#i looked it up and a 3-day stay for our family costs more than i earn in 6 MONTHS. this is literally insane wtf

[yohankang]

good morning besties i feel like i'm in a movie

[wutheringcaterpillar]

A Bump In The Night: Part 3

Find part 2 here Summary: Tommy confronts Pol, and comforts you, meanwhile James and Lizzie pay a visit expecting to settle a date.

Warnings: Smut, fingering, p in v, spanking

taglist: @calmingmelody96 @sunflower-tia

Tommy bursted through the door, grabbing everyone’s attention from the living room lounging areas. Finn knew that look, the “Get out or I will force you out look”. The only Shelby that refused to move was Pol, along with the elephant in the room. Smirking she didn’t say a word from her position in the armchair, gracefully sipping the burning cup of tea.

Removing his jacket, he hung the fabric cloth away onto the coat rack, reaching for a cigarette before addressing you.

“Go to your room. Now.” When you tried to respond Tommy held his hand out, silencing any further words you may want to add. Shrugging and crossing your arms tightly around your torso, with hurried footsteps you scurried into your room, slamming the door shut, the walls shaking from the anger behind your strength.

Rolling his eyes, Tommy knew he’d deal with you later, and began to approach his aunt with vindication, and power with every step against the hardwood floor.

“I thought we came to an agreement Pol.” Taking a seat, he crossed one leg over the other, pouring himself a glass of whiskey from the end table.

“I don’t recall, what you’re speaking of my dear, ever infuriating nephew. Go ahead kill Mr. Gold, it’s what you do best after all isn’t it? I pity you Thomas. I knew your mind was fucked, hell all of ours are, but  your sister? I knew you were close but that’d be a line I thought you’d have the common sense not to cross.” Scoffing, he let the burning sensation liqour wash down his throat, twiddling the glass with his hand, thinking wisely before responding.

“Hm.”  Eyebrows creasing together, his lips curled into a soft smile, a smile that spoke with a threat.

“Pol. I’ve always put this family first, the business first have I not?” She nodded subtly, still holding her stance on the opinion of profound disapproval for the relationship, trying to ignore every day the knots curdling in her gut just at the thought of you two together.

“She’s young, and I refuse to be her heartbreak, as should you. She was crying today y’know? The thought of you marrying her off, to Lizzie’s cousin, sending her away from me. She’s comfortable here, and she will lose all sense of trust if you push her out of this house. I won’t allow it. So allow this to sit next to you as a reminder. I know where your son is, I know he’s got some whore knocked up right now. It would be a shame if something were to, I don’t know, happen to them, all at the cost of your disapproval of Y/N and I. So listen, and listen closely.” Pol sat there, her heart sinking like a ship down into the depths of her stomach while a lump formed in her throat from disbelief. Her worried eyes fixated on Tommy. 

“You will not marry her off. She will stay here, in the place that has been her home. You will keep denying of any knowledge that we are anything more than brother and sister. Forget the cut, I have more information than what I need, and you of all people should know, when I have a plan, chaos ensues, wars break loose and I can assure you-“

He stood up from his seat, staring down at your anxious aunt, lips pressed in a firm, cold hard line not stuttering a single word with his menacing tone.

“You do not want to go to war with me. Call off the wedding, or you leave my hands tied with no choice. Your call.” Pol watched as he walked off to the stairs, presumably to your room.

~

Opening the door, he found you face down into the plush pillow, his shirt tucked between your delicate soft hands. He knew this act well, and known it to be the silent treatment that you’d only give him when you’re terribly upset.

“Darling. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I’ve got it under control and taken care of. You know I’ll always look after you.” There were those soft, wide teary eyes when you tilted your head up. Tommy pursed his lips in pity, always hating see his baby girl saddened, the delicate thing you were. His hand pressed against your teary cheek, caressing your soft skin while he placed a kiss to your temple.

“C’mere.” He pulled you onto his lap, cradling, and holding your shaking body closely to his heart as he felt your nose nuzzle into the crook of his warm neck.

You truly were terrified Pol would send you away, marrying you off to anyone who held the highest bid, like you were just some pawn in a game you weren’t wise enough yet to play.

After a moment of silence and Tommy rubbing your back attempting to soothe you, when he felt your breathing pattern relax and no longer heard sniffles, he presumed it time to discuss what happened at school.

“So, who’s this new friend of yours eh? With me taking care of Pol, I don’t see a need for you to be cordial with him anymore.” Furrowing your eyebrows, struck by his jealousy, you pushed yourself off of his lap, standing directly in front of him with your arms crossed, a discerning scowl painting your face.

“I don’t think that’s very fair, considering you know how I feel about Lizzie, yet you disregard me every time. She likes you, just how James likes me. Maybe a little jealousy, would do you good to realize your not the only man that wishes to be between my legs.” 

“Ah but there’s the difference love. I am the only man that has been between your legs, and if I recall correctly…” Trailing off, his digits ran between your heated thighs, feeling the warmth of your pussy still yearning for another fuck from him. He knew he was quite right when you released a lustful, surprised sigh, eyes nearly fluttering shut.

“You wouldn’t want it any other way.” Tommy focused his calm ocean on yours, noticing you weren’t telling him to stop as he massaged your mound. 

Pulling your panties aside, you hadn’t stopped him from inserting one of his digits deep into your already soaked core, receiving a hum of approval from your brother.

“That’s what I thought, my desperate girl.” Your chest was falling and rising , eyebrows furrowing together trying to hold back from the building pleasure, trying to make that tiny heartbeat in your pussy diminish not wanting to give him any gratification.

His plush lips connected to your neck, marking his territory as he kissed your honey suckle, smooth skin while his fingers continue to work you open.

Giving into him, you fell back onto the mattress, Tommy towering over you, clutching your breast through the tight shirt, having the ability to see your nipples already hardening, wanting to burst from the thin fabric.

His fingers sped up, your nectar merely swimming down your slippery slope as you grinded down against him in an attempt for more friction.

“More- p-please Tommy…” Pulling his fingers out, you whined from the sudden emptiness, ready to throw a fit once more until he pulled you over his lap.

“You know the rules yet you disobeyed them.” Frowning, he pushed you skirt up, displaying yourself over his thick thighs, feeling the cold leather of the buckle of his belt against your side, causing goosebumps to form on your skin.

Perching your ass up, you were biting your lip nervously, embracing for impact.

Shifting slightly, you winced when in reality Tommy was just rolling up his sleeves.

Caressing the delicate skin of your bum, he swiped his hand back before sending it full throttle clashing onto your smooth, unharmed skin.

“Ow!” You screeched out, but the more you squirm, the sharper Tommy hit, more forceful.

Slap after slap he watched your ass bounce, your skin darking to a bruised shade.

“Are you going to talk to boys anymore?”

“No! No! I promise Tommy!” Another smack, your ass cheeks stinging and writhing in pain. Your hands gripped at the sheets while you were on the brink of tears, cheeks heating from the agony.

“Did you learn your lesson?” He took amusement from seeing your desperation for the punishment to be over. 

“Yes! Yes! I swear!” Pushing you off onto your stomach, he removed his pants, sliding those soaked panties to the side, revealing your glistening cherry, dripping like water and eager to be filled.

In a swift motion he was still careful, knowing it’d only been your second time, thrusting slowly inside of your tight walls.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you released a lustful moan from feeling so full. The pain was still present as you adjusted to the large shape of his cock, but the mint scent of his breath by your ear, and the warmth of his skin against your back comforted you, subduing the uncomfortable feeling.

“Taking me cock so well love, so fucking tight you are.” Nibbling on your ear, he pumped slowly in and out of your cavern, allowing your sex to suffocate his shaft. Moaning you moved your bum back, demanding more friction, more movement.

“Eager now, are we?” 

“Fuck me Tommy please, I need you.” The sound of your desperate, delicate voice was enough for him. Quickening his pace, he drilled into your dripping cunt with a such force your ass bounced up and down against his skin, grinding and pushing him further in until he was balls deep inside of your dripping cunt.

His lips connected to the crook of your neck as you moaned sweet despairs into the pillow, an engimatic fire lighting between your thighs while he fucked into you relentlessly.

His hands roamed down your sides, sucking and leaving his marks on your shoulder blades.

All of him was yours, and all of you was his. Skin to skin, each ping of pleasure forming clouds in your heads, thighs becoming weak as he gripped your sides, his cock swiftly pounding up into your cervix. 

“Tommy I-I’m going to-“

“Since you took your punishment so well, I suppose you can cum. Release love.” Without needing any further instruction, you rode his cock with such ferocity and precision, until your walls clenched tight around his thick member, your silver syrup oozing out as your toes curled, your body trembling around your brother. 

At that moment there was a knock on the door startling you both, it was Pol standing in the door way huffing and puffing when her eyes fell on your nude bodies intwined in bed.

“Oh for godsake! I don’t mean to interrupt your rendezvous but James and Lizzie are downstairs. Get yourselves together, they’re requesting to speak to you both.” Slamming the door behind her, Tommy rolled his eyes, holding you close to his heart when he sensed your discomfort of going downstairs. You hated to upset others, and held a strong dislike of confrontation. You knew it’d look odd if you were to stay upstairs, and Tommy would always protect you and keep you away from the line of fire.

Peppering sweet kisses to your cheek, and tickling your sides. He reassured you once again that he had things under control, not to fret.

Coming down the stairs, Lizzie scoffed at the sight of your messy bed head, to which you replied with a hateful sneer. To avoid tensions, Tommy settled his hand on your arm protectively, giving a stare of dominance, demanding obedience or else.

Walking in with a cup of tea, and Pol by his side, James walked in with a kind hearted smile that soon turned upside down once he realized the change of heart by the subtle apologetic look on your face.

“To what do we owe the displeasure? Surely you’ve heard I’ve already found her a more suitable candidate, you understand, eh?” Tommy held his strong position, his determined blue eyes speaking with power and position, ensuring that they were comprehending there was no further room for discussion. 

Lizzie stood there baffled, wanting to prod at who it was. She’s had her suspicions for quite some time. Pol wanted to slap that stupid grin off her nephew’s face, knowing the game he was playing at. James stepped further in the room, disregarding Tommy, and settling in the love seat, folding one leg over another. If Lizzie wasn’t going to ask, he was.

“What is your problem with me Mr. Shelby? I’ve posed no threat to Y/N, I’ve been a kind friend to her. Tell me, did you really find another man, who are you saving her for someone else?” The skepticism in his voice, and the confidence in questioning him made Tommy smirk.

“I don’t like you. I don’t trust you, nor are you good enough for her. As her brother it’s my job to ensure her safety, and approve of who’s to marry her. Why would I trust her with someone who’s bought whores off the street, assaulting them when you believe no one has an eye on you, eh?” 

“Brother or lover?” The room went silent, everyone astounded by the accusation, focusing their eyes on Tommy, waiting for an answer.

Chuckling, he took a seat across from the boy while pouring a glass of whiskey from the sidetable.

The tensions were high, a lump held in your throat from being nervous, all of Birmingham knew what Tommy was capable of. James tried to act as if he wasn’t frightened and intimidated of the middle Shelby, merely locking his jaw to hide the slim quivering of his bottom lip while Pol and Lizzie held their standing positions.

“Quite offending accusations, no? For someone who knows little to nothing about us Shelby’s. I find you intriguing James, you’ve lost the game but still willing to play, why is that?” Tommy spoke with authority and grit, unphased by the boy sitting in front of him. James knowing how introverted, and shy you were took the opportunity, glancing toward you grinning as if he had an upper hand, before he had the chance to take a jab at you, Tommy leaned forward, pointing his finger at James.

“My eyes are over here. She’s not involved in this little conversation. She’s a big girl, can make her own choices and she chose for me to tell you to fuck right off, or I will not hesitate to call my men, and ensure you never return. Don’t believe me? Then tell me how I know so much about you when you’ve only just met my sister today.” Before Lizzie could argue for her nephew, Tommy raised his hand silencing her, reminding her the men were talking and her interjection wasn’t needed.

James was rendered speechless, Pol fuming nearly breaking her glass in her hand when the boy got up without a word, bidding you goodbye and leaving, forcing Lizzie to come with him.

As soon as the door shut you rushed over to Tommy crying joyfully and squeezing his sides.

Pol thought back to Michael, holding her tongue at the risk of his life in Tommy’s hands. She hadn’t even known where Michael was. Shooting daggers at you both, she exited the room calling for Arthur for a family meeting.

[snickerdoodlles]

📒📓📔📕???? Pretty please :3

❤❤!

sometimes @majestictortoise and i toss around story ideas that are less plot and more of us just chucking our favorite things in the communal soup pot and letting them stew. case in point:

Kim and Porsche meet first AU! 🥳

Porsche rescues Kim from mafia thugs

why does Kim need rescuing? unimportant! what matters is Porsche sees a nong in need and rushes to his rescue. Kinn-shaped people get charged 50k baht for his assistance, Kim-shaped people get help whether they like it or not. and afterwards Kim, who's father taught him that everything has a cost and how to keep a mental ledger of favors and debts, tries to pay Porsche off for the help.

Porsche, who's 'tips' have always been for sex work, sees the wad of cash and goes "you want a post-fight fuck????"

Kim, an awkward turtle-duck, bolts away like ???nO????!!!!!!

Kim hires Porsche as a bodyguard

how did we get from "hire me for sex?" to "hire me for protection?" unimportant! what matters is Kim secures Porsche for himself and Porsche thinks "how hard can guarding one moderately popular youtube star be?" and the raccoon shenanigans that ensue. and, of course, Kim finding the connection between their families and investigating his own hire. then 2 days later, because Kim doesn't have a crush to draw out the investigation and Porsche couldn't do subterfuge to save his life, Kim confronts Porsche with his evidence and Porsche goes "what the FUCK do you mean our families are CONNECTED?!" and these two going full gremlin investigator mode together.

Porsche brings Kim home

when exactly does this happen? unimportant! what matters is Porsche and Kim smuggle themselves into the neighborhood late at night, which results in Chay looking up from playing a videogame or doing homework or whatever to see his brother standing there with ✨Wik✨ in his own living room and his first response is "why'd you bring me my favorite musician" because clearly that is the only reason why his beloved older brother, who keeps trying to give him the moon and stars even though he didn't ask for them, would bring home Wik. also;

Chay: *thinks about his idol wall one floor above* Kim: *stares at cute boy* Porsche: i see i'm not needed here

Chay learns Porsche is mafia

how exactly does this come up? unimportant! what matters is:

"he's mafia" "i don't care that Kim's mafia, why are YOU mafia hia!!!!" "...i'll just uh... be over..... there......." Kim says to no one before awkwardly shuffling himself off to a corner.

naturally, this is when Kinn decides to show up

why does he choose now to stop by? because older brother instincts drive you to always be the most annoying person in the room, next. Kim hired a guard out of nowhere without telling Kinn or Papa and the guy's stayed on for longer than 24 hours, Kinn is suspicious as shit and worried as hell. he's been keeping it under wraps, but Kim and Porsche trying to fly under the radar right now gives him a good opportunity to investigate. and lo and behold, Kim appears to have made two new friends, one of whom keeps making him blush and the other who's the prettiest man Kinn's ever seen. Kinn is absolutely not just leaving Kim, he wants to know everything 👀

Kinn, Porsche, Kim, and Chay get snatched ala ep5

why are they kidnapped? unimportant! we do not question kidnapping plots in this household. Kinn, Porsche, Kim, and Chay all escape into the jungle but get separated. Kinn and Porsche have a journey not unlike ep6, except with more yelling, more bickering, and more trolling. Porsche's view of Kinn is colored by Kim not the guards here and then his main introduction is in the jungle not the compound, so he's charmed pretty quickly and judging himself for it every time Kinn falls back on his asshole training. Kinn's main introduction to Porsche is a caring guy who's also a troll and won't hesitate to punch him in the dick when he's being a jerk so...not too much changed there, actually. they are still handcuffed together.

Kim and Chay are having a nice time. bonding over music, trading stories about brothers, asking questions so that they can unravel Korn's 15 year long conspiracy--it's basically a scenic date. they are not handcuffed together because Kim carries three lockpick sets minimum at all times and was out of the handcuffs before they were even out of the truck. Kim and Chay are just holding hands, because Chay asked Kim to hold his hand, and Kim grabbed it saying it's the best way to ensure they aren't separated, and Chay responded "that's nice, but i asked because i want to hold your hand," and Kim blushed bright red. nerds.

the four of them reunite...eventually, idk when, but the first thing Chay does when he sees Porsche across the ravine is holler "DID YOU REALLY THINK KIM WAS PAYING YOU FOR SEX HIA" and Kinn's head snaps around so fast Kim and Porsche get secondhand whiplash.

Korn dies

how does this happen? unimportant! but he's dead before the fic ends.

[[ fics im not writing ]]

[meiissblog]

Another life part 3 🤍 Gojo x Fem reader (isekai fic)

THIS STORY IDEA WAS TAKEN FROM @stsg-losers thank you for this amazing idea! 😊💕

⚠️MAJOR SPOILERS for Jujutsu kaisen ⚠️

(If you’re not caught up with the JJK manga avoid this story at all costs).

Please read all the parts of this story first you can find all the chapters Here.

~ Another life 🤍 ~

⚠️WARNINGS ⚠️

angst, some sexual talk but a lot of fluffy love. 😭

———————————————————————

Y/N POV:

Me, Gojo, and Miyoko sit at our dining table as me and gojo eat our late dinner.

As Miyoko gushes about the day she had with her grandma. “- And then Grandma showed me her greenhouse and her plants, it was amazing!”. “Your grandmother does have a talent for growing beautiful flowers, I’m so happy you had a good day with your grandma”. I pat Miyoko’s head. when the kids finally arrive back from their concert.

Piling in from the back entranceway.

“Hey, kids have fun?”. “Yeah, Mom it was great!”. Tsumiki smiles.

All the usual people came in yuji, nobara, geto’s girls, and Surprisingly maki, Mai, todo, and Yuta also pile in. “Oh maki,Mai, todo, and yuta it’s been awhile”. “Hey! Mrs. Satoru!”. They all answer back in unison. “Are you all spending the night?”. Kenshi answers “We would like that if it’s okay with you mom, Dad”. I look over at Gojo and he shugs giving me the go-ahead.

“Alright, it’s okay since it’s the weekend, but all of you know the rules everyone stays out in the living room together, no staying in separate rooms”.

A bunch of “alright, Mrs. Satoru’s”. echo from the crowd of kids. All of the teens grab different varieties of snacks before they head out into the living room.

“I’m sorry you two but I have some business to take care of in my office, toru if you can please take Miyoko to bed for me”.

“No problem y/n”.

I get up and go to my office, the guilt already overcoming me as I sit in my chair. I pick up the papers Mike forced into my face earlier today.

•flashback•

“What you don’t know your man is whoring around on you behind your back”.

Mike holds up a paper shoving it in my face I hesitantly take it from him.

They’re messages from Gojo’s email to another person.

“Baby, I miss you when are you going to get some time to yourself”.

“The wife has me busy nowadays baby, it’s annoying I want nothing more than to see you”.

The messages go down the entire page. Gojo talking about leaving me and the kids and taking half of my family's money so he can disappear with this person, whoever they are. My heart aches the dates were months before the accident.

“You’re lying you-“.

“A PI found this information not me, listen

y/n I know you think all I want is for you to sell the company.

but the truth is I want YOU, I’d never cheat on you”.

•flashback over•

I set the papers down letting out a sad sigh, as I open my desk door pulling out Gojo’s laptop recovered from his car after the accident.

I know I’m wrong for snooping through Gojo’s personal laptop…, but to check the legitimacy of these emails, I have to see for myself if they’re fake or not.

My body starts to slightly shake out of anxiety, as I open the laptop and turn it on.

I feel so guilty… I’m sorry gojo, The computer turns on I try to log in on his account trying a few different passwords. I eventually got in,

Miyoko 8907? I’m surprised he made it so simple.

His Home Screen pops up and his background is a picture of me and him from when we first dated. I smile a bit, I Browse through all his documents and pictures nothing out of the ordinary.

I open his trash bin and it was Empty, I then open the web browser and went into his email. I check to see if Gojo’s email matched the email on the paper and it did.

I pull up the mailbox and check through the new emails, but nothing. If Gojo was cheating wouldn’t his lover email him by now? I mean he hasn’t had his laptop or phone in over 2 months.

He was in a coma for a while, and then only woke up for a week before he lost his memories. Unless he was just smart enough to delete everything?

Shit.. let me check his other social media, if he did cheat there has to be some kind of record of it.

I checked through everything and nothing seemed strange.

What the hell..? did Mike think he could make something like this up?! I lean back in my chair frustrated.

There is still a possibility Gojo did cheat, he was just smart enough to hide it. I’ll give this one more month, to see if Gojo might get his memories back or if they’ll message Gojo.

if not, I’ll be honest with Gojo and show him what Mike showed me.

————————————————————————

- one week later -

“Mommy!”. I stand at the kitchen stove stirring the soup for dinner. “Yes, darling what is it?”. “When can Ichigo and Yoruichi come out of the room? I mean they went to the vet and they’re fine so can they come out now”.

“Well, we’ve been giving Kyo some space, for now, two new Kitties in his home is a lot for him to take in”. Miyoko Looks up at me sad. “But this is there house two”. “Yes, it is! But this was Kyo’s home first. he just needs to take some time to adjust to the new change he is still going up to the door and growling, so I think it’s going to take a bit more time. I promise by Monday they’ll come out”.

“Can I go and see them now please”.

“Umm-“. “I’ll take her y/n don’t worry about it just keep making dinner”. Gojo holds out his hand to Miyoko, she happily takes it waking with her to the guest room.

Gojo POV:

We both enter the guest room. “Kitties!”. Miyoko States in complete joy, running up to the bed where Ichigo and Yoruichi are lying together. She carefully jumps up and crawls over towards them petting Yoruichi’s head. “I’m surprised you didn’t name the black cat Luna Since you love Sailor Moon so much”.

“I thought about it but Yoruichi is so cool and so is Ichigo”. I go into deep thought. “How did a four-year-old like you end up watching Bleach anyway?”.

“Yuji,nobara, and Megumi were watching it out In The living room, I knew I shouldn’t be watching it. mama told me no but Yuji and Nobara thought it would be funny to let me watch it without letting Megumi know.

When he found out he got really mad and scolded them and brought me to bed”.

I laugh slightly trying to not let Miyoko see me. Those idiots. I think to myself. “Daddy?”. “Yeah, kid”. “Can I hug you?”. I open my arms. “Of course, come here”. “ she stands up on the bed walks over, and hugs me tightly around my waist. I Pat her head smiling when I feel my shirt start to get wet. “Hey- you okay?”. She looks up at me tears streaming down her eyes sniffling. “H-hey why are you crying?! Are you feeling sick or hurt?!”.

“No… I was just thinking about after you had your accident, Mommy, comforted me and told me you were gonna be okay.

But I heard Yuji and Megumi talking and they said you might not make it home-“. Her little Voice cracks as she wipes some of her tears away using her shirt. I kneel next to the side of the bed holding her shoulders In my hands. “I’m right here silly, I’m fine”. She hugs me around my neck. “I know,

I just don’t know what I would do if you left us. please don’t leave us, we need you”. She hiccups, crying the pain in her voice even making me tear up.

I pull away. “Look at me Silly”. She looks at me, as I Gently wipe away her tears using my thumbs. “I won’t leave you, I promise I’m sorry for making you worry”.

“I love you Daddy”. “ and I love you”. I hug again her rubbing her back.

We stay like that for a few moments when I pull away. “Stay here for a moment”. I get up and go into the bathroom picking up a washcloth and running it under some warm water. I head back kneeling next to the bed once again, gently cleaning Miyoko’s face. “We should go back to the kitchen your mom is probably done with dinner”.

“Okay.., could you carry me?”. “Sure kid, come here”.

I pick up Miyoko carrying her to the kitchen.

———————————————————————

All of us sit at the table casually talking, “Miyoko your birthday is coming up what would you like to do?”. y/n asks Miyoko smiles. “Can we all go to an amusement park?”. “Oh, you Don’t want a birthday party With your friends?”. “No, I just want to have fun with all of you instead”.

“Us, as well”. nobara and Yuji ask at the same time. “Of course! I would like Maki, Mai, Nanako, and Mimiko to come as well I would also like Uncle Geto to come as well if he isn’t working”.

All the teens start gushing and giving out ideas for the party. Miyoko excitedly joins the conversation. When y/n lays her head against my shoulder yawning. I whisper “Y/n you okay?”. “Yeah, I’m just tired and kinda Nauseous I don’t know why”. “You look pale maybe you should go lie down”. I gently kiss the side of her forehead. And Y/n rubs my chest. “If you don’t mind putting dinner away”. “No baby, I don’t mind go, rest”. I quickly peck y/n’s lips she hums in contentment kissing me back before she gets up waking away, presumably back to our bedroom. my eyes follow y/n’s ass. When I notice how Megumi,nobara, Yuji, and Kenshi look at me in mild disgust. “What??? Would you rather me and y/n fight?”.

“Yes-“. They all answer back in unison. “I think you and Mom are cute Dad”. tsumiki remarks. “ I do two!”. Miyoko states smiling.

I Finish up putting Miyoko to bed when I finally enter mine and y/n’s bedroom where she is on her computer with her glasses on, the little wrinkle between her eyebrows making me laugh a bit to myself.

“Y/n you should be relaxing if you’re not feeling good”. I go over to the dresser taking off my pants and stripping off my black teeshirt throwing them into the laundry basket.

“I know, I’m just looking at some ticket bundles for the amusement park this month, it looks like we can get the tickets, but it’s probably going to be a week after her birthday”.

“I’m sure Miyoko won’t mind”. I walk over to our bed laying next to y/n cuddling up to her as she continues to look at her computer. “What kind of cake should we get for her this year blue or pink?”. Y/n strokes my hair gently with her hand. “A sailor moon-themed cake?”.

“That’s a cute idea toru, I’ll contact some bakeries tomorrow. What other things can you think of that we might need? I mean it’s not a birthday venue I doubt we can set up tables”. “ I could call the amusement park, maybe they would let us take in some birthday decorations”.

Y/n nods . “ sounds good, what about Geto do you think he’ll be available? It would be nice to have a third adult to help”. “I’ll ask him, I’m sure he’ll do it for Miyoko”. y/n shuts off her computer laying it on the side table next to our bed. When she reaches over fully cuddling with me laying her head on my chest. I smirk as my hands slide down her back right to her plump ass. “Gojo, being a bit forward?”. “I can’t help the fact that your ass is always so sexy”. “Toru.. we can’t the kids are home”. I start to playfully kiss her she hums happily.

Just then our bedroom door flies open, Megumi looking at us in complete disgust. “Gross”. He turns away.

“to be fair sweetie, you did just open a door without knocking first”. We pull apart from each other, the both of us sitting up in bed. as Megumi comes up to y/n. “You forgot your phone on the counter, and Mr. Anderson is blowing it up, I tried telling him you were busy, but he insisted on talking to you. I think he’s drunk”. “Fucking hell”. Megumi hands y/n her phone. Y/n looks at her phone in anger but then looks back to Megumi smiling. “Thanks for letting me know, love you sweetheart have a good night”. “I love you two Mom.., goodnight”. Megumi leaves closing the door behind him, as anger starts to build within me. “Y/n let me talk to him”. “Toru it’s fine, I can handle it”. I look at her curiously. Why would she refuse? “Please just let me handle it this time y/n, I’m so tired of him harassing you”. “O-okay! Here”. She hands me the phone I watch as Mike's number flashes up on the screen as an incoming call. I answer the phone. “Y/n… we have you been you b-bitch”. I listen as he slurs his words. I get so pissed that I just hang up blocking his number on y/n’s phone. I hand the phone back to y/n. “Unblock him in the morning, hopefully, his drunk ass will be a little sober by then”.

“Y/n why do you keep that guy around anyways? You’re the CEO you could easily fire him”. “Yeah, you’re right I could.. but you probably don’t remember, Mr. Anderson, Mike, he was my father's best friend. Growing up Mr. Anderson was the opposite of what he is now, he was always so nice and kind.

it was only after his wife and daughter died that he became the man that you see now.

I know I should fire him and I will it’s just so sad… how alcohol, trauma, and grief Can cause people to become monsters”.

Y/N POV:

“You know y/n I’ve been curious when did we start dating and when did we get married”.

Y/n looks at me nervously. “Oh no, you want that story”. “Huh? Was it that bad?”. “No, it’s just it’s a pretty embarrassing story for me”.

“Well, I’m all ears”. Gojo opens his arms motioning me to cuddle with him again so I do.

“Well.. it all started when my father wanted to attend one of your families events in America. We had flown from Los Angeles to Chicago, my father was looking to acquire some new clients for business deals.

I was less than thrilled, I always hated corporate parties, and my father would always put me into these uncomfortable situations. -

Almost like I was an object or something not a human being. But I didn’t dare say anything to him, I just had to plaster a smile on my face like I always would. -

I sat by my father for most of the night, and by the time 11:00 a.m. rolled around, I was tired not just of the night. But of everything. I left my father for the time being, I just wanted to drink and forget as I had done many times before.

I was at the bar sitting alone drinking straight-up vodka shoots with no chaser, ugh. Just then you had sat beside me, You came onto me with the rich playboy routine and I wasn’t having it. and I kinda snapped at you”.

“wait what? You didn’t like me at first?”. “Well, I’m not going to say I don’t find you extremely attractive I did, how should I say this.. you see at that time a lot of rich playboy men were trying to use me to get to my father”.

“W-what?”. “Rich men, were trying to get on my good side, so they could marry me and take over my father's business, I thought you were another one of them. -

I can remember the first thing I ever said to you”. “Are you kidding?! do you men have any standards?! If you want money go marry my father, not me!”.

“Damn y/n that was pretty harsh”.

“You’re right I was. At that point I ran out of the bar crying gosh, I was so embarrassed I still cringe at myself to this day. -

I found myself outside crying under one of the outside tables, my head resting on my now-stained white-gloved hands. My makeup was everywhere I was a little drunk I’m sure I was a mess. -

Just then, I felt a tap on my shoulder, it was you. despite me yelling at you, you were still nice enough to follow me because I had left my purse behind. You sat beside me and we talked. The next words you said to me were”. “So why is a fine lady like you out here crying”. Gojo’s face cringes slightly at his own words I laugh.

“Hey, you were very sweet Little did I know this was your party. It was your introduction as the leader of the Satoru clan. But I didn’t know you were a Satoru and you didn’t know I was Zenin until the next morning”.

“We fucked, The first night we met”. “Yep, not just once but multiple times. We started dating right after. You met Megumi and Tsumiki pretty early on dispute the fact I was already a mother.

that didn’t turn you away surprisingly, That’s when I started to trust you a bit more.

About a month after, that so about two months into our relationship. I found out I was pregnant with Kenshi.

it was a complete surprise to me, I knew you and I were having sex fairly often, but was my fault, I wasn’t on top of things like I should’ve been when it came to my birth control. -

I was honest with you right away, but I was fully expecting you to run for hills, but to my surprise, you didn’t run away.

You told me You loved me and you proposed to me right there.

My father was not happy with how things turned out at all. But since you were the Satoru clan’s leader he learned to accept it.

Funny enough he’d never admit it to you directly but he liked you”. “Really?”. “Yeah, because you weren’t intimidated or afraid of him at all. Which was rare. You pretty much told him straight to his face. “I’m marrying your daughter if you don’t like it then cut her off I don’t care I have my own money”. Nothing like that happened, my father reluctantly agreed to the marriage.We got married about three months later and we have been ever since.

“Damn, that was pretty wild”. “Sometimes I think maybe we moved too fast, maybe we should have given our relationship more time even if I was pregnant”.

Maybe then you wouldn’t have cheated on me now. I think to myself. “I think, everything turned out perfectly if I had to do it all over again I’d do the same”. “What? Really?”. “Yeah, only because it’s you”. I glare at him. “S-shut up.. I’m not that great”. “you are perfect and beautiful”. “You’re super horny aren’t you?”. “Yes, but I’m also telling the truth two things can be right at the same time”. I kiss his face. “We can’t right now, but if you wait until Miyoko goes to school tomorrow, I’ll let you fuck me as much as you want”. “Sounds good”. We both kiss each other before we lay down to fall asleep.

BACK TO PART 2

MASTERLIST

Tags 💕😭: @phoenix666stuff , @missroro, @minmin-minnie

(if you want to be tagged just leave a comment).

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Somehow, Through the Storm

Summary:

Living in the slums of the Warehouse District, Kaz and Inej are struggling to cling on to life through a seemingly unending winter. Wrapped up in a stranger's overcomplicated marriage contract that he is convinced is key to solving the merciless weather, Kaz remains busy and distracted for days on end, putting everything else at risk. So when a storm ravages the city and sweeps Inej into danger, the offer of safety, food, and a place to stay is an overwhelming one - no matter the cost. Terrified of mounting threats, Inej signs a contract - not knowing she would land herself trapped at the Menagerie. Kaz signs a contract that states if he can walk all the way through the city and back to the Warehouse District with Inej behind him, never looking back at her, they will both go free. But this is the Barrel, the darkest part of the city where the rules of physics can change with the stroke of a pen; the journey back will not be the same as journey there…

This is a Hadestown-inspired reimagining of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, casting Kaz and Inej as our main characters and heavily featuring our beloved Crows, set in an alternate version of the Grishaverse with a different magic system based entirely on contracts.

Tags: @lunarthecorvus @marielaure @multi-fandom-bi @igotthisaccountunderduress @thelibraryofalexandriastillburns @devoted-people-hater @spraypaintstainonawhitewall

If anyone else would like to be added to the tag list let me know <3

Warnings for this chapter: homelessness, implied threats, food scarcity, implied loss of parents/family/loved ones

AO3 link:

NOTE: I know I said that the first two chapters would come out today and I am still hoping to get chapter 2 out later on today but I'm not 100% that will be possible as I have a lot more left to write than I initially anticipated, but it will at least be coming soon!

Chapter 1 - Inej

Some flowers bloom where the green grass grows; our praise is not for them, but the ones who bloom in the bitter snow. We raise our cups to them

- We Raise Our Cups, Hadestown 

This is an old story. It has been told many times, in many ways, with many different faces, and yet we tell it again. This is a sad story. And yet, we tell it anyway. That’s our role, in all of this, and we are nothing if we do not fulfil it. This time, it started - as Inej’s stories seemed to have begun to do so with concerning frequency - with getting kicked out. 

“No- please, wait-” her pleas were cut off by the dull, painful thud of a bag being hurled into her chest. 

She gasped, winded, and as she stumbled backwards her foot slipped from the top step. Hendrija huffed what might have been a short, breathy laugh as she watched Inej fall, but Inej managed to regain at least some of her dignity as she rebalanced on the gravel. She was shorter than Hendrija anyway, and glaring up at the older woman standing above her on the porch she felt incredibly aware of her smallness. 

“Move on,” Hendrija jutted her chin vaguely down the street, “You ain’t wanted here, girl,”

“Please, Hen, I swear I’ll get you the money-”

“No you won’t,”

“I will,” she promised, “Please, just a couple of days, I swear, I just need a couple of days, I’ll get you-”

“Three months. I gave you three months grace, and I haven’t seen a cent. You’re done, now get off my property before I call the stadwatch,”

“No, Hendrija- Hendrija!”

The door slammed in front of Inej’s nose and she screamed her frustration at the apathetic panels. That was it, then: she had officially been thrown out of every hostel in Ketterdam. Brilliant. 

There was, unbeknownst to Hendrija, almost one hundred kruge tightly hand sewn into an inside pocket of Inej’s jacket - but last time she’d tried to pay her with ‘that type of cash’ Hendrija had refused it. 

“You don’t come in here and give me someone else’s money, girl,”

“I didn’t-”

“You earn some money for a room here, or you don’t keep one. You got it?”

Inej wasn’t sure what else Hendrija expected her to pay with, though. There weren’t any jobs to find. Not now. Not ever.  

“Fine,” she’d said, “I’ll earn something. How’d you-?”

“You think I don’t know you ain’t worked a day since you got here?” Hendrija nodded to the purple bills tucked between Inej’s fingers, “Where’d you get it?”

Inej squared her shoulders, pretending not to feel the pit crumbling inside her stomach, as she told her where the money was from out loud and apologised, again, to her Saints inside her head. Hendrija’s cheeks blanched. 

“At the very least, lass, if you’re gonna steal, don’t steal from him. Nasty way to go, when he gets to you - and he will. Always does,”

Inej had given her a sincere nod, then brushed off the conversation without another thought. It didn’t matter what anyone she stole from might do if they caught her, because they wouldn’t catch her. No-one ever did. 

She lingered for a brief moment on the porch of the rooming house, as though Hendrija might open the door and say that she’d changed her mind, or that was only teasing and oh dear, Inej, don’t you take things too seriously. But, of course, she didn’t. Inej didn’t really want her to, she supposed, other than that it would be easier than trying to find somewhere else to sleep tonight. She shouldered her bag, appalled to feel herself stagger slightly beneath the weight. When had she last eaten? There was nearly a hundred kruge sewn into her jacket, yes, but she hadn’t dared to touch it yet. It had only been hers for a couple of days. Inej wasn’t exactly an expert, but she thought it might be best to wait a while before she used it in case someone got wise somehow. The last thing she needed was to end up in a prison cell. 

Although, an upsettingly convincing voice added inside her head, at least it would be a place to sleep. Somewhere dry, with a pillow and a blanket. Somewhere she could stay still, lie down and close her eyes, eat once - maybe even more than once - a day and never have to feel the wind. Inej almost laughed out loud at herself. What had she become? What had this city turned her into? She used to be good. Now she would do anything for a bed, for food, for a roof the weather couldn’t chase her through. 

A gust of wind prickled down the back of Inej’s neck, sending a shiver running over her, and she reached to turn her collar up against the breeze. It was going to rain soon, she was sure. Where was she going to sleep tonight? She sighed into her jacket, creating a brief pocket of warmth, and began to walk. Prayers first, then food, if she could find something. She had hours until sundown. She’d figure something out. 

The Saints didn’t require a Chapel to hear their prayers, but there was a small one in the North of the Warehouse District for anyone who preferred an organised service. Inej attended when she could - she tried to light incense for her parents at least once a week, but more realistically did so about once a month, maybe twice if they were lucky. She leant against the wall of the building next to the hostel, just out of sight if Hendrija was sticking her nose out of the window, and began to dig through her measly bag of belongings. Should she change her clothes to go to Chapel? Her only other shirt and trousers were probably no cleaner than the ones she was wearing, but she ran a comb through her hair and did her best to pull it into a quick, neat braid. At least she’d tried to make an effort. She didn’t think her Saints cared, but people definitely did. 

There was a little matchbox in her bag as well, but when she slid it open with trembling fingers she was overcome with the sudden desire to scream and hurl it into the street when she discovered it was empty. She settled for holding it so tightly that the thin card crumpled in her fist, then shoving it back into the bag. She could just leave it for the day; find something to eat and start looking for a place to stay, try to buy matches once the money in her pocket felt safe. But when had she last been to Chapel? Not for several weeks. She couldn’t not go, and she couldn’t afford to turn the matches into an excuse not to return. Her parents deserved better than that. They deserved better than any of this. 

She sighed again as she stood back up from the wall and slung her bag across her shoulders, then ventured slowly into the street. It was busy, or busy enough anyway, and she knew that everyone here would have just seen her and Hendrija arguing on the porch bare moments ago so she wasn’t really expecting much when she wove into the crowd, going unnoticed until she parted her lips to venture: 

“Excuse me? Does anyone have a match?”

People glanced down at her, or between themselves, all with the same expression as they stepped away and a ring of space was created around Inej. She tried to step forwards and, as though she were a drop of oil in water, wherever she moved the strangers stepped away from her, pace for pace. 

“Please, sir,” she tried, turning to try and focus her quiet appeal on the closest individual, “Would you happen to-?”

He shook his head, turning away. Inej dug her fingers deeply into the cuff of her sleeve as she watched him pull a cigarette from his pocket as he walked away. She tried again, and then again. 

“Please,” she said, again, as the crowd parted around her, “I’m sorry, but does anyone have a match that I could use?”

From behind the shape of someone’s dusty red coat as they moved away, a boy appeared in Inej’s field of vision. He looked up and caught her eye, then seemed to sigh as he beckoned her towards him with one gloved hand - the other remaining secure over the carved handle of the cane he leant against. He was taller than her but Inej would guess they were a similar age, though his face was aged by the little scars that crossed his pale skin.

“I can help you,”

Inej paused.

At the very least, lass, if you’re gonna steal, don’t steal from him. 

Inej had stolen from him twice. The first time nothing happened, except for Hendrija refusing the money - as if her boarding house weren’t full of criminals and as if she didn’t damn well know it - but if he’d gotten wise? What if someone at the house overheard something and passed it on? She swallowed tightly. 

“I didn’t ask for help. I asked for a match,”

“I can give you a match,” he said, reaching one of those leather-clad hands into his pocket, “I can also help you,”

Inej frowned. For a moment she studied the matchbox that he held out between them, and then it was in her hand and the boy was pulling away and she didn’t know why but it felt like something… something had happened.  The air felt calmer now. She was part way through sliding the box open when he said: 

“You have ninety three kruge in your jacket,”

Inej’s head snapped up. 

“Excuse me?”

“Ninety three kruge,” he repeated, “That’s how much you have, isn’t it?”

“Wh-?”

“That’s how much you have. That’s how much you took from me, three days ago,”

Alarm bells started ringing inside Inej’s head. There was probably very little point in lying now, and her brain was already trying to click through what to do, how she could get out of here, where she might be able to run - he probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with her with his limp, and he almost certainly wouldn’t be able to climb up a building after her. If she could just make it to a rooftop she could disappear, run until her legs ached, then find a nook somewhere in the skyline to fall asleep and pray the rain wouldn’t be too heavy. But what after that? If he knew well enough to track her here, to a house she’d been tossed from under the safety of a false name, would she ever be able to safely walk these streets again? Maybe if she found somewhere to stay on the rooftops she would be okay - there were plenty of nooks that could form a snippet of shelter, the stadwatch would never rouse her from them, she could steal food from market stalls and storefronts, and finally become fully invisible. No-one would ever have to know that she was there. 

But even as these thoughts occurred to her the boy shifted, ever so slightly but definitely intentionally, and a shape that looked very much like a pistol appeared and disappeared between the folds of his immaculate coat. She twisted her fingers around the little box of matches. 

“You’ve got the wrong girl,”

“Have I?”

His voice was rough, like two stones being scraped together to form words. 

“Believe me,” said Inej, slipping the matchbox casually into her pocket, as though he wouldn’t notice, “If I had ninety kruge I wouldn’t be hanging around here,”

She turned away. 

“Ninety three,” the boy corrected, “And I’ll have that back, if you don’t mind,”

Inej hid the brief, disappointed scrunch of her nose before she spun and tossed the matchbox back to him. 

“And the cash?”

“I told you, it wasn’t me,”

The boy shook his head. 

“I suppose Inej Ghafa must live elsewhere then,” he said, and she knew he’d noticed when she tensed at the sound of her name, “Shame. I was going to offer her a job,”

“Who are you?”

He smiled. 

“Maybe I’ll tell you,” he said, “if you tell me how you managed to get in and out of a house with no-one ever seeing you and yet only took ninety three kruge,”

Inej frowned, thinking of the rundown house and its leaky ceiling, up to three sleeping bodies pushed into every room but the attic. The attic was this boy’s domain, and he didn’t share his space with anyone, but it was still not the kind of place that looked prosperous; a door had been balanced on its back atop stacked crates to form a makeshift desk, there was no running water but a slender basin that must have been carried in and out to be refilled at least once a day, uneven and creaking floorboards, a worn down mattress with no bed frame or sheet, a blanket without a quilt. She’d thought finding an entire ninety kruge in those rooms was a miracle. 

“There was more?”

“If you knew where to look. A proper thief would have found plenty to take,”

Something in that comforted Inej, just the tiniest bit. She was not a proper thief, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to be one. 

“How did you get in?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because I was there,” he shook his head, “I didn’t hear you. I didn’t see you. Not until-”

“Until I spoke,” said Inej, the memory returning to her. 

She hadn’t known there was anyone close enough to hear her when she slipped the money into her pocket and thanked her Saints out loud. The boy nodded. Inej tracked through her movements in her mind, trying to work out where the boy must have been - outside the room, she supposed, on his way up the stairs perhaps? That didn’t feel right, though, because surely she would have heard his footsteps - at the least the sound of his cane. She drew the floorplan of the attic in her mind; it was barely smaller than the other floors of the house, partitioned part way through with a wall that stretched over half the width of the room to create a more private space for sleeping. Maybe he’d been behind the wall. There was only a very small window on that side of the room, it was where the slope of the roof divided it the most, and Inej hadn’t inspected that tiny slither of glass before she slipped through the larger window on the other side of the room. Idiot, she thought, fingers tensing as she tried to study the deceptive change in the boy’s eyes, what have you done now? 

“I had no idea you were there, until then. How is that possible?”

Inej shrugged. She’d wanted to be silent so she had been, why did that matter? The matter at hand, as far as she cared, was why he hadn’t apprehended her when he heard her - and what he might want from her now. There was some kind of angle here, of course, she just didn’t know what it was. 

“No-one ever does,” she told him, “Who are you?”

“Were you trained as a dancer?”

“An acrobat. My family… all of us are acrobats,” 

Were acrobats. 

“It’s your turn to answer a question now. Who are you?”

The boy smiled again. 

“You already know that. You just don’t want to say it,”

A beat passed. 

“Dirtyhands,”

“I prefer Kaz,” he said as he conceded a nod, smoothly but not quite relaxed enough to not raise Inej’s suspicions, “I found two names for you. I assume Inej Ghafa is the real one?”

She nodded. Why bother lying? She had not known, when she slipped through a window several months ago, who it was that she was stealing from. Would she have done it, if she’d known? She wasn’t sure it would’ve stopped her - it hadn’t stopped her three days ago, had it? She hadn't known he was in the building though, or she might have been careful enough not to part her lips. 

“Is that what you’d prefer to be called?”

Inej nodded again, without taking her eyes away from Kaz’s. 

“Is Kaz Brekker your real name?”

“Real enough. Do you feel like giving me my money back, Inej?”

Not particularly, she thought, as she released a small sigh and stuck her thumb into her jacket to burst the ugly stitches she’d made around her stash. As soon as Kaz had laid gloved fingers onto the notes they vanished in a smooth folding motion of his palm, and in their place a small card was raised between the pair. 

“If you want a more reliable income, come to this address for eight bells tomorrow evening. I’ve got a job for you,”

Inej shook her head. 

“You can leave the recruitment kit at home,” she told him, “I’m just passing through,”

“You’ve been here seven months,”

There was a pause. 

“I came to pass the winter,” she ventured, “but-”

“But it isn’t ending,”

Inej nodded. Winters had been getting longer in Ravka, the spring short and the summer unbearably hot, but it was worse here than anywhere she’d travelled to across the Eastern Continent. Seven months in Kerch had passed in a twist of frozen ground, dead flowers, howling winds, and endless storms. 

“There’s something wrong with the weather,”

The weather has no mercy.

Kaz gave no reply but a nod, as if that was an explanation all alone. He was still holding out the card between them, and after a moment Inej reached out. Her bare fingers brushed briefly against the leather of his gloves, and then the card was in her hand and his was dropping away. She forced her eyes away from the dark, endless pools of his, and studied the words on the card for a moment. 

“I don’t read Kerch,”

“You know where Bloemstraat is?”

She shook her head. 

“Meet me at the Slat, then - I know you know where that is,” he almost smiled as he added that, “Seven bells half chime, tomorrow evening,”

A moment passed. 

“I’ll be there. But you should know: I’ll leave when spring comes,”

Kaz laughed, short and coarse, almost taking her by surprise. 

“Is that a promise?”

“Yes,”

He shook his head. 

“You really don’t know Ketterdam, do you? There’s no spring coming, not here. Barely to Kerch at all; not anymore,”

Not at all? Inej faltered. 

“What do you mean?”

“You heard me,”

“Why?”

“Why does anything happen around here? The world’s been thrown off kilter,”

Inej shook her head. 

“You should get out of this city. There’s a storm coming; this place isn’t worth sticking around for. Not through that,”

Kaz laughed again. 

“No-one leaves this city,”

He turned away, taking only a few steps before he glanced back over his shoulder to say:

“Oh, and Inej? Don’t ever steal from me again. And definitely don’t sneak up on me,”

Inej watched him leave, clutching two matchsticks and a slip of paper between her fingers, wondering what had just happened. 

[serahlink]

❗HELP A HOMELESS ARTIST❗

(reblogs are appreciated)

Making another post promoting commissions since none of my other posts are getting anywhere and me and my family are running low on funds.

Hi, my name is Link. My family (Dad and sibling) and I have been homeless since November 2021. I opened my art commissions to try and get us a motel room (which worked) and I've been doing that to support us ever since, trying to pay for the room daily and trying to also make enough for food.

It's getting very much harder nowadays with the lack of business and inflation making things so much more difficult to live day to day. More often than not we either end up starving for a day or more , or we have to stay up for hours into the night and morning just to get enough before checkout time. Most of the time it's both.

It's especially going to be harder now that things are going downhill for twitter right now as it's where I'd get most of my business from. If it completely shuts down, we're completely fucked and we have no family or friends to lean back on for this. It's just us.

So, I'm hoping that I can find some work here again to help sustain ourselves until something changes in our situation.

My prices and examples will be below for you to look through in case you're interested. My turn around time is 3-6 days for a simple commission (headshot, bust, half body, or sometimes fullbody) and 1-2 weeks depending on how big of a piece it is and other details.

If you're interested you can either pm me here or email me (gilsky19@gmail.com). I'll be sure to reply to you as soon as I can. Also while you're here, please reblog this, it really helps us get more awareness and possible help towards our situation. Thank you.

~Prices~

Sketch - 10$ base price, may cost more depending on the drawing's details

Sketch page - 20$ (+10$ if colored)

Headshot - 15$ (+10$ if shaded)

Bust - 30$ (+10$ if shaded)

Half body - 40$ (+10$ if shaded)

Full body - 50$ (+10 if shaded)

Couples commissions (this includes a commission with more than one person) - 60$ (+10$ if shaded)

Reference sheets - 70$ per sheet

[ara0minthe]

Tuesday, 13th of August / Mardi 13 août

────୨ৎ────

Café "Debotte", in Nantes, France.

Sleep / Sommeil : 1am to 11:30am

I'm proud for sleeping before 2am, but I got out of bed late even though I was supposed to wake up at 9:30am.

I was so tired, I guess the day before had made me really tired so I couldn't help but push back my alarm clock 😭.

Health / Santé : Ate alright; not excessively,

(which I can feel proud of, because I do tend to eat too much or snack excessively when I stay at home too much , so I'm fighting against that, and lately it's been nice.)

Today I walked 6500 steps. That's an alright dose of activity (for me).

Study / Études : 20 minutes of revision only. And 20 minutes of reading my book "kilomètre zéro". (It's a French book)

Since I got up at almost 12 today and got out with friends, I had almost no time to work.

And my family always interrupts me so it's hard to study when they're around.

And when I got home after going out, I was tired and my mind could not work, so I forced myself to read two chapters of my book at least.

My day / Ma journée :

Woke up late. Did a few things. Managed to revise for 20 minutes before going out to meet some friends.

For the first time, I got to a café, and it was with 2 bff's on top of that. (It was in my summer to do list so I can cross that) (੭˃ᴗ˂)੭

And we ate some pâtisseries with coffee and hot chocolate.

I ate a "fraisier" with " du chocolat chaud à la chantilly"

The café was empty when we entered so it was just us, and we ate and talked a lot. Since it was just us, we were so comfortable, and the workers were lovely.

Our other friends are traveling so it was just us 3 from the friend group today. (Funny thing, the 2 friends I got out with today both have the same name) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Then it's already 5pm, we spent an hour talking in the cafe and one of the friend has to go.

So we escorted her and got to the "Fnac" (dunno if y'all know this store, it sells electronic devices and all types of books, it's well-known in France).

We took a tour of the store, just looking around while talking. (Friends really make life experiences a hundred times better ♡♡♡)

Then she also has to go, so I also go, I look around a bookstore that resells books. There was one I'm looking for called "Beach Read", I wanted to buy a used one for cheap but didn't find it. (I could read it in French because I live in France and the book has been translated, but I sometimes like to buy books in English so my English level doesn't decrease. And I'm glad I can buy english books in France, and they also happen to cost less than the french version, which is nice.)

Anyway, I decided to command it in a library, it should be available in less than a week.

Then, I buy some cookies for my hungry brother at home.

And on the way home, I buy myself a bubble tea and a poke bowl.

Wasn't really hungry, so that was my dinner.

When I got home I was just so tired. I wanted to sleep immediately, but it was 8pm, too early.

I preferred to wait until a more adequate sleeping time so I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to go back to sleep for multiple hours. 😔

Anyway, I kept myself busy, read, journaled, right now it's 11:30pm and I will now sleep immediately.

My goal for tomorrow is to wake up at 9am.

(Sleep is my worst flaw right now, and it's the hardest thing for me to improve on, waking up at 9 may seem like nothing for most people, but as ridiculous as it may sound, it's a real challenge for me. And I CAN wake up early if something obligates me, like school or other social reasons. But if it's for myself, it's almost impossible.)

Anyway. I will now sleep and wish for the better.

À plus les chouchous, on se voit demain <3.

By the way, I thought about that only know, but I know right now there are lots of tourists in France because of the Olympic games, and it's even been a few weeks that I hear multiple languages when I go out, like Italian and English, which doesn't happen usually.

Nantes, the city where I live is also part of the 10 most populated cities in France, it's not far from Paris and situated in the West, so it makes sense that people also come to Nantes.

So I was just thinking about that, if some of you are in Nantes right now let me know, I could give out multiple places to visit and lots of things to do. Nantes is an incredible city, there is so much to do.

So let me know. And have an excellent time in France and its beautiful cities. <33

[k-s-morgan]

Another monthly update! So, this month was extra stressful since the shelling of Kyiv resumed. Unfortunately, most explosions happened not far from me, and each of them terrified me as usual. From better news, none of them damaged my home or the homes of my loved ones, and Germany seems to have given a modern air defense system to my city in particular. All missiles were destroyed lately, including today, and I hope that our luck sticks.

Of course, everything is scary even when the air defense system is at work. You’re reading the news, seeing information about 20, 50, or 100 missiles entering Ukrainian territory, and then you just wait quietly, wondering if one of these missiles is going to reach your city, your district, your house. I often feel sick with worry during these moments. I can’t distract myself with anything, I’m glued to my phone and trying to fight the uncontrollable tremors. When explosions start, it’s chilling, and even though I now recognize the sounds of air defense system, I’m never sure if I’m right. Like today: I heard 4+ explosions, I saw the smoke coming up, and I couldn’t tell if the missile hit or was destroyed because what I hear and think is not reliable in these situations.

The worst thing is when electricity and Internet disappear. I have no way to find out if the air raid continues, if it stopped or if it started anew. I can’t connect with other people, so I’m just cuddling my cats in the dark apartment under the blanket and keep praying for the best.

I reconnected with one of my friends recently. She lived on territories occupied by Ruzzia for a while, and I barely recognized her when I saw her. She looks decades older than she actually is. She witnessed some of her friends tortured and killed for nothing but amusement. Her son was shot at from the tank by Ruzzians when he tried to get some water, and the fact that he survived is a miracle. Speaking with her horrified me and broke my heart. I just can’t wrap my mind around any of this.

Your words and support mean everything to me. They help me stay strong and encourage me to keep writing. I’m starting my new Tomarry story in November, and since war will be a big part of it, I look forward to expressing some of my feelings and experiences there. I always read and re-read all of your words when I’m feeling down or scared, and I can’t tell how much motivation this gives me.

Also, huge, huge thanks to those who keep supporting me via Patreon. My financial situation has been consistently difficult for the last several months: everything is getting more expensive, my parents’ salaries got reduced, and while I still have mine, health issues gained volume. My cats, my pigeons, my family, myself — we all got sick and some of us are still recovering. Both of my cats had their surgeries this month, and this alone cost me 90% of my salary. Without your contributions, I don’t even know what I’d do. They helped me cover everything and make it through this month.

Here’s my lovely cat Tom after his surgery: he was sleeping for 3 hours right on top of me after I brought him back home.

And this is Simura. Unfortunately, this baby might require another procedure in November. She has a runny nose and she’s sneezing blood occasionally. No treatment worked so far, so we might have to sign up for rhinoscopy.

I’m excited to share the update of my Black Butler story and hopefully the first chapter of another Tomarry. Thank you for your asks, comments, notes and messages. This is a life-changing time, and all of you will forever remain a part of this journey in my memory. I’m so grateful to all of you.

My electricity has just disappeared again, but I charged my laptop enough to last me for several hours, so I’m going back to writing. Have a good, peaceful night/day!

[etaindelaserna]

Thanks for answering my ask before. If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......

Welcome back!😊 Don’t worry: I‘ll answer anyway 🙌

(Side note: top 7 OR✨ 10?😂 Oddly specific^^)

1. Star Wars

Aside from the obvious things like lightsabers and force powers, I think what pulled me into the SW universe is the simplicity of it, espeically in the OT: good vs. evil, a hero‘s call to adventure and his responsibility to save the galaxy from the evil clutches of the Empire, the power of friendship, the whole concept of the force, the strength to not succumb to the dark side, to stay true to yourself even if it costs you your life, the idea that the good things in our life are things we have to work hard for while the bad things are easy and faster to obtain and oh so manipulative and tempting. It seems to address a truth we can all relate to or are at least aware of. Luke Skywalker is someone I can look up to. And sometimes I can't ask for more.

2. Harry Potter

Always. To this day the Harry Potter books and movies feel like you're coming home after a long time abroad. The world building has always made me feel like it could be true: there could be a wizard society existing right next to our own. Just the sheer richness of characters, places, magical items and wizard life were enough to draw me in as a kid. It’s childhood preserved in book form. It’s fun in the first school years and tragical in the last ones. It’s a world that feels lived in. It’s a tale about the power of friendship and about facing things you actually don’t want to face. It taught me to be brave and kind and that striving for power is a path towards loneliness and a hollow, ego centric existence.

3. Naruto

I fell in love with the premise pretty early on when I started watching Naruto: the question of what makes a shinobi a shinobi, how can you be a good shinobi and a good person, are you only allowed to be loyal to your village? What about your friends and family? Why do we have to kill each other? Why is it human nature to be cruel and violent? Naruto asked so many existential and moral questions which I find interesting to explore. Then we have the idea of chakra and how its used, different jutsus and fighting styles, shinobi villages, the struggle between being a human being, the hardships of the shinobi life and how to overcome them and what happens to those who dispair and choose a life of darkness. The messages about friendship, family, loyalty, unconditional love and to work hard for your goal no matter what everybody else says, hit me hard. I will always come back to read or watch Naruto.

4. One Piece

Apart from the world building, which is one of the best in modern literature, I think what made me fall in love with this manga/anime are its characters, the humour and Oda's storytelling ability, which has been consistently brilliant for all those years. The world of One Piece with all its crazy characters and rules shouldn't work but it does, because it's not all fun and games and silliness but it means something. It means something to the characters. There are themes in it I will never get tired of: following your dreams, working hard, loyalty, friendship, we don't abandon our friends or dreams, we stick together no matter what. Oda knows how to balance comedy, tragedy and adventure perfectly. He knows also how to do setups and how to cash in the payoffs at just right moment. You as a reader are allowed to follow the bread crumbs and think and I appreciate it that he doesn't spell the things out for us.

5. The Lord of the Rings

I read the books and I've seen the movies more than I can count. It's my ultimate love. It's something I can pop in at anytime, under any circumstances and be completely emersed in it within seconds. It feels like home. It is home. The world building is rich and complex. The characters are loveable and more nuanced than they might let on. The story has timeless themes that transcend cultures, age, gender: chaos and darkness are tempting and destructive, but you not only have the responsibility to stand against it but also you have the ability to do so. It's a story about sacrifices, will power, love, friendship and hope. It seems to touch something within us. It leaves you with the comfort of this one single thought that there are higher powers or a grand plan involved.

6. True Blood/ The Southern Vampire Mysteries

This book series hit me once my girlish enthusiasm for the Vampire Diaries and its repetiveness slowly started to fade away but my hunger for vampire stories was still as big as ever. I thought I gave it a shot and boy, did it hit me. I think I read the first 4 books within a week. I absolutely liked that Sookie wasn't a teenager anymore but in her mid twenties when the first book picks up her story. The way she sees the world was exactly my kind of humour but mature and that was a welcome suprise after all the teenage drama in TVD. Her problems were how to pay for the gas for her car or for a new driveway. And of course that she can read minds. Charlaine Harris also made her vampires different enough but also used common tropes. It was a blend of the old and the new. She imagined how vampires and humans would live together in the modern world and she slayed on that part. I loved Sookie and I loved Eric. They were the main reasons why I kept reading.

7. A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones

The richness of the world building and the characters is what made me fall for the TV series and later the books. I think I started to watch it once the third seasons was rolling around. Like most, I did like the approach of "let's make it high fantasy but with an overdose of reality and history to it". That was brilliant. George knows how to write interesting characters, who aren't entirely bad or good but just brutally human. He also understands setup and consequences but above all he understands people. You know somebody is writing bloody good characters and plotlines if your are not mad at the author but at the characters for the choices they are making. You always understood why characters did the things they did, even though it didn't make it any less heartbraking at times. I don't think that George is ever going to be able to bring the series to a satisfying conclusion. The fantasy genre follows specific rules and George broke them to create something new. But he will come to realize that he now can't use these rules to finish the series. It's not going to work.

8. The Mummy (1999)

The cinema and movie nerds among my friends are always making fun of me for liking this movie as much as I do but I can't help it. It's the only successful Indiana Jones movie without Indiana Jones in it. Just the perfect mixture between adventure, horror, romance and comedy. How many times I'm quoting lines of this movie on a daily basis is insane. It's another unconditional love of mine. I'm going to keep watching it till the end of my days. We know that O'Connell and the gang are going to defeat the mummy but how they are doing it is so much fun. Brendan Fraser is a national treasure and just perfect for playing a brave, good looking, slightly ruggish adventurer, with the right amount of humour sprinkled in, who falls hard for the bookish girl. Like, come on. That's enough to sell me on any movie. Him and Rachel Weisz are just hitting it of. This film just feels like a warm cup of cocoa with a lot of cream. It makes me laugh, it makes me gush over Rick, it makes me want to learn acient Egyptian and run off into an adventure.

9. Once Upon a Time

Ten years ago I was so addicted to this show. I liked this idea that because of a spell from the Evil Queen all the fairytale characters have been forced to live a normal life in modern day America and they don't even remember who they are, apart from the Evil Queen. It's a classical the "Chosen One"/Heroes story with a little twist, that the relationship between most of the fairytale characters shifts during the story or was even told differently from how the audience remembers it from their fairytale books. It's basically a criminal investigation about who did this to these characters and how the protagonist can reverse the spell. Besides it's a story about fate, about love, friendship, about how villains and heroes are made and that things aren't just black and white. The characters are complex and because of this setup you can throw them in various scenarios, which made for some surprising teamups (Rumpelstilzchen/Belle). I was never bored with this show. Although it had complex themes at times the show handled them familyfriendly and that just fitted the overall fairytale vibe and wholesomeness of the show perfectly.

10. Band of Brothers

This HBO mini series about the story of E Company of the 101st Airborne during WWII stole my heart. I like war movies and if I had to explain why then I'd say because it reminds me of what was and what could easily happen again. The horrors of war, the sacrifices, the tragedy, the generational trauma, the loss, the heroes, the defeated, how quickly we forget our humanity once the bullets start flying, but also the little moments of friendship and will power that keep us alive. Band of Brothers has all that. It's based on real events and real people and although some things are dramatized for the sake of film making, they managed to stay quite accurate. You get to know these men and you get to see them struggle, in pain, laughing, joking, crying, die or survive. It makes you smile and breaks your heart in the next second. It's a series that captured me from start till finish.

[manicparadox]

Life decision time.

For a while, we’ve felt like we are outgrowing our house and the neighborhood. We’ve been wanting to move north, but the problem is that everything is expensive, we have a lot of debt that’s not helping us, and any attempt to clear that debt will stick us where we are for longer. Not sure that’s what we want to do. It’ll cost upwards of 800k to get what we want, and we’ll have to fight an uphill battle to get some issues taken care of. Mostly because we’re bad at paperwork.

An opportunity opened up to move into a place. We could pay cash, it’s a bigger lot than what we’re on, 800 more square feet of living space, a huge garage. An amazing community that loves us; I’ve had so many people ask me when we’re moving in. Because they love having us around. We’re already treated like we live there; I know more people in that neighborhood now than I do in my own.

But it’s far from work and my father in law.

That’s a lot to balance. We’d have to probably just stay with family sometimes to see father in law, or we’d just maintain both households for a bit.

Once we’ve secured the new house, there’s some things we can restructure that will have us far ahead in 2-3 years. We’ll be on track to retire earlier than we planned. But worst case scenario involves 4 hours a day of commuting 3 days a week… and I don’t want to risk that.

We’re going to get an inspector to go look the house over. We walked through it today and while there’s a good deal of critical damage…. The house is actually a perfect layout. It checks all the boxes. The repairs are workable and not that bad, expense wise. We can see a good long term place to settle down.

We’ve have to find new people to do music with probably, which is a bummer. But on the flip side, we could form a proper band. Probably even within the neighborhood.

I didn’t really plan on this but it’s kind of starting to become this insane possibility.

[mmriesoftvat]

Taoism is such a complicated matter when it comes to gift giving. Looking online, all advice Cyno could find was disheartening. 'No presents', most people said, 'As Taoism practices modesty and wanting for nothing, to force something for a Taoist to hold onto and treasure is a burden'.

He has spent a good week wracking his brain, but he really shouldn't have. Thinking about it, the answer is so simple: a memory costs nothing to have.

A surprise for Chongyun waking up on the day of Christmas: food on the table, all the treats they favored. And at the center, nestled in a small basket of seasonal sweets, a couple of tickets.

"I've booked us a spot on a 3-days trekking adventure with real sleigh dogs up in the mountains." He tells his boyfriend once the slips of paper are discovered. "If we bring Anpu and Chang'e with us, there are training classes we can do as well. Make sure you bring your camera."

A kiss on the cheek precedes the whispering in Chongyun's ear. "Happy holidays, my King."

There's something about waking up in the morning to a delicious smell. The atmosphere is so comfortable, that Chongyun almost goes back to sleep right away, wanting nothing more than to stay where he's at, half asleep with his dogs and boyfriend by his side. But the smell of treats is getting to him, and he's finding himself waking up even more, mouth watering over the thought of actually eating these.

Getting up, Chongyun wraps the blanket around himself as he stumbles into the kitchen to see Cyno looking pleased with himself. There's something so adorable about the way Cyno is grinning, that Chongyun can't help but fall into him, wrapping his own arms around Cyno and trapping him inside the blanket too. Warm. Cozy.

"Good morning," Chongyun mumbles, voice still husky from sleep. "You didn't have to go all out for me." He nuzzles into Cyno's neck before turning his head to stare at the table full of food. "But you're the best ever." Instead of pulling away from Cyno, Chongyun makes his way toward the table, dragging his poor boyfriend with him. Snaking one hand out from under the blanket, Chongyun snatches up a bite of food and pops it into his mouth, exaggerating the pleased sounds he's making. It's only then that Chongyun notices slips of paper amid the food.

"Huh?" Now, Chongyun is distracted. Hands fall away from Cyno as Chongyun inspects this newest surprise, reading carefully. As they read, their eyes widen before turning back to Cyno. "Are you serious?"

Chongyun had never been on a grand vacation before. They've never done family holidays, they've never really had a chance to go somewhere for fun that didn't include ghost hunting. And maybe Chongyun travels, but there'd always been some suppressed expectations on themself over it, needing to stream and earn and income in the process. This would be the first actual holiday in a long time, if ever.

They're immediately hugging Cyno again. Trapping him once more in the giant blanket, but this time, Chongyun is kissing him all over his face. Lips, chin, cheeks, forehead...

"You're the best!" Chongyun says eagerly, in between kisses. "You spoil me way too much, I love you!" Chongyun would love nothing more than to pack right now and leave, but there's still so much to do.

"Of course we're taking our babies. And...oh we need to eat breakfast. I gotta call Kaminari, will they house sit for us? We don't need a house sitter..."

Yet, Chongyun still stands there, keeping Cyno trapped within the blanket as they continue to pepper his face with kisses. It's quite possible this would go on for some time.

[bouncinghedgehog]

Long read from the New York Times, but compelling. Titled "Where are the Students?".

Empty seats

If you’re a child — or a former child — you know how hard it can be to summon the energy to leave the house each day for school. It’s early in the morning, and you are tired. Maybe you have a test or a social situation that’s making you anxious. Staying in bed often seems easier.

For as long as schools have existed, so have these morning struggles. Nonetheless, children overcame them almost every day, sometimes with a strong nudge from parents. Going to school was the normal thing to do.

Then, suddenly, it wasn’t.

The long school closures during the Covid pandemic were the biggest disruption in the history of modern American education. And those closures changed the way many students and parents think about school. Attendance, in short, has come to feel more optional than it once did, and absenteeism has soared, remaining high even as Covid has stopped dominating everyday life.

On an average day last year — the 2022-23 school year — close to 10 percent of K-12 students were not there, preliminary state data suggests. About one quarter of U.S. students qualified as chronically absent, meaning that they missed at least 10 percent of school days (or about three and a half weeks). That’s a vastly higher share than before Covid.

Thomas Dee

“I’m just stunned by the magnitude,” said Thomas Dee, a Stanford economist who has conducted the most comprehensive study on the issue.

This surge of absenteeism is one more problem confronting schools as they reopen for a new academic year. Students still have not made up the ground they lost during the pandemic, and it’s much harder for them to do so if they are missing from the classroom.

Losing the habit

In Dee’s study, he looked for explanations for the trend, and the obvious suspects didn’t explain it. Places with a greater Covid spread did not have higher lingering levels of absenteeism, for instance. The biggest reason for the rise seems to be simply that students have fallen out of the habit of going to school every day.

Consistent with this theory is the fact that absenteeism has risen more in states where schools remained closed for longer during the pandemic, like California and New Mexico (and in Washington, D.C.). The chart below shows the correlation between Dee’s state data on chronic absenteeism and data from Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist, on the share of students in each state who in 2020-21 were enrolled in districts where most students were remote:

Thomas Dee (absenteeism); Thomas Kane (virtual schooling)

“For almost two years, we told families that school can look different and that schoolwork could be accomplished in times outside of the traditional 8-to-3 day,” Elmer Roldan, who runs a dropout prevention group, told The Los Angeles Times. “Families got used to that.”

Lisa Damour, a psychologist and the author of “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers,” points out that parents think they are doing the right thing when they allow an anxious child to skip a day of school. She has deep empathy for these parents, she said. Doing so often makes the child feel better in the moment. But there are costs.

“The most fundamental thing for adults to understand is that avoidance feeds anxiety,” Damour told me. “When any of us are fearful, our instinct is to avoid. But the problem with giving in to that anxiety is that avoidance is highly reinforcing.” The more often students skip school, the harder it becomes to get back in the habit of going.

Aggravating inequality

I know that some readers will wonder whether families are making a rational choice by keeping their children home, given all the problems with schools today: the unhealthily early start times for many high schools; the political fights over curriculum; the bullying and the vaping; the inequalities that afflict so many areas of American life.

And the rise in chronic absenteeism is indeed a sign that schools need help. One promising step would be to make teaching a more appealing job, Damour notes, in order to attract more great teachers.

Still, it’s worth remembering that the rise of absenteeism isn’t solving these larger problems. It is adding to those problems.

Classrooms are more chaotic places when many students are there one day and missing the next. Educational inequality increases too, because absenteeism has risen more among disadvantaged students, including students with disabilities and those from lower-income households. “Studies show that even after adjusting for poverty levels and race, children who skip more school get significantly worse grades,” The Economist explained recently.

As Hedy Chang, who runs Attendance Works, a nonprofit group focused on the problem, told The Associated Press, “The long-term consequences of disengaging from school are devastating.”

Many schools are now trying to reduce absenteeism by reaching out to families. Some school officials are visiting homes in person, while others are sending texts to parents. (This Times story goes into more detail.)

It will be a hard problem to solve. Dee’s study focused on 2021-22 — which was two years ago, and the first year after the extended Covid closures — but he notes that absenteeism appears to have fallen only slightly last year. In Connecticut, which has some of the best data (and lower absentee rates than most states), 7.8 percent of students missed school on an average day two years ago, a far higher level than before the pandemic. Last year, the rate dipped only to 7.6 percent.

[fratboykate]

well it’s kind of a funny story actually! we were in france for a competition (naturally), the competition was in a city but we decided to stay about 35 minutes away in the countryside in the village i’m from! free accommodation. i’d been thinking about proposing for a really long time, i knew i was going to marry her pretty much as soon as we started dating tbh, but i was really in my head about it because i wanted it to be perfect because she deserves it! one of the days we were in the city for comp day and i was running late so she had to leave without me but she sent the teammates who weren’t shooting that day to pick me up so i didn’t have to worry about being in hurry and driving around all the roundabouts (rural france has a lot of roundabouts, i hate them/they make me nervous). so we parked the car and we were walking down this street to the venue and i turned my head by complete chance and i saw the perfect ring in the window of this jewellery store. it was perfect, but we were running late so i asked if one of the other girls would come with me to buy it the next day. so the next day i tell agf that i’m going into the city to get our morning bread instead of walking to the bakery down the street, but really i was going with the team to buy the ring. the whole team turned up, including her coach AND her physio. they all wanted to see the ring, to make sure i was doing right by her etc. the ring is perfect: 24k white gold band, solitaire cut ethically sourced 1.5ct diamond, it cost more than the down payment on our house lol but if they hand asked me to cut off my arm with a wooden spoon right then and there i would have. i had originally planned to propose when we got back home, at the park where i first told her i loved her and i knew in my bones i was going to marry her - something really low-key. i forgot my bag so i had to put the ring in its box in my coat pocket and we went about our day and tbh i kind of forgot about it. it was bastille day - i think that’s what you call it in the US anyway - so we were at the small village festival, then later at my family’s house and it was nice because my sister who was abroad at the time had managed to make it home while i was in the city in the morning. it’s on a hill and we were looking down at the fireworks in the village below and i could hear the music and feel the celebrations of my family in the background and i looked over at her and i just remember thinking that i’ve never felt this safe and happy, and if the world ended that second i wouldn’t care because she was there. and i just realised i couldn’t wait any longer. i couldn’t wait for her to be my wife. so i put down my drink and i let go of her hand and turned around to get the ring out of my pocket and when i turned back, opened ring box in hand she was just opening the ring box with my ring in it. we laughed and cried and proposed and said yes (obviously). it turns out that she specifically flew my sister out to go buy the ring with her, because she saw the perfect ring on our first day there and she wanted to buy it that day, and she wanted my sister to be there. so she bought her a plane ticket and when they went into the city that afternoon they were actually buying the ring. from the same jewellery store. on the same day. there are like 3 other jewellery stores on the same street. and then we got married a month later! -agf

WHAT KIND OF GAYASS FAIRYTALE ARE YOU HOMOS LIVING IN AND HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY EPISODES BECAUSE I WANT ALL OF THE CONTENT?????????????????? LIKE???? I COULDNT WRITE THIS? THIS IS...DARE I SAY...BETTER THAN FICTION?????????? EXCUSE YOU???

BUT ALSO I HAVE QUESTIONS KJLSHJGKDFG HOW DIDN'T HER TEAMMATES KNOW SHE WAS PROPOSING AND BUYING A RING THERE TOO?! SURELY SHE WOULD'VE TOLD THEM? NO? KJDHGJSKDFG YOU GUYS BOUGHT A RING FROM THE SAME JEWELRY STORE BUT NOT *THE SAME RING* RIGHT?!??!?! THAT WOULD JUST BE TOO MUCH FOR MY GAY HEART TO HANDLE??? LISTEN I NEED DIAGRAMS, VIDEOS, PICTURES, A POWER POINT PRESENTATION. I FEEL LIKE I WILL NEVER HAVE ENOUGH DETAILS HERE.

[khaleesiofalicante]

Hi Dani, I'm increasingly becoming disconnected with my job and feel like I need to rant.

I work in a care home so the job itself isn't easy. The pay is laughable, minimum wage (I could work in a supermarket for much more money). We recently learnt that the rich scumbags who own the home pay their staff more money in their other homes despite doing the exact same job. We all wrote letters complaining and they just ignored us - they're practically laughing in our faces.

When we work bank holidays, we get time-and-a-half (e.g. 12 hour shift + pay for 6hours) when the vast majority of businesses would pay their workers double pay at least. I'm working some hours on Christmas day and full 12hr shifts new year's eve and day - my mum used to be paid TRIPPLE pay if she worked new years when she worked in a bread factory and hardly anyone works Christmas day - they're paying us the absolute minimum extra they can by law and it's disgusting.

When you put in context we have almost 40 residents and their families or the government pays like £700 a WEEK to be there (not including toiletries or incontinent pads, family have to pay extra for that of course 🙄), they must be making an absolute fortune from our home alone and they do everything they can to pay their staff as little as possible.

I've been looking for new jobs since I've finished my masters. I want to get a mortgage with my boyfriend next year and I don't see how I can stay here on minimum wage and afford the monthly mortgage payments + the increasing cost of living. And with that I feel myself checking out - I can't be bothered when I go into work. I still care for the residents of course but I don't put 100% in like I used to. I'm not running around doing as much as possible like I used to.

And just now (which has prompted me to go on this rant 😅), we were discussing our secret santa - each staff randomly given a resident to buy a small present for Christmas. One of my colleagues asked if they could wait until pay day (9th December) and the management said... no?? They need them ASAP. My blood was just BOILING, we are all struggling and they can't let their staff wait until they're paid again to buy the present??? There's more than enough time to make up for any staff that fail to get a present if that's their issue. I just couldn't believe they'd demand this when we get paid pittance and expected to work over Christmas and new year for very little extra - this lady has little children too, she must be so frightened on how she's going to afford everything!!

So I'm just feeling myself just getting lower and lower over this, I just want to leave. And whilst I'm still working there, I don't want to be. Thank you for reading this Dani, I just needed to get it all off my chest ❤

Thank you for sharing with me.

That is truly such a toxic and unsupportive work environment! What you do is such important work and the fact that is not only being taken for granted but is also being inhumanely exploited is making me angry too.

From what you tell me, it seems as if the working conditions (or the management) are very difficult and change is easier said than done. But I do hope something will change (i hope at least the residents will speak on your behalf!). Sending you lots of luck with the job hunting, if that's something you want to continue to pursue. I do hope you get to work in a place where you feel valued and respected.

Please do something nice for yourself today, You have absolutely earned it <3

[serahlink]

❗HELP A HOMELESS ARTIST❗

(reblogs are greatly appreciated)

Making another post promoting commissions since none of my other posts are getting anywhere and me and my family are running low on funds.

Hi, my name is Link. My family (Dad and sibling) and I have been homeless since November 2021. I opened my art commissions to try and get us a motel room (which worked) and I've been doing that to support us ever since, trying to pay for the room daily and trying to also make enough for food.

It's getting very much harder nowadays with the lack of business and inflation making things so much more difficult to live day to day. More often than not we either end up starving for a day or more , or we have to stay up for hours into the night and morning just to get enough before checkout time. Most of the time it's both.

It's especially going to be harder now that things are going downhill for twitter right now as it's where I'd get most of my business from. If it completely shuts down, we're completely fucked and we have no family or friends to lean back on for this. It's just us.

So, I'm hoping that I can find some work here again to help sustain ourselves until something changes in our situation.

My prices and examples will be below for you to look through in case you're interested. My turn around time is 3-6 days for a simple commission (headshot, bust, half body, or sometimes fullbody) and 1-2 weeks depending on how big of a piece it is and other details.

If you're interested you can either pm me here or email me (gilsky19@gmail.com). I'll be sure to reply to you as soon as I can. Also while you're here, please reblog this, it really helps us get more awareness and possible help towards our situation. Thank you.

~Prices~

Sketch - 10$ base price, may cost more depending on the drawing's details

Sketch page - 20$ (+10$ if colored)

Headshot - 15$ (+10$ if shaded)

Bust - 30$ (+10$ if shaded)

Half body - 40$ (+10$ if shaded)

Full body - 50$ (+10 if shaded)

Couples commissions (this includes a commission with more than one person) - 70$ (+15$ if shaded)

Reference sheets - 90$ per sheet

[josiebelladonna]

i need to roast something to make myself laugh. and when i say “roast”-

yeah.

i found this list. “50 signs you’re a good cook” because i like to torment myself and twist the knife into my own pain.

parentheses are my responses.

1. Can rustle up anything from scratch (yeah, i mean, growing up poor, i don’t think “save our souls” when i see “s.o.s.”)

2. Loving to eat as well as cook (so much for the 100 pound weight loss, i can’t be trusted, i guess…. … don’t get it? look up the phrase “never trust a skinny chef”)

3. Willing to experiment and try all foods and ingredients when cooking at home (heaven help the poor bastard who tried mastic powder the first time thinking it was going to smell like basil—)

4. Being happy to prepare food in front of guests (bro, just thinking about it makes me have a stroke)

5. Always being able to whip something up when there's virtually nothing in the cupboard (fried bread, bitches!)

6. When making a roast dinner everything finishes cooking at the same time (yeah, probably because i roasted the carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms with it, how else would it finish simultaneously?)

7. Can identify certain herbs from appearance (heaven help the poor bastard who can’t tell ground oregano from ground basil or tarragon at first glimpse—that poor bastard is me)

8. Can throw things together knowing that the different combinations (of various foods, herbs, spices) will go together and taste fab (as you read this, someone somewhere is making a screwdriver thinking they just invented a new drink)

9. Experiments with dishes by adding a twist on classics (and as you read this, you know someone somewhere is putting bay leaves and thyme in a chocolate tart)

10. Experimenting with recipes more than once a week (cooking i get, but who tf is baking more than once a week?? barring they aren’t professional bakers or have a huge family?)

11. Being able to laugh if things go wrong in the kitchen (i literally can’t do this. i. can’t. do. this. EVER. i may as well be dead)

12. Can identify herbs and spices by the taste (honestly, if you can do this, congratulate yourself for not being the chainsmoking assholes on hell’s kitchen who probably couldn’t differentiate an apple from a potato)

13. Knowing what herbs go in each dishes (however, if you can do this, fuck you)

14. Can chop things really finely, safely (and you can go to hell if you can do this. like, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse ME, masaharu morimoto)

15. Always have eggs and milk in the fridge (if you don’t, something is wrong)

16. Home-makes all condiments and sauces (all condiments, including ketchup and the one yo mama used?)

17. Owning a spice rack (bitch, i got you beat with my spice CABINET)

18. Always the one people go to for cooking tips (ehhh, dream on)

19. Knows what every utensil in the kitchen does (bonus if you know every secondary use for the utensil, too, oooooOOOOoooOOooOOOO)

20. Have a very well stocked pantry with all kinds of ingredients, i.e.: masala leaves, curry powder, mustard seeds, different types of oils: olive, avocado, roasted sesame seed, peanut, truffle, canola (the way truffle and sesame oils cost these days? get outta here…)

21. Doesn't need Oxo to make gravy (who’s out here using oxo for gravy? it’s butter, flour, stock, water, and maybe some green onions. full disclosure: i actually didn’t know what oxo was so i saw this and went “oh okay”)

22. Will offer for extra people to stay to dinner at a moment's notice (never happened to me before, and frankly, the way i get comments in the hellofresh group and the bread making group on facebook, i don’t think this’ll happen, either)

23. Rarely eat takeaways (or “fast food” as we call it here in ‘MURICA)

24. Knows exactly how long to cook a perfectly poached egg (without looking it up… 5 minutes?)

25. Knows how to peel fruit and veggies most efficiently (i’ve been peeling potatoes and carrots since i was 6, it’s more second nature to me than geography)

26. Knowing and practicing cooking terms like: 'Al dente', broil, blanch, clarify, deglaze, flambé, gratin, etc. (Immagino di essere un perdente dato che non so tutto 🤷🏻‍♀️)

27. Always wanting to try a new dish when eating out (*insert joke about oral here*)

28. Being able to guess what is in a dish just from the taste (all the times i heard “it tastes like ass” coming back to haunt me)

29. Never needing to use a cookbook (again, dream on)

30. Always the designated cook for large family gatherings (*shrek and donkey laughing.gif*)

31. Know when a cake is done without having to stick a cocktail stick in it a hundred times (once is enough, dumbass)

32. Knowing measurements without having to actually measure (bro, it took paul hollywood 25 years to do this, sit down)

33. Owns good quality cook-ware (our poor pots and pans… my stepbrother’s girlfriend abused the fuck out of our utensils when they were living here. i’d love to have some new shit as i’m sure anyone with half a brain would).

34. Writes a detailed list for the food shop (YES I’D LIKE APPROXIMATELY FIVE GRAMS OF EXTRA FINE SALT FROM THE BELLEND OF A MONGOLIAN WILDEBEEST)

35. Knowing which wine to pair with certain meat or fish (buckle up, earthlings, we’s cooking with grape squeezins!!)

36. Owning a full set of herbs/spices (you know someone somewhere has a quarter set of herbs and spices, and they aren’t k.f.c.)

37. Enjoying a messy kitchen (fewer things in life are more depressing and hard to look at than a messy kitchen, i guess i suck 🤷🏻‍♀️)

38. Don't need a timer (literally the best, most offhand example of simple math coming in handy)

39. Understanding what all the symbols on the oven mean (duhhhhhh, this means ON and this iz thuh TIMER)

40. Can chop an onion in seconds (pffff… it’s chopping BEETS in seconds that takes mad skills)

41. Being able to cook steaks perfectly using the thumb technique (for those who don’t know: press your thumb to the fleshy part of your palm under your thumb or your cheekbone—that’s rare. the tip of your nose: medium rare. your chin: medium. i think.)

42. Can always add in just the right (…what? it just said “the right”, it didn’t say anything else after that 😂)

43. Knowing what 'Bain Marie' is and having the perfect pans for it (*sigh* just use a big bowl over a saucepan with about an inch of water over high heat, you’ll be fine)

44. Knowing the correct pronunciation of unusual or exotic foods (i don’t know… i don’t know if i can pronounce “horse rib and rectum sausage” very well—yes, that is a thing, i shit you the fuck not)

45. Knowing which wine to drink with meat (hey, don’t assume that because i live a couple hours away from paso robles that a sober country bumpkin like me knows absolutely bubkes about wine)

46. Can flip a pancake perfectly (what, tossing a pancake in the air with the skillet instead of a spatula like a peasant?)

47. Knows how to prepare celeriac (you mean celery root? what’s with everyone and celery root lately? i mean, it’s okay, it’s pretty good, but y’all need to stop with making certain foods fads and then doing them to death à la pistachio or almond)

48. Mum goes round for Sunday dinner rather than the other way round (she doesn’t really have a choice, so-)

49. Always read food magazines (because racing magazines are full of drama, music magazines can’t all have alex skolnick or joey belladonna, and science magazines are full of ads)

50. Owns set of fancy knives (they’re colorful, and my favorite is the blue one, does that count?)