#thinking many thoughts as I try write tulips of time

[avirxy]

I would like someone to take me to the alternate universe where Wizards got two seasons.

[atinyniki]

flowers and confessions.

group: stray kids !

pairing: nonidol!bangchan x f!reader

genre: fluff, pinch of angst

warnings + additional info: reader is referred to as y/n, reader and chan are both whipped for eachother, chan is referred to as channie, yeji of ITZY and changbin have a crush on eachother in this au for the sake of the plot (NOT SHIPPING), reader and yeji are roommates, love confessions, college au, reader and chan like cooking together.

authors note: this is something i was doing with a friend of mine at uni a year back but he had a gf </3 i never ended up confessing, so i decided to make this story a happy ending :) this is also not proofread. english is not my first language, so please excuse any grammatical or spelling errors. happy reading :)

wc: 3733

“and she’s more of a tulip girl than a rose girl. got that?”

“yes ma’am”, chan chuckles nervously.

“listen to me chan. you’re a good man, and i know if she gives you a chance she’ll give in eventually. just… please don’t fuck it up.”

chan nods his head slowly, processing what she’s said to him. “okay, i’ll try my best not to. thank you, yeji”

she nods, escorting chan out of her home. 

‘what could i do…?’, chan thinks to himself. the walk his dorm isn’t all that time consuming, but it feels even longer with the thoughts of you plaguing his mind. 

the envelopes on his desk seem to strike up an idea. you guys are best friends, he doesn’t want to ruin anything of course. so… why not confess anonymously?

“like… love letters? from a secret admirer?”, changbin asks incredulously.

“yeah… im sure she’ll tell me about the letters and then… i can ask if she likes them. you know?”

changbin sighs, staring at chans lovestruck face. “you do you. i don’t need any letters because… i’ve got these.”, changbin says as he points to his biceps and wiggles his eyebrows. “shut up bin”, chan chuckles.

he quickly goes back to his room, writing the first letter as an opening. he quickly writes the letter, placing it in an envelope and closing it with a red wax stamp.

the excitement was getting to him, he had a hard time sleeping that night.

“seriously…?”, yeji stares at him, completely unamused.

“what… is it bad?”

“dude. i give you all of that info, and you use it for love letters?”

chan sheepishly nods at her. he knows it’s crazy, but he just doesn’t want to say anything face to face yet. you’re such great friends already, he’s afraid that he’ll ruin things.

“yeji, listen. this way, if i ask her about the letters and she says they’re weird or something, i won’t have to handle direct rejection. she would never know it was me.”

yeji seems to be understanding this more now. “ah… i see. go on then, make sure to make them super sappy. she loves that… for some reason.”, she rolls her eyes.

chan bows quickly, rushing to his next class. he can’t stand being late to this one. it’s his favorite class, not because of the subject, but because of you. seeing your face and being able to sit next to you brightens up his mondays every time. 

you watch as he makes his way up the stairs, a small smile on his face. “hey chan”

“hey”, he says with a smile.

he takes a seat next to you, the warmth emitting from his body. you love that you can sit next to your best friend first thing in the morning, especially in the winter. 

your professor walks in, and you both immediately focus on your work. mr. bae is no joke. chan makes small talk with you of course, as much as he possibly can without being scolded by your professor. he’s been caught too many times for him to be let off easy this time around. 

class ends not too long after, meaning the two of you have to part ways for now. it’s okay though, you always hang out outside of school anyways.

you make your way to your locker to put away some things before your next class. you don’t have much time, but luckily the class is in the same hall. 

you open the locker and put away your things, but something catches your eye. a beautiful pink tulip, placed nicely on top of a white envelope. there’s a cute heart on the wax seal, and you’re careful not to rip the envelope while you open it.

you begin to read the letter, a pink hue spreading across your cheeks as you process the words. your heart flutters in your chest, knowing that someone thinks about you in this way.

you don’t think your smile is all that special, but this person definitely thinks otherwise. you quickly put away the envelope, reminding yourself to dry press the tulip later. 

all of a sudden, you’re smacked out of your thoughts. you run towards the hall. you’re definitely going to be late.

you arrive at chans with the ingredients, waiting for changbin to get back. you’re cooking his favorite today, so you’re very excited to see his reaction.

the tulip that your admirer gave you is pressed in between a stack of books, you plan on air drying and preserving it later. 

“who gave the flower?”, he asks with a smirk.

“oh… no one”, you reply shyly.

he continues to wiggle his eyebrows at you, causing you to shove him playfully. 

you and chan continue talking about some studies, when you hear changbin come in.

“chan?”

he stands in the doorway for a second, inhaling for a little while. he rushes to the kitchen when he smells it. “what is all this?”

“we decided to make your favorite tonight, help yourself. we’ll bring the danmuji out in a second”, you tell him.

he smiles so wide it almost reaches his eyes. “ooohhhh thank you thank you thank you! you did all this for meeeee?”, he says excitedly.

“it was all chans idea, thank him”, you chuckle.

changbin jerks his head towards chan, a cute pout on his face. “you did this for me channieee?”

chan stares at him for a little while before rolling his eyes. “no. why would i do it for you? shut up and eat now.”

you both knew it was all an act. as much as chan tried to pretend he hated changbin, you knew that it was just brotherly love.

“thanks chan”, he says with a smile.

chan can’t help but smile back.

you open your locker the next week to a black tulip, your heart sinking to your stomach.

you pick up the note, reading it quickly before you go to class. 

“don’t worry, nothings wrong. i just gave you a black tulip this time since i always see you wearing black clothes. i assumed it’s your favorite color.”, it read.

the note went on with the usual, except this time it was about your nose. you giggled to yourself, the words lingering in your mind for far too long. your heart flutters in your chest thinking about who could possibly be writing these.

you run to class, afraid you’ll be late. you lost track of time reading the note, but you don’t regret it. not one bit.

you hope he’ll reveal himself soon.

“mmhhh noo…”, you whine.

chan giggles a little, pulling you closer into his embrace for a second. “i really need to go to the bathroom y/n…”

“you’re warm though…”

chan takes your hand in yours, “i’ll only be a minute. besides, you have the blanket.”

you nod, watching him go and sitting in the spot on the couch where he previously sat. the seat was warm still, almost enough to pull you into a slumber.

chan quickly locks himself in the bathroom, his heart beating almost a thousand times a second. why did he do that? why did he hold your hand… oh gosh. his entire face is red, he tries to wash it away. it doesn’t work.

maybe it’s his fault for sitting so close to you in the first place, but he can’t deny that he enjoyed it. he wants to be in your embrace forever. 

“gosh… this is beautiful.”, you whisper to yourself. the note contained a little poem about your eyes this time. you didn’t think they had much effect on anyone.

you pick up the red tulip, admiring it for a moment before placing it back in your locker inbetween some tissues and a stack of books. you enjoyed pressing them.

that way, if you were to ever find your secret admirer, you could keep the memories of your feelings.

wait… feelings? do you like this guy? you don’t even know what he looks like! maybe they’re just… shy?

you never thought for once that a man would be too shy to see someone like you of all people. you’re not really all that special in your opinion, but surely there was more to you that this guy sees.

maybe you could go searching for him…

“you really like pressing those damn tulips.”

you chuckle nervously, “yeah… they’re really pretty”

chan is surprised you haven’t told him anything yet, but he makes sure not to push you. he doesn’t want to let anything slip.

chan sits back down on your bed, admiring you for a bit while you talk about some things that happen at school.

“and she’s been- she… why are you looking at me like that?”, you ask. the look on his face has you tripping on your words, oddly flustered.

“huh? o-oh… um.”, he stutters, afraid he’s made things awkward. he tries to think of an excuse quickly, “you still have a little sauce on your cheek.”

embarrassed, you wipe a bit at your cheek, trying to wipe the sauce that wasn’t even there in the first place. suddenly, chan speaks up. “i’ll get it.”

he scoots incredibly close to you, stroking your cheek and “wiping away the sauce”. your eyes widen, cheeks turning a bright red.

chan seems to notice, smirking at you again and wiggling his eyebrows. you scoff playfully, flicking his forehead causing him to recoil.

“heyyy! what was that for”, he says with a fake pout. you can only giggle at his antics, running a thumb over his forehead to ease the pain. 

you continued going on about the girl in your class, ignoring the way chans close proximity made you feel.

“what the hell?”

the note came with a baby blue tulip this time, writing about how your voice makes his day. ‘so he knows me…’, you think to yourself.

maybe you two share a class or two. either way, you’re determined to find out. this time, you write a note in your locker for him to read the next week. 

it’s a simple note, not as cute as his are. the only thing it asks is if you two share a class.

you hope he notices it next time, it’d be a shame if he didn’t. you place the note in your locker and quickly run back to class.

now that you think of it, he must have a class in the same hall as you since he always gets to your locker in the morning. maybe he’s in your first class. 

wait. why are you so eager to know? gosh, how are you falling for someone when you don’t even know who they are? 

“oh come onnn, please?”

“jeez, why do you wanna know so bad?”

“becauseee… you seem so happy when you get these flowers. do you finally have a boyfriend?”

you shoot him a look, shutting him up immediately. “what do you mean, “finally”? i’ve had many boyfriends before”, you say while shaking your head. 

chan laughs beside you, causing you to laugh a little bit too. “well, the truth is, i don’t know who these flowers are coming from. someone puts them in my locker every monday with a love letter…”

chan looks at you, wide eyed. he fakes his surprise, “wait… you have a secret admirer?!”, he giggles.

“yeah… i guess i do”, you smile.

you turn your head to look at him again, his boba eyes staring right at yours. you can’t help but think back to what the note about your eyes said. does chan see them the same way? do you… want him to see them the same way?

chan pulls you into an embrace when he sees the look in your eye. “well, hopefully he reveals himself soon”

your face is painted with a light blush again. how could you possibly be falling for two men at once?

why do feelings have to be so confusing…?

the weeks go by, different tulips and notes arriving in your locker every week. you’ve confirmed that you’re both in first period together, but that seems like the only clue you’re getting for a while.

each day, you press the flowers and place them in your special frame next to the decorative box, in which you place the letters.

your frame is just a blob of colors now, the ivory, purple, and crimson tulips popping out the most.

you’ve been meeting with chan a lot more recently for movie nights. you’ll have to admit, they’re really fun, but you’re finding it difficult to evaluate your feelings.

you’ve started to develop stronger feelings for chan, as well as your admirer. your heart is torn between the two. you don’t know who to choose. you dont even know if you can begin to choose.

how could you break their hearts?

you wake up early in the morning, surprised because you normally can’t seem to bring yourself to open your eyes. you nuzzle closer into the warm pillow, wondering why it feels so much better than usual.

“sleep well?”, chans voice revertibrates through your entire being. you pull your hands back, scooting away from him and looking up.

“wait… i- what the hell?”

“hey it’s not my fault! you were incredibly drunk, and you insisted i stay.”

“oh…”

“oh channie… please stay! i can’t sleep without you… you’re so warm”, he mocks you and laughs.

your eyes go wide, a hand clamped over your mouth in shock.

“i actually said that…?”, you hide your face in your hands. 

“no biggie”, he smiles.

you bury your face in your palms, embarrassed. you’re glad you didn’t let anything else slip out though. chan pulls you back into his embrace, drawing patterns on your back and laughing a little. 

“hey, seriously. it’s fine, i don’t mind keeping you company you know. your channie will always be here”, he giggles.

“shut. up.”, you reply, your voice muffled in his chest. 

you hear the door open, quickly jerking your head towards it. “you lovebirds done? i brought breakfast”, yeji smiles.

“yejiii” you whine, hiding your face again. chan gets out of bed, laughing again as he gets ready for the day.

“fuck…”, you mutter under your breath. it’ll be much easier to confess to chan right? you can confront him face to face, but with your admirer it’d be more difficult.

what if they’re just joking around? if you confess, the tulips will stop. you’ll have no more notes to keep in your box. but then again, if you do confess, there’s a high chance of the both of you ending up together.

there’s no way chan likes you, but you really need to get it off your chest. you can’t pursue your admirer while still having feelings for chan, that’s not fair to him.

if chan is so excited about this admirer, there’s no way he could actually like you… right? fuck it.

you run over to chans dorm, changbin opens the door for you. “y/n? chans not home right now, sorry.”

“yeah i know… i was um- i was meaning to talk to you actually.”

“oh! come in”, he says with a smile.

you explain the whole thing in depth to changbin, even your feelings for the two boys. changbin laughs to himself, ‘what has he gotten himself into?’, he thinks.

changbin doesn’t even seem to notice that tears are leaving your eyes. he quickly grabs your hand, running his thumb over it. “hey, i’m sure nothing bad will happen if you confess to chan. he loves you too much to let you go just because of a crush.”

“no but that’s the thing changbin! it’s not just a crush- i love him. i love the both of them. and i don’t know who to choose, or how to tell them, because it’s not fair to date one without telling the other and…”, you trail off.

“just tell chan you love him. and if you really want to win him over, tell him while you’re cooking or baking together or something.”

“what? why?”

“just do it, trust me.”

you nod, continuing to plan out your confession with changbin. you figure out how you’re going to confess, you hope chan will enjoy having his favorite dish.

“i should tell yeji about this too, she’ll probably have some advice.”

changbin goes silent, thinking about what else you could do. you notice the way his face goes red at the mention of your roommate.

hopefully he’ll confess too.

“i brought everything… what’s the occasion though?”

“you’ll see”, you say with a smile. 

you both make your way to the kitchen, smiling along the way. of course your nervous, but it’s a lot easier when you have his reassuring smile.

it seems to be something that always puts you at ease, it’s one of the reasons you love him so much. you feel so safe with him. 

you guys work on dinner, smiling and giggling the entire time. “that damn coral tulip really put you in a good mood hm?”

you chuckle a little, “hm, yeah”, you beam at him. hold on… did you tell him about the coral tulip? “wait… how do you know about the tulip”

“huh?”, chan seems to be confused, but then his eyes go wide. he realizes his mistake immediately, but he doesn’t know what to do.

“chan… i never told you anything about the tulip. how did you know what color it was?”

he opens his mouth to say something, but it won’t come out. “i…”, the lump in his throat rises more, cutting off his air flow. he’s seconds away from hyperventilating.

“channie, was it you the entire time?”

tears well up in his eyes, he didn’t want it to happen like this. he planned a whole reveal for you, and now it was all ruined.

you quickly turn off the stove, walking over to chan. you’re being careful not to scare him away, a smile on your face. “it’s you isn’t it?”

he nods softly, some tears escaping his eyes. “i’m sorry…”

you cup his cheek with your hand, wiping away the tears on his cheek. “can i…?”

he nods, and you crash your lips into his. “i love you channie”, you say breathlessly. he grabs your waist, picking you up and setting you down on the island. he pulls away from the kiss and looks you in the eyes. 

“i love you so much y/n. i’m so sorry i didn’t tell you i was just… scared of ruining our friendship.”

“chan… i um. i didn’t- i don’t want you to think i kissed you just because of the letters. i was planning on confessing to you today but that just made it so much better”

chans eyes twinkled in the light, stunned by the sincerity in your voice. “y/n… i truly do love you a lot. i- thank you.”

you give him a quick peck on the nose, wiping away his tears again.

“so, you were making all this so you could um… confess?”

you nod shyly, averting his gaze. he giggles at how adorable you look right now, sitting on the kitchen island.

“what’s so funny chan?”

he picks you up once again, this time pinning you against the wall. your heart flutters again in your chest, the butterflies erupting in your stomach.

“no. not chan… i’m your channie”, he smiles at you, leaning in for another kiss. you enjoy the moment with him, but all of a sudden you stop.

“chan! we still have to make the food”

he looks at you, sets you down on the floor and then turns away from you. you’re a little confused by the sudden change in attitude, but then it hits you. 

“sorry dork, i meant channie”

he smiles at you again, helping you fix dinner.

“wow… first dinner with my girlfriend and we even cooked it together.”, your eyes widened. you were going to have to get used to chan calling you his girlfriend.

“wake the fuck up you two!”, yeji yells from her room.

you’re in the same position as last time, you face nuzzled into chans chest and your arms are wrapped around him. he’s holding you this time, whispering sweet nothings into your ear and stroking his fingers through your hair. 

suddenly, yeji barges in to see you two practically looking like a pretzel. “oh my gosh…”

chan continues running his fingers through your hair, not paying attention to yeji at all. “wait… really?!”, yeji says excitedly.

it seems like shes finally gotten the hint, and you reach up to give chan a little peck. you smile at yeji, watching her visibly gag. “you know, you couldn’t just said ‘oh yeah we’re dating now!’. you didn’t have to kiss him. gross…”

chan laughs a little, the sound being music to your ears. “hey, it’s not my fault”

“yeah yeah whatever. get ready, we’re going out with changbin.”

you turn your head towards yeji again. “changbin? why so?”

chan lifts his head from the pillow. “are you finally dating now?”, he asks excitedly.

“ew no… gross”, yeji says while rushing out the room, not wanting you to see the crimson red covering her face.

you open your locker, instantly met with a much bigger envelope. you quickly open it to read it, smiling to yourself as you do. you’re so glad that chan did all this.

you searched your locker again, looking at the floor to see if the tulip fell, but you couldn’t find one. you pouted a little, the tulips seem to be something you cherish a lot. just then, you hear chans voice behind you.

in his hand is a bouquet, all different assortments of tulips. he doesn’t say anything, he just gives you a kiss and heads off to his next class. 

you stare at him as he leaves, completely in awe. tears almost spring to your eyes, but you fight them off. quickly placing your bouquet in your locker, you run to your next class.

you make it there just on time, but before taking out your notebook, you grab your phone.

y/n: thank you channie :) channie <3: i hope you liked them :) y/n: of course i did! y/n: i love you channie <3 channie <3: i loved you first <3

<3

[sugar-omi]

Alright all your Cove and Baxter anguish has me FUCKED UP and I need some adorable Cove fluff to recover. How about a little about Cove and M/C as newlyweds coming home after the honeymoon?

at first i didnt know what to write but then i start thinking n.... pls i love this sm i hope it heals your broken heart <3333

tags : Fluff, cove loves you sm, sharing money (cove shares his money/bank acc w you), he's just in love w you theres nothing else to say

synopsis : how cove acts after your come back from your honeymoon

he's bringing you flowers everyday

at first he brings you a couple bouquets but you've run out of places for them so he just brings you one and add them to your collection.

none of them are the same either

so you have sunflowers, lilies, roses, tulips, peonies, orchids, and many many flowers all in one vase

is it a little ugly? probably. definitely. the colors and sizes n shapes all clash but it's the thought that counts

if you don't like flowers, are allergic, or you get tired of him bring so many...

he brings you food <3

I think one of cove's love languages is food

he brings home sweets like cheese cake or marbled cake

or fudge, or chocolates

or if you aren't into sweets like that, then he'll bring lunch/dinner instead

he's a decent cook, and even if you're bad at cooking he wants you to help him

lots of kissing n half burnt food (he takes whatever portion is burnt so you don't have to eat it)

and he tries to always bring u lunch

if he can't bring you lunch for whatever reason, he either packs one for you or sends you money for lunch

COVE: hi bby, have you eaten yet YOU: im ordering food rn COVE: i sent u 50 is that enough YOU: ?!*!&!(!? YOU: that's too much 😭😭 cove pls YOU: ill send the rest back COVE: keep ot COVE: it* COVE: my money is your money

he does this all the time now, in fact he'll even had you his card

which he's always done before your marriage, but now ge even gets you a card connected to his bank account too

he doesn't even care if you share your money w him too, he just wants to give you everything he has

like if you asked for his shirt in the middle of the store I think he'd ask why n then just give it to you

as if he was gonna say no in the first place 🙄💀💀

he just becomes so much more obsessed w you after you're married

always cuddling or touching u

if you're around your mom's they're always cracking jokes....

especially if you want kids they're all "we're gonna be grandparents soon at this rate lol" (even if u want to adopt or dont wanna birth/can't have kids bc you're amab or infertile or smth)

they just think they're so hilarious 🙄🙄🙄

does he blush bright enough there's steam coming off him? maybe

does he stop? nope!!!

loves you so much, he just needs to be close to you

HAS A PICTURE OF U IN HIS WALLET

omg....

prbly has 2 actually

one is of the two of you bc sometimes he can't believe you're married n he just needs to make sure life is real

n one is of just you in your wedding attire

will talk abt you to anyone who asks or makes a comment

this mf would prbly get a shirt that says "y/n's husband" on the front

even tho it's in small print on the front it's embarrassing.... like pls we get it you're in LOVE

he'd get you both jewelry w your wedding date on it

will hold you up at the door if you try to leave without kissing him

you've always gave him a peck before leaving but now it's WORSE

once he even stopped you in the driveway before you pulled off...

man's ran out of the fucking house in socks and unicorn print sweatpants

you roll down the window "what? what's wrong?!" cove, leaning thru the window and pouting. "kiss."

you look at him in shock n disbelief before you just laugh and kiss him

he taxes you two extra kisses for the trouble, he got his socks wet from running out here!!!

you have to push him off otherwise you're gonna be late to work bc you were too busy making out in your driveway

your single/divorced neighbors hate you

the teens idolize what yall have n their standards got so fucking high after yall moved in

n the old ppl laugh bc they've been there when they married and/or they find it amazing how obsessed cove is w you

if it wasn't such a bad omen or if you didn't disapprove, he'd get your wedding date or your initials tatted on his ankle.

maybe it seems extreme all of this bc I think cove just realizes how amazing you are sometimes n all his love overflows in this way <3333

no matter how old you get he's always gonna run out in the rain, snow, or sunshine n get a kiss if you forget

pfx by the time he's 80 he can't move as fast but he's hustling down the path before you can escape

if you do get away before he can get a kiss though, he is pouting when you come back

[whatthebodygraspsnot]

totally random and don't know if you've been asked this before, i've read your fics and drabbles, i absolutely love your voice in them, considering how you write Ian and Mickey so well, i'd give a penny for your thoughts about Mickey's lil bridezilla notebook. do you think it's full of collage pages? mostly text? magazine scraps? does he color code shit? ugh i love him sm 😩

oh my god i forgot the most important thing!!!!!!! did he ever let Ian have a complete sneak peek through it? cause i think he probably skimmed through it with Ian while the planning was on board, but Mickey probably stored it somewhere safe as a keepsake after the wedding....what if one day Ian just happens to find it and looks through it fondly and Mickey catches him on the act, oops, they have a talk about it, idk, Mickey having a lil notebook just does something to my fragile heart 🤧🤧

hello 😌 thank you for asking - i do actually have some thoughts on this, in the way that i think mickey's wedding notebook goes through several stages.

i think at its creation, it's more of a dump-book. mickey's at his stream-of-consciousness, hunting-and-gathering phase. there's no organization - no rhyme or reason - mickey is stressed and overwhelmed and he's just gluing shit right into that motherfucker, filling the pages as quickly as he can turn them. he doesn't really have a Vision yet - he just knows he's gotta prepare for it, especially since ian doesn't seem too interested in making decisions.

come to jesus moment. mickey slaps down a stack of pictures he's cut out and goes to start adding them, only to realize he has no blank pages left. he's filled the whole thing. that can't be right, can it? it's a big notebook, and the stuff he just cut out for it is real good shit so he's gotta make room. gotta start from page one. gotta thumb through it and pull a 'wtf' face because he doesn't even like some of this shit? why'd he put it in here? tulips??? who did that! okay, time to pump the fucking brakes.

paring down. re-evaluation. ian walks into the living room one night and mickey's cross-legged in the middle of a sea of ripped papers. like some sort of hamster. ian thinks perhaps divorce is on the table, only to come closer and realize mickey's cutting shit out and pasting it into a new notebook, the glue stick caught between his teeth like a cigar (Alternate Title: Ian's Come To Jesus Moment.)

notebook 2.0 is born. there's significantly less...everything. the Vision is starting to come together. debbie gives him these little color tab bitches that he can stick between the pages so he knows where to put things. Music. Food. Flowers. etc. mickey sits down with ian again and flips through it, getting his thoughts on different things. out comes the big red marker - circling - crossing out - starring. he can see ian trying to sneak closer looks across the table, but mickey's grown very attached. it's his hopes and dreams in here, motherfucker! ian can look at it later. after he finds the chiavaris.

That Bitch. this baby is in her final form. mickey knows what he wants and knows he's got the power to haggle, secure, or steal it all when he's got his notebook tucked under his arm. she's also good and solid when he smacks lip over the head with her after he makes a passing comment about being a groomzilla. she is everything.

when he does finally see his notebook again after many years, it's because ian is thumbing through it, this teary, fond look in his eyes as he sits in a sea of boxes. mickey doesn't know if he should be embarrassed or proud or what. a lot of their wedding day ended up shifting on its axis for a ton of fucked up reasons, so as gorgeous as she is, a lot of her didn't actually get to see the light of day.

but ian is innnn lovvvve (aaaaat laaaaast my looove has come alonnnggg). so much so that for their ten year anniversary, mickey walks into their little get-together and immediately recognizes a ton of the details. like they've jumped out of the pages of his notebook and into reality ten years later. ian is a sneaky fucker! and mickey has excellent taste.

and he's just really glad that he cut out that disgusting tulip arrangement in his first notebook purge.

[poemsfor-her]

GLOW UP QUIDE 𖹭⠀࣭⠀ֹ⠀͡꒱

I. THE INNER ME

— When you think of the word "glow up" , your mind automatically thinks of changing your appearence, right? For me the beauty is in our soul. If you think nasty and degrading thoughts of yourself that can be damaging in so many ways.

let's get some things clear here:

First of all, beauty standards always change, as trends come and go, and you will never be enough "pretty" for someone; because beauty is subjective and you might be the dream person for someone and for someone not. which is ok! there are so many beautiful flowers. i personally perfer tulips and peonies, but someone might prefer roses or sunflowers. that doesn't make a flower less beautiful because every flower is beautiful in it's own way.

— do you know yourself? we spend so much time trying to know others, but do we even know ourselves? go on pinterest and find some questions to ask yourself. here are some:

1. what qualities do i like about myself?

2. what qualities of others do i admire?

3. what am i scared of?

4. what would i like my mornings to look like?

5. who inspires me?

if someone asks me any of these questions i would answer them all in a second, because i know myself.

— SHADOW WORK. Grab a pen and a journal, go on pinterest and search "shadow work prompts". I Personally, don't know much about this subject, but i know it's talked about by many people i look up to. It helped them heal from trauma.

some videos i suggest you watch that helped me so much in changing my mindset:

why you'll never be pretty enough - zoe unlimited.

you don't need to glow up, our obssesion with glow up culture needs to STOP.

tiktok is DESTROYING YOUR IDENTITY.

what type of pretty you are.

— I suggest watching every commentary video of zoeunlimited. Her videos changed my views on various topics.

II. THERE IS NOTHING TO CHANGE

— you are perfect just the way you are. embrace yourself. there is only one you in this world. many women look the same to me these days and it's a tiring and sad thing. Everyone is following the standard that is going to probably change in a month. As Hwasa said "I am my own beauty standard" and thank you Hwasa for that!

Embrace your features, look for makeup that suits your face shape and eyes. I know that eyeliner doesn't work with my eyes so i don't apply it. I also know that a lot of bronzer doesn't suit me.

Wear whatever you like and don't be afraid to express yourself.

When it comes to exercising, ALWAYS DO IT FOR YOURSELF. Think of it as: "My body deserves to be healthy"

strech when you wake up, do yoga, workout or go for a walk/run. whatever you like!

eat healthy but don't pressure yourself too much. have it balanced. you can eat a healthy meal but that doesn't mean you can't eat a cake. BALANCE IS EVERYTHING.

my favorite fitness youtubers:

lily sabri

yoga with bird

mady morrison

emi wong

III. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

— if you follow my posts you know how much i respect and talk about education and it's importance. As my favorite saying goes "BEAUTY IS DANGEROUS, BUT INTELLIGENCE IS LETHAL." I stand by this!!!! READ BOOKS, FOCUS ON YOUR STUDYING, WRITE, PAINT, LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE AND DRAW.

here are some book suggestions:

i who have never known men

the great gatsby

the prophet

my body

the art of war

search some famous musicians or artists and get to know their work. i seriously find this so attractive.

watch documentaries.

watch news, read articles and just generally know what is happening in the world.

get to know your country's history.

watch some iconic movies.

beauty fades, but knowledge always stays.

that's it! if you have some questions send me an ask ♡

with love, t

[chels-void]

Worries and a date

Sigma x Reader

" Ah—...how would i even.. "

You can't convince me that this ube keso man with one of the most hellishly layered hair in the universe—did not plan for weeks or tried to find a way to properly approach you without making you uncomfortable.

Every layer of hair he has is a layer of anxiety and worry, for himself and probably the casino, congratulations— you're a part of the layers of worry.

God has simply forsaken him just by birthing him with that haircut.

He may have panicked in the process because of his own thoughts; however, He's quick to compose himself and collect his thoughts.

He tried to not make it obvious while he was working, but the casino employees definitely noticed somehow, Some did joke lightly about it, Comically, he just sweat dropped in slight embarrassment.

He's never asking for help from nikolai again, he tried—but lets say he just found it "shocking." — I'll leave that to your interpretation.

He's trying not to suffocate himself in his own thoughts.

But he did get a few advices from a few people in the casino, some said flowers, some said food or just pure honesty with words.

So with that he spent WEEKS trying to see what you'd most likely love to be approached with, a very worrisome process he'd say, definitely.

He keeps glancing at your mannerism and actions throughout the week just to make it nice enough.

"I shouldn't ask them in a crowded place if they don't like that— would a more private and gentlemanly approach do well?..wait— no that sounds like I'll put them in too much pressure to accept...argh— !"

He certainly would ask himself many, many questions.

And you know what this man did?— simple is an understatement for this one.

He bought himself some flowers that his brain said reminded him of you or at least wanted to convey, Spent almost 3 hours writing something when the time comes he's approaching you, and a little cupcake of your favorite flavor, If you do not like cupcakes, assume it's your favorite dessert !

The bouquet looks to have Lavenders, roses, tulips and chrysanthemum, he most likely did some research on it for awhile.

I need me a man/woman like this, Good lord when.

I think he'd probably invite you to a cafe politely at a time where there's less people, for the benefit of you and himself, Works well in his head— Seeing that if you don't like being surrounded by busy noises of a cafe and etc.

And maybe also to save him from the embarrassment if he does happen to get rejected on a date and you walk away with a sorry and a bow.

Ah.. he's so dreamy 😔...

You'd most likely be the first to arrive in the cafe, but you obviously have your doubts if this is simply a hang out or a potential date, either way— you'd be satisfied.

Surprising that the cafe is so quiet?— calm.

Or maybe the fact theres only a few people in here.

And another surprising thing is that the waitresses/waiter's of the cafe escorted you to a seat that gives you the decent privacy you'd ever want in a cafe near a window with good lighting even !— just makes you question even more if it was just a hang out or a date.

You're internally giggling at this point, i mean— i would too, you already placed your bets it is.

Sigma made it quite obvious— a product of his panic and worry caused it, but you can feel his effort wholeheartedly.

He enters holding that bouquet, his little memorized speech of agonizing effort and admiration and a tiny dessert you'd definitely enjoy.

You'd giggle because he looks so silly and sigma just scratches his head in embarrassment as he takes a seat across you.

"You know... you're already taking me out on a date right now by just having me in front of you in a cafe— mhmhm ! "

"Ah..— do i say...uhmm..."

"I'm all ears, I'd love to hear it."

I guess he already took you out on a date before he even got to speak— but certainly he's glad it went well.

- @ ok chell | Twt

[linawritestwst]

Hii! Can I request the octavinelle trio + rollo reacting to receiving a bouquet of red tulips from the reader? Like do they know the meaning, do they bother to look up if there's a meaning to it, etc. Red tulips mean a declaration of love btw! Also, the hcs don't have to be that long, they can be short since I know this request is short too :)) Thank you and have a good day!!

rollo, jade and floyd receiving red tulips from you headcanons (gn!reader)

(as you can see, i gave up trying to find a more fitting gif because. red roses are clearly more popular when it comes to aesthetic gifs shsdjsjksk. it's okay though, i think it still looks cute!)

i wrote something very similar with azul before (though i used a different flower), so i decided to use only jade and floyd this time! i'm sorry anon, i hope it's okay, i'm just doing this to make my job easier ;w;

(also thanks to everyone who sent rollo requests, it's actually very fun to write him! i have one more request with him to work on, hehe >:D)

rollo flamme.

♡ .. he is certainly surprised. of course, he knows what red tulips mean, he literally comes from the city of flowers, haha. but he's not sure that you know about it. i mean.. y-you wouldn't give these flowers to him if you knew exactly what they mean, right? and even if you did, uh.. you probably mean it platonically. yeah, that's definitely it.

♡ he accepts those flowers and when he thanks you for them, he really does mean it. he does get gifts from time to time and considering that he's a student council president, i imagine him being pretty popular, but when that happens, he's usually able to stay calm and he just politely thanks that person for their gift. this time though.. for some reason it's very hard for him to hide how happy (but also confused) he actually feels right now. if you look closely, you can see him smiling when he leaves, even though he still tries to hide it with that handkerchief of his.

♡ he will try to get you something too as soon as he can. again, he feels weird just getting a gift from you like this, you haven't even asked for anything in return. and when he asked why did you even get those flowers for him, you simply smiled and said that rollo looks so tired all the time, you wanted to try and cheer him up a little.. why are you doing this to him, y/n, he's already in love with you, you're just making it worse for him! also, when his vice president and assistant ask about the flowers, he just glares at them like he's about to kill them right this second and they don't say anything after that.

jade leech.

♡ he didn't expect to get a gift like this at all, especially from you. oh, please, don't take it the wrong way, it's not like he thinks you're not the type of person to give gifts to others, it's just.. you're so sweet, he never thought that you would actually get something for him, and not just something, but flowers! he wonders if you got these flowers for him for a specific reason or you just chose them because they're so pretty.

♡ yes, he would be the type to try and look up the meaning of those flowers and it doesn't take long, since the romantic meaning is one of the most popular ones. he doesn't think too much of it at first, flowers can have many meanings, it doesn't necessarily mean that you chose red tulips for him only because you wanted to tell him about your feelings. but after he finds more information and thinks about it more.. maybe you did choose them to confess your love for him. maybe.

♡ he also doubts that you went with red tulips just because you liked how they look. you seem like the type of person who usually has a deeper reason than something like this. hm, should he mention it the next time he sees you?.. when you meet again, he doesn't talk much about it, but right when you're about to leave, he says something to you, implying that he knows the meaning of those flowers now. he won't say anything else though, so you have no idea if he feels the same way. but he's sure that you'll figure it out later since you're so smart~

floyd leech.

♡ huh? why would you give these to him, y/n? don't get him wrong, these flowers sure look nice, but like.. why would you do that? but when you're about to explain it, floyd immediately goes "you know what, nevermind, i don't care about it that much anymore".. yeah, that's the guy you fell in love with. but hey, at least you don't have to confess your feelings for him right now.. you're not ready for that yet.

♡ floyd may say that he doesn't care why you thought that these flowers would be a nice gift for him, but deep inside.. he actually wants to know. he knows that his shrimpy is smart, sure, you can do nice things just to make other people happy, but for some reason he feels like you have a different reason this time. like it just felt so sudden, it was so random, why would you do that, y/n?? ugh, he doesn't know what to do, maybe he should ask jade or azul..

♡ .. or he can just ask you directly. yeah, he just asks you about it in the middle of your conversation. oh no, so you actually have to tell him about the meaning. you take a deep breath and try to explain that these flowers mean a declaration of love, but again, he interrupts you and goes "so like, you love me a lot?". OH NO THIS IS GETTING WORSE. you're so nervous, you can't say anything, so you just nod. you both go silent for a moment and you just know that he's going to laugh at you and- "oh, cool, i love you too, shrimpy!".. what did he just say?

[remusslove]

PLEASE I BEG YOU. More age regression! James 🫶🏻 it’s comforting because I’m on the spectrum of age regression and it’s just so soft and warm for me!! You can write literally anything !! 🫶🏻

The meeting~James potter

I’m definitely working on ideas for more James potter age regression! and Tysm for all the love<3 :)

Includes poly!marauders, little!james, cg!reader, cg!sirius and Remus, mafia!marauders, and mafia!reader

James was currently walking towards the meeting room to say hi to his caregivers. Sure you guys told him not to go in there uninvited many of times, but he didn’t listen. There was always this little voice inside his head telling him “just do it what’s the worse that can happen?”.

The worse that could happen was him getting a punished, usually a spanking or timeout since he never did anything to extreme. He was almost there when a much taller man towered over him with a smirk. “Excuse me sir” James said as politely as possible. You always taught him to use his manners. Quite rudely, the man just scoffed.

“Move please” James said losing his patience. “Who are you?” The man asked with a chuckle.”none of your business now move before-” “before what? You gonna cry to your mommy?” The man said making the two other body guards laugh as well. “No! I’m gonna tell her your being a meanie!” James remarked making the other men laugh even harder.

James was already close to slipping in head space and him trying not to cry was making it harder. James just grumbled before shoving past them as hard as he could and luckily, it worked. “That guy is just new, they probably don’t know how it works around here” James thought.

His thoughts soon stopped as he felt one of the men grab him by his shirt and push him against the wall. “Let go of me!” James yelled. “Where do you think your going hm?” The man asked rhetorically. “Into the meeting” James said struggling to get out of his grip. “Stop it your hurting me!” James yelled with tears streaming down his face.

“Whatever” the man chuckled letting James go. James ran as fast as he could leaving his pink bunny behind.

You were discussing a very important issue about your “job”. A few seconds later you see the door knob slowly turning. You weren’t the only one who saw it. Everybody had their guns drawn at the door. “Stand down!” You yelled when you saw James’s face poking in the room.

Remus was excusing you three out the meeting as you were walking over too James. “Mommy-” James tried to explain but quickly turning quiet as he saw the expression on your face. “Go outside we’ll be right there” was all you said knowing he broke a rule.

James quickly left the room and waited outside. Not a minute later you all were outside. “You know better then to just walk into one of our meetings like that.” You said sternly then softening your expressions when you saw the state James was in.

“What happened little one?” Remus said softly brushing one of James’s curls behind his ear. “This man was so mean daddy! He blocked me from walking to you guys, and then when I moved past him he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall!” James said in between sobs. “I’m so sorry puppy” Sirius cooed at the little boy.

James spent no time snuggling into Sirius’s chest. “Who was it tulip?” You asked planting a kiss on his cheek. “That one! He’s right there!” James said pointing at a man across the room with a grey suit. “Thank you for telling us love” Remus said placing a kiss on James’s forehead.

“Me and daddy are gonna talk to that man while dada is gonna take care of you mkay angel?” You said with anger coursing through your veins. “Mkay” James said sniffing. “We’ll see you in an hour dove” Remus said giving James a quick kiss before following you.

“Cmon baby time for a nap” Sirius said picking up the tired boy infront of him. “M not tired” James whined. “ sure you aren’t love” Sirius chuckled bringing him to your guys’s room.

[flowersofstarlight]

🌷Valentino Voguish🌷

Valentino, also known as Val, is a fashion designer and seamstress. They are friends with Mortimer and the Handeemen who help out with clothes and fabrics, the fashion choices, helping and giving children the confidence they need, and many things they are willing to help the Handeemen.

They are the owner of their boutique called “Radiant Aurora”, who immediately takes a liking to Nick Nack and his friends when they enter their shop. Their boutique is located in the city, somewhere near the town where the Handeemen live.

They are creative with their work and talent, very generous, and a beauty expert. Valentino loves pink, likes to spend time with the Handeemen, drinking tea and likes to keep things organized in their boutique and at home. They have shown their favorite flowers in Season 3, which are roses, tulips and cosmos flowers.

They have had Katsaridaphobia since they were a young child that crawled on their arm once. They hate what they look like and the fact that cockroaches carry bacteria. They dislike seeing their friends being mistreated. Especially hated the fact that Nick was being mistreated by his abusive father, Francis Nack (belong to @ericaportfolio). After Nick and his friends escape from Francis and his mobs, Val often stays with Nick and comforts him. They care deeply and are loyal to their family and friends.

Due to their love of fashion, Valentino got along very well with Nick Nack and became close friends in Season 3. Both are flamboyant, love poems, music, and understand the beauty of art. The two even shared their interest and liked to hang out together.

Val enjoys Mortimer’s company and having tea with him. They often talk about their family to him and mention that Mortimer somewhat reminds them of their old friend that brings back good memories.

Just like Nick Nack, Valentino has a complicated relationship and is at odds with Riley (which annoys Riley now that there’s two of them who are passionate about art). But they respect her and like her determination.

Valentino loves Daisy’s pie and is always grateful for her help when they run out of fabric and threads or clean up in their boutique. They are willing to fix or make new clothes and dresses for Daisy for free along with the Handeemen as they are their dearest friends. They appreciate Daisy’s kind words about their work and how compassionate she is.

Valentino has a bit of a complicated relationship with Scout, but not as bad as Riley and Scout’s relationship to each other. Despite their differences and the frustrations that Val tried to convince Scout to try to wear dresses or other new clothes they made, they do respect her and have a soft side with teens and children.

Cruella Movie and Rarity from MLP:FIM were the major inspirations for this character to be a fashion designer. I’ve been thinking about creating my own Hello Puppets OC and my first Non-binary character for a long while, but couldn’t figure out what to write down and the design for them. But now, I finally did it and I’m happy creating this OC.

I also want to mention that I thought about Nick and Val having a romantic relationship or at least felt something for each other during the show. Because again, as I mentioned before, I always see Nick Nack as Bisexual.

And I thought Nick and Val’s romantic relationship would be like Amity and Luz from The Owl House, or Fizz and Asmodeus from Helluva Boss (DON’T watch that show if you’re under 18). I figured they would be cute together. So yeah. If you guys want to draw my OC Valentino, feel free. ^_^

[karmagotme]

I'm rather proud of this, even if it did take me about a month to complete.

Let me explain.

I'm normally a cross stitcher, but I'd been seeing a lot of embroidery tricks on Pinterest (chronic scroller) and have been wanting to try the tulip button stitch for quite some time. Unfortunately, I had no jackets or cardis appropriate enough to try it on, so I hit up the Rockmans website and got this fuzzy thing for $20 (marked down from $80, mind, so I'd call that a win). It eventually arrived and it came with buttons like this:

Blingy, no holes, and so heavy they were drooping off the cardi and making it a lop sided garment when worn unbuttoned.

In other words, perfect.

Before I could start lopping them off, I had to make sure I had replacement buttons. As I live in small town with barely any decent crafting supplies, I needed to wait for a day off work where I could travel the hour and a bit away to my closest Spotlight. The day finally came, I took in the spare/replacement button the cardi came with, hunted through the minimal button section (why do buttons not come in those long tubes with the sample button on the lid anymore? Sometimes I would like to buy more than one button? Or more than three??) and walked away with a packet of mixed white buttons.

Then my stupid brain hit.

When I finally had another day for me to work on my cardi, I opened the button packet and started rummaging. I pulled out the various buttons that had been the same size as the original buttons, lamented that the creamy ones with the slight flower petal design on them only numbered 3, and realised that in order to find enough of the right size buttons that were all the same type, I was going to have to sort them.

I ... may have a problem when it comes to sorting.

Sorting things takes me AGES. Not that I think I'm bad at it, I think I'm too GOOD at it. My usual sorting items of choice are books. You won't believe how much enjoyment I get at spending days sorting our library after every time we've had to move house. And just like with sorting books, buttons seem to have their own distinctions. Buttons with 2 holes. Buttons with 4. Buttons with writing. Buttons with SHEEN. SPECIFICALLY COLOURED SHEEN. THERE WERE SO MANY BUTTONS WITH GREEN SHEEN AND, LIKE, THREE WITH PINK?!

Anyway.

I believe the task of sorting them into pairs or more of identical buttons - with a small pile of Lonesome Larries to the side - followed by bagging up the piles, and followed THEN by glad wrapping the rest of them because I had limited amount of little baggies, took me a good couple of hours. In the end, I had a pile of 7 of these plain white buttons of the right size, so at least I have 2 spare if I ever lose any in the future.

And then I discovered just how difficult a French knot can be.

Mini videos on Pinterest generally don't explain how to do things in words. I'm a visual learner, I think, so I thought I'd be able to do this just by following the example. I struggled for a long time, @itchylimpet 's Ma even tried to help me to no avail, and after watching many videos and reading one article on how to do it, I finally managed to do it without making a horrible mess. I continued on, paused for dinner, and by the pitch of night I had finally finished.

So, there you have it. One project that resulted in barely much but took forever to do. I am proud that I eventually managed to get it and I am excited at trying out some other embroidery projects I have in mind. I know this is probably silly, considering it was just a button change, but I like this.

[scarlettlillies]

Hetalia - Tulips

At long last! A new fic! \ o /

It's been so long since I last posted any stories. Writing has been such a struggle these last few years. In addition to my work life keeping me busy, my perfectionist ways were preventing me from finishing something as simple as a paragraph and it really killed my desire to do any writing. But the spark recently returned a few weeks back and it felt so good to write again! I'm hoping it sticks around for good this time. I'm still very rusty but I'm very happy with how this fic came out!

This story isn't entirely new. This fic has been sitting in my drafts for the last 10+ years and has gone through multiple rewrites because I couldn't settle on how things should progress. Whether or not you see their relationship as friendship or romantic is sort of left up to you.

If you prefer to read this at Ao3, you can click the link here.

Hope you all enjoy!

Summary: When Netherlands found out that Estonia liked to garden, he was skeptical. He thought Estonia was just trying to make conversation. During a quick phone call on a warm September evening, Estonia had one favour to ask him: bring some tulip bulbs. Turns out, he really did like to get his hands dirty.

----

No matter how many times Netherlands stopped by Estonia’s home, it was always a shock to see him covered in dirt.

Their friendship was very new. His impression of Estonia was slick, neat, and modern. When their paths would cross, he was always well-dressed in expensive suits and noticeably owned the latest devices available on the market. Estonia seemed to be stunned when Netherlands shared his observations about him over coffee. It was their first time sharing a table together during a brief morning recess at an EU meeting in Paris. Estonia admitted he had a bad habit of changing his devices regularly and was struggling to break it. He was conscious of how others perceived him, therefore being known as an IT nation was important to him. He had convinced himself that being seen with a device that was more than a few years old would tarnish his reputation. His clothing, however, he insisted was fairly cheap. He was no different than anyone else; he shopped at one of the local malls nearby his home and bought what was within his price point. Netherlands found his words hard to believe but when he wanted to press him for more questions, they were called back to continue with the day’s agenda.

That was some time ago. Five? Maybe ten years ago? He doesn’t quite remember. Time was always a strange concept for their kind anyhow.

Over their short time together though, Netherlands had begun to learn more things about him. He had an interesting palette for alcohol, was a natural when it came to music and technology, and liked the outdoors. But most importantly he was business-orientated. He knew how to sell you on anything — whether it was a wacky dish at his favourite restaurant that you just had to try or you needed help selling your hand-made crafts at the local marketplace —m aking a quick buck seemed to come naturally for him. Netherlands liked that in a man.

But when he found out that Estonia liked to garden, he was skeptical. They had been sharing drinks in a Brussels jazz bar after a long meeting and thought Estonia was just trying to make conversation. He didn’t look the type to get his hands dirty (then again neither did he), especially to those outside of his main friend group. Even when Estonia shared his knowledge of botany, he chalked it up to just being the intelligent guy that Estonia was known for.

“You should come to my place in the spring! I think you’ll like the setup that I’ve got.”

Netherlands took him up on that offer. To his surprise, he definitely liked what he saw.

His yard wasn’t very large but it boasted enough room to hold a patio set that was perfect for entertaining a small group of guests. A wooden shed that was painted dark brown was tucked away in the far left corner of the yard. A small rectangular glass table had been placed next to the shed where several mason jars containing herbs were growing happily in the sunlight. Each jar had its own white sticker label with all of the names written in Estonian. Everything was connected by a winding path of large stepping stones. Flower beds were decorated all around the perimeter of a classic white picket fence. A small plot of the yard was wired off for growing vegetables like lettuce and cucumbers. Various other pots were scattered around and contained different kinds of berries, tomatoes, and peppers. It was a cozy sight that made him feel right at home.

He had been back only a small handful of times since then. Their schedules just never seemed to align. Dates that did would always end up getting cancelled last minute. But a phone call on an unusually warm September night during a listening session of Rita Hovink’s first album would connect them once more. Estonia was very adamant about seeing him no later than next Saturday. When Netherlands circled the date in a red marker on the calendar hanging up on the wall of his tiny kitchen, Estonia made sure to include one last request before their call ended:

If you can, can you bring me some tulip bulbs? About three dozen or so? I’d be willing to reimburse you for it.

That seemed easy enough.

Netherlands gave Estonia a slight nudge against his right shoulder with the two brown paper bags he was carrying. With his knees deep in topsoil and dressed in messy blue overalls that were covered in grass stains, Estonia looked up with a big grin and a sunburnt nose.

It really did feel like Estonia was a whole different person.

What other sides of you are you hiding?

“Perfect timing as always!” he said cheerfully as he grabbed both bags. They crinkled loudly when he pulled them open and proceeded to tip each bag over to dump the contents onto the grass. He began counting each bulb carefully by putting them together in groups of ten. When Estonia got closer to the number thirty, he became more vocal in counting each number in his native tongue. Finally, at thirty, Estonia made a delighted grin and immediately began planting each bulb. He had two small plots with holes for each one all set to go. Netherlands crouched down at Estonia’s level and carefully watched him work. He noted how quick but delicate Estonia was with his hands.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to be planting these? I usually wait until October.”

“It gets pretty cold here at this time of the year compared to most of Europe. I’ve already lost some of my berries to frost so I spent the last few days salvaging what I could.”

Ah, so that’s where those came from. When he had passed through the kitchen to get to the yard, he remembered seeing several glass containers and mini woven baskets spread out across the kitchen counter that were overflowing with various kinds of fruit like blueberries and strawberries.

“Fair enough.”

Despite the cool breeze, Netherlands was too warm with the sun’s rays beaming down on him and was forced to walk over to the patio set to remove his coat. He hung his brown trench coat over one of the chairs, which were noticeably one of the few items left in the yard that hadn’t been covered with a black tarp. On the table, he noticed extra gardening tools, gloves, and multiple clear bags of different types of flower bulbs and seeds. Just like the mason jars from before, the bags had white sticker labels on them, all handwritten in Estonian with a black marker. Netherlands didn’t bother asking and immediately put on the spare gloves, which were a size too small for the Dutch man’s large hands, and took the items to an empty plot next to Estonia.

Estonia jolted at the sound of the tools being picked up off the glass patio table and his eyes grew wide. Having guests work in his home was a big faux pas to him that he had to put a stop to.

“Wait! You’re a guest in my home. You don’t need to—”

Netherlands was quick to cut him off and delivered Estonia a stern look, “Quiet. I want to help.”

Estonia’s lips had parted as if he wanted to protest but the words just wouldn’t come. With an audible sigh, he immediately dropped the conversation and returned to planting the bulbs. Estonia was not the type to waste time arguing with others and Netherlands had picked up on that quickly when they first met. The men continued on in complete silence, with Netherlands only speaking up when he wanted to know what the labels on the bags translated to in English.

But the extra pair of hands proved to be more helpful than Estonia would have liked to admit. What he could have accomplished in a few hours had been cut in half.

Estonia ripped the gloves from his hands and tossed them to the ground. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. He could already feel the aches settling into his back and knees.

“I appreciate the help. But you know you didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s fine.” Netherlands stressed, “I wanted to help so don’t worry about it. Gardening is a hobby that helps me relax.”

“How can I repay you?”

“Some of those berries in the kitchen would be a good start.”

Estonia caught Netherlands’s soft grin and he couldn’t help but snort.

“That can definitely be arranged.”

----

In the early morning hours, Netherlands decided to go for a bike ride.

He had been staying in the town of Lisse, one of his favourite vacation spots. He had made it a tradition to visit once a year as a reward for surviving the cold winters in the city; although these days it seemed like winter was non-existent. It’s been some time since he had last seen a genuine snowfall on the streets of Amsterdam.

The town was famous among locals and tourists alike for the endless sea of tulips that filled the land. The scenery continued into the outskirts of town where more tulips lined the fields and the stereotypical Dutch-style windmills towered the skies. Each row sported a colour of its own: red, orange, yellow, and white respectively. Netherlands made a quick pit stop at the side of the road to take in the sights. With the morning sun fully risen, it was moments like these that served as a reminder of why spring was his favourite season of them all.

Recalling the conversations he shared with his siblings weeks prior, Netherlands decided to capture the sights. However, he had to be quick. The mornings were still cool and he knew his hands would freeze quickly if he stood by the fields for too long. He could see his warm breath in the air when he tossed his black leather gloves into the metal basket on the front of his bike. He reached into the right-side pocket of his orange puffer jacket and quickly began snapping photos. After taking the fourth shot, a notification popped up on the screen with a bell-sounding tune following after. It was a message from Estonia, who he hadn’t seen in person since their gardening escapades last autumn. There was no text attached, just a photo of light pink peonies. Before Netherlands could reply, another photo popped up, this time of yellow daffodils.

The photos kept coming; one of red roses that hadn’t fully bloomed, one with a mixture of red, purple, and yellow pansies, and one of light and dark blue cornflowers. The final image though made his heart soar. It was a shot of the tulips they had planted together. When he had brought the bulbs over, he had no idea what colours they would bloom into. They were extras he had picked up from a bin labelled ‘Assorted Tulips’ from a downtown shop. They hadn’t fully bloomed yet, but he could see the beautiful colours of red, orange, and yellow all mixed together.

Finally, a text had come through.

They’re coming along nicely. Thanks for your help.

Netherlands wasn’t sure if it was intentional but Estonia slipped in a red heart-shaped emoji at the end of that sentence. He found it both cheesy and somewhat charming . He’s once again learned something new about him.

So when are you inviting me over to see the rest?

A minute had passed and a reply came through.

How does next weekend sound?

He cracked a smile and typed a quick response.

It’s a date. I’ll bring us some gin.

[erectedingold]

Love is attention

To be loved is to be changed, that change can come from many things but the main thing is that that love comes from attention.

With getting into a relationship there's a lot I knew and didn't know and had to learn, for example kissing, my partner currently is the only person I've kissed. This isn't about that but I thought it would be a funny example to share.

My main point for what I'm thinking about though is that love is attention, what I mean by that is love is an understanding that you have for the things around you whether that be in a partner, family, hobby or whatever it is.

In the move "Lady Bird" love being attention is the main theme, lady bird HATES living in Sacramento and writes about it, while she's in school in the office the lady says "I think you love Sacramento" (not exact but you get it) and Lady Bird is stunned by this, how could she love Sacramento? the place she's expressed so much hate for, well in her letter she's shown so much attention to detail about Sacramento that it comes off as love. Not that this applies to everything but I think Greta Gerwig's point in this was that that hate was more of a bittersweet type of love with the place she grew up in. I hate the town I live in but I do think I'll have my Lady Bird moment of looking back and all that hate turns into a bittersweet memory as this is the place that I was built into who I am.

That's where this idea came to me and it's been one I've been thinking about since watching it while I was sick at 4 AM and then watching it once more with my girlfriend.

I was thinking about how love is attention. At the start of our relationship and I'm sure at the start of literally everyone else's, I could just see what she told me and what I knew about her based off physical appearance and friends and spam Instagram posts. There was this girl with bangs, dyed red stripe in her hair, a gap in her teeth that I LOVE, a nose ring that looks amazing on her, and a slit in her eye brow that I adore, with a flavored vape sitting in her car ready to go to Barnes and Noble.

That's all I knew about her.

And I remember the first time me and her actually hung out. I remember how little we knew about each other. I look back at it now and see how the love we've shown each other has changed us so very much and it makes me happy

For my examples that got me thinking about this more after thinking about Lady Bird is, I know what she likes and doesn't like, now this is obvious to most but it drives that point to me that love is attention, She like pink tulips, her favorite pre made coffee that I can get at Market Basket is the Starbucks Vanilla one that she likes to leave in the freeze for about 2 hours so that it's freezing and gets a little icy when she drinks it, she likes nerd gummy clusters but only the very berry ones, and doesn't like the cold cookies when we go get crumbl cookie. There's more but those are the ones that come to the top of my head. These are things I've picked up or that she's told me and I feel so happy when I hear those things because it makes me love her even more, it gives her character and makes her, her. I love that she doesn't like a cold cookie from crumbl, I like that she wants her coffee in the freezer for 2 hours before she drinks it, and I like that I know these things, it makes me feel that much closer to her and the love grows a ton. I'm sure she loves that I know these things about her as well because I know for her love is attention and with attention you gain understanding which I guess is my point of what I'm trying to say.

I've been changed because of her in so many ways that I don't want to list publicly and only keep it between me and her as it makes it special to me but through our time of knowing each other we've molded each other in ways of being able to understand each other. I'll list one though that I don't mind saying, when I'm sad or anything she'll check my public notion or Tumblr to see if I posted anything on there and the fact she does that and KNOWS that these are the places I go when I'm sometimes not feeling the best makes me happy and feel seen. That's what everyone wants, to just feel seen and hear.

That was something I didn't really understand for a bit to be honest. There's been a time where she's told me "When you do this" or "When that happens" it doesn't make me feel good, and when I think about those specific things I get why to be honest because I'm not making her feel seen or heard! (Obviously the second she tells me and the second we tell each other something like that we work on it together :3 )

but with the ending to my big ass rant is that I'm happy I've been molded to understand what my girl likes and dislikes and that I can pick up on little things in body language or tone or whatever to understand her better and that she does the same for me as well.

Love is attention and to pay attention means to be changed in some ways and I think it's beautiful whether it be the smallest thing or the biggest thing any change for someone or attention and time you give someone I see as a form of care, especially when it's in a relationship as it feels more like love to me.

Thank you for reading

- EIG

[lakesbian]

To be honest, as someone who have actual siblings, the Cosay siblings headcanon it's kinda odd to me.

There's other potential sibling relationships like Lake and Tulip (that's why there's so much Twins Aus) and Jesse and Nate, but that one is more obvious... even if the blushes are because both of them are embarrassed, I don't think all of them are for that reason, the blushes can be by making a lot of strength (Book 1 Lake for example when they tried to escape to the door, also Tulip blushes too because of Lake's weight), a sign of attraction, joy, excitement, ect.

also, they hold hands soooo yeah :T

this is so funny. your analysis is bad, sorry. the only thing it has going for it is that it's the meat pumpkin in my tiger enclosure, by which i mean i will have fun tearing it apart.

"there's other potential sibling relationships, like lake and the girl she spends an entire season violently insisting her life doesn't revolve around!" like in what world LMAOOO she literally goes "i spent my whole life reflecting you, i'm going my own way now" to tulip to explain that because her life has been based entirely around tulip she doesn't want to have any connection to her, and you think there's good grounds for a sibling headcanon? deranged. i love that you started off with this because it really established the tone for how (in)coherent the rest of your thoughts were going to be perfectly.

as for the blush commentary, i. can't figure out what you're trying to say here? like, sure, sometimes characters in the show blush because they're being physically exerted, but that's irrelevant to bring up as an argument because it doesn't contradict my statement that the blushes in s2 aren't romantic. what does lake being exhausted from her failed attempt to escape the chrome car have to do with that?

the blushes in s2 do have varying emotional nuances behind them but they can generally all be tied back to embarrassment, shyness, or other similar feelings. lake blushing in the lucky cat car because she's flustered that jesse is expressing care for her is certainly happier than jesse blushing in the map car because he's admitting his state-qualified swim stroke lake is teasing him about isn't his favorite, but the core emotion motivating both is still feelings of vulnerability, and subsequently, self-consciousness. it's kind of a nothing-statement to say that 'not all of them are because of embarrassment' because yeah no shit, i never claimed the reasons for them were solely one-dimensional. this is The Train Nuance Blog, it's a given that there's nuance.

the "it's a sign of attraction" regarding s2 blushes is just like. Comically stupid. go read my post with the multiple screenshots of one of the show's writers explicitly confirming that the blushes aren't because of a crush & they're Platonic Friends, dippie. https://lakesbian.tumblr.com/post/714630299618770944/okay-umm-listen-i-have-a-silly-a-very-silly

and "they hold hands" ...,,,,..,,,rip to you i guess but some people have physical affection with their non-romantic loved ones? we got a fucking time traveler from the goddamn victorian era out here in my inbox talking about the Intrinsic Romance of [checks notes] "touching your friends." WAIT until you find out that i'd kiss mine on the cheeks LMAO. i'm gonna have to get ms lindsay katai on the phone to inform her that despite the crew's best attempts they did unfortunately accidentally write a romance by depicting a lonely traumatized child sharing occasional physical affection with her first-ever friend to comfort her during the most upsetting moments of her life :/

cosay siblings is rlly not that odd of a projected life outcome for them--they're best friends, lake living with jesse is a fairly common assumption people make, and a best friend you live with who's slowly becoming integrated into your family as a whole is...kind of just going to become an adopted sibling! there are many people who describe their best friend as being "like a brother/like a sister," there's no reason jesse and lake couldn't start feeling similar in the future & then turn it into "just literally actually brother/sister because he IS her family so it's not Like a sister, it's Is a sister"

[therottenkingsreckoning]

[If It Makes You Happy]

finally wrote another one of these silly fluffs! This time a platonic, friendly thing between two characters whomst I don't think interact nearly enough: Frank and Barnaby (the latter being called Barbie here, and using she/her pronouns). Enjoy!

One wouldn't call Frank Frankly particularly "friendly". Sure, they could be quite pleasant towards others once he'd gotten to know them, and even look forward to spending time in their company on occasion. But it had always been very clear that he preferred his time alone, tending the garden or studying bugs.

The former of which they were doing one particularly pleasant Sunday morning, a fresh new tulip bulb in hand as they dug out a hole in the soil, humming a cheerful tune and thinking about all the chores to be done that day. He liked chores. Most folks would probably find that quite strange, but to Frank there was something so satisfying about writing up a detailed and organized list, doing each task with care and precision, then stepping back once they were done to admire all that he had done. There weren't that many he could think of today- a bit of organizing, the usual making of meals- but just meant more time to do their other favorite thing: catching bugs.

And what a day for bugs it was! Bees and butterflies fluttered and buzzed round the garden in the warm spring air, worms crawled in the dirt, and all manner of critters had their daily goings-on among the leaves of his precious garden. Frank though happily about how he might try to nab a few once all the chores were complete. There was one butterfly that looked quite-

"Frank! Hey Frank!" A familiar canine voice called out suddenly across the road, scattering his thoughts like the butterflies that scattered in the wake of Barbie's footsteps. Barbie. In all the time that they had known her, the two had never been very close. Yes, they would talk on occasion, but those talks were usually her annoying Frank with her stupid jokes, or being talked *at* by them whilst seemingly ignoring everything that was being said. Plus, he disliked her habit of chasing Eddie around whenever he'd stop by her house to deliver mail. All this to say that when they turned around to answer, he was already mentally preparing for whatever would ruin their day.

So it was a pleasant surprise indeed when he noticed the cup she held out to them proudly, lidded by a broad and fuzzy paw. Inside was a rather large butterfly, it's wings turquoise fading to pink and veined in gold.

"A Golden Sunrise!" He gasped, immediately taking it to inspect further. "I've been looking for one of these for ages! Oh I've gotta find a jar for you."

She grinned, hands on hips in a triumphant pose. "Ha, I *knew* I found something good! Saw the lil guy in the bushes outside my house, and he didn't look like anything you've mentioned before!"

At this, Frank paused, turning to look at her again. "You...you pay attention to that?" It's true, his speeches were rather long, and the hound had always seemed rather bored when they'd glance up to check. Not that it stopped him. They had long since accepted that these talks were done for himself and the love of the bugs, and that everyone most likely hated it besides him, and maybe Julie. But now?

Barbie awkwardly rubbed her neck with a paw, laughing softly. "Yeah, I mean...sometimes. I'll admit I don't always get what you're talking about...but, I can appreciate how happy it makes you."

His heart was filled with sudden love. To know that someone really listened, and her of all people! They chuckled softly. "It does. Thank you."

"No problem buddy!" She said. "You want me to keep an eye out for anything else? I'm a dog, so finding things is my specialty."

"Oh that would be lovely, yes!" He really meant it too.

Then she was off, and he was back to looking for a proper jar. They didn't have much reasons to stay and chat together for very long. But, Frank thought as he smiled, you'd never say that they weren't friends.

[tired-reader-writer]

Because I'm just dying to infodump about this and I am not one for shutting up—

Symbolism Time With Eggie

(Title stolen from “Symbolism Time with Allie” from ThoughtBubble's Fruits Basket Podcast on YouTube)

(You should totally check out that podcast by the way it's awesome)

Okay so!! Because I'm obsessed with little things and symbolism, I of course shoehorned in some symbolism for my latest written piece here:

And the symbolism has to do with plants! Because of course it does

Firstly, the tree:

It's to hint that Ayunnen is magical, and symbolizes the fact that he and the clan shelter vulnerable people (“a haven for wildlife in winter”).

And then the flowers:

Tulips and poppies bloom in spring, but here their numbers are dwindling to showcase the transition to summer. Spring goes by, and summer approaches. Tulips and poppies both symbolize martyr's blood in Iran. Additionally, tulips also symbolize “suffering for love” and “how a lover suffered and failed to have his loved one” while with poppies: “the black core, which looks like a black heart inside a poppy flower, symbolizes great sadness. Because of its colour, Iranian poets have used this flower to describe a broken heart”. Obviously this is very romantic and I... kinda finagled with the interpretation to suit my need, but I hope I sufficiently conveyed what I wished to convey which is:

1. Martyr's blood = the death of Ayunnen and Kashi, how they'd give their lives to save others— Ayunnen their clansmen and children, and Kashi her unborn child.

2. Failure to have one's loved one = how Shapur failed to bring them to his side

3. Great sadness/broken heart = Shapur's grief for Golnar (Isfan's mother), his sadness at being unable to do anything for Ayunnen, Kashi and Kazai, and later on his grief at their deaths (though Kazai didn't die, Shapur doesn't know)

So um, yeah!! These are the thoughts I had while writing it!! The little things just snag me and halt my progress, so much that I had to look up what trees were in the Alborz mountain ranges, and then try to find one with symbolism that'd fit my purposes (no wonder it took so long, right?) and yeah. All for some plants that got mentioned only a couple times 🤣 Hope you enjoyed!!

[storytellersumayyah]

I understand, don't worry about it.

Let me try and do it, it's no problem.

I think you are pure bottled sunshine.

Her love for me was a love I prayed for many years.

I just want you to be happy.

I don't know where or who'd I'd be without you.

You are good enough and you always will be.

You smile with your eyes.

You've taught me that's the right move to make.

I have a feeling you're going to do great things.

We'll always be here if you need us.

You're my sister.

Thank you for writing it.

Please try to be less hard on yourself.

I'll know you tried your best.

I'm proud of you.

This reminded me of you.

I wanted to say thank you.

Anything to make you feel better.

Whatever happens, you won't be letting anyone down.

Well done for being brave.

Your problems matter.

You're amazing.

You always seem really thoughtful.

You're a good person and friend.

I always smile every time I see another one of your posts on my dash.

I'm in awe of you.

I think you're cool.

You are not a burden.

You deserve to treat yourself with the same compassion you treat others with.

I will be standing outside waving a banner, screaming out your name and cheering you on.

Don't worry, I did the maths for you.

I am so happy to be your friend.

I am now going to have to explain to people why I'll be walking around smiling all day.

You are a good person and I will tell you that however many times you need.

It's possibly the most exciting 4 seconds of serotonin.

I wish your soul all the peace in the world.

I <4 you too.

I'll always tell you how amazing you are.

You remind me so much of a sunflower.

Quite frankly it is their loss.

I'm sure you'll be a great parent.

You have nothing to prove to them.

I'm glad you're thriving.

I also mentioned you.

You inspire me to keep writing, to keep hoping, to keep reaching for the stars no matter how many times those flaming balls of hydrogen burn my hands.

You remind me of a tulip.

You believe in the goodness of the world, and fight for it with your wonderful words, and I admire that infinitely.

I saw Saturn and thought of you.

I can definitely see you being a two- I thought you might be because of how caring I know you are.

Everything you write is so good I couldn't just pick one.

Thanks for choosing me.

It's yours entirely I only finished it for you.

I just hope it lifts you up a bit.

I’m thinking of you and wishing you the best because you deserve it now and always, no matter what your brain tells you.

You're so pretty.

Congratulations on the novel!

You are such a beautiful soul that should be protected always.

The world is brighter because you're in it.

If you need to take a break, go for it.

I'm glad we, all together, have been able to create this community, and you played such a big role.

You'll get through this.

They really helped me so thank you.

If you were a place in the world, you'd be this chalet.

You always had such an abundance of imaginative ideas, they had to be read at some point.

I will put it pride of place in the form room to celebrate you.

I wish you well.

- i love you, i love you, i love you (sixty-five times somebody said the words without saying them because i deserve this, now and always)