#things are chaotic at work and I haven’t had time to scroll the tag to see if it’s there

[grimalkinsquill]

I was tagged by @leafweaverryn! Thank you for the tag, bud.

Rules: Pick any 10 of your fics, scroll somewhere to the midpoint, pick a line (or a few), and share it! Then tag people! (If you don't have 10, that's okee! Just post what you can! <3)

of Sages & Warriors, Chapter 1:

In her normal voice, the girl answered, “The cat shrugged modestly.” The girl then adjusted her voice in such a way that Tikki was hit with deep-set nostalgia. “Oh, whatever scraps you have leftover. I don’t mind.”

the heart is hard to translate / it has a language of its own, Chapter 4

Gajeel blinked again. At his confused stare, Makarov continued, “You can argue. You can stand up for yourself against me. You don’t have to fit a mold to receive help. I want you to be the best you that you choose to be. So, if you choose to argue me on that, argue.”

Gajeel tilted his head slowly, slumping in his chair. “I...I don’t know how to. Well...how to without trying to hurt someone.”

Ganzhyllsyn's 4 Steps to a Heist

“How am I not anxious? My secret is that I’m anxious about everything, but...I always remember that you guys are with me. Where people go as one, there is life. And life is beautiful and chaotic, but...in teamwork, of all us working together, there’s hope.”

Not Understanding, But Maybe Recognition

“Druid. What are you doing?”

She looked over her shoulder, then up over her shoulder at the Unseelie King. “Making jam,” she answered simply.

He inhaled slowly, approaching her from the side with smooth, even steps and then leaned against the counter, looking down at her with an eyebrow raised. “Why are you making something you cannot eat?”

“Because this is a larger story than me,” she paraphrased him neatly as if she had kept his words to her side like a scarf rather than a ghost.

Day 18: Panglossian

Minifillia smiled softly as if realizing the punchline to a joke Fana had just told. “That and you care, right?”

Fana laid back on her bedroll. “I care way too much, kid.”

Do Something Crazy, Chapter 2

She exited the tall grass and Kukui walked up to her, whispering, “What-” Jolene held up three fingers and silently counted down with them. Then there was a quiet, rhythmic stridulation from behind Jolene. She turned, smirking at the little Grubbin out of its hole.

“Hey, itty bitty, what’re you doing so far out of your hidey-hole?” she asked as it scrambled over to her. It climbed up her pant leg, settling itself in an empty large pocket. “You wanna hitch a ride?” It stridulated again, poking its head out of the pocket. “You wanna make it official?” she asked, taking out a Pokéball. She lowered the ball down to it and it poked it with its mandible. The ball opened and in the Grubbin went. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tock.

Jolene smirked at Kukui. “See?”

He blinked at her, looking a thousand miles away. She frowned and snapped her fingers, making him jump. “Sorry, I was just...lost in thought. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone handle a bug type that well.”

“Bad thoughts or good ones?” she asked, letting the Grubbin back out and letting it nestle in its chosen pocket.

“Nostalgic ones,” Kukui answered. “When I was a boy, I went on the island challenge with a friend who favored bug types himself. You remind me of him a lot.”

Rooftop Romance, Chapter 1

You give a small shrug. “Don’t like that sort of thing in my city.”

“Sure, but you didn’t have to walk her all the way home,” he replies. “Could’ve just beat the guy up and then left her there.” He lands, eying you thoughtfully. “You didn’t have to make her feel safe.”

Stretching with a mock laziness, you shrug. “I’ve been her.” Perfect answer: suitably cryptic enough to be true and not give him much to work with. You roll your shoulders back, tilting your head. “I’m surprised.”

“About what?”

“That you haven’t tried to arrest me yet.”

He blinks, remembering who you are and who he is.

Guardian, Chapter 2

“Did you really try to Black Knight your way out of being injured?”

Teth-Adam tilted his head, momentarily confused. The woman from the office dramatically recited, “‘Tis but a scratch!”

“Ah, Monty Python,” Teth-Adam replied. “I suppose I did attempt to explain away my injuries by saying they were not as bad as they appeared, but Aryeh was as stubborn as I was. A familial trait.” He tilted his head to the left and caught another pen.

Fall in Line

She drags you along a line. “You weren’t made to fall in line?” She pulls your leash and you cry out as the metal in your collar digs into your neck. “Look at how wrong you were, puppy. Walking down a line like a good show dog.”

You walk down the painted line, following her and holding back tears, but only barely. Your neck stung. But you kept your hands at your side and you followed.

“Say it for me,” she stopped, the pressure on your neck alleviating. She looked at you with a pretty smile. “Say what you are.”

“I’m...I’m a good dog.” You feel nauseous from her satisfaction. “I follow orders. I was made to fall in line.”

Cold Front, Chapter 8

Theo’s eyes widened. “But-”

“Yeah,” Leonard replied, putting his hand down. “Some days, like today, I can agree with you. He was wrong, just like your bitch of a step-mom was wrong, and just like that toady old geezer was wrong.” He stood up. “You and me, we’re people that everyone always underestimated, tossed aside, and tried to control. That’s why we get along with the rest of the Rogues—we’re all the same way. Day by day, we’re gonna keep proving ‘em all wrong. We’ll start today by heating up that cold as fuck macaroni and cheese, having ourselves a nice lunch, and then icing your right shoulder since you dislocated that sucker.”

“Shit, really?” Theo asked, looking at her shoulder. “I could barely tell.”

“Yeah, you slept through me and Sam putting it back in. That was the second clue that you were fuckin’ exhausted.” Leonard stepped past her on the couch. He paused for a second, taking a step back to ruffle her hair. “What d’ya say, Theo? You ready to spite everyone who said you weren’t gonna be anything?”

She looked up at him, slowly grinning. “Fuck yeah.”

Leonard snorted, smirking. “That’s what I like to hear, kid.”

[whatbusiness]

“She laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and gotten drunk on it every night, he would have.”

[sibsteria]

Two Brunettes and A Boyle [pt4]

[Jake Peralta/fem!Reader/Jonah Simms mini series]

Things you need to know:

I have kept Amy and Adam together, for story purposes.

We get a little into Y/n’s backstory in this one. It’s also kind of short, I apologise.

Masterlist

4/?

I couldn’t help but avert my gaze to the charismatic clod seated by my side, over the next few hours my tentative touches left me overwhelmed. My cheeks flashed from red to dull as his words found a way to make me blush.

I haven’t felt this way since-

Since, Jonah.

But I couldn’t hold onto him any longer, I’d spent too long trying to wrangle him in, even Garrett could see how monumental my hints were to him. Since Kelly, I had realised I wouldn't be his type of girl, not bottle blonde or tiny, not a pageant princess. Tough luck but I’m solid as a rock, you can’t let things get you down, you can’t cry over boys you don’t even have.

But with Jake- I had a chance. A fresh start, a me that actually cares about herself. Not some chaotic party girl that used uppers as a coping mechanism. I’m not totally sober, I still drink, but on nights out that’s kind of complimentary.

I just got sick of being sick. Condo parties with a crowd of people I didn’t even recognise, tagging along with my ragtag group of walking injuries. I still care for those friends but I needed to take some time off.

I’m not sure how Jake would react if he knew. I don't know him that well, which is why this is good for me.

I’m so tired I don’t even bother changing out of my pyjama pants, old habits don’t die too hard, I guess. 

Jake holds out a brown bag, encasing a sandwich, probably the only meal he can make. This marks the first item of food I will have ever taken to work with me, he’s too sweet. Throwing on a bra and random graphic tee I’d swiped from a friend, I hail a goodbye to Jake and rev up my car- here’s to my return to my favourite superstore.

Seeing that bright blue sign makes me smile, there-in lies some of the nicest people on this earth. 

I don’t choose to use the staff entrance, gliding through the self-opening doors, Ken gives me a happy fist bump as I stroll past his uniformed self.

The next I see, is Garrett-

‘‘Hey, doll! Good to see you. Come see me and I’ll share my donuts.’‘ He gives me a friendly wink, I brush his shoulder as I walk by him, beelining for my girl.

She stands there, hunched over her counter, scrolling through her phone.

‘‘Damn, this place doesn’t smell so bad today.’‘ I shrug nonchalantly, her head snaps up at me.

‘‘Y/n!’‘ She screams, piercing my ears.

She jogs over to me, abandoning her perch.

A tight hug later, I’m wincing at my side.

‘‘Careful, Chey.’‘ Amy’s warning tone sounds from behind me.

‘‘She looks hot for someone who nearly died.’‘ She matter-of-factly states, motioning me to Amy.

‘‘You can’t say that!’‘ Amy whisper shouts, scared of offending me, I sure do hope she won’t treat me like glass.

‘‘What? She’s got that grungy-just-rolled-out-of-bed look.’‘

‘‘Nah, I’m chill, Ames, I’m not gonna shatter any time soon.’‘ I smile at her, she reciprocates.

‘‘Welcome back.’‘ She nods at me.

‘‘I’m gonna go clock in, need that money.’‘ I huff, traipsing towards the machine, good thing we’re getting an app for it next week.

I actively avoid Dina as I make my way to my locker, which is above Garrett’s.

‘‘Hey, you finally realised you need to eat during the day.’‘ Jonah’s sarcastic lull pulses around the room. A subconscious grin paints my lips.

‘‘Yes, J. I realise now that food is a necessity.’‘ I turn rolling my eyes at him, jokingly. ‘’Jake made it for me, my little helper.’’ I stuff my things into my locker, noticing the empty water bottles I had left a while back.

‘‘Yeah.’‘ He’s quiet, for once, maybe he’s ill.

‘‘Hey, any idea if Marcus is on shift?’‘ I move to take a seat with Jonah. Putting off work is my favourite pastime. 

‘‘Yeah, I think I saw him before, you know where to look.’‘ He looks tired, just about ready to clock out.

‘‘Thanks, dude, I’ll talk to you later.’‘ I ruffle his hair before going off to find my soul sister.

‘‘You got it, babe.’‘ He freezes.

I choke on air, speeding out of the room. What the hell was that?

I’d expect it from Garrett, but-but not Jonah.

Dude.

This does not help.

NEWS ABOUT THIS FIC

[alirhi]

Loki ranting

Okay. I had this thought in my head of like just compiling links of all the Loki shit I've posted/reblogged so far so that when I get into a conversation about the show and how it fucking disgusted me, I can just be like "here. here's this masterlist post, go read all this shit. This is my entire argument, and not only mine, but a lot of stuff posted by people far more intelligent and level-headed and eloquent than I am, whom I happen to agree with." Because the alternative is constantly getting fired up all over again, and that is exhausting.

BUT! I'm stupid and don't know how tumblr works. Apparently I can't just be like "give me all the Loki-tagged shit I've got" I can only search all the Loki-tagged shit on all of tumblr. And I'm not scrolling back through all of my posts. I talk too fucking much for that shit 😂

So, I'll try to remember all of my grievances with how the MCU has treated Loki, and all of the excellent posts made by other, equally upset fans, and put it all together here under this nice, neat little cut for everyone else's sanity and scrolling convenience...

For people who actually read my shit fairly regularly - bless you, you crazy, patient people. I love you! - this is going to be a lot of repetition of shit you've already read. Probably at least twice. I'm passionate and I have a terrible memory lol. Sorry.

Anyway, first, for those who don't know me and haven't been following my explosions of rage for the past couple of months, some quick background: I do not read comic books, so Loki's Marvel comic canon means nothing to me. I know almost nothing about it. The reason I'm so in love with the character in the MCU is because I am an eclectic witch and the deity I've actively loved and worshiped the longest in my life (literally for as long as I can remember) is Loki. So when he was mentioned in The Mask, I squeed. When they named Matt Damon's character after him in Dogma, I cheered.

When Thor came out in 2011, I just about died from happiness. I was hungry for any representation of this underappreciated god, no matter what it was. I didn't even bitch about how underpowered he was, because at least he was there. But I'm getting slightly ahead of myself.

I can hear anyone reading this going "Why Loki? Isn't he, like, evil? Like basically the Norse version of The Devil?" Because I heard all this shit irl all the fucking time. And no. So let me give you a quick rundown of who Loki actually is.

Loki is a Trickster God. He's often referred to as the God of Mischief. He is not and never was evil, simply chaotic and hedonistic. Loki Laufeyjarson was the son of Laufey (that's mama; they changed her to a man for some reason in the movie) and Fárbauti. Right from the start, from his name, we get a sign of how Loki goes against traditional norms of the time, because in Norse culture, families were patrilineal, and surnames were "son/daughter of father" (which would have made him Loki Fárbautitason), not the mother. But Loki's surname is matrilineal. Feminist icon woo! lol

Though he's a Jotunn, Loki is counted among the Gods (Aesir) in Norse tradition. Depending on his mood, he is alternately helpful or disruptive to the other Gods. I'm not gonna sit and teach a whole text class on him lol but I'll use my favorite example of Misunderstood Loki - the conception of Sleipnir!

So, get this shit. This is also part of why I DO NOT follow Odin and never fucking will (a very small part, but still part of the reason). So, the other Norse Gods are petty motherfuckers, and they wanted some shit built but didn't want to pay the dude doing the building. So they were like "okay, if you can get it done in X amount of time, we'll pay you, but if you can't manage it NO MATTER WHAT, this whole thing is free." And they made sure he had NO help, nothing but him, his materials, and his Very Good Horsey. And this guy and his horse were fucking BAMFs. So it was looking like he was definitely gonna get it done in time, and Odin was like "nah, fuck that shit. I'm cheap." and so he sent Loki to distract the work horse. Loki transformed into a mare and lured the horse away, got fucked, got pregnant, gave birth to the 8-legged (for some reason) horse Sleipnir. Odin rides Loki's son into battle. Um. Kay.

So Loki helped Odin be a petty mf, and Odin got himself a new pet out of the deal.

Oh, also, because he's smart af and a shapeshifter and a master magician and genderfluid, Loki "fails" to fit the super fucking toxic and narrow Norse/Aesir view of "a real man". He prefers intelligence and manipulation to solve problems rather than violence, he's not afraid to behave like a clown if it gets shit done, and that grosses the Aesir out, so they constantly ridicule him for being "less than a man".

Loki is the God of the outcast and the misunderstood. The marginalized people from all walks of life. He is the God of the LGBT community. In modern terms, he's pansexual, polyamorous (married to Sigyn and they are deeply in love, but boy gets around and I've never seen any indication that Sigyn gives a shit) and genderfluid.

Okay. Focus, Ali. This is part of why I usually post multiple rants instead of one big long one XD The longer I ramble, the more I get sidetracked and forget the original point.

So. Loki's awesome, and being a Trickster, is powerful as all fucking hell. There's not much he can't do.

And now we come to Thor (the movie, not the deity). Loki's there! 24-year-old Ali is spazzing! All is right with the world!

Oh lord, they've actually done him justice?! Amazing! He's complex and nuanced and emotional, just like the real Loki! I loved this movie. Loved. It. The climactic thing with trying to blow up Jotunheim never really made much sense to me until someone made an excellent point the other day about Loki being raised in a racist society that was racist against his own race, he just didn't know it yet, poor child. Baby Thor was never corrected when he pledged to commit mass genocide, so Baby Loki probably absorbed the lesson then that Jotunns=evil and killing them all will win his father's love. Anyway, 2011 Loki was a beautiful, heartbreaking portrayal of the God I've loved all my life and spent 24 years longing to see depicted on the big screen.

Then The Avengers happened. And I saw another Loki very close to Norse mythology - mainly, how he's treated. In the beginning of the movie, he's sick, exhausted, and in pain. He can hardly stand, he stumbles and needs help when he walks. He was very obviously tortured, and the sickly blue light of the scepter's control is in his eyes. That gets less and less pronounced as the movie goes on, showing Loki working his way free of it, but in the beginning, he's a mess. Because he was tortured and used by Thanos. Marvel directly confirmed this, and that he was under the scepter's/Mind Stone's control. Loki's actions are not his own in The Avengers. He's under both threat and Thanos' direct control. The movie actually shows The Other directly threatening him to keep him on task, because this is not Loki's plan. It is not what he wants. He's being used and villainized... Just like in real life. It hurt to see this done to him, but the accuracy was too beautiful to ignore.

Thor: The Dark World comes out. I've heard people complain that this movie is the weak link in the Thor trilogy. I disagree. I think that's Ragnarok, for a bunch of reasons, but we'll get there. (And for the record, I loved Ragnarok, too. It was a funny movie. Infinity War and the Disney+ series are the only portrayals of Loki in the MCU that I truly fucking hated.) Anyway, good, fun movie. Had its faults, as all movies do, but it still followed Loki's real-life arc in a way. How? By having Loki dragged back to Asgard in chains and imprisoned underground. Again, not super happy that this happened to my love, and having to see it on screen was painful, but at least in the MCU he's not chained to a rock with venom dripping on his face for eternity, so there's that. (poor Sigyn. how tired do her arms get, holding up that bowl? best wife ever, amirite?)

In TDW, we're shown Loki's love for Frigga, who favored him and taught him magic as a child. We see his bravado; his attempts to mask his true feelings, especially grief. We see him slowly coming back to himself after the events of The Avengers, and slowly mending his relationship with his brother. He accepts that Odin will likely never love him, but Thor just might, because they were close when they were young. "I didn't do it for him." No, no my sweet, you did it for your brother, and a little out of guilt for what happened to your mother.

At the end, Loki fakes his death and escapes, taking the throne, and I have mixed feelings about this. Not the writer's choices here; I love that completely! A natural progression in Loki's story. But my joy is tainted by how closely they're following the Eddas now. Because Loki's escape from his prison heralds the beginning of Ragnarok. And Loki will die in Ragnarok. I don't want to see that play out in front of my face. I won't be able to handle the grief (spoiler alert! IW broke me. I almost walked out of the theater. Loki's death was legitimately fucking traumatic for me. I don't even care how pathetic that is. That grief was real, it was intense, and I still shake and cry when I think about it.)

Marvel announces that Thor 3 will be called Ragnarok. The internet treats this as a shocking revelation. I roll my eyes and mumble "duh" to myself and move on XD

Then they say Ragnarok will be a buddy comedy. I throw up a little in my mouth and no longer want to live on this planet. If they're going to make something called Ragnarok, could they at least treat it with even a fraction of the respect they've shown these characters thusfar? Jfc. I mean, I'll see it anyway, because I'm a whore for Tom Hiddleston lol. But come on, people!

I hated that they made Hel the long-lost older sister and Fenrir her fucking pet/attack dog. Those are my favorites of Loki's children! Hel is such an incredible badass that the early Christians named their dimension of eternal torture after her! They were terrified of her, to the point of naming the place that terrified them most after her. That's awesome! And Fenrir's just the best. I love wolves. Those two details, and Odin's retcon of "we're not Gods! ...lol, except your sister. she's totally a Goddess. and def gonna kill literally everything, so... good luck! byyyeeeee" pissed me off royally.

The rest was great. I genuinely liked this movie. Still do. And they finally used The Immigrant Song! That was pretty cool. If they'd thrown in Bring the Hammer Down and Thunderstruck, I might've called this movie perfect. XD

I wasn't totally in love with their portrayal of Loki in Ragnarok. Yes, the falling for 30 minutes line was funny, as was "I have to get off this planet" and "YES! That's how it feels!" And "Get Help" was funny as hell. But also, like... There is no way Loki would have been the dumb one in that first encounter with Hela. Also, he can teleport and project copies of himself and shit, so... He would not have been that desperate to go straight back to Asgard and bring her right along with them. Loki's not stupid. But whatever. Movie's gotta movie.

What I did love was seeing the slow mending of his relationship with Thor continuing, and the badass fighting on the bridge. I also loved that, like Real Loki, Movie Loki helped when help was needed, was quick and clever, and while he was carrying out the main plan, he was also planning ahead and grabbing the Tesseract. Yes, that drew Thanos right to them, but that's a whole other thing. Loki never would have left that thing on Asgard to be destroyed or lost.

And now Infinity War. Hooooly fucking shit. You know what? No. I'm not going into this. He was killed, years of character growth were erased forever, my heart fucking shattered. The end.

Endgame. IW hurt me so bad I didn't see Endgame until this year. I actually watched Civil War first (for context: I had actively avoided all Cap movies until this year because I fucking hate Steve Rogers. I find him insufferable. Did not realize what I was denying myself until I watched CW and finally saw the charms of Bucky. When he appeared in IW, I was so lost. XD I was like "...who dis? Murder Jesus?" also I just... didn't care. I was numb by then from crying through most of the movie over Loki)

So, anyway. Endgame. Loki picks up the Tesseract in alternate 2012, escapes, fans go "yay! he didn't actually die!" I go "yes he fucking did. Five years of his life, gone. Five years of growth and change, erased. Loki is dead. This will not be the same."

I was more right than I could have predicted. Now we come to the point of this rant. Sorry it took so long, but you were warned lol.

The Loki series makes me so angry I actually get sick to my stomach. It was fucking TRASH. When I praised Marvel for following Norse mythology so faithfully earlier? Yeah. I DID NOT MEAN TREAT HIM THE WAY THE OTHER GODS DID. I did not mean paint him as a pitiful clown, a joke, a caricature of who he truly was, with his pain and suffering played for LAUGHS.

This is supposed to be 2012 Loki, newly freed from Thanos' control. The Loki we saw in the beginning of TDW - snarky, exhausted, nihilistic. The Loki who rolled his eyes and said "get on with it" expecting to be killed.

The bumbling clown flipping on a dime from posturing to calling himself weak is not 2012 Loki. That is not ANY Loki. That is Tom Hiddleston in a black wig doing what he's told by a shitty writer who had no fucking idea what he was doing and was salty about his (bad) original script (for something totally fucking unrelated) getting killed.

In Episode 1, Loki is mocked, imprisoned, stripped against his will, tormented, belittled, and given a flippant summary of all the trauma Actual MCU Loki suffered that this one skipped out on, with no context, no acknowledgement of the trauma he's already lived quite fucking recently, and with the narrative twisted to not only erase all the abuse he's suffered, but to make it all his fault. And this is supposed to make him want to help these people?

And worse, IT FUCKING WORKS. WHAT?! I CAN'T- FUCKING WHAT?! Remember when I said LOKI IS NOT FUCKING STUPID?! So why is he STUPID?

Episode 2, he's a child. Mentally, this Loki is a fucking child. Now we've erased all the growth and development of his entire adult life. He's dopey, impatient, impulsive, desperate for a pat on the back and actually shows it. Yes, abused and neglected children crave the positive attention we never received, and we often grow up to be a bit emotionally stunted. But not all of us, and not Loki. Not as we've seen him EVER in the rest of the MCU. Playful and a bit callous at times? Absolutely! But not a big dumb fucking puppy.

Episode 3, a ray of hope, despite Sylvie! (I hate Sylvie) Loki casually admits he's pan/bi; labels never come up, but he admits to being with both men and women! He sings! Not really relevant to whether I approve of his portrayal or not lol but Tom has a beautiful voice, Norwegian ("Asgardian" lol) is a gorgeous, entrancing language, and I could watch that one bit on loop for eternity and never get bored. And then, finally, we see a glimpse - a glimpse - of Loki's power! He stops a falling building and pushes it right back up! Are we finally getting to see what he can really do? Will the next episode bring us Loki in all his glory?

Nope. 4 and 5 we see him mocked and pushed around and utterly irrelevant. Again. We see tiny reflections of what he could maybe theoretically do in other random Loki variants, but the "main" (lawl. main. it was the Sylvie and Mobius show. Loki was never the main anything.) Loki? Nothing. He wears his heart on his sleeve for no reason, bonds with the man who imprisoned, taunted, and gaslit him, is killed, and continues to be a moron and a joke. Always the clown. Always the dumb one. The one with the bad ideas. The inferior Loki.

Don't even get me started on that finale. I can't. This already took so much out of me. Fuck Marvel. Fuck this fucking show. I just... I'm done.

[elliewritessometimes]

hello! me n @mattieswheelers wrote another fic!! tiff is the most incredible writing partner and i- i just love them???? thanky so much for writing with me you are a stunning writer aaaa (y'all there will be a second chapter stay tuned fdhhddh aLSO we are posting this on ao3 it will be there at some point)

in other news: this was originally a request!! @notsomightymightytiger it may have taken me uh- a good couple of months but here is your fic!!!

for reference, these numbers apply to these tropes: first kiss/flowers of romance/blind date

LOVE YOU KIERA AND TIFF AAAAA HOPE YOU LIKE

tw: swearing, alcohol and drunkenness but not in an angsty farrah way just in a silly oops first date way, as per usual if there's anything at all you want me to tag let me know :D

---

Eva thought she was doing perfectly fine without a romantic partner. Her life was normal, one filled with work and friends and scrolling through Pinterest.

Apparently, in the eyes of her best friend, this was not a normal life. Farrah had always been a bit extra, that one kid in highschool who always seemed to know where the best parties were, or who was known by name to the baristas at the local Starbucks, and by the ripe old age of 22, she believed that a romantic partner was crucial to living a fulfilling life.

Or, at least, that you should at least try romance once before becoming a hermit in the woods, especially if your name was Eva Sanchez.

(“Look, normally I wouldn’t be like this,” Farrah drawled, leaning against a counter, “But deep inside  you are nothing but a useless gay at heart-”

Her phone buzzed.

“-and you haven’t dated anyone, like, ever, and if I have to be the only one constantly dragging you out to social gatherings, I’m going to die early. So do me a solid, will you?”

“Hey-!”)

Eva did not agree.

But, she was a loyal friend, and that was how she found herself sitting in an overly posh restaurant on some random blind date with some random person that she’d never even seen before. It would be an understatement to say she was a little bit nervous, but then again, whenever Farrah was involved, that was normal.

***********: hi sorry i got your number from the blind date place thing but uh are you the person at the table in the corner

***********: ???denim jacket ?? pride pin??

Eva smiled, glancing up at the door. There was another person looking a little lost in the entrance, very obviously trying not to draw attention to themselves, their phone held close to their face as they squinted around at the restaurant. They were pretty, dark hair pulled up into a loose ponytail, obviously not dressed for a restaurant as upper class as this one. Eva liked them immediately. Raising a hand, she waved in their direction, laughing as her date gasped dramatically, hurrying over and nearly overturning a tray of drinks on their way.

“Hello.”

“Look-” Eva’s date slumped in the seat opposite, one hand awkwardly held behind their back. “I dunno about you, but I certainly did not willingly sign up for this. You see, my friend wanted me to apparently live a more interesting life and stop relying on Tumblr as my only source of interaction with anyone, and my friend is very persuasive, so here I am.”

Eva raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, so I wanted to get that out of the way before we even introduce ourselves. I am here out of spite only, so, uh, I hope you’re not too desperate.” They paused, finally taking a breath. “Right. The more I think about this, the more embarrassed I get.”

“It’s okay.” Eva gave a noise which sounded suspiciously like a snort. “Let’s not think about it then. I’m Eva. She/her. It’s nice to meet you, unwilling datemate.”

They grinned. “Kate. She/they.” She gasped a little like she’d forgotten something. “Oh! I brought flowers. Chess said it would be romantic.”

Eva accepted the offered flowers with a blush. This date was going better than expected. Farrah was going to lose her shit when she heard about it. “Wait- You have a friend called Chess?? Like, the game???”

Kate rolled their eyes, casually snatching a bright pink cocktail off a passing waiter’s tray. “Duh. You didn’t really see me walk in this fucking posh ass restaurant in my flannel and converse and think I’d be normal, right?”

Eva laughed then, properly. It had only been a few short, chaotic minutes, but she was already warming to this mystery person and, God, they had good taste in flowers. Even if Eva’s nerd hermit brain did helpfully choose that moment to remind her that this particular bunch of flowers presented a meaning that translated almost exactly to ‘fuck you’. She wondered if Kate was aware of that. However, perhaps that was a fun fact for the second date.

-

“Hey, Eva?” Kate was slightly tipsy. Only a little bit! Really not that bad. Not at all. Definitely not too drunk for a first date. Shut up. “Hey! You’re- so cool.”

Eva giggled - she was equally as drunk, but not quite so intoxicated as to stop wondering why the restaurant hadn’t thrown them out yet. “Noooooo. ‘m a nerd.”

“Yeah, but a cool nerd.” Kate twirled the decorative candle between her fingers, drawing stares from disapproving patrons. The flame reflected in Eva’s glasses, making her just a little bit more smitten by the second. They enclosed their hand around the candle holder as best they could, standing up just a little shakily. “Eva-” It was like they got a rush from just saying her name. Eva thought it was endearing. “Hey- we- we should go…”

“Why?” She narrowed her eyes, also standing up, her long-discarded denim jacket slung over one arm, the other naturally slipping to link arms with Kate.

“....Arson.” Kate sounded entirely serious, still twizzling the candle in one hand. Eva blinked dumbly at her, mouth slightly open. They pressed a gentle kiss to the side of Eva’s mouth, giggling uncharacteristically at the motion. “I’m jokingggg! Don’t look so shook, my dude.”

Eva stuttered a little, letting Kate pull her finally out of the restaurant, marvelling at the fact she’d only known this incredible, crazy person for a matter of hours. Who knew where tonight would take them?

-

They found themselves in a park, gazing up at the stars, now dim in the reflections of the city lights. Kate’s phone flashed 11:46 in the dark, the lock screen filled with notifications from a contact who’s name consisted only of a chess piece.

Eva lay down on the grass, spreading her arms out towards the stars. “Do you ever think about life?”

“Sure. All the time. I’m alive, and so are you, and I think you’re really pretty. Does that count?” Kate flopped down beside her.

“I- I mean, yeah- um,” Eva tried not to sound flustered, thankful for the darkness that hid the color rising in her cheeks. “But like, life. Scientifically. Relatively.”

“Uh-huh. Yeah, I totally do. Um. Do I?”

Eva laughed, turning her head slightly to gaze at Kate. Under the light of the stars, they looked… ethereal. And really, really, really beautiful. And-

Eva coughed slightly, turning back towards the night sky. “Just… think about it. I’m lying here beside you, on a giant marble that hurtles through space. Relatively speaking, our orbit and path are unique, and all around us, the other planets are… swirling in harmony, and we’re just. We’re just here to see it.”

Kate hummed. “You sound like those philosophical people, all ‘if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, did it really fall?’ and ‘relatively speaking I am relatively here, and I’m relatively certain… blah blah blah.’”

“Huh. Do I?” Eva shrugged, putting her hands behind her head. “I dunno. I’m drunk. I think. Oh, no, I’m relatively drunk, ha ha- okay no, I’m just drunk.”

“You are,” Kate nodded wisely. “We both are.”

“Do you know what Albert Einstein said once?” Eva asked abruptly, closing her eyes. “He said, ‘When you’re courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder, a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.’ And if that isn’t the most relatable thing he’s ever said, then, well- okay yeah I’ve lost my train of thought.”

“Wow,” said Kate. “Did Albert Einstein court lots of nice girls?”

“Pfft.” Eva rolled onto her side, laughing openly in Kate’s face. “Sure. Why not.”

They rolled to face Eva, curling up into a ball, softer than the 22-year-old had seen her all evening. “Not as nice as the one I’m courting right now.”

“Even though neither of us really wanted to be here earlier?”

“Yeah. Y’know, I’m fucking glad our best friends basically set us up. It’s very pog of them.”

“You did not just say ‘pog’. You did not.” Eva groaned into the slightly damp, slightly disgusting grass, listening to Kate cackle next to her.

“Shit, dude, my secret’s out. I’m just as much of a nerd as you.” She leant their head on Eva’s outstretched arm, burrowing into her side.

Eva paused then, draping her other arm around Kate, thinking quietly. It was stupid, really, that they were cuddling in the openness of a park at almost midnight. Dangerous, definitely, especially when you took in the candle still flickering far too close to Kate’s now loose hair. Some more sensible people, maybe Farrah’s sister, would say that it was stupid how close they’d grown in so few hours. But Kate and Eva weren’t sensible people, not really, and maybe this was completely normal for them. Nerds lived life differently. “We’re not like other girls… we’re nerds.”

Kate barked out a laugh again, pressing yet another small kiss to the top of Eva’s head.

Eva thought she might melt into a puddle right then and there.

God, she was so in love.

Kate looked up at the sky. “Y’know, for all your philosophical talk, you should be an inspirational speaker. Be on goddamn TedTalks or something, blow the crowd away with all that ‘the future’s in the palm of my hand!!’ bullshit.”

“Well,” Eva said, trying to sound completely sober (and failing), “I think all I could ever want is in the palm of my hand, right now.”

Kate paused for a moment, registering the fact that Eva had just cupped her hands around their face. “Wow. That was smooth.”

“Right?? I’m honestly impressed and I was the one who said it. Wait, is that hubris? Oh shoot, am I developing an ego? Or maybe I’m just drunk?” Eva’s head was seriously starting to hurt.

“You deserve an ego,” Kate nodded sagely. “You are so amazing. Seriously. You should have an ego. Dab on the haters and all that jazz, right? Right.”

Eva giggled, unable to take her eyes away from Kate’s. “What the shit?”

“Dude! Dab on the haters. ‘m fuckin’ right, and you know I am.”

“Mkay.”

“Lit.” Kate dragged her gaze from Eva’s, instead staring up at the stars. “If we weren’t drunk right now, I’d be kissing the hell out of you.”

Eva pouted. Apparently Drunk-Eva was limited to the facial expressions of a twelve year old. “Who’s to say you can’t kiss me now.”

“We’re drunk, Eva.” They waved their hands, casually flipping off the moon. “Consent.”

“If you think about drunk...ness. Drunkenness? Drunkness. Whatever.” She coughed. “If you think about it like maths, then because we’re both drunk, it cancels out, right? Like, drunk you minus drunk me equals zero drunks overall, yeah?” Pausing, she ran a hand over her face, watching Kate smirk and wriggle closer out of the corner of her eye. “What I’m saying is, yes, I give you permission to kiss me-” Kate leaned closer and Eva laid a gentle finger on their lips. “But only if I get to kiss you back.”

The two met in the middle, naturally coming together. Some might describe them as magnets, two poles attracted, unable to stay away from each other. Others might say soulmates, meant to find each other from birth. Or, just maybe, stars, gravitationally pulled together, ready to explode into another plane of existence, one so different from our reality that we can’t even begin to imagine the wonders that they’ll find.

However, this is reality, and somehow Kate and Eva are still grounded on our Earth, stars maybe, but ones made of ancient stardust no longer free to travel the universe. They found themselves pulling apart after two worlds collided, an unknown period of time passing as it happened. Eva’s fingers didn’t untangle themselves from their comfortable seat amongst Kate’s hair, the closeness making their noses brush, spouting giggles from both young adults.

“Well, that was fun.” Kate brushed hair out of Eva’s face, one arm still wrapped tight around her waist, pulling her closer as she shivered in the night air.

“Yeah?” Eva pressed her forehead to theirs. “Why don’t we try it again, huh?”

---

“I told you so,” Farrah smirked, picking at a freshly baked blueberry muffin. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Eva huffed, failing to come up with an argument.

Over by the kitchen counter, Mattie snorted. “I find it kinda funny that the single girl insists that love is the answer to anything.”

“Well- it’s not like I’ve never dated!”

“Suuuuure,” Mattie rolled her eyes, hopping off the counter and snatching a muffin. “Anyways, at least Eva has a significant other now. That’s the biggest victory, right? Other than the celebratory muffins, of course.”

Eva sighed. “Is it really that big of a deal that Farrah’s plan worked?”

“Yep!” Farrah grinned, taking a bite of muffin.

“Technically, my plan, but okay,” Mattie shrugged.

Eva almost dropped her muffin. “What.”

Mattie grinned, a devilish glint appearing in her eye. “Believe it or not, I am also friends with none other than the amazing Chess, and since her friend Kate- who is also my friend, by the way- was being a mopey mess around the same time as you, I just had to take it upon myself to play matchmaker! So I’d like at least 50% of the credit and reward, please and thank you.”

“I- what-” Eva sputtered, trying to come to terms with the new information. “Mattie- you- oh my God.”

“Oh my God indeed,” Mattie bit into her muffin and swallowed. “So anyways, you’re welcome for getting you a girlfriend.”

Eva stared at the younger girl, mouth slightly open and muffin hanging loosely in her hand. Farrah clapped a hand over her mouth as she wheezed through a mess of sugar and blueberries, earning herself a death stare from Eva. Phone in one hand, Mattie continued eating her muffin as though nothing had happened, the teasing look on her face only exaggerating as her phone pinged with a message. “Oh! Speaking of, Chess is outside-”

She was cut off as the door burst open, the handle crashing into Eva’s bookcase, knocking her alarm clock to the ground and presenting two dishevelled figures in the doorway. One of them, a tall student probably in their last year of uni, puffed out a breath, a hand tightly clinging to a much shorter student squirming angrily. “Before you say anything, I tried to prevent any of this happening. Wheeler, I’m blaming you entirely for this.”

Mattie only laughed, offering Chess a muffin with her free hand, “Dude, it was totally your idea.”

Eva tried very hard not to stare as Kate finally freed herself from Chess’ grasp with an indignant yelp. “Fuck off! Eva, babe, sweetheart, love of my life, tell me you didn’t fucking know about this beforehand or I will break up with you.”

“No! God, no! You know I didn’t want to be there just as much as you did.” She rested her head gently on top of Kate’s, arms draped over their shoulders. “Believe you me, I’ve also been sorely betrayed today.”

Farrah gagged across the kitchen. “Ew. We should never have set you two up.”

“Bitch.” Eva grinned affectionately at her best friend, batting Kate’s hand down as they sent a middle finger in Farrah’s direction. Conversations carried on for a while, Chess finally being introduced to Farrah, with a muffin being forcefully placed into her hand. Kate whispered to Eva for a second before going out to take a call. Eva smiled knowingly, leaning on the counter to address Mattie, “So…”

Mattie made a face as Eva raised an eyebrow in her direction. “What are you thinking, Sanchez, I don’t like that face.”

“I don’t know…” She feigned thinking, sticking her tongue out as Kate re-entered the room. “Maybe, a little thank-you gift?? Y’know, me and Kate were thinking just now… Seeing as you set us up so nicely, how about you try a blind date yourself?”

Chess and Farrah stifled a laugh in unison, choking a little on their muffins as Mattie’s eyes got wider in horror. “You didn’t.”

Kate smiled sweetly. “Yup! Tonight, seven thirty. It’s payback time, kid.”

“I hate you.”

[pedroalonso]

it’s so funny to me how the fandom is so divided about palermo’s development there is no middle ground in any of the arguments i’ve seen so far

Martín has always been a divisive character from the start and I honestly love that for him. lmao. But yeah, In truth, I can’t scroll through the LCDP tag without seeing someone ranting about Palermo, either negatively or positively regarding his arc this season.

And after thinking about it for a while, I realize that a large chunk of people’s arguments (my own included) are deeply rooted in personal interpretation and biases. We all have our own takes on a character. We project either our likes or dislikes on them, depending on our own life experiences and beliefs. It’s not wrong to do so, it’s literally a normal thing humans do. To personalize a story in a way that resonates with them.

But at the end of the day, characters are not sentient beings. They are narrative tools to tell a story and move the plot forward. While we can get a gauge of the “basics” of a character from the stuff we are presented with in canon, we can never really be certain about “who they are” because they aren’t real. Their development is dependent on what kind of story is being told, and writers will always adjust their characters to fit the current narrative.

In terms of Volume 1, the writers have always hinted that they wanted to make the final season “an explosive one”, meaning they wanted to make it more action heavy. And looking back on it now, they succeeded in doing what they set out to do. The new season was like an action movie. Lots of gunfire. Explosions. It’s easy to brush it off as LCDP mimicking another Hollywood blockbuster to increase viewership, but I think it made sense. It showed us how dire their situation is in the bank. How much deep shit they were in that the military was willing to bomb the building and inadvertently kill hostages just to catch them. And the first volume ended with the MAIN CHARACTER getting killed off. Like the stakes were so high not even the goddamn narrator survived. The show is literally telling us how fucked things are for the band.

So with that said, the characters adjusted to this “action” movie vibe the writers wanted to go with. And I think they all acted accordingly. There was less conflict within the group because they worked together to beat a common enemy, setting aside their personal issues to get the job done and survive. And while it’s true that some character arcs (Palermo’s especially) had to be set aside, it was because they HAD to in order to move the plot forward. How much sense would it make if Martín kept raving on about the gold when the Bank was literally exploding around him? He’s a chaotic asshole, yeah. But give him more credit than that, he’s not an idiot. The gold can wait. He needs to survive NOW.

And again, narrative wise, who he is in Part 5 directly connects to his last scene in Part 4. He made a promise to do better and they followed it through in literally the first episode of Volume 1, where he’s shown to be more remorseful for his actions. If he just went back to being an angry asshole, it wouldn’t have made sense because otherwise, what was his last scene in Part 4 supposed to be for?? Just for funsies?? No, of course not. They were already foreshadowing where his arc was heading in Part 5.

And I know LCDP sucks at maintaining continuity. There are a lot of plotholes that haven’t been addressed because they probably forgot about it or deemed it unnecessary. (Like me, for example, wondering if Martín knows it was Helsinki who blew up the tunnel that resulted in Andrés death??? Like I want that angst PLEASE).

But, hear me out. What LCDP fails in continuity, they make up for emotional terrorism. Not only are they more than capable of killing off likable characters (NAAAAIROBI), they are also very good at making unlikeable characters… not always loveable. But understandable, in a way. More empathetic. For example: Berlin was 100% a disgusting dipshit in the Mint, yes, but in the end when he sacrifices himself to save the gang and you find out he and the Professor were brothers this whole time? That was a twist. Maybe you didn’t end up liking Berlin, but you felt pain for Sergio for losing someone so obviously dear to him. They made you feel sorry for seeing this asshole go.

Which brings me to my final point. Characters are used to convey a theme. What do they represent in the story? Berlin’s thematic arc in the first two seasons, for example, was him going from a villain to an anti-hero. From the moment we find out about his terminal illness, we knew he was going to die either way. You can see him grappling with his mortality — about the inevitability of his death. And it seemed like he was planning to live out his last remaining years being an asshole surrounded by a shitload of money, until he ultimately dies from his illness.

But then, he sacrifices himself. Not only does he escape the “humiliating” decline that was to befall him when he escapes, he also gave meaning to his death. He, the heartless evil bastard, made himself the hero in the end. How rude!

So, when it comes to Martín, we have to think: What is his purpose in this story? What is the theme he’s trying to convey? Is it the tragedy of an unrequited love? Or is it learning to let it go?

Because looking back in episode two of Part 3, Sergio recruits Martín in a dirty flat in Palermo, littered with empty liquor bottles and Martín himself looking like a mess. When he broaches the topic of the heist, Martín can barely mention Andrés without his voice cracking. And when he and Sergio do discuss Andrés, he screams and gets angry and cries. He was obviously still mourning Andrés, who at this point, died FIVE YEARS AGO. That is not… a normal grieving period. May it be due to the lack of a support system after Andrés’s death (since I doubt Sergio visited), or the lack of real closure between him and Andrés, or something else, the point is… Martín Berrote was not okay. He was still clinging to Andrés in some way. Still unable to move on.

So when Sergio proposes to do the Bank of Spain heist and Martín accepts, his thematic arc began. He is introduced as Andrés’s long suffering best friend who was in love with him for years until he was eventually discarded. A lot of his moments in the show discuss and convey this dynamic. From him telling Sergio he loved the plan as much as he loved Andrés, to Nairobi confronting him about Berlin, to Martín himself telling Helsinki how Andrés leaving him made him the “asshole” he is today.

His theme is not just about his love for Andrés, but his grief and suffering because of it. Where the show will eventually take it is still debate-able, and we’ll have to wait for Volume 2 for that. But viewing Martín’s whole arc in this way, through the scenes they chose to put about him, and the way they connect it to the main plot — his development this season did not come out of the blue. It made logical and narrative sense. It all connects! This was the kind of story they wanted for him from the start.

[jingyismom]

Tumblr Get To Know - Tag game

Thanks @rinielle for the tag, what a fun little bio Q&A! More information than anyone needed about me below the cut.

1. Why did you choose your url? Probably self-explanatory but...I love Lan Jingyi with my whole heart, and he is definitely the chaotic good sort of child I would hope to raise, if I wanted to raise a child. My FIRST tumblr was a username I’ve had practically my whole life and it was Elvish I cobbled together myself from Ruth S. Noel’s handbook when I was, like, 9; my second blog was a tattoo I have in Latin.

2. Any side-blogs? I have a personal blog that I RARELY use, and it’s mostly just gothy aesthetic shit and some multifandom yelling.

3. How long have you been on tumblr? Ah...since...2010? 2009? Something like that.

4. Do you have a queue tag? I’m too lazy and I’m actually not sure what the point of it is? So, no.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place? Because I desperately needed more people to scream about The Untamed with!!! And it WORKED, I love you all.

6. Why did you choose you icon/pfp? It is the closest representation of my actual self that I could find within the theme of the fandom. It’s pretty close, honestly, going by Vibes.

7. Why did you choose you header? IT WAS THE GREATEST GIFT OF MY ENTIRE LIFE, FROM THE INCOMPARABLE CLOUD. GO LOOK AT HER ART AND HER FIC AND HER WONDERFUL EVERYTHING @milkcrates!!!!!! AAAHHHH!!!!!! *cries about it for the hundredth time*

8. What’s your post with the most notes? I think this fic promo post. But this one is a close second. I don’t get very many notes!! This tumblr is more like a warm lil house full of love than a big noisy stadium, and I do not mind at all.

10. How many followers do you have? Don’t know, don’t care. :)

11. How many people do you follow? No idea! (I am aware all of these numbers are available but like I said...I could not care less.)

12. Have you ever made a shitpost? N...no? I don’t think so? I don’t often even MAKE posts. Maybe that Titanic ficlet I added onto Dani’s genius AU idea almost counts but honestly it is too earnest to be a shitpost.

13. How often do you use tumblr each day? Less than I used to but more than I should? But I don’t feel like I just scroll mindlessly here, I’m really actively enjoying the content I see. I love this fandom.

14. Did you have a fight/argument with a blog once? Who won? Nope! I’ve never widely engaged with internet people before this fandom, and this blog is very much a drama-free zone. If somebody has a callout or constructive criticism for me, I will accept it wholeheartedly; if someone comes at me with wank, they will be lightly bopped on the head or entirely ignored. But none of this has happened as of yet! Like I said: warm lil house full of love.

15. How do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this post’? Nobody is obligated to reblog anything! Tumblr-as-escapism is valid, and guilt is an ineffective information-spreading technique. Also, Tumblr is not a credible news source. Educate yourself and disseminate information as you personally see fit!

16. Do you like tag games? Yeah! It’s fun to see and be seen, is it not? I did sort of miss a few I think, in the last month, things have been a little crazy. But I like it, it’s fun, and if you’ve tagged me, thank you for making me feel involved!!

17. Do you like ask games? Maybe? I’ve never reblogged one because I don’t feel like I have enough followers for people to see it, and I get so few asks anyway. But they sure look fun! I love talking to the people here, everyone is so great and has such fascinating thoughts, and obviously...I also love to talk. 😅

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? u r all famous 2 me

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual? I have a crush on every single one of you, so there.

20. Tagging some newer mutuals: Um okay, no idea who’s been tagged or done this, and I haven’t talked much with some of you yet, so I hope this isn’t weird. Feel free to ignore!! @huigusu @shlebji @susuwatari-kompeito @shenergyx @suibianjie @inessencedevided

[whyiask]

HAPPY NEW YEAR

There are so many people I’ve met on this site, so many friends I’ve made. I joined tumblr only a few months ago, but my life has already drastically improved. I smile more and laugh more and I feel happier all the time, knowing that you all are just a click away. I’ve often heard people refer to tumblr as a hellsite, but I don’t fully agree with that. True, some things on here are crazy, but more than that, I’ve found people like me. I’ve found people who understand me, who think like me and feel like I do. Ya know, before I joined tumblr, I had never met another bisexual person(crazy, right?). Y’all have made life more enjoyable and happier and brighter, and for that, I’ll never be able to thank you enough.

I have soooo many people I have to thank, so I’ll try to keep the list of people as short as possible: all my closest friends and all the people who have been amazing and I have loved seeing since I joined tumblr earlier this year <33

@one-neat-nerd you were the first blog to ever follow me, and I don’t remember if you were the first blog I followed, but you definitely were in the first 10. You were a wonderful introduction to tumblr, and I love everything you post/reblog. We’ve never really talked, but I still want you to know that I appreciate you.

@warblerjeff you’ve changed your url more than 3 times since I first followed you, and it always takes me a second to recognize you aha! But when I do, I’m immediately have a rush of happy memories- all your Glee posts and all of the Glee content I get from you. We’ve never really talked, but seeing you on my dash is always so amazing.

@jesussavedevenme aha hi! We’ve never really talked, but you were one of the first few blogs I followed when I first joined tumblr, and I know I tagged you in a lot of stuff at first (because i didn’t have any other friends lmao), so sorry about that! 😅 You’re really cool and I hope you have an amazing 2021.

@strawberry-seraph we haven’t talked in a while, sorry about that! Talking with you is always super fun, you’re a fun person and I hope your having a great day! You were one of the first TLC blogs I followed and you were definitely the first actual friend I had on tumblr. Thanks for being so nice to me <33

@cerenoya Ceren... where to begin. We haven’t talked a whole lot, but you are such an amazing friend and super kind when we do! You were my first tumblr idol for so long, because I aspired to be like you/run a blog as cool as yours!! Have a great 2021, you deserve it.

@cindersnightmare I felt very distant from you when I first followed you. You were just so COOL and your artwork was so GOOD, I didn’t know how to approach or even begin to express my love for your work. When you followed me back, I tell you, I was s h o o k. We’ve never talked, but I consider you a friend, is that okay? You’re amazing, keep being amazing <33

@books-and-starss oh gosh- I don’t even know where to begin with you! I love you so much, first of all!! So, so much. I love talking with you, you’re really sweet and ahhhh your writing is SO GOOD!!!! You are a great beta reader and so eager to help me- it just warms my heart that you would offer up your time to help me. Everything you reblog is so positive and encouraging and awesome, it’s so nice to see that kind of stuff on my dash. All the aesthetic pictures you reblog are super cool and pleasing to look at. I absolutely ADORE seeing you on my dash every day. <33333

@dylxn-lee aha hello there!! I first met you because you were one of Abi’s friends, but now I’m in your fanclub and ilysm. You’re really cool and nice and deserve to have a wonderful year <333

@theaberrantone ahaha for so long I pronounced your name wrong in my head- I just want you to know... I see you. I see you every day, liking every single one of my posts. I see you in my notifs many times a day and I just- wow. It means so much to me, I am honestly so touched that someone as cool as you takes the time to scroll through my mess of a blog and like the things I slap into it. You’re amazing and someday I aspire to be as cool as you <333333

@mochiowo-20 hi there :333 ilysm, and we haven’t talked for a few weeks, and I haven’t gone through your blog in a while, but I STILL LOVE YOU SO MUCH. You are amazing and ily. Your so sweet and cool and ahhhh you deserve to have the most wonderful 2021 ever. (i love your blog aesthetic btw) <333

@teawithhoneyharper I know you’re taking a break from tumblr for a while, but if you do see this, then I want you to know that I care about you so much. I love you Darcy, and you are amazing. I hope your mental health is getting better and I hope life has been better to you <33 ilysm, take care of yourself, and have a wonderful new year <333

@fablehavenfandom hi there friend!! Your posts are amazing!! I love your writing so much!!! and all your headcanons are beautiful and I 100% think of them as canon now. I hope you’re having a great day, and I hope you have a great year <33

@fairiesandstarlight omG your posts are all so cool! You’ve got a beautiful blog aesthetic and I love everything you post!! I hope you’re having a wonderful new year love <333 wishing you the best

@maya-livingstone hi there!! you’re a very, very new mutual, but I hope we’ll be able to get to know each other and become friends over the course of this new year!! I also just got the Renegades series, and I’ve noticed you like that, so hopefully we’ll be able to talk about that soon!!

@pluckycluckyducky hi plucky!! It’s Joy from the nevermoor server. we haven’t interacted on here very much, but you’re really cool and you should know it. have a wonderful 2021 <33

@fablehavenandfandomsfanatic hi there!! you had to break for a while, but you’re back now and I love all of the things you post! Have a great year <3

@fablehavenfangirl you’re really cool! Everything you post/reblog is great and I enjoy just scrolling through your blog when I’m bored. You’re amazing, keep being amazing <3

@renegadenebulahufflepuff heyyyy! how are you doing? you’re amazing, we haven’t talked much but you’re really cool and I am wishing you only the best for 2021 <333

@bookishfangirl14 hey there!! I love seeing you in my notifs!! we don’t have very many overlapping fandoms at the moment, but you’re still really cool and I love looking at your blog (even if i don’t understand most of the posts). aha, i hope you have a wonderful new year <33

@introvertedtater-tot hii! we don’t talk much, despite having a LOT of overlapping fandoms, and I don’t know why. Let’s fix that this year, shall we? I hope I can get to know you more, you’re amazing and sweet and i hope we can build up a solid friendship in the coming months <33

@devils-on-a-stereo oh my GOD. Okay, honestly? I am still s h o o k that you actually follow me, I mean, c’mon. Your art is literally the coolest thing ever, and I am honored to know you. You deserve way more attention as an artist than you have, and honest to god you are the coolest most  i c o n i c  blog I know. Stay awesome ;)

@its-liiinh-cinder-official heyyy there!! You are literally a top-notch comedian, I aDORE all of your ‘linh cinder’s random posts’. They are hilarious and your stories are hilarious, and you seem like such an amazing and chaotic person. I wish i knew you in real life, you would be so fun to hang out with. i love seeing you on my dash every day, and you’ve got such a v i b e going on. Have a beautiful, wondrous, and magical 2021 darling <333333

@just-another-freaking-dreamer it’s so awesome to see you in my notifs all the time. You’re really cool and you deserve cool things. Have a wonderful new year and I hope we can become better friends and interact more <3

@ragingbisexualcore ahhaahah you are the single most chaotic person I know. If you lived in a book, you would FOR SURE be that one character who is dead set on overthrowing the government and cackling madly as you take over the world. You are amazing and I hope you take your chaotic self and go wild in 2021.

@queenofsassgard hey there!! I hope you know that occasionally I just go scrolling through your archives and liking everything- anyways, you’re amazing and I hope you have a wonderful new year!

@elysian-starbucks-frappe heyo! what’s up? I hope you’re doing great, you deserve to do great. You’re super cool and amazing and ahhhhh you just deserve to have a wonderful 2021. ily and have a great year <33

@as-the-stars-foretold Caelum. You. Are. Fantabulous. You are my mother, you adopted me into this weird, chaotic friend group, and I will be eternally grateful. You love the stars and I love listening to you ramble about them in the server. You’re so passionate and strong and I love that about you. Life wouldn’t be the same without you. You might love stars, but you yourself ARE a star. You are a star, you shine brilliantly, and you are too good for this galaxy. We don’t deserve you. I love you so much, and you deserve every single goddamb good thing in this universe. You’re always there, ever present, and I love you so. much. Please stay your fantabulous self and I wishing on every star I see that you will have the best 2021 ever <333333

@carolinelikesdinner Carol. God, I have so much to say to you. First of all, thank you. Thank you so much for being you. You first introduced me into the big wide world of the Fablehaven fandom, and ilysm. You’re so cool, too cool for me, and I treasure every single conversation I have with you. You’re so funny and an amazing artist. All of your art is SO DAMB SPECTACULAR. You are gorgeous, your art is gorgeous, and your writing is gorgeous too. Take care of yourself love, stay safe, and have the best 2021 you possibly can <3333333333333

@operation-crown-jewels Caraaaaaaaaa ilysmmmm <3333333333333 I love talking with you and I love you so. freaking. much. I can’t even- I can’t even describe how much i love you. You are so special and sweet and supportive and I just can’t- you have NO IDEA how much that means to me, how much all your little comments mean to me. You are amazing, and special, and ahhhhh. You are SO special. So unique. And I’ll never find another friend like you <33333333333

@addies-invisible-life hey emma :3 You are actually the coolest person I know.You are so capable and smart and beautiful. You are kind and supportive and you are open to everyone who talks to you. You love with all your heart, and I love that about you. In everything you do, I can see the love behind it, the work and effort and love that you put into it. Every conversation I have with you lifts me up and energizes me(which is really rare because most conversations tire me). I still, after all this time, still can’t believe that a person as amazing as you even chooses to be friends with me. I love you so much and I will never stop loving you. You deserve the world, but I can’t give you that, so just take my reassurances that I will ALWAYS, NO MATTER WHAT, be here for you. ily and have a wonderful 2021 <3333333333333333333333333333333333333

@arushahisatroll my god. Ru, I love you so much. You are my internet girlfriend and I care about you so much. You are incredible, honestly. Your art is immaculate and you’re always so cheerful and fill me up with energy just THINKING about you. you always eager to commit arson, which is a very good trait, and I love plotting crimes with you. Every time I see your icon, my face lights up and I internally scream, bc “oh my god someone as perfect as ru exists in this world- i didn’t know that was possible.” You are the best, you are the absolute best, my bestie, and ily. Have a spectacular and immeasurably awesome 2021 <333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

@starry-tea-party Abina. Abina you are my rock. You are my light, my star, my sunshine, my galaxy. I love you so much, I can’t even begin to describe it. I don’t know if I can do justice to just how much you’ve helped me. Words... words have never been my strong suit. I love writing because I can weave stories together, piece together words I like to form sentences, and use those sentences to form narratives. Writing has always been easier for me than talking.... because in writing, I don’t have to worry what others will think, or how others will perceive me. I select the best words, and I present those words- the words I meticulously chose and nit-picked- to the audience. Life is a stage, and I have never been great at improv. I often find it hard to tell people things, to convey my meaning in the best possible way and to know exactly what words I need in any given situation. Talking is hard for me. But with you... with you, I never have to monitor what I’m saying. I never feel the need to reread and reread my messages before sending to make sure everything is in perfect order. It’s... it’s easy to talk to you. It’s easy to speak and I don’t worry when I’m with you. You make me feel so at ease, and I love you so much. I don’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing, because I know that you’ll always support me and be by my side with a kind word and a heart of gold. Because that’s who you are. You are a creator, a dreamer, a lover, a visionary. You’re a friend. You are the hand that pulls people out of the water. The light that shines the pathway. You are the rock- the mountain we stand upon and look out over the beautiful sea. We look down at the seas below us and say, “how have we climbed so high already?” The reason is because you stand so tall, so bright and so magical, that we climb, we climb and we look out at the world below us. Not only are you tall, strong, powerful, but you lift people up right alongside you. There is nothing like the high of seeing the world stretch out beneath your feet, swinging you legs through the open air but knowing you’ll never fall. You represent that high in my mind. You represent and you remind me of the exhilaration of feeling untouchable- uplifted by love and kindness, able to reach heights you’ve never been to before. There is so much that can come when someone extends their hand to you. So much more can be achieved when there are two, holding each other up. You have held me up for so long. Every since we met, you have brought a smile to my face at the thought of you. Every time I think of you, my heart swells and I can’t breathe. Every comment you make or put on something I post has me screaming internally ans smiling uncontrollably. Whenever I see your icon I know my day is about to get one million times better. So thank you, Abi. For being my rock.

[takenyoomies]

Operation Pancakes

Title - Operation Pancakes

Summary - Chifuyu's plans don't have the best track record for working, so when Chifuyu plans to steal Kazutora's unlimited pancake stack at Danny's...All Baji can think is "This can't possibly work."

Tags - Food, some swearing, Takemichi slander, Chifuyu has some bad ideas, Tokyo Revengers spoilers, Alternate Universe, mild OOCness, Sassy Kazutora bc he's hungry, shrek jokes

Characters - Baji, Chifuyu, Kazutora, Takemichi(mentioned), Mucho(mentioned), Kokonoi(mentioned)

READ ON AO3

“You’re sure this is going to work?” Baji asked halfheartedly, tilting his head to meet the gaze of the dirty blonde who seemed to glare back at him incredulously.

“Of course, it’ll work. When haven’t my plans worked?” Chifuyu huffed back, picking up the pace in his step to walk in line with the dark-haired teen. Baji let out a small laugh, “Remember the time you told Takemichi to replace Mucho’s protein powder with Nesquick because he was jealous? And he found out almost instantly?”

“Okay, that was once.”

“And then time Takemichi wanted backup when confronting Koko about taking his lunch money, and you stood in the bushes with a notebook that said ‘COURAGE’ all while Takemichi was sobbing his eyes out and Koko laughed his ass off.”

“IT DID NOT HAPPEN LIKE THA- wait, you know about that?”

“Everyone knows about that, Chifuyu.”

“Okay, well, those are just two things.”

“And please, let us not forget the time where you told me we could make yakisoba in the coffee maker. MAY BOTH MY COFFEE MAKER AND THE YAKISOBA REST IN PEACE.”

“…I blame Buzzfeed Japan.”

It was established at this point, the plan they were about to pull off was high stakes. Stealing Kazutora’s unlimited pancakes at Danny’s was going to be the heist of the century.

---x---

The electronic bell chimed to the door as both Baji and Chifuyu entered Danny’s, both walking towards the back of the restaurant to find the dark-haired boy sitting in the booth, outstretched. In a way, he looked like a cat, but the moment he saw them, it was an onslaught of criticism.

“I thought we said five?”

“Baji-san and I needed to stop and get a drink somewhere before heading over!” A lie, they were planning the entire time. The long dark-haired boy’s eyes narrowed, suspecting something but not willing to deal with it due to hangriness.

“Whatever, just sit down and order.” Kazutora sighed out, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger, “You guys really need to work on punctuality.” He reached over and pressed the button on the table to call over a waitress.

Baji and Chifuyu looked at one another before bursting out laughing. “Geez, Kazu, something crawl up your ass?” Baji said as he slid into Kazutora’s side of the booth, purposefully pushing the other teen’s legs off with a loud thud.

“No, it’s just you do this to me every time we hang out, and I’m actually starving!” Kazutora complained to Baji, gesturing with his hands over to the water glass, “Do you know how many times they came over and refilled this?”

“How many?”

“4!”

Chifuyu snorted as he slid into the other side of the booth, “Did they ask you if you got stood up too?”

“No, but I’m sure they were considering it judging by how late you were,” Kazutora replied with a sigh.

A waitress walked over, looking slightly nervous at the group, “I see your friends have finally joined you!” She said in a slightly nervous voice, “Are you ready to order?”

“Yes, I’ll have the Danny’s Unlimited Pancakes and a Fanta,” Kazutora said, pointing to the picture on the menu for her.

“And for you?” She asked Baji, her eyes seeming to catch on his amused expression.

“I’ll wait a bit to order, but I’ll have a Cola to start!” He said with a toothy grin, causing the waitress to blush a bit.

“Right, and what would you like?” She asked as she turned to Chifuyu, who had been studying the menu a bit.

“I think I’ll just have a hot chocolate, for now, thanks.” He replied, closing the menu and setting it to the side.

“I’ll have everything out shortly. If you’d like to order anything else, please press the button on the table, and I’ll be right over.” The waitress said before heading over to the computer to enter their orders in.

“Aren’t you guys hungry? I thought the plan was we weren’t going to eat lunch today, so we would actually be hungry?” Kazutora questioned, looking at Chifuyu, who was scrolling at his phone.

“Baji-san forgot and bought way too many yakisoba breads at lunch today and made me eat half of them.” Chifuyu breathed out, knowing Kazutora would not be pleased.

“How many is half?”

“3.”

“Baji, what the fuck.”

“They were half price Kazu!” Baji groaned as the dark-haired teen elbowed him in the side, “I thought it was a great deal, and the ladies at the school store charmed me!”

“You’re unbelievable.” Kazutora muttered in irritation, “Chifuyu, I don’t know how you deal with this daily.”

“Believe me, I don’t either,” Chifuyu replied in an exasperated tone.

“I’m right here, you know?” Baji said as a matter of fact.

“Here are your drinks, have the two of you decided upon anything?” The waitress asked as she placed their drinks down.

“Not yet, thanks though,” Baji replied, gingerly taking the tip of his straw off before shooting the paper at Chifuyu.

Chifuyu stared at him before reaching over the table and grabbing Kazutora’s straw, and repeating the same motions as Baji.

“Hey!” Kazutora yelled in complaint and attempted to reach Chifuyu before he put his mouth on the straw. Chifuyu blew on the straw, only for the paper to go nowhere, as the paper was a dud.

Baji howled in laughter, pointing while holding his side with the other arm, “Serves you right!”

“I regret suggesting this hang out. I can’t take either of you anywhere,” Kazutora said as he snatched the straw from Chifuyu’s hands and stuck it into his Fanta.

“Ooooh~ That’s an indirect kiss!” Baji jested before groaning in pain, Kazutora’s foot silencing the teasing as it stomped down onto the long-haired teen’s.

Chifuyu lifted the mug of hot chocolate to his lips and sipped the warm liquid as the chaotic scene played out in front of him. The main event had yet to play out.

“Alright, here’s your Unlimited Pancakes. Please press the bell when you’d like another stack.” The waitress said before walking back to her station.

The pancakes looked immaculate as they gave off a small amount of steam and a gentle aroma. Danny’s made some absolutely fire pancakes for a chain diner, and both Chifuyu and Baji knew that.

“You guys are drooling. I hope you know that,” Kazutora said in an annoyed tone, sliding the platter towards himself as he reached for the syrup with his other hand.

“Kazu, when was the last time you washed your hands?” Baji asked inquisitively, taking a sip from his cola as his eyes watched the other haphazardly pour syrup onto the stack of bready goodness.

“...I don’t know?” Kazutora replied as he picked up his fork, about to stab the cakes, “I guess I should wash them.”

“Probably, there’s been a weird stomach bug going around the group. Takemichi has been puking everywhere,” Chifuyu added.

“It would be Takemichi.” Kazutora sighed out, pushing Baji, “Move, you overgrown ogre.”

“Rude!” Baji replied as he moved out onto the aisle for Kazutora to sneak past, “Ogres have feelings, you know Kazu! We’ve watched Shrek enough times for you to know that!”

“Yeah yeah, don’t make me demote you to Donkey,” Kazutora said as he waved his hand back at Baji, Chifuyu snickering to himself as he slid the plate of pancakes over to himself.

“Like candy from a baby.”

“Evil doesn’t suit you, Chifuyu.”

[mosaics--match]

Well everyone, it sure has been a year. I really wanna ramble about everything has happened this year because due to the pandemic, I think I’ve thrived more than I ever have before.

This is my fandom overview and thank you. It will be under a line break so you can scroll past, but before you go, If you are a mutual that wasn’t tagged in this post: Thank you for being a friend. It means more than you probably really know to me.

January started strong, with my first actual full watch of The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, and I quickly became hyper focused on it, already compounded in my Starkid obsession revival after many years away from the fandom. I also became fully interested in content from the members individually, mainly Jon and Rob at this time. As school started up and I got stressed out, I took up painting over photos of the Starkid Crew and others individuals. Tons of you followed me for those alone! I am still working on more content for you all, but I have been busy with school. A big part of my solidifying in the Starkid Fandom - if not my art - has to be my involvement in owning and managing of “Paul Loving House”, the 15+ discord version of the “Vibing Over Paul Matthews” Tumblr group chat. That Discord has 80 members, and probably the best mod team I could ask for. I wanna thank all my mods, both past and present ( @fencecollapsed @graceschasity @carlslegendary @slytherlynn @lilmisscopypaster @ikazune ) for being here for me and the group, and maintaining a great environment.

The Umbrella Academy came back and I couldn’t be more thankful for being in the fandom while the show had attention and active conversation this time! I developed chaotic friendships thanks to @patersonluke‘s TUA server (and consequential server made because the chaotic friendships made took up too much of that server XD). I also had great discussions with @five-mutha-fuckin-hargreeves and others, and although I haven’t talked to you all in awhile, you are all still in my mind all the time!

Next into my life came Blaseball, and my hyperfixation will not calm down and probably got more in depth as the grand siesta settled in. I don’t have much to say because I haven’t contributed to the fandom yet, but I have made friends cross-teams and love talking to them. One day I will have courage to talk to other people on here because I love their Blaseball content, but for now I really do enjoy talking to @zayphora about everything, even if its us yelling ideas into a void and the other person agreeing into the void hours later sometimes! XD

I had alot of minor things I got into or re-got into, but those haven’t really had an impact on my life as much as what is above. I just wanna rethank everyone who follows me, and especially my mutuals! I would love to talk to the mutuals who are only follow-only mutuals, and if you DM or send a private ask I will give you my discord if you would like! I love each and every one of you.

My new year’s resolution this year was to become more human. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without you all, so I would like to thank you all. Here’s to a better 2021.

-Cyn

[dulce-pjm]

tag game !

tagged by @jtrbluv !! ty love, i’ve seen this one going around and it looked fun !!

1. what fandoms have you written for (but do not currently)?

i only started writing fanfiction this year, so bts is the one and only lol 

2. what fandoms are you currently writing for?

bts !! i think i’ll be sticking to just bts x reader fics during my time here :) (but i am def a big fan of other groups and post about them sometimes !! my other interests can be found through the navi and i’m down to chat/fangirl anytime)

3. how long have you been writing?

like five or six years? i used to write original stories on wattpad in middle school but i have unfortunately forgotten both the username and password to that account and just realized those monstrosities might still be floating around on there oof 

4. on which platforms do you post your stories?

just tumblr !! i’m the process of making an ao3 in case something happens to my account, but i probably won’t crosspost unless i have to, just kinda depends

5. what is your favourite genre to write?

def fluff and comedy !!! i enjoy angst but i’m a bit of a method actor in that i deeply feel whatever i’m writing so i normally don’t make it far writing angst lol but i will try one day !!

6. are you a pantser or a planner?

planner for sure !! i have def written fics that weren’t planned, but i tend to feel way better about the ones that i plan out. they flow better when i plan them and when you know where your story is going it’s easier to foreshadow and actually build tension towards the climax and ending !!!

7. one shot or multi-chapter?

it really just depends on the story !!! it’s all in how i envision it tbh. if i see the scenes more as episodic and almost separately working towards the ending, then it’ll probably end up fitting into chapters. but if the scenes and arcs all really rely on each other and flow as a group, then yeah it’s a big one shot !! as a reader, i tend to binge anyway so it doesn’t matter to me lol

8. what is the perfect chapter length in your opinion?

lol again it depends on what suits the story !! and i think it’s fun sometimes for there to be a variety of chapter lengths 

9. what is your longest published story? is it complete?

stepsisters and squires at 11.0k, and yes it’s complete !! although my current biggest project is probably going to end up around 15k and if i had to guess, part two will probably be a bit shorter than that 

10. which story did you enjoy working on the most?

hmmmm for sure @alpacaparkaseok’s request case closed!! i was being very silly writing it and had a grand time, but takes two to tango is a close second behind !!!

11. favourite request you've have written and why (if any?)

oh well there we go it’s case closed !!! i love some good silly ridiculous romance and i feel like i did an okay job achieving that lol

12. are there reoccurring themes in your stories?

awkward people finding love ???? LOL and lots of overthinking only to realize things aren’t quite as big as they first appeared wait omg yeah that’s it that’s the one lmao. scrolled through my masterlist and it seems that the central conflict is always the main character versus their own mind which is basically my day-to-day life so makes sense i guess 

also i’ve accidentally written people talking over each other and then said something like “timing’s funny” right after in two separate fics and needless to say i’m disappointed in myself LOL how did i do that ??? tsk tsk 

13. current number of wips?

ahhh i’m not really sure how to count them but i’m like actively writing around four or five, i tend to bounce around and then suddenly binge write an entire one

14. three things you have noticed about your own writing?

hmmm well 1) we’ve learned my characters are too caught up in their own heads (like me muhahaha), 2) i tend to write pretty colloquially even though i have the vocabulary to be more descriptive lol, and 3) even when i don’t mean to i tend to end up writing based off of things i’ve experienced before

15. a quote you like from a published story

lol this isn’t particularly well written or anything i just think it’s funny and i really enjoyed writing this scene. it’s from stepsisters and squires !

“Maybe you can trick the witch!” You suggest, words muffled by the dessert you’re chewing on as you blatantly talk with your mouth open. All manners have been abandoned as Taehyung is eating two eclairs at once, equally focused on the matter at hand. “Well, no, maybe trying to trick a magical scary lady is a bad idea.”

i’m very attached to tae’s character despite him making a very minor appearance and i love his and the oc’s chaotic energy together haha !! i’d like to write him his own spin-off sometime based on their interaction 

16. a quote from an unpublished story

hehe imma keep teasing the tae twoshot in the hopes that it makes me ACTUALLY FINISH IT FJKDLSHGLSDKJF anyway ~~~

“Your singing, on the other hand, is just fantastic,” he adds, smirking as he side-eyes you. He suppresses a laugh when he sees your mortified expression. You’re quick to cover it, crossing your arms and feigning pride.

“I know. You guys are lucky I’m not participating in the battle of the bands. I’d crush you.” Taehyung full on giggles then and you don’t hate it all that much. It’s a little squeaky though. But then his eyes light up and he’s grabbing you by the shoulders, a desperate look in his eye.

“Wait, would you wanna join? Because we could really use a mezzo voice, it’d completely change the sound—”

hopefully an official teaser will be dropped soon we’ll see !!!

17. space for you to say something to your readers

thank you guys for being so patient and supportive :( i know i’ve been very sporadic about posting and really haven’t posted at all in like a month and a half. it was very much my intention to write a bunch and then release things on a schedule (and it still is!!) but things have been difficult recently and prevented that from happening. to get to the point, you guys are so great and every piece of feedback and every like and every follow absolutely makes my heart soar. you guys remind me that i’m still capable of writing even when i really don’t feel like it and i appreciate you !! much love <333

tagging @softbobamilktae and @hyungieyoongi my go-to’s lol (sorry if you’ve already done it !!!)

[mrsbhandari]

Shutter - Part 2

a/n: HI it me!! i don’t really have much to say lmao, but i hope you like it!! also the cover of vogue looks like this, by the lovely @lxdy-starfury, and is like the entire inspiration behind this fic so yee!

warnings: some language but that’s really it

words: 2k

tags: @lxdy-starfury, @huntress1024, @anotherbeingsworld, @brightpinkpeppercorn, @chaotic-ramsay-queen

#

“Can you believe I got his number?” 

“You what?”

“We talked a little bit after the shoot.” Nia guiltily fidgeted with her tea cup, her ring making small clicks against the porcelain. 

“Okay, talking is very much different from getting his number. You have a billionaire’s phone number.” Incredulous, Naexi sat back in the plush seat of the book store lounge area, shaking her head. “So now what? Is he gonna be your sugar daddy?”

“What?! No!” Nia blushed furiously. “I don’t like him...that way.”

“Sure. And I didn’t just get credited with the cover of Vogue.”

“Congratulations, by the way.” Nia tried to change the subject, which Naexi picked up on and allowed. Nia grabbed the latest issue of Vogue off the table in front of them, admiring the glossy cover of Tyril with his hair in a messy ponytail and a somber look behind his glasses. “He was...unexpected, though?” 

“What do you mean?”

“I expected him to be like all of those aloof and distant love interests in romance novels.”

“And how did he seem to you?”

“He was really sweet! Super warm, like you could just talk to him all day about everything and he would totally understand.” Naexi hummed, looking down into her coffee. “What? How did he seem to you?”

“I’m...not sure.” She shook her head and looked back up to her friend, giving an easy smile. “He felt nice enough, but I totally bet it’s all some act. He’s definitely a vampire.”

“At least he’s attractive.” 

Naexi sent a glance down to the magazine. “Maybe.”

#

“So what I’m getting from this is...you’re in love?” 

“That’s absurd! I am in nothing of the sort.” Tyril sat straight up in his chair, which was a direct contrast to Mal, whose feet were spread as he lounged lazily in the wire seat. Despite the cold, they sat in the outside seating section of a small cafe, right near small space heaters set up by the table. “I never said anything about even liking the woman--”

“Alright, alright, chill out. I was only joking, but it sure seems like I might’ve been right.” Mal sent a smug smile over the table and raised an eyebrow. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Dude, you want to impress her? You want her approval? You noticed the smell of her lotion? I diagnose you with love, bud.” He crossed his arms and briefly glanced towards his bike that was parked across the street; a car seemed to be driving kind of close to it. When he returned his gaze to Tyril, his friend was pensively staring at the half-eaten pastry on his plate and chewing on his nail. Reaching across the table, Mal plucked Tyril’s hand out of his mouth and held it on the table top to get him to stop. “It’s not a bad thing.”

“I don’t have time for it, though. That’s the problem.”

“C’mon, Ty. We both know that’s bullshit. You’re into her, but you’re afraid of getting hurt and don’t want to take a risk.” Mal squeezed his friend’s hand. “I agree that what happened with Kaya sucked, but you have to be willing to step back out on the edge to see the view, even if you might fall.”

“Poetry is supposed to be my thing, Volari.” 

“What, I’m not allowed to be romantic?” He batted his eyelashes and placed a hand under his chin, prompting a small smile from Tyril. 

“Not with that haircut, you’re not.”

“Hey!” 

#

“Um…” Naexi cautiously eyed the large vase of flowers on her desk, tapping her coworker Belana on the shoulder before approaching the tulips. “What is this? Who delivered these?”

“Well, they look a lot like tulips and a delivery guy just came with them about ten minutes ago. Who’s the admirer?” Belana wiggled her eyebrows, laughing when Naexi shoved her shoulder. 

“As if I know.” She set her bag down and dug through the jungle of vibrant red to find a small card. The gold inscription read “When I’m around you, I lose my focus,” paired with a tiny drawing of camera in simple black ink. It wasn’t signed. 

“Well?”

“I have no clue what to make of it.” She handed the card to Belana, who burst out laughing at the joke. 

“That’s a good one! Because you’re a photographer!” 

“No, stop, please. My stomach hurts from laughing so hard.” Snatching the card back, she read it again before pushing the vase to a miraculously unoccupied corner of her desk and placing the card in one of her frames, the one housing the picture of Nia and her on a work trip in Paris. Nia was a bookkeeper at a small bookstore, but she abused the hell out of Vogue’s plus one policy on trips. She grabbed her phone and found Nia’s text conversation quickly, typing out a short message asking about the flowers.

NIA: that’s so weird! I have no clue who could have sent them.

#

Nia definitely had a clue who could have sent them. She had so much of a clue, in fact, that she scrolled down to her conversation with Tyril, the exact person who sent them. 

NIA ELLARIOUS: She got them! And she doesn’t know who sent them.

TYRIL STARFURY: Did she like them?

NIA ELLARIOUS: Hm, I’m not sure. She didn’t say anything about them, just that she wasn’t sure who they were from. We’re having lunch today, I can ask her then.

TYRIL STARFURY : I can’t thank you enough! I hope this isn’t awkward, being somewhat of a spy for your friend. 

NIA ELLARIOUS: Of course not! I think it’s incredibly sweet what you’re doing.

TYRIL STARFURY: Thank you, I’m very nervous about it working. 

NIA ELLARIOUS: Don’t be! It will all work out, I can promise you that. 

TYRIL STARFURY: Thank you.

Nia slipped her phone into an apron pocket and went back to humming as she dusted the shelves. 

#

“I’ve probably gained twenty pounds since you’ve started working here. These pastries are to die for,” Naexi moaned as she bit into her chocolate croissant, savoring the flakiness of the breading that practically melted in her mouth. 

“Me, too,” Nia sighed, nervously fidgeting with her apron. 

“What’s got you all nervous?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing!” She offered a shaky smile, which did nothing to squash Naexi’s suspicions. 

“So we’re lying to each other now?” 

“No, of course not!” Nia struggled to come up with a believable lie that could easily segue into talking about the flowers. “I’m just still trying to think who would’ve sent you flowers today. Very odd.”

“To be honest, I kind of forgot about them.”

“Really?!” Nia set down her teacup before she had the chance to drop it. “I know if someone sent me flowers, I would be thinking about it for the rest of the day.” Naexi hummed. “What?”

“Now that I’m thinking about it again, it is kind of weird. I haven’t been dating in a while, so who could’ve done it? And obviously they were sent by someone who barely knows me, because the joke was….not my style.” 

Smirking, Nia spoke before she could stop herself. “Maybe that’s why you’re so cranky. You need to put yourself out there more.” 

After a small moment of silence seemed to be occupied by Naexi’s thoughts, she waved her hands. “I think not. No significant other is going to keep me from being my grouchy self. Sorry to disappoint.”

Nia threw her arm around her friend’s shoulder. “I’d never want you to change.” For the rest of her lunch break, the two girls sat and talked while watching people pass outside the window of the store. As soon as Naexi left, Nia eagerly fished out her phone and found Tyril’s text conversation.

#

“I shouldn’t have gone with that inscription.” Tyril was pacing back and forth in his office between where Imtura sat in one chair and Mal sat in another. He was chewing on his nail again, and Mal stood to take his hand away again. He sat back down in his chair with a firm grip on Tyril’s hand, limiting the length of the billionaire’s pacing while still not stopping it. 

“Will you stop panicking? I’m sure the girl loved it,” Imtura reassured, barely looking up from her phone. “It was a pretty funny joke.”

“But what if she doesn’t like jokes?!” Tyril exclaimed, running a hand through his hair and pulling some pieces out of its tidy half-up do. 

“Ty!” Mal stood and grabbed his friend’s other hand, forcing him to stop and look at him. “I’ve never seen you like this. C’mon, talk to me.” 

“I’ve just never done something like this. Flirting and relationships and what have you....It’s all foreign to me. I want to make sure it’s perfect.” He jumped as his phone went off in his pocket.

NIA ELLARIOUS: She still doesn’t have any idea who sent the flowers, but she doesn’t really like puns. Especially about her job. 

TYRIL STARFURY: That is...most unfortunate. Thank you so much for your help.

NIA ELLARIOUS: Would you like to come by the shop and have lunch with me on Thursday?

He looked at the date; It was Tuesday.

TYRIL STARFURY: I would love to. 

NIA ELLARIOUS: See you then!

“I knew I shouldn’t have gone with your idea, Mal.” 

“She didn’t like the joke? Sounds like this girl’s a real snooze, if you ask me.”

“Good thing he’s not,” Imtura joked, dodging a punch from Mal. 

“Well, Nia invited me to lunch with her on Thursday--” He was cut off by his phone ringing, his father’s contact flashing on the screen. “Pardon. Hello, Father?”

“Tyril, I hope you are doing well.”

“You as well, Father. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?” In his seat, Mal cringed at the formalities. 

“I’ve sent the information to your email, but I wanted to remind you directly about a charity gala I’m hosting next week, for the company.”

Mal rolled his eyes, but Tyril snapped his fingers and gave him a stern look, akin to a mother scolding a child. “Yes, of course.”

“Your sister has a date, so I would have to ask you to bring one as well. It would look good for the company.” Tyril opened his mouth to speak, but his father beat him to it. “Mal is already invited as a high ranking member of the company, therefore he cannot count as your plus one.” 

“Yes, sir. I will find a date for your gala.” 

“Thank you, Tyril. Goodbye.”

“Good bye.” Tyril continued to look at the phone, even after his father hung up.

“Well.” Clapping his hands together, Mal stood up and sighed, placing his hands on his hips and swiveling his body to crack his back. “He’s even more of a snooze than the girl.”

#

“Are you kidding me? Again?!” Naexi exclaimed, throwing her bag down on her chair since her desk was occupied by yet another large vase of flowers, this time peach dahlias. “Who is doing this?” Belana peeked over to her coworker’s desk, whistling at the sight of the large collection of flowers. 

“Damn! Wait, what logo is on the card?” Naexi fished the card out. 

“It says it’s from a place called Loola’s.” While Belana typed something into her laptop, Naexi read the card aloud. “‘For a woman with a unique view of the world and the means to capture it.’”

“Holy shit!”

“I don’t think it’s that good, but I--”

“Not that. I looked up a bouquet of peach dahlias from Loola’s and it looks like that one cost about a hundred and ten bucks.” 

Naexi blinked. “It still isn’t signed. I don’t…” she trailed off, looking again at the bouquet before whipping out her phone and texting Nia. 

NIA: Wow, another one?

NAEXI: Yeah! Belana says it cost 100$

Despite knowing who sent it, Nia’s eyes still widened at her phone. 

NIA: Seriously?! Any idea who it’s from yet?

NAEXI: Nope.

NIA: We can brainstorm tomorrow over lunch.

[queenmendes]

things are changing | extra

shawn x reader x connor

a/n: so I know I said this is the last part but I lied! There are proabably 2 more after this. This was a short filler that just happened so please let me know what you think and who she picks! xxx

big big big thank you to @local-neighborhood-biderman for helping me so much!

____

You’d be lying if you said you haven’t been wallowing in self pity since you arrived back in Toronto. Shawn and Connor have not left your mind; along with the last moment you saw them. The anger and then regret that flashed through their eyes broke your heart. It felt like you caused all of this drama because you couldn’t choose between one boy. 

Your life became one of those romantic dramas you constantly make fun of. Of course, your pity party wasn’t getting this situation out of your mind. Memories from tour played through your head like a movie.  

Tomorrow is the first show in America. Currently, the whole team and band was explore the city of Portland. Everyone completely jittery and ready for the show to come. Tour has already been amazing. 

“Oh, let’s go in here.” You grabbed his hand and lead him into the little shop. It was small but cozy and cute. It seemed to be a jewelry shop based on the displays up front but the further you walk, the more options you see. In the back, was an older lady sitting behind a large table with different colored beads and lose, empty bands. 

“Would you like to make your own bracelets?” The lady asked, gesturing to the empty bands. You quickly nodded before picking up two of the bands and handing him one. 

“You make mine and I’ll make yours?” You suggest, smiling widely. He knew he couldn’t say no. Not to that smile. You quickly got to work, picking out the beads you wanted. Deciding to go with a more manly vibe; you picked up black, blue and some green beads. Placing them in an easy pattern on the band, you stop and grab a small white bead that had Y/F/I on it. Then you take two beads that made up your initials, sliding them onto the band along with a bead that was your favorite color. Placing it in the middle of the other beads, you quickly finish up. 

“Here.” He said, grabbing your wrist and tying your new bracelet on. You smile as you see that he put his initials on the bracelet; just like you did. 

“I love it.” You say after tying his bracelet onto his wrist. The two of you shared a big smile, before paying the lady. He quickly but gently tugs you out of the little shop, and down the streets of Portland. The two of you carefree while you had the chance. 

You’re eyes never left the bracelet that was still tied around your wrist as you replayed that memory. You haven’t taken it off since he put it on. To you, it symbolized the connection shared between the two of you. 

Denver. You were almost positive that is the city you are currently in. After travelling endlessly, it’s hard to be completely sure on where you are at. Needless to say, the show was amazing as always. The crowd was breathtaking and gave off a great vibe. Now, everyone was on their assigned bus as the journey to the next city was about to start. 

You already showered and refreshed yourself. Now, everyone was lounging around the bus, relaxing. Soon, he came and joined you; away from everyone. The smell of this fresh shampoo hit your nose and made you smile at the familiar scent.

“Whatcha doing?” he asked, his face awfully close to yours. You motioned to your headphones. 

“Jamming.” You smile before offering him one of the buds. He immediately recognized the familiar, smooth voice of Hozier’s Almost (Sweet Music). He sighed as he leaned back, resting one hand across his stomach and the other on your leg, tapping to the beat. 

I've got some colour back, she thinks so, too

I laugh like me again, she laughs like you

He watched in awe as you softly sang along to the words. Your voice wasn’t perfect but the look of complete and utter content on your face made everything seem perfect in this moment. 

I wouldn't know where to start  

He doesn’t know where to start with you. He could write a whole book about just your laugh. The things you did to him without even realizing. Like right now. You had no idea the effect you had on him. The way he smiled without realizing it, just by seeing yours. Or how at the sight of you, his heart jumps out of his chest. Your laugh makes him laugh. How you are goofy to put him back into a good mood when he is feeling homesick. You had no idea that your soft singing was going to be the moment he realizes how strong his feelings for you are. 

“What?” You stopped singing as you noticed him staring you; not moving, not even blinking. You sat up straight and wipe your face. “Do I have something on my face?” You asked. He quickly shook his head; his slightly damp hair flying around. 

“No. No. You’re perfect.” He whispered and you almost didn’t hear him. He smiled as you looked down, bashfully, but the smile on your lips could be seen by anyone. 

Hozier’s voice filled your apartment as you tidy up a bit. It was time for you to stop sitting around all day. But no matter what you did, something brought up another memory of him. The bracelet, to your Spotify playlist, to your favorite TV show. All of your favorite things were connected with him. 

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” He grumbled as the two of you huddled on his bed in the hotel you were staying in for the night. A lot of the band and crew went out to explore but the two of you were feeling lazy and decided to stay in and have a marathon. 

“You chose the last TV show. It’s my turn.” You said as you scrolled on your laptop, looking for the series. You glanced at him from the side of your eyes and had to suppress your smile as you saw him cuddling into your blanket. “Okay, shall we begin?” You retorchically ask because he really did not have a choice. 

“So, who’s is that guy again?” “What the fuck. The siblings are lovers? What is this shit?” “Awe its a puppy.” “Why do you like this show again?” Those were a few comments he made in the first half of the episode of Game of Thrones. As annoying as he was getting, his commentary was hilarious. 

“Just hush up and watch it. I promise you will like it once the show gets going.” You said, as your head tilted up from its position on his chest. You weren’t sure when or how the two of you ended up in this position but you weren't complaining. He was warm and a great snuggle buddy. 

He wouldn’t admit it but you were right. Once he shut up and watched the show, he got really into it. So much that he watched the first 5 episodes in one sitting. 

“Alright, so it’s pretty good-” He stopped talking once he noticed you were fast asleep. You’re cheek was pressed up against his chest and your arm was wrapped around his waist; a light death grip on it. But he wasn’t complaining. You looked adorable with your mouth slightly parted and little, soft snores coming out. It made it even better that you were wearing on of his hoodies. This easily became his favorite moment between the two of you. Which is why he decided to snap a quick picture of you on his chest before shifting slightly and falling asleep next to you. He swears it was the best sleep he’s had all tour. 

Your hands softly traced over the hoodie you found in your suitcase. It seemed like a good idea to finally unpack the bag that has been sitting by the door for the past week and a half. You didn’t even realize that you took this piece of clothing with you. The all too familiar cologne hit your nose as you held the navy blue hoodie up to your chest. It didn’t hit you how much you missed him until you realized his comforting smell was almost gone from this hoodie. It made you more eager to slip it over you head and cuddle into it; wishing it was his arms instead. But you’d have to settle for the oversized hoodie. 

For now.

_________

Tag List (UNBOLD WOULD NOT LET ME TAG)

 @turtoix @physicshawn @im-a-stranger-thing @shawn-youth @dreamersseeincolor @spn-marvel-nerd @someinsanefangirl @tinycertain @unsolvedhearts @ykicantbefoundwithyou @marissje @mae-petite-etoile @michellemxndes @curlyfan @haileyofthefandoms @whoopcalpal @chaotic-ness @arypesanchez @shawnmendes048 @sweetheartmendes @justinshawntom @carolineclds @ludiclove @kamustyles @loveylangdon @redrebecca @weliove @maximumcoffeesublime @introvertedrhi @peruvian-bae @iamanerdnot @lovablefangirl @foreveralone19588 @learning-howto-be-myselfx3 @ly--canthrope @night-girls-world @we--f0und--w0nderland @rodneywaber @xtmd5 @enchantingbrowneyedgirl @alphabeteeee @shawnandconnor @zigzagsandzebras @danidomm @mariamuses @feliciaceciliamariajacobsson @shessoparticular99 @pitreshawn @char-m-e @riverdalexvixens @bloodorangemoonlight @the-diabolic @xxamzxx @lilya-petrichor @royalexperiment256 @aspiring-fangirls-world @curlyshawnie @tempsta @sleepybesson @sunrisebrashx @calum-booo

[mskinkyafro]

Cooking For Two (Aurora & MC)

A/N: Hey everyone, I’m back with a new open heart fic! I’m excited and nervous to share this because it’s my first Aurora x mc fic. I haven’t wrote for her much so I tried to capture her as best I could. I just adore Aurora as a character and I wanted to showcase her friendship with Katrina more and how I envision it in between chapters. Which is more comfortable and friendly than what canon pushes. This is a super cute and fluffy piece that I hope you all enjoy!

*Platonic Pairing*: Aurora & MC 

Summary: Katrina & Aurora spend some time in the kitchen.

Side Note: This takes place some time after chapter 6 but before chapter 8. I plan to make more fics around these two and their friendship so if anyone enjoys reading about these two, I’ll make sure to add you to a tag list for any Aurora x MC fic I write.

After an extremely tiring day, Katrina was gratified to finally enter her apartment. Dropping her bag to the ground and kicking off her heels, she reclines back onto the closed door. Running her hand languidly through her hair eases some tension from her body.

“Home at last.” she sighs.

Only a minute passes before she adjusts to get up from her spot to make her way toward the stairs. Right as she takes a step, she feels a graze from a leather-like texture. Looking down, she sees a scowling tortoise greet her.

“Pistachio! I didn’t see you there, buddy. I’m sorry.”

Katrina bends down and picks up the tortoise and presses a small kiss to his head. His scowl leaves and a smile replaces it. Shaking her head in amusement, she puts him down and laughs. As she stands up straight and turns to head to her room, a loud crash followed by a stream of expletives stops her in her track. Spinning in the direction of the kitchen, Katrina rushes over to the next room only to find pans and silverware scattered on the floor, knocked over spices, and a panicked Aurora Emery wiping vigorously at spilled water.

“Fuck! Damn it!”

Katrina cautiously treads into the disarray room, unsure where she should lend a hand at first.

“Aurora? Are you okay?”

“Does it look like it?!”

Katrina shoots her a pointed look. Aurora sighs dejectedly as she gets up from her knees with a drenched rag in hand and carefully moves to ring it out over the sink.

“Sorry to snap on you-- I’m pissed.”

Katrina waves her hand freely.

“It’s fine. So you want to tell me what the hell happened here?”

Katrina reached to push a pile of vegetables to the center of the counter and picked up the topple vials of spices.

“I figured after a few rounds of cooking with Sienna that I could manage a simple dinner for you all. Clearly, I should’ve known better,” she says flinging the wet towel aggressively in the sink.

Aurora leans her back against the cool surface with her shoulders low. Her hand pressed firmly against her forehead. Katrina moves delicately across the damp wooden floor and stands next to the shorter woman and lays a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it in a gentle circular motion.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s not all a bust. This is salvageable.”

Aurora looks to meet Katrina’s gaze, her eyes full of sadness.

“How? Everyone else should be home soon. I’d have thirty minutes, max and the recipe takes at least an hour and a half. Besides, I made a mess.”

Katrina looks around them again and notices things she missed when she reached the kitchen; half-peeled potatoes, vegetable oil tipped over the stovetop, opened ground meat hanging dangerously close to the edge of another counter. She walks away from Aurora and starts to gather everything up and organize them in a fashionable order.

“First thing, depending on how you see it, I have good or bad news for you.”

“And that is?”

“Jackie and Sienna are working late on-call shifts tonight and Elijah said he was gonna get drinks with Sothy.”

“That sounds like good news to you? You can just say I did all this for nothing.”

“Wrong! Look at it this way. This can be practice for next time you make dinner for us. Which will be mishap-free and everyone will be home to enjoy it. Bonus, you get a culinary lesson from yours truly.” Katrina tells her as she wipes up some spilled oil with a paper towel.

“You’re willing to help me cook?” Aurora asks shyly.

“Of course! Sienna isn’t the only chef living here. Plus I love you girl, but I don’t think it's wise to leave you alone in the kitchen too long or you’ll burn the place down.” Katrina teases.

“Shut up,” she scoffs. Rolling her eyes playfully.

“Hey, I’m not a person who frequently burns breakfast.”

“Kat, that was one time.”

Katrina looks at Aurora incredulously. The shorter woman avoids eye contact and folds her arms to her chest as she mumbles.

“Fine, only one time in this household."

“Exactly. Look I’m gonna go change real quick. You gather all the vegetables in one pile and everything else and I’ll be back in a few.”

Katrina turns to leave the kitchen and heads to her room. Not much time passed before she returns in baggy red sweatpants and old white wife-beater pulling her hair back in a high puff. Looking around the kitchen and no longer seeing a chaotic scene before her, she stands next to Aurora in front of the stove. She clasps her hands together.

“You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Don’t worry, this is gonna be fun and really easy once you do it more often. I promise.”

“If you say so.” Aurora deadpans. Katrina grins at the woman.

“First, before we begin we have to do the most important step when you begin cooking.”

“Wash our hands?”

Katrina pauses for a moment.

“Okay, the second most important thing?”

Aurora stares at her with a blank stare. With a sly smile, Katrina darts out the kitchen briefly before returning with a beat pill and her cell phone.

“Music, duh. You’re black. You should’ve known that.”

“Whatever,” she says with a bemused smile as she pushes a strand of her jet black hair behind her ear.

Katrina sets the speaker down and turns it on. In her other hand, she scrolls down her music library until her finger pauses and presses on the screen. A blast of soulful noise fills the air as Katrina grabs a large pot and fills it with water and sets it on the stovetop to boil. She shimmies pass Aurora and tosses a potato in her hands and holds out the vegetable peeler.

“Hey sister, go, sister, soul sister. Time to peel these po-tat-toes, po-tat-toes.”

Aurora reaches to grab the peeler and begins peeling the skin off into their trash can as she watches Katrina swing her hips in time with the music.

“Patti Labelle? Really, how old are you?”

“Hey, these are classics. The designated genre to listen to when you are about to throw down in the kitchen. Besides, that’s what makes the food taste even better.”

“Ah-huh, sure.”

Katrina sticks her tongue out playfully at Aurora who giggles at her antics. Katrina smiles to herself noticing that since attending her class reunion, Aurora has opened up more to everyone, finally finding her place. She continues her dancing while cutting up bell peppers and onions. Once she got them finely chopped, she bends down into the lower cabinets to pull out a large skillet and a large loaf pan and sets both on two inactive eyes on the stove. Peering over into the steaming pot and seeing the water bubble she calls out to Aurora.

“How’s it coming, my sous chef?”

Aurora moves to stand beside Katrina and brings the potatoes over, spilling the skinless starch over the counter.

“Finished. What’s next?”

“Okay. Chop them a quarter inch and then I’ll have you drop them into the boiling water and we’ll let them cook. Then you can season the meat.”

Aurora follows Katrina’s instructions as the taller woman lightly sautéed the previously chopped veggies in an oiled saucepan. The strong aroma filters through the air and in her peripheral view, Katrina notices Aurora inhales the scent. Kat takes note of the serene and warm smile that frequents Aurora's face lately. Spooning through the cooked veggies one last time, Katrina turns off the burner and sets the skillet aside to rest. She then reaches to set the ground beef next to Aurora as she prepares the wet ingredients for the recipe. Playfully, she bumps her hips into Aurora prompting the quiet woman to retaliate the same. To her surprise, Aurora dances along with the music, dropping it low before picking it back up.

“Umm, excuse me, Ms. Emery?! You’ve been holding out, girl! Since when have you had moves like that?!”

Throwing her words earlier back at her, Aurora replies with a smirk.

“I’m black, duh.”

“Okay, Ms. Smarty-Pants. How come you can’t cook, then?”

“The same reason why you can’t braid.”

“Damn, you didn’t have to come at me so hard.”

The two women laugh and continue ribbing the other as they continue the tasks at hand. Still chuckling, Katrina grabs the stalk of asparagus and drench them with olive oil and light salt before tossing them into an oven. Once she closes the oven door, she then turns back to Aurora who is now finishing up combining the last of the previously cooked veggies with the wet ingredients and seasoned beef. In her eyes, she looks up at Katrina, questioning that she’s doing things right. With a nod, the two women press the mixture into a loaf pan and place it alongside the rest of the food cooking.

“Okay, the meatloaf and asparagus are gonna take about 35min at least and we got a good 15 before we need to check the pot--”

Katrina freezes in place as she stops talking. Right as Aurora opens her mouth to question what’s wrong, Katrina reaches for her phone and clicks repeatedly on the button on the side, increasing the volume of the music as she begins to rap along obnoxiously loud.

“It's going down, fade to blackstreet

The homies got rb, collab' creations

Bump like acne,  no doubt I put it down,

Never slouch As long as my credit can vouch

A dog couldn't catch me ass out

Tell me who can stop when dre makin' moves

Attracting honeys like a magnet

Giving 'em eargasms with my mellow accent

Still moving this flavor,With the homies blackstreet and teddy

The original rump shakers”

She bounces along with the beat, swinging her arm around Aurora. Katrina was going to continue but is cut off by Aurora's own silky voice.

“Shorty get down, good lord, baby got 'em up open all over town

Strictly biz, she don't play around, cover much ground,

Got game by the pound Getting paid is her forte, Each and every day,

True player way I can't get her out of my mind, East side to the west side 

Pushin' phat rides, it's No surprise, She got tricks in the stash

Stacking up the cash, Fast when it comes to the gas

By no means average, She's on when she's gotta have it

Baby, you're a perfect ten, I wanna get in, Can I get down,

So I can win I like the way you work it, No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up”

Joy lights up in Katrina’s eyes as she urges Aurora to keep going. Together, the two both belt out the song and dance with each other. They shimmy and swing their hips to the next songs in the queue being as carefree as they can be. Time seems to have barely passed before, a timer goes off. Pausing to catch their breaths and control the giggles that escape their lips, Kat reaches to silent the alarm, while Aurora pulls out the food from the oven. Not too long after, the two set down the finished meatloaf, a bowl of mashed potatoes, and a platter of baked asparagus for the table. Aurora sets down two plate sets while Katrina grabs two wine glasses in one hand and carries an opened bottle of wine to the table and sits.

“Wine?”

“Oh yes, please. Definitely needed this.”

“Even more than this feast you prepared? Because it looks and smells amazing.”

As Aurora accepts a glass of wine, Katrina pinpoints a slight blush on her cheeks as she sips.

“Please, I hardly put this together.”

“Ah ah nope. Aurora, you did the grunt work. I just did little things. You totally did this. Enjoy it-- a matter of fact, relish in your success by taking the first bites.”

Nodding, Aurora gathers a healthy serving of everything onto her plate and takes a bite. A moan of satisfaction escapes.

“Damn, you make it sound really good. Let me test it out.” Katrina fixes her plate and once she places her fork into her mouth, it immediately goes back for more.

The two ate in silence minus the music from earlier playing softly in the background. Both preoccupied with the food in front of them. After a few minutes, Aurora speaks.

“I-- I really couldn’t have done this without your help Katrina. For taking the time to spend to teach me. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

Katrina sets her fork down and takes a few sips of her wine.

“It’s nothing. I’m happy you had fun tonight because I did too. I’m more than happy to make a repeat of it if you’re up to it.”

 “I’d like that,” Aurora says with a bright smile. 

The two talk as they ate, enjoying the rest of their evening.

[cclkestis]

I see you mentioning your various ocs quite often and I have to ask - how many do you have? And how do you keep track of the different ones and the information about them? It certainly seems like you have a few and I struggle with keeping track of a whole two of them so I was wondering if you had any advice?

jsdhsjdh uuuuuuh is “too many” a specific enough answer for you here? 

at the last count i did in my attempts to get somewhat organised in terms of ones i have actively been writing for/am still currently developing to some extent (and also not including the news ones i’m possibly about to be creating for a new world *eyes emoji*) .......sixty four..........

how do i keep track of them, you ask? badly. okay so what you have to know is that a significant number of them were created years ago (a whole pile of them and the story they’re from are gonna be three years old this year and i’m :’))) ) so for them a lot of stuff is just kind of....ingrained in my head by this point?? sure, i forget small details from time to time but i always tend to re-find them sooner or later! i’ve used a variety of ways over the years to try and keep things organised so i’ll try and list them under the cut before this gets super long (or longer sksksks) oh god i apologise in advance for all the rambling

also if anyone else has anything different they want to add please do feel free!!

a lot of this is up to personal preference at the end of the day and might not really be what you’re looking for BUT:

character “forms” - a lot of my oc writing happens on a forum type site where i have a thread set up that i can post “forms” for characters and store them there, usually filled with all the basics about them (eg. details like name/age/etc, personality summary, appearance) that i establish when i first create them. this helps me get the base idea of them in mind, and can be updated as they change.

info-dumping - i also have a messy chaotic thread set up where i can just info-dump about characters with any and all random thoughts that come to mind but aren’t necessarily “”important”” details, and generally i try to add to those posts whenever i have a New Thought about them and then i can go back and refresh myself on them there.

discord - this might seem like a weird thing to have in this list, but it kind of fits into the above point in a sense?? in that i have a server set up with channels for different characters and it’s even easier for me to throw anything and everything about characters in those that i can then scroll through as needed. (especially helpful as i can use it on mobile so it’s convenient for when a Thought strikes and you’re not at your laptop!)

pinterest - it took me a while to get on with pinterest but i’ve found creating pinterest boards for characters super helpful, both in terms of capturing their Vibes and aesthetics, but also because generally speaking each of my ocs ends up with a distinct colour i associate with them which idk somehow also helps me remember things about them?? it’s weird.

tumblr tags - a lot (not all, but many) of my characters have a tag over on my inspo blog that i tag things for them which remind me of them in some way, which again is a good way for me to quickly scroll back and get inspiration for them and a reminder of what they’re like if i’m slipping a little bit.

spotify - not one that i use personally because i am garbage at finding music that fits my characters, but i know a lot of friends who find having playlists a really good way of helping them keep different ocs in mind!

and finally for now (because this has already gotten ridiculously rambly) my latest project i’ve been working on is a page on my inspo blog where i’ve got them all listed, with links to tumblr tags and pinterest boards (if they have them) and i’m planning to work on filling in the basics about them all in one handy place where i can also filter them based on which “”world”” they’re in in order to more easily find them! it’s a very slow-going process because i haven’t had much time to work on it (and there are a lot of them) but once i get it done i think it’ll be extremely useful and most likely my go-to for when i need a quick reminder on any of them! (you can find it here if you’re curious, but it is a m a j o r wip as i said)

ANYWAY if you made it this far, congratulations! i hope that this is helpful in some way, i realise that it might seem awfully chaotic at points but that’s just how i work things when it comes to my ocs and i know that using so many different things isn’t going to suit everyone!

[spectraspecs-writes]

Kashyyyk - Chapter 66

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 65. Chapter 67.

@averruncusho​ @ceruleanrainblues​ thank you for reading you get a tag. @skelelexiunderlord​ thank you for support, you get a tag.

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I wake up with a sneeze. There was a vision, too, but the sneeze interrupted the vision as well. My head feels fuzzy and puffy. Haven’t felt this since… well, ever, actually. No idea what’s going on.

I sneeze again, and it hurts. Bastila wakes up now. Startled awake by my sneeze. She stretches a bit, asking, “Are you alright, Rena?”

“I’m fine,” I say, and my voice sounds stuffy, “I think something’s just tickling my nose.”

“We’ve received another vision,” she says, “The Force is guiding us, helping us retrace the steps of Malak and his old Master. Leading us ever closer to the Star Forge. Kashyyyk is a lush but simple and undeveloped world. I would not have expected to find the alien technology of a Star Map here. Kashyyyk is a lush but simple and undeveloped world. I would not have expected to find the alien technology of a Star Map here.”

“I thought the same thing about Tatooine,” I say. I stretch and roll my head. “It looked to me like the Star Map was on the forest floor.”

She gives a small shrug. “The Wookiees of Kashyyyk make their home high among the wroshyr branches; only their bravest warriors dare to descend into the forbidding depths of the forest. If the Star Map is located far beneath us on the planet's surface, as our vision seems to suggest, it is unlikely the Wookiees even know of its existence,” she says, “No doubt things will become more clear once we discover the Star Map's location.”

I sneeze again. “Ow!”

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“No,” I say honestly, “but there’s not much I could do about it anyway, is there?”

“We could…”

“Bastila,” I interrupt, “I can handle it. I’ll be okay.”

She looks at me skeptically, but she accepts it. “If you insist,” she says, “Czerka maintains the port here…”

“Fantastic.”

“... I expected that would be your reaction. I suspect when they ask for a docking fee you will find a way to avoid it?”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Ordinarily,” she sighs, “yes. In this circumstance, no.” Oh? What changed your mind? “As a Jedi, I know I should remain neutral, but personally, I find the slaving operations on this planet to be appalling. For the record, I do not encourage any disruption to the slaving operations…”

“But if something were to happen to stop or hinder the operations you wouldn’t be all that upset about it,” I finish, “I get the picture.” I clear my throat and cough a little. “Zaalbar must feel awful still.”

“Mission would know better than I could,” Bastila says, “but I would imagine yes. He still knows a great deal about the planet, however. I would recommend bringing him along when you go.”

“Mission, too - if he’s uneasy, she’ll probably help,” I say. I sniffle a little. “I’ll ask Carth, too - he should keep my more chaotic impulses in check for you.” She smiles at that. Bastila can’t fool me - she thinks I’m very chaotic although she’ll never say it out loud. Compared to Bastila, who’s very consistent. I’m just… not. Sometimes she feels like a real stick in the mud. But then she probably sees the balls-to-the-walls party that I am as a danger to others or a disaster waiting to happen. She may not like my friendship with Carth, probably because she’s afraid that the fact I think he’s attractive will turn into something else, which I doubt, but like it or not she can’t ignore that he does keep me from going wild.

I swap out my stamina implant for a neural one. Hopefully that will do something for the fuzziness I feel in my head. It won’t do anything right away, but maybe it’ll do something.

I order a little breakfast out of the synthesizer. I can’t tell if it tastes gross because of the synthesizer or because my nose is stuffed up and everything tastes bad. But as gross as it is, I need to eat something. It’s weird, because I usually like this, it’s a sort of berry bread, and the synthesizers made it okay once before. 

Carth comes up to the synthesizer and gets a cup of caff. “Morning,” he says to me, “Sleep okay?”

“No different than usual,” I say, and then I sneeze again, painfully. “Damn!”

“Are you alright?”

I sigh. “I swear, the next person to ask me that… I’m fine. I’m just sneezing a bit. Something’s just tickling my nose.”

He holds his hand to my forehead - Dad Carth much? “Well, you’re not feverish, so that’s good. Even a mild bug can make short work around a ship as small as this.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I tease him.

He chuckles shortly. “Sorry. I don’t know where that came from,” he says, “You were fine yesterday. I wonder if it’s something about Kashyyyk.”

“Only one way to find out,” I say, and I sneeze again, “Feel like coming with me?”

“Of course,” he says.

“Let Zaalbar know if you see him,” I say, “Mission, too.”

“You got it.”

-------

We find Mission and Zaalbar and head out. I can’t see the sun because of all the trees, but if I had to guess it’s around midday. Zaalbar shuffles a little uncomfortably, seeing the Czerka workers at the docks. “The slavers are still here,” he says, “This dock is theirs. I doubt anyone has risen to try and fight. Nothing has changed.”

“We’ll see what we can do, Zaalbar,” I say.

A Czerka worker comes up to me, an Ithorian. “Greetings to you. I am Janos Wertka. I am the dock master here,” he says, and then he starts to scroll through his datapad. He makes an uncertain noise. “While I am pleased to welcome you to planet G5-623, I do not see your ship on my docking schedule.”

“G5… uh, whatever it was - am I in the wrong place?” I’m confused. “I thought this planet was called Kashyyyk?”

“That is what the dominant indigenous species calls this world,” Wertka says, “but maintaining this outpost grants Czerka Corporation naming rights in the trade guides.” I’m sure they didn’t think to ask the Wookiees about that. “But, I'm sorry, I really must insist that docking fees be paid before I impart any further services. I must follow proper procedure. Upon collection of the correct fees, I will extend what resources the Czerka Corporation can offer. I'm sure you understand.”

Yeah, sure. I’m not going to support your slaving operations. I wave my hand, reaching out with the Force. “I don’t need to pay the docking fee,” I say.

His face changes - success! “Perhaps you don't need to pay the docking fee. Any services you need will more than make up for it.” As if. “I see you have a Wookiee with you,” he says, looking at Zaalbar, “Can I assume you understand their language? For a fee, Czerka Corporation can provide a translator for you during your visit.”

“No, I’m fine,” I say. I sneeze again.

“Very well,” he says, “though only the most adaptive people seem to comprehend the Wookiee language, such as it is.” Relax, Rena, causing an incident with a simple dock master is not going to do anything to improve the situation for the Wookiees. “Now then, please follow me to our information center. I will answer any further questions there.” Might as well.

When we get to the information center, the Ithorian stands behind a counter and asks me, “How can Czerka Corporation serve you during your visit to Edean?”

“Edean, G5-whatever - how many names does this planet have?”

“G5-623 is the numerical designation,” he answers, “The galactic Basic name is ‘Edean,’ chosen by corporate ballot among stockholders. At any rate, ‘Edean’ is more pleasing than "Kashyyyk." The language of the dominant indigenous species is quite crude.” What the hell is it with Czerka that if you can’t comprehend the native language at the first listen you think of the natives as less than? First the Sand People, now the Wookiees! Good God, have some morality.

“What else is on this planet?” Carth asks for me - I think he understands that I’m getting ever more angry the more this Ithorian says.

“An endless array of dangerous creatures, it seems,” he says, “The great trees harbor any number of dangers below. We've detected odd energy signatures on occasion, but exploration is costly amongst creatures even more difficult than Wookiees.”

“Odd energy signatures?” Carth repeats, “Have you ever checked those out?”

“We send expeditions, of course, but they come back with little, if they come back at all,” he says, “In any event, it would seem you are already acquainted with this world, given your choice of travelling companion.”

“I have been away for a very long time,” Zaalbar says sadly.

Wertka looks surprised. “You let the beast speak for you? You allow it more liberties than most of our customers.”

Excuse me? “Allow him more liberties?”

“He means that they are slavers,” Zaalbar growls, “They take my people from their homes and sell them to the highest bidder.”

The Ithorian looks at Zaalbar sideways. “Your current Wookiee seems displeased with the situation, but I fail to see a concern. You seem to be a satisfied customer.”

“Zaalbar isn’t a slave!” Mission shouts.

“He’s here because he swore a life-debt to me after I freed him from slavers!” I want to strangle this Ithorian. Yeah, yeah, there is no emotion, there is peace, to hell with that! An entire population of a planet is at risk of enslavement because of this damned corporation!

“Ah, a very difficult thing to stage,” he says, “I commend you for it. So much easier than relying on restraining collars.”

Zaalbar roars. “Do not demean the life-debt! Do not!”

Now I think Wertka understands just precisely how pissed I am. “I must warn you that you will be blamed for the actions of your Wookiee. Please… call him off.”

“And just why should I?” I say quickly, “Hell, I should kill you myself, you disgusting slaver!” Thank God Bastila’s not here.

“I am merely a servant of the corporation!” he says nervously, “The Wookiee leadership is in agreement! Harvesting is made as delicate as possible!”

“HARVESTING?!?” I shout.

“Please! It is not my decision! It is… an acceptable practice, I assure you!”

Finally, Carth pulls me back. Almost like Bastila had a talk with him about keeping my hands clean. “Why do the Wookiees tolerate you doing this?” he asks, and he takes my lightsaber from me.

“It is not me, personally,” Wertka says, sweating nervously, “I merely represent Czerka Corporation at this outpost. There are other directors at other stations, of course. Arrangements have been made with the Wookiee leadership. Harvesting is handled as delicately as possible, relatively speaking.”

“Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Carth says, “but she’s not exactly delicate. Maybe if you tell me more, I can try to calm her down.” I’m glad he hates this as much as I do.

“If it will ease her temper, I will give specifics.” Wow, Carth can sweet talk aliens? Impressive. I’ve always had difficulty sweet-talking Ithorians. “We supply arms in exchange for a supply of healthy Wookiees. We are kept profitable and an agreeable leader is kept in power. It keeps the process from becoming a constant firefight.”

“What’s this leader’s name?” Carth asks.

“I believe his name is Chuundar. I don't deal directly with them, thank goodness. Far too brutish.”

Zaalbar flinches a little, hearing the name. “That was not a name I wanted to hear.”

“It sounds as though your thrall has an opinion about our arrangement with this leader,” the Ithorian says, “but it doesn't matter. Chuundar is unquestioned.”

“What’s the matter, Big Z?” Mission asks him.

“This is not something I will talk about,” Zaalbar says, “Not yet.”

“I won’t let this continue,” I say.

“It's not up to you,” he says, “This planet is not a member of the Republic, and its backward citizens hold no rights. I'm sorry you are offended, but this operation is very humane. Even the Wookiee leadership knows it is more beneficial to work with us.”

“Humane, you call it?” Carth repeats, “Beneficial? Sounds like a bunch of excuses, if you ask me.”

“Even if you did do something drastic here,” he says, “the Czerka Corporation has other outposts on Edean. It would change nothing.”

“Let’s go,” I say, “We’re not going to get anywhere here.”

When we’re out of Wertka’s earshot, Carth comes up to me. “You alright?”

“I’m pissed!” I shout, “An entire species is being exploited and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it!”

“I agree!” Carth says, “But threatening people isn’t going to help the Wookiees any.”

“What do you expect me to do? Just let it happen?”

“No, but…” He stops. “How long have you been scratching your arm?”

“What?” I look. “I don’t know, it itches.” I sneeze again.

“There’s blood - you’ve scratched your arm open!” He pulls my arm away to stop me scratching through my robe.

“So I’ll slap a kolto patch on it, big deal.”

“I’m getting you back to the ship,” he says, turning me around back towards the Hawk. He hands Mission my lightsaber.

“Carth, I’m okay, I…” I sneeze again. “Damn it!” It’s worse out here!

“Uh-huh. Come on, back to the ship,” he urges. And I’m not in much of a position to argue with him.