#who managed to pay attention and give advice <3

[wereshrew-admirer]

.txt

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The specific process by which Google enshittified its search

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me SATURDAY (Apr 27) in MARIN COUNTY, then Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

All digital businesses have the technical capacity to enshittify: the ability to change the underlying functions of the business from moment to moment and user to user, allowing for the rapid transfer of value between business customers, end users and shareholders:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/24/naming-names/#prabhakar-raghavan

Which raises an important question: why do companies enshittify at a specific moment, after refraining from enshittifying before? After all, a company always has the potential to benefit by treating its business customers and end users worse, by giving them a worse deal. If you charge more for your product and pay your suppliers less, that leaves more money on the table for your investors.

Of course, it's not that simple. While cheating, price-gouging, and degrading your product can produce gains, these tactics also threaten losses. You might lose customers to a rival, or get punished by a regulator, or face mass resignations from your employees who really believe in your product.

Companies choose not to enshittify their products…until they choose to do so. One theory to explain this is that companies are engaged in a process of continuous assessment, gathering data about their competitive risks, their regulators' mettle, their employees' boldness. When these assessments indicate that the conditions are favorable to enshittification, the CEO walks over to the big "enshittification" lever on the wall and yanks it all the way to MAX.

Some companies have certainly done this – and paid the price. Think of Myspace or Yahoo: companies that made themselves worse by reducing quality and gouging on price (be it measured in dollars or attention – that is, ads) before sinking into obscure senescence. These companies made a bet that they could get richer while getting worse, and they were wrong, and they lost out.

But this model doesn't explain the Great Enshittening, in which all the tech companies are enshittifying at the same time. Maybe all these companies are subscribing to the same business newsletter (or, more likely, buying advice from the same management consultancy) (cough McKinsey cough) that is a kind of industry-wide starter pistol for enshittification.

I think it's something else. I think the main job of a CEO is to show up for work every morning and yank on the enshittification lever as hard as you can, in hopes that you can eke out some incremental gains in your company's cost-basis and/or income by shifting value away from your suppliers and customers to yourself.

We get good digital services when the enshittification lever doesn't budge – when it is constrained: by competition, by regulation, by interoperable mods and hacks that undo enshittification (like alternative clients and ad-blockers) and by workers who have bargaining power thanks to a tight labor market or a powerful union:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

When Google ordered its staff to build a secret Chinese search engine that would censor search results and rat out dissidents to the Chinese secret police, googlers revolted and refused, and the project died:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly_(search_engine)

When Google tried to win a US government contract to build AI for drones used to target and murder civilians far from the battlefield, googlers revolted and refused, and the project died:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/technology/google-pentagon-project-maven.html

What's happened since – what's behind all the tech companies enshittifying all at once – is that tech worker power has been smashed, especially at Google, where 12,000 workers were fired just months after a $80b stock buyback that would have paid their wages for the next 27 years. Likewise, competition has receded from tech bosses' worries, thanks to lax antitrust enforcement that saw most credible competitors merged into behemoths, or neutralized with predatory pricing schemes. Lax enforcement of other policies – privacy, labor and consumer protection – loosened up the enshittification lever even more. And the expansion of IP rights, which criminalize most kinds of reverse engineering and aftermarket modification, means that interoperability no longer applies friction to the enshittification lever.

Now that every tech boss has an enshittification lever that moves very freely, they can show up for work, yank the enshittification lever, and it goes all the way to MAX. When googlers protested the company's complicity in the genocide in Gaza, Google didn't kill the project – it mass-fired the workers:

https://medium.com/@notechforapartheid/statement-from-google-workers-with-the-no-tech-for-apartheid-campaign-on-googles-indiscriminate-28ba4c9b7ce8

Enshittification is a macroeconomic phenomenon, determined by the regulatory environment for competition, privacy, labor, consumer protection and IP. But enshittification is also a microeconomic phenomenon, the result of innumerable boardroom and product-planning fights within companies in which would-be enshittifiers try to do things that make the company's products and services shittier wrestle with rivals who want to keep things as they are, or make them better, whether out of principle or fear of the consequences.

Those microeconomic wrestling-matches are where we find enshittification's heroes and villains – the people who fight for the user or stand up for a fair deal, versus the people who want to cheat and wreck to make things better for the company and win bonuses and promotions for themselves:

https://locusmag.com/2023/11/commentary-by-cory-doctorow-dont-be-evil/

These microeconomic struggles are usually obscure, because companies are secretive institutions and our glimpses into their deliberations are normally limited to the odd leaked memo, whistleblower tell-all, or spectacular worker revolt. But when a company gets dragged into court, a new window opens into the company's internal operations. That's especially true when the plaintiff is the US government.

Which brings me back to Google, the poster-child for enshittification, a company that revolutionized the internet a quarter of a century ago with a search-engine that was so good that it felt like magic, which has decayed so badly and so rapidly that whole sections of the internet are disappearing from view for the 90% of users who rely on the search engine as their gateway to the internet.

Google is being sued by the DOJ's Antitrust Division, and that means we are getting a very deep look into the company, as its internal emails and memos come to light:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/03/not-feeling-lucky/#fundamental-laws-of-economics

Google is a tech company, and tech companies have literary cultures – they run on email and other forms of written communication, even for casual speech, which is more likely to take place in a chat program than at a water-cooler. This means that tech companies have giant databases full of confessions to every crime they've ever committed:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/03/big-tech-cant-stop-telling-on-itself/

Large pieces of Google's database-of-crimes are now on display – so much, in fact, that it's hard for anyone to parse through it all and understand what it means. But some people are trying, and coming up with gold. One of those successful prospectors is Ed Zitron, who has produced a staggering account of the precise moment at which Google search tipped over into enshittification, which names the executives at the very heart of the rot:

https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-men-who-killed-google/

Zitron tells the story of a boardroom struggle over search quality, in which Ben Gomes – a long-tenured googler who helped define the company during its best years – lost a fight with Prabhakar Raghavan, a computer scientist turned manager whose tactic for increasing the number of search queries (and thus the number of ads the company could show to searchers) was to decrease the quality of search. That way, searchers would have to spend more time on Google before they found what they were looking for.

Zitron contrasts the background of these two figures. Gomes, the hero, worked at Google for 19 years, solving fantastically hard technical scaling problems and eventually becoming the company's "search czar." Raghavan, the villain, "failed upwards" through his career, including a stint as Yahoo's head of search from 2005-12, a presiding over the collapse of Yahoo's search business. Under Raghavan's leadership, Yahoo's search market-share fell from 30.4% to 14%, and in the end, Yahoo jettisoned its search altogether and replaced it with Bing.

For Zitron, the memos show how Raghavan engineered the ouster of Gomes, with help from the company CEO, the ex-McKinseyite Sundar Pichai. It was a triumph for enshittification, a deliberate decision to make the product worse in order to make it more profitable, under the (correct) belief that the company's exclusivity deals to provide search everywhere from Iphones and Samsungs to Mozilla would mean that the business would face no consequences for doing so.

It a picture of a company that isn't just too big to fail – it's (as FTC Chair Lina Khan put it on The Daily Show) too big to care:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaDTiWaYfcM

Zitron's done excellent sleuthing through the court exhibits here, and his writeup is incandescently brilliant. But there's one point I quibble with him on. Zitron writes that "It’s because the people running the tech industry are no longer those that built it."

I think that gets it backwards. I think that there were always enshittifiers in the C-suites of these companies. When Page and Brin brought in the war criminal Eric Schmidt to run the company, he surely started every day with a ritual, ferocious tug at that enshittification lever. The difference wasn't who was in the C-suite – the difference was how freely the lever moved.

On Saturday, I wrote:

The platforms used to treat us well and now treat us badly. That's not because they were setting a patient trap, luring us in with good treatment in the expectation of locking us in and turning on us. Tech bosses do not have the executive function to lie in wait for years and years.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/22/kargo-kult-kaptialism/#dont-buy-it

Someone on Hacker News called that "silly," adding that "tech bosses do in fact have the executive function to lie in wait for years and years. That's literally the business model of most startups":

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40114339

That's not quite right, though. The business-model of the startup is to yank on the enshittification lever every day. Tech bosses don't lie in wait for the perfect moment to claw away all the value from their employees, users, business customers, and suppliers – they're always trying to get that value. It's only when they become too big to care that they succeed. That's the definition of being too big to care.

In antitrust circles, they sometimes say that "the process is the punishment." No matter what happens to the DOJ's case against Google, its internal workers have been made visible to the public. The secrecy surrounding the Google trial when it was underway meant that a lot of this stuff flew under the radar when it first appeared. But as Zitron's work shows, there is plenty of treasure to be found in that trove of documents that is now permanently in the public domain.

When future scholars study the enshittocene, they will look to accounts like Zitron's to mark the turning points from the old, good internet to the enshitternet. Let's hope those future scholars have a new, good internet on which to publish their findings.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/24/naming-names/#prabhakar-raghavan

[gonetoforks]

Introducing; Yuichi Usagi-Cuddles!

There’s a slight typo in his basic character bio, (first, grey image) other than “yuich,” his family in America lives in the part of the hidden city under Jersey. He lives in Jersey. He’s a Jersian. So in terms of leosagi, it’s gonna be an enemies-to-lovers comedy-of-errors muahahahaha!!

More (a LOT more) info about him as his own guy under the cutoff :D ⬇️

Basically; He’s a silly guy! I feel like his kinda buffoonish, embarrassing personality in canon is simultaneously PERFECT for Rise’s writing style & grievously underrated in fanon depictions. So he’s this clownish type of character, haha.

Okay, time to go hyperfixation mode.

Adhd & his stubborn attitude;

He has ADHD! Executive function issues makes it hard for him to start tasks & manage himself, so he relies on his teams (the Mad Dogs when he’s training & the Rise equivalent to his canon friend group on his own time) to not only instruct him, but also hold him accountable & keep him on task. He’s body-doubling without even realizing it.

Although, he resents the things he does to accommodate his disability. He doesn’t notice that doing the things he does genuinely helps or why so he thinks he’s using them as a crutch because of incompetence. Every time he gets stubborn and ignores the things he needs to do, he crashes and burns. When he was new in town with no teacher & no friends who liked martial arts, he became a huge sad sack until the kraang invasion.

His character arc is about being able to rely on other people & accommodations. That relying on a bit more help than other people doesn’t make you incompetent, choosing to seek out the support you need so you can do your best is the true mature thing to do. I was inspired by canon Yuichi’s struggles with paying attention and Rise’s themes of cooperation. (& also my own experience with adhd and learning with executive function issues & junk)

Relationships w/ the turtles;

The Mad Dogs agree to let him like, intern with them? So he can see what it’s like to be a vigilante, they offer him advice and they occasionally go on low to mid-tier missions with his help. They take him on cause they think more heroes and allies out there, the less work they have to do haha. Also, one of the writers mentioned a season 3 would have them adjusting to being ~official heroes,~ I think this would be them trying to be “real.”

He’s closest friends with Mikey out of the whole group! (Adhd solidarity) Then it goes Donnie -> Raph -> and finally Leo (for now muahaha)

I tried to give Leosagi an interesting dynamic with constructing his character like this; They have similar insecurities from drawing self-worth from technical capabilities that they can develop past together, but Leo is clever and calculating about it vs Yuichi being rash and impulsive. So like smart x stupid but they’re the same actually.

His Family in Jersey;

He speaks english fluently because he’s visited his American family frequently his whole life, they’re very close. He has an accent though since he mainly speaks Japanese.

I haven’t fleshed out this concept enough, but I think members of his jersey/Cuddles half of the family would be spoofs of characters from the original yojimbo comics, implied to be reincarnations? Except Miyamoto ofc. (i’ll explain later..)

Reusing the ninja orphans plotline from the original show, his family utilizes their cute appearances to run an orphanage too. They wonder why this Chizu lady is constantly showing up with unhoused children, but they’re just grateful they’re safe now.

Everyone in his family HATES Mrs. Cuddles, they all think she’s in prison and are happy about it. She might’ve given him that scratch on his face.

Additional;

He is gay.

Thank you for your time.

[cher-rei]

afterglow- pt.4 [ T.A.A ]

pairings: trent alexander arnold x fem!reader

summary: young and aspiring marketing and business major jamie carter (you) is privileged with working alongside the liverpool marketing and public relations team while also getting entangled with their star player and right back, trent alexander arnold.

genre(s): friends?? to lovers, work romance, fluff

[wc: 7.8k] [part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8]

the atmosphere in the training center's gym was thick. not just because of the humidity but because everyone was in genuine awe as they listened to trent talk about what happened a few days ago at their match.

it took him three days to think the situation over. nobody in their right mind would ask whether or not someone had a partner without there being an ulterior motive, right? right??

your question had kept him up for hours at night, but it was so nonchalant that he didn't know if he was supposed to think anything of it. it didn't make sense. so he turned to help from his teammates, and considering that half of them were in relationships, they would give him solid advice. (which was laughable)

"she wants you," dominik deadpanned which caught everyone's attention but nobody was convinced.

virgil crossed his arms and looked him with his eyebrows quirked. curious to hear his reasoning. "and how would you know?"

dominik snickered. "because I do. she's one of those girls who flirt nonchalantly. to her, she might just find it fun to tease you right now with no actual intention but it'll get to her."

once again the room fell silent as eveyone tried to wrap what he said around their heads.

"is this guy serious?" robbo asked and pointed to dominik who just shrugged from his position on the mat.

just then someone walked into the gym, ready to bring forward their own opinion. "if she likes you then her intentions will be clear."

the spotlight was now on the group's manager but his opinion wasn't appreciated at all. apparently it was too outdated.

"women don't work like that anymore boss," ibou retorted and got a choir of agreement but their boss still shook his head.

he turned to look at trent, who looked more troubled than before, and he couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "trent, do you like her?'

the right back who was deep in thought broke out of his daze that was utter turmoil. "I mean I don't even know her. we've had like two conversations."

"did you enjoy those conversations?"

the team began to grow invested in the little back and forth and stopped what they were doing to pay more attention. it was nothing short of heated- the way that jurgen was firing questions at trent and how he nearly buckled with each answer.

"I mean yeah." he focused his gaze on the floor. "I find her amusing I guess. but maybe that's just me."

"oh no, it's not just you," ali scoffed as he recalled their conversation the other day. "she is quite the charmer. very easy to talk to and nothing short of playful."

trent snapped his fingers back at ali in agreement. "yes. that."

conversation broke out in the gym again with everyone voicing their opinions on the matter to try and figure out whether or not trent actually liked her. but he kept on saying, "I don't know. I just met her."

jurgen got up from one of the chairs in the room and gave everyone a wave, but he knew they weren't paying attention. "thursday."

that single word brought their attention to the door where their boss was standing with a lopsided smile on his face.

"we're playing at raiffiesen on thursday," curtis prompted in an attempt to get an answer and jurgen nodded, his attention turned to trent who wasn't playing the match that thursday.

"jamie won't be joining us because her pitch is due that morning. do what you want with that information but if you like her, I'm sure you'll know in no-time. but take your time and get to know her. she's quite the character."

you were taking an uber to work today instead of driving by yourself. It had been a while since you took public transport, you genuinely considered it such a hassle and just took the blow and paid some extra cash for an uber.

the reason for this, however, was strange. before you left the house this morning, you had gotten a call from jurgen asking you if you could accompany martin diggle, who was the head of coaching at the academy to the academy that afternoon seeing as they were considering broadening their promotional content for the boys on that side.

you agreed of course but the confusion in your voice was clear even after you put the phone down. why did you have to go with him? there were plenty of other staff with more experience than you anyway, but you brushed it off and focused on today's main goal.

getting your pitch approved.

so when you walked into the office with your head held high and a look of determination on your face you hadn't expected to be hit with a, "I see where you're coming from and the first project is fresh. we'll get back to you after further discussion. thank you ms carter."

it was nothing short of a blow to the gut. it wasn't a rejection per se, but it wasn't an approval either and that didn't sit well. how long were you going to have to wait? was marvin just being nice? was your pitch that bad? was it too impractical? were you being selfish?

"was it that bad?"

your head shot up at the question. you lifted your gaze from the the floor, tightening your grip on your laptop bag that was slung over your shoulder. a look of confusion settled on your face, expecting to see martin since you'd be going with him.

instead you were face to face with trent, his back leaned against his car- a black range rover. he pushed himself off the side of the car and shot you a smile to which you furrowed your eyebrows.

"what are you doing here?" you asked, not taking a step further.

a dry chuckle fell from his lips. "you mean at the liverpool hq? the hq of the football club that I've been playing for nearly my entire life?"

you could see the amusement dancing in his eyes knowing that he got you right where he wanted you. okay so maybe it was a dumb question, but it made sense. he had no reason to be there— he should've been at home resting.

"hilarious." you faked a smile. obviously he knew what you meant by the question and decided to tease you but you weren't in the mood.

trent couldn't help but stare at you, his eyes roaming your features and taking in as much of you as he could to cure his little predicament and the many questions swarming through his mind.

he still didn't know much about you, and stalki- i mean viewing your socials could only get him so far. he knew that you had an older sister, he knew about your ex boyfriend michael, he knew that you had and amazing sense of style, and that you loved your job with a passion.

but that wasn't enough to feed his curiosity. he wanted to know more than just the surface level attributes. he needed to know more.

"are you even listening to me right now?" you asked while waving a hand in front of his face. you'd been talking for quite some time and you were convinced that he wasn't listening at all.

trent shook his head with an amused smile and opened the car door he was standing infront of. "get in."

your eyes lips parted in shock. "I'm waiting for--"

you were rudely cut off by the feeling of your phone vibrating in your pants pocket and you quickly answered it, yours eyes still lingering on trent who knew exactly who you were talking to.

"no it's fine. he just got here anyway." your tone was soft and polite but the look that you were sending the right back was nothing of the sort.

when you heard martin hang up you hurriedly put your phone back and made your way into the passenger seat of trent's car, still holding the door open for you. "aren't you just adorable?"

he smiled at your mocking tone and sent you a look that made your heart jump. "well aren't you just an ego booster?"

when you got to the academy that early afternoon you didn't really know what to expect. but oh gosh were you left in awe. talk about prestigious.

your eyes roamed the buildings interior, the occasional gasp leaving your mouth which would get a stifled laugh from trent. he walked beside you with his hands in his pockets, a huge pang of nostalgia washing over him as he reminisced on his academy days.

"I can't believe you actually got the opportunity to train here," you gasped when you stepped out onto the field, where you saw the u18's doing their drills.

he let out a knowing hum and lead you over to where the academy's u18 coach- jay spearing was stood, leading the group of teenagers. if there was one thing that you knew then it was thar liverpool's academy players were nothing short of astonishing.

trent, curtis, jarell, and soon you could feel that a few new kids would be added to the list.

"what do we have here?" jay asked in surprise when he saw you and trent approaching, a smile present on his face when he saw the right back.

you watched as the older man brought trent into a hug, patting him on the back adoringly and sharing a few words before trent gestured to you. "this is ms c--"

trent's voice subtly cracked in uncertainty when he stopped mid introduction, which was strange. he turned back to you and then to jay with a smile. "--this is jamie. the head of our p.r team."

an impressed hum left jay's lips as he recalled what jurgen had said not to long ago about you. "It's nice to meet you jamie. I hope trent isn't bothering you too much. he's a bit of a handful."

he nudged the younger on his arm and you couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "I'm afraid that's an understatement."

trent put his hand over his heart in mock offence and gasped. "I could say the same about you."

the three of you spent a few more minutes talking about the team and how jurgen had been coming over quite a bit to view some of the youngsters for reserves, seeing as they were playing exceptionally well.

"he's had his eye on bradley, beck and doak for a while now. kaide gordon as well, but he's been out due to an injury."

you both listened to jay give his rundown on the recent observations while you watched the group of boys do their usual target practice. however, it was obvious that trent was scouting and you were thinking of ways to get these boys out in the public.

"do you think they'd let me take them out on a field trip?"

the question caught trent's attention as he turned to look at your side profile. "a field trip to where?"

you shrugged your shoulders, not too sure yet. "a hike."

"a hike?? are you craz--"

"--shush trent they're coming." you shut him up immediately by hitting his chest, your attention fixed on the group of boys walking your way.

now normally if you were to see a professional footballer, probably the blue print for the new generation and beside him a girl who was on the p.r team and a social media influencer of sorts there wouldn't be much debate as to who you'd want to meet.

both you and trent knew that, and you couldn't see the way he was mentally preparing himself to be greeted and questioned while you stood there silently and observed the interaction.

or well so you thought. what you didn't expect was for trent to get a head start and greet the group of boys, praising them for their hard work and offering to take a few pictures so that you could post them and it actually made a lot of sense.

you got your phone out and got ready, but to your surprise he was shot down. "we're actually here for jamie."

"what?" you both said in unison in visible shock.

"we're fans," one of the boys said sheepishly and you felt your heart melt.

trent was dumbfounded. he didn't know what to say or do, still trying to accept the fact that he was openly rejected. but you on the other hand tried to play it off as cool as possible.

it was normal for fans to approach you in public, but the fact that you had a fanbase and supporters was something that would always come as a shock. you didn't do much to deserve it, or at least that's you thought.

a smile drew to your lips, making sure to send trent a look. "well aren't you just an ego booster?"

spamjam._. added to their story

"so, how did it go?"

you jumped up at the sound of maya's voice echoing through the empty apartment. "son of a bitch."

all the lights were off so you assumed that she had gone to bed already and tried to shut the door as silently as possible, but here she was. sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee and the lamp on.

you dropped your bags to the floor and tried to lessen the fright that you had gotten but your sister couldn't have cared less. "It's nearly 10. no way you just went for ice-cream."

you felt like a rogue teenager at that moment. mentally preparing yourself for a scolding and at least 2 weeks of being grounded. "well sorry to disappoint," you joked and took off your jacket. "the ice cream was amazing though."

maya couldn't believe your answer and tore the blanket off her body to follow you into your bedroom. she watched as you got your things ready so you could shower and proceeded to bombard you with as many questions possible.

and you gave her the same response each time. after the academy, you took a drive to kill some time, got ice cream, and then you were dropped off. literally nothing happened.

"we just talked about normal things--" you tied up your hair, "--the weather, the state of our economy, why the earth is flat. nothing strange."

maya pulled a face and shook her head, "I hate you so much, ugh."

it wasn't long before you made yourself comfortable in bed, creeping underneath your blankets and succumbing to the warmth and security that it brought you. your mind drifted elsewhere for a moment and you were back to your anxious state.

the pitch.

it had only been a few hours but you were starting to rethink the entire idea. you could say that it was rather selfish of you to use yours and trent's little bet as a form of entertainment but it was a win-win situation. the team would get to practice but in the form of games and so much more fun, while getting their publicity.

that was entertainment.

you were just about to put off your phone and head off to sleep when you got the email. the green light.

dear ms carter,

apologies for the late outreach but I had a few things to sort out back at the office.

regarding your pitch however, I'd like to happily inform you that your pitch was approved by the directors as well as jurgen who was more then delighted to give it a go.

I trust that you have the logistics sorted out. and that you are able to start filming by october 9th seeing as the team have a busy match schedule for the rest of the month, so we'll need your undivided attention on our schedule as well.

I am excited to see how you take charge of this project and I hope it leads in your favour.

sincerely,

marvin colesmen

spamjam._. added to their story

trentarnold66 replied to your story

trentarnokd66 seriously, project carter😭

spamjam._. I am not about to get copyrighted by mbappe

and besides, I got ali on my back which means I'm about to beat the shit out of you

trentarnold66 all this for some content. talk about dedication. and you're still gonna lose😪

spamjam._. it's going to be fun. trust me.

trentarnold66 hm, I'll take your word for it. congrats btw 👏

spamjam._. stopppp. you're making me blush😊

trentarnold66 oh that's horrible. I'm gonna have to start keeping my distance.

spamjam._. you're not that great bro

trentarnold66 we all have our own opinions

[wondervalerius]

Hello! Could you write hc for alois and ciel sharing a reader (in a romantic realationship?)

Ocf you don't have too ik it's a pretty weird question.

Ty!

Alois x Reader x Ciel throuple headcanons!

No weird questions here! I am non-judgmental, any asks are good ones so no worries anon. <3

•Alois and Ciel butt heads a lot, their hobbies, fashion, ways of managing their estates, and overall personalities clash in all aspects. With you though? Oh no, you are their precious little angel, and they could never fight with you. Their personalities seem to merge with yours, allowing you to get the best of both worlds! (The flamboyant and serious worlds that is…)

• Alois would be the more sentimental lover in the relationship, giving homemade gifts, little paper mache butterflies and rings. He would often try to plan his duties around you, instead of Ciel, who tries his best to match up time for you between work and investigations.

•Alois is a very physically affectionate lover, seeking out your warmth, even on the hottest of days. Hand holding, hugs and escapades to the bedroom are an incredibly common occurrence, his seemingly endless energy has a way to use itself in loving you. Some of his favorite ways of showing his affection, however, can be more simple, cuddling you as you read or write, laying on top of you in the bed and petting your hair.

•Ciel and Alois are usually very competitive with each other in earning your affection and praise overall, but they don‘t match up equally in particular areas of your relationship. For instance, Ciel may try to cheer you up and give you positive energy like Alois does, but he can never truly get it right. Alois may try and be patient like Ciel when it comes to solving arguments or listening to you, but his temperament is nowhere near as calm and collected as Ciel‘s. The two both bring everything they have to this relationship, but everything about them tends to differ. (Except their love for you…).

• Alois rarely goes on investigations as much as Ciel does, (as the queen has a certain lack of faith in her spider…), but he has a larger number of estates than Ciel that require his attention. He has acquired estates in London, a villa in Paris, a port off of China, and even a few vineyards around the rest of Europe. His soul is a flame, and it dances from interest to interest, place to place, and as much as he wants to include you on his trips and ventures, he knows you have work as the lady of the manor to attend to his home, as well as Ciel‘s. He gets terribly homesick for you when you aren‘t with him, and on his journeys he will gather all manner of gifts to bring home to his love.

•Ciel is also a little bit of a traveler, but his homesickness for you exists on a deeper, more intimate level. In the dark of night, the bedsheets are swirled about him in a cocoon of fabric, some sort of false security when you are not by his side. Ciel can only do so much to stave off the feeling of loneliness, and on every case it ebbs away at him slowly. Sebastian can only do so much but listen to the gentle cascade of tears that fall on Ciel‘s pillowcase at night. Ciel in turn will actually take up advice Alois had given him. („Use creativity to cope with the pain!“ Alois said with a cheery smile. Ciel would think of his words and quickly follow suit with little sketches of the places he went, the animals he saw, and people he met. Writing down little notes about them, analyzing their personalities and their roles in the investigations, it would be his way of connecting to you, whether a carriage or ocean away…).

•Alois and Ciel will take pampering you to another level by asking Claude and Sebastian to step in, respectively. Claude finds the interest his highness has in you more interesting than usual, enriching his contractee, and he will put in every last bit of perfection and politeness when taking care of you on Alois‘ orders. Sebastian, (already a prefect butler), will sometimes test the boundaries of his master‘s orders in caring for you, trying to beat both Alois and Claude at once. The pair of lords and the dueling demons seem not to realize that you love both Alois and Ciel equally, in their own unique ways, and that there simply is no competition. (Explain all you can, there is no reasoning with these stubborn pairs…)

•There is a time when things can turn around for the comfort of all… Bedtime has always been a special ritual to the throuple of Alois, Ciel, and yourself, allowing the tension and stress to fall away. You lay in the middle of them, facing Ciel and curled up in his chest with his arms around you, while Alois is pressed up against your back, arms around you and Ciel. All three of you enjoy snuggling, and Ciel and Alois would both be lying if they denied that sometimes when you were gone, they themselves snuggled each other at night, dreaming of you in between them safe and sound…

That‘s all I have anon! Apologies this took too long, I may relate to Alois, but it‘s always hard to imagine Alois as much more than a relatable character… In any case I hope you enjoy!

[itsjaywalkers]

hi my sweet lil buttercup laurie 💕 i have an odd question for you and i need to dig into ur brain and it is a lil nsfw but when it comes to jegulus, how would you see them if one of them worked as a phone sex operator? like who would be the person to make the call and who would be on the other end? like what are your headcanons on this and do you think they'd meet each other irl etc?

hi india my darling angel <333 sorry i didn't reply yesterday, i spent the morning getting tattooed with my sister AND THEN the afternoon and the evening at work.. but i'm finally here and ready to give u anything u want <3

i could see them both being the phone sex operator and viceversa, it all depends on the situation and how u decide to write/portray them!! however, i have a harder time picturing reg calling a sex line, unless it's like . for a bet . and i don't see him agreeing easily to a bet like that yk??

so to me, it'd be reg being a phone sex operator!! probably doing it either to earn some extra cash after he's been disinherited and doing odd jobs OR desperate for money and not wanting to rely on his brother/friends!! i think he was . very awkward at first and had no idea of how to do it, so he had to research/practise a lot and regrettably . ask barty for help, which would result on barty making fun of him until the end of times while also using it as an excuse for them to start hooking up again. but it's okay bc barty does give him really good advice in between it all

after he becomes more comfortable and gets the hang of it, i feel like reg would reply to calls while he's doing other shit around his flat or in his room yk?? he's sporting the most deadpan expression known to mankind while he fake moans in some stranger's ear and reorganises his books. he's unaffected and doesn't really care, this is just his job and he's only focused on doing it well enough to earn money

james would call at some point!! it can be either as a joke, bc of a bet, or even bc he's been broken up with recently and in a bit of a dry spell and just . trying something new bc he saw a leaflet for it or bc someone recommended it. i think he'd be nervous and be awkward during the first call but in a very charming way, and reg would find it endearing + he'd be quite into james' voice (which is the thing that would call his attention in the first place)

i doubt anything would actually happen during the first call!! they'd just talk and tease and banter, until reg realises their time's up and he hasn't given james the services he advertises for. he apologises profusely, offers another try, but james assures him it's completely fine and pays him anyway

next time james calls, it's with the attention to just . speak to reg again . bc he had a lot of fun and he's already a bit obsessed with his accent and how witty he turned out to be, but when reg realises who it is, he's on a Mission to do his fucking job and keep this man from getting him sidetracked

james is little confused about why reg's attitude changed all of a sudden, but after pushing slightly and getting no results, he supposes that he might as well get off to this yk?? it's the reason why he called in the first place, after all

reg starts doing what he always does, waiting for james to get all hot and bothered, except james realises quickly that what reg is saying is very . robotic and script-like and . generic . so it's not doing much for him. he mentions it, they start bickering, which turns into fighting, until reg snaps and retorts with something along the lines of . as if u could do it better etc etc

as u can imagine, james takes it personally

i won't get into a lot of detail, bc this ask is already ridiculously long, but they do end up having phone sex AND getting off. james kinda takes the reins and manages to coax reg out of his shell + finds out about what turns him on along the way. reg finally gets to let go and enjoy this whole phone sex thing and james gets what he was looking for (and more, bc he never expected it to be so into it or find it so hot)

the rest of their calls would go on a similar fashion, even if james is always the one calling and reg always begins their calls trying to . retain control and do his fucking job

and i like to think they'd meet irl at some point??? they move in similar circles, they have sirius in common etc etc. even in a situation in which reg and sirius are completely estranged, sirius could end up reaching during the story, or they find out they live in the same neighbourhood. or, well, as a bartylily stan, i could also see both friend groups coming together (sort of) bc barty and lily start seeing each other. i also think they'd recognise each other by voice alone and have a breakdown about it. i think reg would notice immediately bc of his kink with james' voice and i think james would take a bit longer and be so chill while reg is losing his mind (only on the inside tho). and then reg would say something, like an specific word or . turn of phrase and it'd click for james!! he'd be ecstatic and trying to get reg alone bc this is like . his dream scenario while reg runs away from him lmao

[jakesgalxy]

09.It actually went well ?

Yn walked back and fourth anxiously in her makeup room. "Fuck my life I think am gonna die what if niki thinks am a weirdo ? Omg this is so embarrassing " She said to herself. After few mins her manager entered the room "Yn we need to go on set now niki is already there " he said. "Manager nim is it too late to go home now ?" Yn said with hope in eyes. Her manager just sighed. "Yn its gonna be okay. Just think this as your another shoot. I know you have anxiety but you're gonna be just fine trust me " He said with a small smile. Yn calmed down a little and said " But niki-" "NOTHING will happen. Be professional and think niki as just another person you're working with and you'll be fine". Yn wasn't convinced but still smiled a little " Thankyou ". " yeah yeah let's go now".

They reached the set when niki and his manager were standing. The moment yn saw niki she froze for a min. The manager say it and whispered "get it together yn". Yn came back to her senses and nodded. They both went forward and niki finally saw her. "Oh fuck she has gotten even prettier over these months". His manager nudged him and cleared his throat. Both the managers hugged each other leaving both the idols awkwardly. " Hello niki I am yn's manager and this is yn she will be mentoring with you in this show" said manager lee. Niki bowed and yn bowed back. " Hi, its nice to meet you" niki said with an awkward smile. "Same here" yn said trying to keep her cool. The managers shoot each knowing eyes and smiled nodding their head. Niki's manager cleared his throat and said "Its starting please pay attention they will call you on stage any second". The host of the show introduced the main judges and then the participants group by group. Then after finishing the last group he said " Its the time all of you had been waiting for. To mentor these participants we have two special guests who are the it dancers of 4th gen and are winning everyone's heart. Please welcome New jeans' Yn and enhypen's niki". Everyone cheered as both of them made their way to the stage. "Hello everyone this is niki from enhypen" Niki said bowing. "Hi everyone this is yn from new jeans" yn said bowing. The host clapped and said " For today you guys don't have to do anything, there's your seats you can sit there and judge the participants and let them know where they could improve or express how you felt about there performance". Both the idols thanked him and went to their assigned seats. Throughout the show they both focused on the performances sharing their views and giving advices to the participants.

After the show was over both we sitting together in the makeup room talking about certain things as they are no longer awkward with each other. "Wait how long have you been dancing tho ?" Niki said while sipping his americano. " Since I was 3 " yn said casually. "NO WAY ME TOO" Niki said putting his hand to do hi five. "WAIT FOR REAL ?" Yn said returning the hi five even though she obviously knew this information. "She's so cute trying to act like this is the first time she's hearing it" niki thought to himself smiling a little. Niki thought that maybe he should tell her that he knows yn is an engene. "Yn I wanted to tell you some-" "Lets go now" manager lee said cutting him off

and coming into the room. "We're leaving now ?" Yn said being a little sad. "Yes yn unfortunately because the show is over and you have a photoshoot right now" Manager said. "But niki was going to tell me something-" "I'll tell you later" niki said quickly. "Alright then" yn said. "bye bye niki see you next week" yn waved. Niki waved back "byeee yn !" with a smile.

Previous | Masterlist | Next

AERA'S NOTE :- HI ANGELSS !!!! A written chapter finally !! Hope you like it and comments and reblongs are very appreciated <3

Taglist :- @naijmi @eupherbia @kgneptun @kittyeij @imyourjoy0 @mrowwww @im-yn-suckers @ibsysbsfsunsbs @lillians-world-is-f1 @sunshinessky @hoondiors

[dorothy-rainbird]

Part 3

“You know, y/n is a very special person in my life. They found me, raised me, patiently taught me so many things…”

Kuni stared at the blue sky above him as he relaxed more under the giant tree of Windrise.

“They taught me about ‘good’ and ‘bad’, how to take care of myself and others…” he gently pat Bu napping away on his lap.

“Taught me how to handle emotions, how to deal with grief, manage anger, to open up…”

He continued,

“Everything, everything but one.”

…..

“They never taught me how to deal with this tingling feeling in my chest. It feels so strange…”

……….

“It’s as if I feel small around them. Am I scared of them? If I am then why do I want to be around them so much? Why so I want them to…”

“To..?”

“To h-hold me and….-“

“PFFT HAHAHAHA-“

“W-WHAT??” He managed to yell despite the embarrassment, his face was so red it looked like sunburn. Unfortunately because of that, Bu woke up. Realising they were being noisy, they quieted down a little.

“Sorry Bu, I didn’t mean to scream. Go back to sleep, Kay?” And so he did. Bu snuggled closer to Kuni, letting out a quiet “sqee” before dozing off again.

……….

“So Kuni…”

“Hm?”

“What I think you are experiencing is…”

“???”

“Love”

He was about to scream again but Venti shushed him in time, pointing at the blob on his lap. He nodded as Venti removed his hand and let him speak.

“You mean…love?”

“Yes”

“You sure it’s not some uh…something else? L-like something um..”

“Nope.”

“So…it’s like those novels?”

“wat”

“….”

“I um- *cough* uh…”

“Forget I asked”

“Gladly”

A very awkward silence danced among them as none of them felt brave enough to break it. Still, Kunikuzushi wanted to know more, so with one sharp inhale,

“If I’m in love with Y/n, then what should I do? Considering you’re the love expert of Mondstadt, any advice?”

“Of course of course! But for my advice so fine, won’t you invite me to dine?” Venti elbowed his arm with a smirk.

“Haha sure, Y/n will be delighted by your visit.” Kunikuzushi replied with a smile.

____________________________

“Thanks for visiting us Venti, but are you sure you don’t wanna stay over? It’s a little chilly tonight.” You stood by the door as Venti was about to leave. Yes Venti joined for supper but decided to leave earlier than usual.

“Ehe sweet Y/n, Don’t worry about me, I’ll be just fine! Take care everyone and thanks for the delicious meal!” Venti waved you, Kunikuzushi and your slime child goodbye as he began to turn around and leave. You couldn’t help but feel as if he winked at Kuni…did those two have something going on? Nah.

“Bye Venti, goodnight!”

_____________________________

“Tip 1: Compliment them”

You stood by the sink, doing the dishes. Kunikuzushi saw this as a perfect opportunity. He shared a look look at Bu, who gave him a nod of confirmation. Then, with a deep breath made his way towards you. Leaning on the counter beside you, he went,

“Hey has anyone ever told you that y-your eyes are p-pretty?” bruh he stuttered. Without taking your eyes off the sink, you went,

“Aw thanks”

????

Expectation: *flushed y/n*

Reality: often disappointing

_____________________________

“Tip 2: Leave them small gifts”

“Okay Bu, the first plan didn’t go as expected. Time to step things up a little.” Kunikuzushi said as he picked the most perfect Cecelia of his garden. Bu wasn’t paying attention though, he was busy playing with another plant in the backyard. Kunikuzushi approached him with the flower and crouched down to his level.

“Bu, my son, my child.”

“Squeak?”

“Can I trust you to deliver this flower?”

“Squeak!”

“I knew I could count on you :)” Kunikuzushi pat him with a bright smile. He then balanced the flower on his head, hoping it won’t fall off.

“Okay Bu, I want you to deliver this flower to Y/n. Please don’t drop it…”

“Squeak!”

And with that Bu entered the house.

Expectation: “Did Kuni give me this flower?” *flushed y/n*

Reality: Kunikuzushi entered the house after a while, expecting to see a lovestruck y/n. His dreams were brutally shattered as he saw you hugging Bu and giggling while kissing the top of his “head”.

“Aww Bu did you get this for me? You’re so sweet!”

@angryhope @hana-chie @twst-123 @depressed-bitchy-demon @milza12 @inlovewithwaffles @shizunxie @koi-chairowo @someone-with-wild-imagination @melodibells @franini @xiaosimper @kithewanderingme @tinykokomi @rinaxst @shizunxie @thetwinkims @mouchie @einnunnie @myahandhurts @arima26 @we-wo-we-wo @themistcherry @miss-tea-cza @etherisy @bigcandlesmolbrain @n8mareee @peachytears11 @esthelily @imyme20 @teal-clouds-sword @general-kuri @apyrose @campanula-rotundifolia @shoujishu @thebeanofdoom @mentallyunpresent @scaramouches-girlfriend @alicehasdrowned @genderfluid-insomniac @claymitch @night-shadowblood-writes2 @justakiro @valeriele3 @peter-the-pan @erosdevil @blockswon @missb00bs @a-single-pizza @that-boi-sus @gullantys @ekrii @astr4ray @angelkazusstuff @multifandomvoyage @hikaru-exe @forgotten-blues @perpetually-simping @coquettemaiden @kisuneasahi @kunisbeloved @nebulaera

[kleinv01]

After imagining that our workaholic boss has a certain affection for Al (for his effort at work) I can't help but think of a scenario where he discovers for himself that Al comes to leave sweets on our table daily (and that he consequently likes us). And with his past not very well resolved with his ex-wife, he would be furiously screaming internally knowing that his precious pupil is SPENDING MONEY aka TIME on someone who is not interested in him, even in the same way and intensity or much less knows about his existence !! (who knows how much more time Al dedicates to us each day)

Mr. Dolores pov: "how can you do that after everything I taught you"

I think I'm thinking a little too far... but what if Al could somehow influence the "relationship problem" that Mr Dolores has, despite insisting to Al that it's not worth it. Even if he stays with us. MC could still leave him or betray him or do something that could hurt him a lot and doesn't know how to handle it.

Imagining how Al has a certain obsession with us (and we have no idea what level this goes to), despite always being shy and insecure, I don't think it would be that easy or even possible to convince Al of something like that. Idk, even so, coming from someone who went through an experience like Mr. Dolores, who is aware of how it has affected his life and how difficult it can be to deal with, and tells it as advice, with a tone of someone who really wants to help because they care.

I think Al would appreciate it... but it would take more than that to make Al really believe that we would deceive him if we ended up together or to make him really not interested in us... if that's even possible. sorry, just rambling.

But it's funny to imagine someone with Mr. Dolores's personality going determined to change Al's mindset to stop caring about MC so much, cuz it's a waste of time and how he can be more than he imagines. alone.

But while talking about it he come across another side of Al that he didn't expect. Al didn't even say a word, but he knows, he can feel, which surprisingly and frighteningly is very decided on this issue.

Suddenly the scenario changes. Mr. Dolores ask deeply intrigue why, why we are so valuable to him? Despite everything he said, the consequences...the pain...

And gives space for the shy pink hair man speak... Somehow, in some way is managing to change the perspective of a man who was firmly decided of his conviction. Being taken to a point of view that he would never have thought of or perhaps even felt, but he can't say anything, because he is too perplexed and strangely surprised, without even thinking about interrupting. listening and listening, without knowing for sure when he got so caught up in the speech of that man who seemed so young, so inexperienced, but said his words with such ardor that no matter how much he wanted to refute them, he couldn't refute it.

Now the room is faced with a situation where a man with certainty in his words and beliefs was easily influenced by someone who was not confident in no one's eyes to the point of hiding something as dense as the reason behind us.

*BOOM* (PLOT TWIST, cuz the influencer was influenced) (This didn't go exactly as I had planned, but I think something make sense)

://SYSTEM_MESSAGE_ANSWERED !

fun read. i didn't expect anyone to even pay attention to their relationship this much so i really enjoyed reading it, thank you for sharing it with me (and don't be sorry for rambling at all plz)

i can't really say much here because eventually you'd be able to learn why Mr. Dolores is so fond of Al despite his quirks and despite most of the people in the office finding him a weird guy to be around/even outright reject him from situations sometimes. for now, all i can say in the simplest way is that how Mr. Dolores treats Al is similar to how a dad treats his son

i don't really have any good response to this but i'd like to share it with others following this blog <3

[theambitiouswoman]

hi i hope you’re having an amazing day and i appreciate all the advice you give out…

i’m in my early 20s but i still feel like a teenager mentally and i was wondering if you had any advice on how to mentally grow up/glow up. thank you.

Thank you for being here beautiful girl! 💗

First I want to say, that you are on no one’s timeline but your own. Having a youthful mentality is so valuable!! You really never want fully lose touch with it.

In your early 20s a lot of people go through periods where they’re adjusting to the responsibilities and expectations of adulthood. Those who have no responsibilities take longer to mature. Having responsibilities not only gives you a new outlook on life but also teaches you what you are capable of. It holds you accountable. Makes you more responsible, and brings out a lot of personal attributes that we consider mature.

Take time to self reflect on your current state of mind and identify areas where you feel you need to grow and mature. Are there specific behaviors that you want to change or develop?

Start living a life of purpose. Have something to live for. Establish clear goals for yourself. These can be short-term or long-term goals related to personal, professional, or education. Having goals will provide you with a sense of direction and purpose, and help you make decisions that align with your desired growth.

Always seek new knowledge and skills. Read books, explore different subjects, take courses, or engage in meaningful conversations with knowledgeable individuals. We are constantly developing and learning through our experiences. The more you experience, the faster your brain spits out new ideas and perspectives. Expanding your knowledge base will broaden your perspective and help you develop a more mature outlook on life.

Start taking responsibility for your actions and decisions. Take accountability for your mistakes, learning from them, and actively working towards personal improvement. By doing this. you'll gain confidence and develop a more mature mindset.

Growth often comes from facing challenges and stepping outside your comfort zone. Embrace opportunities that push you to grow, whether it's taking on new responsibilities at work, volunteering for a challenging project, or pursuing personal goals that stretch your abilities. Overcoming challenges builds resilience and maturity.

Surround yourself with positive and supportive individuals who inspire you to grow. Nurturing healthy relationships will help you develop strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence.

Learn to be more self-discipline by establishing routines, setting boundaries, and managing your time effectively. Practice delayed gratification and learn to prioritize your responsibilities.

Take care of your well-being. Pay attention to your physical and mental health. Get enough sleep, eat well, exercise regularly, and engage in activities that help you relax and recharge.

<3

[seiya-starsniper]

Six Degrees of Separation - Ch 3 (Sandman x Dead Boy Detectives)

Relationships: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling, Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland, Crystal Palace/Charles Rowland (DCU), Johanna Constantine/Jenny Green Rating: Teen & Up | Status: Incomplete | Chapters 3/5 | Words: 3.5K

Tags: POV Multiple, Hob Gadling gives live advice to a bunch of teenagers, while helping them solve cases, that's it that's the fic, also he maybe plays matchmaker for his hot mess bestie

Summary:

The Dead Boy Detectives run into a familiar pub while out on a case, and Crystal has to contend with an unfortunate event from her past. Hob Gadling wasn't planning on adopting three teenagers and a full grown woman, but stranger things have happened in his long centuries of life.

Tumblr Posts: Chapter 1 || Chapter 2

Read Chapter 3 below, or at the above link on AO3

-------------------

Crystal thinks she's being clever by hiding in a corner of the pub away from where most of the staff can see, but somehow, Hob finds her anyway and places a steaming hot mug of tea down on the table in front of her. 

“On the house,” he tells her, and Crystal frowns.

“I can pay,” Crystal tries to insist, reaching for her bag to pull out her wallet. Hob shakes his head and shoos away the attempt, and Crystal doesn’t have it in her to fight too hard. Not today anyways. 

“Next time then,” he tells her with an easy smile. “If I’m being honest, you look like you could use a pick-me-up right now anyways.”

She really could. Crystal imagines she looks like shit. Her eyes are bloodshot from crying, and her nose feels stuffy from all the times she’s blown it in the past hour. She hasn’t even bothered trying to hide the pile of used napkins on the table.

“You did say Tuesdays were slow,” Crystal manages to croak out, trying to keep her voice even as she takes the tea in front of her into shaking hands. 

“I did,” Hob agrees, and then he sits down in the chair opposite her and starts taking out what looks like a pile of homework from his canvas bag. “I actually have some papers to grade, if you want some company. I’m happy to listen if you want to talk about it. Or we can just sit here in silence, if you’d like.”

She does want to talk about it, but the problem is, Crystal doesn’t know where to start. Doesn’t know how to tell Hob, who is both a complete stranger and not a stranger at the same time, that her life is both the best and worst it’s ever been in a very long time. She doesn’t know how to tell him that it’s Niko’s birthday today, and that the giant shopping bag next to her on top of the table is full of dozens of manga volumes she’ll never read, but felt the need to buy because, well because .

But, true to his word, Hob doesn't press her for more conversation, instead focusing immediately on the pile of paperwork he'd stacked. Crystal watches him smile when a student gets the answer right, and frown when they get an answer wrong. Every once in a while, his face takes on a bewildered expression, and Crystal wonders just how terribly bad the answer he’s looking at is.

Crystal wonders if Niko would have been in school now if she hadn't died. She seemed happy to simply solve cases with Crystal and the boys once they’d gotten the parasite out of her, but how long would that have lasted? Did Niko want to go to university? Would she have come to London if Crystal asked her to?

“I walked by a bookshop the other day,” Crystal finally offers, unable to keep the raging storm of emotion to herself any longer. Hob looks up from his paper and puts his pen down. She has his full attention now.

“They had a new volume of a manga out on display,” Crystal continues, glancing over at the shopping bag from that exact same store. “I thought, ‘Oh I should tell Niko, she'll be so excited there’s a new volume out!’ But then I remembered Niko’s not here. Niko's not here because she died trying to save me.”

“Ah,” Hob sighs sympathetically. “You're feeling guilty you're alive and she's not.”

It shouldn’t hurt so much to hear it spoken out loud, but Crystal's tears begin anew. She drops her gaze down to the steaming mug of hot tea and blinks them away as best she can, knowing that the hitch in her breathing gives her away anyways. 

“Survivor's guilt is a bitch,” Crystal says, and just like that, the dam of emotions she’d been holding back finally breaks. “I didn't even get to say goodbye ,” she practically wails into her mug. “We get to say goodbye to all these other strangers, to watch them go into their afterlife and I didn't even get to say goodbye to Niko. I hate it.”

It feels good, to finally get it out there in the open. To put words to her heartache, to the giant, endless maw of raw emotion and guilt. Crystal had tried to vocalize how she’d felt to Charles and Edwin, but they were too used to death, to people moving on. It wasn’t that they didn’t care, but they didn’t know what felt like to be left behind, not really. Not when it was all but guaranteed that they’d always have each other. 

“Life's unfair like that, sometimes,” Hob tells her, and the tone of his voice tells Crystal that the immortal is full of unsaid goodbyes himself. “I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance, truly.”

“You would've liked her,” Crystal replies, wanting to move away from the subject before she has another breakdown. The staff at the bookshop had definitely thought she’d gone through a bad breakup when she was paying for everything. Crystal looks back up at Hob and gives him a wry smile. “Probably way more than you liked me. She wouldn't have tried to burn the place down.”

Hob snorts. “I like you just fine as you are now, kid,” he says, returning her smile with one of his own. “Just no more arson attempts and we're good, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Crystal agrees. “Can’t guarantee a different ghost won’t try though.”

“They’re welcome to try,” Hob says, then gestures around the room. “But you’ve seen my wards. Been building them up here for almost twenty years now, not much is getting in or out of here without my permission.”

“How did you end up owning this place anyways?” Crystal asks, curiosity now burning a hole in her. “Charles and Edwin said the other night that when they first met you and were a traveling merchant or something.”

“Ah,” Hob replies, and his expression turns soft and fond. “I have this…friend, and we used to meet once a century at the old White Horse tavern down the road. For drinks. When they shut the place down, I bought this place, so we could still have someone where to go.”

Crystal narrows her eyes at the way Hob says friend and drinks .

“Is that a euphemism?” Crystal asks, and Hob chokes on his tea. “You know it’s 2024 right?” she continues. “Being gay isn’t ille—oh god, ” she cuts herself off, realization dawning upon her. “Are you in a centuries-long situationship? ” 

Hob goes into a full-on coughing fit now, but still manages to vigorously shake his head at the accusation.

“No I—cough—we’re just—cough—friends!” he insists, but Crystal isn’t convinced. 

“What do you even talk about?” she presses. “And who the hell only meets once a century for just drinks? ” she adds, putting the words in air quotes. 

“It’s complicated,” Hob replies, seeming to finally get his breathing under control. “Mostly just this and that,” the man adds, waving his hands around to emphasize the vagueness of their meetings. “You know, current events.”

“Current. Events.” Crystal repeats incredulously. Right. Yeah. Definitely a situationship. “Sure. Whatever you say.”

“You know what, next time he comes in, I’ll introduce you,” Hob huffs indignantly. His face is bright red too, and Crystal just knows that isn’t all from the loss of air to his windpipe just moments ago. “And then you can see we are just friends .”

He looks so serious, so intent on proving Crystal wrong, while still so desperately pining , that she can’t help but burst into laughter. It feels like a cord unwinds in her chest when she does, loosening a pressure she’d forgotten was there. 

“Yeah okay, sure, I’d love to meet you ‘friend’,” she replies, putting the word friend in air quotes. “But for like, actual drinks, and not ‘drinks’”, she adds with an exaggerated wink. Hob grumbles something about ‘kids these days’ which makes her laugh even more. 

----------------------------------

When Crystal leaves The New Inn hours later, her heart and belly both full, she curls up with her gigantic pile of manga and reads while waiting for Edwin and Charles to get back from their latest case. Since their investigation took them to a condemned building that was quite literally falling apart and structurally unsound, Crystal had been ordered to stay home, and wait for Charles and Edwin to bring the evidence back to her. 

When they do eventually make their way back, it’s with Jenny in tow, and she’s holding a giant cake box in her arms. Crystal smiles through the mist in her eyes, when she opens the box and sees ‘Happy Birthday Niko’ in bright red letters. 

“You remembered too, huh?” Crystal hiccups.

“Stop it, I don’t want to cry too,” Jenny replies, her voice also wavering. Her hands are shaking when she places the cake box down on the table. It’s way too much cake for two people to eat, since Edwin and Charles don’t partake, and Crystal thinks she’s going to be eating leftover cake for the next week at least. Jenny handles the cutting of the cake, and when the two of them each have a slice in hand, Edwin clears his throat, directing their attention to him.

“Right then. A celebration of Niko is not complete without Scooby-Doo,” he declares, and though his tone is light and teasing, Crystal can hear the emotional weight behind it too. 

“Right,” Crystal agrees, and when Charles wraps his arm around her, she gives up all pretense of not wanting to cry, and sobs openly into his shoulder. “I’ll get the TV set up. Just—give me a minute.”

Crystal falls asleep to the sound of cartoon feet running away from the latest villain of the week, and in the moments just before her mind is claimed by the Dreaming, she swears she catches the scent of poppies and dandelions.

[charmspoint]

🌿for the writers truth or dare!

Thank you for the ask!

Ask game

🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

Cradling your face in my hands

YOUR BODY IS NOT A MACHINE. NEITHER IS YOUR MIND.

Idk about you anon in particular, but I've found that I often have writers blocks the most when I push myself too much. I'm currently in a writing low, which is normal because I'm right off a really really big project and I need to replenish my energy. I also had a really big writing block when I came crashing down from 2021 when I wrote a truly dumb number of fics for me. This one happened because I got caught up in the fandom craze and tried to pump out a lot of high quality fics fast, because that is what fandom demands from writers and artists these days. Fast and quality. This of course wasted a lot of mental and emotional energy which couldn't be compensated by the at the time abysmal comment frequency (Recently I've been getting a lot more comments and I hope everyone else is too. It would feel nice to be out of this dark feedback era).

So to reiterate.

Your body is not a machine.

Think about what is happening around you in life. Are you stressed about school, college, work? Are you having social problems? Are you spending too much time online? Do you feel like you constantly have to be pumping out projects or people will stop paying attention?

From my experience, writing block is very rarely about the inability to write itself. Inability to write is a side effect of something else. A big project, complicated outside factors, external pressure, or just the fact that you got a new game and you are using all your time to play your game and not doing anything else (person who is not obsessed with BG3 atm). Usually when these are dealt with and you renew energy after them, writing will come back on its own.

You need to be kind to yourself.

I find this to be the best advice in many situations.

Pushing yourself to do what you can't do at the moment will only result in further frustration. Yes, it's good to have a writing habit, but I advocate for that to be a low goal one. My goal is 200 words a day. Sometimes I don't manage to do this because life is complicated but 6 days out of 7 I do. This keeps you on track, doesn't let your brain stale, but also isn't just torturing you.

If you are lacking in creativity you need to EXPERIENCE THINGS. Read that book you've been putting off, start a new manga, watch a movie, beyond that, take a daily walk, go to a museum, discuss ideas with your friends. I hate the phrase media consumption but I do like eating imagery and your brain NEEDS to eat. It needs to experience different art forms to be able to produce ideas of its own. Fanfiction is fine too, but unless you know a really amazing writer who brings a lot of new things into their work, I wouldn't recommend it, because in the end fanfiction is just exploration of a familiar thing. Thing you are stuck on. DON'T function only on fanfiction.

Let your material REST. If you are stuck on the fic, shove it in a folder and don't look at it for a week. Try not to think about it too much, do some of the things above and let your work rest. After a week you'll forget the finer details of it and will be able to look at it more objectively, which might help you resolve the thing you were stuck on. Also sometimes when you read your own fic a fresh you get those 'I´m a fucking genius' moments which is always great.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF.

Don't create on anyone's schedule but your own. I know how incredibly hard it is, I've felt it too, with fandom today which is overly picky, overly judgy and not very grateful. With a fandom that seems to more and more treat its creators as content machines instead of people sharing their passion projects. DON'T WRITE FOR THOSE PEOPLE. It's hard but don't write for the comments in your inbox. Don't set a schedule you can't meet. I've been writing a 17 chapter fic for almost 3 years now because I want a weekly release schedule but I don't want a weekly writing schedule. If your fic takes 6 months, a year or 10, let it take that times, don't shove it out before you feel ready.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF!!!!!!!

Realize that sometimes writing just won't go, no matter what you do. Realize that you aren't a failure or a fraud for this, that it means nothing when it comes to your skill and ability, that the greatest writers ever had struggled with the same thing. Some days you don't have time to write, some days you aren't in the mood to even do the bare minimum. These days will exist and be kind to yourself on them. Your writing won't escape anywhere. Come to terms with being human and come back to it tomorrow.

Hope any of that rant helps hzbjhvh!!!

[bbiemochi]

Hiii <3 May I request izumi and ritsu with a s/o who's hasn't been playing attention to them because of a new game (or something of that sort) that they've been obsessed with? maybe even a romance game tehee ;3 i LOVEEE your writing style <33

𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎?! | izumi & ritsu

[an]: hello there, gorgeous <3 ! tysm for requesting! ^w^ sorry if this took a while! ToT i had more requests than i expected so i hope it didn’t bother u much TwT

summary: all and all over, your eyes just seemed to be always glued to that screen. and they desperately want your attention back :( if that’s alright…? yet, just how can they have your eyes on him once again?

pairing: izumi & ritsu x g/n!reader! [ separate ! ]

genre: fluff! <3

IZUMI SENA

it was the 3rd time of the day in which you told your boyfriend to ‘hold on.’

izumi wasn’t sure if he was annoyed because you wouldn’t slide your attention towards him after some awful lot of practice (not to mention tsukasa’s loud lecturing) or it was because he was worried about your eyes always glued to that goddamn device. maybe both? either of it, he was still pissed to the fact you’re rarely giving him any mind. at all.

after a new trending game came out, izumi began to see you use your phone more often than what you used to. eyes appealed to the app shown on the screen rather than looking at him. the izumi sena of knights. a gorgeous model, as well. he wasn’t bragging yet he probably was? he can’t comprehend the situation well, he had no idea what he was feeling !

he told this to his unit…and the answers were adding more to his annoyance. he never heard leo laugh so much in his life that tsukasa had to shush him down, ritsu was asleep on the floor like always and arashi was the only one that managed to answer, seriously. “it’s quite natural…! i’ve heard of the game but i haven’t got to try it yet since i’m a little busy these days with our schedule. but just calm down, one day they’ll give their attention back to you, it’s just a game after all,” arashi told him, fixing her hair while staring into her tiny mirror.

izumi scoffs, “oh please, it’s been almost weeks now and they rarely send me messages, communicate or go out with me because of that game that i have no idea of what they find it so fun and distracting..!” arashi laughed nervously while looking at the white haired male. he was really angry, everyone can tell. she didn’t really knew much about your relationship, all the girl knew was that you two liked each other very much and that your relationship with izumi was just ok! turning her chair to face him, arashi sighs—her palm carrying her face. “don’t pressure yourself too much because of this~”

leo cuts them off, “are you actually jealous of a game??? BWAHAHAHA…!” he says, hands on his stomach as he laughed endlessly on the floor of the training room. izumi sent the male a cold glare however leo didn’t even pay attention to the signal. tsukasa stands up, walking towards the laughing male before grabbing his arm calmly to help him up, “how did you even find that funny?”

“BECAUSE..! PFFT—HAHAHAHA..!”

“alright leo, take deep breaths now.”

“TSUKINAGA SHUT IT..! IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY..!”

“n-now, now, izumi calm down…”

“ughh…you guys are so loud i’m trying to sleep..”

the situation ended up with arashi pulling izumi away from leo in order to avoid him from punching him in the face.

this…happened just a day ago, however it was soon calmed down when arashi explained to izumi to try and grab your attention by doing something that might distract you out of the game. somehow, the male quickly took the advice even though he tried plenty of times to win back your eyes on him. it might be tough, but just like the ‘big sister’ said; “it’s worth the shot~”

izumi had…quite the hard time driving back your attention to his. in fact, you were more distracted than he expected. answering with just hums, hm, yeah, or small words as a reply. this grew to irate him a little more—yet just like how arashi told him, just calm down. he can’t believe he’s taking advice from her. well, she was kind girl after all, and insightfully intelligent as well.

but…just this time, he sorta snapped.

it was his fifth time calling your name from the bed, you were sitting on the floor with your thumb across the screen, eyes locked towards the device to focus on your game. izumi’s eyebrows furrowed down. it has been like this forever, and he is attention deprived. the only source of sound was coming from your game, and nothing else. cord finally snapping, the male launches next to your side and grabbed your phone away in a fast motion. you reacted quick. “huh?! h-hey..! izumi! give that back…!” you yelled. izumi refused to let your grasp take a hold of your phone, and this caused you to stand up from the floor and try to reach for the device.

izumi clicks his tongue, “what’s even good about this game anyway???”

“i’m in the middle of playing…! give…! it…back..!” the both of you had a small fight with you trying to take the phone while izumi completely held the phone as highly away from you as he can.

you were so focused on trying to get back to your game that you didn’t realized that you were already sitting on top of him. with your hand reaching for the phone, you stopped when izumi pulls your chin down to look towards his face. that asshole was wearing a grin, his left hand still holding onto your phone while his right was still on your chin.

“you finally looked over here.”

realization finally hit to you when you felt your legs shake beneath another cloth that wasn’t your floor carpet nor the bed cushions. holy shit, you were sitting on his lap. the sight made you stunned, 50 shades of red covering your entire face before looking back at your boyfriend. that asshole was wearing his shit eating grin, and now with your burning red face looking right at him—that guy’s grin grew wider. “cute…heh, i guess naru’s advice worked after all.” you didn’t get to say anything else before you felt a pair of lips land on yours, lovingly.

the kiss was passionate, not too passionate. it was like your lover wanted to kiss you again after such a long time. well, you were distracted by the game after all you could guess why he was being so touchy today. your lips only separated when you needed air, then he was back to kissing you. the kiss lasted for about 1 minute, then you finally let go and he lands his face to your neck, taking measured breaths. you laughed so cherry he feels the butterflies about to erupt out of his stomach. “what made you so affectionate today?”

“you rarely give me attention anymore because of that stupid game you’re always playing…”

“are you jealous?”

“shut up.”

you both stayed like that for a while. maybe you should try convincing him to play it as well. as long as he’s not busy that is…

RITSU SAKUMA

ritsu had no idea how to deal with these sorts of situations…

including if they were something he had not experienced much before other than isara giving him some small advise about it. still, regardless of how much he tried to call your name, it’ll end up in a humming response. and if you did give 0.01% of your attention to ritsu, 99% of it will just turn back to the game you’re currently playing.

the knights member was confused between feeling irritated or upset. it was probably a mixture of both. however more of it, he was feeling down. you were his significant other…and as his lover, ritsu was entrusted to you that you would cuddle him whenever it was time for bed or nap times since…half of his daily life schedule is sleep, sleep, and sleep. you did ! on the last few months of being in a relationship with the male. although, you see…there was this new game you’ve been aching to try out ever since your friends had convinced you to play it and then here you are.

what the young ‘vampire’ was worrying about is that he couldn’t grab any of your attention towards him like you do before, it upsets him very. he tried asking the big sister of the knights, isara (thrice) and a couple other of his friends (except for rei, he pretended like he doesn’t know him). still, ritsu had no idea how to win your eyes back on him.

it was evening, ritsu (like always) stopped by at your place after a long day of idol duties. isara was the one who dropped him by and left afterwards after ritsu laid down on top of your bed beside you. you were playing on the phone like you always do, and ritsu pretended to be asleep, yet he was secretly admiring your face and how adorable you looked when concentrated. it was soon ruined when you paused your game, stood up, and went down to your bed to grab your charger and continue playing. ritsu soon sat up after you left his side, a frown painted upon his expression.

if only you could just take your eyes away from that screen for a moment…and he could just have your eyes on him alone…

“y/n…” he calls, voice in a whisper. no reply…ritsu pouts, hugging onto a pillow. he misses talking to you with long conversations. he missed playing the piano while you do the violin. gah, he was starting to sound desperate. but…this was normal right…? including if you’re wanting affection from your lover. arashi told him earlier that it was absolutely fine to confront you about this, as long as he’s calm about it and not end up in a heat up argument (since she’s not there to break it, arashi was close to you after all), but…your warmth…ritsu really misses your warmth. the way it made him fall asleep so easily with just your arms wrapped around him.

slowly crawling out of your bed…the male finds himself scooting his figure closer to yours while you didn’t even bother to turn around and look at him. he was tired, so tired…all needed after all hard day’s work was your arms wrapped around his body. just one glance from your view…it’s already enough.

you felt two pairs of arms wrap around your neck from behind…along with a blanket covering your back and warming yourself while playing. this finally had caught your attention. pausing the game, you turned your head a little to see ritsu snoozing off over your shoulders. you looked at him, stunned. “ritsu…? what’s up..?” you can hear him sigh in satisfaction. “y/n…mm, you finally looked at me…” he says, and you rose a brow up. was he still half asleep? “what do you mean by that?” you questioned.

there was a second silence before your boyfriend answered. yawning over your neck, he looks down on your phone, “that game has been stealing you from me recently…tell me, what’s so interesting about it…?”

ah, crap

“eh…?! h-has it been??”

ritsu nods his head. “i miss cuddling with you, you know?” he adds, nuzzling further deeper down your neck. “at least give me a good night kiss before i head down first to bed?” a light laugh erupts out of your lips before placing your phone down—it had been a particularly long time since you last slept together with the male after spending endless nights playing the new game you’re obsessed with. however, probably this day wouldn’t be so bad to take a small break for once. as you placed your phone somewhere safe to charge, you tapped ritsu’s shoulder, and he replies with a hum. “wanna head to bed, now? i wanna rest.”

his smile just made your day

you helped him get up and lay down on the soft cushions, his arms opened—waiting for you to come in. when you dug in his warmth, the heat radiating from his body mixed with your cooled down in a soft atmosphere. you did give him a good night kiss along with a whispered; ‘i love you.’ ritsu’s smile didn’t fade that night…your forehead stick to his while he snores, peacefully…his smile always glued on. you thought, maybe you fucked up…not giving your boyfriend any attention when you know he needs it. he can be attention and affection deprived from time to time and you can’t really blame him for it. for ritsu, he was like a child and you were his favorite teddy bear. not like you were complaining.

the next morning you both woke up at 11:36am. and ritsu was late for his idol duties. let’s just say you both got an earful from tsukasa.

a/n: if i don’t get rei’s card i’m gonna commit arson

requests: opened!

[lovelynim]

TickleTober2023/Day 14 - Roleplay

Grand Chase - Sieghart x Dio

“Are you done laughing?” Dio groaned, already regretting starting this conversation. It took every ounce of control over his body to not show the embarrassment he felt seeing Sieghart laugh at him like that, but still, if there was someone who knew how to avoid work, it was that immortal bastard.

Sieghart, with arms wrapped around his stomach - as if it was hurting from laughing - slowly raised a hand to his face, wiping out the small tears on the corner of his eyes. “S-so, hah… can’t you just say ‘no’ to Ley?” The highlander sighed, standing up straight as he continued to smile charmingly. “Is it really that hard?”

“Yes, it is,” Dio insisted, looking away. “She is… difficult to deal with, but you always manage to avoid work, so I considered asking you for advice would be a good idea.” As the demon finished talking, he lifted his face to look Sieghart in the eyes, a mix of frustration and embarrassment in his face. “But it seems I was wron-”

“Hey, hey, hey, wait a second right there!” Sieghart interrupted, crossing his arms, “first,” he lifted one finger, giving Dio a stern look, “I don’t avoid work, I just spare myself from wasting time on meaningless activities.”

“Same thing,” Dio rolled his eyes at the excuse. Sieghart faked a cough and then continued, “second, who says I’m not helping you?”

The Burning Canyon raised his eyebrows, surprised by the immortal’s answer. “Are you for real?”

“Yes,” Sieghart sighed, looking around, “you just need to… loosen up a bit, if you keep being too serious, you won’t be able to deal with Ley,” he started and, for the first time in ages, Dio was actually paying attention. “Let’s do some roleplay,” Sieghart suggested, spotting the confused look on the other’s face. “Pretend I’m Ley. You have to keep saying no to me no matter what. Got it?”

“Whatever, if it works,” Dio shrugged, watching as Sieghart prepared himself to get “in character”. So stupid.

“Dio ~” Sieghart said in a higher-pitched tone and the demon had to restrain himself from laughing at the sight of him acting like that. “Where were you? ~ I want you to come shopping with me ~ I will buy so much stuff that Jeeves alone won’t be able to carry it and- hah?!” Sieghart stopped, surprised when he saw a smile threatening to form on Dio’s face. “What’s so funny, huh, you brat? ~”

“Pfft… s-sorry, it’s just thaAHAH- Sieheheghahart, whahAhat are yohohou doing?!” Before he could explain himself, the immortal had already pulled him into his arms, beginning to dig into his side with one hand while holding wrists with the other.

“Sieghart? ~ Do you seriously just mistook me, Ley, for that fool? ~” Sieghart continued, not dropping his act as he clawed at Dio’s exposed stomach, taking advantage of his revealing fashion choice.

“Yohohou bastahahard!!” Dio laughed, pressing his eyes shut as he tried to squirm away when he felt Sieghart drumming his fingers along his lower ribs, “lehehet me go!”

“Geez, how can you be this bad? I think we will need a more thoroughly lesson until you start grasping the concept of it, Dio,” Sieghart grinned, already thinking that he was going to enjoy it more than he expected.

A/N: I love these sillies, so I decided to indulge me and the other 3 people in this fandom with this prompt, ehe

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 694: Joining the new club, teh!!

Pag 1

1: Kei-chan, I've decided!

Bla bla

Bla bla

2: Kyou-chan

Bla bla

Bla bla

3: I've found the “back-gate slope” senpai!!

He's a person who can turn his legs incredibly fast

4: After all, he really was a “god”

I....

Pag 2

1: Will join the bicycles club, teh!!

Pag 3

2: …. the bicycle?

3: Club?

4: What.... ah, I came because you said you had to tell us something important.... but that was it...

Pff, right? Roku-chan in the bicycles club....

Pag 4

1: Wait!! What, bicycles!?

Roku-chan in that bicycles club!?

Ye- yeah

2: Wait, wait, for real!?

I guess that was such a crazy information that my brain was buffering!!

Do you know? Do you know!? That, uhm... well...

3: This school's bicycles club!!

Are you really saying you want to enter this school's, Sohoku's, bicycles club!?

Yeah

Pag 5

1: It's the champion of the Inter High, the yearly national competition!!

Yeah, I looked it up

You're saying you looked it up!?

That doesn't.....? scare me

2: They won the Inter High two times in a row, you know!?

Yeah, I looked it up

4: Kei-chan!!

Kyoutarou!!

5: I already wrote the registration, too

6: The other day I even got a bike... I discussed it with the neighbour's bicycles shop...

I asked if they could remove the basket... and replace it with a drophandlebars

Pag 6

1: I've found my goal

4: According to the rumors, they had a Spartan captain with sunglasses, and a captain with a perm and glib tongue

They say they sweet talk you and then make you work hard!!

It's the first time I hear about this....!!

5: Really!?

You see, in the basket club... Hayashimoto-san is there

The senpai with big hands

That guy told me

Ehh

Pag 7

1: But, you know, the Roku-chan before my eyes

Huh

I have a feeling he can do it. Right, Kentarou?

Huh

Yeah, Kei-chan

2: Ehi, you three, listen to me for a moment!

3: Well, I heard you talking about the bicycle club

Sorry to meddle in your conversation

4: I already joined the bicycles club, you see?

And I also have experience in racing, since I've been doing road racing since middle school!!

Pag 8

1: I'll tell you once!!

Road racing isn't sweet!!

3: I'm Kinaka Tsugunao from Higashi middle school

I've participated in races and my goal was to join the club here and run as regular

5: And you....

6: You're the one who was standing before the shougi club all worrying, the other day during the club activities visit day, right? I saw you

You were shouting in the hallway...

Waaa-

7: If you want to get into the bicycles club on half-hearted feelings, then stop...!!

Pag 9

1: You'll fall!!

Ehhh

2: Oi, you, what you've been saying, it's weak

Nhh? Huh?

This guy is huge

3: That' not true, I have a solid goal

A goal!!

Huh!!

4: This guy already did biking before....

5: You, what club were you in in middle school?

Huh

6: Ah, yeah....

7: For three years....

8: I was in the basket club...

Pag 10

1: But as the manager....

5: Ah, I see!! Uhn!!

Uh-uhm, a manager, huh? I see

6: Well, an advice!!

I'll give you an honest advice

Pag 11

1: It's better if you quit!! The bicycles club!!

Because they have strong soldiers like me!!

3: Roku-chan is the manager who devotedly supported us regulars

4: of Hanamiyama middle school's baslet club

He pays more attention than anyone

5: When it rained, and when it snowed

He came to the clubroom earlier than anyone and got ready

6: these past three years were painful and bitter for Roku-chan

Pag 12

1: But I've never heard him complain once!!

Pag 13

1: I'll give you an advice too!!

2: I won't forgive anyone who looks down on Roku-chan!!

6: Me neither!!

Pag 14

1: Let's go, Roku-chan!!

Where

To the clubroom, of the bikes club

Classes aren't over yet, teh

Pag 15

1: That Kinaka guy or whatever, pissed me off!! I want to show him Roku-chan's potential!!

Me too!!

No-no way, that guy said he already did road racing...

2: Kyoutaro!!

Yeah, Kei-chan!!

3: Wa- what, you're agreeing with each other!!

Wait, first of all let's take a deep breath!!

Pag 16

1: Excuse me!! We want to join the club!!

Waaa, he bursted in without hesitation!!

We're prepared!!

Prepared for what....?

2: Uhm?

Oh?

Huh!?

3: The club's members!!

Pag 17

1: What, some ugly guys came in

He looks scary!!

2: They're assertive!!

Red hair!!

3: Look, good thing we waited in the clubroom during lunch break!!

This guy's hair is orange!?

4: Uwaaaaa

5: No, let's come another time!! I want to give my registration notice to the back-gate slope senpai!!

Roku-chan!!

No going back now!!

Pag 18

1: I'll ask!! What's the very first match of this club!?

2: Match, teh!?

4: Oh, you really have a lot of enthusiasm

5: It's not a match, it's a “race”!! In ten days....

For the new members only, it's the “first years race”

Pag 19

1: In ten days

2: Huh!?

3: First years race!!

4: Kei-chan and Kyou-chan are in the basket club

They shouldn't be so enthusiastic!!

5: I'm the third year Imaizumi

6: Introduce yourself

If you want to jon the club, go ahead

7: A race... I wonder if I can do it... I....

…. yes

8: But....

10: I've decided.... I have decided

Pag 20

1: I'm a first year from class 4, Rokudai Renta!!

I've decided to follow the back-gate slope senpai!!

Pag 21

1: I'm from Hanamiyama middle school, and I want to join this club!! Teh!!

2: You've said it in such a cool way, Roku-chan!!

You said it, Renta!!

3: Ah

This voice....

Could it be, the guy from that day....

4: The back-gate slope senpai!!

He's here!!

Onoda-san, did you find that leg part?

Ah, yes, it had fallen on the back of the chair

5: The registration notice....!!

I did it!!

6: And?

Pag 22

1: Are you two joining the club too?

3: I'm sorry, that's no....

4: Yes!!

Pag 23

1: We'll join the club and make sure he surpasses that guy!!

2: Huuh!?

[marshmallowprotection]

Hi Kait! Can I have a Match-Up? I love your way of writing, and I would love to know which character you think would suit me better (romantically). And I'm sorry in advance because this is very, very long, so I'll do it in parts, haha ^^'

I'm a 18 y/o female, ISTJ, 9w1, demiromantic atracted for men and sex repulsed ace. I'm a computer engineering student, but I'm also a certified nursing and pharmacy assistant because, well, I was given the opportunity and trying other fields is always interesting.

If we talk about socializing, I can be a bit... complicated. Crowds, meeting and talking to new people exhaust me and generate anxiety, always with this pit in my stomach, fearing to say or do something wrong. If it's not strictly necessary, I would never approach a stranger unless they speak to me first. And despite all of that, I've managed to be on good terms and even joke around with my classmates, and to earn both their trust and our teachers' trust, being the class representative for these two years.

I still feel stupidly nervous around them, but I do something right since both my classmates and teachers have the idea that I am "efficient" and "responsible", even though I am incredibly disorganized and forgetful, procrastinating instead of doing my homework and study for tests until the last minute.

What is certain is that I am quite helpful, I am always willing to help, guide and collaborate with others in whatever way possible, and I consult the opinion of my colleagues, looking for the solution that best satisfies all of us when it comes to make a decision for the class. I am also the type of person who greets, offers and returns smiles, apologizes and thanks everyone, even though inside I feel horrible, because courtesy is something that was instilled in me from a very young age and it is already natural. However, I know and make my limits clear, because just as I don't like to take advantage of others, I don't allow others to take advantage of me; trying that is one of the few ways my patience can be exhausted, along with certain noises that affect me because of my misophonia.

Although I can be productive if I put my mind to it, my mind tends to wander and I get frustrated with myself because of it. My head is almost always in the clouds, I have tripped over my own feet more times than I can count and once I couldn't even find my glasses even though I already had them on, what a case huh?

— (1/3)

Although socializing makes me anxious, my friends are the exception. I don't have many, but the ones I do have I value with all my heart and would definitely fight for them; With my friends I talk about everything and nothing, about topics like the new series that premiered, our favorite artists, how our day was, and also our personal problems, exchanging advice or just being there and listening. I tend to be more of a listener than a speaker, I really enjoy hearing what others have to say, going silent and nodding to let them know I'm paying attention, and giving my opinion at the end if they want to. Sometimes, however, I get carried away and go on at length about my thoughts and tastes, which makes me feel a little embarrassed and leaves me afraid that I "spoke too much," even though my friends always assure me that it's not like that.

What I love most about talking with my friends is debating, expressing our views on different topics and the reasoning behind them. We don't always agree, but that's okay, it's even more fun that way! I always try to keep my mind open and even if I'm not convinced by what has been said, I respect other people's opinions.

Something I don't love is cooking, I mean, I can do it, but I'm not a fan of it. I'm also not really into adrenaline rush, "wacky" activities or activities that involve crowds, and I don't drink or smoke. I can tolerate the cigarette smell as long as it's not very concentrated, but alcohol... No. Drunk people make me upset, uncomfortable and very nervous, and I try to avoid them at all costs because of family issues. I am a homebody who enjoys and is satisfied with watching a movie, series or even cartoons, listening to music, playing video games or board games, talking to or simply existing in the same room with my partner, even with both of us doing different things. I'm open to trying my partner's hobbies as long as it doesn't involve anything I've already mentioned that I dislike (except maybe cooking, if it's with a partner, it can be funny).

Also, nature seems beautiful to me, and a walk in the fresh air while we talk, or having a picnic, or sitting and counting stars or looking for shapes in the clouds, all seem lovely to me. I also like animals, and whether it's a dog, a cat or a bird, having a pet sure brightens up the daily routine.

— (2/3)

My affections are spontaneous, I could hug my partner from behind, tell him I love him and kiss his cheek, or take his hand and kiss his knuckles, or run my fingers through his hair, or pat his head, or fix his clothes or... Anything I feels like doing when I passing by, and then continue on my way. Although I would make sure to respect their limits, since I have mine too, like my slight dislike for kissing on the lips, because I can have one or two but too many disgust me. I am also one to make and follow silly jokes, with a sarcastic and sometimes black humor, and I love to tease my loved ones.

I have a bad temper, and I am so aware of it that I distance myself from others in order not to hurt them, because when angry I tend to speak and act derogatory. I never mean to hurt anyone, but when I do, I own up to my mistake, apologize for it, and do my best to correct my behavior. I warn those close to me in advance of my bad mood, to avoid conflict as much as possible.

For me, the most important thing in a relationship is honesty, followed by communication. My friends have told me I'm so honest it hurts, that's something I'm also aware of, but I'm adamant that even an ugly truth is better than a white lie. I always give them the truth so I hope they give it back to me, because even if it hurts, it's better if they lie to me. I am also usually the first person to try to clear up misunderstandings, approaching and offering a talk, because I think that as long as something can be talked about it can be solved, although I think that it is best to take some time to calm down and be able to talk properly.

That's all! Thank for your time a have a good day/afternoon/night! :)

PS: I sent the first message anonymously, but the second one didn't, so sending this one how anonymously doesn't make sense. Sorry about that, haha

— (3/3)

I match you with...

Jumin!

To put it simply, you're the kind of person that understands what you like and how you like it. That can be difficult to find in this world because sometimes you don't know what you like until you really put yourself out there. You value communication and being able to talk to somebody. You don't want to be lost in translation. You want somebody who looks at you and understands how to talk to you without even trying. Of course, it's never as simple as that. It's never that easy. It's something you have to work on with your partner. That being said, the person who relates most to you in this situation is Jumin Han. He is the one person in the world who would be able to understand what it means to value a conversation like fine wine.

When it comes to love language he is the one person who would be able to keep up with you in terms of talking about anything and everything. Talking really is his love language. Sure, there are a lot of other things wrapped up in there, but what matters more to him is the ability to be able to experience the warmth of a long conversation with somebody. That's truly all he's ever wanted out of romance and life. He wants somebody who can sit next to him and talk about whatever. It doesn't matter what it is.

All in all, you can have a great relationship with him because you both seem to fit like puzzle pieces. He never has to worry when it comes to what you mean. You never have to worry about what he's feeling. It's something that two of you have come to understand about one another. Sure, it was a little messy in the start, but what is it messy? But now you have each other and long conversations in front of the fireplace.