#people think they're in love and im outside the window like YES... YES!!!

[possamble]

realizing im kind of a weirdo about laios and marcille

[judasgot-it]

i’m new here in the bsd fandom and your s/o telling Tetchō that she likes someone and starts describing him make me falling in love goopd, I can’t get enough of your writing. So, this is my first request ^^ I was imagine, the first night they sleep together, like, there's a storm outside so s/o can't go back to her house and then tecchou offers her to stay at his house and he will sleep on the couch but she refuses because they're not strangers, right? So when the lights go out, she is very affectionate and he stays like this 🕴🏼then she apologizes in case it made him feel uncomfortable but he wasn't uncomfortable, just surprised

sorry if was a lot

I wrote this over a week while I've been on vacation, sorry that I took like. A year to write this lol

Scenario: sleeping in the same bed as your boyfriend for the first time (yes im doing the same trope three times in a row babyyy)

1.4 k words ~

The storm tonight had been brutal.

When the weather app had said "severe chance of rain in your area" You were expecting the usual - a bad downpour, but nothing that would cause you too much grief.

It was usually a disappointment, honestly. You loved the rain, but you found that since you moved here, there was nothing to be afraid of. It was a light drizzle in comparison to what you had seen before.

Until now. This rain was ridiculous.

You thought Tecchou was exaggerating - you didn't even pack an umbrella, because you were sure you could just run to the nearest bus stop like before. It was never really that serious.

No. No, you were so wrong.

You had denied almost every offer Tecchou had made to take you home - to drive you in his truck, to walk you to the bus stop, and even to have you sleepover.

This was just rain. You could handle yourself easily. But the moment you had opened the door, you felt like a stupid street cat, taking half a step and feeling your shirt stick your skin with the downpour.

Tecchou had pulled you back in by your arm, and you didn't even argue with him. His eyes told you everything - pleading with you to just follow him back inside.

It was impossible to not follow him when he gave you such a look with his big honey eyes.

Maybe you were stupid for rejecting his offer in the first place. He was just being a good boyfriend, and you were being too stubborn to accept it.

"Please stay?" His voice was soft, and the way his calloused hands held onto your cold skin made you step closer to him.

Tecchou was so kind it made you want to throw up.

"I don't really know how to repay you."

Tecchou waved his hand, ignoring the comment.

"It's okay. You're always welcome here."

He was already pulling out his own clothes from his closet, handing them to you as if they were yours. They smelt like him - like a flowery cologne, one you could never remember the name of. It might have been a gift - hopefully it was from one of his missions.

"I don't want to be a burden."

"Please don't think of yourself like that."

His voice was firm, loud over the sound of the rain battering against his windows. There was a strange feeling to the home - like a bubble of dry air the two of you were trapped in, as the rain tried it's best to make its way inside.

The clothes in your hands felt too foreign, compared to the wet ones that had molded to your body. Tecchou really didn't know how he made you feel with these gestures, and it was hard not to choke.

"I'm just being polite."

You stood there awkwardly as Tecchou struggled to form a response. You folded your arms around yourself, feeling cold in the room as he eventually settled on a nod.

"So. About sleeping-"

"Take my room." His answer was quick, as if he had rehearsed it in his mind. Maybe he had thought about this earlier.

Did he know you were this stubborn? Did he plan for it?

"No, no. That's too much. This is your house. We know each other. We can share a bed, right?"

The thought was embarrassing in itself. You hated to take up other people's time and space, and now you were taking someone else's bed.

Maybe it didn't count. Tecchou was your boyfriend - As of two days ago, but you knew him well enough, right?

"...I don't want to be creepy."

"Absolutely not. You're nothing like that."

Your boyfriend couldn't ever be creepy to you. If he was, you wouldn't be dating him.

If anything, he was perfect. You were taking his time and bed, and he was nothing but kind about it.

"It's ok. The couch is comfortable enough."

"You barely fit on it!"

The couch in question was an old hand-me-down from his grandmother. It was lumpy and could barely fit the both of you while sitting - it was barely comfortable for its intended purpose, let alone any...others. You both had tried, it was barely doable.

There was no way you could let him sleep on it.

"I can manage."

"No. I'm ok with sleeping with you."

Tecchou stared at you for a moment. You tried to keep eye contact with him, but it embarrassed you. His eyes practically stared through your soul, as if he saw right into your mind.

"Sleeping with me? You're okay with that?"

"Um...yes."

There was a pause for a small moment. The clothes on your body still felt cold, and you really wanted to change.

"In the same bed?"

Well, you weren't going to let him sleep on the couch, were you?

"Of course! We're close, aren't we?"

Tecchou folded his arms, his own attempt to hug himself. A sound came out of his throat, but you weren't sure what it meant. Maybe he was agreeing, but it almost sounded like a whine.

Maybe he was tired?

While Tecchou took the time to figure out his feelings, you took the time to change into his clothes. Your skin was so cold and clammy that it had turned into torture.

"...Thanks. That means a lot. No one else has ever said that to me."

"...oh. Well, I'd sleep with you every night Tecchou. I trust you a lot."

"I trust you too."

Maybe you'd do something more than sleep in the same bed with him if he kept talking like that.

"...maybe we should go to sleep. I'm wet and tired."

"Right. Sorry."

"If you're so sorry, can you get me a towel? I don't want to get your bed wet."

"Alright."

"Thanks, sweetheart."

If Tecchou stumbled a little on the way out, you didn't acknowledge it.

-

"Tecchou?"

His bed was weirdly exactly fit to his personality - the mattress was hard, and the blanket was a weird tacky design that you could get from a tourist shop. It was ridiculously soft, despite the funny photoshopped wolves on it.

"Yes?"

"You know you can take up more space, right?"

"This is fine."

The mattress was a queen, and you could feel how he was almost falling off of the edge.

"Are you scared of me?"

"No. You said you wanted to sleep, and I'm very warm. It might make you too hot to sleep."

You wanted to cry. Tecchou was too considerate.

"Well, I'm cold right now. Can you come closer?"

There was shuffling, and you could feel your side get warm. So warm. It was as if he was warming your skin with sunlight.

Despite this, you rolled over, laying your head against his shoulder. His breathing stuttered, and you tried not to laugh.

He was nervous. It was so different from how he was at work - stone-faced and serious. You would never guess he was this shy around a girl he liked.

"Do you always sleep with a shirt on? Or are you just being polite?"

The tiredness in your brain was making you feel more brave. You wanted to sleep so bad, but your brain kept your fingers picking at Tecchou's shirt - it was cotton, and so soft that you knew it was one of those expensive ones.

"I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"I'm your girlfriend. How would I be uncomfortable?"

Tecchou's body rang with the noise he made. He always spoke with his chest, and you could feel how it sang through his ribs. His voice was deep, even more so now as the night called to him.

"...I thought you'd think it's weird."

"I like you. I don't care what you wear. I just want to be with you."

"Really?"

"God forbid a woman like her man's body."

"I'm your man?" His chin touched your forehead in his attempt to look at you, almost knocking you off your post along his shoulder.

"Better not be anyone else's. I'm your woman too. That's how dating works."

You readjusted yourself, moving to lay more of yourself on top of him. His breathing synced with yours, his big chest moving you alongside him with each breath.

"...I don't want to own you. Women have equal rights." His hands reached over to hold you, keeping you in place. His fingers danced against your waist, in a sort of anxiety.

"No not like that. Like, you know. I'm the only woman you're dating. I hope."

"Of course you are."

"Good. That's great." Your voice felt heavy and far away. Your eyes hurt, and you kept them closed to keep listening to the world around you.

There was the rain. There was Tecchou's breathing. Your heartbeat and the sound of a fan.

There was something that Tecchou said, but you weren't awake to hear it. All you really remembered was the feeling of his body underneath yours and the warmth from his skin.

[baalzebufo]

HIII. can i just say. absolutely ADORE your gravity falls stuff!! i'd love to hear more of your headcanons (especially abt gideon) (that's my SON)

yes yeeees i was part of the Original Wave of Gideon Enjoyers back when like, episode 4 aired and it was about ten blogs who didnt hate his guts. i mean, i still want to throw him out a window, but I also think he has really interesting character stuff going on that some people just didnt wanna look at bc they hated him! which like, fair, he's a villain, but that freaky little dude will always be one of MY faves, haha

this post got. very long im sorry I had to put a readmore here haha but I haven't had an excuse to infodump about this for ages so here's a couple Things I like Thinking About... also a doodle I did the other night to break up the wall of text below

ok ok to start i LOVE him so much as a foil to dipper (and to an extent ford too) as examples of what the journals/that kind of power and information can do to people. its why im so adamant that he does actually have albinism, even if its not Technically Canon. dipper and ford both have a like, 'physical oddity' about them (birthmark, sixth finger) i think it makes sense for gideons to be his albinism as something that set him apart. all three are 'weirdos', were ostracised to an extent by the world, had that longing for something special or important, and then found it. and its what they DO with that which sets them apart

especially as a foil to dipper like... from time to time in the show, he gets a bit gung-ho about abusing the journals power for his own gain. but he has friends and family to reign him back in. he has more of a moral compass about not wanting to hurt people, generally. dipper never became like gideon did

this is getting into headcanon territory here but, my general summary of gideons childhood is an isolated one. only child, fairly sheltered, had some medical complications early in life which led to a lot of time on his own in hospital, attended school briefly and was subjected to significant bullying. and without a real support network outside of his parents who were very doting to the point of spoiling him because hes their Little Miracle he wasnt exactly well-adjusted even as a kid

but basically, that kid ends up finding this journal and learns about spells and evil artifacts and suddenly he has the power to make people like him. not only that but Fear him. he goes from feeling powerless to an absolute ego-trip. and his only close relatives would never tell their little boy 'no' about something, so they're not disciplining him in any way. its a perfect storm for a disaster to happen

it stems from this childish desire to go 'look at me im important and special and everyone likes me' and hes become so embittered already by people being dicks that he doesnt care if he hurts people on the way

that only really changes when mabel shows up and is the first person in town to approach him from a like... normal level. shes nice to him but not in the overly-saccharine and doting way his fans are, just in the way a girl who wants to be friends is. she treats him normally and is nice and he thinks she's pretty and that ALSO becomes a perfect storm of 'well shes nice to me and i like her so i must be in love with her and she is with me!' and, of course. kid who has never heard the word No before. so the later rejection becomes a HUGE sticking point and grudge to the point of being flat-out murderous

later in life with a little Introspection i think he'd realize it was less love and more just. basically imprinting on the first person to be normal and kind at him in years

UM. I should wrap this up i have so much in my brain. gideon was one of my earliest roleplay muses i'd write and draw with my pals, so I subjected him to a LOT of personal characterization stuff and also making a thousand AUs for fun. (aus always come in two flavours either its 'im going to make you marginally more well-adjusted' or 'im going to make you so, SO much worse')

ive got a soft spot for con-men and fake psychics and generally shitty little weasels and gideon just stormed into the show being a jerk with an aesthetic i adore and i was like ahhh. i want to punt him. hes my favourite.

ok im going to shut up now. last minute headcanon. gideon got into wood carving in prison art therapy because using a knife to stab something in a non-murder way helps soothe his urges. he whittles little people figurines

✨

[ramshackle-lost-n-found]

Hello Ramshackle! Im very new here and its my first time seeing this sort of blog (I love it btw 🤍) but is it not tiring to do? 🤔 Like you're constantly asked to look for things does that not make you tired? I'm genuinely curious!

LnF's reflection || running R. Lost n Found

this actually made me think for a bit. some of them i wrote for myself for when i need another reflecting

i don't get to read as much as i used to.

i'm almost always just searching for fics. i don't get to be the reader as much as i used to before opening this blog,

but this decision also became a reason i got to discover so many more blogs and fics i wouldn't know about along with tags i didn't think i'd enjoy as much!

it's exhausting and time consuming.

yes you're right, it is tiring. i made this blog during summer (for me) and i had a lot of free time at that moment so i didn't mind one bit. it kept me busy, i don't get bored, i get to enjoy more fics other than the ones from my following list = win-win.

i get hand cramps a LOT and more than once do i have to take a day to recover from it (it's better now) which is why taking a break is important. take this as a sign to put your phone down right now and do stretches, relax your eyes and drink goddamn water. no, not coffee. no, not that either, try again. just stare at the ceiling (a window, preferably) for a few moments and then get back, trust.

summer is done now unfortunately, which means i'm back to handling things outside this blog. i still want to keep this blog going so i had to work things out and i managed to do it, a posting schedule!

i don't get to feel overwhelmed with the asks as much as i did when r. lost n found was discovered by people anymore which totally works for me!

empathizing with writers.

a lot of the time i come across inactive blogs. some have moved accounts, moved platforms, abandoned and some have even stopped writing due to various reasons. i haven't been on tumblr for long, this blog is barely three months old and the way this is run is completely different from theirs.

the one that stuck to me the most was a post from someone from years ago, their last post before they went silent. they talked about interactions and the lack there of. lots of likes, dozens of reblogs but sad empty comment sections.

like this one that i'm sure less than half of this blog's follower list will take a moment to read, they wouldn't even know about this part LOL

although i get it, you're only here for the fics and sure, go enjoy yourself but if you want your favorite writer/creator to not quit, do better. do more. you come to their blog not to JUST take but to also give. they give you these for free, do your part too. you don't wanna comment? that's fine, reblog it and share your thoughts there instead. not empty. even tags work too, have you thought of that? they're always so fun to read, if you must know.

the ask box.

go drop your first ever ask in there NOW. not feeling brave? anon asks. no anon asks? ... uh, do it no balls 🫵 anything to voice to them that you're there and you support them, really. you can get lost under all the likes and it's fun to interact with one another much more than that.

there's so much more you can do to show your support and appreciation towards them than liking their posts, you just gotta do it.

is this a proper reflection paper? no. i didn't listen to my professor. i still passed, but don't take it from me 🙂‍↕️

[alexandraisyes]

More ship headcanons? I do love to ramble. So let me get right on it.

Since you liked me mentioning SolarSun last time. Let's start there

Sun buys solar cups for his coffe with silly little jokes/phrases/pictures on them. Solar's favorite is the one with middel finger on the bottom on the cup that you can see when you take a big swig.

Solar makes charms out for the scraps of metal left over when he is working. Sun wears them on the friendship bracelets he shows off as example for the kids arts and crafts. He has so many that this point. He changes the charms for the example every day. (Solar so makes dublicates of his charms for the kids to use)

Sun was the first to confess, solar was the first to initiate a kiss.

They have secretly danced in the daycare together at night.

Servant Sun / Lord Eclipse.

Sun always makes a bunch of light snacks the morning that he either gives, or leaves in stratic places for his lord to eat. So that he takes better care of himself.

Lord eclipse doesn't enjoy cooking. But after a paricaliarly rough emotional night his servant had. He made him a lavish breakfast the next morning. After seeing how happy it made sun. He is now making breakfast more often just to see that same smile bloom on his face

Lord eclipse actively encourages his servant to read the books in his library to educate himself.And over time sun has started to, but just actively enjoys going though the romance fiction section more...he has noticed the section has grown since he started. Eclipce denies this.

The first time they kissed, was after they got into a fight while in another demenison. Servant sun had a perfect window to leave his lord. And eclipse really thought he would have despite their strained relationship having grown closer. Instead sun rushed in and decked one of the people trying to attacked him and managed to drag the both of them through the portal to their home. Sun had grabbed eclipse faceplate wig worry checking him over for injuries ,(the star was already healing them now that they were back) then with a sob of relief he was kissed.

Earth/eclipse v4

Eclipse hates how much he loves earths hugs. He hates it so much. It makes him feel all warm and weird. He has only hugged back once. It made it even better and that was even scarier.

Earth while learning to knit has made a few plushies. She gave eclipse a black cat one. He scoffed saying he was not sun before taking it. It's still on his desk to this day.

The first time eclipse received a kiss from her (it was on the forehead) he blue screen. It scared earth as hile collapsed for a second. She was sworn the secretary. She teases him in private though.

Eclipse doesn't go outside much. But if he does and sees a goose he takes a picture and send it to earth.

....

Well I think that was quite a few! Hope they were lovely

-Noffy

JKSADJFGLKDF THE CUP IM SCREAMING I might draw that later that's fucking gold Friendship bracelets. . . Yes yes yes Sunny's so shy but confident (but nervous) about confessing and they're both so fucking awkward for a little bit, and then Solar kisses him out of nowhere one day and poor Sun is melting. Solar put on Careless Whispers as a joke and Sun dragged him into dancing to it

KRONOS AND CRIUS LETS FUCKING GOOO God can this be canon please they're literally each other's everything

God shadowplanet beloved 🥺

They were lovely. Thank you for sharing. 🥺🥺🥺

Ask Game - Send Me FNAF/DCA/TSBS Ship Headcanons

[labyrinthofsphinx]

Hi your Murder Husbands Partners In ... series are soooo fucking good like WOW im head over heels for your art. I am a bit confused at one part, though.

I probably just have horrible media literacy or maybe it's supposed to be a ~mystery~ but in the Cats, Dogs, and Wild Things comics, what exactly is the nature of the Alastor Cat and Vox Dog?

We see that their shadows are human rather than animal, and in the last panels they both end up human again, but the other always seems to think they are genuinely the animal?

Is it a metaphor and they were always human? Are they pretending the other is an animal for the letters they're writing? Is it a magic thing where they can change forms?

I'm just a wee bit confuzzled so I was hoping you could clear things up ^v^

Oh no problem at all! I'm so glad your enjoying it!! Normally I like answering these with a doodle, but it's actually kinda answered in Part III exactly what's going on, and I don't want to spoil too much.

But yes! It is a metaphor! They're currently writing to a help column butttt it can be a little embarrassing to ask about, well, advice on other people. So, Vox refers to Alastor as a cat because he's got some cat-like tendencies and that's part of the issues he was coming across, namely him wanting physical affection or is just touched starved and wondering how to get his 'cat' to be more comfortable around him.

Alastor in the same regard calls Vox a dog. Now, Al doesn't like dogs, not even in canon, so 'man's best friend' here is almost a replacement term for all men XD. 'His dog' has the problem of being clingy, which annoys him. While not at all entirely outside the scope of weird things he would do, Vox isn't actually hanging outside Al's window XDD

Silly things like Vox mentioning how his 'cat' kills a lot of 'vermin' and leaves them everywhere, and how Al complains about needing to get his 'dog' fixed is just a bit of symbolically covering up other things that go on, like Al leaving bodies everywhere and Vox being a bit of horndog.

I might also suggest that both of the cat and dog advice columns happen some time in the past, probably when they were only partners for a little while and figuring each other out.

By the time of the main story, these guys have it all down pat. They are too used to each other's messes and know each other like the back of their hands, literal partners in crime.

And never worry about asking questions! I love answering them! (And usually, I will respond with a doodle X))

Cheers!

[givekennyabreak]

S3 episode five live tweeting reacting

Spoiler alert obviously

Randall :((( never thought I'd be a Randall stan yet here I am

Mari saying a single phrase to Kenny got me giddy man, let them be FRIENDS

JADE RUNNING AWAY WHEN HE HEARD ABOUT TABBY‼️‼️‼️

Henry is SO PRECIOUS ISTG

Victor :((((((((

Sara stumbling after Victor is actually so cute ugh

JadeTabby endgame. The way he was SO RELIEVED

Ethan is such a smart kid man, he knows all the lore

Jim. Ily my fellow stem but please SHUT UP

"I've been there, there's nothing to see" "oh. You mean besides the magic tree" JADE GSHSHSJSHSJ

There's numbers in the bottles. Just like a lot of numbers in LOST. HM.

"I think this place does a really great job on messing with our heads" it took me 3 seasons to agree with Jim on something

"pardon my french" BYE

Tabby's little smile when Jade keeps cursing and apologizing :(((((

Kenny looking like a whole snack again jfc

He looks so cozy

There IS something bigger outside town. HM

Agreed with Mari, the bullet thing was weird

"I'm telling u" Kristi bbygirl :((((( precious

The sapphics win. They're so soft omg

Kristi's foot is a 'miracle' huh. Just like Ethan's leg wound healed faster than it would in normal circumstances. Yet Nicky was stabilized and died. HUH

Boyd no :((((

Henry is such a precious person. I cannot handle.

"all that time my little boy was here, alone" don't touch me.

There are so many people in town??? I never noticed that

Dale SHUT THE FUCK UP

"just tell em the truth" Jim. Thank u

Julie looking outta the window like Fatima told her in s1 :((

ELGIN VSHSBSJSH PLS GIVE THIS KID A BREAK

Kids unite!!!!!!!

Victor no :((((((((((( oh God that's so sad

"he's waiting for a little boy who drove away a long time ago" good god

"you're really bad at this"

The head leaning :(((( cuties

YES PEOPLE, TALK. TELL THINGS TO EACH OTHER

Julie :(((((((( girl has PTSD and no one to talk to

"best way to make us suffer is to give us hope" damn

They're so stupid. Tabby would tell anyone about town and they'd immediately throw her into the psych ward

YES HENRY.

yes cop woman. Do the bare minimum

CLARA WHAT THE FUCK??????

FATIMA?????????

TABBY :(((((((((

Yes Boyd. Tell em

BAKTA I'm sorry baby but that's just stupid

ELLIS???????

Why are these people so stupid 😭😭😭😭

YES KENNY TELL THEM

I wouldn't survive a day with Dale in town. I woulda strangled him the first day

I'm sorry but this scene with Jade Tabby and Ethan is so funny 😭😭😭😭😭 all of them going against Jim 🤝🏼

"you're helping by staying here" I love how she knows exactly what to say to make him stay

"well, guess what? We're all fucking upset" PREACH

Ellis. My dude what the fuck

Boyd I love you 😭😭😭😭

Colony house has a BASEMENT??????

KIDS BEING KIDS I LOVE THEM

"go be sorry, then. Try not to kill anybody" SPITTING FACTS HSUSHSI IM CTYING

Oh ew not the vegetables again

Henry and Ethan!!!!!!!

Oh my God that's so precious 😭😭😭😭 they're friends

"everyone he ever loved died here" 😭

VICTOR AND HENRY!!!!!!!!!!

I love how they actually look alike. 10/10 casting

Oh man I'm gonna cry

THE HUG 😭😭😭😭😭😭

"I didn't know how to get home" Kill me now

Bakta pep talk!!!!

Jade short king. I love him

NUMBERS

Jade :((((((

ITS A HOLE. I KNEW IT

"it only looks like chaos until you understand the pattern" the most stem phrase ever

DALE?????????

DALE WHAT ARE U DOING

"that's what a smart person would do" my dude, that's not it 😭😭😭😭

WHAT RHE HELL

"can u help him?" HES CEMENTED IN THE WALL

Yup he's gone

"still wanna go through the tree?" I'm loving the sarcasm

Donna just can't win. Give her a break

[lizzyus]

My most painful dream abt my dr

(kinda storytime)

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

ᰔᩚ

okay, so that night I went to sleep as usual, I was kinda tired so I fell asleep quickly.

Then, I started dreaming.

I was sitting on a chair, the place was white and luxurious, it was like some kind of event between rich people, btw there were some idols sitting behind and in front of me (for some reason hyunjin is ALWAYS sitting close to me BAHAHAHAH). I realized (actually not cuz It wasn't a lucid dream) that maybe my s/o could be there, so I started watching EVERYWHERE. Finally, I found him sitting between his mom and a girl, some meters away behind me.

I wanted to go and speak to him but then a person started talking in front of everyone (discourse coded 💀) so I regretted it cuz yk it would be awk to stand up between a crowd SITTING.

Next scene was me and my mom having a very luxurious dinner. I remember I couldn't stop looking at the table where my s/o, his mom and that girl were sitting. I started feeling sad about it so I said to my mom: "im not feeling well"... SHE THOUGHT I WANTED TO VOMIT ????? It was so funny cause she even started yelling at me, yet she brought me a bucket just in case.

After the dinner went to an end, everyone was walking outside and I felt very emo, until a person just had a heart attack and a guard asked for everyone to go back inside the building. While everyone was inside I noticed I just forgot my mom, so I decided to sit at a place where some people were waiting their family. CASUALLY, I sat next to my s/o's mom. LIKE WHYYYYYYY I WAS SUFFERING ENOUGH.

anyways, we became friends and when I was goin to ask her abt her son, like if he was dating that random girl, MY S/O JUST APPEARED HOLDING HANDS WITH HER. I felt more emo than ever.

Before leaving, I waited some time in that place (it felt very awk) and while so, my s/o's mom showed me videos of my s/o and that girl being happy. Like laughing and having pretty good dates. My heart was literally bleeding just from thinking that. The worst part is that his mom said: "they're gonna marry soon". AIN'T NO WAY. 😭😭😭😭

me:

Yet I tried to keep calm at least until my mom arrived, hopefully I saw her close and before approaching, I said to my s/o and his gf:

"Wish you both a happy life together"

They were so stunned, ESPECIALLY MY S/O, LIKE HE HAD THIS FACE:

Anyways, while leading home, I was on a bus and "CASUALLY" my s/o's mom was next to the only free sit, and my s/o and his gf were some chairs away from his mom. They were laughing and being all lovey-dovey while I was sitting and feeling emo just by hearing them. 💀

it was so funny LMAOOOBAHAHAHABAHAH

I kept talking with my s/o's mom a lot, like we became true besties 😚, yet she always spoke abt how happy she was for her son. Time after we kept silence and I was looking outside the window, thinking about finally giving up on my s/o (we were friends in that dream, but I loved him, thing that it's canon in my Dr)

now, the most painful part-

I accidentally looked at the window's reflection and I saw my s/o being all lovey dovey with his gf. Then, he stopped and looked at her with sparkling eyes, smiling. Then he said: "I love you". AND THEY KISSED. IN FRONT OF ME. IN FRONT OF MY EYES. IN. FRONT. OF. MY. SOUL. It hurted so bad cuz my s/o was looking all gorg while laughing, plus it was afternoon so it felt nostalgic, so yk he looked all beautiful just by being happy, but it hurted so bad it wasn't with me yk... (I wanted to kms)

Then my s/o's mom invited me to have dinner at her house, I said yes cuz idk I was just hungry and wanted to watch my s/o before saying bye forever.

We arrived her home and my s/o and his gf went to a bedroom (not for doing the boombayah lmao, they were laughing while playing videogames). While so, I was in the kitchen with my s/o's mom preparing dinner. I was sad yet tried to focus but when I heard my s/o laugh I just BURSTED ON CRYING. His mom felt sad for me so we hugged, and suddenly my s/o and his gf appeared and they were in some kind of shock while watching us. Girl they were literally STUNNED. They acted like if they just saw a crime scene 💀💀💀

Hopefully, i woke up 😚

I felt extremely sad, like sososososo sad, it felt so damn real. The only good thing was that I felt more familiar with my s/o. But seriously it took me 3-4 days to fully recover from that shitty ass dream 💀💀💀 (I'll get you s/o's stealer 😈)

Hopefully I recovered and now it's funny lmaoo

anyways, ty for reading and happy shift/happy manifestation!! <33

[cjrae]

Series: Reaction to a Reaction. Episode 24 "Jinshi and Maomao"

You made it to the finale @i-guess-im-into-this-now ! Thank you for doing these and letting me talk your ear off in the comments and reblogs.

1.) "Oh does he think Fengxian is dead? Shit. Do I need to retract some of the mean shit I said about him last time?"

Not really. I will say, though, that one of the author's strengths with her characters is writing people who feel like people. Lakan IS a selfish asshole. He's also a devoted husband and father. He's lazy and doesn't use his abilities to their fullest potential, but when roused to defend what he cares about, he is brilliant. The other characters are like this too - Basen, for example, has reasons to be as abrasive as he is, but Jinshi wouldn't keep him close in his inner circle if Basen weren't more than a surly young soldier. Jinshi has certainly grown throughout the season - remember the honey? Maomao has grown a LOT.

2.) "So he did try to come and claim Maomao at some point. And why couldn't he? Did the ladies at Verdigris House prevent him from taking her?"

Again, something the adaptation cut for time, but yes. The madam continues to drive Lakan away, especially after he catches a glimpse of Maomao with Luomen in the pleasure district and can see her face before catching sight of the twisted pinky finger and realizing that his daughter is still alive. Is it ENTIRELY fair to Lakan? Probably not - and there's an argument to be made that she could have been better off with her biological father, raised outside the very dangerous red light district as a princess of a named clan (more details from the manga/books).

But Maomao is family and the madam is not letting the man who, in her mind, destroyed Fengxian anywhere near her daughter or granddaughter. Nor does Maomao appreciate Lakan literally trying to simply take her away from Luomen.

3.) "Lakan runs, frantic, to where the singing is coming from. He enters Fengxian's room. She's turned away looking out the window, but she's singing a song that Lakan can't forget. And he's stunned. Like seeing a ghost. He's staring at a woman he thought was dead. A single tear falls down his face.

Ah shit. That's some good drama right there."

Yeah. The big romance that comes full circle this season is Lakan and Fengxian, which is why there are so many Lakan stans. People will forgive a lot in the name of a man who is so hopelessly in love for a single woman that even broken, he sees as beautiful and whole.

I think that Lakan and Fengxian's story is also meant to serve as a warning for Jinshi and Maomao. "If only you had been honest about what you wanted, you wouldn't have had to wait so long," Meimei says. They threw away potential years of happiness because neither of them could simply say, "You are the one that I choose, you are the one that I want to be with."

Jinshi and Maomao are going to have to do better on communication than these two if they're to find joy and fulfillment in each other - and believe me, that's gonna take awhile.

4.) "Cut to Jinshi watching the sunset. Is the sunset just a transition to a night scene or is it symbolic of closure in the story? We are coming to the end of not just this episode but this entire season, so a sunset is certainly appropriate."

There is literally a whole ass analysis I want to do based on the ending credits, but this scene will also serve for the short version.

As you watch the series, you can notice in the art direction how often Jinshi is framed by two devices - the vermilion pillars of the palace and admiring women. Both of them evoke the images of a cage. Jinshi is utterly trapped within the palace - and he feels it very keenly. That scene with the Emperor, he says that he'll manage the Rear Palace, and whatever else the Emperor wants because he has to if he's going to choose his own path.

Jinshi craves freedom and the second shot is him, still trapped by the pillars, gazing up at the freedom of the sky. The person who is the most trapped by the palace is the prince.

5.) "Maomao stands atop the wall of the palace, dressed in her finery, looking out to the bright city beyond. We get a glimpse of Maomao's yet unhealed leg, her freckles, her lovely courtesan's dress, her beauty. An amalgamation of all the different parts that make up Maomao. She is here to dance, as Meimei suggested. Here on the same wall where two other women have stood earlier in the season with drastically different results.

The show revisits a recurring theme from throughout the season: for women who live in a cage there are only two ways out, freedom or death."

I didn't actually pick up on the freedom/death choice until this and this is part of why I love reading your reviews. I've got my own thoughts on this scene, but for brevity, I'll just direct you to one of the analyses I already did on the subject.

6.) "Is she trying to provoke him? She gets headbutted for that one. I'm typically against physical violence, but I have to say, this seems justified. Maomao is happy about it too, because now she knows she's dealing with the real Jinshi."

Oh, she does try to provoke him, but not here.

I am going to leave you with a bit of a warning regarding violence as an exaggerated expression of emotion. This romance trope has been losing popularity in the West, but women "driving" men to violent reactions as proof of their feelings is very much alive in East Asia. (I suspect you already know this, based on some of your other fandoms I've caught glimpses of).

We actually see a LOT of violence in this first season. Maomao slapping that lady in waiting to the floor and then dragging her by the hair comes to mind - not something I'd ever accept in real life, even if Maomao's rage is justified. All the slaps and punches we see the other characters giving each other and it's completely written off - in fact it's considered slapstick humor most of the time.

All this to say that there is a scene you can easily find spoilers for in LN 5's epilogue that I can guarantee you will probably not like. (I don't actually like it all that much either). I think it's actually handled very well, but because it contains one of Jinshi's lowest moments in the entire series as well as a kiss, people mistake it for being a romantic scene. It is not - it's a knock down, drag out fight. Jinshi and Maomao are hurting each other in that scene and OH, do they hurt each other.

The author is also careful, I think, to make sure that, critically, Jinshi is a.) ashamed of his own behavior, b.) it does not get him what he wants and c.) these two factors mean that the behavior is never repeated. So there's some subversion of this particular trope, but that doesn't mean it's not there.

I'm not going to tell you what should and shouldn't be your squick, but just a warning that this scene exists and for some people it ends up breaking their suspension of disbelief. It's LN only, but the scene is important enough that a.) I don't think it'll be either skipped or softened if/when animated and b.) it has an illustration in the light novel, which is usually an indicator that something should be paid attention to.

I'm gonna leave you with one more link to another analysis I did that I hope you enjoy reading if you have time (I also have a few more of these meta planned), but I just wanted to say again how much I've enjoyed this blog!

The Apothecary Diaries

S1E24 First Watch

Here's where I watch The Apothecary Diaries for the first time and give my thoughts, analysis, predictions, and occasionally I stumble into a joke.

If you want to start at the beginning:

Episode 1

My character/locations cheat sheet:

Master Shishou - Lady Loulan's father

Suirei: court lady who tried to assassinate Jinshi

Final episode of season one let's go!

Lakan: Fengxian. I wanted to be with the daughter we (she)* left behind. That was my only wish.

*There is a mismatch of the words being spoken in English dub and the English subtitles.

Oh does he think Fengxian is dead? Shit. Do I need to retract some of the mean shit I said about him last time?

We see Lakan sitting in the brothel staring at the dried rose that Maomao left for him, and the severed fingers that he treasures. He's thinking of seeing Maomao as a child

Lakan: It's natural for her to hate me, but I still wanted her close by.

So he did try to come and claim Maomao at some point. And why couldn't he? Did the ladies at Verdigris House prevent him from taking her? Did Luomen? Did Lakan ultimately decide he couldn't raise this little girl for some other reason?

Lakan: But that despicable man. I'll never forgive him for placing his hand on my daughter's shoulder three times during our match.

First of all, we are still seeing these creepy game-piece-headed nightmares in this episode. When will it end?

Second of all, I didn't notice that Jinshi was touching Maomao in the last episode. I'm fairly certain it was not shown, which to me indicates that it happened but Maomao didn't take notice of it. Is casual touch so commonplace that it doesn't warrant notice, or was she so focused on the game that it was irrelevant.

Lastly, WTH Lakan? Wasn't he the one cracking jokes about Jinshi and Maomao last episode? And, can no one in this show read the fricking room? Obviously, there is something happening between these two. I suppose Lakan has an excuse with his face blindness, but honestly I expected better from him.

Lakan: The question is how do I exact my revenge?

Well Lakan, I think you'll have to choose between your two goals of having Maomao close by and exacting revenge on Jinshi, because those two goals are in opposition. If Lakan ever wants to have a relationship with Maomao, he will have to leave Jinshi alone, because Maomao is not going to tolerate Lakan screwing with her man employer.

Granny comes to talk to Lakan about picking a courtesan. I had this all wrong apparently. I thought Maomao was intending for him to take care of her mother. It seems he can pick any courtesan that he wants.

Lakan approaches Meimei, who says she would be glad to accept, though her body language says otherwise. She opens the doors to the courtyard where Fengxian can be heard singing. Granny is not happy, but Lakan takes off running towards the sound.

Lakan: A withered flower still retains it's beauty. If that was suppose to be a message... it can't be!

So he didn't know Fengxian was alive then? Which means I can't blame him for not stepping forward to care for her in the past.

Lakan runs, frantic, to where the singing is coming from. He enters Fengxian's room. She's turned away looking out the window, but she's singing a song that Lakan can't forget. And he's stunned. Like seeing a ghost. He's staring at a woman he thought was dead. A single tear falls down his face.

Ah shit. That's some good drama right there.

Lakan picks Fengxian. He'll pay any amount. Granny can't believe this. She's not happy. It doesn't make sense. Did she forget about the history between these two?

And what was granny's role in all of this anyway? Did she give Lakan the impression that Fengxian was dead? Why would she do that? Couldn't granny have taken advantage of Lakan's interest in Fengxian and sold off the otherwise worthless Fengxian? My guess is that Fengxian hated Lakan so much at that point, that Granny thought she needed to protect her from going to him. She's not as avaricious as she would make herself seem.

Fengxian is spacing out. To get her attention, Lakan places some Go pieces in her hand. When she finally turns to him, he asks her to play a game with him, then full on ugly cries.

It's a beautiful moment. After all the problems that kept these two apart, they are finally reunited.

They play on the bed, without a board, but it seems that at least this part of Fengxian's mind remains, because she's making cleaver moves. Lakan reminisces about how they used to play and credits Fengxian for Maomao's strengths. Does she deserve that credit...

Meimei is overwhelmed. She cries. She blames Granny for keeping these two apart.

Lakan says he will buy Fengxian's contract, and when he sees her he sees her as she was in her prime. Beautiful, without the bandages or the disease, or the any of the changes that time has wrought. Does he see her this way because of his love for her, or because of his face blindness?

I wonder how much of Fengxian's mind remains. How much does she understand about what is happening? How much, if at all can she consent to this? Perhaps that is Granny's concern as well. For someone so out of their mind, and at the end of their life, I can't see what Lakan's presence can do to benefit Fengxian. Perhaps he improves her legacy, by giving her tale a nicer ending, but as far as her experience of it goes... he's too late.

This is all for Lakan's benefit. He is reunited with the woman he loved, he get's to finally buy out her contract like he wanted to so many years ago. He gets to erase some of his regrets, correct some of his miscalculations. It's a redemption for him, though a selfish one since he is the only one who benefits from it. Arguably, Verdigris House benefits as well, but he sure as hell ain't doing this for them. I could listen to an argument that he is doing this in part because he believe Maomao wants him to, but primarily, I think this is all for himself.

(I'm sorry Lakan fans. I will try harder on the rewatch to unearth some love for your dude)

Maomao is returning from the Verdigris House with ray-of-sunshine, Basan! They oversee Lady Loulan and her father conversing, and Basan calls the two of them snakes. Maomao, rightly, thinks that's a pretty dangerous thing to say. She doesn't want to lose her head just because Basan can't keep his nasty opinions to himself. And though Maomao always avoids gossip, I very much want to know what Basan knows about Lady Loulan and Master Shishou.

Maomao is dead tired, she has been working her ass off for the last month to grow those roses for the Garden Party, and now she just wants to sleep, but Basan informs her that Jinshi wants to see her first.

Jinshi: You must be tired. Maomao: Not really.

Why lie about this? My guess is that Maomao doesn't want anyone to fuss over her. Her wellbeing isn't important anyway, so why mention how she feels?

But Suiren does worry over Maomao, mentioning how much weight she's lost since the last time she saw her. Good. I'm glad to see this more obvious show of care for Maomao. I really just want everyone to love on this girl and take care of her.

Oh and she's "Xiaomao" to Suiren now too. ❤️She gets a nice big meal and is told to eat up.

Jinshi wants to know what the deal is with Maomao and her dad. Maomao explains that she doesn't hate Lakan.

Maomao: Afterall, I would not even be here if he weren't able to land his shot so to say. ... No courtesan bears a child if she doesn't want one.

And that makes a lot of sense actually. Maomao explains how women can prevent pregnancy, abort unwanted pregnancies, predict their fertility... it all points to the conclusion that Fengxian wanted to use Lakan to get pregnant.

Last episode we saw how Fengxian's plan all came crashing down by unforeseen circumstances. In her rage she cut off both her own finger as well as that of her infant.

Maomao explains to Jinshi about Lakan's face blindness. Jinshi, who has no issues with empathy, thinks that's unfortunate. Luomen was the one who told Maomao about Lakan's condition, and he also thinks the condition is quite sad. I wonder if Maomao knows that Luomen is Lakan's uncle? Maomao thinks that Lakan's obsession with her comes from the fact that she is one of the very few people whom Lakan can recognize.

Jinshi has kept a large vase of the blue roses that Maomao grew for him, because he's in love with her they were just going to be thrown out otherwise, and Maomao reflects while looking at them. She wonders if her meaning was clear enough when she sent the withered rose to Lakan.

She claims again that she doesn't hate Lakan. She's grateful to have been born and have been raised by Luomen. Jinshi pushes back, recalling her intense reaction when Lakan's name came up before.

Maomao: No offense, but you've got a lot to learn Master Jinshi.

You don't know me. Yet.

Maomao is also grateful that Lakan helped her interrupt the ceremony that would have killed Jinshi.

Maomao: It's like he had a feeling something bad was going to happen too.

Gee, almost like he knew somethin about it, or had figured it out already?

Maomao explains that Lakan doesn't need evidence to form his conclusions. He can pick up on subtleties that aren't even conscious, to use gut feelings that are rarely wrong. Maomao regrets that Lakan can't be depended on to actually act on these feelings. She believes she could have stopped Suirei from escaping if Lakan had gotten involved earlier and she would now have the secret resurrection drug that Suirei hinted at.

Maomao is jealous of Lakan. Luomen praises Lakan without caveats, something she can only wish for. Friends. I know you all think I'm too hard on Luomen, and it's probably true. And I feel compelled to say that I don't hate him or even dislike him. I know Maomao loves Luomen and he's done all he can for her. But she's still hurt by his lack of praise. It's had an effect on her emotional and psychological development.

Maomao warns Jinshi not to underestimate Lakan.

Gaoshun adds that no father wants to be disliked by their children. Okay Gaoshun, are you projecting here? Some dads are dicks, and absolutely deserve to be disliked whether they like it or not. Does Gaoshun worry that his children don't like him? Is it because Basan is his son? He really shouldn't take Basan's pissy attitude personally, he's like that with everyone!

Meimei sends a package with a beautiful shawl and news from the brothel. She hopes that Maomao will dance for her when she is bought out. Maomao actually picks up the shawl and spins around with a soft sigh. Does Maomao enjoy dancing? Something she picked up at the brothel perhaps?

Maomao seems inspired by the gift. She sits down in front of her makeup and a beautiful outfit that is on a rack in her room.

Cut to Jinshi watching the sunset. Is the sunset just a transition to a night scene or is it symbolic of closure in the story? We are coming to the end of not just this episode but this entire season, so a sunset is certainly appropriate.

Maomao stands atop the wall of the palace, dressed in her finery, looking out to the bright city beyond. We get a glimpse of Maomao's yet unhealed leg, her freckles, her lovely courtesan's dress, her beauty. An amalgamation of all the different parts that make up Maomao. She is here to dance, as Meimei suggested. Here on the same wall where two other women have stood earlier in the season with drastically different results.

The show revisits a recurring theme from throughout the season: for women who live in a cage there are only two ways out, freedom or death.

First we had seen the concubine who danced atop the wall as she waited for her lover to return and secure her release. Freedom.

Later we saw the servant girl who plunged into the moat to end her life. Death.

And now Maomao, who often walks the line between the two. Over the course of this season we've seen her struggle with both. When the servant girl died, we heard suicidal ideation from Maomao. We've also seen her ingest deadly poison. Always flirting with death, not sure if she should welcome it or fight against it.

And freedom. We've seen her at the crossroads of her life, with decisions ahead of her. Particularly, with whether she should remain in the Pleasure District or return to the Rear Palace. And Maomao struggled with freedom, caught by indecision.

In this moment, under the stars, she doesn't have to think. She's feeling. A deviation from her usual modus operandi. Perhaps with Meimei's letter she can let go of some of the turmoil from her past. Fengxian is with Lakan now, that knot that has finally been undone. Her sisters in Verdigris House are safe and happy for the moment, with hope for each of their futures. Maomao is in the Rear Palace to watch over Lady Gyokuyou and the ladies of the Jade Pavilion. And Jinshi is safe, after both an attempt on his life by Suirei and an attempt on his reputation from Lakan. So for the moment the people Maomao loves are safe, and she can stand on top of a wall and dance under the stars and just feel.

Of course the practical reason behind it is that she's practicing to make sure she remembers the steps. Meimei asked her to dance for her after all.

And Jinshi is here. It's the end of the final episode. I'd be disappointed if he didn't show up.

She's so surprised to see him, she nearly falls off the roof. Maomao... I know you are an anime girl but isn't that a little cliché...

No matter, it offers Jinshi a chance to catch her. He always will.

Jinshi: I got a report about another weird woman who was climbing up the outer wall.

It's a recurring problem in this palace.

Jinshi: You're always causing me trouble.

And you fricking love it. Shut up.

Maomao was recognized by the guard that saw her go up the wall, and the guard was wise enough to go directly to Jinshi. Of course Jinshi came himself.

Maomao explains that in the Pleasure District, that when a courtesan is bought out that it is customary for the others to dance in her honor. Ahh, so she's dancing for her mother then.

That Lakan has bought a courtesan is big news in the Pleasure District, and even in the palace. The number of lamps on the street, as well as the number of banquet days, indicate that a courtesan of the highest status was bought out, though the public never sees her. We get a glimpse of Fengxian in red. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe red is the color of wedding garments. I'm not sure if that's intentional here or not. But in any case, no one, not even me, can mistake Lakan's grand romantic gesture in treating Fengxian with so much respect.

Jinshi questions who Lakan may have bought out at the Verdigris House, and Maomao plays dumb, which is not fooling Jinshi.

Jinshi: Just who did the strategist buy out any way? Maomao: What? As if I should know. Jinshi: Yes. Without a doubt. Maomao: No matter how beautiful she is, she would never be a match for you. Jinshi: That didn't answer my question.

She doesn't want to say. And he's not going to push her. She tries to deflect, and he lets her. He once again is asking her to open up to him, and she is still saying not yet. But Jinshi never gives up on Maomao. He will simply let her have her secrets for now. But he's so steadfast in his pursuit of Maomao that the audience can have no doubt that he will continue to try.

Fengxian won't last long. She's in the end stages of her disease. Maomao reflects on how her birth affected the reputation of Verdigris House. No one spoke to Maomao about who her mother was, because Grams tried to protect that information, but Maomao discovered it anyway. Prideful Fengxian couldn't recover from the shame of her failed plans, her loss of reputation, and she always chased Maomao away. Maomao claims that none of it matters to her. She's just happy being Luomen's daughter. I don't believe she's so unaffected, but that's an issue for a future season!

Maomao's macabre fun facts are not in fact fun for Jinshi, as she explains that you can cut off the tip of your finger and that it will grow back. I'm glad she didn't lose this part of her that was taken by one parent to curse the other. Instead it grew back. She may be scarred from the experience but she is whole. A metaphor.

When Maomao collapses, Jinshi demands to know what's wrong to which Maomao rambles off a list of horrifying truths. Maomao's leg wound won't heal. It has opened up again. She didn't notice it because she has a high pain tolerance. Probably due to all the drugs she's taken. No problem, she can just plop down and stitch it right back up.

NO. That's not happening. Jinshi has fucking had it with this girl. He then picks her up and leaps. off. the. wall. It was a little hot. I'm so used to Jinshi simping and being generally uncool, that I get caught off guard when he's actually being hot. Maomao does too. Especially since he switches to a princess carry.

Maomao gets deadly serious for a moment. She stares Jinshi in the eyes, touches his face and leans in. Jinshi is thinking this is it. It's finally happening. Only for Maomao to ask if she can now have the ox bezoar. Is she trying to provoke him? She gets headbutted for that one. I'm typically against physical violence, but I have to say, this seems justified. Maomao is happy about it too, because now she knows she's dealing with the real Jinshi.

Lady Gyokuyou pays for premium so she gets front row access to her favorite romcom. Jinshi has come to see Maomao. This final interaction is just basically this whole show in a nutshell. The ladies of the Jade Pavilion are teasing Maomao, because they love her, and they know her boyfriend totally platonic employer is watching. Jinshi says something interesting has come up and he thought of Maomao, which of course peaks her curiosity. We don't get to hear what Jinshi wanted to ask of Maomao, but we get the impression that things will carry on much as they have been until we can see these beloved characters again.

The storytellers promise us a second season. So yay!

Thanks to the like 10 people who enjoyed this blog. It was very fun for me to write. Your comments, likes and reblogs gave me life.

I loved getting to know these characters and trying to get inside their heads. The characters are so well written, and the plot is so big and juicy. There seems to be no end to the layers of the story. It's truly fantastic.

The Apothecary Diaries is a new favorite of mine now, and since I've made it to the end of this season, I'm looking forward to not having to scroll past JinMao content on my feed to avoid spoilers!

I haven't decided if I should hold out for more of the show and continue to watch it with fresh eyes like I did for this blog, or if I should just jump into the light novels or manga. Does anyone know, are both of those things complete with a good English translation?

This won't be my last content for The Apothecary Diaries. I'm known to compulsively shit post in the fandoms I follow, so I'm sure I won't be able to resist doing that. But, perhaps once I've had some time to think on this I will have some more meta analysis to offer. I do plan to rewatch the entire season. Though I won't reblog to this degree, I may jump back in the comments on some of these blogs and add some new insights.

If you like this kind of thing and want me to do it for another one of your favorites let me know! My recommendations box is ever open. I love any kind of engaging story, in any format, and am happy (unable to stop myself) to post about it on the internet! Just tell me what you love and where to start.

Until then I guess I'm into this now.

To start at the beginning:

Episode 1

[weirdsht]

Imagine Cale falling for someone the opposite of him. They're poor, live alone, and have never told a lie. They have a shack in the woods with a garden and some animals, pretty much self-sustaining and living in peace. But, unlike him, they may look like an average person yet have the strength of ten men. They have a bad reputation, because they kinda fit the whole "evil witch that lives in the woods" vibe. And even though they're honest(blunt), they can't get a long with people. Just imagining their dynamic is hilarious and amazing.

1) i went overboard, 2) cale is ooc in some parts, me thinks, 3) messy asf. im sorry

Cale's thought upon the first meeting is probably "oh wow they have my dream life"

except for the poor part. we all know Cale doesn't speak broke

s/o not being able to lie is good for him. he wont need to play the guessing game all the time unlike with other people

but at the same time he thinks they wont make it far in life with that

but not that it matters much. he has confidence he'll be able to protect them for they are one of his people

speaking of s/o becoming one of his people. i really think that's the only way for Cale to fall in love

the man is closed off so if you aren't in his circle you wont stand a chance

luckily for s/o Cale saw their strength and deemed that it would be beneficial

and the rest after that is history

now them as a couple!

one word: intimidating

they're that power couple everyone admires but are to scared to approach

how can you when you're dealing with a natural intimidating aura and a leader aura fueled by an ancient power purely for domination?

so when they look at each other and then proceed to whisper everyone doesn't know if they find the scene hot or scary

what they don't know is that s/o is actually super anxious

"Cale i think they're looking at me weirdly... I want to go home"

"if i ask one more golden plaque from hyung-nim you can use it to blind them"

"why are you asking for another one? dont you still have 20 more?"

"but thats for shopping with you and the kids"

yes Cale is the type to spoil their s/o openly, i will take this hc with me even after u get buried 6ft underground

as i said cale doesn't speak broke so ofc his s/o have to get the best of the best

meanwhile s/o likes to live a simple life

cue many arguments that occurs everyday while everyone else in the villa watch with popcorn

dont get me wrong, Cale admires their self-sustaining, simple life and he supports it

but he also thinks you can't be wealthy enough yknow

the more riches the better

thats cale's motto

meanwhile s/o is probably

the simpler the better

THE KIDS LOVE THEM SM

ofc we have the fact that if cale loves them then the whole fam will also love them as long as they dont have bad intentions

but the kids love them for

is it because of their natural affinity with animals? are they really just that good with kids? is it both?

Cale honestly doesn't want to think about it

all this man knows is that while they make look ethereal while interacting with kids and animals, it annoys the hell out of him when they go bother him early in the morning

the villa doesn't even have pets

most of the time its just random animals (specially birds) knocking on his bedroom window wanting to see his s/o early in the morning

but grumble as much as he want he wont rlly do about it when they see how happy they are playing with those annoying little things

moments like that makes Cale think how you dont get along with other people outside your circle much

but then again outside Cale's safe clutches is the filthy world of high society

and he knows how they dont like hearing the truth, something s/o always deliver, but instead prefer empty praises

oh well, Cale could care less about those greedy nobles. he also make sure to remind his s/o that they are trash and its not worth it getting along with them

cue more argument about how this is why Cale would probably die friendless

overall its safe to say they are intimidating in public and act like an old married couple in private

they may have different values and morals from Cale but he wouldn't trade them for anything

[celxt4rrz]

Not you making me cry about yuu leaving twisted wonderland 😭 can there be a happy ending or a plot twist were after yuu left they were sucked in their world only to find out yuu is rich asf and their parents owns a CEO 😍

a/n : i love your idea!!

back home

'welp... they're gone..'

my friends, my teachers, the ghost i befriended in ramshackle, and of course...

twisted wonderland

oh how i miss it so much, but there's nothing i can do...

what can i expect? im magicless, i also don't have a magic mirror to bring me wherever i want.

wait.

speaking of a magic mirror..

why tf is my mirror glowing?!

giving me deja vu.. am i also meeting mickey here? in my original world?

...

that ain't mickey bruh...

all i see is a hand reaching out for me(?) well it feels like it's reaching out for me yet it also looked like "it's" looking something to grab on..

i followed my instincts and grabbed "it's" hand, pulling it, revealing...

" HOUSEWARDEN ROSEH- i mean.. RIDDLE?!?! "

then one by one every housewarden is in my room.

" h-how? " it felt so unreal... are they really...

" AHHHH YUU-SAN WE MISSED YOUU!! " shouted the housewarden of scarabia as he run towards you and hugged you on spot. " lower your voice down kalim, we do not wish to disturb more people. " said by a handsome man. " indeed, our only main goal here is to greet yuu-san after all, it will be a hassle if we disturb more people. " the red haired guy who we called 'riddle' earlier.

" how.. "

" hmm?? " all the housewardens looked at you, tilting their head. " HOW DID YALL GET HERE?? " yuu shouted at them.

" it's summer break, crowley also allowed us to meet you since he knows the way to your world " a guy with horns said. " yawn.. can we just go straight to the point already? " this time a man with lion ears asked. " ye-yeah.. i.. i think.. the chocolate are about to me-melt.. " what a cute guy.. oh! the man with a cool fire haired said.

literally 'did you get deja vu, huh?' reference...

" uwahh, this room is huge!! it also had a comfy bed! look look! " kalim pointed at this bed. " hmm, i didn't know you were this rich yuu-san, by just looking at the room design and expensive items here- you sure are rich. " vil said as he looked into your makeup products.

" YUU ARE YOU IN THERE?! WE'RE COMING IN! "

shit. MOM AND DAD ARE COMING INSIDE MY ROOM($+#!*8#;8$#;)#

" hide!! " i whisper-shouted at them to hide, they looked at me and exactly knew what to do.

unfortunately we run out of time.. my parents found them..

" SO MANY MEN INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF OUR HOME YUU, WHO ARE THIS PEOPLE?? " mom shouted.

" rememberwhenitoldyouthatiteleportedtoanotherworld,ididn'ttoldyouthatitwasanallboysschoolsoyouwouldntgetoverproctiveofmetoomuch, ALSO THEY'RE MY FRIENDS MOM. "

" see hun, i told you they were our child's friend. " dad said trying to calm down mom.

" i literally thought, we're gonna get robbed... if we did what will happen to our precious child's future.. " mom kept mumbling nonsense right after.

" you can meet your other friends outside yuu, they are all waiting for you. " dad and mom went out of my room. i looked at the housewardens signaling to go down with me.

...

" now i get why mom thought we're getting robbed. " i saw grim, ace, and deuce climbing into a tree that is just right beside my bedroom window, epel and jack looked like they're some kind of bodyguards, sebek and ortho were holding a safety placemats underneath ace and deuce incase if one of them fell.

the leech twins and azul giving some weird typa potion to one of our maids to distract them, welp... advance condolences.

the remaining second and third years were setting up the table with decorations and food..

what a weird robbers.

but all i can do is smile and laugh, i really really miss them.. it feels like im in twisted wonderland once again.

" im back home.. everyone.. "

" welcome back home yuu-san!! "

a/n : im so sorry if this doesn't fit your imagination but this is all i can think of :') i hope you liked it

[doveabovetheworld]

This Is Halloween

Jake Kiszka x GN!Reader

Summary; It’s now Halloween, your favorite holiday of all time, and you get to spend it with your boyfriend, Jake Kiszka, your older brother, and his three kids. What more could you possibly ask for when you get to go trick or treating with people you love?

Warnings; Language, drinking, a couple references towards 18+ acts, fluff

A/N; With the twins done, we just have the two pretty best friends left! Also, im not totally in Jake lane and i dont really read many fics about him so im so sorry if this is awful just know I will be making more about Jake as time goes on!

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

I wasn't expecting Jake to be this into Halloween when I first met him.

When we started dating about 3 years ago, I learned how passionate he is about a lot of different things like music, his family, and especially pirates.

I heard Jake come through the front door calling my name.

“Hi, baby!” I walked up to Jake and hugged him, “How was the store?”

“It wasn't too bad! You got everything ready for dinner?”

“Almost!” I smiled at him and went back over to the kitchen to work on dinner. “Are you ready for tonight?’

“I'm sure it’ll be fun, right?” Jake looked over to me with a sheepish smile and laughed nervously. My older brother, Alex, and his three kids were coming over that night and we were going to be taking them around our neighborhood to go trick-or-treating. Jake’s known for a few weeks but still seems a little unsure of this idea. He’s so confident with a lot of things but kids definitely aren’t his thing. It’s not like he doesn’t like them, it’s just that he doesn’t think he can handle them.

“Of course, it will be, Jake! Trust me.”

Jake sighed in relief and walked up behind me as he said, “All right… One more thing before I get the table ready, what’s the plan for the rest of the night?”

I looked at Jake and smiled, “Well I was thinking after dinner and trick or treating, we could “watch” a movie when my brother and his kids leave if you want?”

“Oh? “Watching” a movie…” he repeated what I said and he looked at me amorously, “Now that sounds like a fantastic plan, beautiful.”

“Exactly!” I laughed a little bit and smiled at him.

“You’re a genius, aren’t you?” Jake smiled at me and put his arms around my waist.

“I would hope so!” Jake laughed and smiled warmly with his head on my shoulder.

“So… any thoughts on what movie you wanna “watch”?” Jake kissed my shoulder and went over to the fridge and pulled out a drink before he continued, “I was thinking something like… Beetlejuice maybe?”

I looked over at him and gasped full of excitement, “Yes! I love that movie!”

“I know! That’s exactly why I picked it, love.” he laughed, “I’m going to set the table for dinner, okay? I’ll let you know when they’re here.”

“Okay! Thank you, Jakey!”

After about twenty minutes I finished making dinner and walked over to Jake who was in our living room sitting on the window sill. He was looking intently while watching outside. His arms were crossed and he didn’t look anywhere else.

“You takin’ your role seriously, Captain?” I laughed as I hugged him tightly.

“You know it, darling. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t watch over my co-captain?” He laughed at himself mockingly and smiled as he looked at me. His eyes were kind and warm as he grabbed my hand. He was soft and fit in mine perfectly. I always felt so safe with him and I loved our little moments like these together where there was a comforting silence that no one wanted to break.

I then saw my brother’s car park in our driveway and shouted, “They're here!”

I got up and went outside to see him.

He was only about two years older than me and looked just like me. A lot of people thought we were twins when we were in school. The only difference between us is his personality. He’s so much more reckless and risk-taking than I ever am. We’ve been super close our whole lives and hang out almost every day. He’s my best friend. He and his ex-wife got their divorce finalized a few months ago due to their “difference of opinions”. They had three kids together but never got along. I think they tried to stick together for the kids at first but it turned out to be a bad decision. His ex is super nice though and they still talk like friends. I guess being in a relationship with each other wasn’t their forte.

Isabella, who was about six years old, and so sweet, was the oldest. Followed by Eloise who was four. The youngest of them was Henry, he’s only two years old.

I hugged Alex and helped him bring the kids into the house.

I went inside to meet Jake sitting in the living room and when he saw the kids come in his face turned from a nervous expression into an excited one as he smiled and waved.

“Hey, guys,” Jake laughed and looked back and forth between Alex and the kids, “Hope you guys are ready for dinner!”

I tell Alex and the kids to sit at the table and ask Jake for help in the kitchen as we get the plates ready for everyone.

“I can tell you’re nervous… is there anything I can do to help, love?” I asked Jake and hugged him, attempting to comfort him the best I could.

“Just a little bit but I’ll shake it off eventually. Don’t worry, babe,” Jake smiled and got two drinks from the fridge before walking to the dining room table and offering one of the drinks to Alex as he popped the tab off saying, “Here, I grabbed a drink for you and I… thought we may need it after dealing with the kids.”

Jake nodded towards me and the other three, including me in his little comment. Alex nodded in agreement as he and Jake laughed and took a sip of their drinks.

Jake and I finished bringing everyone’s plates and sat down with ours. We all start chatting about stuff that’s been happening in our lives recently. Jake looks at me happily and smiles. He leaned over to me and whispered, “This is great, babe. I’m glad we planned this.”

I smiled brightly at him and Alex started to talk about this huge promotion he got at his job. Jake and Alex were talking about all sorts of things that they liked and random stuff like that. We all finished eating and I announced to the kids, “Let’s go get dressed up guys! It’s time to get some candy!”

All the kids shouted happily. They were so excited they were practically jumping up and down in their chairs. Jake started bursting out laughing and looked at me and smirked, “You better take control of these kids, love.”

“No way! They aren’t mine!” I laughed and looked at Akex who was shaking his head with a smile. I then asked Jake if he would help me clean while Alex gets the kids ready and he agreed. We walked into the kitchen and we started doing the dishes.

“So… what’s everyone going to be?” Jake asked as he put the dishes into the dishwasher.

“Well… I think Isabella is going as Anna from Frozen, Eloise is going as a witch, and Henry is going as some sort of tiger I think? I’m not totally sure.” I laugh and hug Jake.

“We’re gonna have our hands full with them aren’t we?” Jake smiles and chuckles as he shakes his head a few times before kissing me on the cheek.

“Okay, now that we’re done cleaning, I think we should get into our costumes and go trick or treating now!”

Jake’s face lights up with excitement. His face is the perfect mix of excitement, happiness, and anticipation. He looked at me with a big, happy smile and nodded a few times, “I agree! I’m sure the kids are ready now too!”

Jake and I head upstairs to change into our matching pirate costumes that I begged Jake to wear. He was so against wearing matching costumes at first until I mentioned they were going to be pirates. That same day, he took me to the closest Halloween store and we got our costumes.

When we were ready we went back downstairs. Jake was coming down yelling and waving his rapier all over the place. He then said, “Is everyone ready?”

The kids all shouted “Yes!” at the same time with energy and excitement that filled the whole house with laughter.

“Okay, everyone. Ready?” Jake shouted with such enthusiasm and excitement, he practically yelled. He laughed and opened the front door for everyone while the kids raced outside, “C’mon, let’s go!”

We all walk around the neighborhood together while the kids go up to the houses and get their candy. We had such a fun time and I couldn’t stop smiling. Jake took my hand and squeezed it tightly letting me know how much he was having fun. Jake then stopped and I looked at him confused.

“What’s up, love?”

Jake then smiled and started to say, “I just wanna say… I love you so much.”

“Jakey… that’s…” I blushed and hugged him, “You’re amazing, Jake. I really wouldn’t know what I would do without you.”

“Thank you,” Jake beamed and hugged me back as he whispered, “Thank you for making me happy.”

I kissed him and let go of him, grabbing his hand, “Come on now, Captain. We wouldn’t want to lose the rest of your crew now would we?”

“You’re right, love!” Jake laughed and squeezed my hand again as we walked, catching up to Alex and the kids.

After a while of going around the neighborhood, the kids got tired so we decided to head back to our homes. Alex gave me a hug and the kids said bye to Jake and me before he and the kids left.

“Are you ready for our movie?” I asked Jake, giving him a frisky look.

He laughed and nodded immediately making his way over to the couch to put the movie on. I turned off the lights and sat next to him thinking about how lucky I am to have Jake in my life.

The rest of the night was filled with us “watching” the movie and be as close as we could to one another as if we would never let go.

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

[hiy-breadcheeks]

Setting you free.

PART 3 (Final)

pairing: bucky barnes x gn!reader

a/n: im gonna tell you the reasons excuses why this took so long: SCHOOL (procrastination, mostly)

One Two

warnings: mentions of trauma, literally just one swear word, science and psychological inaccuracies lmfao, horrible humor by the author, angst, fluff????

2022 © hiy-breadcheeks– don't copy, repost, or translate.

After months of therapy, his therapist, along with the scientist the government ordered to work with him, deemed Bucky ready to finally break free from HYDRA's Winter Soldier, and you're ready to help him every step of the way.

Finally Free

"I think you should be there..." King T'Challa broke the silence between you as you stared on a window, looking at Wakanda's beautiful nature. You were hoping to atleast find something peaceful outside because your insides were nothing but chaos and panic.

When you and Bucky arrived in Wakanda one week ago, Shuri immediately put him under her equipments to re-program his brain. The re-programming was successful but Bucky's trauma remained, causing him to turn back into Winter Soldier–albeit not as violent as he used to be–in the first to fourth time Ayo tried his trigger words on him. He doesn't attack first but he will attack when you get a certain distance from him and it used to take long hours before he's back to himself again, but after the re-programming, it shortened to one to two hours now. Even though he was the Winter Soldier, it still hurt to look at him at those times. It hurt seeing that even the brainwashed assassin was too tired to fight after all those years.

You knew Bucky was also emotionally, physically, and mentally tired at this point but he chose to keep going. He wants him out of his system and he'll do anything–suffer through anything to finally escape his past life and start a new one... with you.

You let out a long sigh, wondering when everything will end. "You know..." King T'Challa started again, looking at you. "We all noticed how much your presence helped him yesterday." you looked up, "No... he still turned–"

"Yes, he did. But he did not attack anymore, did he? He needs you, Kai." He whispered.

"As corny as it sounds, my brother is right, Kai." both of you turned towards the door when Shuri's voice rang through the room. "It seems like love is the answer after all." She chucked before turning to her brother. "He is ready."

The king turned to you and smiled. "Let's go?" you looked at him hesitantly before nodding, following both royals to a room where you were sure Bucky was in.

You stepped inside the room, your eyes immediately landing on Bucky who was sat on a chair. He was fiddling with the hem of his shirt, his vibranium arm still missing only looking up when he felt your hand on his shoulder. "Baby, hi..." he smiled. You examined his face. The bags under his eyes were darker than they used to be. His blue eyes were dull and sad. "Did you sleep last night?" you whispered, caressing his cheeks.

He shook his head. "No... nightmares."

"Sergeant Barnes, are you ready?" Ayo said. Bucky took a deep breath and nodded before turning to you once more. He held your hands and spoke "Go stand beside them, love."

You smiled, his actions were far from his words. It was almost like he didn't actually want you to leave because he squeezed your hand tighter.

"No," you walked in front of him and sat on your legs, holding his hand on top of his thighs. "I'm not leaving you."

"No. I-I'm... He hurts people when they're near him. I don't want you to get hurt, Kai."

You shook your head. "You won't. Today, everything will end, okay? Your nightmares, your pain–everything. You will not hurt a single person in this room, Bubba."

"But–" you stopped him by squeezing his hand before turning to Ayo. "Start."

"Longing..."

"Rusted..."

You smiled up at him, the first words didn't seem to affect him anymore.

"Seventeen..."

You felt his hand shake, squeezing yours tighter. Keep it together, Buck... you thought.

"Daybreak..."

His eyes that never left yours slammed close. He was shaking more and more. You took his hand and kissed the back of it gently.

"Furnace..."

His jaw tightened, hair flying in his face when he shook his head. "It's... not gonna work... fuck"

"Nine..."

"Baby, it will. You have to keep him out. It's your body, not his." you said comfortingly, wiping the single tear that started to fall from his shut eyes.

"Benign..."

Slowly, he opened his eyes. His teary ones meeting yours. Inside, he was having a battle with the Soldier. Fighting for his own body and mind.

"Homecoming..."

"You're doing so well, Buck. It's almost over... hold on, yeah?" he said nothing but nodded, not taking his eyes off of you.

"One..."

Inside, the soldier grew weaker and weaker. Why can't he fight Bucky when he was obviously stronger than him?

One more... you thought.

"Freight Car..."

He was glad. The Soldier was glad. His decades long battle was finally over. Bucky finally won.

Silence filled the room, everyone was watching Bucky, scared that he was the Winter Soldier once again. You and him never lost eye contact. You knew he won.

You smiled and stood up, his eyes followed you, making him look up to not leave your eyes. Gently, you pulled him up, making him stand and tower over you.

It was your turn to look up at him with teary eyes. "You're free." you whispered. Shock, relief, and happiness washed over his face all at the same time. "I'm free..." he repeated. "He's gone... I-"

You stood on your toes to give him a long kiss, pulling away when you heard footsteps behind you.

"Congratulations, Sergeant Barnes." Ayo said, a smile etched on her face. "Thank you for helping me, Ayo."

"Oh wait! I forgot something on my lab, be right back!!" Shuri exclaimed, leaving the room in a hurry.

The King just shook his head, used to his sister's attitude. With a smile, he walked towards you and Bucky. You stood in Bucky's right side, never letting go of his hand as both of you faced the King.

"Congratulations, White Wolf." You and Bucky exchanged looks.

"W-White Wolf?" Bucky whispered. "Yes. You will be known in Wakanda by that name if..." King T'Challa paused, looking and you, then Bucky. "Well, if you'd like to stay in Wakanda for a year?"

"A... year?" you cut in. King T'Challa looked at you. "I-I mean... of course we'd like to, it would be an honor but...why?"

"Well, after what he'd been through," he said, gesturing at your lover. "I think both of you deserve the peace and quiet, even if it's only a year." you nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think it would do him good if he had peace after everything that's happened..."

"But you will be with me, right?" he asked, you nodded. "Yeah. I'm not leaving you. Ever."

Bucky faced the King and bowed. "Thank you so, so much for all the help you've given me, and now, for letting me–us stay in your home for a long time, Your Majesty."

King T'Challa waved his hands, "Ah, it is fine. I'm glad I was able to help a friend."

The three of you looked at the door when it opened, Shuri entered, followed by two guards who were carrying a container. "Come!" Shuri called out excitedly, you chuckled at her almost childish excitement before walking to the table where the container was placed. "Open it!"

Bucky looked at you before opening the container, revealing a black and gold vibranium arm. "It looks good." King T'Challa said, "I just think his old one looked boring and I'm sure no one wants to see that anymore so... I made him a new one!" Shuri exclaimed excitedly.

"Thank you. This means a lot. Really."

"Brother, move over. I'm gonna put it on him." The princess said, shoving her brother to the side and started fixing Bucky's arm.

After adjusting it, Bucky faced you. "So? What do you think?" he smiled. You intertwined your hand to his new one and looked up at him. "It suits you, baby. You look beautiful." smiling, he took a step closer to you.

"You're beautiful. You suit me." he smirked before kissing you. "I love you."

The End.

@fangirl125reader @raspberryyuuki

[realm-of-rosie]

✎ First Meetings | Jujutsu Kaisen

↠ Megumi, Itadori, Gojou × Reader

↠ Fluff + Humor | Scenario

↠ Before You Read:

------

↠ Rules for Requesting | Masterlist

• megumi

“that guy’s staring at you,” your friend murmurs over their cup of coffee, “he’s kinda cute too,”

“at me or the space around me,” you glance over your shoulder where they stared and you meet eyes with a man with black hair, to which he looked away.

"definitely at you,"

"no, there's a wide space around us, and there are other tables-"

"looks like we're about to find out," they reply teasingly while looking behind you.

"hey," this stranger taps on your shoulder, "this might sound weird, but does your shoulder feel heavy at all?"

"hmm?" your eyebrows furrow in confusion, suddenly aware of an unseen weight on your shoulder and you roll your shoulder but that didn't do anything to ease the ache, "now that you mention it, yeah, how did you know?"

'i'll help you deal with it if you come with me,"

"...did you think that i would just stand up and follow a stranger lord knows where?"

"this is serious," he impatiently looks around, eyes lingering on a group of people watching us from outside the glass windows, "trust me,"

you and your friend exchange stares, "actually, its about time i take them home," your friend firmly tells the stranger but there's suddenly a searing pain that shoots down your veins and you hiss in pain, "what's wrong? should i take you to a hospital?"

"going to a hospital will only make it worse," the stranger offers you his hand, "my name is megumi fushiguro, and you can trust me,"

• itadori

"are you sure this will work utahime?" you hear gojou's voice before you spot him talking to your mentor.

"dont doubt my student just yet," she replies, "they're one of the best researchers on curses, they'll be able to determine your student harmless, even if he is sukuna's vessel,"

"is this necessary?" another voice, much younger than gojou, whines, "i can control sukuna just fine,"

"well, the council of elder, who are very close to having you executed without a second thought, trusts my research, so yes," you stick your hand out at the pink-laired boy, "if you want to keep living, and not as a fugitive hiding sukuna, you'll let ne observe you so i can reassure the council that you're not going to blow up the world of sorcerers as we know it, nice to meet you itadori yuuji, ive heard plenty about you,"

"oh i know you!" he exclaims, "todo showed me a picture of you!"

"i will discuss why he has a picture of me with him later," you sigh, "for now, i'll just ask you to come with me-"

"he also said you're super smart!"

"i suppose?"

"can i ask you questions about the sorcerers' world? there are still some things im confused about-"

"let them breathe a little yuuji," gojou pats his shoulder, "you have more than enough time to get acquainted your new friend,"

• gojou

there was one last pack of kikufuku on the shelf of the shop, and despite having your bags full of souvenirs already, you still made an effort to reach for the pack and another hand reachex for it at the same time.

"oh, im sorry, did you want this?" you smile apologetically at the man.

"oh, dont worry about it, you can have it," the man smiles charmingly.

"no, please, i have plenty souvenirs to take home already, besides, i think i used up all my allowance for the day already,"

"dammit," an older man walks up to you both before he snatches it from your hand, "these kids nowadays,"

"well then," you laugh, joined by the man.

"im not sure how to feel about that encounter," he looks up and down at you, "first time in the city?"

"that obvious huh," you raise your bags a little, "but, yes, it's quite interesting,"

"you have a tour guide yet?"

"i have pamphlets! and i did some research before - oh!" the man effortlessly peels a few bags from you hands, walking forward before stopping at the shop entrance to look at you over his shoulder.

"come on then, i'll show you around our lovely city, and there's a shop a little ways from here that makes wonderful kikufuku, and there wont be any old men to snatch it up from our plates!"

[neverdoingmuch]

Wangxian prompt: They see each other constantly. Like, maybe they're neighbors, or is a "my kid's teacher" situation. Maybe they meet at the bus stop, or work in the same company but different offices. So they're aware of each other and they exchange glances, maybe little inside-joke smiles about things they both notice. They see each other being brave, competent, kind, so so handsome. And when they actually talk to each other months later the first thing they say is "Marry me" and "Yes"

ooh!! this sounds like a lot of fun, i love it so much. i think office workers would be the best bc then we can contrast the banality of the rest of their lives to the quirkiness of their relationship so to speak.

okay so it all started when lwj decided that he wanted to eat breakfast on his apartment balcony

he takes his bowl and goes to sit in the chair outside and he’s prepared to just enjoy the cool morning air but when he looks up he sees a man sitting on the balcony exactly opposite his

wwx, by some strange luck, has the apartment across the street, and always goes outside to try and wake up bc he is not a morning person at all and the 9-5 job is killer for someone who likes to go to sleep at like three in the morning

anyway, lwj looks up and sees this kinda cute guy just sitting on the floor miserably blinking at the rising sun and is like oh weird and tries not to stare too much

but after that first time lwj sees him, he starts seeing mystery balcony dude everywhere, like everywhere and no amount of not staring is gonna save him

he goes down to his favourite cafe to get a cup of tea after breakfast and while he’s enjoying his tea and reading the newspaper he hears someone laugh loudly and glances over to the muffin display to see balcony man chatting with one of the staff as he orders his own coffee 

balcony man must have noticed his attention because he looks over and for a moment he looks confused but then he’s smiling brightly at lwj and it’s this absolutely amazing smile and he’s even hotter when he’s not sitting in a ratty t-shirt across the street and lwj panics, chugs the rest of his tea, and immediately leaves

he ends up arriving at the train station fifteen minutes early and is stuck awkwardly waiting while avoiding the grandma who likes showing men pictures of her granddaughter who is very beautiful and very single apparently

the train arrives and lwj gets on, finds a seat and pulls out his phone to respond to emails. then, just as the doors are about to shut, who should rush in but balcony man

he’s kinda sweaty and red but the guy makes it look good and he ends up sitting down a few metres from lwj, not that lwj notices because he’s very busy responding to his emails about how one of the teams in sales is having difficulties with one of their projects, so busy that he spends the next thirty minutes staring at the email unable to get past the second line

lwj and wwx end up getting off at the same stop and to lwj’s absolute horror they end up going to the same building

lwj tries to do the thing where you speedwalk past the person so they don’t think you’re following them but then wwx did the same thing to him so they end up arriving at the same time

they get in the elevator together, lwj near the door off to the left and balcony man in the far corner, leaning against the wall and looking down at his shoes

it’s kind of awkward but thankfully wwx gets off at the fifteenth floor - software design and tech support or something while lwj gets off at the twentieth floor - sales maybe?

he doesn’t see the man again until the end of the work day when they get into the elevator at the same time and go back down. they’re the only two people in there bc they’re working late or the stars aligned or something

and that’s just the first day. after that, every day the same thing happens and they keep seeing each other as they’re going to and from work. 

but also lwj goes to do the grocery shopping and when he’s paying wwx is in the next line across and when he goes to buy new strings for his guqin wwx is already in the store buying a new mouthpiece for his dizi

this goes on for a few weeks and then one morning, while wwx is trying to shock his system into waking up and lwj is just enjoying breakfast, they hear familiar shouting: the couple downstairs is breaking up again

lwj rolls his eyes, aware that come next week they’ll be dating again, and just blocks it out when the boyfriend comes stumbling out of the building with his shirt half on and the girlfriend still yelling

he looks across the street to see what balcony man thinks of it all and sees that he’s mouthing along to the argument (it really is exactly the same speech every time but it’s incredible that he’s memorised it). lwj snorts. it’s unseemly and rude but balcony man is over there acting out the break up as well as mouthing along and it’s the funniest thing lwj’s seen all week.

wwx notices him laugh and decides to wave at him. lwj tentatively waves back and with that the magic of their relationship sets in

now when lwj goes to the cafe in the morning wwx will look around the store until he spots lwj and wave at him, and lwj will lift his mug up in greeting which always make wwx laugh

then when they get on the train, they always get seats opposite each other and while they never actually say anything, sometimes lwj will glance over to see wwx sneaking a look at him. they both blush and look away but moments later they’re doing it again

when they walk to work, lwj crosses the street so they can walk at the same pace and not have to actually be right next to each other and despite having to cross back over, wwx is always still waiting to catch the elevator with him. 

now when they go up, they still don’t talk to each other but wwx always hums and lwj taps along with whatever tune he’s picked. 

same thing when they go back down in the evening and catch the train back

over time it starts to become more than just staring and smiling, now when the couple downstairs breaks up, wwx will hold up like three fingers and lwj understands that balcony man thinks they’ll get back together within three days

(wwx’s always right btw)

when they go to the cafe lwj will send wwx a thumbs down if the sports mum with eight kids gets in queue first and wwx will always make hearts with his hands whenever the baristas start flirting. 

when they get in the train and hear the angry businessmen argue they’re sitting there making funny faces at each other,, well wwx does and lwj just tries to keep his face blank. he usually succeeds but sometimes he smiles and wwx will always do a little victory wiggle which is honestly so cute lwj is dying

the elevator? they don’t even have to say anything. whenever a coworker they don’t like hops in they just find subtle ways to explain why they don’t like them and how

the best time was when lwj saw su she get in and immediately pulled a face like he sucked a lemon and had to try and mime “he always takes really long lunches and is really bad at sales but we can’t get rid of him because he’d whine too much and no one wants to put up with that” but he’s lwj and doesn’t really do miming. in contrast, when wen chao gets in wwx just holds up his thumb and pointer finger like he’s measuring something, and holds them only a few centimetres apart. 

they both get really good at reading each other like that

when they catch the train back home it’s always really late so lwj ends up reading a book while wwx sketches and, just as lwj always holds up his books so wwx can see the cover, wwx will show lwj whatever he’s drawn

at one point in time lwj comes home and sees a stray kitten hiding in a box near the entrance to his building but he can’t take it in bc of his rabbit so instead he goes out onto his balcony and just points straight down and holds up a cardboard box he has in his own apartment

without even hesitating wwx goes downstairs and crosses the street, still dressed in his pyjamas, and takes the kitten home. 

lwj kinda expected wwx to take the kitten to a shelter or something but within a month their morning routine changes to allow a kitten to climb all over wwx as he tries to wake up and it’s ridiculously adorable but also lwj is sitting there in absolute awe of how good balcony man is to just take in a stray like that 

there’s probably a few other scenes, like wwx and lwj going out to a dinner with their teams and they get seated at nearby tables and end up sending each other commiserating smiles whenever the conversation gets particularly dull and the time when lwj gets caught by the well-meaning grandma who always tries to set people up with her granddaughter on the train and he taps out sos in morse code and wwx just replies rip and stares out the window for the rest of the trip 

anyway this is getting a bit long so im going to say jump forward a year (doesn’t have to be a year i guess). they’re still enjoying this whole thing they’ve got going on and they know each other so well that when lwj sees wwx some mornings he knows to go to the cafe early and order an extra strong coffee for wwx and wwx will sometimes sketch pictures of rabbits when lwj seems a bit annoyed after work

(wwx will fold them into paper aeroplanes and throw them across the train to lwj and lwj always takes them home and flattens them back out and then shows them to his rabbit before before putting them up on the fridge)

one day the trains break down and they’re stuck waiting at the station in the morning and for once lwj feels genuinely sad that he might not get to work on time. like work is whatever but he doesn’t want to miss out on the half an hour on the train with balcony man and the way they speedwalk to see who can get to the office first and the awkward waiting outside the elevators where wwx bounces up and down and lwj taps out a rhythm against his thigh until wwx notices and starts humming along

but then he notices wwx walking over to him. he seems kinda nervous, hesitating at first but he puts on a confident smile and saunters over and lwj is panicking because they haven’t done this before and he doesn’t know what to do

wwx opens his mouth - he’s going to make the first move and ask out his mystery man, but then lwj takes one look at wwx, who’s standing right next to him and it feels different to all the other times they’ve been together, and he panics

wwx barely manages to open his mouth to say good morning when lwj blurts out will you marry me?

wwx blinks, blushes bright red, and immediately goes yes! (it’s a bit too loud and people around them turn to stare but neither of them notice)

lwj immediately whips out his phone and sends in an email saying that he’s taking a sick day and after he sends it off, he slips his phone back into his pocket, takes wwx’s hand in his and asks him what’s your name?

it takes wwx like fifteen minutes to stop laughing by which time they’re back at their cafe and this time, they both sit down at a table after ordering their drinks and it’s the baristas making hearts with their hands at them

[harnessyourhoping]

hello love xx 5 15 32 for writing please xx

hi bb!! <3

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

okok my biggest one is that writing about something is always better after experiencing it, for ex living in a specific city or getting zooted. like my perspective on the latter changed so much after i'd actually done it (w my friends whose reactions have also been super inspiring lmao) & now i write it so much better. so now there are so many things i won't write about until i actually go through them bc i don't wanna cheapen/tarnish/dilute(?) the idea until i actually live through it so that it comes out as close to perfect as possible. (like by experiencing this Thing ill KNOW its intricacies and nuances and ill be able to write them with all the oomph they deserve) its so stupid but i literally won't do it

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

yeah!!! literally yes!! its not insightful margin notes its just ideas i remember/link to the writing but yes i do it. my books are well-loved and it SHOWS & i love ppl who have books like that bc its sort of like getting to poke at someone's thought process, like how they read and what spoke most to them and just how they exist in general (like someone who dog ears vs someone who bookmarks) etcetc i believe it says a lot ab someone's character. however i despise sticky notes bc they remind me of studying for ib bio&ib english. hard no from me. anything else tho is very <333 !!! (&and i love creased spines.) the only sign of wear on a book i don't like is when the sides of pages get all wonky(?) idk how to explain it but it looks like the book was put in a paper shredder for a second then taken out.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

from howl by allen ginsberg: who were expelled from the academies for crazy & publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull. discovered this one by watching gilmore girls lmao (literati my beloved) but anyway its important to me for two reasons: 1) im always thinking about the thin line between reverence and contempt for a work of art. like when does it cross from genius to psycho? when does the public stop respecting and admiring an artist's work and start to despise it instead? when does it stop being groundbreaking and become obscene? anyway that's my slightly skewed interpretation of this line & its v personal to me. 2) the academic world praises "revolutionary" discoveries but only when they're circles and fit into the idea of society as it is. anything that encourages ppl to think outside the box is immediately shut down which is so ick? idk if i explained this all correctly. anyway i love this line (this poem. i think it rewired my brain) & its one of the few bits of literature i actually have committed to my fish memory so

weird questions for writers