#images are random and from Pinterest but i thought they fit her

[that-unfortunate-crow]

ALRIGHTY, SLEEPSONA TIME!

I suck at sharing OC lore so bear with me. Basing this off of the band lore/characters, not the actual people.

Name: Love Veris [Name that was literally shouted from my subconscious while listening to Jaws]

Current Age: 25

Age She became a Vessel: 21

Occupation: Witch

I can literally see her in my mind but I can't draw her. [*Screaming Internally*]

Appearance: Long brown hair with streaks of grey. Usually worn in a bun or single braid.

Dark Green eyes

Tan skin mottled in scattered scars and burns

6'2 and lean muscle

Color Palette: Green, black, grey, maroon

Likes: Candy, Oranges, Fantasy novels, Poetry, Coyotes, cats, cooking

Dislikes: Loud Noises, being interrupted, Deep Water, the number 27

Instrument: Six string acoustic guitar

Still working on how she met Sleep and How she ended up as a vessel.

Thinking about calling her VII [Seven]

[chris-continues]

College AU Thoughts (cont.)

Writing more college au solely because ONE OF THE COOLEST PPL EVER @macncherries did Wolfwood art (here check it out), but have some more random college au thoughts

TAGS: @lune010 @h4venpha @vashfantasy

-Meryl probably has some really nice gel, ballpoint, colored pens that she literally abuses all the time. Sometimes her notes aren’t even totally neat she’s just sleep deprived and highlighting/underlining the important areas of her textbook as she listens to her lecture

-Vash definitely has to listen to audio playback of lectures- does he try to take notes in class? Yeah. But they look like chicken scratch, his handwriting pales in comparison to literally anyone else’s T<T listening while he does smth else really helps w/ how he learns (autistic vash) (cough)

-Meryl and Milly have matching pairs of rip-off Birkenstocks they found at like Marshall’s then saw a pair w a marijuana leaf and Milly went, “Reminds me of Wolfwood!” So they got it (to Meryl’s amusement and dismay). Wolfwood wears them often

-Ok, I’ve been debating on this hc that Vash sometimes gets invited to parties, considering he’s a bit of a campus celeb. Handsome, athletic (tennis player legend), but he can easily get overwhelmed. He’s having fun with the fame for like a good 30 minutes to an hour and then he just kinda tires out more as the night drags on.

-Meryl’s outfits consist of her wanting comfort yet maintaining her usual feminine flair. Yoga pants with a cami and a simple jacket, or on nicer days more of a fitted sweater. Perhaps a jumper and a baby tee/turtleneck underneath- I think when she’s feeling it she def likes Monica Helper’s looks from Friends. A casual, yet still sweet vibe.

-for accessories she probably has an Apple Watch and the staples- hoop earrings, her classic dangle/rectangular earrings, some silver hardware if she’s feelin extra funky and a classic black belt because I do believe she hates it when her jeans are too low it’s a big thing that annoys her to no end.

-On the other hand, Milly’s outfits are less fitted and I think she’s more laid back in her appearance, preferring some of the crew necks she’s collected from several events her siblings have been to or hand me downs from her country family. She wears vintage athletic wear though, it’s cute on her and it suits her well.

-she has a few simple scrunchies she remains loyal to, not wanting to cut her hair short and often tying it up. When she feels more femme she’s got some cute necklaces that pair well with any cute sweaters she has- she also has some maxi skirts she wears too! :) (can’t find an exact image of what I have in mind + I have a 10 image limit on mobile lol)

-Meryl avidly has to live off of coffee. Girl is always so organized but truthfully she’s half alive due to the fact she’s a frequent visitor at the campus cafe and is familiar w/ some of the baristas who often cut her slack if she ever needs a pick me up.

-Vash is like a crazy good teacher, to some people’s surprise. He can word concepts in a way that breaks them down easier, sometimes he even has some little memory hints he uses lol. For any other ND kid in class who’s a bit bashful they usually flock to him, he’s got such a charming aura and never fails to make anyone feel a bit more comfortable.

-Wolfwood teases Meryl for her aforementioned coffee addiction, but I’d imagine he takes a liking to something like a pink drink. Like- usually that stuff is too sugary for him, but smth about it has him coming back for more!!

-Meryl has an array of podcasts she listens to- I think she def dabbled in true crime maybe?

-Milly and Meryl’s shared dorm is actually really chill. There’s some clutter on each side but they’ve got a shared mini fridge (Meryl got it but doesn’t mind Milly using it because she likes her) it’s stocked with pudding cups

-Milly got Pinterest after Meryl wanted to share ideas for food ideas on weekends (they’re both on a meal plan but still need to eat on Saturdays and Sunday’s lol) so they usually end up going out for some cheap takeout w/ Vash and Wolfwood or make something in a rice cooker they found at a thrift store that works kinda ok… for the price they got it.

-Like they’re cutting up spam, eggs, tossing rice on there, some veggies they got and sometimes they splurge on cheap fruit like bananas and apples

-They both like to eat well and unlike Vash and Wolfwood they won’t live off of instant ramen and takeout (although Vash eats pretty well considering he lives with Nai, who makes sure he regulates his diet due to sports and Vash’s long list of medical concerns)

-Wolfwood eats like shit though I’ll be completely honest

-The guy knows how to shop. But he doesn’t want to. So he lives off of cup noodles and old pizza, takeout and shit, and thanks to crazy fast metabolism he works it off whenever he does some form of working out and whatnot.

-Will agree that he has the best of the best songs, his music taste is unparalleled. Like he’ll be busting it down to 6up 5oh Cop-Out (Pro/Con) by Will Wood from his middle school days then some new metal he’s gotten into (he peeked over Knives’ Spotify playlists) OO OR OR THIS IS LOVE BY AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (I’m def not projecting w/ what’s on my Spotify rn I’m shit at song names I just know vibes)

-Vash likes hyperpop and rave typa stuff it stimulates his brain in just the right way tbh

[cyverrieee]

Ahem ahem.. https://www.tumblr.com/cyverrieee/750001377482244096/i-want-and-need-asks-pls

I have come bearing three..

Inspiration

Dorm

Class

EHEHAHHEHA YAYAYAY ANYWAYS

1.) Inspiration

Miln Paine Honeywoods

He's obviously inspired by Winnie the Pooh. I saw this random Pinterest image with Pomefiore and Winnie the Pooh and I was "okay"

Winnie the Pooh world domination:3

Usually I call Miln “Paine“ since idk I kinda just did. Milne is the name of Christopher Robin's mother who gifted Christopher a stuffed bear from Harrods Department store. The stuffed bear was modelled after a bear they both saw in London Zoo. The name Miln is so unoriginal BYE.

Elioyl Alreon Partenet

Elioyl is mostly inspired by Dumbo/Jumbo Jr. From the Dumbo movie. Which also made my reason for Elioyl to be in a family full of people in the entertainment industry.

Aerlai Lunina Partenet

Aerlai is mostly inspired by Lumpy from Winnie the Pooh, there's nothing much to say but outside of the Disney franchise. She's also inspired by Silver Wolf from Honkai star rail.

Isiana Snowfall

Madame Isiana is GREATLY inspired by the giant monster that Elsa summons to get Anna and Kristoff to leave. The part where they fall off the cliff yk.

She also has children who are inspired by the sequel of the time where Elsa gets sick and starts sneezing only for small little marshmallow snow thingys randomly appear

Hunrriel Robin Honeywoods

Miln's father and the father who is basically just Christopher Robin in twisted wonderland. He works as a teacher with a side Hussle of making news paper 🤞

(if they existed irl, Robin and Paine would be from Sussex, England)

Charity Blanc

Charity is inspired by Marie from the Aristocats (1970)

I haven't watched the movie in a while so I technically can't remember what Marie's personality was like 3:

I plan to make her whole family in the future :3

2.) Dorm

Miln Paine Honeywoods

He is from Pomefiore as mentioned earlier that I saw a random ass Pinterest image about them and all.

Second reason is that I like the color purple.

I also saw this post about twst with Winnie the Pooh (ctto)

Elioyl Alreon Partenet

I put him in Savanaclaw because I think it's funny that a human is in a dorm full of beastmen but also it also fits him, as Dumbo/Jumbo Jr. was a victim of bullying and discrimination (As the movie, Dumbo, is a movie about bullying and discrimination at the time because kids get bullied yk) for being well different. If you connect the dots, it makes sense. As canonically, Elioyl gets slightly judged for being the only human around in a dorm like Savanaclaw.

Also Elioyl was supposed to be in Heartslabyul but the dark mirror changed it's thought last minute

Aerlai Lunina Partenet

She's still a young teen so she's still in middle school

Isiana Snowfall

She used to be a student in NRC before becoming one of the staff there. She was a Pomefiore student (as I think Pomefiore is the oldest dorm to be made?)

Charity Blanc

She's in Heartslabyul just because, idk maybe because her Disney version was a cat or I needed a heartslabyul dorm oc not sure

3.) Class

Miln Paine Honeywoods

His class is D-2, I'm not really particular in any canon cast students from D-2 class. But yeah he's there— Oh fuck it's Floyd. Welp shit

He's that one student where the teacher will be assigned as the leader in group projects, he also canonically tutors students when teachers ask to or by personal reason

Elioyl Alreon Partenet

Hes from B-2, stuck with Ruggie. He has average grades so 🤷

Aerlai Lunina Partenet

N/A

Isiana Snowfall

N/A (she forgot)

Charity Blanc

She's in B-1, same class as Epel and Jack :D

LOOK I HAVE MORE.OCS BUT ITS LIKE- IM LAZY AND YK 😭😭😞😞

[idiotmaggot]

Welcome to my blog...

Hello, here I am finally making a pinned intro post...

.•°I am called idiotmaggot, but you can call me Keira, or just idiot or just maggot, I don't have a preference really.°•.

.•°I use she/her pronouns, but I won't get upset if you accidentally get it wrong.°•.

.•°I am 16 yrs of age... CREEPS GET OUT!!!°•.

.•°I am not a fan of labels, but I suppose I fit under the asexual umbrella.°•.

...Rules...

.•°Tbh I am pretty chill, don't have much for rules°•.

.•°If I don't like you I will just unfollow/block°•.

.•°I'm not going to bother with dni list for the above reason...°•.

.•°I don't have any particular triggers or things that will make me uncomfortable°•.

.•°Just like... don't be a dick. And that goes for not just to me but to other people as well. I don't wanna see anyone being mean for no reason.°•.

.•°Feel free to send me messages/asks, I will always appreciate it, and i like chatting with moots :)°•.

...so what's the blog about?...

.•°This blog is for whatever the fuck I want to post.°•.

.•°I'm in love with frank iero, you will see a lot of him here°•.

.•°90% of the time my posts are about my chemical romance°•.

.•°I also enjoy plenty of other bands, some emo and some not.°•.

.•°Like pierce the veil, green day, twenty øne piløts, red hot chili peppers, deftones, 3oh!3, marianas trench, guns n' roses, and 100 gecs, just to name a few.°•.

.•°I mostly only post about those top 3 tho, if I'm not posting about mcr for the fifth time in one day XD°•.

.•°I currently have 2 series going on, thigh appreciation thursday every Thursday, and the killjoys action figure adventures story, which doesn't have a fixed schedule but there is a new episode every day or every other day°•.

.•°And I also just sometimes post about my life or my thoughts, or other random interests and/or obsessions I have.°•.

.•°also just gonna throw this in here, all of my images, gifs, dividers and such including those in my regular posts are either from pinterest, sent to me by someone, or things in my gallery that I have forgotten the source of, unless otherwise credited°•.

...lastly...my organization tags...

.•°#idiotmaggot is my original posts°•.

.•°#idiot thoughts is, well, my thoughts, straight from the dome°•.

.•°Uhh tbh I don't think I have any other ones. Or I'm forgetting... idk...°•°.•°..•.-----

.•°#idiotmaggart is my art that I have made°•.

.•°#idiotmaggot productions is my killjoy action figures story°•.

[unreadpoppy]

random OC ask: what would your OC wear on an average day? what would they wear to a special event?

[feel free to include reference images, if you'd like!]

this is the moment that I have been waiting for *takes deep breath*

I wanted to talk about all my girls, so I will. Also, reference pics under the cut.

Gwendolyn Gray: Day to day, she wears a simple dress, usually like one color, pants underneath (even thought she hates pants, but a girl's gotta keep her decency), boots, and over that she wears her armor (which is really just like a leather corset thing and these two leather hand thingies that idk what the name is). Also, the dress is most likely a blue color, considering that's her favorite.

For a special event, she would definetly go with something elegant and flowy and big, like this girl would like some ball gowns so that she can live out her best fairy tale life (although, with her money, she'd probably go with something simpler).

Elizabeth Adawolf: Day to day, she wears practical clothes, like shirt and pants and then her armor on top, most are a dark color like black or dark blue, and she has a hood on the back so she can cover herself.

Special events, she wears red dresses, usually with a deep neckline so she can show off, and with skirts that either flare out or drape (both of these descriptions are based on the two red dresses she actually wore during two special events we had in game).

Nyx Lenoir: Day to day, she wears some very simple dresses, mostly blue, brown or beige, that are all torn and tathered at the bottom due to her being in the woods and being around animals, like her day to day dresses are not in the best shape. Also she likes to wear hats, fits with her witch of the woods aesthetic.

Special events, she'd rather no attend, but since she works for a noble, she has to go to them, and she just wears whatever's handed to her. The one dress I usually put her on is this big, blue one, but if she had a choice, she'd prefer something more simple.

Genevieve von DeWilde: Day to day, she's also a dress girlie but hers are more expensive because she comes from a noble house. So they are a bit bigger, more elaborate, definetly not the greatest for adventuring but hey, when your job is to stay back and cast spells, you can give yourself a treat. Usually she wears some bright colors, like pink, yellows and purple. Also, before she left home, she'd wears gloves all day everyday.

Special events she's going all out, the only one who can and would actually afford a ball gown.

Okay for references, Y'all will be subjected to my drawings so yeah (many of these are veeeery old and also the og designs of the character so yeah anyways) (also some of these photos i found on pinterest, so i can't link to the OG artists)

Gwendolyn, day to day (one of this was one of the first times i drew gwen and the other is the last):

Special event: the pink one she wore it in my dnd game and the blue one is an idealized version of what she would want to wear

Elizabeth Adawolf day to day:

Special events (again, this is what she wore in game):

Nyx Lenoir, day to day:

Special Event:

Genevieve von DeWilde, day to day: (also genevieve used to be galatea but then i changed the name)

Special event:

[persephoneflouwers]

Hello Angie!

I hope you don’t mind the novel but hey you wanted to share thoughts so here I am!

Rationalize is a big word but me thinks this is happening for various reasons, you tell me what you think about these options:

- Louis has this persona of “not wanting to grow up” so a younger girlfriend fits what everybody knows about him. She also seems to be tailored to the het audience who wants to “date him” and might identify with her. You know, sort of what El 1.0 was in 2012, the girl next door sort of thing but still “a fashion model” (who does no modeling, lol). But these pap pics feel precisely planned to make her look like a fan, so the message seems to be if she can date him, all fans can too! He’s a normal dude dating a normal girl who looks just like you! Buy tickets to his concerts and you might get lucky (because I can pretty much guess she’s gonna disappear real quickly and he’s going to be *available* and party boy during tour 🥲)

- There’s extra gayness in the documentary so having a son wasn’t enough. Seems unlikely but who knows? Rainbows can’t be erased from his tour shots, so I guess it’ll have to be addressed in some way.

- Also having a new romance in general helps with publicity, so for him to be talked about before the doc release. I still would have picked a higher profile, maybe another musician girl, if you really needed to sell a certain image AND benefit Louis and expand his audience, but again let’s be real I think his PR is incompetent. If I have to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe the fan, down to earth girl angle is what they actually wanted to achieve with picking a good-looking nobody (back to point 1). It’s clearly benefitting her more than him (she went from 5K followers this morning to what, 35K now?)

- last wild though, maybe there was something with Eleanor wearing his clothes and still posting from his house that didn’t sit well with someone? So they needed to make a point? Wild but we’ve seen worse so keeping all options open.

I genuinely don’t know, but a mix options 1 and 3 seem the more rational. What do you think?

Last thought: I really hope she was ready and well informed before agreeing to this, but the whole shitshow with the Pinterest pins and Spotify playlists tells me there was a level of naivety on her end which is alarming. She was probably guided into this by a reckless agent with who knows what promises and it scares me. I don’t mind the age gap (my parents started dating when she was 18 and he was 29), but I do mind the fact that she’s likely too young to handle the hate she’s getting, regardless of the economic gains she’ll get from this it’s going to be traumatic if you don’t have the right support to handle it/maturity.

Hello, angel! Thank you for sharing <3 I will slowly go through your thoughts and explain what I think.

1. The forever young boy is interesting, bc Louis comes off as the loud hyperactive guy sometimes. Unfortunately I think they burned this option out when they gave him a fake kid lol

2. I think feeding such a dream to his fans is a huge underdevelopment, but it’s loyal to his fanbase origin. Still. It’s so cringe for me that a 31 yo man with a kid goes out with a young girl who pins tiktoks and random tattoos researches on Pinterest. It’s counterproductive, dumb and lazy. I don’t look at them as examples and I don’t expect them to do smart shit. we’re talking about rich people growing up as completely detouched from normal world since they were teenagers. Me and them, you and them? We’re not the same as them. I hoped he was smarter than this tho. Of course this can be useful as promo for the doc… will it tho, we know how his team and the media treat his content and projects, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they wouldn’t get any coverage not even with these pics. I don’t think that’s how you expand a fanbase or get more people curious in his work.

3. I think Eleanor simply wanted to be out for whatever reason. I think they replaced her with a new one bc E wasn’t going to engage with bg. She has never and she won’t (so far). I hope this new girl did her homework because fandom is hard to manage.

[the-wretched-and-joyful]

Happiness and Heartbreaks (part 2)

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Reader

Word Count: 5k

Warning: Probably mild cursing.

A/N: forgot that this was probably the longest piece i’ve ever written! here’s part 2, hope you like it, let me know what you think! *image sourced from Pinterest*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(italics are flashbacks)

"Dad, do you think astronauts have waffles in space?"

"Actually lee-lee, the do, but they probably eat it from a tube, you know, like toothpaste."

"Like toothpaste?" you hear Leah's exclamation at the description of the dining style of the astronauts as you make your way towards the kitchen. In the kitchen you see Leah and Harrison making breakfast. More like Harrison making breakfast and Leah sitting on a kitchen stool and pestering him with random questions, which he happily answers.

This has been a regular occurrence since you moved in with Harrison. You had to admit, it was a surprise to see how well Leah took to him, even after it was revealed to her that Daniel was not her real father, but Harrison was. Your mind wanders back to the conversation you had with Leah about Harrison.

"Okay, Leah, mama needs to talk to you, and god you are so little, and i don't know." You sat on your daughters bed, who has turned five just two weeks ago. It has been a wild few months. Coming to London for Christmas, meeting Harrison again, and trying to sort out everything. And after the conversation you had with your mother and Harrison and the advice your father gave you, you knew it was only fair to let the little girl know the truth, before she grows up more, and starts hating you for lying to her all her life.

"Mama, I'm a big girl now. I can have a big girl conversation." Leah says, her big eyes looking at you with all the trust in her heart.

"Okay," you had no idea how to start, "remember when you asked where babies come from, and I explained to you?"

"yes, you said that if you love someone very much and if you want a baby together, then you and the person have to apply to Baby Corp. and if they approve your application, then they will give you a baby." She explains, almost making you laugh. She had asked the question while watching Boss baby, so the answer was not hard to think of.

"Yes, and the thing is, I did not apply for you at the Baby Corp. with your dada. I applied for you, with your uncle Haz." You say carefully, checking her expression, which was turning to that of confusion.

"I don't know what that means." She asks.

"Baby, uncle Haz is your dad. Daniel, your dada, is your dada of course. But your father is Harrison." You prayed to god, you knew you were not doing it right, and you hoped you were not breaking your daughter with this.

"So, you mean, that uncle Haz is my dad? He is not my uncle? But my daddy?" Leah asks slowly.

"Yes"

"And Daniel is my dada?" she scratches her head, "but, why haven't I seen Haz before then?"

"Well, baby, we had a fight, and we both made mistakes, so I moved away. And then I had you, and I met you dada..." you trail off, not knowing what to say anymore.

"okay." She nodded her head, "so, do I have to call uncle Haz dada now,? "

"Baby, you can call him whatever you want to. If you are not okay with calling him dada, then you don't have to."

She seemed to be deep in thought, as deep in thought a five year old can look, before nodding her head again, "I will call him dad. Daniel will always be my dada, even though he is a star now." Her words almost make you choke with tears. That was a hard conversation for both of you.

"Okay, whatever you want baby. I just want you to be happy." You hug her tight, thinking when did she become so understanding and accepting. You had expected a crying fit, what you never thought is she will be so understanding.

"Good morning mama." Leah's cheerful greeting breaks the trance you were in, you didn't even know that you had reached the kitchen door, and were leaning on it. Leah bounces towards you and jumps into your arms, giving you two sloppy kisses on both your cheeks. "Dad says that astronauts eat waffles like toothpaste."

"That's gross." You and Leah make the same scrunched up face at Harrison, who laughs at you. He still counted himself lucky beyond limits for having you and Leah back in his life, having a daughter he didn't even knew existed, thanks to your mother. When confronted about it, she had said she only wanted to protect you, and seeing Harrison like that, she knew the only way the young man will move on with his life and be happy was if he knew that there was nothing to gain from his past. So she had lied to him, telling him that you lost the baby four months into the pregnancy, but you were married now, and happy. That had done it for him. He had stopped looking for you, believing that you were happy, and you deserved to be happy without him bringing the shadow of the past and what could've been in your life. It would've gone that way, had Leah not run into him, lost in the mall among the crowd of last minute shoppers.

At the beginning you had been careful. You did not trust Harrison entirely anymore, you watched him carefully whenever he was with Leah, though you never found anything to complain about. He was perfect with her, sometimes even better than you were. He was sweet and kind, and supportive, open minded, and protective, though not in an overbearing way. He realized quickly that Leah was an incredibly independent girl, taking pride in doing things her own way; he couldn't help but admire her for it, because he knew that she got it from you. So he made sure she did stuff on her own, but also made sure that he was always there, ready to catch her if she fell. He always answered her questions as honestly possible. Seeing them together made you think of what could've been if only you had stayed, if he had come back sooner, if he hadn't left at all. You thought of how it would've been if he was the one you raised Leah with. But past was past. Present was here, and at present, Leah was trying to draw dinosaur on her waffle with whipped cream.

You approach Haz, as he pulls you close by your waist, "good morning love." He murmurs, before planting a kiss on your temple and then kissing you on your lips, smiling into it when hearing a sing-song "gross" from the five year old. You laugh, looking at Leah, who had her hands covering her eyes, eating with her eyes closed. Suddenly your eyes found the clock that hung over the kitchen door, and the entire peaceful mood dissolves.

"HOLY SHIZZLES!" You pull away from Harrison, "Leah you'll be late for school!" you almost yell at her, "eat fast; I'll get your clothes ready. Haz, make sure she eats quickly." You ran out of the kitchen, hearing Harrison, urging her to eat quickly. You get her once she is done eating, get her ready for school and do her hair, before bringing her down, where Harrison was already waiting with car keys. You give them both a kiss goodbye, before they are off. You stand at the door for a few minutes, waiting for your heart to calm down. You make your way to your room, 'your and Harrison's room', you remind yourself. Honestly, you still didn't know how you felt about moving in with him. You tell yourself that you did this for Leah, that she needs it. But you know that there is a part of you that wants it as well. You can't deny the fact that living with Harrison, and Leah, makes you happy. But why was there a war always going on between your mind and your heart? Why did you felt guilty, and cautious, whenever he kissed you? Or said that he loved you. Why couldn't you say it back to him? He knew you were still afraid, still walking on eggshells about this relationship. He knew you still did not trust him completely. So he never pressured you. And it made you guiltier.

You shake your head, hoping the action will clear your head. You didn't know why you were over-thinking this morning. Knowing that a hot shower will clear your head, you walk into the shower. After showering, you pick your clothes carefully, since you had an interview. After getting dressed, you suddenly went to the dresser to look for the necklace your daughter had given you on your birthday, although it was actually Harrison, Leah had picked it out though. For some reason, you wanted to wear it today. Not finding it on the vanity, you look through the drawers, the last drawer was a little stuck, not opening all the way, but with enough force, it pulled free. Finding the necklace, its chain beneath a square jewellery box, you take it, putting it on, when suddenly it struck you.

You never keep any of your jewellery in the drawers, let alone the last drawer, cause it always sticks. So what was a square jewellery box doing there? And the box looked brand new; you didn't remember buying anything new recently. A tiny idea was peaking its head in your mind, but you shut it out before it could totally form. Before you knew it, you had opened the box and were staring at what it contained.

It was probably the most beautiful ring you have ever seen. It was vintage, you knew that at one look. The diamond at the centre was emerald cut, with smaller diamonds encrusted on the band on both sides. The entire thing glowed and sparkled like it had its own light, and knowing for a fact that it was there by Harrison's design, made your heart beat even faster.

You snap the box shut, putting it back in the drawer and closing the it. Nope, you told yourself. You were not going to think about it. It was probably not even for you, he was probably holding onto it for a friend. Yes, you tell yourself, yes, that is it. But no matter how much you tell yourself that, it still doesn't change the fact, that the band had your and Harrison's name engraved on it. He had asked for Leah's blessing and they went together to pick the ring. She was excited and said yes to all the rings that were shown to them, making him and the store attendant laugh at her endearing enthusiasm. In the end they had left the store with the ring he knew was made for you, and a sparkly bracelet for "the brightest star of my life." As Harrison had said before he picked the bracelet for Leah himself. He hadn't been able to give it to you yet. He knew that you still had doubts. So he was waiting, for the perfect time.

You leave the house before Harrison returned, knowing you wouldn't be able to face him without giving anything away. You try to distract yourself with the thoughts of your interview, preparing for it in your mind. You succeed in distracting yourself from the thought of the ring and everything once you reach the office. There were plenty of other applicants, all waiting for their turn. You turn your phone silent, waiting nervously for your turn.

The interview went on for quite a while, but you did well. By the time you were done and came out of the room, you were confident that you'll get the job. Coming out of the building, you take your phone out, to call for an uber, only to see a few missed calls from Leah's school, Harrison and a text from him

Haz: when you are done with the interview, call me.

Scared of what it might be, you dial his number, why did Leah's school call you? Did she get in any trouble? Is she hurt? All the questions were already making you go crazy, and on top of that Harrison was not picking up, just when you were about to hang up and call again, he picked up.

"Hey,' did he sound a little breathless? "How'd the interview go?"

"Fuck the interview Haz, what happened? Why did Leah's school call me? What happened?" you were pacing in front of the building entrance, the guard of the building staring at you.

"Love, calm down. Take a deep breath" you do as he says, closing your eyes, bracing yourself for the worst. "Leah had an accident."

"WHAT?" you yell out, making plenty of people jump away from you in fear. "Why wasn't I told?" you try to quieten your voice, shaking at his words. How can she have an accident?

"Baby, your phone was silent. The school called you, but they couldn't reach to you, so they called me." He reasons, "Get an uber, and get to St. Patricks hospital, I'm here already. And calm down, she is absolutely fine." He adds when he hears you sobbing on the other side of the phone.

You hang up and quickly hail a cab; you couldn't wait for an uber at this point. You had to see your little girl. Worry and anxiety gnawed at you the entire ride. Once you were at the hospital you threw a handful of bills next to the driver, not even bothering to collect the change. You ran in through the doors, and there he was, standing at the reception, filing out some forms.

"Haz," you call out loud as you run to him, he spots you and hugs you tight as you reach him.

"It's fine, hey it's fine." He murmurs into your hair, kissing the top of your head. Pulling away from you, he wipes the tears.

"What happened?" you swallow your sobs, demanding to know the entire story.

"Here is what the school told me, Leah and few of her friends were working on a secret project, and they needed something from the supply closet in their classroom, so instead of asking the teacher, Leah pulled a chair to the closet, got on it, and tried to pull the roll of papers towards her, but she fell, and a bunch of boxes full of paper ornaments and other art knick-knacks fell on her." You gasp at this, "but she will be fine, she just broke her leg and has a cut on her forehead, otherwise, she is absolutely fine."

"ABSOLUTLY FINE?" you exclaimed, making people look at you and Harrison, "she fell and a bunch of boxes fell on her, and she broke her leg, and that is absolutely fine to you?" you say in disbelieve. "I don't know about you Harrison, but I won't say my daughter is absolutely fine. She is hurt. Don't tell me she is absolutely fine."

"Yes I'll say she is absolutely fine, you know why?" anger flashed through his eyes, "Because it could've been worse. She could've fallen and hit her head and actually gotten a serious head injury, she could've broken more limbs and the boxes that fell on her could've been heavier and filled with dangerous stuff. And you knew how I can say this, cause when I got the call and had to rush to the hospital, these were the only thought in my head, only thing I was thinking about was what could've happened to her. So yes, compared to these, she is absolutely fine." He finished, his face flushed in anger. "And you always forget that she is my daughter too. And I'm probably more invested in her because I've lost four years of her life. I missed out, and everyday I feel like I have to make up for that. So yes, excuse me if I say she is absolutely fine with a broken leg and a cut on her forehead, because at least she is here, with Me." he walks away with this, visibly upset, leaving you to follow after him to the room Leah was at.

Whatever anger he felt, evaporated when he saw Leah was awake, and blinking at the room around her. His heart broke when he saw her on that hospital bed, her leg in a cast, a thick bandage wrapped around her head. She was looking for a familiar face among the doctor and the nurses in the room who came in when she woke up. And then she saw Harrison.

He still had no idea how it happened, but she had him wrapped around her little finger ever since she literally ran into him at the mall. He loved her, fiercely, and knew if he would do anything for her.

She held out her hand, and he walked into the room, grabbing her hand. "Is she okay?" he asked the doctors.

"Yes, but we still want to keep her in observation for the night, just in case she has a concussion." The doctor smiled reassuringly at Harrison.

Leah scrunched up her nose at the doctor "what's a consoosion?"

The doctor laughed, "ah, little lady, I'll tell you, but I have to and check in on other patients. How about I tell you tomorrow?" seeing her nod her head, the doctor gave her a small fist bump and left the room, leaving Haz and Leah alone.

"Dad, where is mama?" Leah turned her eyes towards Harrison, who looked back towards the door. He thought you were behind him.

"She's here, lee-lee, let me get her." He softly kissed her hand, and went out of the room, not finding you in the corridor; he retraced his steps back to the reception area where he lashed out on you. He now felt bad at saying all those things to you. He knew that you had a right to be worried, and be angry. But he felt it to be unfair when you implied that he was not as caring about Leah as you were. He knew that even now you didn't trust him entirely, and he was trying, but he is only a man, and every man has a breaking point.

He found you sitting on a chair near the reception, your head in your hands, shoulders shaking as a clear indication that you were crying. He took the seat beside you, and pulled you close to him.

"hey." He says comfortingly, trying to pry your hands away from your face, 'hey, its fine, look at me, she's fine, Leah is fine, and she is asking for you." he finally succeeds in taking your hands away from your face, and his heart breaks a second time. He has never seen you like this, sad, and scared and vulnerable. Is this how you looked when he left you all those years ago?

"shh, it's fine." He let you bury your face in his neck, effectively soaking his jumper with your tears. He let you cry for a while, before carefully pulling away, "Baby, Lee-lee wants to see you, but she can't see you like this. Come on," he pulls you to your feet and walks you towards the restroom. You go in and clean your face up as much as you can, taking off your ruined make up, you wash your face with cold water, knowing that you can't do anything about the swollen eyes. You walk out of the restroom, finding Harrison leaning on the wall a bit farther down the corridor. You walk towards him.

He pushes back from the wall, holding out his hand for you to take it, before hugging you once again. Pulling away he holds your face in his hands "I know this is the worst possible time, but you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen." His words make you laugh a little, even though you felt like crying. Both of you make your way towards Leah's room, but he stops you before you enter.

"Babe, I know you are worried, and you are scared, but remember, we can't let her know that. Okay?" he carefully monitors your expression. "It will only scare her. So let keep it light and breezy. Alright?" you nod our head, knowing that he is right. Kids only reflect how you act around them. If you start crying, it will only scare Leah and make her think that there is something wrong with her. So you take a deep breath enter the room.

Leah looked fine, if you ignored the cast on her left leg, and the huge bandage that covered her head. You felt like crying again, and felt Harrison squeeze your hand. You would've walked out of the room to cry some more, but she had already spotted you.

"Mama, look at this.' She pointed at her cast, "they gave me a purple one, dad told them that it's my favourite. And look, the nice nurse lady drew a dinosaur!" you couldn't help but roll your eyes at her enthusiasm. She wasn't the kind of girl who was into princess parties, rather she was the kind of girl who collected scabs and scars and had a weird enthusiasm for casts and band-aids.

"Very pretty." You say, taking a seat on the chair next to her bed, Harrison excusing himself out of the room, knowing you needed this time with her. "Baby, why didn't you as your teacher to get the paper? Why did you climb on the chair?" you as her, trying to tuck her hair behind her ears.

"Because it is a secret project." She mumbles, fidgeting with the hem of her hospital gown. No matter how many time you asked her, you could not make her talk about this. So you gave up. Harrison came back in, and you guys played 20 questions for a while, before it was time for Leah to sleep.

You don't know how, but Harrison somehow managed to charm the nurse, so that you guys can stay in Leah's room instead of the waiting room. You two spend the night, sitting on opposite sides of a sleeping five year old. Both of you just looking at her. What you don't realize is that both of you were stealing glances at each other while the other was not looking. But none of you say anything, until you break the silence.

"I'm sorry." You sigh, feeling as if a huge stone is crushing your chest. "She is your daughter, as much as she is mine. And these last few months you've been nothing but a good father, I just..." you feel a lump forming in your throat, "I just, I got so scared Haz." You dissolve into tears. You knew you were being dramatic, but this was not just about Leah, this was the guilt, doubt that has been nagging you since the day you agreed to get back with Harrison. You don't even see him get up from his chair; he pulls you up and drags you to the small couch in the room, and sits down with you on his lap. You curl into him, breaking down for the second time on his shoulder.

"At this rate my jumper is going to soaking wet." He jokes. You give out a strangled half laugh and half cry. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said all those things to you. I was so scared when they called and said that she was in an accident. I couldn't reach you, and, yeah, I thought of every worst possible scenario. But when I saw that she was fine, that it was just a broken leg," he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, "I was happy. At least she is safe. I don't know what I will do if I lose her again." You look at him for a beat, before kissing him. When you pull back, he takes a deep breath. "I know this is not the right place, or time, but if I ask you to marry me, will you say yes?" he looks at you with hopeful eyes.

You knew saying no meant breaking his heart completely, but at the same time, you didn't know how Leah will feel about it. But you also knew that you needed him. Even though you kept telling yourself that you were not in love with him, you fell back in love with him the moment he came to your house that day.

"Leah?" you say the name like a question.

Knowing what you were trying to say, he shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his lips, "Leah has already given us her blessing." He laughs a little at your shocked expression. "You didn't really think I will take such a decision without consulting the most important person in both our lives, did you?" he teasingly asks you.

You roll your eyes, "Yes, but is it okay if I still want to talk to her before answering?" you ask, biting your lips.

"Yes it is." He says, pecking your lips, "get some sleep." He rubs your nose with his, before tucking your head on his shoulder, both of you settling down for a night of fit full sleep.

You don't really get a chance to talk in the morning. You take Leah home, settle her down in her room, and then there were a thousand and one tasks to do, all of which goes smoothly, you and Harrison working side by side.

By the time you get any time, it is night. So after dinner, you chose to read Leah a story, instead of Haz. But before reading a story, you ask her "Leah, can I ask you something?"

"What is it mama?"

"Baby, what would you say if Harrison asked to marry me?" you ask her, not knowing what she will say.

Her eyes widens before she yells, "DAAAAAADYYY!" she looked close to tears, which set off the panic alarm in your mind.

"Darling are you okay? Does anything hurt?" you frantically look her over, while Harrison runs into the room,

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Did you already ask her?" she was visibly crying now. You felt as if your heart was sinking. You knew if she didn't want it, then you'd never marry him, which will only break your heart into pieces.

Harrison looked as surprised as you were. He was kneeling beside the bed now, "yeah, I did, why lee-lee? When I asked you, you said yes. What happened?"

"But why did you ask her when i was not there?" she cries, "I was making this banner and I thought you will tell me before you ask her. I thought you said it will be a surprise." she almost flings herself back on the pillows; as well she could fling herself with the cast on her leg.

However, your mind gets stuck on only one sentence, "you were making a banner?" you ask incredulously, Harrison looking at you, puzzled why you fixated on that one sentence. "Is that your secret project? Is that why you were on that chair?" you gesture wildly with your hands, looking at Haz, "you're going to say something to your daughter."

Now, Haz knew that it was a parenting moment, but there were two reasons why he knew he was going to fail at this, one, you had referred to Leah as his daughter, and two, Leah was making full blown puppy eyes at him, which made him melt right there on the spot, but still he gave it a try.

"Uhm, Leah, care to explain?" his use of her full name was enough to bring a new set of tears in her eyes.

"Yes, it was my secret project." Her voice so small you both couldn't hear it. "I'm sleepy now, good night." She quickly lies back down and pulls her blanket over her head. You and Harrison were still standing there, when suddenly she pulls down her blanket "mama, you should say yes to dad. Okay good night." She pulls her blanket up again.

"We are not done young lady; we will talk about it in the morning, you hear me?" You tell her as Harrison pulls you out of her room, turning the lights off. He laughs as you huff and puff back to your room. "You have to be tough with her, Haz." You tell him once he closes the door to your room.

He pulls you close by your hands, "Yeah baby you know I suck at being tough when it comes to her." He runs his hands through your hair, "how about this?" he adds seeing your glare "you can be tough on her, and I'll be tough on the boys who try to date her?" you punch him at this. "hey, that hurts." He whines, "But you know, you heard what she said, so what is your answer now?"

You had thought about all the elaborate ways you can say yes, but you just forget all that and breath out a "Yes, I will." Before kissing him. He catches you, and only deepens the kiss, before pulling away.

"Wait, the ring, I hope you like the ring." You laugh as he runs to the closet to get the ring, not knowing you had already seen it and loved it.

"Now, to do things the right way," he gets down on one knee in front of you "will you marry me?"

'Yes I will." You say again, as he slides the ring on your finger. "You do know you have to do this again in front of Leah, or she won't talk to you." you laugh as he picks you up before spinning you in a circle.

"For you I'll go down on one knew every day." He says, before kissing you again. This time however, there was no doubt and guilt in your heart, because you knew he will never leave you or Leah again.

[colour-outside-the-liness]

Hi Colour! How are you doing today? I don't know about doing meaningful things with my life, feel like I've just been surviving this entire time lol. However I am trying to figure it out and working on building the life I want to live and hopefully I will be able contribute to this world in some way.

I don't think I've ever played a game of trivial pursuit. Have never been to a pub either, not like the ones you have in the UK anyway. Just been to very dirty bars where me and my friends used to drink as much as we could afford, shared questionable food that could potentially make us sick the next day and there were no quizzes or games really haha. So your exp sounds way more fun! 😂

I'm glad you're giving the song a chance! Only Spotify knows how many times I've listened to it lol. I reckon Hozier's going to be my artist of the year for 2021. I love attributing works of art to Dani x Jamie, have a whole ass Pinterest board full with images of paintings, poetry, music and anything that I think relates to them really (yeah I know, I have a problem).

I love everything you've said about how Dani, Viola and the lady in the lake are alike, I hadn't really thought about their similarities before, but everything you've said makes perfect sense. I always saw Viola as a narcissist, even her drive to protect her child felt selfish in a way, don't know if you know what I mean. And when she fades away and becomes the lady she's just pure (almost animalistic) instinct while on auto pilot, bc she only remembers rage and abandonment, she takes anything on her path aggressively unless they're a child. So what she sees in Dani is not processed logically, right? It's pure instinct and emotions, so what she recognizes in her when Dani invites her in is the desperate need to protect this child, so she sees her as deserving. Perhaps she also saw in Dani and opportunity to escape this nightmare. Despite all her faults she didn't deserve what happened to her either.

And don't get me wrong, Jamie is so, so strong and solid and she is my favorite mostly bc I identify with her personality more than Dani's. But we know Jamie is all that even before we learn her story, and I feel like it is expected that she'll be the strong and brave one bc she's had to be that her entire life albeit unwillingly. But Dani? We expect her to break at any given point, I mean she is reaching her limit after all that's happened, with all the weight she's carrying. I remember thinking "Jesus, this girl needs help" when I first watched the show hahaha. But she fights every damn time, she doesn't run away and that's why I find her so fascinating. That's why I thought this song was so fitting. Even if Dani would never see herself that way. But it's Jamie's perspective (and fire signs tend to exaggerate everything 😂) so it feels fitting that she thinks so highly of her baby haha. Ugh I just wanted them to stay together forever. 🥺

Omg yes! I love how you refined this idea, good thing you're a writer and I'm not hahaha. And yeah I'm absolutely here for sapphics with weapons like holy shit imagine Jamie fighting with a sword? 🤤 I'm weak. Hahaha would be cool to see them in a pirate AU too! Maybe someone's already done it? Idk. But aaaah I want to see them in every possible universe hahaha. Makes me want to get back into drawing too. 😩

Aww you two sound like you have a lovely bond going on. Your niece sounds like the coolest! I started out drawing anime too when I was a kid and ended up doing graphic design for a living! How did learning how to draw anime style go for you today?

Hey I'm doing great thank you I hope you are too? I know that feeling because I feel like that's how I have made it to 27 just surviving (barely) and taking things one day at a time to get me to this point and hopefully I can contribute in some way even it its just a small way... so I totally get that feeling but I am sure you contribute so much without you even realising it!! Oh it's great but depending on how competitive the people you're playing with are it can get pretty heated... I've been in some heated games of it before because people just refuse to believe I know the answers to some of the questions and they think I've been cheating and have all but demanded I have another question asked instead of the one I got right... and pub quizzes can be fun again depending on the team you're in and how seriously you wanna take it I have been in teams where its been a serious thing and we have all desperately wanted to win and then I've been in teams and we've just had fun with it... all the pubs I go in are dirty bars too but sometimes they have pub quizzes... I have had many nights where I have drank what I can afford... one night me on my roommate went over board though and we ended up spending ALL our money even our taxi fair and we had to walk home in the dark along country roads with hardly any lights to guide us... because of how drunk we were it too us around 3-4 hours and I fell over a road sign and ended up in a ditch... I've had a lot of fun experiences but some really stupid ones as well... your experiences sound great though!! I would love that!! I listened to the song and I loved it so much!! I don't even wanna know what my most listened to artist will be this year... my money is on it being the Six musical soundtrack... probably All You Wanna Do from that musical I'll be surprised if it's anything else. I would love for it to be someone like Hozier, but ever since I have done my Spotify wrapped thing it's always been a musical of some kind that's been my number 1 song / artist haha I love doing the same thing. If I can make something fit Dani x Jamie I will like it doesn't even matter what it is haha... I don't think you have a problem I think that sounds so cool!! I have nothing like that. I just have a head full of random ideas screaming to be let out I agree Viola is definitely selfish and narcissistic and everything she did came from a place of anger and rage over the things that happened to her she fell in love and got married and had a child and saw her sister try and take that from her while she was ill and in the end her sister killed her. Like yeah, I do feel sorry for Perdita with the way she was treated but I do think everything Viola did was out of frustration over what was happening to her. Like you said she acts on auto pilot and only knows rage until it comes to children- because all she knows is she is looking for a child so when she saw Dani so selfless sacrifice herself for a child she saw a little bit of herself in Dani she knows Dani is a good person and she can relate to that protective streak and I think she did see Dani as deserving I definitely agree with everything you've said here. Viola might have had faults and flaws and who doesn't? But I definitely think she had it rough and did deserve better than she was given. I agree, you can tell looking at Jamie that she is strong and brave while Dani comes off as the exact opposite. But I think you see fully how brave they both are when Dani sacrifices herself for Flora and when Jamie offers to keep Dani company and loves her despite knowing she won't be able to love her forever. I love Jamie but definitely relate to Dani's personality more, there are a lot of things Dani does that I see myself in her because I have done those types of things myself and the whole beast in the jungle speech resonates with me so much and every time I watch the last episode and hear that speech I am a crying mess from that point on. It's funny that you thought that about Dani when you first watched it, because me and my sisters got my mum to

watch it and she said the same thing about Dani "she needs help" but then once told me she liked Dani because she reminded her of me that was an interesting conversation to be a part of "Dani needs help... but I like her she's like you." I was like "Thanks?" I agree this song is definitely more how Jamie would see Dani, I think Dani just has a very blasé view of herself, like I don't think she's self conscious or self deprecating in anyway but I think she sort of walks around like "this is me and this is just how I am" where as Jamie just sees Dani for how brave and strong and amazing she is- maybe even if as a fire sign she exaggerates a little bit haha Jamie just thinks Dani is the most amazing person in the world and I just know that Dani saw her the same way!! I really wanted them to be together forever... I am never going to emotionally recover from Bly Manor. Your idea was incredible and I think it would be a great story to read honestly that's the type of thing I live for!! OMG Jamie with a sword is just 🤤 🥵 I am all for sapphics and weapons of any kind!! There's this pirate AU which is absolutely amazing!! I don't know if you've read it or not but iamalekza writes some really great fics!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/28631598/chapters/70179306 ^^ Pirate AU I really wish I could draw I would love to be able to draw scenes from fics I have read and even ones I have written but I just don't have the skill set for that!! I would love to see other fan arts though I think drawing is such an incredible talent to have and I am in awe of anyone that can do it!! Me and my niece have a great bond, she's like a little mini me (despite almost being as tall as me). She is honestly such a cool kid I have a hell of a lot of fun with her- I'm looking after her again tomorrow and I have no idea what we're gonna do but we will figure something out... she's such a good drawer she's only just started doing it at the beginning of the year and she's really progressed with it... I however have not so I am definitely gonna need more practice. That's so cool that you started out doing anime drawing and then ended up going into a career in graphic design. Again that's a talent that I am just in awe of because it's just something I have never been able to do!!

[camuslittlesister]

Utapri (the anime) brain dump - S1 and 2

Just what the title says, really. Not spoiler free, read at your peril. Random thoughts about Utapri the anime because I have too much SLBP content in the pipeline and it just feel weird to do that as someone whose whole blog is based on an Utapri joke.

• I have a greater appreciation of Tokiya and Ren as characters from the anime than anything else in the franchise. Mind you, I wanted to slap Ren 300% of the screen time but also I’d want to slap my teenage self if I could so, fair...

• Satsuki is a big part of why Nacchan is best boy. Knowing it was coming did not prepare me for seeing it. The lipstick advert killed me.

• Masato’s sad backstory was even sadder than I thought but I didn’t see Otoya’s coming. I guess I should have, he was always far too positive and it’s a bit of a standard trope...

• Haruka is the absolute worst. My thoughts on her are not fit for polite society and can be summed up in this gif:

• I thought Reiji being sly was largely my headcanon because, given the lack of logic and any semblance of realistic charactarisations, I did not expect them to actually go and do it. I underestimated how much I have in common with that woman, although a reverse harem of 2 is not really that big of a deal. Also, just me who thinks the series would have been so much better if it was everybody running after Reiji (boy or girl version, either is fine) instead of Haruka? 👀

• Ringo Tsukimiya is likely my favourite character in the whole thing. Major hair envy too, I need a wig like that...

• Despite my wardrobe looking like I just stole Ranmaru’s clothes to annoy Onii-san, I really loved Syo’s style in the anime.

• SL stories make Cecil significantly more annoying than he is in the anime. The same could be said of Syo and Onii-san.

• Speaking of which, Onii-san !!! So many thoughts he could have his own brain dump. The whole sister thing started as a joke about how we look the same (not just the ash blonde, blue-eyed and Snow White-skinned part, glare and perennial RBF included) but boy, it really is like someone wrote me in as a character.

If I wrote a Me x Husbando Utapri fanfic I would not write myself in without at least embellishing the truth a little so that it doesn’t just read like the guy is dating a cross-dressing Camus. We’re so alike it’s terrifying, (and glorious at the same time). Or, maybe 👀 what the world really needs is a Camus x Lady Camus fanfiction 👀

• Ai is a firm favourite with me. I’m glad I took a leap of faith based on the amount of Spotify songs on repeat and put Quartet Night on my wall. Music-wise they are definitely my favourites over Starish and none of the songs by that woman everyone has been fawning over in the anime was that good. Most Utapri songs I like are collabs, solos or QN and about one or two are Starish alone. Now, if I count their anime appearances I can probably restructure my favourites list, which atm looks a bit like all-out war for 3rd place and even then no 2 is basically a tie with no1.

• This is a Mamoru Miyano stan zone. I still don’t like most of the stuff he sung as Tokiya rather than himself but oh boy, I did not know how much I needed him singing Amazing Grace in my life.

•Rei and Ran bickering like an old married couple should be a spin-off. One of those funny 3min per episode anime would be enough (or would it?). I can see the rationale for the BL clogging my Pinterest feed without me asking for it, but even as a standard bromance or even frenemies they’re great together.

• I like megane anime/otome boys a lot (interestingly, I don’t really see Nacchan that way, the glasses are too barely-there and I’d take the Satsuki smirk over them any day...what can I say, whichever version you pick of him he’s so 🥵👀) but the guy from Heavens just looks so creepy outside of still images and I’m salty about it.

• The ending to S2 hit so hard after lockdown. I miss the feeling of being in a crowd, singing like we’re one. And, of course, if you ask me, QN stole the show at that point. Not biased or anything.

[thetiredbiwrites]

Fabulous, Darling

Requested by @megaduppi​ “Hiya lovely! I was wondering if I could request a Seb x reader where they are stuck together in Sebs apartment because of quarantine and they start doing random things like Seb giving in to the reader and letting her do his make up and him looking completely fabulous? It can be funny and fluffy I am honestly craving it”

A/N: Thank you for the request 💖💖 hope you don’t mind, but I’m not entirely comfortable writing for the actors, nothing against anyone who does. So I made this a Bucky x Reader instead and they’re stuck in their shared apartment. It’s more fluffy than funny.

A/N2: I don’t know a lot about make-up. I can do basic (what is contouring?😂). So it’s pretty vague about what make-up she does and more from Bucky pov

5 weeks. 5 weeks you had been stuck in your apartment.

You were proud of your home. How you’d decorated, the layout and colours- the way you made it your own. But seeing the same crap everyday, the same rooms and nothing else, God, you were sick of it.

The urge to redecorate grew every day. The online shopping and endless scrolling through pinterest in boredom didn’t help.

The first week had been productive, making you feel good and enjoy the time. Time to spend with Bucky and doing everything you put off or didn’t have time for because of work. The two of you had tided and cleaned every room, sorted through all your clothes and shoes and reorganised the kitchen cupboards.

Now there’s nothing left to do.

Meaning whenever you thought of something to do, or came across ideas on various social medias or online shopping, you did it.

Bucky rarely said no to you and he certainly didn’t start now. He was just as bored and desperate for something to do.

This meant that when you asked for his special pancakes at midnight, he made the damn pancakes. You both sat together in your pjs watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine and eating a stack of pancakes covered in syrup and toppings until 2 in the morning.

When you gave into the urge and decided to rearrange the living room, he just smiled and went along with it. Helping you move every piece of furniture and arranging all your photos and nick-nacks. A heated debate about how to order the DVDs broke out.

You won.

He had insisted the two of you stay fit, keep exercising, every day. Especially with all the snacking and pancakes you both ate. So when you declared a Just Dance competition, he danced like he never had before.

Ok, so making the prize sex-related definitely aided his decision and pushed him to beat you.

But even he had to admit, after 5 weeks, sex wasn’t that exciting and most of the time, neither of you were particularly in the mood.

Which is how you ended up feeling like grandparents one day, doing a 1500 piece jigsaw while soft music played in the background.

“Uugh, these pieces are all the same colour!”

“You just have to be patient. We’ll get there.”

“I have been patient, Bucky. I’ve been patient for 5 hours and we’re not even half done. Don’t laugh at me.”

Bucky finished the puzzle as you gave up and baked cookies instead.

More than once, Bucky somehow found himself sitting on the floor with you on the sofa behind him, doing his hair.

You practiced different kind of plaits and other basic styles to trying out more intricate styles. Although you did resist buying flowers and bows to put in his hair.

The day you curled his hair had left you in a fit of laughter until you couldn’t breathe. Plaiting his hair did leave it wavy, which, depending on the type, looked pretty good. But he could still tie it back into a low bun when that happened.

Bucky, however, wasn’t amused. Especially after you took a photo and sent it to the group chat. Bucky had immediately showered, letting his hair go back to normal after that one.

The last couple of days, you had a new idea. One Bucky didn’t agree with.

He drew the line at you doing full make up on him.

It’s not that he thought men shouldn’t wear make-up. You had painted his nails a few days ago and he approved of the sparkly red. He had kept them that way, even when he did the weekly shop.

No-one had commented but at a time like this, who was going to care about a man’s painted nails. But even when it’s normal he wouldn’t have taken it off.

Well, if Sam wasn’t around anyway. He wouldn’t be caught dead with painted nails, especially sparkly red ones, around Sam.

Sam wasn’t against men wearing make-up either. Hell, if Steve or Tony, or any of the guys really, showed up with nails painted, he’d compliment them. Probably in a jokey manner, but compliment none the less.

Bucky, though, would never hear the end of it. It’s just how their relationship went.

He’d do the same back. Bucky could pretend he wouldn’t. But he would.

By day three, Bucky felt his resolve crumbling. He tried thinking of reasons why he didn’t want to do it but couldn’t actually think of any. But the thought of wearing make-up didn’t agree with him.

But those big y/e/c eyes staring up at him and the pout on your lips, akin to that of Puss-in-Boots, was making it hard to say no. Especially when he didn’t have any reasons against it.

He made it through the morning but by 2pm he found himself yet again sat on the living room floor, legs crossed. His fingers tapping against his legs as he contemplates running until you give up on the idea. But where the hell is he going to go? There’s only so long he could stay locked in their only bathroom.

This time you were also sat on the floor, legs crossed and facing him. You were aware of Bucky’s nervousness but you knew, well, you were 95% sure that once it was done, Bucky would realise it’s fine. If he didn’t, he can take it off straight away. It was just the two of you so it shouldn’t be a problem.

You knew his limits. This meant you’d lightly push him into letting you do this, but if he really didn’t agree, if it ended badly, you wouldn’t sent a photo to the group. You wouldn’t even take one. The two of you knew each other well enough to know these limits in various situations and not cross them.

For now, you had collected everything you needed from the bedroom and started laying it out on the floor. You faced the mirror away from Bucky so he couldn’t look until you had finished.

Bucky’s eyes flicked across the products as you laid them out. Noting all the liquids and powders, brushes, some foam egg thing, and… is that a pencil?

“How much stuff do you need? That’s a lot of products. Why are there so many brushes? I know make-up is like art but I thought you were just doing something basic and simple, y/n? Y/N, please, don’t make me do this.”

Bucky’s complaining stayed in his head as he looked up at your bright eyes and kind smile, his mouth closing as the words died, forming a pout instead.

“While you do look so adorable,” you lightly grabbed his chin in one hand, smushing his lips together. “Quit you pouting. It’s gonna be fine.”

Bucky’s eyebrow raised, biting the inside of his lip, his eyes flicked between everything on the floor and your face.

“Bucky, baby. You got nothing to be nervous about. Besides, it’s not like anyone is going to see or know.”

Bucky slightly nodded his head to the side, grunting in agreement but clearly still unsure.

“Specifically Sam, he doesn’t have to know anything. You’re on your own with him. I mean, if anyone else dared to say anything, I would tell them to grow up. It’s 2020. If a guy wants to wear make-up, let him wear the damn make-up. Many of them are better than me, although let’s be honest that’s not too hard, and it’s makes me jealous. Who taught you?! Can you teach me? They look amazing.”

Once Bucky cracked a grin, huffing a laugh, you clapped your hands and picked up the first product. You had rooted through your stock to find foundations that were the closest to his skin tone and found some you had kept after your friend had stayed a few months back.

“Let’s get started” you wiggled your eyebrows and Bucky felt himself relax. Not entirely, but enough to sit still and let you work.

Bucky wished some of his girlfriend’s excitement and enthusiasm would pass to him. As you added more and more to his face, he felt his nerves increasing again.

The feeling of your hand softly resting against his skin, from his neck to his face, as your other gently moved brushes and product across his face was, admittedly, a great feeling. You relaxed him and the touches were light and soothing.

Yet his heart still beat a little too quickly and his head continued overthinking.

He felt guilty for being so worried. He’s watched you do your own and your friend’s make-up many times over the last few years. But he still couldn’t help the image of a clown or a kid who got into mummy’s make-up from being projected in his head.

As you asked him to close his eyes, he tried to think of something else and his mind ran with the image of a little kid covered in make-up. Except it was your kid who had gotten their little hands on all these products.

He could hear your laughter as you came upon the scene. The way your kid would smile, wide and toothy, like their mothers, as you took a photo. Bucky could see you cleaning the little one up before teaching them how to do it properly.

Bucky’s mind couldn’t stray from this path and as he heard you humming a song he didn’t know, another picture developed.

On your face was a beaming smile, love pouring from your eyes and a soft glow surrounding you from the sun through the window as you softly sang to the small bundle in your arms. A little hand reaching out from the material as Bucky approached and wrapping around his finger.

Bucky saw himself chasing after your young son, smiling at the loud and carefree laughter leaving the little boy as he caught him and subjected him to tickles.

Learning all those hairstyles you subjected him to this past month so he could do them for your daughter. Her hair like his but eyes like yours, shining bright and paired with a smile when he’d finish. Her little arms wrapping around his neck and hugging as tight as her little body could.

Bucky focused back on the present when he heard you sigh. Realisation flashing across your face as you shot up and ran towards the bedroom.

“Don’t look!” you yelled across rooms and his hand retreated, holding it close to his chest like he’d touched fire and abandoning the mirror sat inches from him.

The mischievous grin on your face paired with the glint in your eyes had Bucky worrying again. Noting your hands behind your back, hiding something from his view, had his heart rate picking up. Again.

His eyes reluctantly closed when you asked and he tried not to flinch as you touched his face, giggling as you did.

“Ok, all done. You can look now.” You announced, holding up the mirror.

This time it was your heart racing, becoming restless the longer the silence stretched. Bucky’s eyes glued to his reflection, wide eyed and jaw dropped, his entire body frozen.

You began to worry you had pushed him too far.

“You hate it. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made you-“ “No, no,” he cut you off, large hand resting over yours as he finally took his eyes off his reflection. “No, I don’t hate it, actually. You know, I really like this colour.”

A smile spread across your face, huffing a laugh as Bucky batted his eyes, referring to his eyeshadow.

He looked back at the mirror, moving his head to inspect different angles.

“Glitter’s a bit much though, don’t you think?”

“Nope. You look fabulous, darling!” Bucky laughing at your over-the-top British accent.

“Am I pretty?”

“Oh, baby, you are the prettiest.”

“Well then, I guess I better share.”

You only caught a glimpse of the devious smile before your boyfriend launched at you, knocking you on your back.

Laughter bounced off the walls as Bucky pinned you down and rubbed his beard all over you, covering you in red glitter (matching his nails, of course).

“No, wait stop! I wanted to take a photo first!”

---------

A/N: I have an instagram (@/elberex). I was thinking of posting sneak peaks on there? 🤔🤔

[axelsagewrites]

Magnus Bane*No Tea Tonight PT2

A/N: IM SORRY. Im a day late. But this time my laptop broke right when I had a history and english assinment. I then had to write out my English essay (4 pages) and history essay (6 pages) by hand with all my notes saved on my laptop. That was my fun weekend. Im sorry. Im trying, I promise.

Masterlist HERE

Wattpad HERE

Magnus Bane X Warlock!Reader

Part one

"Should we tell Magnus?" Isabelle asked her brother. They'd mulled over the case all night, thinking of different theories about where (Y/N) was and why. Going over files was normally tedious but the little clues they found every few pages kept their interest. Soon the pile was sky high. Alec looked up from the stove. he'd offered to make breakfast, not wanting to be poisoned by Isabelle, before they went to follow up some clues. "Maybe. I'm not sure. This might not go anywhere, I don't want him to get his hopes up," The pancakes were ready, and Alec handed Izzy a plateful. "Yeah but," she started with the pancake in her mouth, "he'll know stuff we won't. Plus, they were in love," "Exactly. When Valentine took Jace I was distraught but I knew he was alive because we were parabatai. That kept me going. Now we're going to put Magnus through the same stress with no guarantee." Isabelle sighed, "It's just not right. I would want to know," It was too early for Alec to really care about anything, but this was getting to him, "We follow up some clues, first hint of something we'll call him. Deal?" "Deal."

It was somewhat expected that most of their clues would be duds. They were vague photos of someone who vaguely looked like (Y/N) from years ago. Most of the areas had either changed or been remodeled since or it was a landmark where no one would've remembered them. They decided a snack was well deserved so bit the bullet and got some street food. "I always think I'm going to die when I eat this," Alec said once they were out of the vendors hearing. Isabelle shrugged as she plopped on a bench, Alec follows, "At this point, I'd eat anything," It was a wonder to other females how Isabelle could eat so much and be that fit. "You got the files?" Alec pulled out what a mundane would describe as a flash drive and pressed a small button. Like in the institute a screen was lit up like a hologram they could swipe on. And like all their other tech the Mundanes couldn't see it. "We've checked clues A through H. the rest seem to be spread across the world. Malta, London, Tokyo, Morocco, basically everywhere," Isabelle squinted at the screen, "I don't get it. it's not like (Y/N) was discreet. Look, they're in full view in that one, not even trying to hide," Isabelle pointed to a photo of (Y/N) standing at some old bookshop seemingly looking right at the camera, "I just don't get it," Alec thought it over when something popped in his head, "What I don't get is why we're out here when this was Jace's idea," "Oh, he's trying to get permission from the clave to escalate the case," She rolled her eyes, "Clary said they were going out today so I think he might be lying," "Ya think?" Alec was anything if not sarcastic. "Where's the bookshop?" "Dunno. it just says Marvin's Books. No street or anything," "We must be missing something," Alec muttered, enhancing the photo and looking at every corner and pixel he could. "There, look." Isabelle did and shrugged, "Do you know any Mundanes with purple skin?" Isabelle looked closer and sure enough, there was an arm in the shop window, the rest of the body not in view. But the hand was purple. "Hey, that photo at the twin towers..." "Probably the same guy. Maybe if we find the bookshop," "Well it has to be an English speaking country because of the sign," Alec nodded along to Isabelle's thoughts "and the clothes are so 2005," Alec gave Izzy a look who shrugged it off. Izzy scanned the photo some more, "Zoom in on that bag," Alec did, "And that mundane looks like she's holding a target bag." "Must be America," "Yeah. So, 2005, America, some guy named Marvin." "It's a start,"

There's only so much Isabelle and Alec can do so they went back to the institute, running the photo of the bookshop against the institute's gallery. Thank angel you can filter by date and location otherwise it would've taken weeks. Instead just 3 days. Izzy groaned when she saw the estimate. "Look who decides to show up," Alec says as Jace and Clary walk past. Jace pauses with a grin, "You know how the clave is-" "You're lying. Isabelle said you and the little girl were going on a date. So you get to alphabetize the case files," Alec grabbed and chucked a huge file filled with random sheets of paper at Jace. Jace grimaced, "Why do we keep paper copies?" Alec shrugged, "To make you suffer?" he suggested. "So did you'd find anything?" Clary asked, too upbeat for Alec's liking. Isabelle groaned from in front of the screen, "Give this thing 3 days and maybe. Something about a bookshop, some guy names Marvin, 2005, and some guy with purple skin," Clary raised her eyebrows, "You asked." Isabelle turned to her brother, "Are we telling Magnus?" Internalizing the biggest sigh possible, Alec forced himself out his seat, "C'mon then," "You know there's no point in us all going," Jace said. "Jace unless you want me to hire decorators to turn your room into a duck wonderland I suggest you put your shoes back on," Jace scoffed. Isabelle didn't, "He's not kidding. Look we got bored," Isabelle clicked on a different tab and a Pinterest board of duck-themed bedrooms popped up. Jace shivered, "Bloodthirsty little beasts. Let's go then,"

The eldest lightwood was less than enthusiastic that Clary had joined them but said nothing. Well, nothing much. Isabelle talked to Clary about what outfit to were next time they went out and Jace held his arm protectively around Clary. So Alec thought about how to tell Magnus what they'd found. Hey Magnus your lovers not dead Sup Magnus? By the way, you're missing lover might've been kidnapped by some purple dude. Hi, Magnus. So you remember that lover that's been missing for almost 20 years and is probably our fault? Yeah, we found her! Turns out we just never looked in the first place. Or as Alec actually said when Magnus opened the door, "We found (Y/N). well, pictures at least," Alec needn't have said more before Magnus ushered them all in. "What do you mean?" The group shared a look at Magnus' desperation. "I don't care how...bad it is just tell me. I need to know," Isabelle stepped forward, "We found a picture of (Y/N) after they went missing. Couldn't have been taken before 2014," "Impossible. You must be wrong," Pulling out the flash drive, Izzy brought up the photo, "That museum wasn't built till 2014. They were alive then...maybe now," Magnus just stared at the image. "But-but if (Y/N) is alive, why haven't they came back?" The shadowhunters couldn't look him in the eye. Isabelle swiped through the photos "Some of them aren't very clear but look. (Y/N) has been all over the place. Every continent. The last photo was taken in 2015 outside of some shop in England," She swiped to the photo. "They have CTV in England," Magnus' eyes lit up as he spoke, "The whole place is covered in cameras," Alec sighed, "They get wiped every few months, let alone years." Magnus ran a hand through his hair, pulling at it, "Why are you showing me this?" Isabelle and Alec shared a  look, "We need your help." Isabelle told him. She went to the photo with the man with purple skin and horns, "He's been in a few photos. Well bits of him. This is the only one showing his face. Do you, do you recognize him?" Magnus stared at the photo, "I've met a lot of warlocks. Can't you check the system?" "They're not all on there. If other warlocks hiding them they tend to slip through the gaps," Alec said. "You think (Y/N) was hiding someone?" Alec hesitated but gave a single nod, "Theirs no way. They would've told me. (Y/N) was horrible at secrets, got all riled up over them." Magnus looked at the picture longer, "He looks...familiar?  As I said I've met a lot of people. Horns and purple skin aren't such a rarity. Hasn't he shown up in his own photos?" "Only with (Y/N)," Isabelle said. Jace suddenly seemed to realize something and grabbed Clary's satchel. "Hey!" She objected as Jace rummaged till he pulled out a file, "Jace!" "Sorry babe," he flicked through the file, "Here, it's some of the pictures of him," Jace handed Magnus a small stack of maybe 7 photos that had been printed, the first being the one of the man. Clary and Alec were both glaring at him, "One less thing to file," he murmured under his breath. Magnus shot him a quick glare, "I'll have a think on it," That pleased the shadowhunters. "Look if you think of anything, even not about these photos, call us yeah?" Alec said. "Of course. Anything to find (Y/N)," Magnus seemed to suddenly dislike shadowhunters again as he began to hustle them out the door. Alec hung back to check on him, "I'm...okay. Look its difficult. I've not seen a recent picture, I've not had this sort of hope. You need to give me time," Alec nodded, "Of course. But you know we're here for you?" Magnus nodded. Alec looked over his shoulder before saying in a quieter voice, "You helped me a lot when we first met. I was confused and in denial. I know we're on different sides but Magnus, you're a real friend," "I'm glad I could help Alexander," Magnus said, "Truly. No one should feel ashamed of what they are," "And you shouldn't be ashamed of feeling alone. If you need to talk," "I'll call," Magnus finished it for him. "Thank you. (Y/N) should see me now, being friends with a shadowhunter," They both gave a short laugh over that. "I'll see you later," "Bye Magnus," Alec walked down to meet his friends and Clary. Isabelle hung back, asking what that was about. "Just wanted him to know he isn't alone," "Does Alec have a crush?" Izzy teased. Alec rolled his eyes, "We've been over this. Sure he's cute but no," "Still hung up on you know who?" she nodded to the couple in front. "Nah. I'm young, apparently, I've been...seeing people." This statement led to a long and intense discussion on Izzy's part trying to find out who exactly.

Magnus watched from his balcony as the shadowhunters walked out of sight. Chairman brushed by his feet, reminding him to feed his cat. Magnus set a bowl of food down and went to sit on his couch. The photos sat discarded on the coffee table. The warlock picked the top one up with an expression only someone with too many memories could have. "What did you do Caleb?" Magnus whispered, staring at the infrit on the paper. Magnus snapped his finger and the strongest drink he could image showed up. He flung the photo back on the pile and leaned back into the couch, drink in hand. "You were always (Y/N)'s favorite rescue,"

Part three

[seraphcelene]

TV: Roswell, New Mexico - 1x04: Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?

My thoughts are so random on this episode. There’s alot of threads being tackled and not all of them jive together. In the last two episodes watching Roswell has felt like watching three different shows all at the same time: there's a murder mystery, a family drama, and a YA high school romance in New Adult-ish clothes (omg, the genre collision). Then there are the B-plots: sexual orientation in the military and immigration politics. Trying to pull the narratives together into a cohesive whole makes for a jarring roller-coaster ride.

So, cowboys ...

Immediately, the title of episode four brings to mind stereotypes of the American Cowboy taming the Wild West. He's (always a He) gallant, tall, laconic, capable, stern, tough, emotionally unavailable, and physical.

Our candidates for cowboy hood are as varied as the stereotype is flat: Max, Michael, Kyle, Liz, Maria, Isabel, Master Sargent Manes. The problem of this line-up is the problem that the episode posits: Where Have all the Cowboys Gone? The fact is that they are missing. The stereotype is absent in the selection of characters provided. Looking back over the episode, they're knocked off one by one.

Spoilers!!

"There's a reason God put a cage around your heart."

Michael has none of the rugged, noble qualities associated with the cowboy. If anything he's more of a Drifter or a Desperado. That becomes very obvious in the light his awesome exchange with Maria:

"You drink just enough to burn off that Dramatic Cowboy Angst and then you start a fight before you have to pay."

It's SO Micheal and I am really enjoying the antagonism that exists between Maria ad Michael. The original pair had a similar, but less malicious vibe. The characters were romantically entangled, after all. Michael Vlamis's Michael Guerin is SO much more nuanced and troubled. Heather Hemmen's Maria DeLuca still carries some of Maria's quirk, but she is also very self-possessed and incredibly sharp. I still think the character is woefully under utilized, but we got to see some of her bite tonight and it was awesome!

Maria is pretty obviously our shaman in this storyline, guiding and insightful. Last week, she pointed Liz in the right direction to start her Rosa Treasure Hunt, this week it's all about revelations in the palm of Isobel's palm. Genuinely psychic, which I was so pleased to see, Maria has an odd place in the story. More connected to Rosa than to Liz, layer of remove sets her up as an outlier to all of the central action. She isn't a confidante like Kyle, dragged into the central narrative via his second romantic lead status and Liz's loose lips. In service to tonight's plot, Maria's reason for her beef with Isobel catty and high school as it sounds (I don't like you cause my BFF doesn't like you: the enemies of my friends are also my enemies, yada yada yada) acts as an entry point into a new facet of Isobel's character.

Reflections of Katherine Heigl slowly unfolds over the course of season one from this confident, sophisticated mean girl into this really lonely, needy TEENAGER was a highlight of the original series. She was clearly the best actress on the show, as later evidenced by her work on Grey's Anatomy, and I am still really disappointed that her career hasn't gone further -- you, guys, she has all the talent. Lily Cowles does a great job managing a similar trajectory, but her portrayal still reads a little disingenuous. She's missing the vulnerability that Hiegl exposed in Isabel so very well. Isobel's "carefully curated Pinterest" exterior (so aptly described by Maria) masks a woman desperate for security and stability and acceptance.

Isobel's utter pre-occupation with why Maria doesn't like her takes her down a pretty dark path. That attempted dreamwalk smacked so much of a mental rape attempt that it took me aback. Isobel's gifts make her good at violations. I didn't recognize it in last week's episode because the aggressiveness was missing. Isobel's interaction with Maria was very personal and very intent and intentional. The power dynamic though, interestingly, gets shifted pretty quickly. As Maria's psychic abilities peel back the mask that Isobel wears. It swings back again when Isobel literally shoves her abilities at Maria, demanding that she open her mind.

Isobel is obvs nobody's cowboy. She doesn't reflect the good, kind, true, upstanding hero. Her powers make her good at subterfuge.

Quickly, Kyle is way to urbane to be a cowboy. He's the town doctor: helpful, kind, smart. Master Sargent Manes is the villain. Nuff said.

Despite his very square and manly jaw and how well he fits the physical image, thus creating an expectation for us of how he will be and how we read him as a cowboy (with the hat and the boots and his thumbs in his belt loops), Max is definitely NOT a cowboy. Max is the love interest. Stereotypically, he read's as the girl in the triangle. Max is emotionally available, needy, and pining. He's laid his heart out for Liz only to have it repeatedly crushed. She does it again in this episode, admitting only that she feels something and that alot of that is terror.

In the final scene between Liz and Max, it was almost as if they were having two different conversations across time from the opposite sides of a relationship. Max, at least in his head, has been in this whole relationship with Liz that she never even knew about let alone participated in. His part of the conversation is about investing in and saving a relationship that doesn't, and never has, existed. Once again, Max declares his love for Liz and though she is able to acknowledge the feelings that he has, Liz isn't quite ready to meet him there.

So, who's left? Where HAVE all the Cowboys Gone?

Well, arguably, Liz, as much as she talks, is our laconic, capable, tough cowboy. The plucky go-getter heroine, smart, tough, distant, and capable. The entire opening scene  in which Rosa describes Liz, words Liz echoes to Max, are descriptors that are traditionally coded masculine. Liz wears her distance as a badge, one that she isn't willing to let go of. I love that Liz has such a sense of herself. In that last scene, Liz is looking into the possibility of a future relationship with Max, she's still  in the early exploratory phase of the relationship and is faced with a Max who is demanding more of her than she has to give. This is SO different from the original star-crossed love affair of the original series in which Max and Liz fell hard pretty instantly and equally. The shift in this iteration, the rebalancing of their affections definitely lends itself to a more grown-up narrative. Or at least, let's be honest, in this regard for Liz. While Max may still be hovering on the edges of some school boy crush for a girl he really no longer knows after an absence of ten years, Liz is living in an adult reality where love is never that simple.

Random Thoughts:

a) "People are the worse drug. They all hurt you in the end." The mystery of Rosa continues! Max does some dumb, melodramatic things and makes Jenna suspicious cause he's TIRED of hiding how much of a special snowflake he is! And then Roswell turned into a lifetime after-school special with the big reveal that Sheriff Valenti (the former) was having an affair with Liz's "teenage, drug addict sister"! Cue close-up, melodramatic tunes, and fade to black cause what can you say after that! Of course, all we've really mostly seen is Liz making one wrong left turn after another. She likes to get worked up, ratchet up the tension, make sweeping declarations inditing persons and then figuring out that okay, maybe, she might have been wrong. It's like a total soap opera.

b) What's the likelihood that crazy Alien Conspiracy Guy IS, in reality, an alien? Hiding in plain sight and all.

c) "You have exactly cinco segundos to get out!" Have I ever mentioned how much I love Spanglish? Well, any language mixing with English, really. I totes love it.

d) Master Sargent Manes remain an asshole.

e) Heart attacks out of nowhere, what up, Car Accident Kid and Papi Ortecho?!

f) I love that all of their powers have a physical limit and come at a price. It's not easy and there are repercussions.

g) Consensual, non-shamy, adult sex!! YAY!!!!

h) "I don't want to talk about him with you while I'm not wearing a bra."

i) And the finale reveals!!!! 1 - Michael killed "those girls." Does that include Rosa or just the other two? I get the feeling it was NOT Rosa, but that Michael's guilt is pushing him to become scapegoat for the sake of the family. After-school special Episode 2. No joke, it got really dramatic. 2 - The lights come back up in the city and there was, if my eyes don't deceive me, an imprint of a space ship over the city. What the actual fuck?!

[chloeokeeffefmptrendsyr1]

New edit for my magazine

Loosely inspired from this Harry Style’s ‘Fine Line’ poster, I really wanted to use more of the images I took on Tuesday. I saw this on Pinterest earlier when I was browsing for more edit ideas. I really like the texture that’s used, it’s similar to the plastic texture I used in one of my album cover edits. I also really like the use of liquify on the Harry Styles edit. In my edit I think I’ll use a shade of purple as the main colour, not green like the edit below, to help fit my magazine a bit better. 

When looking at this edit, I immediately thought of a random sentence. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” I feel like it kind of keeps to the theme of the devil/demon girl. A lot like how angels are seen as the irresistibly charming and how devils are seen as menacing and odious. So I imagine the demon girl asking the question to the reader almost. It’s a really weird way of describing it but my imagination is very broad. 

First dragged and dropped my chosen image into photoshop before cutting it out with the polygonal lasso tool. Before cutting and pasting it to a new canvas, I added the black plastic texture as the background to mimic the inspiration edit. After placing the cut out at the bottom of canvas, I wanted to explore the gradient map which is something I discovered on photoshop in the previous project I did. The gradient map tool creates a new adjustment layer which chooses a new color for each pixel of a certain value. The darkest areas of your gradient replace the shadows and below of your image, the middle replaces your general exposure, and the end replaces your highlights.

The gradient map has loads of different colours to choose from, ranging from purple and red to iridescent and pastel. When using this tool, I usually use the greens, blues or purples. I really liked these three colours below. I love the contrast with the dark and light of each colour. Both the purples are fairly similar and considering my colour palette, I think I’ll go for the second purple as it’s definitely the darkest out of the two. The green is a really nice shade but I want to stick to a slightly darker green within my magazine. 

Like the image that inspired this edit, I want to use the liquify tool but not as excessively, just subtly because I think liquifying too much will ruin it. In the original image the model’s eyes are slightly shut, so the face area seems like the best place to liquify. I tried liquifying it a few times and it didn’t look right. Something about it just looked really weird to me then I had the idea of making the eyes look like they’re streaming with tears. So the image/edit has the contrast of the “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” question, with her crying. I really like the mix of wanting validation (kind of) because of being a demon then her “crying”. 

I finished liquifying the image, I thought the background look a bit bare even with the text that I placed at the top of the canvas. I went onto Dafont.com as I knew it had some logos/little characters in the horror theme. I downloaded a few that had some skull and crossbones or snakes/bats/spiders. I used the eye dropper tool so I could make the characters that I want on my background the same colour as my model cut out. I tried a few different characters out against the textured background and the spider from the Mephisto Dingbats that looks really cool. For some reason it actually reminds me of Marvel’s Spider-man. 

I decided I wanted loads of different spiders all over the background so I had to duplicate the single layer a few times to make a line that fit all the way down the canvas, then I merged all those spider layers together. I duplicated that layer a few times so I can place them across the canvas, I turned every other layer but the textured background off so I could line everything up better. Halfway through completing all the spider infested background, I thought it would look cool if one line was placed normally, with the spider facing up, then flip the next line, so the spiders on that line are facing down. I think the idea is really good but I’ve definitely made the whole editing process harder and longer for myself, but I think the edit will look amazing. 

[ejstannard]

Practical task: Inspiration for work

Piece 1

For my first piece of practical work, I decided to take inspiration from Rodrigo De Filippis’s work. His work consisted of old-fashioned looking collages, which I really liked. I used that old-fashioned theme for my work.

For materials, I bought a bunch of papercraft magazines, as I really liked the paper and patterns in them and thought it’d fit with the theme effectively. I began cutting out pieces that I liked and putting them onto the page, without sticking them, to plan the layout of the collage.

The main image that I took inspiration from was this one:

I was interested in this one because the colour scheme was inspiring to me, and the small details within the collage that made it look scientific/mathematical. There were lots of different shapes used in the work, mainly rectangles and squares, so I made sure that I had a variety of shapes in my work as that was also a target I previously set myself during my last practical task.

My first piece turned out like this:

At first, I really didn’t like this piece as the ink I’d used for the lettering and the stamps had smudged quite a fair bit, making it look incredibly messy. However, once I’d left it to dry I realised that it didn’t look too bad, so I tore it so it looked worn out on the outsides of the page, and stuck it into my sketchbook. In the end, I actually liked the way the ink smudged as it enhanced the old-fashioned theme I was going for previously. I made sure my next piece could aim to correct these mistakes, however the first attempt didn’t go as badly as I thought it did.

Piece 2

My next piece aimed to be a similar pattern to the first one, except my aim this time was to make a neater version of it. This was so that I had two different comparisons and more pieces to work from.

I kept the majority of the collage the same, but this time I added my own illustrations to it to give it a more personal touch. It ended up looking like this:

Overall, I much preferred the way this one turned out. I used a wider range of colour in this one, while sticking to the same colour theme, and experimented with different stamps as well (which came with the papercraft magazines). To improve my piece, I could’ve experimented with more mediums. For example, watercolours or coloured pencils.

Piece 3

My third piece this time was inspired by Roberto Fonfria, who is a similar collage artist with more experimental tenchiques. A fair amount of his works used translucent materials such as receipts and tracing paper.

For my own work, I decided to use this inspiration to make my collage look less neat and more experimental. I chose a more historical aspect for this piece of work:

I really liked the torn-out pieces I’d added onto the page, as I found them to stand out a lot more than the other pieces I’d stuck down. An example of this would be the white lettering at the bottom-right of the page, reading ‘ANNE’. To improve this piece, I could use a lot more materials that were used in Fonfria’s pieces. I saw a lot of what looked like receipts in his work, so I could use this idea to be more creative with my work and use things around the house similar to that. I feel like that would link to the artist’s research a lot more.

Piece 4

My fourth piece was a combination of the BlackLivesMatter movement, with my inspiration coming from the ‘grunge graphic design’ pins on Pinterest. A particular image I took inspiration from was this piece:

I focused on this piece because I really liked the simplistic yet effective layout of the collage, and already had lots of my own ideas from looking at it.

I began by cutting out random pieces from magazines which I felt would most fit the aesthetic of my work, and planned out placements before sticking them down. To take inspiration from this image, I wanted to collage a face in a similar way onto the page, so I began drawing and painting a woman’s face on a separate sheet of paper. After cutting it out, I experimented by cutting out parts of her face to separate certain facial features from each other to give off a similar effect.

After sticking it down and adding the last few touches with a marker pen, the finished piece looked like this:

Overall, I was very happy with how this piece turned out. I didn’t think the face would turn out that well, especially when using watercolours on a cheap sheet of paper. But I ended up really liking the effect it created on the paper texture once it’d dried, so I’m glad I didn’t bin it in the end. One thing I wish I’d added at the start was more paint on the paint splatter at the left side of the page, as I feel it would’ve brightened up the page subtly but effectively.

Piece 5

My final piece I based around global warming, and still keeping the idea of grungy graphic design. The piece I chose this time to focus on was this one:

I chose this one because I wanted to keep the floral idea in my work, to go with the theme. I also felt really inspired from looking at it and felt that my work would benefit from the techniques used.

I started by cutting up flowers and greenery from garden magazines and mapping them out onto the page. Once I’d selected enough floral patterns for the background I stuck them all down and started to work into the middle of the piece. I inked out a globe, and started writing paragraphs from my articles inside the countries. I layered words over each other so that they’re almost unreadable, and highlighted key words with a thicker pen.

The end result turned out like this:

Overall, I really liked the patterns of the background and I feel that the colours contrasted well with the globe in the middle. I still feel like I could’ve worked more into this one, maybe by adding more patterns in the white gaps in the background.

[serendipitous-magic]

What inspires you to write

Music! I listen to music near constantly (drives my family insane, especially since I’m living with them right now - they glare at me when I have earbuds in, which is always) and my brain just kind of automatically comes up with scenes that match the music. Sometimes things with characters I’ve been working with / thinking of lately (mine or other people’s), sometimes completely random scenes not really attached to specific characters, sometimes a “trailer,” etc. It’s pretty much how I daydream. 

My brain is running scenes and stories and dialogue pretty much 24/7 - it’s just how I process and contextualize life - but especially when listening to music, that’s when I tend to spontaneously come up with my best scenes. And then, assuming I remember them, I’ll eventually write them down, or when working on a particular story I’ll suddenly think, “Oh, you know what? The one jailbreak scene that I was daydreaming with the Spirit soundtrack would fit here! I just have to substitute this character for the main character, and this character would fit as the person who gets left behind...” And I transplant the daydream-scene into the story where it fits.

For example, this Southwestern Crime Syndicate Gay Romance Story Idea came about almost entirely as a result of me walking around in circles listening to We R Who We R over and over (weird combination, I know... I don’t know how or why that happened) and stitching together a storyline out of the scenes I was daydreaming.

Visuals and images also really inspire me. It’s why I have so many pinterest boards. I’m a visual learner. I think images (photographs especially) carry so many connotations that we pick up on. It’s fascinating to me how you can tell such a detailed story through images alone - like, seeing a pinterest board and scrolling through it and being able to tell, “Oh, this is a story about a zombie apocalypse, and the main character is a bi girl with pink hair who might have lost her brother perhaps?” Or being able to tell a whole story through a moodboard. 9 pictures, put together, and you have this whole web of meanings and connotations that play off each other. It’s really cool. I’ve often inspired myself when I hit a snag or a writers’ block by just scrolling through pinterest boards.

Real life. I mean, duh. What writer doesn’t use their own experiences as inspiration for their writing? Although maybe it would be more accurate to say, what writer’s life experiences don’t creep into their stories, whether they want them to or not? I’ll often find myself referencing someone I know in real life as a guide for how a character should talk or move, whether I quite realize I’m doing that or not. Or, as another example, a lot of my personality and thoughts end up in my writing whether I mean it to or not.

For example, especially several years ago, I looked back at some of my writing and suddenly realized there was a common theme in much of it: the characters would often feel trapped, caged in, made helpless by their circumstances, desperate to escape somehow. This was a reflection of some shit that was going on in my own brain at the time, but I never sat down and said to myself, “Let’s write out my issues through my characters, shall we?”

Another example: take a look at this bit from The Red Envelope, when Mike is talking about his and El’s breakup, and keep in mind it was written and posted in early 2018:

“They just function much better as best friends. Siblings in everything but blood. Plus, El needed some time on her own to carve out her identity in a world that was relatively new and foreign to her. She needed to make her own name in school, and in the town, outside of just “Mike Wheeler’s quiet girlfriend from Sweden” or “That kid Chief Hopper adopted that may or may not be related to him, it’s unclear.” And more importantly than that, she needed to find herself, within herself, outside of the lab.

...  It took him years to even figure out what was going on, and by then he was in a relationship with El, so he ignored it. Pushed it down. Pretended it didn’t exist, that everything was fine, that he wasn’t a freak that couldn’t choose a team. And he’s done a damn good job of ignoring it, if he does say so himself, except for that one night of confessions in El’s room with the TV on in the background and the door closed. He told her everything. She took his hands in hers, squeezed, and talked at length about the exact shade of Max’s hair. “

About a year after writing that (2019) was when I realized that I was, in fact, a lesbian, and I had to break up with my then-fiance (a guy). We are, now, best friends. It’s weird, though, how what went down with my ex-fiance sounds kinda familiar.

Podcasts, vlogs, and other “unscripted” interactions. Why? Dialogue. The way people talk to each other and interact very rarely sounds like “movie dialogue.” You know what I mean. When people talk, it’s not clean and put-together and polished. People start over in the middle of a sentence. They stutter, they use fillers. They weave in inside jokes. Often, close friends or couples will have their own mini-dialect - a sort of shorthand they’ve developed over the years that no one else really gets. Unless it’s a formal situation, where there’s a “script” of sorts, human language is often messy and contextual. 

So, I love pieces of media with real, unscripted interactions. It’s a fantastic way to get a feel for how people talk and play and joke and interact in real life. My favorites have been Buzzfeed Unsolved (the banter is always pretty great), Jenna Marbles, The Adventure Zone, multi-player Let’s Plays (like Markiplier’s old Prop Hunt stuff - yes, I know that’s old news in internet time!), director commentary on movies where there’s at least two people commentating, and some of the least-awful Youtube vloggers like Tessa Violet’s old stuff or Nanalew. Behind-the-scenes videos for movies or shows are good as well. You could also be a creep and just listen to random people’s conversations around you (assuming we ever get out of quarantine), or take note of things your friends say. I’m guilty of having random notes in my phone of things my friends or family have said. For example:

“Either your ass just spoke or you butt-dialed someone.”

“And in a brazen act of cowardice, he put down the chopsticks in favor of a fork.”

“Did a bad. There’s a fruit loop in the fountain.”

Etc.

Anyway, those are a few ways that I get inspiration for my writing! I’m sure it’s not everything, but those are the prevalent ones that came to mind.

[temperkitten7-blog]

6 Random Frugal Tips To Save You Hundreds Per Year (That You Probably Haven’t Thought Of Yet)

When working on saving money, there is a lot of advice out there that seems stale, impractical, or just plain out of reach for the average millennial (and I’d bet often the average non-millennial, too). I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to get one of those massive binders like the moms from extreme couponing shows. You don’t need to stockpile macaroni and Gatorade in your huge basement. You also don’t need a huge basement. You don’t HAVE to buy in bulk, and you don’t need to sign up for every single rewards program you can find. Lots of small, everyday choices you make can have a measurable impact on your finances over time.

1. Stockpile gift wrapping supplies.

Whether you realize it or not, those mad-dash CVS trips to grab a gift bag before a birthday dinner can EASILY add another $10 to the cost of your gift. Instead, gift bags like these come out to about 50 cents apiece. Buy some bags, some cute tissue paper, and ribbons (save these from gifts other people give you!), and keep them together in a box. Then, next time you have a last-minute gift, you’ll be able to wrap it on the cheap and save yourself the stress.

2. Stockpile greeting cards.

Just like the item above, boxes of thank you cards or birthday cards aren’t just for 1950s moms and the newly-married. And not only does this tip save you money (maybe more than you think — most cards at stores cost $5 each) — it saves you time and energy as well. With cards on hand you can take two minutes to send a thank you note to your friend when you remember, all without leaving the comfort of your own apartment.

3. Don’t automatically buy your way out of every problem.

When something you own breaks, or Instagram ads convince you that you need an item, take a moment to consider your available resources before immediately going out and buying something. The other day I was organizing (#KonMarieLyfe), and I wanted a box to put in my makeup drawer. I picked up my phone to check Amazon, but then realized my friend had just sent me a “will you be my bridesmaid” gift in a beautiful, gold box. I emptied it out and it fit perfectly in the drawer — free, gorgeous, and functional. If this sounds like I just got lucky, try it for yourself — you’ll be surprised by how often things serendipitously work out when you need them if you pay attention and use your creativity.

4. Stop buying cleaning products.

And no, I’m not advocating for dwelling in your own filth. But most cleaning products are a scam! Full stop. They are expensive, filled with chemicals that you probably don’t want in your home (especially if you have children or pets), and at least half of them are not necessary. Here’s what I use for 90% of cleaning solutions: a gallon jug of distilled white vinegar ($2); water; spray bottles (see if you can reuse ones you already have from products you’ve used up!); and a can of Bon Ami ($1.50!) for the spots that vinegar can’t get off. Mix a 4:1 batch of water and vinegar in the spray bottles and use it to clean windows, floors, countertops, stainless steel, sinks, and surfaces. Use Bon Ami and water for everything else. Oh, and ditch the paper towels — use rags. Your house will be sparkling clean for pennies.

5. Get enough sleep.

Studies show that impulse control is severely affected by sleep deprivation. If you’re trying to make healthier choices, a lack of sleep can throw a real wrench into that. Sleep also reduces stress, which leads to healthier choices; we can exercise more willpower when we don’t already feel at the end of our ropes. Next time you’re in an anxiety-induced online shopping fugue late at night in bed, close your laptop and get some shut-eye. I promise a full night of rest will make you feel better than another batch of 5 for $25 underwear ever could.

6. Be grateful.

At the risk of sounding too Pinterest board-y, cultivating gratitude is THE most powerful antidote to our consumer culture. Appreciating and valuing the items you already own will make you feel fulfilled and squash the worries you have about keeping up with everyone around you. Yes, you’ll probably never have every material item you’ll ever want, but chances are you have plenty to appreciate already. And be grateful for yourself, too! Take time to appreciate yourself for the efforts you’ve already put into bettering your finances. You can do it!

*****

So, there you have it! Six random tips that could save you money without extreme couponing or line-drying all of your laundry. Hopefully, you find these tips useful, and let me know in the comments what random frugal tips you incorporate into your life.

Emily is a writer and researcher living in the Pacific Northwest. You can follow her on Instagram.

Image via Unsplash

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