candies.

        "Yeah. You can whistle through them." He nodded.

        "That's cool." I smiled.

        I took a look at all the candies, grabbing a few chocolate peanut candy bars and other candies like gummy bears, Fun Dips, marshmallow Circus Peanuts, and Jolly Ranchers before my eyes spotted a familiar and bittersweet candy—M&M's.

        "Oh hey, I remember these!" I spoke, grabbing a tube. "Hey Yuri, do you know how these were invented? Or more specifically why?"

        "Wasn't it something about the war?" Yuri questioned.

        "Yeah. During the war, normal chocolate bars couldn't be transported or eaten because it'd melt in the heat, so Ostanian soldiers couldn't eat them. Forrest Mars Sr copied the idea of Rowntree's Smarties, a British-made sweet small chocolate candies covered in hardened sugar syrup, when he saw soldiers from the Spanish Civil War eating them." I explained. "I had a buddy who would eat these like no tomorrow." I chuckled, before frowning. 

        Well, I guess he did eat them like no tomorrow, cause he's not alive anymore.

        I remember infiltrating a small town and killing a couple Ostanian soldiers. Rancher was looting the bodies to see if there was anything interesting or see if there's any extra ammo that matched his gun model. While he didn't find ammo that could be shot with his gun, he did find a small brown and tan tube with the title "M&M's" on the tube. He opened it and ate one of the small candies, then he became hooked and popped them in his mouth like a pill junkie. Sometimes, I think he killed soldiers just to see if he could find some of that candy on them. 

        Yuri noticed how my smile faded and patted my shoulder, an attempt to console me. While it didn't quite work, I was happy to know he was trying, especially considering that war was where he potentially lost his parents and started his hate for the West. He doesn't talk about them, but I can naturally assume he lost them in the war considering Yor was the one who raised him. 

        "Do you have a favorite flavor?" I questioned, breaking the silence.

        His hand left my shoulder as he thought, before speaking, "Maybe cherry?"

        I nodded, making a mental note in my head for later. 

        "Well, we got the candy. Let's head to the toy section and see what's there." I smiled, keeping the M&M's in my hand along with the other candies I grabbed.

        We both walked to the toys as I tried and figured out what toys I wanted to buy for Anya. I didn't want something lame or boring, and I didn't want to give her something too generic that every other kid has. Knowing Twilight, he probably got her stuff that's popular with the other kids along with things she liked, I wanna give her something meaningful other than snacks. 

        I noticed the toy guns and thought about getting her a toy cap gun, a small toy that made a small bang to represent a bullet and came with it's own bang roll cap refill that even made a smell, before I realized that not only would they have to purchase more paper roll caps every time it ran out, but I also didn't want to influence her with violence and guns (especially after I heard about her punching Donovan Desmond's son, Damian). I thought about those toy handcuffs, before realizing how boring they were since she couldn't really do anything with that when playing alone. Maybe snap-its? Nah, I don't want her throwing it at her parents or other kids, not to mention the hassle it is to clean them up. Maybe I can code a little morse robot for her to learn morse code (by me coding, I mean Franky). 

        I decided to ditch the entire idea of spy things in general, she's too young for such things, and I don't want her to start getting suspicious of Twilight and I's second-lives, children have an insane ability of calling out bullshit and having some damn accurate hunches. Maybe if I find pajamas or a jacket of her spy show, I'll buy it. 

        I grabbed multiple different teddy bears, a blue one (Twilight), a pink one (Anya), a red and white one (Yor), a red and black one (Yuri), a white one (their dog Bond) and a grey one (me) to represent her family. You can't do much with stuffed animals, so I grabbed other toys too such as a rainbow slinky, a Candy Land board game, silly putty, dominoes, and some coloring books.

        "Does a kid really need that much toys?" Yuri questioned.

        "Yes. Yes she does." I nodded. "This is her first Christmas with us! Christmas is a day that kids are always thinking about, she deserves a good one."

        "Well, if you think so." Yuri sighed, deciding not to fight on the matter. 

        Yuri carried most of the toys while I carried most of the candy. I noticed the struggle between us and mentally scolded ourselves for not getting a basket, it sure would've made this whole process easier.

        "Why don't we get a wagon?" I questioned. "Like a toy wagon for Anya?"

        "That's stupid. What would she use that for?" Yuri questioned.

        "Don't call it stupid without hearing what I gotta say." I huffed. "It can be used to carry her toys around the house, or when she's out and about with Loid and Yor, she can sit in the wagon as they roll her around—it's cute and convenient." I explained.

        "Sure, whatever you want." Yuri waved off.

        Yuri just doesn't understand the importance of Christmas. For an energetic and cheerful kid like Anya, Christmas probably means a lot to her. I remember when I was a little kid and still had the income, I was excited for Christmas too; Yuri probably stopped caring for Christmas when Yor started raising him instead since they would need to direct their funds to something nonessential that doesn't include food or shelter, so I can see his perspective on this matter.

        Even though he doesn't quite care about Christmas, I still want to be able to buy a gift for him, I mean, I have some festive spirit this year and I'm excited to spend Christmas in a place that's not Wise HQ with people I have genuine attachment to outside of work.  

        Me and Yuri grabbed a red toy Radio Wagon, placing all of Anya's (and Yor's) candies and toys inside of it. I also grabbed a classical music and a IIse Werner vinyl record for Loid. I thought and decided that I'll come back to the store later when searching for Yuri's gifts, that way I can get Franky and The Handler a gift too. We grabbed red and white striped wrapping paper (Yuri’s choice) and white snowflake wrapping paper (my choice, along with green and blue ribbons. We also grabbed Bond some treats, I heard he was a big dog so I got him large bones and chew toys. 

        Yuri rolled the wagon to the receptionist as I followed, paying for all the gifts and gift paper. We paid and left the store, heading to the jewelry store next. I wanted to get Yor a set of earrings. I noticed she wore gold spike-like earrings (the only set I've seen her wear really), so I wanted to get her a different pair instead, a pair where me and her match together so that the gift is meaningful. Yuri rolled the wagon down the streets as I guided him to a jewelry store, opening the door for him so he can walk in with the wagon as I advanced. 

        "Do you have a set of earrings in mind?" Yuri questioned.

        "Yep. I have a perfect vision for what I want." I nodded. 

        I spent three days going to every jewelry shop to try and find the perfect set of earrings for Yor that I actually liked and that would match her taste. It took some work and searching, but I found The Set. I lead Yuri to the jewelry shop I wanted to go to called "Himmlischer Ketten." 

        "The wagon is probably going to be troublesome inside of the shop, so you just wait outside with it, okay?" I spoke.

        Yuri looked at me with a blank face, thinking, before making a pout. 

        "But I wanna see what you're buying for Yor." He whined.

        "I'll show you after I pay for it. I'll be in and out in a flash, you'll barely know I left." I smiled. 

        Yuri sighed, his pout still relevant on his face but it had decreased, "Fine. Just hurry up."

        I nodded and walked into the store, looking around to find the set of earrings again. I found the ones I was looking for and told the jeweler, grabbing my wallet from my purse and payed for the price. I also got the second set of earrings so Yor and I could match together. She handed me the two boxes of jewelry inside, handing them to me in a small bag. I walked back out to Yuri and placed the bag of jewelry inside the wagon where the rest of the gifts were.

        "How much did it cost?" Yuri questioned.

        "One hundred dalc in total." I answered.

        Yuri reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing me a bit over 100 dalc.

        "Whaddya doing?" I questioned as he took my hand, placing the currency in my palm.

        "I told you earlier that I'd pay for the jewelry." He spoke. 

        "Yeah, but it's my gift to Yor." I pointed out. "Besides, I got a set for myself too."

        I can very well pay for it too since I'm working two government jobs...

        "Consider it one of your Christmas presents." He reasoned. "Besides, you spent enough at the store for Anya and Loid."

        "Wow, you actually said his real name without much thought." I chuckled, causing him to glare at me.

        "Shut up. It just came out of my mouth before I could stop it." He huffed.

        "Sure, hon." I smiled. 

        "Doesn't matter, let's get home and get these presents wrapped." He spoke quickly, changing the subject as he rushed ahead of me, dragging the wagon with him. 

        He can be such a tsundere at times... I thought. Though I guess it's a little endearing in its own stupid way. 

        I followed Yuri back to our apartment, getting home and wrapping the presents in our chosen gift papers we bought. Yuri did the wrapping while I placed bows and ribbons on the boxes since it turns out, I'm terrible at wrapping presents. I wrote the names of who the presents belonged too (most belonging to Anya, but it's still fun to write the names). 

        Yuri and I conversed as we did our own assigned roles together.    

        "You sure like going out for Christmas, huh?" He commented.

        I hummed, thinking of the comment and what to say to that. 

        Perhaps I'm making up for loss time? I don't have a family I can spoil, so I should spoil this one while it lasts. I might not live long being this double-agent, whether I get backstabbed from one of my jobs (most likely the SSS), or whether I die on a mission, or even just some sickness or such, I want to die knowing I at least meant something to someone, or die someone I can be semi-proud of. It's not like there's much I can ask for in life after all I've done, or even deserve much really. Sometimes I wonder if I should even be allowed to enjoy myself with this family, even if it'll potentially be my death. 

        Oh well, I guess it's a bridge I'll cross (or jump off) when the time comes.

        "I like Christmas. I like the pretty lights, the snow, and buying presents for people I care about." I spoke, deciding to go for a simple answer.

        It's not technically a lie or anything, so I'll go with it. 

        Yuri nodded, cutting wrapping paper for one of Anya's stuffed animals to wrap with. "Well, I think it's kinda endearing. You seem very excited when you were choosing the gifts, and I could tell that you were putting much thought into it."

        I blinked, surprised at his sudden adoring words.

        "Are you tryna get something outta me? Like a hint for your gift or a kiss?" I joked teasingly, choosing to ignore how my heartbeat sped up at his words. 

        "I don't got any ulterior motives. I was just pointing out an observation of mine." He huffed, his face turning red. 

        "Well, thanks." I chuckled. "I guess I just like Christmas so much since I didn't really experience much of it as a kid." 

        That's true, even when I still had my parents, Christmas wasn't much except a few toys and candy. Buying presents for five kids a lower-class town like Luwen, it was hard to find money to spoil my siblings and I with when we had to pay for necessities like food or water. 

        "Well, you can experience it more now." Yuri smiled. "Besides, Chihuahua Girl will probably appreciate the gifts, even if she is spoiled enough just being in Yor's presence." He huffed, envious of his niece's everyday life.

        "You're weird." I sighed, placing a blue bow on one of the white snowflake-wrapped gifts. "But I guess that's kinda my fault for agreeing to marry you." I chuckled, writing Anya's name onto the present. 

        "I'm not that bad." He huffed. "I think I'm a pretty good husband."

        "Whatever floats your boat." I teased, causing him to send a pouting glare at me. "I'm just messing with you, honey." I laughed. 

        "I know that." He lied defensively. 

        "Sure." I hummed. "Let's finish this up so that we can make some desserts for tomorrow. I don't want Loid and Yor to do all the cooking."

        He nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, I'm ready to get all this done and go to bed so we can see Yor." He smiled.

        "And Loid and Anya." I added.

        "Ugh..." He groaned, his face contorting into disgust. "Yeah... those two."

        We continued finishing up wrapping the gifts until we finally finished, heading to the kitchen and preparing sweets and appetizers together. When we finished, we put them in containers and aluminum foil, calling it a night. While Yuri slept, I carefully snuck out of bed and changed clothes, sneaking out of the apartment to go get gifts for Franky and the Handler. I got the Handler red camellias and dutch chocolates with a red envelope that has a thank you card and 100 dalc. I got Franky the same thing too, except I gave him an extra 100 dalc so he could have extra money for his inventions. 

        Speaking of Franky's inventions, I decided to go to Franky's place to give him his gifts (and get a favor out of him). After spending the whole day with Yuri and trying to figure out what to get him for Christmas, I finally came up with the perfect gift idea. I walked to Franky's apartment and knocked on his door, waiting a minute or two before he opened the door. 

        Franky looked surprisingly awake for it being two in the morning. 

        "Oh? I didn't expect you to be awake." I spoke, a bit surprised.

        "I'm working on some new inventions. Did you need something?" Franky questioned.

        "Actually, I have something for you..." I spoke, handing him yellow roses. 

        "Oh? Really? Thanks!" he smiled, accepting the bouquet. "What's the occasion?"

        "Merry Christmas." I cheered. "Did you forget or something?"

        His face paled as he turned his attention to the calendar on his wall. "It's Christmas Eve already?!" he exclaimed.

        "What?! You didn't know?!" I shouted back, surprised. "How long have you been cooped up here working your ass off?!"

        "I don't know?! Maybe the 14th? Or... or like the end of November?" He spoke, his brain looked to be scrambled.

        "Sheesh man, take a break from work." I suggested (more so demanded). 

        "Yeah... Good idea..." He sighed. "Uh, you wanna come in?"

        "Yeah, I got a favor to ask anyways." I accepted as Franky opened his door wider, allowing me to slip in.

        "Just don't mind the mess." He spoke, having no embarrassment.

        It's not the first time I've seen his place like this. I've known him since the war, and we rekindled when I joined WISE, so I've seen him in this pitiful state many times. A good inventor is always has a scrambled brain (or workspace). 

        "So, what's the favor? Do you need me to get intel or something?" he questioned, sitting down on his blueprint map-scattered couch.

        "I actually need help learning something." I spoke. "You know how to weld, right?" 

        "Of course I do. I've invented all sorts of powerful and useful machines and inventions." He smiled pridefully, glad to boast. 

        "Can you teach me how to weld? I wanna make something for my husband for Christmas, and I wanna do it myself so that it's more meaningful." I explained.

        "Huh... So Twilight was lying when he said you and Briar's marriage was fake?" Franky commented.         

        "Oh..." I paused, thinking.

        Well, shit. I kinda completely forgot about that.

        "Well... we got recently engaged, however it's best not to tell Twilight. You know how he is, 'don't form attachments' and yada yada." I spoke quickly.

        "Yeah, that's Twilight there." He spoke, before smirking pridefully. "Once again, you and Twilight come to me for help, pleading for my assistance."

        "Dude, don't start it." I sighed. "I don't got time for this. I gotta get this done in at least six hours, so I need you to help me get it done as quickly and as perfect as possible." 

        "Six hours?!" he spluttered. "How do you believe that I can teach you all about welding in six hours?!"

        "Don't teach me everything! Just what I need to know to get this done!" I retorted.        

        "Fine. Fine. Let's hurry up, I wanna get back to my inventions as fast as possible." He sighed. "Do you have an idea on what you're trying to make?"

        "I got the perfect thing." I nodded.

        Franky helped me create the perfect gift I had in mind. Surprisingly, it ended with not much cuts or burns, so I feel happy about that. I only needed three band-aids for my fingers! I gave Franky an extra 200 dalc for all the trouble. In total he's received 400 dalc from me for Christmas, so I don't ever want him to complain about helping me again. I also convinced Franky to give my gifts to the Handler since I wasn't going to WISE's HQ anytime soon (and I didn't want to be stuck giving an update on what's going on with the SSS. I want to enjoy the holidays, not think about work). 

        I made it back home to Yuri and I's apartment, deciding to ditch sleep since Yuri will be awaking soon; I don't want him to know I snuck out while he was sleeping and if I sleep now then I certainly won't wake up in time for the Christmas party. I changed back into my pajamas so that it looked like I never went anywhere, and I used some light makeup to hide the evidence of no sleep under my eyes. I decided to get started on breakfast since I wouldn't be sleeping, making apple pancakes, sausage, and coffee.

        Yuri came out of our room in his pajamas and bedhead, looking a bit tired but refreshed (compared to how I currently feel). 

        "Morning." He yawned.

        "Morning, hon." I smiled, placing breakfast on the table. "How'd you sleep?"

        "Slept good, though it felt a little cold last night..." He spoke. "Must be cause of the winter weather."

        "Yeah, I thought the same thing too." I agreed, ignoring the fact he was so in tune with my body heat that he subconsciously knew I was missing during his slumber.

        "What are you doing up so early? It's unlike you to be awake in the morning." Yuri questioned, taking his seat at the dinner table. 

        "I was so excited for the Christmas party, I couldn't sleep." I lied, taking my own seat at the table. 

        Yuri and I ate our breakfast, Yuri doing the dishes afterwards since I cooked. To pass the time, we did our own things such as reading and watching TV in the living room together, waiting until it was time to get ready and leave. 

        When it was time to leave, I changed out of my pajamas and grabbed a grey coat and red scarf to protect myself against the cold. Yuri and I grabbed the sweets and appetizers we made together yesterday; pfannkuchen, bethmännchen, and bratkartoffeln. 

        Yuri and I walked to the apartment, Yuri dragging Anya's wagon filled with all the gifts while I carried all the food, my gift for Yuri inside of my purse. We made it to the apartment and I watched Yuri struggle to find a good angle to pick up the wagon and carry it up the steps (no, I didn't help him, I wanted him to suffer a little since it was so hard trying to find the perfect Christmas gift for him). When we got to the Forger's front door, Yuri knocked for us, being greeted by Twilight and Yor. 

        "Yuri! (Y/N)! Welcome back! Always good to see you!" Yor greeted, a big smile on her face.

        "Hi-ya, sis!" Yuri cheered. 

        "Thank you for coming. Come in." Twilight spoke, opening the door further, causing Yuri to glare at him once he realized Twilight was present. 

        I placed the food down on the table as Yuri placed the wagon near the Christmas tree in the living room. Anya was sitting on the ground near the TV watching her spy cartoon while the Forger's dog laid next to her. 

        "Hi, buddy." I smiled, crouching down and slowly placing my hand near his nose so he could sniff me. "You're a good boy, huh?" I spoke, petting his head as he let out a 'borf!' "Hi, Anya." I greeted, sitting down on the couch as Yuri took a seat next to me.

        "Hi, Auntie." Anya spoke, keeping her eyes on the TV screen. 

        Yuri looked disinterested in the show while I stared at it every now and then. Yor joined us on the couch and talked with us as Twilight was in the kitchen cooking, jumping into the conversation easily whenever he pleased. After an hour, all the food was done and ready, allowing us to eat Christmas dinner together and converse with each other. Twilight and Yuri talked about business together (Yuri sending him his infamous glares) while Yor and I talked with Anya about her cartoons and how school was for her. 

        We finally got to presents and watched Anya open her gifts, each one she unwrapped having a big smile on her face and her voice getting to loud enough volumes to potentially disturb other residents.

        Yuri and I gave Twilight his gifts. He seemed appreciative of them, mentioning how he'd put them to good use. Twilight gave me a book and Yuri an expensive bottle of wine (to repay him for the expensive wine Yuri bought the first time we came over). 

        I gave Yor the set of earrings I picked out, a set of golden suns, and showed her the golden moons I bought and told her the symbolism of us matching and being sisters now. It was enough to make her cry and earn one of her death hugs. I'm almost 99% positive that she would've broken my rib if Twilight didn't calmly tell her to not squeeze so hard. Yuri also gave her the apple whistle candy along with some other gifts he bought her. In return, she gave me a fruity perfume and Yuri a comfortable sweater.

        Anya was happy about all of her toys and candies, excited and hyper about it all. It was like it was her first time celebrating Christmas. Even Bond was happy, showing his joy by jumping up and down with Anya and barking (borfing). Bond seems like a surprisingly emotionally intelligent dog, though I supposed that's probably expecting considering it's Twilight (and because Twilight got him from the Project Apple situation).

        We all stayed and talked more before it was time for Yuri and I to go home, considering how late it was getting. Yuri and I walked back home, getting to our apartment before I gave him his gift.

        "I got you something. I made it myself." I spoke, reaching into my purse and handing him a small wrapped up box. 

        Yuri opened it, revealing a small square card, made out of pure silver (just like our wedding rings) and a small poem on the card 

Your eyes shine like the twinkle of mars, How I wish to claim and explore every part of you as if you were a new constellation. Your lips are like warm pillows, How I wish to forever rest my own against yours. Your voice could never compare to the delicate silk of Asia, the waves of the Pacific, or the luminous of the Aurora Borealis. How you make me lose my voice to utter sweet delicacies in your ears, so let me express it to you in another way: I love you, Yuri Briar...                                                                                    - Love, (Y/N) Briar

        "I just found a stupid poem for you..." I muttered, suddenly feeling a little flustered for how stupid and cheesy the writing sounds now. 

        "You liar." He smirked, a noticeable fondness in his eyes. "Thank you. You said you made it yourself?"

        "Yeah." I nodded. "It took some time, but I made it from scratch. I welded the silver together and welded the words... Of course words from a poem in a book." I coughed the last part out. 

        "You don't gotta be shy~" He teased.

        "Whatever..." I chuckled. "But I figured I'd get you something you can always have with you. You can put it in your wallet or pocket or something."

        "Thank you. Really." Yuri smiled, grabbing his wallet and placing it inside gently. "You really beat me this year in presents." He chuckled. "I kept tryna think for a while what I should get you, you're surprisingly difficult to shop for even though you're so expressive."

        "I'm a little eccentric." I smirked.        

        "That's an understatement." He smiled. "But, here." 

        He walked to our room and I heard him rummaging through drawers, before walking out with a large heart-shaped chocolate box, candies I enjoy, some books he noticed I've been eyeing over the months, and some fake flowers. 

        "it's definitely not anything compared to what you got me." He spoke.

        "Nonsense." I smiled. "I love all of it. I really do." 

        "Yeah, I knew how much you liked sweets and books." He reasoned. "And I figured it must be a bit annoying replacing the flower bouquets whenever they die, so I decided to get some fake flowers, to make it easier to tend to, and to show permanency in our relationship since we're married."

        "How romantic~" I teased. "Thank you, Hon."                

        "Merry Christmas, darling." He smiled. 

        "Merry Christmas, love." I hummed, kissing his cheek.

        "You know, you didn't have to get me anything. You're the best gift for me, (Y/N)!" He spoke, a light blush dusting his face. 

        "Yuri please, never say such sappy words again." I sighed. 

        I apologize sincerely for the huge delay! I had a hard time trying to figure out what I want, and I got busy indulging myself in reading about German foods and such, and I had little time to write due to work so the only time I had to write was when I was supposed to be sleeping or relaxing, but I finally got this done! Better late than never!

        I honestly do feel a little silly writing that poem since it's my first time ever writing poetry/a love note, so I do hope it wasn't too bad or cringy!

         Want more Yuri content? Check out the Yuri Briar x reader masterlist!

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[solar-sunnyside-up]

So my neighborhood is SO COOL and I wanna share some of the awesome stuff that's been making some movement. This is mostly to highlight why taking an interest in your neighborhood is so rewarding.

#1 - park renos! The park in walking distance of my house has been under construction for a few months. They're doing a LOT of work. Primarily, they are building a skating Rink, fire pit, picnic area, basketball area, and extending the existing kid park. Before it was just 3 baseball fields and a small park. They also have added over 10 apple trees and over 15 native trees!! They also have a Cafe going into the apartment complex they are putting across the street (which is low income housing but every unit has a washer/dryer, and has a firepit/BBQ area for entertainment on the roof I wish I had photos of it but I'll put a video of an example where I used to live btw the person in the video is my old roomie I'm sorry K for not editing u out forgive mee)

#2 little Libraries

There are 3 little Libraries in walking distance of my place, one is opening tomorrow! The one tomorrow also has a little blockbuster and a food pantry attached to it, it's outside a community resource center.

#3 Resource center

Omg!! So the resource center does a lot. It has counciling, good food boxes where you pay 30$ for 15lbs of produce from local farms monthly, job hunting services including free computers and printers for applying to things, parenting groups, that kinda junk. But the key feature I saw for the first time today was the "Closet room" which I thought was exclusively clothes but nah it's basically a whole thrift store! It's got baby clothes, toys, unused toothbrushes, movies, books, interview clothes, pjs going up to xxxL, pots and pans, anything else you could think of. It made me realize why no one uses the thrift store up the hill from me. Why pay when this closet community feature is free??? They have vollunteers run it so it's take way you want, donate what you can and omg!

I could go on but that's just from today!

[iwasforcedtomakethisbytum]

I love that agere content got popular in the wttt fandom. I don't know how but it's amazing, so i made up some headcanons for the main six, i don't see them all regressing but i decided to force myself to have all the headcanons be about regressing

Florida i feel is at the youngest 7 he is a bit more giggly he is obsessed with water and will run off to swim in a nearby lake, that's one reason he doesn't tell people about his regression the other is so he can watch adult shows and stuff without others trying to stop him (i feel California would try if he knew) he does have chew toys and non chew toys (like that'll stop the chomp) but he doesn't specifically use them in or out of regression

Gov is pretty quiet when regressing, he obviously doesn't wear a suit because why would he? I don't know how old he'd be but I'm feeling anything below like 8 would work he has a chew toy and a pacifier that he barely uses unless he was really young, he has a good few plushies he's collected over the years that when he's regressed he usually just stares at, he might move them a bit but he really just imagines them doing cool stuff, i feel the states tried getting him to physically play with them but have stopped because he is genuinely having fun and gov also hit them because they took his toys

Louisiana is somewhere in the teenager range, so he can hide his regression pretty well, if he even knows he's doing it, i feel he sneaks out just to walk around the place looking for fun even though he doesn't have to sneak out nobody would question if he left without telling anyone, he does not have toys for his regression specifically, i feel he would wear more clothes he would wear around when he was a teen, he'd also have a shorter temper imo

New York i could see around 4-8 he doesn't dress too differently he already wears pretty comfy clothes it looks like, i feel he has a couple plushies, and a pacifier he'll use i don't feel he regresses a lot and he doesn't really care for toys as an adult so he doesn't have many. I've seen a headcanon say he likes to color not related to regression but now I'm making it related, he has a good few colouring and activity books he enjoys both regressed or not, depending on his age he'll watch some nice kids shows in bed maybe with his toys, he probably hits them against each other

California is around 5-10 when he regresses, no matter his age he usually likes having his pacifier, occasionally he'll take a chew toy especially if he were to go out in public and try to hide his regression, we all see him if anyone to have a good amount of plushies, and he pretty much only watches kids shows when regressed, i see him more into cuddling plushies than playing with them. He can have a bit less self control and he'll be a little selfish during his regression, nothing insane tho. Sometimes i feel he could get really upset before or during his regression and have to be calmed down by another state

Texas is one of the younger regressors, i feel around 2-3 he usually isn't trying to regress so obviously he's usually a little upset when it does happen, he is nearly unable to talk and does have communication cards because of it, he has made himself a couple of plushies because he'd rather die than buy himself a plushie at a store like so embarrassing! He has a pacifier he hates the pacifier, he sometimes uses a chew toy but he doesn't often he doesn't even own it because of his regression it's because he uses it to not grind his teeth in his sleep. He hides under furniture a good lot, or just in compact areas. He gets really upset if you touch anything of his, you are not guaranteed safety if you do, if he wants you to touch his stuff, he'll basically force you to take it.

Stay tuned and maybe I'll do all of them as caregivers, no promises on that though

[musette22]

Hello Minnie! I need more domestic evanstan headcanons. Do you have any ideas you want to share?

Hello darling! Aaaahhh I know the feeling!! I ALWAYS need more domestic Evanstan headcanons too 💞

My brain is absolutely fried tonight, so I can't do this ask justice the way I would like to, but one thing that's been on my mind a lot lately is Chris and Sebastian vintage and antiques shopping together. Just the two of them getting in the car on a sunny Saturday and heading to a nearby town that has an awesome flea market and vintage clothing and antiques shops.

There's this aweome thrift store where Sebastian tries on these great vintage designer jackets and sunglasses and jewellry - which all look incredible on him, of course - while Chris is happy to just be there solely to admire Seb and tell him how beautiful and sexy he looks 💕 Sebastian leaves with a hefty tote bag on hos arm and Chris's arm tightly wrapped around his waist.

After that, they head over to a shop with all these cool, quirky art works and vases and maritime clocks that Chris really likes, and he picks out a few great pieces for the table in the hallway and that empty wall in the study - Sebastian doesn't particularly think their place needs more adornment, he's a little more sober when it comes to interior decoration, but he sees how excited it makes Chris and so he tells him he loves Chris's finds and then kisses him on the cheek, just because ❤️

And then, they find a little shop with second hand books, and they spend a good hour there, just browsing and reading, before leaving with a heavy canvas bag filled with paperbacks that they'll read while leaning against each other on the couch in the evenings 💫 Before heading back, they stop at a pet shop to pick up some toys and treats for Dodger, and they grab some takeaway from their favorite food place on the way home, and basically, that's a perfect way to spend a day off together, as far as they're concerned 💕

[gothicprep]

i'm currently reading a book called "you are what you watch" by walt hickey. the chapter i'm on right now is called "commerce and culture and commence", and what hickey is describing in this chapter is something similar to a flywheel – the idea of a book or movie or tv show leading to people buying merchandise, which in turn leads to them going to amusement parks. he's zeroing in on a very specific part of pop history that i had completely forgotten about, the warner brothers' studio store. it's discussed as the missing link between the entire history of pop culture before the 90s and everything that's followed since then.

hickey explains that, before the wb store was innovated, pop culture merch was for children. tv shows about batman, for example, didn't lead to adults wearing shirts about batman. it was all targets to kids. disney locked in on this idea of connecting merchandise to films very, very early. the empire strikes back was the one that really capitalized on this in particular, but star wars in general realized again that you can sell toys to children based on the thing they'd seen. but the thing that warner bros studio store did is that they tapped into the aging boomer audience that had money and were nostalgic. bear in mind, this is 1991, so boomers at the time would have been in their 30s and 40s.

after batman came out in 1989, it was the biggest movie of the year, so wb produced a little bit of adult merch for it, and it sold out almost immediately. then they quickly realized that there was a big demand for batman pins and memorabilia from those boomers. this wasn't just nerds in fandom spaces, these were genuinely mainstream individuals. again, this was the biggest movie of the year.

if you look at the warner brother's library, it's not the cuddly mickey mouse stuff. it's the snarky looney tunes stuff. so wb thinks to themselves, "hey, we're in the 90s. this could work." hearing the people interviewed in the book talk about the development of the store is so interesting because they immediately realized where their strengths were – ignore kids entirely, try to poach people from department stores and design studios instead, and make the kinds of things that people will want to actually buy, except it has daffy duck on it.

what really jumped out to me was that the pop culture artifacts became representations of identity, and wb basically discovered this accidentally. there's a moment in the book about the specific looney tunes characters being targeted to specific groups of people. the consumers didn't want all the looney tunes on their shirt, they wanted one specific character. they had no idea this identity component even existed until they started selling stuff.

the architect of this was a woman named linda postell, who's interviewed in the book. she mentions that, early on in development, all the men who would buy foghorn leghorn stuff would all basically look the same. if they bought harley davidson, they were a taz guy. etc.

there are a lot of looney tunes characters, and wb mined their archives to appeal to more people. before the store concept, marvin the martin was only in about 20 minutes of the cartoon in the aggregate. they slap him on merch, and suddenly, the IT guy has him on his mug because he's persnickety. within a few years, marvin is refereeing space jam. the people who pulled this off were fucking geniuses. you're not only evoking memories of someone's childhood, you're doing it in a way that articulates something about that person in the process.

i'm a millennial, and my generation sorted itself into one of four hogwarts houses. we had that burst of post-apocalyptic fiction that required people to sort themselves into one of five classes. there was star wars and their weird "are you the light side, or the dark side?" campaign. this strategy has been employed by people in the entertainment industry where content design is all a downstream of this.

this next bit isn't in the book at all. it's just my hot take. but i feel like this has been actively destructive to the world of culture criticism, consumption, and enjoyment in very real and specific ways. in what we see in so many of the arguments over things like star wars, there's this thing that's like "star wars is my identity, so i have to defend what i believe to be the correct version of star wars". or, "marvel is my identity, and i can't stand dc people". or vice versa, "dc is my identity. i love zack snyder movies. these marvel movies are trash. put them on the curb". the adaptation of culture around this tribal behavior, imo, has made it very difficult to actually make culture that's resonant while also not allowing itself to give in to that competitive nature.

if you were to consider the release pattern and the mentality around the snyder cut, it becomes difficult to disentangle it from this. there was an underdog perception around it, despite the fact that these are fans of one of the two biggest comic book universes in the world. "i have been wronged. i have ought to be compensated for this in the form of a film made to my specifications."

there are elements of it that, ugh, good isn't the word... i guess allowed us to understand a deeper reason why some things resonate with us and others don't. with sitcoms and relating to a specific character, rather than the entire ensemble cast, is sometimes how people get clued in on a specific show. that was the case with friends and cheers. having on-ramps into pop culture for different people isn't the worst thing in the world. and understanding that people do take this seriously enough that they can articulate an element of their identity through it is not bad.

that being said, these are publicly traded corporations that have a fiduciary obligation to shareholders to maximize value. as a result, sometimes we're gonna get things that play off this instinct in a way that are unhealthy for pop culture and culture as a whole.

so, impressive as the development process was was, they were cracking something open there in the desert that cannot be put back.

[sunsetsandsunshine]

If me and my mutual’s were the Spider-gang…

❤️EMERY AS MILES MORALES🖤 @sunsetsandsunshine

Y’ALL ALREADY KNOOOOWWWW 💘💞💖💕💗💓

Artist of the group

My Dad is a police officer AND detective sooooooo…

He has done the “You gotta say I love you back” thing to me multiple times…

Fucking loves having friends and talking to people

COMIC BOOKS ARE LIFE‼️ COMIC BOOKS ARE LOVE‼️

Keeping the collectibles I N S I D E of the box!!! IT STAYS NICE AND FRESH THAT WAY— LIKE PRODUCE YK???!!!

Tries to be quote on quote “cooler” in front of others…

Newsflash? It never works

💝 Family lover all the way 💝

Music is LIFE 🎶🎤🎵🎼…idfk what we’d do without it…

A collector of many random things— rocks, toys, bracelets you NAME it

Hyperactive as HELL

Has a hard time accepting loss

“NAH” “🫠” “UHM…” “AAAAAAAAHHHHH”

A sketchbook for literally every season

When it comes to friendships, I will try everything in my power to maintain it and try to keep it going but once I’m done? I’m done 🫶🏾

A singer 😩🤚🏾

Physical affection 🫣💕💓

Apologies WAAAAAAY too fucking much

H A P P Y. S T I M S.

Suppressed anger issues

Knows way too many people both online and irl

Becomes a whole different person when angry 🥸👍🏾

Beatboxes and raps horribly

Basically Miles is me and I’m Miles ❤️🖤

🤍JOJO AS GWEN STACY🩵 @shut-up-jo

Cool af legit why the hell are you friends with me man—

Musician of the group 🪗🎷🎻🎺🎹🥁🎸

Shows up to your house without warning like you owe her money

In a band (most def)

Says the most DIABOLICAL and out of pocket shit known to MAN

🔥 Would burn down the kitchen if she ever cooked 🔥

Listens to Billy Joel 😌

POPULAR AF

Short af too 🤪🫶🏼

BAD PICK-UP LINES…

Would be cancelled if any of her texts got leaked

“DIE” “KYS” “CHOKE” “STFU”

Had the WORST 2020 phase (I’m sorry ilysm please don’t kill me 🙏🏼)

AOT lover (as you fucking should )

Honesty is the best policy 💋

Changes her voice depending on who she’s talking to

Has the most fucking unhinged and cursed FYP page

Doesn’t matter what social media app…it’s just straight up CURSED

Gives the best advice like oml

Could host a TED-talk but would there’s a 99.9% she would get cancelled

Needs to take a flipping BREAK 💕

Could make a TV show with her life (with like a million specials and crossovers)

Licks the powder off the Doritos and/or Taki’s and puts them back in the bag 😶…

Has burned Barbie’s before

Unironically sings 'Dance Monkey' just because

Your so so silly I love you so much 🤍🩵

💛SANA AS PAVITIR🩷 @itzsana-kiddingmenow

If sunshine were a person 🌞

Has a really toxic fanbase…

✨Anxiety✨

The best cook out of all 4 of us probably

“🥺” “GRRRRRRR” “🙈” “NAUUUR”

Calls people adorable, cute etc but can’t handle when people say that to her 🥹💓

Your adorable btw ☺️

When she’s mad she doesn’t cuss that much but most def just says big words

#TOXICFRIENDSGANG

Takes selfies like every single second 📱

Has Snapchat probably

Has listened to JoJo Siwa’s Karma WAAAAY too many times…

Would fold like a lawn chair if poked in the side 💕

FANGIRL

✨ Bilingual queen ✨

Sobbed for DAYS when MatPat dropped his departure video…

Is way too fucking smart 😉

Has the Ultimate Alpha Sigma Gyatt Rizz but doesn’t know it quite yet 👁️🫦👁️

A tea lover ☕️🍵

Would go to antique stores with people to just look at things and then end up buying the whole ass store

Does cartwheels for funsies

Overthinker ☹️

Could solo Bakugou and win

Is going to be a menace one she learns how to drive

Needs more sleep frfr

My lil sugar cream puff over here you guys 💛🩷

💙ZEEZIE AS HOBIE BROWN❤️ @ziipzeepzop-eez

101% effort in E V E R Y T H I N G

Side-eyes 🤨

Has more rizz than the whole Earth population combined

“FW” “THAT’S RACIST” “TWWINNNN” “YUUURR”

EMOJIS EMOJIS EMOJIS EMOJIS EMOJIS EMOJIS

Did I say emojis?

Comes up with the most cutest freaking nicknames for people 🥹💕🩷☹️💓✨

TAKE A BREAK 😡😡😡

Can most definitely win a dance battle against anyone but acts like she can’t

Dad jokes 🫶🏽

Uses finger guns unironically (through text and in person) 👉🏽👉🏽

Could make a diss-track about so many people 🫢…

Would have a million cats if she could

Probably had a Gacha Life phase

Would go to a movie theater just to watch cat videos on the big screen

Popular af 💕

Friends with legit everyone 🙏🏽

Would actually murder a man if they hurt one of her friends

Has watched Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas soooooo many damn times

Guillmero Del Toro’s Pinocchio made her ugly cry (Same here 🫠)

Could solo everyone here on Tumblr easily 👁️👄👁️

Hates Twitter/X but only has it for the ✨drama✨

FAIRY LIIIGHTS

Is most def someone’s opp ☺️

Can multi-task like crazy

So cool and dazzling and aahhhfhfhds 💙❤️

(If any of this makes any of you guys uncomfy just DM me and I can erase it 🫶🏾)