#this first convo will stick forever...

[wooriid]

Wait...

[islandheartprincess]

littlepogue!reader - cupcake chaos 🌱✨

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

summary: little pogue vivianne keller thinks she could be a baking prodigy, but can her hands cause anything other than disaster?

c!w: none! pure fluff ۫ ꣑ৎ

pairing: littlepogue!reader x pogues (platonic)

read my little pogue oc, vivianne kellers moodboard & intro first

you were hard at work in the kitchen, covered in flour and batter, while the pogues lounged around the chateau deep in convo.

"guys, i promise this time, IT WILL BE LEGENDARY" you said, holding up a box of cupcake mix like it was a priceless artifact

"uh, y'know cupcakes are supposed to be like, sweet, right vee" John B teased sitting on the counter next to you

"shush! they're gonna be perfect" you shot back at him, slapping his arm harshly

pope stuck his head back out from the fridge "right... just as perfect as your pancake cookies from last week..."

JJ stopped his obnoxious crunching on some expired chips to comment "welp man! I'm down, if they're good we get good food, if they're not we get to make fun of vivi's baking skills! win-win." he chuckled at his own joke, popping another chip in his mouth.

kiara let out a loud groan as she walked into the kitchen, "is she doing this again?" eyeing you, preparing herself for disaster. "oh, its happening," JJ responded " and we are all estimated to die from a sugar overload in about an hour"

kiara giggled, turning back to you "vee, if these end up like your pancake cookies, im locking you out of the kitchen forever."

you side-eyed her, about to argue back, and then... ding! the oven timer went off.

"prepare to be amazed" you said, putting on oven mitts while everyone quickly surrounded you,carefully opening the oven door.

pulling out the tray, everyone collectively gasped. the cupcakes were.... well- creative! you still had hope though, setting them on the counter. JJ poked one with a fork, watching it deflate like a balloon. "whoops, think I just killed one, my bad."

everyone took a cupcake, suspiciously eyeing it, and you counted down to three so everyone could taste it at the same time.

"2....3." everyone bit into their cupcake, only letting a second pass before chaos erupted. John B quickly rushed to the trash can to spit it out, while JJ just spat his on the floor. you slowly continued to chew yours, trying to put up a fake front before you spat yours out in the sink.

"vivi ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?" kiara said frantically

"i followed the recipe exactly?! i have no idea how it could turn out like this!" you responded suspiciously

John B looked around confused, raising his eyebrow before looking at you, "vee... now that I think about it, we don't even have measuring tools" you blinked at him... maybe it could've been that... he continued "or SUGAR."

you shot him a confused look before pointing to a glass container containing tiny white crystallines. "then what the hell is that?"

pope walked over, and turned the container to its front, revealing a large label reading "SALT" you looked around in silence, before the group bursted out in laughter, you included.

"you're definitely making history with this one, as the worst cupcakes ever" JJ chuckled

"one day, you're all gonna regret doubting me" you said while pope wrapped his arm around you, patting your head. "are you gonna poison us?" he joked, getting a laugh out of everyone.

"fine! I admit defeat this time" you said, plopping yourself onto the couch next to Kiara.

kiara hugged you tightly, "i think it would be the safest to stick to store-bought cupcakes"

you didn't care about cupcakes though, for now, you were happy to be in the moment surrounded by laughter, bad cupcakes, and pure ridiculousness.

˖⋆࿐໋

vivianne kellers moodboard & intro (⁠♡⁠ω⁠♡⁠ ⁠)⁠ ⁠~⁠♪

follow me for more fics like this xoxo

[slaughter-kin]

john ‘soap’ mactavish headcanons 🧼

part 2

this is SFW but the first one is suggestive so minors dni!!!

heart banner by cafekitsune

• will whisper the dirtiest shit in your ear in public and then will just walk away

• sleeps naked

• loves his SO to wear his clothes

• shirts, socks, boxers— he doesn’t care

• has a family group chat

• the BEST listener

• when he gets out of the shower at home and the mirror and shower are steamed up he draws little pictures on them. sometimes they are of you two as stick figures, sometimes they are suggestive, and then sometimes it’s sweet messages.

• once bleached his hair in high school

• hates doing laundry

• not the best cook but tries his hardest when cooking for other people

• his nieces and nephews make him play video games with him whenever he visits

• does not get jealous easy

• give the vibe of ‘wear whatever you want i can fight’

• likes head scratches

• in public he is a big hand holder and has to constantly he touching somehow

• would move in fairly quick but it wouldn’t be weird because he basically lived at your place before anyway

• most of his negative emotions first manifest as anger and frustration (!!of course not like abuse or anything!!! he just gets very frustrated and can sometimes snap when he doesn’t mean to) but as soon as he calms down, which is usually pretty quick, he’s constantly apologizing.

• wants a whole clan of kids

• i feel like as a child he was very scared of needles and would have to be held down at the doctors

• likes to share headphones with you

• back on his SO wearing his clothes

• he would go out of his way to hide like jackets and sweaters so his partner has to wear his

• “lass that’s a shame you cannae find your jacket, i’m sure it’s around here somewhere. here wear mine”

• sneezes really loud

• secretly not so secretly loves rom coms

• has 1000% had a full convo with ghost while he’s asleep under the mask

• once set his ringtone in gaz’s phone to the SCOTLAND FOREVER sound

been in a soap mood for like the past week so here’s some more thoughts about my favorite scot

[ghostofasecretary]

ok, let's keep this quick

- so like. i haven't had a day with No Obligations since the 18th. that's 10 days. tomorrow and the day after i'm working. i need A Break because i am Tired

- aaaaaaaah grad schools why do people keep telling me i'm cool and promising and they're enthusiastic about me and then i DON'T GET MONEY (or. well. i turned a place that gave me money down because of a potential supervisor leaving)

- i have so many loose threads. emails unanswered for months. i spent a fuckload of money on some stuff with the intent to make it back and Have Not Taken Steps to do that which is crappy, actually!! feels REALLY BAD! all the time bad! bad for months!

- i fucking hate letting things fester and my whole day except for poetry and a text convo has been festering

- which feels like a microcosm of my fucking life. which is unfair, probably, but. ya rab

- i straight up just? dissociated almost all the time between 6:30 and 10am??? that's not great!

- my job is getting me money, yay, but it's part time and also i keep going wildly between "i am winning" and "i'm so miserably bad at this and probably no one wants to work with me i keep fucking up i hate myself" and "hey now stop beating yourself up" and boredom and misgendering and "Holy Shit Man I Hate Your Politics So Much but i do care about you as a person! so! guess some of the Christianity stuck!!! hahahahahaha fuck my life"

- i don't know if i can a) get a job and b) move in time to maintain the illusion that grad school worked out for me but 1) i need to move yesterday, i haven't hugged a friend since fucking January, and 2) i was really hoping August would work out and i don't want to work longer. my whole year has been "well maybe i'll get answers and know what i'm doing next month!" and by year i mean. since. like. december 2023. although Applying To Grad School sure ate all of my energy for a long fucking time. so i'd LIKE to get a job and move in late August/early September. but also holy shit man

- i feel some duty to myself to still apply for more grad school jobs but i haven't had a spare afternoon with emotional support since. like. the first weekend of June. (i have had mornings with emotional support (thanks babe)) but i have been mostly using those for homework (and fugue states of misery (sorry.)) so, like. aaaaaa??????

- i'm so mad and scared and also, like, i don't have TIME to be mad and scared, i'm behind on things and also this is my short and precious life! there's people to talk to and good food to eat and nice clothes to wear and fiction to read! i don't want to waste it being upset! i've been upset since 2022, basically, and i'm really fucking tired of it!!!

- what if nothing ever works out and i'm broke forever and rely on my parents like my sister does and am an even worse resource drain and they don't get to retire and I DON'T MEET MY SELF IMPOSED DEADLINE FOR. LITERALLY 40 MINUTES FROM NOW.

- and tomorrow i have/want to be fucking chipper at people! because goddamn it, i actually genuinely want people to have their days be a bit more pleasant from interacting with me and i like running a smooth ship! when i'm not making mistakes, which i make more of when i'm tired and upset!! gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

so. that's a lot of self-loathing and fear and frustration. uh. i don't know that this. resolved anything, aside from me saying the crazy out loud (and yes, i DO KNOW where the crazy is, but going "well don't be crazy" to myself is deeply unhelpful since it turns into another beating stick so. alas)

but i guess now i'll. work on my goals????

[dirtbra1n]

I’m all ego can u directors comment on the “fascinating” convo. also it’s like Fun to me.

oh I should definitely figure out how to format these. I got excited and just clicked Answer and now I have to think about it. one sec. coming back with hindsight to tell you This gets long. I’ve hind-seen it.

first things first This ask is asking about the very first portion of the yet-unnamed tashiro post that went live on. the gray area between sunday and monday, I think. when’d I post the thing again. whatever. figure I’ll just go at this piece mail You’ll see quick that I came out the gate swinging

he kind of doesn’t know why he does it, didn’t really take the time to think about it. all he knows is that the time read 2:41 a moment ago and changed the second shirahama’s voice crackled over the phone, “what?”

so if you’re a real #DBWRITINGHEAD you might see the emphasis on the time and think Okay so what’s happening here. just happens that I drudged up the reference point recently. specifically this chunk here

so you see there’s kind of a lot already happening.

firstly it tells you that time IS an object, and that it gets blended and molded together and thrown at walls to see if it sticks. and it does. secondly though it gets you familiar with tashiro and shirahama’s banter, and this is an especially good thing because there’s a lot of it moving forward. I love to write these two so much. it comes natural and it’s a riot I could write them sniping at each other forever. third it gives you tashiro’s perspective of an event that a experienced river-reader might have seen already, while also working just fine on its own. and fourth, I guess. just because this chunk is, spiritually. to me. just as part of tashiro post as the other nearly 7k words. So I guess it’s even closer to that number than I’d thought. go figure. FOURTH. if you have this chunk’s post’s context, if you see that time and think, Aw, hell, this is just like that chunk in db’s shirahama post from a few months ago, you might remember its surrounding context and then go, hanzawa and weird situation and almost-but-not-quite confession. Maybe. in a word: foreshadowing.

it’s also, if I say so myself, a pretty strong opening line. I think kiri that I’ve shown you and sunnfish the first line in the note on my phone enough times for you to remember that it DIDN’T start with this one. that was a day-of decision. was a good one.

figure I should also draw the comparison between the two pieces while this chunk is here—shirahama kyouji’s internal monologue, both here and in its prologue-and-chronological-pre-side-and-sequel. or whatever the relationship is on paper. makes use of his given name kyouji, whilst tashiro’s is tashiro, his family name, throughout. this is because tashiro, to me, is so bad at letting people in that he kind of locks himself out too. hasn’t got the keys. just drew a little connection with this other piece in my head right this second but This Ask Wasn’t About That Post, Now, Was It? anyway tashiro’s got himself locked out. so it makes it easier for him to watch himself plummet from the outside looking in. anyway this ask isn’t about that scene either. anyway anyway. Moving on

“gonna tell you something weird.”

“…mhm…?”

tashiro squeezes his eyes shut, groggily rubbing a thumb over quick-drying salt at the outer corner of his eye. “just dreamed about hanzawa senpai dying on me.”

tashiro’s levels of awareness are always really fun to me. because he’s a strange guy in how quick he can get hit with something and roll with it, but he Knows its weird. shirahama is of course a good friend who resolves to deal with this. and boy does he deal! also of course tashiro had at least a few tears leak out of his eyes. his hanzawa senpai just died on him in a dream, after all. tangentially Have you ever been dreaming when you’re about to wake up, and something in the dream is upsetting enough at least conceptually to make you cry, but the unsteadiness of your waning unconsciousness fights the tears from coming out, so what you get is unsatisfying denied catharsis? really makes you think.

“…” shirahama breathes in; tashiro can hear him hold it. similarly, the sound of his hand being dragged over his face is crisp and loud.

the entire scene, barring the opening paragraph, operates in the present moment and its Moments, but this paragraph I feel really does the best job at demonstrating that. you are tashiro, lying in bed, fresh off the water—if you’re wondering, which you probably weren’t until just now, I haven’t written masato’s death from this first time; tashiro has seen hanzawa senpai dying before now, but the key- and weight-bearing word here is ‘on’, implying that he wasn’t troubled enough by that first aesthetically striking drowning to tell anybody—and you’re on the phone with your best friend at probably 2:43 or :44 by now, and you can hear him thinking your words over as if he were right next to you, because that’s where you’ve got your phone.

finally, he says, “fascinating.”

as you well know, kiri, this one was both recommended by and consequently modeled off you. you are tashiro, lying in bed, fresh off the water, and your best friend thinks the whole thing is ‘fascinating.’

[jaggedwolf]

beau/jester!

when I started shipping it if I did: I honestly don't remember?? I know I instantly found their friendship adorable, so it probably didn't take long. Definitely was shipping them by time of the escalated bar fight.

my thoughts: they just, immediately fall into being co-conspirators and being so charmed by each other, it's great? Even from the start, you have them climbing that tree in Alfield together, Beau listening with amusement at Jester bullshitting about pocket unicorns, Jester helping to decipher the mail Beau stole, Beau tucking Jester in after the latter gleefully goes on and on about Tusk Love. or basically what I said in this post

What makes me happy about them: that instinctive, vicious protectiveness and attachment over each other - Beau is so messed up about leaving the Blue Dragon fight first and says she never meant to leave but especially would never mean to leave Jester, Jester gets so mad at Beau's dad she sends him spooky messages just to fuck with him, Beau tries to talk Jester through her approach of the Gentleman as her dad, Jester worries that she didn't heal Beau enough in that cathedral fight and that's why Beau is avoiding her. I swear, there's a large portion of the campaign where they just want each other so much in ways that they can't seem to verbalize and it drives me and them wild.

Beau's confession to Nott about her crush is still so, so good and so, so sweet

falling through the sky together, grabbing at each other's hands and teleporting away, both their speeds combined, that ridiculous bar fight where it didn't matter which of them won but that they did it wholeheartedly, buying pets together they absolutely were not ready to take care of

What makes me sad about them: hm, you're currently watching the Aeor arc so you can tell me if I'm wrong about this, but there's a point there or earlier where it feels like...they stop going to each other the way they used to. Maybe it's towards the end Rumblecusp, actually, where Beau is no longer comfortable being emotionally protective of Jester and sticks to being physically protective. Don't get me wrong, I find all the Jester and Yasha conversations about Beau/Yasha endearing as hell, but it did feel...odd that we never get Beau and Jester talking about Beau/Yasha similarly, like they'd stopped sharing a metaphorical room too. I can kind of fanwank it as both of them realizing Beau's crush is unrequited, and that ends up making their friendship less intimate than it used to be. Which makes sense, but still makes me sad

oh and i guess it makes me sad that beau never actually gets to see jester truly angry, given their ship conversation. the canon post-hag group convo was good, but I would not have minded jester losing it at beau's offer after.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: it's actually been a while since I've read much critical role fic but hmm. okay this is not a fanfic thing but it annoys me when fandom does not understand that beau lies all the time! beau telling fjord that haha she once had the hots for jester hahaha is not marisha retconning beau's sincere confession but beau playing out a convo with the guy she's always going to think is better for jester than she is and more importantly, the guy she knows jester likes!

things I look for in fanfic: again, I haven't actually looked for fic with them forever. But back when I did I was there for all the hurt/comfort and pining fic forever.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I really do like Beau/Yasha - you have some very good episodes for them ahead of you, and it is a great ending for Beau in canon. I don't feel strongly about other Jester ships, other than NOTP-ing Caleb/Jester and Fjord/Jester XD.

My happily ever after for them: Going off on adventures all around Exandria, taking breaks to see their friends, Beau using said adventures for her cobalt soul purposes, Beau and Artagnan forming a very reluctant truce.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: for some reason I instead picture them sleeping with one of them plopped on top of the other, haha

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: hey, sparring is a non-sexual activity for these two! they have so much fun with it, and don't hold grudges about going no holds barred. honestly anything that lets these two be the co-conspirators engaged in chaos shenanigans that they were meant to be is excellent.

[kafus]

if it's not exceedingly obvious i am the type of autistic person to have a tiny handful of lifelong interests that just sort of stick forever and it's really hard for me to do anything outside of those few things, even if i find it interesting. like my two interests are Pokemon and Vocaloid (kaf/kamitsubaki is an extension of my vocaloid interest) and like on rare occasion when my brain lets me i can do something unrelated to those two things, plus i've had a couple major interests that did die after numerous years (namely Warrior Cats when i was younger and Love Live as a teenager lol) but really my life has been almost nothing but pokemon and vocaloid since forever. some of my earliest properly formed childhood memories are of pokemon, i got into it at age 4 and got my first game on my 5th birthday, and then i got into vocaloid when i was 11. i am 24 now. these are literally my ride or dies and i just flip flop between both sides of my two interests every now and again as to which one i'm most focused on. but you can strike up a convo with me about anything to do with either interest at any time and i will have an essay to write

[symphonic-scream]

Yes, 100%

:D

Everyone has a pet that has the name of their persona (cause I'm sentimental) like. Morgana is just Akira's emotional support cat but he also has a little red bird names Arsene. Goro has two mice named Robin Hood and Loki, and Futaba has a ferret named Necronomicon

In the quad apartment there's Carmen the cat, Goemon the turtle, and Captain Kidd the snake

As for Makoto and Haru, there's M'Lady the large rabbit and Johanna the doberman. Hifumi doesn't have a pet yet, but maybe one day

The Okumura-Niijima apartment is right above the bakery and cafe, but they made sure to add an entrance at the back so they don't have to work through the shop front to get home (Makoto sometimes has an overwhelming day at her placements. Sometimes Haru's relapsing into her caged mindset. They wanted a safe route in and out without crowds)

M'Lady sometimes spends Haru's time working the cafe with her. They made a little throne for her at the far side of the counter. Regular customers like to bring her little veggies to snack on

Makoto is training Johanna to work as an EMA. She wants to give her future patients as much comfort as possible, like being able to offer sessions with her and her dog. It's a work in progress, she got the idea when she met Joker (and Morgana) for the first time

I have stories for everyone meeting Joker too so. Let me know if you want those

Hifumi is at first dumbfounded when she discovers Makoto is trans. Akira had told her one of the wives were and based on how they present themselves, she assumed it was Haru. She and Makoto have many long talks about how they define femininity and such. For Makoto, it's in her spirit of rebellion. Being a woman to her is refusing to conform, not to accept the hand she's dealt but to stand up and push for what she wants

And for Haru, it's more like a comfort. She's always felt, protected by her own inner view of the world. She sees her own femininity as like, frills and fluff and treating herself. Inner love. They balance each other well

Makoto: I notice you hunch a lot. Is your height something that makes you feel a little dysphoric?

Hifumi: ah, I suppose so. I'm taller than both you and Haru, and Akira too...

Makoto: I have a solution for that. Want to feel short? You should visit our other friends' place. They're all tall there

Haru: she's right! Ann and Yusuke are both, very tall!

There's lots of conversations about gender and sexuality between Hifumi and all the thieves, about how they found themselves and tips they have for being queer. Some are, awkwardly personal

Hifumi: did you. Have your surgeries yet?

Makoto: ...it's 9 am I'm- I'm not talking about this that early I'm sorry

Haru: just a tip, you don't have to have any to be trans! You can have one, or the other, both or none! Gender and sex are personal to you, don't let anyone else dictate your experience

Makoto is red in the face and sipping at iced water trying to ignore the Convo (it's the one topic she's nervous about. Only because she doesn't like hospitals.)

Hifumi: why do you guys have two spare rooms anyways? For family?

Makoto: oh, no

Haru: can you keep a secret? Don't tell Akira or the others, but... We're thinking of having a baby

Hifumi: ...am I your test run for parenthood?

Makoto: no, don't be silly. That was when we took care of Futaba when they were fighting with the boys

Haru's father isn't a fan of her relationship with Makoto, but he accepted he has no say in whether they're together or not and stays out of their hair. He's, working on being supportive. It's taking him time to learn

Sae on the other hand has been Makoto's number one advocate for years. She helped her sister find herself back when Makoto was just in middle school, and even set her up at a vastly different highschool to start fresh

Goro is horribly awkward around anyone but Akira or Futaba. He's. Like a stick. It freaks Hifumi out at first

Just. Hifumi experiences all sorts of love too. Seeing her friends who found their forever people, platonic love, the sort of familial love she forms with Makoto and Haru-

I have many many thoughts please keep talking to me about this I'm,

Also. Help me find a name for this au so I can make a tag for it! Send me suggestions

[landograndprix]

overcaffeinated anon here with her longass opinion piece on mini me, mini you🙋🏻‍♀️

so because I feel like it's been so long since I started it and I want to get all the feelings back I will be rereading it and adding my thought onto every part

Part 1: Lando saying 'get off your phone or I'll send you back home' -bestie the foreshadowing 😐 part 2: when y/n is telling her bff 'that's the man you're marrying next year..' - her bestie really wants them to break up 🫠 Lando saying 'you piss me off when you say that, stop thinking the boys are more important than you, they're not' -> hun if you leave four days early when you're having a hard time with your girlfriend, she will think that part 3: ahhhh the good old miscommunication trope mixed with the bestie not knowing when to stick to her best friend. rereading the text messages between yn and her bestie actually hurts (but hun you hit every note to make it angsty) bestie saying 'I asked you bcs I knew I wasn't gonna hear the truth from yn what kind of answer is this' actually is maddening Charles is flirting with her but girlie is staying respectful (I'm kinda split on how I want this to end sooooo excited to read both parts) part 4: bestie being a snitch (truly sick because I could never do that to my best friend- that girl is my sister) Lando and yn's text convo was truly heartwarming aaaaand Charles and yn talking about kids made me tear up a bit and her then posting him AND LANDO TELLING HER TO SHUT UP LIKE YES TELL HER OFF MAN part 5: the fact that they got a dog is kind of cute and solves her feeling lonely when Lando is away, but it isn't a bandaid to the whole baby-situation the only way I'd say 'a thing or two' to my bestie is like this 'bestie I love you and I may be overstepping but I feel like if I don't say this I'm disrespecting our friendship….' part 6: ahhh the england thing aaaaand he threw her out - ouch but I kind of understand where he is coming from part 7: ahhh the break up aaaaand Charles being nervous is cute part 8: (i think this is where I stopped and now everything is new to me) ahhhhh Landoooo you can't say that - hindsight is 20/20 and the bestie coming through at the end

Part 9- Lando's part: AHHHHHH I DON'T THINK I CAN CHOOSE HIM OVER YOU I AM SCREAMING THIS IS SO CUTE AHHH SHE IS PREGNANT THIS IS SO CUTE I AM TEARING UP 😭😍😍

Part 9- Charles' part: awwww Joris is mad as well 😂 I love Charles the pregnancy tests 😭 but CHARLES IS SO CUTE FOR BEING SO INSISTENT ON GOING TO THE DOCTOR WITH HER AND LANDO CONGRATULATING THEM AND THEY ARE HAVING A BABYGIRL 😍😍😍

Applause to you for coming up with that story it's so good and you did really well with all the angst, and fluff and the potential love triangle 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

ugh thank you for this, this made my night 😭 also;

Lando saying 'get off your phone or I'll send you back home' -bestie the foreshadowing 😐

bestie, you don't know how surprised I am by my own foreshadowing because I am in fact never foreshadowing anything considering I never know what's happening next, I barely even know what happened in the first part when I got to chapter 3 so.. 😭

'I don't think I can choose him over you' will forever be my favorite line in this story along with the "I'm freezing my tits off" "please don't, I love those two." Conversation between the gremlins 🥰

Thanks again for this, you're the best! <3

[martianbugsbunny]

Secret Admirers Are For The Subtle (A FrankenWolf Fic)

*sitting on the wall like Spider-Man* so basically this idea spawned bc one, I'm obsessed with the idea that Victor draws a lot, even though he only sketched in like one episode lol, and two, I was having a convo with @stardreamer28 about how Victor is the least subtle person in the universe, so why not combine the two into one fic? The gist is that he sent Ruby flowers anonymously so he could drop by the diner and "notice" them and stick around to sketch them, but Ruby is totally onto him and knows he's the one who sent the flowers. Also, the stuff Victor eats/drinks is absolutely just what I was craving when I wrote the fic lol, there's no significance in it. Read on and enjoy!

Victor closed the door to the diner behind him and hung his jacket on the coat rack next to it. He had found in it Gold’s shop, and although it had belonged to him in his old land, had paid the promise of extra attentive medical care in the future, should Gold need it. It was his favorite jacket, or he wouldn’t have bothered: dark brown, made of a thick material for lab work (or cold), and the buttons were all round gold ones.

He noticed a large bouquet of flowers sitting on the counter, the vase conveniently close to his usual stool. He went over and sat down, pulling his sketchbook and a pencil out of his crossbody bag.

“New flowers, huh?” he said conversationally. Ruby, handing another customer a plate of fries, turned towards him and smiled.

“Yeah. Funny thing, but they didn’t come with a note or anything,” she said. “And the delivery girl only knew that they were for me, not who sent them. But they’re beautiful,” Ruby added, smiling wider and brushing her fingertips across the yellow center of a daisy.

“I guess you have a secret admirer,” Victor said, trying to keep himself from turning pink. She liked the flowers.

Ruby laughed, leaning in to sniff an orange flower with lots of small petals that Victor didn’t know the name of. “There’s a first time for everything,” she said. “What do you want to eat?”

He didn’t need a menu; he had been to Granny’s more times than he could count during the Dark Curse, and several times afterwards, too. “Grilled chicken with a side of—”

“Mashed potatoes and gravy?” Apparently Ruby didn’t need him to even finish his order anymore. “And to drink?”

While Victor liked the same foods at Granny’s that Whale had, he didn’t like iced tea, which Whale had ordered with most of his meals. Victor had tried several other beverages since the curse broke, and hadn’t been too enthused with any of them.

“Surprise me,” he said. Ruby grinned, and he was definitely blushing this time. Flustered, he opened his sketchbook and began to outline the prominent yellow rose in the floral arrangement. Those were the easiest.

As the afternoon passed, Victor painstakingly absorbed himself in his drawing. After bringing back Regina’s fiancé with no more success than he’d had with Gerhardt, Victor wanted to do something truly creative, that couldn’t hurt anybody; only sit there on the page and be beautiful. And he’d found himself wanting to be near Ruby since…well, forever, really—even during the curse, there was a certain spark between them—but especially since she had stepped up as Prince Charming’s right hand. She was feisty and strong, and she cared about the town, and Victor dared to hope maybe one day she would care for him.

He downed four glasses of Ruby’s mystery beverage (after all, he had to do something to justify taking up a seat in the diner) before remembering to ask what it was. He had just finished filling in the petals of a small, sort of scrawny-looking daffodil, one of the last flowers he had to color in.

“Hey, Ruby, what is this?” he asked, gesturing towards his empty glass. She had been sitting next to him for a while, since the dinner rush was still a couple of hours away. While he sketched, she read a book of fairytales from the Storybrooke Library—“To see what they got wrong,” as she had explained.

She looked up from the story about Sleeping Beauty. “Canada Dry.”

Victor stared at her. Not just because the light coming through the windows was reflecting off her eyes like gems, but because he was somewhat surprised. “You’re kidding me. This is ginger ale? I should’ve tried this twenty-eight years sooner.” Whale had never been much of a soda drinker; he was too enthused with his iced tea, and ginger ale’s reputation as a beverage of choice for the elderly had made it sound dull. “I should have you pick all my drinks,” he teased.

Ruby laughed. “If it means you come to the diner for your meals, then alright. It’s a deal.” She had been sitting with a stool between them—now, she moved over onto the one directly next to Victor’s. “Can I see what you’ve been so busy with?”

He wasn’t about to show her the small portraits of her that he had been working on; it might come off as creepy, he wasn’t sure. (But she did have the perfect profile for sketching, and he loved capturing her smile when she wasn’t looking.)

The flowers, however, had turned out rather nicely, and there was nothing creepy about those…unless maybe it was that he had sent them as an excuse to spend time with her and she had no idea—but he had been a lot less bold since the Curse ended, and he was nervous about actually asking her out.

“You’re very talented, Victor,” Ruby said softly. The way her eyes lit up looking at the sketches made something in Victor’s core absolutely melt. His fingers itched to pick up the pencil again and draw that ephemeral expression before it faded away.

“Thank you,” he said, impressed with himself for keeping his voice from shaking. She was right there, after all, leaning over his shoulder, the fabric scent of her flannel shirt all he could smell.

Ruby smiled again, brushing her dark hair behind one ear, and hopped off the stool. She went back around the counter as a couple of customers entered the diner, lightly tracing the petals of that bright yellow rose on her way.

Victor checked his watch and began hastily packing away his pencils and his pastel crayons. His shift at the hospital started in twenty minutes.

As his hand was on the doorknob, Ruby called after him. “Hey, Victor?”

He turned around, his heart pounding. “Next time you send flowers, add a note,” she said. Victor couldn't get the grin off his face all the way back to the hospital.

[piupiowa]

Tag game time!

First of all, sorry for taking forever to do this.  Secondly, I was tagged by @lilamausmaus (THANK YOUU! 🤍✨)

1. What’s your favorite sims death? I don’t think I have one? But I definitely have a memorable one which is death by flies, simply because in TS2 times I was using it all the time for sims I didn’t like 😶

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? Maxis match all the way, baby! (I’m still simping over some alpha hairstyles though)

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? Nope. I do have a mod though that makes the weight system more realistic and it’s called Fitness Controls by roBurky.

4. Do you use move objects? It’s like asking if I breathe.

5. Favorite mod? Um.. this a tough one. Excluding the holy grails, I think I’ll go with Walk Faster by lotharihoe. It literally never gets out of my mods folder.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? The first one that came out, so I think Outdoor Retreat?

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? LIVing

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Has to be Bubbles 💕

9. Have you made a simself? I did a couple of times but all of them ended up being deleted from existence ._.

10. What sim traits did you give yourself? Cheerful, perfectionist aaand.. I guess childish? Oh, and clumsy but not all the time. And talkative, if we had one.

11. What is your favorite EA hair color? I want to say pink but truly.. it’s the dark brown for me.

12. Favorite EA hair? I forgot how EA hairs look since I started using CC.

13. Favorite life stage? Surprise, surprise - young adult.

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? I’m in it for building, CAS and gameplay alike.

15. Are you a CC creator? Nope, although I messed around with mods and cc for myself.

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I’d say I have my little circle of blogs I check regularly but I only talked with maybe two people. The rest is just mutual likes/reblogs/comments/tags, all that kind of jazz. I’m always open for convos though!

17. What’s your favorite game? Every iteration of The Sims franchise has something I’m longing for but for now, I’m sticking with TS4.

18. Do you have any Sims merch? Don’t and never did.

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? I don’t think I’m interesting enough to have one, plus I’m so inconsistent people would easily forget about me.

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? Hm.. I don’t think I have a prominent sim style per se but I can admit to using alpha CC for the first year or so when talking about TS4.

21. What’s your Origin ID? Can you guess? 😏

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? Picking just one is simply impossible.

23. How long have you had a simblr? According to tumblr dot com I’ve had an account since February 2016.

24. How do you edit your pictures? I use Gshade (ver. 3 something) and then hop in Gimp.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? The one I’m always coming back to is Realm of Magic. I’m a Harry Potter child, can you blame me?

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? Something to do with music! With proper singer/band careers (active or semi-acitve), festivals, tours, concerts, you know the drill.

As I do not recall who already did this and who didn’t, I’m tagging everyone who has something black on right now. Can be shirt, scrunchie, you name it. And please tag me when you do!

[xweetok-starmap]

(This is about headspace stuff, this happened post real body hysterectomy).

Me learning last night that back when I miscarried Uriel's (of the octopus twins') children in September, it was because one of my headmates, Aurix, had taken over being responsible for the seahorse brood pouch in a way that was purposefully sabotaging to the eggs’ being carried properly, because we were still ignorant of a topic she wanted nothing more than to keep buried forever because that was the last big thing to potentially unrepress, like the _big_ thing

Like . . . oh.

Stars & haloes, when that happened in September, I threw up SO MUCH I was writhing and screaming in SO MUCH PAIN did you know that headspace stuff has real physical symptoms?? Because I didn't! not really, like I knew in that my headmates have always been able to touch me but I didn't REALLY KNOW! until I started carrying eggs for headmates! the first time (when Itov and I's "completely unintentional because why would two plant boys playing have consequences like what the sandollars THANKS SUMATRA" {{you're welcome! offspring were born) I got heatstroke!! while I was visiting my sister, even, haha. Sea animal & plant based children are funky though, in that they kind of instantly wander off basically, this isn't like mammals. Though one of them led to a massive change in Sumatra's (the other octopus twin's) body, she became a lot more jellyfish-like. She probably sought it out on purpose and I don't really want to think about what that must have been like. She still has a heavily octopus-based body and the Harpactea sadistica spider needles/ovipositors just ALSO jellyfish stuff now. She is a menace. {{:33

Uriel's children would have been more proper stick around social pod, though. He was really excited about the prospect of any of them surviving. They should have been born this month, in April. That's kinda . . . that's certainly timing to learn this.

. . .

I really REALLY wish I could remember what else Aurix was telling me last night, after we got under the covers and she was just SOBBING on my chest and I was holding her. Not remembering headmate convos is the worst.

I really had to have my headspace body be so heavily influenced by the ONE BOY ANIMAL that carries the offspring, in such a reproductively whacky active with itself system, huh --

This SURE was a moment back in August, lol

```{{Having a bisexual male seahorse around sure is exciting.```

-# *MAYBE IT’S JUST BECAUSE I’M STILL \_OUT OF MY FUCKING MIND\_ RIGHT NOW BUT THIS SEEMS LIKE THE OUT-OF-CONTEXT QUOTE OF THE YEAR FOR MY SYSTEM FOR SURE*]]

[yarkmagazine]

The Time Gary Rogers From Thrasher SKATELINE Saved My Life

So boom. 2017. I’m at this metal show — wild, I know — but it was the opener for a Denzel Curry concert and the whole thing was put together by none other than Mikey Alfred and Illegal Civilization. If you know, you know. Mikey’s a genius (I don’t care what anyone says about that $700,000). Back then, he was basically curating the LA version of Kids (you know, the ‘95 cult film), but with more Golf Wang and fewer consequences.

Now, picture me: double XL white tee, red corduroy pants, a burgundy/navy plaid Supreme box logo hat, and some beat black One Stars fresh out the Flower Boy era. I thought I was the flyest dude alive, but let’s be honest, I probably looked like a cartoon character drawn by a kid who just discovered Odd Future in 2011 — which is, in fact, what I was. Odd Future, Tyler, Goblin, all that? That’s what made me pick up a skateboard in the first place. From there it was a domino effect: Supreme Cherry, IC2, Viva La Bam reruns, Jackass chaos, that Billionaire Boys Club Japan skate edit with Terry Kennedy, Nino, and them? I was deep in that culture. And don’t even get me started on Deli Status and Cesar Bugatti (aka Esco) — man’s a fashion god.

Anyway. I pulled up to this show alone, out of pure love for Illegal Civ. I think the film screening happened before the music started, and everyone was sitting on grass like it was a backyard cookout at Tyler’s house. I swear half the crowd was dressed like a Golf Wang catalog come to life. Nico was even there — like Nico. Wild.

Then the music started. The opener was doing numbers, and the pit was violent. Like, not your average rap show “we’re all sardines getting shoved around” type mosh — this was different. Elbows flying, kicks being thrown. I’d never been in anything like it. Long story short, I found myself on the ground in the middle of the pit.

And then… out of the chaos… Gary. Freaking. Rogers. Dude from SKATELINE on Thrasher. No lie. In a Thrasher tee, gold grill shining under the flashing lights, lifts me up like some heroic NPC in a skateboarding RPG. I already clocked him earlier in the crowd, but to have him physically pull me off the ground — save my literal life — was crazy. I remember thinking, “Damn, this man’s hair smells… interesting?” Not bad, just… memorable. The kind of scent that sticks in your mind when you’ve been spiritually reborn in a pit of metal-head madness.

He dipped right after — no convo, no clout grab. Just vibes.

Denzel Curry killed it, by the way. But that was my second time seeing him live, so no offense — the real headliner in my story was Gary Rogers from SKATELINE.

In conclusion: Go to concerts alone sometimes. You might just meet your heroes… or get saved by them in the middle of a mosh pit. Either way, you’ll walk out with a story.

Stay safe, skate hard, and shoutout to the man who kept me from getting trampled that night. Forever grateful.

[shellstahh1817]

I’m just catching up and ended up on deuxmoi for the first time in what feels like forever! What’s happening with Harry cause atp it feels like people are saying anything about what he’s doing or with right now and hoping it sticks lol like I’m so lost on where this convo is

Correct, people are just hoping anything will stick to stir the pot

[yammoba]

The two times i was ever bothered by/noticeably flirted with from a stranger-man were:

Roughly age 14: eating ice cream by myself at the local ice cream shop. A guy (probably 22-30s tho hard to tell, some people look older) asks if he can sit with me to chat, asking if im alone and why. "Cause i like hanging out by myself". He asks about the japanese on my shirt and if i know what it says, kinda not really. We have a stilted and awkward convo about anime. And he eventually leaves. An older girl i knew from school who was working there comes up and asks if i knew him and if i was ok. She said he'd been talking to lots of the girls hanging out there and working there. I was like oh, i thought he was just being friendly and felt bad bc i was alone. And she was like, well, if he comes back you can come hang out behind the counter.

Roughly age 15-17: looking at the manga section, at the library an awkward (probably 19-25 dude) came up to talk to me about manga. I was mostly happy to talk about manga. But he asked if I wanted to go somewhere else (i think this is litterally how he phrased it, it was very odd) and i was like "no". Then he asked for my phone number, a few times even tho i said I didnt have one (this was kinda true, my phone was only good for phone calls, and i hated talking on the phone for "fun") and i eventually made up an excuse to leave.

Oh, and i got a few weird internet comments from irl pictures i posted of myself at age 12 on devient art, and a few weird things surroinding some videos I posted to youtube at age 11-12. Not things that really shoukd have been posted but what you gonna do, it was 2007.

The things that stick out to me about these experiences is my age at the time. Especially becsuse i looked way younger than i was and was frequently mistaken for being a middle schooler in high school and a high schooler in college. I didnt wear makeup, and when i did dress "feminine" i often didnt do a good job, or looked like a wanna be mall-goth. The first one will always be the one that sticks out the most in my mind. The other one i do put mostly down to the guy being awkward, and just wanting to talk to someone with similar interests. Ice cream guy tho. The fuck were you up to dude?? Go flirt with girls your own age. Forever shout out to that other girl tho.

[modernmanblues]

go for it! tell the story! 🍿

OKAY SO. as an aside, my trek to liverpool almost never happened bc my connecting flight between berlin and liverpool was delayed by 15 minutes so statistically speaking, i should’ve never been able to make that flight to liverpool on friday. but this is where it gets interesting- imagine a frazzled little thing like me running about a mile and a half through frankfurt airport from the previous plane and onto the next while all while making it through customs in seconds flat. i said to myself “just imagine you’re the beatles being chased by an entire entourage of insane fans.” so i did- and it helped. got on my flight to liverpool and landed in what felt like 45 minutes.

fast forward to friday night- a few lovely scousen men came up to me making sure i was alright as i got a bit naughty that night and had a little too much to drink. then, i saw this bloke that had a really cool Beatles shirt on so i complimented him about it. he said “it was specially made by a friend of mine. if you want, if we meet back here at the cavern pub i can have one made just for you.” anyways, we talked for a bit- i told him how this was my first time at beatles week and that i was doing it solo. he said he came with his brother but asked whether i wanted to stay in his company for the remainder of the night. so i agreed (probably not the best idea at the time but he seemed to peak my interest a bit). his brother went back to their hotel early so when it was just me and him, i asked if he wanted to just go bar hopping so he said yes. we talked about the beatles as we walked along matthew street where most of the festivities have been happening. we ended up just having drinks and chatting about what we thought thought about “this album” and “that album.” very insightful convo. loved every minute.

now, towards the end of the night, and the part that will probably stick me forever was when this man said and i quote “you know, you’re probably the most gorgeous woman i have ever laid me eyes on” IN THE THICKEST LIVERPUDLIAN ACCENT I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE I ALMOST DIED. that moment- monumental. i will never forget that one.

anyways, he walked me back to my hotel (which he didn’t have to do btw but he said he wanted to make sure i got back there safely) and he kissed the back of my hand and said “see you tomorrow?” so i said “only if you have my tshirt made” so he said “i’ll get that sorted for you love, don’t worry.”

this entire journey so far..it could easily be turned into a coming of age film.