#queued because summer job

[doodlingwren]

Hiatus

I am going on hiatus for a bit more. I really really hoped the stuff that have been going on lately were already "sorted out" but, uhm... they aren't. I need to take a bit more time offline once again, and try to work things out.

Thank you for your patience ❤

Wren

[sen-ya]

Life After Info Post

[Click here to access the Life After Digital Comic Book]

Summary: Two years ago, a viral outbreak rose the dead. Considering how his life had gone up to this point, surgeon Trafalgar Law figured this might as well happen too. When a supply run into the nearby city gets intercepted by a seemingly reckless and impulsive former patient, the dependable routine Law had settled into in this new life shatters. He finds himself exposed — his body out in the infected landscape, his conscious clawing to define what he believes is right, his heart begrudgingly deciding to find a new home on his sleeve. Maybe there’s more than a virus roaming the new world that can bring a dead man back to life.

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence, zombies/body horror (but lbr I am not good at making scary things look scary)

Relationships: Luffy x Law

Update Schedule: New page every Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Page Count: [37 posted | 55 drawn]

Latest Update: [7/21/24] WOWEE did I get myself carried away this morning. I just spent 5 hours organizing my comics and creating the digital comic book pages. I could have spent that time drawing or idk not doing what I do for my job, but I cannot be stopped. Anyway I blocked out 30 pages of this comic last week and they include the most intense action sequence I've ever done in my gotdang life. Wish me luck because I am nervous about tying down all my drawings lmao.

OLD UPDATES:

[6/29/24] HULLO! I'm doing so bad at keeping my masterposts updated lately I am sorry. All pages of life after are tagged life after if you're ever looking between masterpost updates! Also exciting update, I finally have figured out all the different plot points i'm gonna be hitting (yay!). I got hung up on something for awhile that made me not wanna work on this project, but I'm back at it. I think we'll end up with 6-7 parts! I have probably another 80-100 pages to draw lol. Also i got the app Magic Poser and it's AWESOME and I immediately used it to block out sets cuz MAN I hate backgrounds.

[6/10/24] HELLO. I'm sorry I've been shit at updating my masterposts lately. It's easiest to do from my computer, which I rarely use, and life has been happening. I also can't believe I bungled the queue and posted pg19 before pg18 i am very sorry 🤦 Eventually I'll have to turn this into an airtable base I'm sure, but until that day comes where I have like 100 pages of this comic we're stickin to the regular post lmao

[5/26/23] I got real caught up in doing summer of lawlu comics this week and this is the first week since the first week of April I haven't drawn new Life After pages and it feels weird 🙊

[5/19/24] More Luffy backstory comin' this week! :^)

[5/12/24] Updating now so get myself on schedule to update on Sundays like I had been with my other comic master post!

[5/8/24] Thank you to everyone who's liked/reblogged/comment on the first few pages!! It means the world to me that anyone's reading my silly little comics.

[4/28/24] HULLO. It’s happeninnng. I’ve spent the last few weeks working on this comic, and I gotta make this post so I can start queuing pages & link this in them! This is the most like….legit? Comic endeavor I’ve undertaken perhaps….ever. I’m very nervous about committing to how long it will need to be lol. This story is dear to my heart — zombie content is kind of my very favorite. I’ve always found it to be a great backdrop for exploring themes like grief, coping with change, community, and learning to live again. It’ll be a long haul but I hope you’ll ride it out with me!! Tomorrow I’ll be posting the first two pages. After that a page will post every Monday/Wednesday/Friday. As of this post I’ve completed over 20 pages so that I have a good lead on what’s posting and continuing to write, so I’m hopeful that’s a cadence I’ll be able to maintain. I’ll update this post weekly to include the most recent pages the way I do with my main comics master post. All pages will be tagged 'Life After' and I'll tag any pages with zombies in them with 'zombie' for blacklisting etc.

[greenandhazy]

I just queued up a post about sustainable fabrics and started to write something in the tags before realizing that it was drifting away from the point

but PSA: with the caveat that the most sustainable item of clothing is the one that's already in your closet, I would suggest that if you are someone who struggles with temperature regulation, you should seriously consider adding more linen and wool to your wardrobe. determining the "true" environmental impact of various fibers is v complicated, but for a start they both use significantly less water than conventional cotton, and imo the improvement they've had on my quality of life is well worth the substitution.

linen and wool are by far the best fabrics for temperature regulation--the former is lighter and more breathable than cotton and will keep you cooler in the summer, the latter is breathable but heavier and more insulating and will keep you warmer in the winter, even if it gets wet. (there's actually a saying among people who hike/do winter sports that "cotton kills" because you are more prone to hypothermia in cotton undergarments than in wool.) do not even get me started on linen/wool vs polyester.

this is something that I think is especially important given higher cost of heating lately, higher temperatures due to climate change, and the number of people who have health conditions or medications that make them sensitive to heat. this isn't to say that your clothing/bedding choices will compensate for a livable environment, but as someone who used to wake up 2-3 times a week sweating in synthetic sheets for four months of the year, and shiver in an inadequately heated room for another three, these little swaps can seriously make extreme temperatures a little more bearable.

that being said, wool and linen do tend to be more expensive, so if you're looking to get the most bang for your buck, I would recommend starting with:

linen sheets, even just a fitted sheet (some companies do sell them solo). overheating while sleeping is literally the worst.

linen pants, especially if you work in a job that doesn't allow you to wear shorts. linen shirts are also nice, but even cotton/poly shirts tend to be thinner than pants and might already be short-sleeved/you can roll up the sleeves, so the impact of pants will be more immediate.

a chunky wool sweater. avoid cashmere, and merino unless it has cables--these are very soft, lovely wools, but they're generally pretty light and made more for their softness than their insulation properties. for maximum warmth, you don't want a thin "office sweater," you want a "my Irish gran knit this in her cottage on the windy coast" sweater.

wool socks. these are more likely to keep you dry and warm if you're walking through slush or rain, in addition to just general walking-around-the-house warmth. for these I would say the type of wool matters a little less, generally because you do want socks that are somewhat lightweight so you can wear them in shoes. and just FYI you're also more likely to see wool socks blended with silk, nylon, or spandex for strength and elasticity, so don't drive yourself up the wall trying to find the mythical 100% wool sock. even hobby knitters tend to blend wool with something because of the amount of friction that wears on socks.

again! the most sustainable type of clothing is what you already own. but some of these are the kinds of small swaps you can definitely make over time, and you might find them genuinely helpful.

[daisyful-gvf]

sweet as berries (part 3)

18+

*********************************************************

pairings: josh x reader

word count: 6.7k

notes: so obviously halloween has passed 🤭 but this is the vision i had for this chapter, so we’re gonna keep with it

playlist

*********************************************************

-🍓-

“C’mon, for me?” he grinned.

You rolled your eyes affectionately and extended an open hand. He plopped the red and black flannel shirt into it.

You tugged it over your t-shirt and he beamed.

“Told you it would look better on you,” he quipped.

“Do you have another one you can wear?” You pouted. You loved him in flannel.

“I do,” he grinned, going to pull it from his closet, “That one is my cozy one, though,” he pointed at the shirt he’d just given you, “Wanted you to have that one.”

You smiled at him as he pulled on his; it was brown, orange, and cream. He looked stunning in it.

He held his arms out to show you, and you nodded in approval.

“Let’s go then, Berry. The gourds await us!”

“The what? The pumpkins?” You giggled, standing up to grab his hand.

“Yes, the fuckin—the pumpkins, Berry, c’mon now,” he grinned and rolled his eyes as if you were so incredibly silly for not opting to call them gourds.

He led you down to the Jeep and opened the passenger seat for you.

I know we’re both feminists but quit being stubborn and let me be nice, he had said the first time you reached for the door handle and he had swatted it away. It made you blush.

You queued up directions to the pumpkin patch and he put on the music. Bob Dylan, of course, as Josh said.

He reached for your hand with his right as he drove with his left. You held it, obviously, because there was no sweeter feeling than his palm on yours. His hands were always a little cold, as were yours, so together you warmed them.

Things were getting comfortable recently. You tried not to think too much about it, because it was still undefined.

You thought maybe Josh liked it that way—he never liked labels, he ‘didn’t feel like the universe called for them’, or at least that’s what he said when you two had gotten drunk and stumbled upon the conversation of sexuality a couple years ago.

Or maybe he didn’t want to say anything to scare you off, though you didn’t think that was possible. So you tried to let things be, hoping he felt the same.

After that night just over a week ago, you’d agreed to talk about it later. It kind of happened; there was a conversation. But you’d essentially said you liked him being with you, and he said he was so glad this all had finally happened, and then you made out and didn’t bring it up again.

So here you were, headed to a pumpkin patch, something that seemed very much like a date.

“Sing with me,” he shouted over the music, pulling you from your thoughts.

You smiled and did as he asked, singing along to all the words you knew.

“You should have my job,” he shouted.

You looked over at him and felt the breath catch in your throat.

His teeth were flashed in a wide grin, eyes somehow bright and warm at the same time, apples of his cheeks doting just a few freckles from the summer sun. His curls were wild from the wind coursing through the Jeep.

Maybe you were in love.

Maybe that was a crazy thing to think so soon.

It wasn’t really that soon, though. You’d known him for so long, he felt like home already.

“Berry? Whatcha think? Wanna be the frontman?”

He focused back on the road but reached his free hand up to touch your chin. You grabbed it and pressed a kiss to his fingertip.

“Only if you can be my groupie,” you smiled.

“Ah, sounds like a dream,” he giggled. He looked over to you as you pressed another kiss to his finger. His eyes focused on it momentarily, and his smile softened, before he had to watch the road again.

Shortly, you arrived at the pumpkin patch. The gaudy decorations, strung up handmade signs, and the smell of cinnamon roasted pecans made you smile as you got out of the car.

“How’s this for fall, huh?” He beamed, roping you into a tight hug.

“Perfect,” you smiled back, giving him a firm kiss on the cheek. You could hardly believe you could just do that now—just kiss him on the cheek, grab his hand, whenever you wanted.

“Let’s go, Berry. I want some apple cider,” He rubbed his hands together before taking yours again, and you followed him to the entry gate.

He found the apple cider stand in a shocking amount of time.

“I could smell it, how could you not?” he had said when you questioned him.

He bought two large cups, and for a moment, you simply sipped the warm drinks and smiled softly. The tip of his nose was red and it made you want to kiss him.

So you did, gently pushing the cup from his mouth and initiating a slow kiss. He hummed into it, and tasted of apples and cinnamon.

His smile was wide when you separated.

“That was nice,” he took another sip, “Got more of those for me later?”

You nodded and curled your hands around the cup to warm them. The Michigan air was crisp, but not unbearable.

“What do you wanna do first?” He smiled, “Wanna go pick out some god awful things from the gift shop?”

“When you put it like that, how could I say no?”

“Perfect!” he laughed, “Let’s go get my Berry something overpriced and ridiculous,”

There it was: my Berry. You weren’t sure how much more of that you could take without knowing where his mind was.

Dismissing the thought, you followed him to the little shop, full of different fudges, apples, candied nuts, and of course, the dumbest, most charming little trinkets one could find.

After tugging you through the store like a child, pointing out things left and right, he settled on a bracelet rack.

“M’looking for one that says Berry, but they don’t seem to have it,” he giggled to himself, spinning the shelf slowly. You laughed, unable to help it.

“Damn,” you sighed, “Maybe this one?” You held up one that said ‘Daddy’s Girl,’

He choked on a sip of his cider.

“Ah, yes, perfect,” he giggled and shook his head, “Jesus. Are you into that?”

It was your turn to be shocked, and as your mouth fell open and your cheeks flushed.

“Oh, what? Now you’re too shy?” he grinned.

You shook your head with a smile and put it back, finding one instead that said “Joshua”.

“Might get this one, actually,” you smiled as you held it up.

“Yeah?” He grinned and spun the rack until he found your name, “I’ll get this one, then,” he tucked his bottom lip under his teeth—his nervous habit—and showed you the beaded bracelet.

Your heart ached all at once, but not all in a sweet way. You wished you understood what was going on here; why he was buying a bracelet with your name on it, taking you on a date, and yet still hadn’t made any sort of indication that you both were, to put it childishly, a thing.

You couldn’t pass all the blame to him; you hadn’t brought it up again, either. Regardless, it left you slightly hurt and confused.

“You okay?” Josh asked softly, hand reaching for your wrist.

You took a breath and nodded, offering a gentle smile. He didn’t look convinced, but he led you slowly through the store. You told yourself again to try and enjoy the day—there was no need to work this all out right now.

Josh bought both of the bracelets, some kettle corn, and a bag of cinnamon candies, then led you both back out into the crisp air.

“Gimme your wrist, Berry,” he said softly, fumbling with the gift store bag to retrieve the bracelet.

He took the “Joshua” one and fastened it around your wrist. Each bump of his fingertips made your cheeks warm, as if it was the first time he touched you.

“Do mine for me?” He grinned, handing it to you. Taking it, you pushed back his flannel sleeve and tightened it around his wrist.

“That’s cute,” he beamed at them. “I think—“

He patted his pockets and murmured “Shit, did I bring it?”

Finally, in his left flannel pocket, he pulled out a disposable camera.

“Ah!” he smiled, winding it up. He held your hand mid-air and snapped a picture of the bracelets.

You could not deny, it melted you. You looked at him with a chest full of warmth.

He looked up, catching your glance, and smiled at you. Quickly, somehow having already wound it, he pointed the camera at you and it clicked. You blushed.

“Thought it would be worth bringing this along,” he waved the camera momentarily before stuffing it back in his pocket.

He took a deep breath, and the exhale was just barely visible from the cold.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked shyly.

You nodded, leaning into it. You kissed a few seconds longer than you should have, perhaps, in a crowd of people with their children. But fuck ‘em, he was yours to kiss.

He pulled away only barely, and smiled crazily at you,

“Let’s go get the gourds,” he said.

“Oh my god,” you groaned at the phrasing, “You and your gourds,”

“Thought you liked my gourds?” He grinned, turning to walk you both towards the tractor.

You cringed hard at the joke, giving a pained laugh. He joined.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for that,” he giggled, “Not my best work. Let’s go get some pumpkins, sweetheart. I have to show you up when we carve them later,”

“Aw,” you pouted, “You’re so right, cause I planned to go easy on you,”

“Ah, of course you did,” he grinned.

You made it to the tractor to take you out to the pumpkin patch and waited your turn before finally getting on. Josh helped you with a strong hand up into the trailer, where he patted the hay bale next to him for you to sit.

On the short ride, he pointed to the brightest colored trees, and to the deer he saw far off in the field. You watched him, eyes lit up like a child’s, his cheeks and nose pink in the wind. His hands were warm as they cupped around yours. He made your heart ache, he looked so sweet.

in love

You suddenly felt that you could nearly cry at the thought. You wanted him to know, even if it was too soon, even if it was crazy. You bit your bottom lip and took a deep breath, focusing on the red-leafed tree he just pointed to.

The tractor halted with a jolt, and everyone filed off, dispersing into the field of pumpkins.

You held Josh’s hand and pulled him along down a row that hadn’t been picked through yet. Your eyes danced between all of the pumpkins, white and cream and orange, beginning to look for the perfect one.

Josh stopped, causing you to come to a halt as well.

You turned to him to look for the reason he stopped, and as you did, the disposable camera was raised into the air. You could tell that him holding your hand was in frame—intentionally—and it made a smile naturally appear on your face.

Click.

“Beautiful,” he breathed, smiling. You grinned and attempted to turn to keep walking, but he held you still,

“Berry,”

He sounded…nervous?

You looked back to him. Yes. Nervous. His bottom lip was tucked under his teeth.

“Josh?” you answered back, moving to cup his cheek.

“Um…” he swallowed, eyes scanning over your face. He reached a hand up to cradle your jaw, “God, you’re pretty,” he smiled.

“You okay?” you murmured.

He nodded, “I’m much better than okay,” he said cryptically, a wavering smile on his face, “I, uh, was going to wait til later…til we carved the pumpkins, but,”

You looked at him expectantly and he continued to look more and more uneasy.

“But I don’t think that seems right anymore. I feel like you might be…” he took a breath, “I just think now is better.”

You nodded, a hope growing slowly inside you that he may be about to say what you have been wanting him to say. You tried to stifle it in case you were wrong.

“My Berry,” he smiled, and his voice trembled, “I want you to be my girl. I want you all to myself, if you’d have me,”

Your heartbeat doubled in time, and you were sure that you were grinning like an idiot.

“Please say something,” he breathed, his thumb gliding over your cheek.

“Yes, Josh,” you sighed, “Yeah, of course I will,”

“Yeah?” He was smiling as big as he could, “Wanna be mine?”

You nodded, leaning in to kiss him hard. The cold air stung your cheeks, but the warmth of his lips melted you.

You kissed him over and over, until you could hardly breathe.

“As long as you’re all mine,” you murmured into him between kisses.

“God, yeah, I’d love that,” he kissed your cheek. “Been wanting to ask you pretty much since the first night, I just…” he pulled away, “I wanted to be sure you felt the same. And I wanted to do it right, I didn’t wanna ask, like, after we drunkenly made out for the first time.”

You giggled, feeling giddy, “This was good,” you nodded, “M’glad you did it like this,”

“Yeah?” He held his palm to your cheek and let you muzzle into it, “Seemed like you were waiting for this all day, I won’t lie. Didn’t seem right to wait any longer,”

“Honestly,” you nibbled at your lip, “Yeah. I was,” a laugh bubbled out of you, “Not in an…impatient way. I was just…I was ready. M’glad you asked.”

He nodded and leaned in for a final kiss.

“Let’s pick out our pumpkins, sweetheart. I don’t want the tractor leaving us here,”

You nodded and smiled, squeezing his hand tight.

Not long after, you found a perfectly round pumpkin with a pink tint, and after a short inspection, you hoisted it up to carry it.

“S’a good gourd you found there, Berry,” he winked and you groaned again.

“Josh, please stop saying gourd,”

“I won’t!” he chirped, the next row over, lifting up a dark orange pumpkin, “And I just found my gourd, so we’re all gourd to go,”

“Oh my god, I’m leaving you here,” you laughed, “I can’t have a boyfriend that makes this many gourd jokes,”

You turned to look at him when he didn’t laugh.

“I’m kidding—“

He was looking at you with a stunned smile.

“What?” you asked.

“Feels nice to hear,” he grinned, “boyfriend”.

“Oh,” you could feel yourself blush. “Yeah,” you bit your lip, “it is nice.”

He nodded, looking like he was in a gentle daze, as he climbed over the tangle of vines back to you.

You walked back to the tractor and took a seat on the bales next to each other, feeling like you were in your own, love-filled bubble. No one else could understand the magnetism.

When you made your way back, and after forcing Josh to carry your pumpkin as well, you went through the checkout and made your way back to the Jeep.

The ride home was dreamy, as the landscape shone with autumn leaves, the music was wonderfully acoustic, and you felt at home with him.

•••

You both went back to your apartment, as this little night of festivity was intended to be Jake-free, and that was practically impossible at the Kiszka’s.

Immediately after setting the pumpkins down, Josh was making spiced hot chocolates.

“Regular hot chocolate is just not as good, or as autumnal,” he ranted, “trust me.”

“Okay,” you giggled, setting out knives and a bowl for the pumpkin innards, “I trust you, Kiszka,”

“Hey, now,” he chided, “There are too many Kiszkas for you to be calling me that,”

“Alright,” you sighed, coming up behind him as he dolloped Cool Whip on the drinks, “I trust you, lover,” you pronounced the word as saccharine as you could.

“Oh,” he whistled, “I liked that a little too much, Maybe don’t call me that,”

You giggled and pressed a kiss to the side of his neck, “Or what?”

He spun around and drew you into a kiss.

“Or we’re not gonna carve any pumpkins because I’m going to kiss you until your lips fall off, and you’ll be all sad about it,”

“Mmm,” you hummed into another kiss, “Fine, I do want to carve pumpkins,”

“I know you do, sweet girl,” he guided you gently out of the kitchen, “Go put on a movie for us, doll. I’ll get some snacks together.”

“Please include the kettle corn,” you shouted over your shoulder, headed to turn on the TV.

“Of course I will include the kettle corn. I’m not insane, Berry,” he shouted back.

You giggled. Once again, you were left feeling stunned that he was yours. You put the movie on and made your way back to the table.

Josh walked over with the hot chocolates and a smile as you took a seat.

“For my Berry,” he sat the warm drink in front of you.

He had sprinkled cinnamon on top, and used your mug shaped like a ghost. You beamed at him. He sat his drink on the table. As he turned to head back to the kitchen, you grabbed his flannel.

“Oh?” He spun around to you.

You tugged on it, pulling him in.

He was inches from your face, then, lips teasing yours. The scent of him and cinnamon clouded your senses. He grinned wildly.

“What’s this?” He murmured.

You just kissed him, sweet and slow. He exhaled against you, lips parting at the second kiss, his tongue teasing your bottom lip.

“Berry…” he sighed, “Hey,” he pulled away and swiped a thumb over your cheek, “Thought you wanted to carve pumpkins?”

“I do,” you bit your lip, “You’re just so sweet,”

You pulled him by the collar back into you and he hummed, almost pained, as he began to lick at your mouth.

After a moment, he pulled away abruptly.

“Later,” he said, then kissed your cheek, “Later, I’ll kiss you all you want, I promise. Let’s enjoy the festivities for now.”

You sighed, relenting, “Okay.”

“Try your cocoa while it’s warm,” he said with a grin as he slipped back into the kitchen.

You took a sip of it, and not at all to your surprise, it was delicious. Cozy, like him.

He came back with a platter of kettle corn, pretzels, and halloween candy.

“Made this myself,” he sat it on the table.

“Very gourmet,” you laughed.

He kissed you on the forehead before sitting down beside you. He took a sip of his own cocoa and hummed.

“It’s really good,” you smiled, taking another sip.

“Mm,” he nodded as he set his mug down, “Thank you, doll.”

His head turned quickly toward the TV, then back to you. He was beaming.

“The Shining!”

“Yes,” you giggled, “for you,”

“Ah, I knew you’d be good to keep around,” he kissed your cheek. “Now, what will you be carving into your gourd this evening?”

You rolled your eyes, not bothering to scold him for his choice of words, “I dunno, actually. Was hoping the inspiration would come to me as I cleaned it out.”

“Spoken like a true artist,” he nodded, spinning his pumpkin on the table, “I might just do the classic jack-o-lantern, y’know? I feel like you can’t go wrong with that.”

“Yeah,” you nodded encouragingly, “Do it, babe. It’ll be good,”

He nodded again, grabbing the knife and beginning to cut the lid of the pumpkin.

“Be careful with that, please,” you murmured, watching him closely, “You’re not usually very cautious,”

A laugh bubbled out of him. He focused on guiding the knife through each cut, “You don’t think so?”

“No, Joshua,” you grabbed your own knife and began to work, “I’ve seen you do so many dumb things,”

“Joshua?” He giggled more

“Yes,” you found yourself giggling with him, “I happen to like your full name,”

“Okay then, Berry,” he murmured, “You can call me whatever you want, as long as I’m yours, I don’t care,”

You paused to smile at him. He glanced over at you, shooting you a soft smile.

“And when have I ever done a single dumb thing?” he pried the lid off the pumpkin and grabbed a spoon, beginning to scrape the insides.

“Oh, do not get me started,” you reached over to ruffle his hair. He giggled and grabbed a piece of kettle corn, popping it into his mouth.

You felt awash with something emotional and sweet; being with him was so effortless.

“Fair,” he nibbled his bottom lip as he cleaned out the pumpkin. You grabbed your spoon and began doing the same, and quickly, you were both covered up to the elbow in pumpkin innards.

“This feels so…,” he laughed, scooping more of the insides out, “…wet.”

“Babe,” you laughed at him, “Please stop while you’re ahead.

“What?” he giggled again, “I wasn’t gonna say anything else.”

“Sure you weren’t,” you rolled your eyes.

“Dirty minded, you are,” he grinned at you, tossing the last of the seeds into the bowl you had set out.

“Can’t help it when I’m around you,” you joked.

“Oh, I know,” he kissed your cheek as he headed into the kitchen to wash his hands.

“Leave the water on, I’m right behind ya,” you said.

You cleaned your pumpkin out the rest of the way and walked into the kitchen.

He was patting his hands off on a towel as you approached the sink.

“Choose your design yet?” He asked, handing you the towel.

“I’m thinking of doing the moon phases,”

“Ooh, I like it,” he stepped close to you, backing you into the kitchen counter.

“What’re you doing?” you grinned up at him.

“Just want a kiss,” he kissed your cheek softly, then trailed kisses to your mouth.

You pushed eagerly back into it; you wanted him, there was no way around it.

He groaned, surprised, and quickly he was licking into your mouth.

You sighed, letting your body push up into him, sucking his bottom lip into your mouth.

“Berry,” he breathed between kisses, “The pumpkins,”

“Just,” you kissed him hard, “Just fucking kiss me for a minute, please,”

“Yeah,” he nodded, large hands coming up to cup your face. He was such a good kisser, always attentive to what you were doing, following along and working with you like a dance. His lips were soft and tasted of cocoa, and his tongue was heavenly.

After a moment, he was lifting you, sitting you on the counter without missing a beat, pushing himself between your legs. You groaned and threw your arms around his neck, pulling him close.

“Fuck,” he sighed into the kiss, growing more fervent.

You hummed and nodded slightly, hardly able to breathe but not daring to pull away.

The wet sounds of the kisses echoed in the kitchen, only joined by the soft sound of the movie in the living room.

“Berry,” he kissed your cheek, “Let’s, uh,” he trailed a kiss down to your jawline, “Mm, the pumpkins,”

“I know,” you took a breath, trying to calm yourself, “Okay, well don’t do that or I’m taking you to my room,” you hooked a finger under his chin and pulled him off of your neck gently.

“That sounds like a threat,” he giggled. His face was flushed, lips swollen. You had to force yourself to focus on his eyes.

“You really do not fight fair, babe,” you grinned, “How do you expect me to calm down?”

He soothed a hand over your hair, “If I can do it, you can do it,” he lifted you from the counter and set you gently on the ground, “Let’s get to carving, I promised you we’ll do that after. I meant it,”

You nodded, letting him lead you back to the table.

Settling back into your seat, you took another sip of the cocoa, and then began to draw the moons on your pumpkin.

Josh went straight for the knife, beginning to carve the eyes of the jack-o-lantern.

“Just going straight for it?” You smiled.

“Of course, Berry,” he smiled, focused, “You said it yourself, I’m a little reckless.”

You laughed and took another sip of the cocoa.

There was a comfortable silence as you both worked, sipped the cocoa, and grazed on the snacks. You began carving as he was finishing the last few teeth on his pumpkin.

“Tell me why you like this movie so much,” you nodded to the TV, “I know you do, but you’ve never told me why.”

“That’s a can of worms, Berry. You sure?”

“Mmhm,”

“Well,” he began to poke the carved pieces of his pumpkin out, “Kubrick is my favorite director, so I guess that sums it up more generally, but. I love the use of color…it’s so stark, jolting almost, which really fits with the goal of the movie—to unsettle, y’know? I think that’s what a lot of good art does, but this especially. I mean, it’s a horror film, so,”

You carved away, listening to him.

“And the writing is just so perfect, it’s not overdone, it’s not lacking. The actors help, of course, I mean you can’t tell me someone else could have done what Nicholson did, or Shelly Duval, for that matter,”

You grinned, listening to him. He must have noticed.

“Am I—” he took a breath, “Is this boring?”

You turned to him with a soft expression, “No, no,” you encouraged, “I’m enjoying it, keep going.”

He nodded, “I think it accomplished exactly what it wanted to. And I never get tired of it because I always notice something new. That’s just the start of it, really, but if you wanted to hear more I’d have to, y’know, put the movie on and talk all the way through it,” he chuckled.

“I like listening to you talk about film,” you smiled, beginning to poke out the pieces of the moons you had carved, “I always have. You light up when you do.”

You could feel him grinning at you as you worked.

“How about you? You like this movie?” he asked.

“I do,” you grinned, “One of my favorites to watch around Halloween.”

“Ah, well I’ll wear it out for you, don’t worry.”

You nodded, smiling, cleaning out the last of the carved pieces.

After wiping off the stray bits of pumpkin here and there, you sat back and admired your work. You turned it to Josh, then.

“Berry!” He grinned, reaching out to trace a finger over one of the moons, “I love it. That’s perfect,”

“Yeah?” you smiled, “Let me see yours,”

He spun his to reveal the jack-o-lantern face, its smile curling up dramatically, a mix of cute and spooky.

“You did great, babe,” you leaned in to kiss him quickly, “Let me get the candles.”

He nodded and stood up, grabbing the lighter from his back pocket and waiting as you retrieved the tea lights from your cabinet.

When you came back, he was taking a picture of the pumpkins on the disposable camera, which made you smile.

You set a candle in each of the pumpkins, letting him light them carefully before placing the lids on top.

“Let’s go set ‘em outside,” you said, hoisting yours up into your hands.

He followed you to the balcony with his, where you set them on the ground amongst a few barely-alive plants, and a few thrifted decorations.

“Perfect,” he beamed, leaning back against the rail. He extended his arm to you, inviting you to lean against him. You did, resting your head on his shoulder as you both gazed at the pumpkins.

“They look cute together,” he said, and you could tell he was smiling without looking at him.

“They do,” you agreed.

“I had a lot of fun,” he said softly. You turned to him, letting him take you into his arms. “Had a really good day,”

“Me too,” you murmured, “I’m really glad you um…that you asked me. I really…” you bit your lip in a smile, suddenly nervous, “I care about you a lot”

“Me too, Berry,” he pressed a kiss to your cheek, “And I know that I know you so well already, but,” he kissed near your ear, “As cheesy as it may be, I’m excited to get to know you like this,”

He intertwined his fingers with yours at your side, holding your hand. He pulled back to look at you, “You…intrigue me, and mesmerize me. And you make me feel so…”

“At home,” you finished, biting your lip.

“Mm,” he nodded, “Exactly.”

His eyes traced over your face. “Gonna kiss you,” he whispered as he leaned in.

You nodded as you met him in the kiss.

It was warm and passionate, so much so that it made you dizzy.

The kiss devolved quickly into something needy. Soon into it, a soft whimper escaped him. You sighed at the sound.

“I want you,” he said against your lips.

“Please,” you breathed, “Yeah,”

He nodded, splitting from the kiss with a smile to let you guide him back inside.

You tugged him to your bedroom, not bothering to even turn the light on, pulling him up on the bed with you.

“I wanna see you, though,” he pouted in the dark.

“I have a candle on my nightstand,”

“Ooh, romantic,” he giggled.

“Shut up,” you laughed.

He lit the candle with his lighter, and the room glowed orange.

“Jesus, you’re so gorgeous,” he sighed, crawling back over to you. You met him in a needy kiss.

He was leaning over you, laying on his side as you laid on your back. His hand rested on your stomach, his other cupped under your ear, holding your head.

You licked into his mouth, sucked on his lip, traced your tongue over his teeth; anything to feel closer to him.

“Your tongue,” he whimpered, “Fuck,”

You giggled, pleased with yourself, “Yeah?”

“Mm,” he hummed.

“Where else do you want it?”

“Oh,” you could feel him shiver, “Jesus, I—do you…do you wanna—“

“Yeah,” you breathed, “Yeah, come here,”

“Fuck, okay,” he laid down, beginning to work at his buckle.

“Let me,” you murmured, sitting up to undo it. He nodded, exhaling shakily.

You got his belt loose and undid the button on his pants, and with a bit of work, you were able to pull them down and off.

Moving back up to kiss him, you palmed him through his boxers for a moment before hooking your fingers in the band.

He was responding to every touch with a noise or a twitch of his body. You were greedy for each and every movement he gave you.

The two of you had only done this a handful of times. There’s been more foreplay than anything; everything was still brand new.

After pulling his boxers off, you settled between his legs, and looked up at him as you began to touch him. You grinned at him still having both shirts on.

As you began to suck on the head of him, he threaded his fingers through your hair. He sucked a breath in through his teeth.

You looked up at him as you licked several stripes over him, watched as his lips parted at their own will.

“Good girl…” he breathed out, so soft you could barely hear it. Your stomach flashed hot and you groaned, pulling your mouth off of him and letting your head fall against his thigh.

“Oh, god,” you breathed.

“What? What did I do? Are you—are you okay?” he sounded concerned.

You looked up at him, eyes heavy with lust, “You…” your cheeks were hot, embarrassed to repeat it back to him, “I liked that.”

He blinked, trying to sort out what you were saying. It dawned upon him, and he grinned, “You did?”

You nodded, licking at him again.

“Okay,” he said softly with a smile, “Good to know.”

Instead of addressing it any further, you clamped your thighs together and took him all the way down, bobbing around him.

“Fuck,” he gritted, “Yeah, mm,”

You let yourself go, letting all the built up tension flow out of you, spit dripping around him as you sucked and licked.

After a few minutes, he nudged your cheek with a gentle hand.

“Baby,” he whined, “Lay down, lemme take your clothes off,”

You did as he asked, laying beside him.

He was on top of you, then, working to remove your shirts and your pants, stripping you as quickly as he could, leaving a kiss here and there as he uncovered skin.

When he was done, he laid back down flat on the bed.

“Come here,” he motioned up by his head as he stripped his shirts off. You cocked your head at him, getting up on your knees beside him. He reached for your thighs and repeated himself, and you groaned.

“Josh,” you breathed, “You mean—“

He nodded, “Yeah, sweetheart, come here, sit on my face,”

“Fuck,” you whimpered, so turned on you couldn’t think, “Are you—“

“Don’t you dare ask me if I’m sure,” he grinned, still reaching for your thighs, “Hell yes, please, I want it,”

“Oh my god,” you groaned again, doing as he asked, putting a thigh on either side of his head.

“Holy fuck,” he was whimpering, looking up at you hovering over his face, “Baby…” he hooked his arms around your thighs and drew you down.

As vulnerable as you felt, the moment his tongue slipped against you, nothing else mattered. Matching groans fell from you.

You could hear a muffled, ‘fuck’ escape him as he licked at you.

His tongue had proven to be lovely over and over again, but this—this was so intimate, and so close and raw. You pressed down into his face, effectively riding his tongue, and he was taking it so graciously.

You skimmed your hands over your breasts, taking a deep breath as he licked at you, before looking down at him.

He peeked up at you, eyes half-lidded, so glossy and lust-blown, and the sight weakened you. You threaded your hands through his hair and whimpered, trying desperately to keep your body from buckling out from under you at the way he was undoing you.

Somehow, despite him being near smothered, he was making a good bit of noise.

So were you, when you could afford a breath.

“Fucking—babe, that feels so fucking good, please,”

“Oh god, I think I’m gonna cum, don’t stop,”

He nodded just so, and with his velvet tongue and determination, you were shaking on top of him, gripping your headboard as you came, nearly doubling over.

You could feel and hear him whimper as you did, and then he was pulling you up just barely to speak, “Fuck, I’m so hard, please get on top of me,”

You nodded, moving yourself down his body and lining yourself up with him, letting him push up into you.

“Oh,” he groaned, eyes rolling.

You leaned forward, kissing his cheek, beginning to ride him.

“That was so hot,” he was whimpering, his hands skimming over your ass, feeling you bounce against him, “We’re doing that more. We’re doing that like, like every day,”

You laughed, kissing him softly. You pulled back to look at him.

“Really,” he grinned, “Jesus Christ,”

“I could say the same,” you breathed, rolling your hips down into him.

“Yeah, fuck, sweetheart, kiss me,”

You clashed your lips together as you rode him, enjoying the way he sounded, the way his hands held you, how he filled you.

Then, he was pulling away with a gasp.

“Wanna be on top, Berry. Wanna fuck you,”

You nodded, laying against him and letting him flip you over.

Wasting no time, he was grabbing your hands, pinning them gently above your head as he held them, and leaning down to kiss your neck.

He rolled his hips into you at a steady pace, and you kept your knees bent, letting him lean all the way against you.

He kissed your cheek.

“You feel so good, sweet girl”

“Fuck, babe,” you groaned.

“I know,” he kissed you, “I’m—I’m close already, I—,”

“Me too,” you nodded, “Please,”

“Fuck,” he kissed your temple, fucking into you quicker, “That’s it, sweetheart, be good and cum with me,”

“Oh, fuck—” you whimpered, squeezing your eyes tight as it hit you.

He slammed into you, groaning, his chest falling against yours as he slowed, fucking you gently through it.

“Jesus Christ, Berry,” he breathed against your cheek, pulling out slowly and lying beside you. You curled into him immediately, resting your head on his chest.

You laughed, weightless, “Yeah.”

“Yeah,” he giggled. He took a deep breath, “So…good girl, huh?”

“Josh,” you blushed, “Please don’t make fun of me, or—“

“No, no,” he turned and cupped your cheek, “Not at all, not at all. It’s—it’s hot, I’m sorry if it felt like I was teasing, I’m just…” he took a breath, “I’m glad you said something.”

You bit your lip and scanned his face, willing the embarrassment away, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said softly, “You can always tell me. Anything.”

You smirked, “You really liked me sitting on your face, huh?”

“Yeah,” he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face, “Yeah, don’t talk about it or I’ll get hard again,”

“Okay,” you giggled, “I liked it too.”

He looked at you, eyes soft, “Good, sweetheart,” he said softly. He leaned over to kiss you.

Slowly, you parted.

“This is gonna be fun, you know,” he smiled, tracing a thumb over your cheek, “Figuring all this out, what we like…what we really like.”

You knew you blushed, but were pretty sure he couldn’t see in the low light. He was right, though.

“Mm, yeah,” you nodded, “We probably should get to work on that pretty quickly,”

“Mm, agreed. In the morning?” he grinned.

You nodded, kissing him again.

“Let me get something to clean us up, sweetheart,” he said, sitting up to find a shirt.

“Ahh!” Josh yelped towards the door.

You sat up, heart pounding, scanning the room, “What?”

He sighed, “You still have her?” he pointed to the corner.

Oh.

“Oh, Pepper? Yeah,” you smiled as your cat meowed and jumped up on the bed.

Josh nodded, “Jesus, sorry. I just saw a shadow and it scared the shit out of me,”

You laughed, petting Pepper’s head.

“Thought you left her at your parent’s house,” he reached out and let Pepper sniff his hand. After she head butted it, he grinned and scratched her chin.

“Only for a bit, then she moved over here.”

“Mm,” he smiled wider at her, “Sorry, Pep, I’ll pet you more when I’m clothed,”

You laughed. He slid off the bed and found his shirt on the floor, wiping you off with it, then himself.

“Want a drink? Some water?” he offered.

“Yeah, that would be nice, thanks, babe.”

He nodded and slipped through the doorway. You pet Pepper and grabbed the TV remote from your nightstand, turning Coraline on.

Josh came back in with two waters.

“I locked the door and turned the lights off,” he smiled, joining you in bed after shutting the door.

“Thank you,” you smiled, taking the water, “You’re quite sweet, you know.”

He shot you a cheesy grin, “I try, Berry, for you,”

Pepper settled at the end of the bed, curled up in a ball. You took a large sip of the water and then cuddled up to Josh, his skin warm against yours.

“Coraline, huh?” he grinned, sipping his water, “Good choice.”

You hummed, feeling sleepy.

“My Berry,” he leaned down to kiss your head, “Get some rest, sweet girl.”

You nodded, smelling a hint of cinnamon on his skin, drifting easily off into sleep.

-🍓-

taglist

@starshine-wagner @dannywagners-middlefinger @writingcold @kels-gvf @aconfusedhippie @jordierama @fearless-wanderer @finelinejpm @thehourbeforesunrise @madz-0217 @gretavanbitches

[oleander-nin]

hi, Ollie! I notice you haven't been posting or reblogging anything recently and you're probably just busy, but I'm a little worried. you're a really kind person with a great sense of literature. all your followers and mutuals love you and are here for you if you need anything!! I hope that wherever you are, you're doing well! 🩵 I miss the silly reblogs you've done, they make me laugh :) I saw a post of yours recently about not receiving a lot of feedback on your writing. I too have not done a good job at responding.. and I'm sorry. I think your writing is always so enticing and suspenseful. I enjoy reading it and I hope you enjoy writing it as well. I hope to see more posts from you about just anything in the future. I hope your summer is giving you lots of fun! (if it's summer for you..) anyways, I miss you and am wishing you the best!!

Aww, thank you so much! This was super sweet to receive, and I appreciate it more than I can express. This also came in great timing, because I'm coming out of my hiatus lol. I'm trying to get three fics done and queued tonight so I can ease back into a normal-ish schedule.

Thank you so much for your support and kind words, it means a lot to me. Also, don't worry about the feedback thing, I was just really mopey for a while lol. I don't expect anything from you guys, just knowing y'all are here is enough. Thank you so much for your encouragement!

also if you care about stuff I reblog, I actually just have a seperate blog for it. I hate filling up this one for personal preference, so I made a sideblog for reblogging everything. The only thing I tend to reblog here is friends works or reblog games. I have like, 15 in my drafts but It feel wrong to post them when I've been gone for like 5 months.

[withhertea]

Maisie Peters: coming of age

With heartfelt songs of crushes and overcoming heartbreak on her number one album 'The Good Witch', 23-year-old Maisie Peters deftly captures the agony and ecstasy of youth. Here, she discusses her friendship with Ed Sheeran, the ups and downs of being online, and how she mines her personal life for inspiration.

By Charlotte Manning

It is Halloween when I sit down to chat with Maisie Peters. It almost feels too perfect a time to take a deep dive in and around her summer album release The Good Witch, packed full of spooky connotations and an exploration into, well, witchery. She promises that “some effort” is going into the costumes for tonight’s Bristol gig, teasing: “You’ll have to just wait and see.” 

This is a pop star who is used to being very much online. She’s wearing a non-serious T-shirt bearing Robert Pattinson’s face, and one of the first things I’m shown is a cat meme that I — also chronically online — have seen dozens of times before. “It’s been the most mental year of my life,” laughs Peters. “Everyone keeps joking that my eyes are getting smaller and smaller. I’m giving… Have you seen that cat meme? It’s like, ‘I’m awake, but at what cost?’ (She quickly searches for it on her phone.) This is what I’m giving right now. I sit across from people and give this tired cat that says, ‘Awake, but at what cost?’ And that is me.”

The 23-year-old is the recipient of The Breakthrough Award, supported by Volvo, at the first Rolling Stone UK Awards. It’s a category stacked full of young, rapidly emerging talent, including names such as Olivia Dean, Shygirl and Wunderhorse. But it’s Maisie who is this year’s stand-out. She played Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage the day her second album dropped, and when it quickly shot to number one in the UK Official Charts, Peters became the youngest female act to achieve this feat in nearly a decade, plus her UK tour culminated in a sold-out date at Wembley Arena. It doesn’t really get better than that, does it?

“We drove into Glastonbury and listened to the album; it had just come out, it was really cool and special,” she recalls. While her gigs often feel like a party, she had even more to celebrate this time around. Peters and her band stayed in a very apt “fairy-castle hotel” near the world-famous festival and decided to simply spend the album-release weekend living their best lives at Worthy Farm. “We played the show. It was kind of crazy because the new album came out that day. Imagine working on your job, and it’s the biggest weekend of the year? All systems go. This was the biggest week we were going to have. 

As I approach the O2 Academy Bristol via a slightly dodgy backstreet later that rainy evening, there are hundreds of buzzing fans queuing, who, like me, are largely girls in their twenties. I end up feeling pretty under-dressed in my reliable straight-cut jeans and ribbed crop-top gig combo. As I enter, it’s clear that under the sea of raincoats and umbrellas, a lot of preparation has gone into these outfits. A mixture of Halloween fancy dress (mainly witch costumes, of course), alongside pleated miniskirts with Y2K-style “baby tees” (concocted by Peters, which she often dons on tour) are there to greet me. This (now very signature) look came “very naturally” to her: “I thought it would be fun if we made little baby tees with lyrics on before the album came out, to tease at the shows. People were like, ‘Oh, my God, Maisie Peters has done another baby tee.’ Then people also started making their own. I thought, ‘Well, this is cute, this is a thing!’ So, I kept doing it. People started making their own, and it became almost like a little uniform for this album. To me, that’s what style is — it should be easy, and you should just feel good.”

At one point, the crowd scream the words to ‘Mr Perfectly Fine’ by Taylor Swift as the excitement builds. I somehow feel I’ve missed the memo on this being a collective anthem among fans, but it makes a lot of sense. Swift, Peters says, is an artist she’s “extremely honoured” to be often compared to as her star only continues to rise. “I love the music that she makes. I love her records; they’re all so important to me. I’m really, really honoured to be compared to her, and to be thought of in the same frame of mind, in anyone’s mind, as her. She’s a big inspiration of mine,” she says. 

From seamless guitar changes to refreshingly honest interactions with fans (“There’s nothing scarier than my romantic history… ghosts, demons, clowns. This year, I graduated from clown university”), the singer proves throughout the evening to be an absolute master of the crowd, a skill she’s no doubt developed in spades after spending time on tour with her ‘boss’, Ed Sheeran. 

After signing with Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records back in 2021, Peters has now released both albums under his label. The pair have a strong friendship, and she recounts an afternoon they spent watching Star Wars movies earlier this year during “the craziest one-day trip of my life” in New York. 

“We did America, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe… It was crazy,” she says of the experience. “I learned so much. I see videos of myself from the first Irish shows, where we began, and it feels like a different lifetime, a different version of myself. I just felt like a different person before this year. I’m so grateful that he took me around the world and believed in me.”

To nobody’s surprise, she marks her territory as the “number one Ed Sheeran fan in the world”. It would be hard to argue with that claim at this point. “He’s so generous and kind, and he’s really talented, and he’s smart,” she continues. “It’s a privilege to get to tour with somebody like that, someone that’s also just so good as a human being. It’s the easiest and the best thing because he’s so lovely.” 

Sheeran would later appear at her Wembley show to perform his own breakthrough hit ‘Lego House’ together in a gorgeous full-circle moment: “He let me play his Wembley, so I figured I should let him play mine,” she tells the crowd on her final night. This is a sentiment she jokes about again during her Rolling Stone UK cover shoot, teasing: “It’s great to be able to support up-and-coming artists.” 

At her Rolling Stone UK cover shoot, Peters’ warm persona lights up the room. She takes turns to chat to everyone in between being snapped, and answers questions to camera with ease, often checking the prompting notes she’s made on her phone. The soundtrack of the day is purely Girls Aloud — later that day it’s confirmed the group will be having a revival. How perfectly… witchy. 

Speaking of witchiness, sophomore album The Good Witch was written about a surprisingly short period in Peters’ life, and its contents again prove how well she can connect with her audience. “I really do write for the girls,” she observes. “I really made a whole album based on a relationship that lasted for one month and maybe two weeks.” The record is a painfully familiar look into the heartbreak, frustration and unpredictability of a short-lived romance, yet she provides drops of joy and growth in equal measure, meaning a sense of hope always remains at the core, never allowing the sadness to win. “I wrote this album about that time in my life. It depicts the same six months with, give or take, a few different songs.” 

But she doesn’t always write that way: “As I get older, I’ve tended to draw on my own life more frequently, but that’s not necessarily always chronologically accurate. I’ll write about something that happened four years ago like it was yesterday — it doesn’t matter to me. I am The Good Witch; I make what I want out of the things that are happening.” Peters has also remained adept at turning fleeting moments into the basis of a whole track. In 2022 fan-favourite release ‘Cate’s Brother’, she recalls meeting her housemate’s brother for the first time and quickly developing a huge crush. This led to intense lyrics, “And my heart went ‘Love him, he’s the one, and we shall wed,’” she sings.

The album and its subsequent deluxe version —released in October — touch on literary inspirations, including influences from the world of Greek mythology and fantasy, alongside a dose of religious imagery too. ‘The History of Man’ is a prime example, dotted with Biblical references: “So Samson blamed Delilah…”. Elsewhere, ‘In Guy on A Horse’, one of the deluxe tracks, Peters compares herself to Joan of Arc, depicting an elevated version of herself, as she criticises an ex-partner’s habit of looking down from his high horse.

“It wasn’t conscious. I wasn’t mood-boarding all my different literary inspirations or anything like that,” she explains, but there is an element to The Good Witch that acts as a conceptual album of sorts. “I got to write in that universe, which I loved. ‘The History of Man’ has some Greek mythology in it, and then ‘Wendy’ is essentially about Peter Pan. I was dancing around these universes.” 

Gender is another theme very present throughout much of the record, with Peters viewing her journey between debut You Signed Up for This to The Good Witch as “giving girl-to-woman”, having done a lot of growing in the past two years. “There are a lot of threads and themes that look at gender and in what it is to identify as a woman and what it is to know men, which sounds a bit dramatic,” she says. “It’s funny because if you were to count the most used words in The Good Witch, they are the words ‘obsessed’ and the word ‘man’. I don’t know what that reflects about me, but it’s something to think about…”

The extended album closes with gorgeously nostalgic ‘The Last One’, which very nearly made it into You Signed Up for This. “‘The Last One’, I wrote for my first album, but right at the end, so it didn’t make it. It feels like such a closing track. But ‘Tough Act’ became the closing track on my first album, so that was done [and] dusted.” She believes some songs can have extremely specific destinies in that they must be placed at certain points on a record “or it’s not going to happen”. She continues, “Sometimes I write a song, which I know is either the title track of the album, and it opens the album, or it will just never come out — ‘The Last One’ was one of those songs. But I love that song, and it feels really special it now gets to close The Good Witch.”

Her favourite lyric of the entire album comes from the song ‘Yoko’, dealing with misunderstandings that followed after Peters left a relationship she really hoped would work out, relating this to the common misconception surrounding Yoko Ono’s part in the break-up of The Beatles. “‘Yoko’ is one of my favourites, and I always wanted that to be on the album, but she didn’t quite make it. There’s a lyric in that song that’s my favourite lyric from this whole album: ‘You have a phone, you should have called’.”

While the two LPs in her discography may seem quite different on the surface, she feels there are many similarities. “I always say they are sister records to me,” she explains. “Even the Deluxe really emphasises that because there are songs on there that I wrote for the first album. The Deluxe is a good way to tie up any loose ends, I guess, and to make sure everything I wanted to say from those years, hopefully, is out. I mean, there’s always more things I want to say!”

Elsewhere, Peters’ online persona is generally an incredibly positive one, having created a space in which her fans clearly feel extremely comfortable, seen and safe. However, this hasn’t made her immune to her fair share of negativity on the internet too, something she’s experienced more this year than ever before. Yet she still manages to deliver a witty response to the not-so-nice comments she’s been on the other end of. “You can say with a wry smile, ‘At least I’m relevant,’” she smiles. “It’s really difficult, and you get bitten twice as hard when you’re someone that is online,” she says. “You’re engaging, and giving yourself to people, and then, suddenly, the mood changes, and people don’t like you, or don’t like what you’ve given them. You’re like, ‘But I was just trying to create, or I was just trying to show you this new song!’ It feels very personal, even though you try to turn it off.”

Through any negativity, Peters remains incredibly self-aware, and doesn’t seem to hold any resentment towards those directing the vitriol her way. “These people don’t know you. It’s normally a teenager tweeting, and good for them! I was a teenager tweeting once too. We’ve all done it. As long as I shall live, there will be teenagers tweeting, as they should.” Still, she admits it’s hard to not feel that she’s being “personally attacked”, and the comments have taken their toll at times. “People forget I’m still a person that’s seeing this. I’ve experienced that this year. I’ve found it really difficult. When you’re touring and away from home, and you’re really tired and running on empty, and then you just see X, Y and Z on TikTok or on Twitter about yourself, it really takes it out of you.”

Being present on the internet has been central to Peters’ career — she started out by posting videos of herself singing on YouTube when she was 15. But this year, she reached new peaks of online fame when her ‘There It Goes’ video went viral on TikTok in early autumn, painting a very relatable picture of the aftermath of an intense end-of-summer breakup in a vast city like London. Fans latched onto a couple of specific lines, “I’m doing better / I made it to September / I can finally breathe”, and “The comedown of closure / The girls and I do yoga / I wake up and it’s October / The loss is yours”. Fans started producing their own visuals to the track in cute clips which soon flooded the app. 

“Everybody wants something to take off on TikTok or to have a moment, but it was so fun that this moment was so organic,” she reflects. “What started happening was actually just this wonderful, sweet, pure, wholesome thing where people were using the sound, ‘I’m doing better / I made it to September,’ to round up little edits of their life and all the great things in it.” Peters admits she “couldn’t believe it” when she realised the song was going viral. “To see all these videos showcasing love and friendship, healing and growing and people just being themselves, I was like, ‘This is so cool.’ I’m so pleased and happy that was the moment, that’s what took off, because it’s so beautiful and lovely.” 

In what Peters calls a “cliche” answer, it’s her parents she immediately shouts out when asked who she wants to dedicate The Breakthrough Award, supported by Volvo, to, as they have been by her side on her incredible journey since she was a teen. “They drove me to pubs to play when I was 15,” recalls Peters. “My dad would come with me when I was busking so that if anything shady happened, he could be there, but he would also pretend not to be my dad, he’d just loiter around. They’ve always just been really supportive, so yeah, I would like to dedicate [this award] to them.”

On what’s next after this whirlwind year, Peters has a clear objective: “I’m going to bed!” she declares, itching to spend some time at home. “I haven’t spent more than two days at home since July. I’m going to be in London, just walking around, so say hi if you see me. God damn, I hope I’m in my rest and relaxation era.” She plans to spend the coming weeks “cooking meals and going to exercise classes” and generally doing very little. “Is it the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory grandparents who are in bed all day? That’s what I’m going to channel. I want to collect my thoughts a little bit. Then in the New Year, that’s when I’ll start making some more music. I have some thoughts and ideas [for the third album], but we’ll have to see what happens. Life takes you in surprising places sometimes.”

Taken from Issue 14 of Rolling Stone UK, our Awards Issue. You can buy it here.

Words: Charlotte Manning Photography: Lewis Vorn Fashion & Creative Director: Joseph Kocharian Styling: Luci Ellis Hair and makeup: Elizabeth Rita Styling assistant: Chessie Lulli

[simstryingtheirbestok]

Day 6! Nothing like a little friendly bickering at the breakfast table to get the blood flowing.

"--but then, my parents taught me to read, Dietmar. A pity that your parents did not do the same for you."

"Shut up, Youssef! I'm a child of divorce!"

(He is, actually, but he's a little long in the tooth to still be referring to himself that way, outside of therapy.)

"Stop it, both of you! One of you come get my plate. My mother brought me up to be a lady."

What in the Downton Abbey hell, Undine?

Well, let's see. What to do, what to do. Um, I had thought about having them all attend the Summer Festival, but then I thought better of it. They'd only wind up at opposite ends of the grounds, making quick drinks in the upstairs bars.

I'm getting tired of dance parties, but maybe Undine could slow dance with each of them while I figure something out?

And I guess we could do more directed ✨romantic interactions✨. I queued up 5 per bachelor for Undine to hit 'em with. I then let each pairing have a few Sim minutes together undirected, to see what they'd do independently.

Adorably, Carlos chose "Express Feelings" for his independent romantic interaction. That's the Brooding trait in action again. At this point, I just assume that Carlos' favorite movie is "anything by Burton or Bergman." 🖤

Jian went with Flirtatious Joke for his. The motions they make for that always look slightly accusatory.

Youssef with my favorite, "Whisper in Ear." 🥹

For some reason I only have one shot of Undine with Dietmar

But it hardly matters, because it turns out it actually isn't Jian Wei who's going home today. Instead we say goodbye and good luck to

Dietmar is a reliable Sim: I can pop him into anything and trust that he will behave himself and do more or less what I've assigned him to do. He's a good rounder-outer of groups. Want 4 male roommates but only have the energy to create 3? Call Dietmar. Did your Sim child's dad meet with a fatal accident and now they need a stepfather? Dietmar. That sort of thing.

I didn't expect or particularly want him to win this, but he showed up and did the job so excellent work, Dietmar. And he didn't try to work out to the television even once.

And now I'm down to the final three! We don't really need a whole separate post for that, and the order is unsurprising besides.

[famefckr]

#FAMEFCKR !! ; an    independent,    private,    and    selective    roleplay    blog    featuring    characters    from    various    forms    of    media,    as    well    as    original    characters.    penned    by    hales,    30,    she/her,    est.  this   blog   features   a   character   from   13   reasons   why.   though   she   has   been   heavily   developed   and   is   played   as   an   original   character,   she   at   times   references   her   friendship   with   hannah   baker.   all   posts   involving   kat   will   be   tagged   with   '13rw   //'.

affiliated with: @heartfe1t + @melodyplucked + @sheactress , @lovemaim + @literarist + @lahiey + @halfpyre, @antihcroes / @lessycusee, @shadowbrn , @l1teas , @shadysleuth (daphne w/ nancy) other blogs: @inspotlight , @mayapenelopes , @skatetheatrics , @barbiedolld

current high muse characters: emma carstairs, daisy slade, dominic lynch, mila ramos, bluebell barlow, mia west, stassie allen, bridget von ascheberg, summer hamilton, sloane winthrop, vinessa collins

important: this blog runs about 95% on a queue. some things may be posted immediately, but i usually have at least 3-4 days worth of posts queued.

guidelines:

001. you can call hales, and i’m 21+. i will not interact with anyone under 21 for my own peace of mind.   002. i am mutuals only and only follow people i intend to interact with. if i follow you, i am interested in roleplaying with you. 003. please do not control my character, and i won’t control your character. no godmodding. if you would like to do something or plot something out, PLEASE message me. 004. just ask if you need me to tag something for you, i’m more than happy to. i’ll do my best to tag everything, but i may slip up, so just pop into my dms or inbox and i’ll get it taken care of. 005. i do not own, or claim to own, any of the characters mentioned on this blog. i am simply playing characters that i like. the only thing that i own are my headcanons and my writing. i am not affiliated with any faceclaim featured here or the companies with ownership to the original media. 006. if you get blocked, please do not message me. i reserve the right to curate my online experience and set boundaries. 007. i won't follow anyone who doesn't have a name or age somewhere on their blog. 008. reblog from the source or any other blog, but i am not here to be your personal resource blog for you to cherrypick through. 009. if you wont rp with anyone unless they fill out an interest tracker, this is not the blog for you, because im not filling out a job application to interact. we can either plot with words or you can softblock me but im not filling anything out, and im less inclined if you think you can force me to. 010. i will not rp or interact with first person blogs. this is a major ick and hard limit.

credits:

fruitcake by jessource. psd 405 by vc-resources.

[namuneulbo]

week one hundred and twenty two

week started off good with a successful job interview. i can't believe i got so lucky with finding a job. it was definitely worth spending an entire day on applying to like 50+ jobs. it's a receptionist job at a hotel quite nearby which is nice. it looks so fancy and the people there seem nice! it's an extra job so it's even less hours than part-time but honestly, that suits me really well. from my experiences from part-time they always end up giving me more hours than i can take and i end up feeling like shit. i am quite scared of being exposed to german and dutch though because i might've added those to my resume although i definitely only knows the basics, especially of dutch. i've been grinding duolingo to get my german back to the level it was a few years ago but it's still a long way to go.

on thursday i went out with l and his friends, more specifically, ONE of his friends and their friends. it was nice but the vibe was OFF. he's recently been replying SO DRYLY and now it was even happening in real life. it actually got me feeling so shit i ended up texting him about it afterwards and asking if everything was okay to which he responded "i'm just really busy rn," WHICH IS FAIR but i don't know, you don't keep your headphones on when i'm talking to you because you're busy... like i get not being able to meet as much but being busy doesn't equal acting like that when we meet up.

at least his friend was really nice!

on friday i queued all day with m and two other swedish-speaking finns that she apparently knew and, oh my god, the world is so tiny because one of them knew a lot of people i went to high school with.

we were queueing for the 1975!!!!!!!!!!!!! i actually didn't feel like it took too long. we would've gotten barricade if they didn't let the other queue in before us and i'm still so pissed about that because WHY ARE THERE PEOPLE WITH NUMBERS ABOVE 100 IN FRONT OF ME WHEN I WAS ONE OF THE FIRST 15 PEOPLE IN THE FUCKING QUEUE?!?!

at least they were good live. they played so many of my favorites, jesus christ 2005 god bless america, a change of heart... i only wish matty would've talked more. he barely said anything :(

i also ended up not getting any merch because the only shirt i wanted was sold out TT

conveniently, on saturday, i had booked an appointment to fill in some ink for my tattoo and i had to get up early and i was not having it!!! literally was more annoyed about having to get up and get ready than the actual travelling and getting the tattoo fixed. i had some time to spare before the appointment so i went by a shop to get a monster and also left the appointment with a kexchoklad that another artist gave to me. what a guy! forgot how good they were too... yum.

the rest of the day i played sims and watched family guy.

now it's sunday and i'm thinking about going for a jog. i would've already been on one by now if it wasn't for the bathroom being occupied for the past hour or so TT to be fair, i also take my fair share of time in there when i'm getting ready.

i haven't gone for a jog in so long since it's been winter and icy and just... not appropriate weather because you will never catch me buying a jacket and specific shoes and shit just for a little jog. i already bought a pair of shoes and workout clothes last year so i can grind during the summer.

sotw: the 1975 - a change of heart

[trouble-writing]

I posted 280 times in 2022

That's 275 more posts than 2021!

19 posts created (7%)

261 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@specterthief

@naometry

@nosmallpotatoes

@itsrapsodia

@skyheaven1231

I tagged 228 of my posts in 2022

Only 19% of my posts had no tags

#art - 146 posts

#fanart - 144 posts

#persona5 - 137 posts

#queuing because i can - 119 posts

#writing - 41 posts

#myfanfics - 16 posts

#akeshu - 16 posts

#fe3h - 12 posts

#shuake - 11 posts

#akeshuake - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 74 characters

#because it captures exactly the vibes goro had in my mind while reading it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Slightly cracky 'he was the gardener all along'-idea.

Let's turn the 'Akira's parents are loaded'-headcanon up to 11. They have a huge elaborate garden. Akira comes back and slots seamlessly back into the family.

His parents ignore him as much as before, but they don't think of him as an absolute criminal, so that's nice. But they are adamant about him not going back to Tokyo, and more or less forcing him to enroll in the college in the next bigger town.

Maybe they could pull some strings despite his (overturned) criminal record. He goes there after protesting, being sure he will transfer at the first opportunity. It's not that bad. Morgana's here, his friends can video call and message, and he mostly has the house to himself.

On one of the rare occasions his parents are there, they inform him that they hired a new gardener from a local firm with good reviews, and he's supposed to keep an eye out if he does a good job, etc. And he does! The flowers look better than ever.

It's a delight to see the garden flourish, especially after he spent working so many hours at the flower shop. He starts doing his homework outside, but he hasn't seen or met the gardener yet, since he always comes around when Akira has classes.

Until one day - classes are canceled - he looks out the window and sees someone working out there. Imagine the general gardener fit, jeans, a t-shirt, if we're daring a straw hat, and Akira's just looking. And keeps looking.

He likes the glimpses of sun-bleached hair he sees and the slight tan, but he's busy, having a call with Ann scheduled, and during it, he carries the laptop over to the window and she approves of what she sees, comparing Akira to a romance heroine lusting after the gardener.

He just laughs. He doesn't laugh when he sees the gardener remove his shirt the next time. And thus begins Akira's journey of lusting after the gardener, but trying not to become a cliché by being inappropriate towards the guy. He hasn't even seen his face!

And well, it's summer soon, and he still misses Goro, and maybe Ann was right that he should distract himself, and flirt a little. And of course, there's a pool in the garden. Because of course. And maybe he should do his homework at different times on one of the beach chairs.

Wearing shorts and t-shirts, maybe even a tank top if he's particularly brave, to see if there might be a little interest. And there is! It's almost as if the gardener can't look away whenever Akira enters the garden and makes his way to his new favorite spot.

The guy keeps working and himself hidden, but it's as if Akira can feel his eyes on him. They keep staring at each other once the other looks away, and it's fun for a while. Definitely distracts him from everything else going on in his life.

At one point he gets bold enough to just approach the gardener. More or less sneaking up on him. And when he finally makes a noise to let him know Akira's approaching, he turns around.

And Akira stares into the face of one Goro Akechi, who found his calling in taking care of plants and nurturing them during their time apart.

*bows* That is all.

6 notes - Posted November 19, 2022

#4

PT.exe has stopped working an akeshuake No Powers AU, in which a Dating Sim appears on the Phansite.

Graphic for this post and the fic has been made by the wonderful @nosmallpotatoes!

Pairing: Goro Akechi/Akira Kurusu - Rating: M

Posted for ShuAke Week 2022 Day Six: Rule 63 - Crossover - Dating Sim

7 notes - Posted November 20, 2022

#3

True Romance is Dead (I shot it in the chest then in the head) 

Pairing: Goro Akechi/Akira Kurusu - Rating: M

A self-indulgent fic I'm actually rather proud of. Maybe one day I'll even write the second part.

Posted for ShuAke Week 2022 Day Two: Body Swap - Heist - Cooking

7 notes - Posted November 19, 2022

#2

Tell a little truth an akeshu one-shot written for the Monster Smash event on Twitter.

My gift for @enlacinglineswrites who wanted shuake/akeshu with a bit of truth serum.

Pairing: Goro Akechi/Akira Kurusu - Rating: E

Summary:

The truth that spilled out of him made Goro's eyes widen once more, but he gave no answer, just kept thinking, hand going up to his chin, already absorbed in whatever he was puzzling over.

“Just a hypothesis, but whatever you did to the potion very obviously made us unable to lie.”

After accidentally brewing a healing potion with another interesting property, Akira and Goro have to navigate the lingering effects of a truth potion.

14 notes - Posted November 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Claws and Feathers an akeshuake soulmate AU with shapeshifting.

Pairing: Goro Akechi/Akira Kurusu - Rating: M

Posted for ShuAke Week 2022 Day Five: Bad End - Sickfic - Shapeshifting

24 notes - Posted November 20, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[mylutteoheart]

Con mis besos yo te haré feliz. Mil flores y regalos yo te daré.

this is part 2 of my fic for day 1. I accidentally deleted it but I re-wrote it and it’s not the exact same thing as the original but I feel like this version is better.

Also, I won’t be participating tomorrow because I couldn’t really come up with a good story.

prompt: “I offer you my bed to sleep in because our respective roommates are getting it on in your room and take the sofa to sleep on, only I wake up back in my bed with your tiny body wrapped around me and damn me if it isn’t the cutest thing I’ve ever seen”

find my other fics here

Luna got back home late. She had a late night class at her Uni. She was happy to finally be back at her apartment. But when she arrived, something weird was going on.

When she unlocked the door, she heard some noises. I took her a while to figure out where they came from. Eventually, she figured out that they came from her bedroom. She was very confused about this all. So she decided to check it out. Her door was closed, which was weird because she never closes that door. She slowly opened it because she was a little scared about what she might find there. 

To her surprise, she found Gastón and Nina lying down on her bed. Only, the thing was that one was lying on top of the other and she quietly stepped backwards in shock.

"I was shocked too." she heard a familiar voice from behind her. Of course it was Matteo, he was standing in the doorway, he probably heard her come home. It isn't a suprise since they live next to each other.

The sudden voice did startle her a little. "Matteo, you startled me." she said in all honesty.

"I can see that and I can't blame you. Having someone so handsome standing in your doorway all of a sudden is very surprising." he gave her his typical smirk. She just smiled and shook her head. "Why don't you come over to my apartment? You can't stay here whil you saw what you saw now can you?" he asked.

She hesitated at first but she agreed in the end. They went together to his apartment. He immediately walked to the kitchen and offered her a plate full of food. "I'm guessing you weren't able to eat yet and as luck would have it, I cooked for Gastón until I discovered where he was at." he gave her a comforting smile and agreed to eat it. He apparently hadn't eaten yet either so he took his plate and hers and put it on the table so they could eat together.

It felt a bit weird for Luna to do this, they have been on a few dates before and this just felt like an actual date but she didn't want to make the remark. Instead, she tried to enjoy her dinner and she did. It was delicious and she thanked him for the food.

They put their plates and other dishes in the dishwasher and suddenly, Matteo got nervous and she noticed so she did what she could and gave him an assuring smile and she took his hand in his. This gave him enough courage to say what he wanted to: "Do you want to sleep over? Your room is taken at the moment and I don't think it would be nice to sleep in the same house as them."

They haven't really made it official yet so she didn't really know what to say and he could see the panic on her face "Of course I'll let you sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch. Gastón's room is very messy so you don't want to sleep in there." he squeezed her hand lightly and this made her give in and she said yes. This made Matteo very happy and he hugged her.

She went to her own apartment to get her pjs, she decided it'd be best if she changed at Matteo's place because she didn't want to stay here long. She was in and then out.

Matteo was excited that Luna was staying over but sadly, it wasn't like he imagined the first this would happen. He didn't want to go too fast with her because he didn't want to mess this up. It was pretty safe to say that after the couple of dates they had, he had strong feelings for her and he didn't want to change that.

Luna went to the bathroom and it took everything in Matteo to stay away from that room. It was tempting, yes, but he couldn't.

She had her hair in a ponytail and she was wearing shorts and a top. "You look amazing." it came out before he knew it but it made her smile. That always made him feel better, no matter what. Her smile was radiant just like she was.

They both went to sleep at the same time. Both happy to be here.

Luna woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and on her way to the kitchen, she came across Matteo sleeping on the couch. She took a minute to take in the view. He looked so handsome just sleeping there. But he didn't really seem comfortable, she couldn't really enjoy the view for long because he kept turning. He obviously couldn't find a comfortable position and she felt bad. She couldn't allow him to suffer so as soon as he was facing her again, she decided to wake him up. She tried to shake him lightly at first but he slept too deep to notice it.

After a couple of minutes thinking, she decided to go with a more drastic approach. She had to admit, she didn't want it to be like this but she couldn't come up with anything else so she leaned in slowly. Then, she put her lips on his and in a somewhat automatic response, he kissed her back. Not opening his eyes but waking up. Then when realization hit him, he woke up.

He shot up in surprise. When he saw who just kissed him, he made place for her to sit on the couch next to him. "I'm sorry." was all she said.

"Why did you do that?" he just wanted to know.

"I wanted to wake you up and at first I couldn't and then this is what I came up with." she admitted shyly.

"Why did you want to wake me up?" he was really confused.

"I saw you sleeping and you looked very uncomfortable, I couldn't stand seeing you like that." she looked away so he wouldn't see her shyness.

This comment made him smile anyway. "And how are you going to fix that?" he was a bit amused.

"I was thinking that maybe you could sleep in your bed as well." now it was her turn to be nervous.

"You don't mind?" he asked seriously.

"No, of course not." this made her turn to him and smile.

"Okay, then." it's the only thing he could say. This gave her the invitation to take his hand in hers and lead him to his bed. She did all of this with confidence. They both got in the bed, they were both a bit unsure. They eventually decided to turn their backs towards each other. It seemed like the best thing to do.

When they both fell asleep, unconsciously, Matteo turned on his back and Luna turned around to face him. After a while, they were lying closer within each other's reach. Then, Luna put her arm and her leg around him. They stayed like this for the rest of the night.

Matteo was the first one to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes and he felt all kinds of butterflies inside his stomach and he felt a warmth going through his body and then he realized what happened. Luna's body was wrapped around him and honestly, it was the cutest thing he has ever seen. He wanted this moment to last because he had no idea if this was going to happen again. He wanted this all the time, waking up and seeing her beside him. He would even want to have lazy morning kisses. This made him flashback to last night. They kissed for the first time and he never imagined it like this. But he couldn't complain, he was happy to finally have kissed her even if he was very sleepy at the time.

But now it was time for her to wake up and as soon as she realized how they were lying, her cheeks started to get red. It made this even more adorable for him. Without thinking, he gave her a kiss on her head and this seemed to take her blushing away.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked after some time. He didn't take his eyes off her and he smiled from ear to ear and his eyes were shining.

“I offer you my bed to sleep in because our respective roommates are getting it on in your room and take the sofa to sleep on, only I wake up back in my bed with your tiny body wrapped around me and damn me if it isn’t the cutest thing I’ve ever seen”  he said in one breath.  

They lied there for a few moments more until he eventually got up but she didn't want to. She was too comfortable. This gave him an idea. His smirk kind of gave it away and she got scared of what was about to happen. He ignored her warning looks and he took her in his arms, bridal style and she couldn't help but let out a giggle and he laughed on his turn. He put her on the counter of the kitchen and he started to make breakfast. It was pancakes. She watched him make them. It was very entertaining for her and they just laughed all the time. They acted as if it has been like this for years, it was just so natural for both of them.

When the pancakes were done, he put them on the kitchen table and helped her off the counter. She was about to sit down when he stopped her in her tracks by intertwining her fingers with his. This made her turn around and he could see a look of confusion on her face. He leaned in and eventually, his lips landed on hers and in a matter of seconds, they were kissing intensely. Nothing mattered but their lips touching. This was the kind of kiss he imagined and it felt so good. Bolts of electricity were felt as they were touching. His one hand on her waist and his other hand still intertwined with hers. Her other hand was on his cheek. The world seemed to fade away.

After a while, they pulled apart to finally eat something and now they both hopedmore sleepovers like this would happen and he wanted to kiss her a thousands times over. Luckily, there was time for all of that.

[causalitylinked]

‘ don’t be jealous. ’ MDMFMDMDKF. YUNO FOR AKIRA. who knows whats the context i sure dont

     p.s: i still love you sentence starters. » still accepting!

    “I’m not,” he easily replies, allowing his tone to grow flat and deadpan while he spares a disinterested glance his way. Naturally, there was little to no hesitance on his part, for the last thing Akira reckoned he even felt was jealousy... especially not after he just saw her client fork over what looked to be a hefty sum of cash before ambling off with a sheepish yet happy look on his lovestruck face.

     “How about you not get so ahead of yourself for once, Kashiki? Not every guy is dying to sleep with you, y’know,”  he then proceeds to add while somehow resisting the urge to roll his eyes. God, she was so damn annoying... then again, Akira couldn’t exactly fault Yuno for resorting to selling her body for cash; after all, he himself participated in illegal fighting matches underground, so who was he to judge?

                In the end, they were just trying to get by as best they could.

@afflatui / @29shoku​

[on-a-lucky-tide]

Another draft for the Witcher Summer Camp prompts? More likely than you think. I wrote this a while ago and queued it up to be expanded. I don't think it fits anything on the list though, so here it is.

CW: internalised homophobia and fear of being 'found out'; Lambert's canonically abusive father; keeping relationships secret. Lambert is always his game version.

I've been listening to Westlife, and I have an idea where twelve-year-old Lambert watches something like X-Factor. He watches sixteen-year-old Coën win with the most amazing voice; he gets his recording contract and becomes a big star.

Lambert follows his meteoric rise; he sings his songs, buys his albums, and steals a poster from the centre of a teen magazine while collecting his dad’s booze and cigarettes from the off-license.

Lambert knows the feeling; it’s the same one he gets when he sees Betsy-May, the cute girl in his year, at the park.

If he keeps it quiet, then it stays… abstract. He can dream, right?

Dreams aren’t dangerous, he tells himself as he sings into his hairbrush in front of his ma’s mirror. He can dance on stage with Coën and they can jet across the world, leaving the grey streets of London behind.

But Lambert's hotshot football manager father won't have any son of his being into that poncy performing arts shit and Lambert has that dream... removed from him.

Fast forward 15 years later.

All grown up now, Lambert went into security because that is a suitably Man-like career. He still sings privately in the shower, in his bedroom, where no one can hear. And hates himself for it because he should be over it by now.

A record label hires his company for security. Some of their best-known artists are getting harassed by fans. One was even photographed in his home in his underpants by a girl that climbed the security wall.

It's a huge contract. Of course, he accepts, and he even appears in person to meet the client's intended asset.

It's fucking Coën.

Lambert would recognise him anywhere. He almost fucks up the contract completely by being a dick because the walls all come flying up.

But, for some reason, Coën really likes him. Lambert's head of accounts tells him they fucking well need this client because there could be endless work from all the different assets. And Coën? He doesn't want anyone else. He wants Lambert.

Something about treating him like a real person, not a prized pig.

So, Lambert grits his teeth and returns. Because he doesn't have an explanation for potentially writing off a load of jobs.

For some reason "I had a gay little boy crush on the dickhead and my dad beat me for it, and it's easier to blame a faceless famous person for having your dreams crushed than realise how fucked up your childhood was and work through that" is a bit too raw.

He tells himself that he will keep it strictly professional. Protect the asset, get the money. But the more time Lambert spends around Coën, the more he realises the guy is so, so desperately lonely.

He wants to talk to someone who doesn't instantly squeal at his "hot body" and "hot voice” or see him as a walking cash machine.

Coën is open, quirky, funny, and a little mischievous, and he loves cooking, which Lambert is shit at and doesn't really have taste buds, or so he's told, but Coën's curry is the best thing he has ever fucking tasted, and they're both equal at MarioKart so those evenings are...

..well, good. So good.

And... Oh, Coën is gay. He lets it slip after he'd had too much to drink. That one day he dreams of being able to marry the man of his dreams, but how is that ever going to happen when his record label needs him to be a heterosexual heartthrob?

Lambert makes a mistake then.

He runs away. Because he's a coward.

Coën has just shared with him a secret that he's been made to keep. Something that he has been told makes him not good enough. And Lambert can't deal with it. He can't. So he runs.

Lambert calls Geralt. Because Geralt may be a bigger mess than he is, but he's way better at navigating it. They stay up all night, drinking and talking. And Geralt helps Lambert realise he needs to take the leap or live forever wondering.... what if.

He goes back and finds a wounded, devastated Coën who still, somehow, underneath it all, has the strength to hold the bruised scraps of his heart out for Lambert to take. Coën is in a really hard place. A desperate place.

Over the years, he's been told to "change" his music, and style, to keep up with the times. More jaunty tunes like “Blurred Lines". Emotionless, heartless drivel that shoots him to the top of the charts. He hasn't sung or released anything he's written himself in years.

Lambert sits down next to him at the piano and timidly sings the first few lines of a very, very old song. Coën is shocked. Lambert confesses... almost everything. He's not really ready to tell the whole story yet. But Coën knows there's more.

He can see the shadows behind Lambert's eyes, so he says they'll sing it together. For the twelve-year-old who watched Coën win the X Factor final with adoration and hope.

What they have will stay between them. It doesn't belong to anyone else. They don't owe anyone a "coming out", let alone the rabid hordes of fans and media jackals. Lambert will walk at Coën's side as his bodyguard in public, and then hold him in private.

It's not shame. It's not staying in the closet. It's protecting something fragile and precious from a world that would tear it to pieces before it even has a chance to bloom. They'll work it out. Together.

[tenthgrove]

how do you think LS would act at an amusement park? I literally cannot see them being pleasant guests 😭😭

Theme Park Fun

La Squadra x Reader, Platonic/Romantic, SFW

Formaggio- Starting out on a high point, Formaggio makes for one of the park's better guests compared to the rest of the time. His loudness is par for the course in such a place and his light-hearted demeanour means he's bound to have an excellent time. Well, that is until it's time to eat. Wanting to save a pretty penny Formaggio sorts lunch by stealing it from the vendors with the aid of his stand (without your knowing), which probably wouldn't have been a problem for anyone if he hadn't stolen far, far more than you could feasibly eat. As you begin to tuck into your mountain of kebabs, the security guards show up with the confused vendor beside them. You've been busted.

Illuso- Not his typical choice of attraction, Illuso rather dislikes theme parks. All the idiots running around having fun are just unbearable to him, not to mention all the queuing has him impatient. You turn your back on him for one second and Illuso does what Illuso does best and starts scaring children in the mirror maze. By the time you finally find him you have to essentially force him at knife point to release 5 screaming children from his stand's realm. At this point a veritable stampede has formed from kids trying to get out of the maze, and the adults are starting to wonder what's going on. You decide to do the smart thing and get the pair of you out of there.

Prosciutto- Like Illuso, Prosciutto does not have much time for amusement parks. As far as he concerns the whole point is to walk around a filthy, tacky place so you can be on a roller-coaster that only makes you scream like an idiot. He doesn't want you seeing like that! He's a completely serious individual! Desperate not to give you a reaction, Prosciutto tries to stay as stoic as possible throughout every ride you go on, but his facade fades with every hairpin that falls out. He comes off the first rollercoaster with his hair in tatters and a new, quite possibly permanant crease in the business jacket he insisted on wearing. Needless to say, he is not happy.

Pesci- Pesci really would do anything just to spend time with you. A pity really, because it probably would have served you a lot of good if he had told you about his massive fear of roller-coasters before you left. Yeah, you're gonna have a problem here. You get all the way to the end of the queue before Pesci literally passes out upon realising you're next in line. Safe to say you do not go on that ride and Pesci explains to you what he probably should have mentioned before. On the plus side, you at least have a lot of fun walking around the grounds together and playing for prizes, so the trip wasn't entirely a waste.

Melone- He worked at an amusement park once! It's true- he had a little job operating one of the shooting games for one summer break when he was 17. It was a decent job, as teenage summer jobs go, but it left Melone knowing a lot of insider's tricks about all the games that he is not willing to let go. Once Melone has it in his mind he's going to show off by winning you all the prizes, he cannot be talked down. Melone might think he's being smooth, but there are only so many arcade machines he can fiddle round the back of before he gets caught and promptly thrown out by the security guards. Oh hey! Look! It's his old boss! Fancy that!

Ghiaccio- An entire park of unbearably noisy people and obnoxious children. Great! Ghiaccio could not be any more on edge here. You know you're in trouble when some 8 year old gets seated next to Ghiaccio on the first rollercoaster, and sure enough you feel a familiar chill seeping around you. Ghiaccio froze the coaster breaks and now it can't move. Wonderful. Trouble only continues when you leave the ride and go out by where the water rides are. Your timing is absolutely perfect for getting splashed by a passing car. Ghiaccio freezes the whole lake and storms off for the parking area.

Risotto- Having not been to an amusement park since he was 13, Risotto is nervous as to whether he will be allowed on all the rides due to his height. Thankfully it seems that largely isn't the case, but his appearance brings a few other difficulties. People keep stopping him thinking he's a mascot because of his strange outfit, and if you ever lose him in the haunted house you only need to follow the screaming children. He also loses his hat on one of the rollercoasters, but thankfully it falls near enough to the fences to pull it back in Metallica. All in all, he's one of the better accomplices to the amusement park.

Sorbet and Gelato- Taking two men who get withdrawal symptoms from lack of murder to an amusement park probably wasn't the best idea, but hey, at least they're having fun! Gelato is a kid at heart and absolutely adores amusement parks, while Sorbet isn't quite so into it but is happy wherever Gelato is. You'd probably be having an excellent time yourself, if the pair would stop threatening to murder everyone who mildly inconveniences them. They also steal anything that tickles their fancy, and queue jump without shame. The second they walk into an amusement park, it's theirs.

[protectivemuses-archived]

Okay. So. Getting drafts and asks cleared out over my days off? Didn't happen. But, I've at least gotten quite a bit cleared and some is queued up for while I'm asleep for work. So progress nonetheless.

I'm going to slowly try to chip away at some more, but apologies for not quite being on as much. I ended up sleeping all day from exhaustion Monday, and yesterday I slept a good part because I learned the hard way that my anxiety medication does not mix well with going out in the summer heat and sun.

So I'm going to at least aim to have everything set up in my drafts, so I can try to chip away at stuff on mobile through my free time and queue it up through the week. I know I still owe quite a few starters, and I need to update my tracker because my brain is starting to get scrambled for notifications. I'll also probably aim to get a few other things set up, maybe like a starter call post or something of the sort. I dunno. I have so many plans and no energy.

I also know I don't owe an explanation because this isn't a job and I should only do this when I'm up to it but eh. I just sometimes like being transparent because I don't want people to think I'm just ignoring them and plus most of my friends are on here so it's easier just to update.

[sanderssideswriting]

ship: prinxiety, background intrulogical

genre: fluff

warnings: swearing, like one sexual innuendo, very breif mention of murder (as a joke, this is fluff after all) 

summary: Radio AU where Virgil runs the 11-1 am radio on his college and every night someone calls to complain about his music selections and request disney, and Virgil never plays disney.

Virgil sat in his swivel chair and put on the headphones “sup bitches I’m back and this time with like three monsters because finals are a bitch and sleep can suck my dick. The first song of the night is Lotta True Crime by Peneople Scott. Why? Because I say it is that’s why.” Virgil put the song on and worked on his final project as the songs played.

The phone rang and Virgil groaned and checked the number. This dick again. He picked up and put it on air since people seemed to love listening to him and disney guy argue. 

“listen asshole if you want to listen to Disney so fucking badly then apply for a spot and stop calling me.”

there’s a laugh “how about you just play some disney then? if you do I’ll stop calling. Because your music taste sucks.”

Virgil rolls his eyes “bitch apply for an opening and have a disney hour. And let me listen to my music, because not everyone loves fucking disney.” 

“Well many people do so why not play one song.”

Virgil snorts “first no, and second if I had to I’d make everyone regret it and play let it go.”

“Let it go is great!”

“bye bye Princey, stop calling”

Virgil hung up “and since Princey called you know what we’re playing? MCR because I know he hates it. So this one’s for you princey, up next after this ad because this place needs money. By the way if you’re not a broke bitch donate because this job is like kinda decent and I like making you all listen to the music I like. Blood by MCR is up next” Virgil played the ad and leaned back in his chair.

“Why do you take his calls if you know he’ll just be annoying?” Janus asks in class.

Virgil shrugs “since it started I get more listeners which is good for the station.”

“I think it’s funny, cause you two have cute pet names for each other, princey and emo nightmare” Remus says.

Virgil elbows him “they’re not pet names.”

“they are,” Janus says, moving so Virgil couldn’t elbow him.

Roman waits to dial the number, he had to admit he sort of enjoyed his and emo nightmare’s conversations, who refused to reveal his name or grade.

At first they’d been annoying and he’d genuinely complained about all the emo music and asking to play disney but it’d soon become a nightly ritual, that had very quickly ruined Roman’s sleep schedule.

He dialed the number “seriously, why all the emo music, emo nightmare?”

“you just answered your own question princey, why the obsession with disney songs princey? See? Sounds fucking stupid.”

Roman sighs dramatically “you wound me emo nightmare. But seriously what’ll it take to get you to play ONE disney song?”

“a hundred grand, that’s how much the station needs to keep running, do that and I’ll play ONE disney song.”

“four.”

“Three songs and a hundred and fifty grand, fifty grand per song. final offer. and I get to pick the songs.’

Roman nods “deal,”

“oh and, you have until the end of finals to get the money donated, and I’ll make the gofundme, not you.”

That’s like a month and a half away Roman thinks I’ll have enough time. “sure thing emo nightmare.”

Roman’s emo hung up. He smiles like an idiot.

“Why not ask him out? it’s clear you’re fond of him” Roman’s roommate Logan says from his side of the room.

“ask out a guy I don’t even know the name of? yeah sure” Roman snorts.

“what? Scared you’ll be rejected? I cannot believe I’m saying this, but Roman I am getting more dick then you have been ever since you started talking to your radio boy.” Logan says in an even tone.

Roman pretends to gag “you don’t need to tell me how much you and my brother have done it Logan, you two being together is enough for me to want to bleach my eyes.”

“you’re no better whenever you’re going out with someone, or even hooked up with a slightly above average guy.”

Remus barged in “Loooo I need help studying.”

Roman stood up “that’s my queue to leave.”

Remus watches Roman go “so what where you two talking about?”

“oh you know, he’s still calling the campus radio station to ask for disney songs” Logan says.

“Wait, Roman is Princey?” Remus asks, he starts laughing

“Yes? You didn’t know?”

Remus cackles “no! oh this is great! My best friend Virgil does the 11 to 1 radio, he’s Emo Nightmare and Roman is his Princey”

“We could set them up, Roam is so lovesick, I swear he’s head over heels for him and he hasn’t even met Virgil” Logan says.

Remus gasps “this is why I love you! Of course we’re going to set them up.”

Logan and Remus came up with a plan, they’d invite Roman and Virgil to a study session and then never showed up, leaving Virgil and Roman to wait.

Virgil puts on his headphones and starts loudly playing panic at the disco and reading over his shitty notes.

Someone taps him on the shoulder “hey can you turn the emo shit down, I’m trying to study and it’s really loud.”

Virgil turns it down a bit “that good?”

he nods “yeah, where you also ghosted for a study session?”

“Yeah I was, my best friend and his nerdy boyfriend where supposed to help me study, they probably forgot all about me.” Virgil says.

“Logan And Remus? Remus is my brother and Logan’s my roommate” Roman says.

“Yeah, well since we’re both here we could study together if you want” please say no please say no.

“Sounds good!” Roman says.

Fuck.

Virgil and Roman studied for awhile and Virgil very slowly started warming up to Roman. “ah shit I have to go, see you round I guess” Virgil says packing up his stuff, he wanted to have some alone time before his shift.

“ok Bye Virgil,” Roman says packing up, he had to go do his own thing, which would probably end up becoming a quick nap before his emo nightmare started his turn being the radio host.

Virgil sat in the chair “what up bitches, so far the goal has 10k, so no disney tonight, or ever because this is on a time crunch and 150k is a fuck ton of money for broke college students. And now onto Fuck you by Lily Allen. Why? Because she’s underrated and because I said so.” Virgil played the song.

Virgil got the call around 12:30 “you’re calling later then usual princey, and no, no disney tonight.”

“Oh I was just about to ask. And also I was asking how to find the gofundme.”

“It’s on the UCLA radio website, can’t miss it. Now let me do my fucking job” Virgil hung up and played MCR as was tradition.

What he didn’t know was Roman recorded the phone call and posted it everywhere he could anonymously and waited.

Virgil checked the go fund me in the morning “it has fifty k already?! What the fuck? Princey what did you do?”

Virgil waited for the nightly call “Hey what the fuck how is the goal at sixty k? How the fuck princey?”

He laughed “I asked the internet for help, I think most of it’s from tiktok, you’re going to have to play disney emo nightmare”

“fuck you princey and your stupid obsession with disney.”

“you have an obsession with my chemical romance and Brendon Urie”

“name three other artists I play on here then bitch.”

“Mother Mother, Lily Allen and as of late Derivakat” Roman says without hesitation.

Virgil was speechless for a second, then hung up. “fucking bitch, you guys know what time it is” he played Teenagers.

A week and a half passed and the funds had slowly been going up, and Virgil and Roman’s calls continued nightly as usual.

Virgil and Roman met up a few times to study for finals, sometimes with Remus and Logan, sometimes without.

the goal just barely missed the end of finals. Virgil smirked “No disney today, or ever because you people missed the goal byyyyy” Virgil checked the go fund me “three thousand dollars. I’d say better luck next time but there won’t be a next time.” he chuckled. The phone rang and Virgil picked up, knowing it was Princey.

“oooh too late princey no disney songs during my shift.”

“you might want to check the gofundme one last time my dear emo nightmare.”

Virgil refreshes the page “first of all, I’m not yours bitch second- what the fuck, how?” the goal had been met.

Roman laughs “play the disney emo. Play. The fucking. Disney.”

Virgil could tell he was gonna gloat so he hung up.

Virgil grumbles and gets the disney queued “ok fine the goal was met, so time for my suffering, I have queued Fixer Upper from Frozen because it’s a shitty song with a shitty message. Make a man out of you because I like Mulan and for everyone’s inconvenience I have How Far I’ll Go so have fun with that stuck in your head.”

Roman was a bit insulted when Emo nightmare hung up on him, so he called him back once the songs had ended “wasn’t so hard was it?”

“for you maybe, it was for me,” Virgil hung up and blocked the number.

Over the Summer both Virgil and Roman found themselves missing their talks. Roman so much so he applied for one of the newly opened spots for the next semester from 2-5 pm.

Virgil drove onto campus at 4, putting on campus radio and was met with disney. the song ended and the new host spoke “and I hope everyone liked that, up now is a short commercial break.”

Virgil nearly swerved off the road and pulled over and called the station.

Roman picked up. “Hey what the actual FUCK?” Virgil says as soon as he does.

Roman laughs “oh how the tables have turned Emo Nightmare”

“I hate you, I fucking hate you what the actual fuck princey”

he laughed more “You yourself said that working here is nice, and there was an opening, so I took it. You should be happy, I mean now I won’t brother you about playing disney.”

Virgil frowned “yeah yeah, whatever princey have fun with that.”

“oh I will emo nightmare, I absolutely will.” Roman hung up feeling happy in a way he hadn’t felt all summer.

Virgil unpacked his stuff in his new dorm, he was a little pissed but also excited. Maybe he and princey would finally meet face to face. Why am I excited about that? I hate him, at the least he annoyed me every day for months, but he did raise a bunch of money. Even if his disney obessed ass is super annoying.

Roman walked in at 6 “hey Virgil, I’m guessing you’re going to be my roommate?”

Virgil looked up from his laptop “I guess, don’t take my monsters from the fridge and we’ll be golden, or blast disney 24/7″

Roman chuckled “what do you have against disney?”

“Micky Mouse killed my parents in front of me after I said that Merida was my favorite princess.” Virgil said dryly.

Roman chuckled “that’s why I dedicated my life to the mouse.”

“That’s why I swore to get my revenge on the mouse.”

“I won’t blast disney 24/7 but you can’t blast your emo music.” Roman says

Virgil snorted “dude I have the worst anxiety I don’t even own a speaker. so you don’t blast your music, I won’t blast mine and we’ll be fine.”

“Deal,”

Roman called that night like always and Virgil was ready “aww Princey, did you miss me that much?”

“not really, but I’m still trying to get you to willingly play a disney song.”

Virgil rolled his eyes “you know what, it’s a new year, time for a new leaf, I’ll humor you princey and play a disney song.”

“wait really?”

Virgil queued up Mad At Disney “no.” he hung up and the song started.

Virgil and Roman went back to their usual routine of lowkey flirting with each other during Virgil’s shift, and sometimes during Roman’s.

They where getting along well as roomates but hadn’t figured out that they where each other’s Princey and emo nightmare.

Somehow he and Princey had gotten into an argument about if Cruella would be a good or bad movie. Roman had hope it would be, Virgil wasn’t so convinced.

“Princey, she is a completely evil character, she can’t be redeemable, she shouldn’t be. She wanted to make puppies into a coat, that’s fucked up. There’s no black and white she’s bad and that’s that.”

“Maybe if you gave the movie a chance!”

“fuck no! did you not hear what I just fucking said?”

“then how about we see it then we can see who’s right?”

“fine, I’m free at three this Satuday.” Virgil said, way too caught up in the moment.

“same, see you then emo nightmare, I’ll be by the doors waiting.”

“fine, but I’m going to be right.”

“then it’s a date!”

“I guess it is!” Virgil hung up.

he didn’t realize he’d said yes to going out on a date with a guy he didn’t even know until the next day.

The whole campus was freaking out about it since the station had blown up quite a bit because of Virgil and Roman’s nightly arguments. 

Roman left early, he’d dressed up a bit, and had a disney shirt with a little crown logo on it, it wasn’t that obvious but he figured it’d be telling enough.

Virgil put on a bit more eyeliner then usual and fishnets under his ripped jeans but that was about it, he chose to be petty and waited until about 3:20 to go to the doors where Roman wait waiting.

Virgil walked passed him at first. Roman saw him “emo nightmare?”

Virgil stopped “are you fucking kidding me?” he got a few glares from parents. “You’re princey? my fucking roommate?”

“I did not plan that, but yeah I am, and you’re my emo nightmare.”

Virgil rolled his eyes “still not yours princey, come on the movies about to start.”

They exited the movie and Virgil grinned “I fucking told you it’d be bad, I told you!”

“yeah yeah, you did it was bad. Want to get some coffee?”

“sure, I’ll pay,” Virgil said casually.

Roman grinned “I’ll win you over one day my emo nightmare.”

“stop begging me to play disney music and maybe you will.”