#you want variety? well youre getting gruel again.

[clansunsharp]

verbally abusive chef has entered the chat

[wonyowonyo]

Between Us (A. Yujin x M! Reader)

This one is actually a request that is long overdue, this was suppose to be posted earlier but I messed up and accidentally deleted the Ask of the anon requester. So if you're reading this anon I'm really sorry TOT. Anyways let's get started! Hope you enjoy this one.

Life as an idol was a whirlwind of practice, performances, and public appearances. As a member of the popular boy group Zenith, you have experienced it all—the adoration of fans, the pressure of maintaining a perfect image, and the relentless demands of the industry. Despite the chaos, you loved every moment, especially because it had brought you closer to someone special: Yujin from the girl group IVE.

You and Yujin had first met at a music show where both your groups were performing. During the chaos of backstage preparations, you had accidentally bumped into her, almost knocking over her makeup kit. Apologizing profusely, you had helped her gather her things. Yujin had laughed it off, her warm smile instantly putting you at ease.

"It's okay, really," she had said. "These things happen."

From that moment, a friendship had blossomed. Despite your busy schedules, you found time to support each other, often running into each other at award shows, music festivals, and variety programs. You admired Yujin's dedication and talent, and she appreciated your kindness and sincerity. Slowly but surely, your feelings for her grew, and you couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same.

One evening, after a particularly grueling day of rehearsals, you received a message from Yujin.

Yujin: Hey, do you have a moment to talk?

You smiled at your phone, glad to hear from her.

You: Of course. What's up?

Within minutes, Yujin called you. Her voice, though usually full of energy, sounded tired and strained.

"Hey, are you okay?" you asked, concern evident in your tone.

"I'm fine, just exhausted," she admitted. "Sometimes it feels like there's no end to all the work, you know?"

You understood all too well. "I know exactly what you mean. But remember, you're not alone. We all go through it."

"Thanks," she said softly. "It's good to hear that. By the way, are you free this weekend? I was thinking it might be nice to take a break and hang out, just the two of us."

Your heart skipped a beat. "That sounds great. I'd love to."

————————————————————

On Saturday, you met Yujin at a cozy café tucked away from the bustling city. It was a place where you both could relax without the fear of being recognized by fans. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, with soft music playing in the background.

Yujin was already seated when you arrived, her face lighting up as she saw you. You joined her at the table, and for the first time in a long while, you both let go of the pressures of being idols.

"I ordered your favorite coffee," Yujin said with a smile.

"Thanks, you always remember," you replied, touched by the gesture.

As you chatted about everything from music to hobbies, you noticed how comfortable you felt around her. Yujin had a way of making everything seem lighter, her laughter infectious and her presence soothing. You cherished these moments, knowing how rare and precious they were.

"Have you ever thought about what you'd do if you weren't an idol?" Yujin asked suddenly.

The question caught you off guard. "I guess I haven't really thought about it. This life is all I've known for years. But maybe I'd do something related to music, like producing or songwriting. What about you?"

Yujin pondered for a moment. "I've always wanted to travel, see the world beyond the stages and studios. Maybe I'd become a travel blogger or a photographer."

"That sounds amazing," you said, imagining her exploring exotic locations and capturing beautiful moments.

There was a brief silence before Yujin spoke again, her tone more serious. "Do you ever wonder about what it would be like to date someone in the same industry?"

Your heart raced at the unexpected question. "Sometimes," you admitted, trying to gauge her expression. "It would be difficult, with all the secrecy and the scrutiny from the public. But it could also be really special, having someone who understands what you're going through."

Yujin nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I've thought about it too. It would be nice to have someone who truly gets it."

You looked into her eyes, searching for any hint of what she might be feeling. "Yujin, is there something you want to tell me?"

She hesitated, her eyes flickering with uncertainty before she finally spoke. "I… I've been thinking about us. We've become really close, and I can't deny that I have feelings for you. But I'm scared, scared of what it could mean for our careers and our friendship."

Your heart swelled with emotion as you reached out to take her hand. "Yujin, I've felt the same way for a long time. I care about you deeply, and I've been afraid too. But I believe that if we both want this, we can make it work. We'll face whatever challenges come our way, together."

Tears glistened in Yujin's eyes as she squeezed your hand. "I want to be with you, more than anything."

With those words, the weight of uncertainty lifted, replaced by a sense of hope and determination. You both knew that the road ahead wouldn't be easy, but you were ready to face it together.

————————————————————

In the weeks that followed, you and Yujin navigated the delicate balance of your secret relationship. You cherished stolen moments, meeting in private places where you could be yourselves without the prying eyes of the public. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, but the love you felt for each other made it all worthwhile.

During a particularly busy month of promotions, you found solace in each other's company. Despite the grueling schedules and the constant pressure, knowing that you had Yujin by your side made everything more bearable.

One evening, after a successful performance at a music show, you managed to steal a few moments alone with Yujin in a quiet corner of the backstage area. Her smile was radiant, and you couldn't resist pulling her into a hug.

"You were amazing out there," you whispered, holding her close.

"So were you," she replied, her voice filled with pride. "I'm so proud of you."

As you held her, the world outside seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of you in your own little bubble of happiness. It was in these moments that you realized how much you cherished your relationship, how much you needed her.

"I wish we could always be like this," Yujin murmured against your chest.

"We will be," you promised, kissing the top of her head. "No matter what happens, we'll find a way to be together."

However, the reality of being idols soon caught up with you. Rumors began to swirl, fueled by fans who noticed the subtle interactions between you and Yujin. The pressure to keep your relationship a secret intensified, and you both knew that it was only a matter of time before the truth came out.

One day, as you were preparing for a concert, your manager approached you with a serious expression.

"We need to talk," he said, leading you to a private room. "There are rumors about you and Yujin. They've started to gain traction, and the company is concerned."

Your heart sank at the news. "What are we going to do?"

The manager sighed. "For now, we need to deny everything. Focus on your work, and avoid any situations that could fuel the rumors. We can't afford a scandal right now."

You nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. But as you walked back to the dressing room, you couldn't shake the feeling of dread. The thought of losing Yujin, of being forced apart by the industry, was unbearable.

That evening, you met Yujin in a secluded park, far from prying eyes. She looked worried, her usual brightness dimmed by the weight of the situation.

"I heard about the rumors," she said quietly. "What are we going to do?"

"We'll deny everything," you replied, taking her hands in yours. "But Yujin, I don't want to lose you. We'll find a way to make this work, no matter what."

She nodded, tears brimming in her eyes. "I don't want to lose you either. We'll be careful, but we have to stay strong."

In the days that followed, you and Yujin maintained a facade of normalcy, focusing on your work and avoiding any interactions that could draw suspicion. It was a difficult and painful period, but you held onto the hope that you would get through it together.

As the months passed, the rumors slowly died down, replaced by new scandals and gossip. The industry moved on, and you and Yujin breathed a sigh of relief. But the experience had left its mark, making you both more cautious and aware of the challenges you faced.

Despite the hardships, your love for each other only grew stronger. You found solace in the moments you could steal away together, in the quiet conversations and the shared dreams of a future where you could be open about your relationship.

————————————————————

One evening, after a particularly grueling day of rehearsals, you and Yujin met at your favorite spot in the city—a secluded rooftop garden that overlooked the twinkling lights below. It was a place where you could be yourselves, away from the pressures of the idol world.

As you sat together, the cool night air wrapping around you, Yujin rested her head on your shoulder.

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we could be open about us?" she asked softly.

"All the time," you admitted, running your fingers through her hair. "But I believe that one day, we will be. We'll find a way to make it happen."

Yujin looked up at you, her eyes filled with hope and determination. "I believe that too. We'll make our own path, no matter what the industry says”

You smiled, feeling a surge of determination. "Exactly. We just need to be patient and stay strong. We have each other, and that's what matters."

As the night wore on, you both talked about your dreams and aspirations, about the future you hoped to build together. The conversation flowed easily, and the connection between you deepened. You felt a sense of peace and happiness that you hadn't experienced in a long time.

In the weeks that followed, you and Yujin continued to navigate the challenges of your secret relationship. You became experts at hiding your affection in public, communicating through subtle gestures and stolen glances. Despite the difficulties, the bond between you grew stronger, and you found comfort in knowing that you had each other's support.

One day, while you were at a photoshoot, you received a message from Yujin.

Yujin: Can we meet tonight? There's something I want to talk about.

You: Of course. Same place?

Yujin: Yes. See you at 8.

As the day went on, you couldn't shake the feeling of anticipation. You wondered what Yujin wanted to discuss, hoping it was something positive. When the photoshoot finally ended, you quickly made your way to the rooftop garden, arriving a few minutes early.

Yujin was already there, leaning against the railing and gazing out at the city lights. She turned as she heard your footsteps, a smile spreading across her face.

"Hey," she greeted you warmly.

"Hey," you replied, walking over to her. "You wanted to talk?"

She nodded, her expression turning serious. "I've been thinking a lot about our situation. I love you, and I don't want to hide it anymore. I know it's risky, but I believe that we can handle whatever comes our way."

Your heart raced as you took in her words. "Are you sure? The backlash could be intense, and I don't want you to suffer because of me."

Yujin reached out and took your hands in hers. "I'm sure. We've been careful for so long, and I think our fans deserve to know the truth. Besides, I don't want to keep living in fear. I want to be able to hold your hand in public, to support each other openly."

You felt a swell of emotions, a mixture of love, fear, and hope. "I want that too. If you're ready, then so am I. We'll face this together."

She smiled, a look of determination in her eyes. "Together."

————————————————————

In the days that followed, you and Yujin prepared to go public with your relationship. You discussed the best way to approach the situation, deciding to make a joint statement through your respective companies. You knew that the announcement would come as a shock to many, but you hoped that your fans would support you.

The day of the announcement arrived, and you found yourself filled with a mixture of nerves and excitement. As you watched the statement go live, you held Yujin's hand tightly, drawing strength from her presence.

"We're in this together," she whispered, giving your hand a reassuring squeeze.

The response was immediate. The news spread like wildfire, and social media was flooded with reactions from fans and the media. While there were some negative comments, the overwhelming majority were supportive, expressing happiness for both of you.

As the days passed, you were relieved to see that the backlash was not as severe as you had feared. Your fans rallied around you, showing their love and support in countless ways. The industry, too, began to adapt, recognizing that love and relationships were a natural part of life, even for idols.

With the truth out in the open, you and Yujin finally felt a sense of freedom. You no longer had to hide your affection, and you could openly support each other in your careers. Your relationship flourished, and you both grew stronger, both as individuals and as a couple.

One evening, as you sat together in your favorite spot, you looked out at the city lights and reflected on your journey. You had faced countless challenges, but you had done so together, and that made all the difference.

"I'm so proud of us," Yujin said softly, resting her head on your shoulder.

"Me too," you replied, wrapping your arm around her. "We've come a long way."

She looked up at you, her eyes shining with love. "And we'll go even further. No matter what, we'll always have each other."

You smiled, feeling a deep sense of contentment. "Always."

As you held Yujin close, you knew that your love would continue to grow, transcending the obstacles that came your way. Together, you were unstoppable, and the future was yours to shape.

[homunculus-argument]

It might be helpful to get an exercise buddy if you can.

Honestly though, I’m adhd too and I’m in kinda the same boat. If I don’t maintain a certain level of muscle mass my joints start crapping out in a major way. It’s been that way since I was 15 and it’ll be that way until I die. One of those fun chronic conditions.

If you’re anything like me, you have to just do it. Purely brute force your way into it until you can gaslight yourself into liking SOMETHING about it. Or until you get used to it. It fucking sucks but sometimes things suck and you have to do them anyways. You already have the motivation to do it, you just don’t want to, and there’s no fun tip or trick out of it.

I usually put on a podcast if I’m going to be lifting weights or doing cardio, it helps me not get distracted by changing the music. Varying the exercise I do makes it a little less grueling on a physical level. A class of some sort might help. Maybe not sports, but intro to weight lifting, a spin class, etc. I found that early on they helped me have direction and took some of the mental block of having to choose what to do and figure out the machines on my own. I did martial arts as a kid too, and I liked that well enough. Mostly because I got to hit things and I was an angry kid but it’s individual and it has a built in variety of things to do, external rewards system, and clear instructions.

If you don’t need it done in a single block, body weight exercises might be helpful. Over time I’ve been able to redirect some hyperactivity into doing wall sits or whatever during downtime at work or between classes. One of my coworkers (she and her girlfriend also have adhd) changed their sleep schedules to get up at 5am so they could work out first thing in the morning. It works for them, so getting it out of the way first thing in the morning or at a set time may be helpful.

However, if you physically don’t get endorphins from exercise at all no matter the intensity or duration, you may have some brain chemistry stuff going on. I’m not a doctor, but I actually couldn’t feel that post workout high until I was medicated for my depression. That first workout after they kicked in was fuckin crazy. It felt more like drugs than drugs did

Yeah, doing a buddy system thing with my boyfriend worked once already, we're trying that again.

[the-vicious-guardian-incarnate]

[☆] About the "Drama" [☆]

I'm sorry, I'm not done talking about this. I have a lot more to say because I know there isn't much about it out there from the side of a mod who was involved. I thought I would be okay leaving it where I did in the last post, but I want to make it clear why I, at least, cut off contact and interaction with the person involved. (Person involved will be referred to as FH, nobody will be outright named except, of course, myself.)

I can't speak for any others and I won't dare say I am, but please know I have probably over a decade of online roleplaying experience across platforms, and I have a different radar for certain things than others might because of the communities I used to run in.

“Drama” tag is «what a wuwarp week» If you want to reblog this for some reason, you can, but please be reasonable or I'll turn that off.

This is meant to inform, not lambast or accuse. This is my experience and no one else’s. Do not go looking for FH, do not interact with FH, leave FH alone.

Again, DO NOT search out the person in question. It will be a waste of your time and effort. If that feels harsh, please read on. It will be long and possibly confusing, but I hope it will at least mostly explain my stance, here.

I am not a confrontational person (we've just heard a lot of that… but I'm generally too tired for it is my take). I thought this situation could be resolved peacefully. This situation, I don't believe, actually could be resolved peacefully. Someone was going to get hurt. I've rewritten this post at least five times now, because I don't want anyone to continue getting hurt from this situation, but I didn't feel right not letting people know what was going on behind-the-scenes and in my head; there's a lot. I have a lot of thoughts at decent speeds. I have a lot of experience with roleplayers of different experience/skill levels. I have even moderated several Discord roleplaying servers (which isn't something I can recommend unless you are very passionate about it). I was actually ostracized by a small sub-community once, because my character simply wasn't designed to play well with the character of a popular person in that sub-community (by design, and for interest and variety, not malice).

That is to say, I understand many sides to this story through living them myself before. I wish things like this didn't happen and everyone could roleplay without having any problems with someone else, but that isn't healthy (again, I have experienced a community where discourse or "drama" was discouraged so heavily you had to pretend to get along with everyone or you'd get absolutely dog-piled for "bullying" someone). So we have a world where people are allowed to say how they feel: that's fantastic! Your feelings are valid! You're allowed to have them, and express them, and tell people when they've made you feel them!

But what isn't acceptable is going off and crying to anyone who'll listen about how terrible this (being told someone would like FH to adjust FH's approach for a more enjoyable experience for both parties) is! Sobbing about how awful this is! Why would they say this? This is so harsh! I'm traumatized by this! (Again, "this" is someone simply stating a discomfort and asking for a change or understanding of the situation, which is normal, valid, and nothing to lose your curlers over.)

Yes, I checked. I hadn't known anything was happening before I received a DM out of nowhere. So I went and looked. I investigated. This is also appropriate; while it can be a little time-consuming, it's best to make an informed decision, no?

My findings were that someone simply got tired of having to try to manipulate their character into going along with everything FH said. This is valid; working with incompatible characters/personalities can be grueling work particularly when the other person in control isn't willing to give or bend a little to make a prolonged interaction believable (I know this, because it was usually I who had to bend, and a situation that had me leaving many times). This person simply had not found another way to express this to FH, which made sense: FH has repeatedly shown an inability or disinterest in actually reading the words placed in front of FH to read (something I experienced in my own interactions with FH, actually).

But, you see, this DM opened by FH apologizing for being annoying… and/or "too cute." For me, this immediately triggered a little red flag, though I ignored it because I thought, well, this could be a good opportunity to get FH to understand what might have been going on with this other blog. So I respond, pointing out what the issues may have been, as well as solutions so that FH can take this advice and continue on with their endeavors. (Yes, the fault does lie on FH.)

Except FH completely, outright, blatantly ignores all of my advice. Not once, not twice, but three times. We spoke for an hour. The only thing I accomplished was an amateur psychoanalysis! Feel free to imagine Calcharo wearing a deerstalker (Sherlock Holmes hat) here.

Here is where my mention of all my experience in various roleplay communities comes into play. Yes, I do analyze how people act towards others, even--maybe especially--when someone is apologizing to me. This will become analytical and possibly confusing, though I will try my best to write this out clearly. If you have questions, you can ask. We'll go just about message by message to cover all aspects my brain covered during the conversation.

So, again, FH and I speak for an hour (I have screenshots, involved parties may ask to see some/all). I offer advice for the situation, such as reassessing FH's approach to characters (offering to let FH try again) or finding the type of character who would readily accept FH's approach as opposed to, like, the hardened mercenary who's been fighting essentially his whole life just to survive. I point out the places FH may have stumbled, which may have lead to the other mod's reaction; being too pushy and acting as if FH were trying to roleplay with a character that could not exist without veering off wildly into OOC territory (Calcharo outright accepting their advances in the first meeting).

FH, who has been offered solutions and explanations, responds with multiple statements about what things FH may do now that FH has been made to feel uncomfortable in the community (this is also the only point in our conversation where the discomfort of character mods comes up until the end). FH apologizes twice in this message.

Here I offer other explanations and suggestions as to how to fix this. These include potentially changing FH's approach to characters who will be more accepting of FH's chosen exaggerated personality traits. I tell FH, "There's just no such thing as characterization of yourself or characters that's compatible with absolutely everyone and anyone."

Keeping that last bit in mind, FH proceeds to say several things have been mentioned that day, and that FH's approaches worked in the past and so FH stuck with it. FH apologizes again. End of message, excluding some extraneous information because this is already incredibly long.

So I say--oh, wait, how strange. Twice have I offered advice, and twice has it gone unacknowledged.

Anyway, I say that the problem was that FH was far too stubborn with the approaches used, which was the other mod's primary concern (stated quite clearly!) and something that very obviously wouldn't work with Calcharo. Please note that I end this message saying "I just don't really understand why you thought this approach would… do much? With Calcharo, at least. Does he at all seem the type to respond favorably to what you gave me to work with?" fully expecting some kind of response explaining FH's thought process.

FH says "I was trying something even if it wasn't working." This tells me that FH… doesn't appear to fully grasp the fact that… we're people? We're just people playing with dolls on the internet. These are our little guys (gender neutral) and we play them the way we want to, that makes sense to us and falls in line with how we want them to act. Of course, I say this. I mention this. I tell FH that we are people pretending to be other people, and we "all have personalities, histories, likes, dislikes, and thoughts of [our] own."

"Not everyone can or will react the same to the same information, right?"

Lo and behold, FH replies with… "I know that. I can see that." Even though… not a single interaction FH has had with a character has shown that. I went and looked through a handful of blogs to see just how widespread this was. The results: FH offered every single one of us the same one or two premises to work off of. Does FH really know people can react differently to the same thing, or does FH think it's possible to get them all to respond the exact way FH wants from them using the same one or two approaches?

I will exclude the contents of the next few messages as they hold more identifying information than the last few. What is important is that I do tell FH that they should take some time away to reflect on this situation and why others reacted this way to everything going on. I tell FH that it's possible to "go out and learn and do better, so you don't end up in the same position for any other fandoms in the future. You can't become any better at this if you don't try and change from this, after all."

… and FH says "I was just hoping to have funsies." FH says, "Don't really know where I would learn from when all I do is AU stuff with friends."

Recall my wide range of roleplay experiences? I tell FH about this as well. I say there's nothing wrong with AU roleplay because I've definitely done quite a lot of it myself! But this is something important more people looking to improve on their roleplay skills should know: only roleplaying with your friends in a closed environment will cause stagnation and may potentially leave you with bad habits that could get you in trouble with other people who don't know you or what you do. "It's not really fun if only one of the people involved is enjoying themselves, is it?" I ask, expecting a response to that, at least.

FH instead chooses to latch onto two topics; friends and a singular mention of roleplay etiquette. FH does not respond to anything else I said, even though I said quite a lot not said here (this is so long, I'm sorry). "Most people I've [roleplayed] with are just doing whatever."

I type out a nice big paragraph about how we are all strangers here and cannot be expected to react the way a friend would, because one singular person's experiences are not the hard and fast rule for EVERYTHING else. Etiquette is always going to differ between friends and strangers, no?

FH chooses to expand on the friends thing. I didn't ask for that. I asked for clarification on if FH mostly roleplayed with friends. FH did not give me that answer. FH said nothing about the rest of my paragraph.

So I try again, and I double down on how FH appears to be treating an entirely new fandom filled with strangers exactly the way FH would treat "doing whatever" with friends. FH responds with words, but no answer.

And so here, I finally give up on attempting to help FH learn and grow from this experience. I finally give up on trying to wiggle any cohesive answers out of FH. I tell FH fine, you can go ahead and do whatever you want, but "I can't recommend trying again in the WuWa community. Even if a mod doesn't know about you, other people who interact with these blogs do. I got an anon about you. I thought I would give you some more time and see if anything changed."

This is, perhaps, the part that made me the most upset, and apparently it made FH the most upset here, too, because this message is littered with crying emojis? (It makes me feel old even though I'm younger than FH.) FH reiterates "I said I'm sorry" though does not say what for, because I am fairly sure FH does not understand what the root cause of the issue is, here. Not that I can be sure, because I've gotten a lot of nothing answers (which is, yes, another red flag I was ignoring up until this point). FH said "I was just trying to make it right" despite me saying multiple times FH can simply do that and even try again as long as FH changes the problem areas I… happened to have pointed out earlier.

And FH says "You guys are making it seem like I did crimes or something." (Followed by more emojis.)

Now, I'm not quite sure, because I might be a little more autistic than I think I am, so I might have missed something, but… so far, I have asked FH to change the problem behavior and try again later. I have pointed out the problem behavior. I have given FH options for changing and growing and learning if FH just so chooses to--

--and I snap a little, because I do have my limits, and this was… annoying, because I know this situation did not need to turn out like this. (I later found out another blog's mod had also attempted to talk to FH about the situation with just as much success, which does not surprise me. If that other blog's mod is reading this, I hope you're feeling better. It wasn't your fault you couldn't do anything.) Yes, you are allowed to have your feelings, feel your feelings, speak to people about your feelings, but outright denying or ignoring any help people are offering just because they don't align with what you want isn't healthy, helpful, or even really productive. Like that "stupid little walk for my stupid little mental health" or… whatever that TikTok(?) was. I really hope that makes sense. Sorry.

Here, I tell FH that "I don't think you actually understand what the problem was in the first place. You haven't said if you were going to try better to avoid this same thing. If you continue on like this you are GOING to run into another character and another mod who won't take this well and this same thing will happen all over again." Please note this is not to shade the mod who spoke up, but to point out that the very valid reaction was because the interaction was not going well because of FH. "You cannot make things right if you don't acknowledge WHAT the essence of the problem was."

I spent an hour talking to FH. Apologies again for the length. But please read back and tell me if I missed a place where FH said what the problem was (reminder, collectively: being pushy, stubborn, and unwilling to change something that was making another person uncomfortable).

"You didn't commit a crime, but that doesn't mean people can't be upset at you for not paying any attention to what they're trying to tell you."

FH snaps here because, and I quote, "This has all happened today alone from everyone. And I mean EVERYONE. It's all happening at once all day."

Another note: don't go harass FH. Clearly FH won't learn anything from the harassment. Save your energy.

FH continues to… well, rant, here. I won't write it all out. FH says "I understand" to a lot of things, while also saying things like "I understand that I'm a bad role player[sic] and I don't know what I'm doing," and "I understand everyone is annoyed by me."

Here comes my experiences again. I have worked with a lot of different types of toxic people throughout my years, whether on the internet or in real life. There is good reason for me to believe that, though unintentional, FH was trying to emotionally manipulate us all into giving up and leaving FH be without saying anything else about the matter.

Mind, this is after FH made several public posts being greatly upset with how we were handling the situation, even though FH was undoubtedly the one to make it worse. After all, even though some of us tried to talk with FH, nobody managed to either calm FH down or de-escalate the situation. Multiple people were unable to calm the situation and FH down.

My final message was urging FH to take a break from Tumblr for a while for mental health reasons, because clearly something needed to be done. Sadly, unsurprisingly, I was, once again, outright ignored.

The final takeaway is that none of the mods involved should feel bad for what they did, or what they said, because this IS a genuinely frustrating situation, and FH wasn't making it any easier to try and help, understand, or calm anything down. FH may have even made your own situation worse, in which case I hope you're doing well, now. This situation did not have to be as bad as it was, but you did your best to navigate it.

"You're making me uncomfortable with what you're doing. Please don't do that."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'd like to try and change what I was doing, if that's okay? I won't do it again."

That was all that needed to happen, even if the initial post seemed terse or harsh. It was a simple, genuine (if frustrated) ask, accompanied with common, simple criticism.

Again, do not go bother FH if you know who this is referring to. This person will not learn from being harassed. Screenshots and/or transcripts of the conversation will be available to other involved parties through DMs. Anon asks about this might be ignored. Also, reminder that my first week of running a roleplay blog was the 18th to the 25th :)

[bending-sickle]

sometimes this book quotes people and doesn't say who they are, and it turns out they're someone and not, say, "monica, 29" who is exactly that and we don't need to know anything more.

but sometimes we really could use more than just the name, in the spirit of full-disclosure. because we need to know who we're taking advice from, or who vicky is advocating we take advice from.

for example:

"With clear communication, all of your relationships will change, not only with your partner, but with everyone else. You won't need to make assumptions because everything becomes so clear. This is what I want; this is what you want. If we communicate in this way, our world becomes impeccable. - Don Miguel Ruiz"

and who is Don Miguel Ruiz?

Miguel Ángel Ruiz Macías (born August 27, 1952), better known as Don Miguel Ruiz, is a Mexican author of Toltec spiritual and neoshamanistic texts. His work is best-received among members of the New Thought movement that focuses on ancient teachings as a means to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Ruiz is listed as one of the Watkins 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in 2018. [...] Don Miguel Ruiz was born in rural Mexico, the youngest of 13 children. He attended medical school, and became a surgeon.

and what, pray tell, is this "New Thought" movement? so glad you asked:

The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a new religious movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from a variety of origins [...]. The New Thought movement has been criticized as a "get-rich-quick scheme" as much of its literature contains esoteric advice to make money. Although the movement began with roots in feminism and socialism, it increasingly attached itself to far right and racist ideology, arguing that poverty was a sign of spiritual weakness, and that "for the sake of race improvement... poverty and suffering must not be alleviated by the state.

yeah so uh...not someone i would go to for advice. of any kind.

there is a lot of cult-adjacent endorsement in this book which...really doesn't jive with me. there's the suggestion that we join a neopagan religious group for the nookie and how polyamory is sanctioned by much of the world even in the hip and happening Salt Lake City (because mormons, and only fundamentalist ones at that).

and then there's this post saying "it was pointed out to me that one of the few people misha follows is a ~sex shaman~" who the post says is in the International School of Temple Arts. now, a rumor about the author's now ex-husband following some dude in a sex cult (because it's a sex cult) on twitter (am i checking whether misha indeed follows some dude from this sex cult on twitter? no. because limits, i has them.) isn't damning (well, for the book) but it gives a certain little patina considering both the author and their spouse were involved in - what was it? "grueling personal research". i mean, sure, said cult doesn't show up in the book, but then again, see how the new thought movement doesn't explicitly, either?

oh and i'm not kidding about it being a sex cult:

The International School of Temple Arts (ISTA) is an organization which describes itself as promoting sexual healing and healthy attitudes towards sex. ISTA is a modern mystery religion, schooling participants in the spiritual aspects of sex.

and

Journalist Anke Richter stated to the Byron Shire Echo that "There was a covert harem culture at ISTA. Male pioneers surrounded themselves with young female lovers, often from their trainings, who were then accelerated to apprentices and facilitators". Some senior members of the organisation have been accused of performing sex acts on meeting participants without consent or pressuring them to consent to sex acts. One woman said that she had been raped by a teacher after he drugged her with MDMA. In 2021 the organisation said that they had implemented a policy of not allowing Temple Training teachers to have sex with participants.

so yeah. the skeevies, i got 'em.

- Chapter 4, The Threesome Handbook: A Practical Guide to Sleeping with Three (2007) by Victoria (Vicki) Vantoch  

[thesimplyluxuriouslife]

353: A Stress-Reducing Year-Round Schedule for House Cleaning and Maintenance for a Small Household

A tidy sanctuary creates mental space to find calm more readily.

Upon walking into my home, Le Papillon, knowing and then witnessing that it has been cleaned, tidied and unnecessary items have been removed, whether that be emptying the recycling basket in the boot & basket room (aka mudroom), countertops are cleared of extraneous items, and the flowers are fresh, I breathe some of the deepest breaths I ever take during my days.

Distractions to the mind come into our lives in a variety of ways (I share and discuss 11 forms of distraction here), and one such way is clutter of items in our homes, items without a home, too many items, dusty, dirty, disorganized spaces, counters, windows, fabrics, floors, etc. No doubt, I am not sharing anything you don't already know. But how do we tend to our homes and still have time and energy to live the lives we want to live?

I will admit to being nearly totally in alignment with Simone Beauvoir's train of thinking when it comes to house cleaning, “Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day.” And if there was a magic wand to wave whenever the house needed its regular clean and tidy, I would wave it without hesitation regularly and often. I recognize that some may find calm in the practice of cleaning, and that is fine; however, what would you do if your house was perpetually clean? Think of all the time and energy you would have remaining to do something constructive, explore a curiosity, read a book, rest your eyes after a long, grueling, yet productive week, spend more time with those you love, spend more time in your own company getting to know yourself better, take a longer walk with the pups, snuggle with your cat who is seeking your company after having been at the office all day.

I share the possibilities of what we might choose to do with more time, regular time consistently available, to point out that while cleaning and caring for our homes is a necessity, there are many different approaches to doing so well to gain the benefits of such a space that is our sanctuary. Apart from hiring a regular cleaning service which I have done in the past and may do again in the future, even if they come every other week, or weekly, we still can care for our homes thoughtfully as well as simply in order to enjoy all of the time we find ourselves in our abode.

One of the chapters in my second book, Living The Simply Luxurious Life: Making Your Everydays Extraordinary and Discovering Your Best Self, goes in to great detail about Living Small, chapter 13, and one such reasons is the reality that the smaller the space we call home, the less we have to clean. However, just because we may live, choosing to or not, in a small home doesn't mean the home can't be luxurious. In decoration, in organization, in consideration for everything, we can live luxuriously in a small home, and the beauty is, we have an advantage, we have less to clean, less to furnish, less to organize, now we just have to figure out how to do so wisely and with great savvy.

Back in 2011 I shared a brief post detailing what to clean and how often throughout the year in our homes, pairing with the post a free printable PDF of this cleaning schedule, but it was brief and that was more than 10 years ago, so with the prompting from a TSLL reader recently who shares her home with her husband and pets, sans children (similar to myself, sans the husband), I wanted to update and share with you how to clean and maintain your home throughout the year so that when Spring does roll around you don't feel overwhelmed by the 'spring cleaning' fever that often arises. And I completely get it. It feels good to freshen up the entire house, but I don't have the time and energy to do so all in one swoop once a year. Rather, what makes sense to me is a steady, smart approach both in how and what I clean and maintain to avoid large repair bills due to lack of attention.

Let's take a look at the list, and I will provide again, but this time the updated version of the free printable PDF schedule at the end of today's post/episode.

1.Begin with a home and its contents that you actually use and need

In other words, this is a one off, not a regular practice, but something to keep in the back of your mind after you tend to it when considering bringing in new items to the home. Ask yourself the following question:

“The stuff you own has to help you create the life you want. And if it doesn’t, why is it in your home?” –Peter Walsh

As I look around my own home, small in square footage but large to the eye with its high ceilings and multiple south-facing windows letting in oodles of light, I will tend to this question room by room throughout the year. Honestly, nothing is on a schedule now when it comes to this permanent editing as I have edited quite a bit over the past four years with my move to my home and with the construction over the past three years. For example, my kitchen cupboards and drawers received a thorough edit during the kitchen remodel when everything was removed and stored in my guest bedroom. Nothing says, reduce and eliminate the unnecessary when you have no more floor space in your guest bedroom to put anything. Do I really need that [insert item that I have never used, not once, ever]? Below is a list of space, collections and items to seriously look at and judiciously edit:

Your bookshelves/library — Keep only the books that yep, brought you joy, but also that are sound reference books, collector items, and books you want to have on hand for any reason - to share, to recall a particular detail, but don't keep books just to have more books. They bring more weight, take up more space, collect dust and reflect you inaccurately should anyone scan your book collection.

Your linen closet(s) — bedding, dining, bathroom, cleaning rags, entertaining, blankets, etc.

Kitchen cupboards and drawers — as you go through this process, especially in the kitchen, keep a notepad with you, listing any items you know you need more of because one or two is not enough as they tend to be in the dishwasher or utilized when you need to use them again, or any item you simply need. Be stringent with yourself about letting go of items that just take up space, don't do an effective job and need to be let go. It will make finding what you need when you need it far easier and make cooking in the kitchen more enjoyable.

Any drawer or cupboard where you store anything — in other words, know what is in your cupboards and don't use them to store things you never use. It is okay to have an empty cupboard. Say that again, and don't be tempted by the need to fill it.

Clothing and coat closets —The seasonal wardrobe assessment is a great idea and goes more quickly each time as you get to know and love what you have in your closet. The coat (and I should probably add the outerwear accoutrement drawers/bins/shelves) closet will need to be cleaned and edited less frequently, but make sure you know what you have, have what you need and donate the rest.

Épicerie/Pantry —Listen to/Read episode #109 — the 34 Must-Have Items for Your Home Épicerie, then read this post - 9 Ways to Organize Your Kitchen, Improve Your Health and Help Out the Planet

Tea/Coffee Cupboard —In episode #7 of Season 3 of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen cooking show I share in the video a peek into my tea cupboard and how I organize it.

Candle Cupboard/Closet — The suggested idea of designating an entire closet/cupboard to candles was the Petit Plaisir of episode #280. Assess what candles you have, what candles have never been used and why, donating those you will never use, and making a plan to shop and welcome in the ones you love when/if they go on sale, otherwise purchasing when it best fits your budget and often purchasing more than one to stock up.

Bathroom drawers/cupboards/medicine cabinets — In your primary bathroom and any guest or powder rooms, be diligent and toss whatever is not used, has expired, etc.. As well, make a note of what you always need, what you are out of, would like to add to your toiletries to enhance your daily skincare and body care rituals and routines.

Your furniture (chairs, rugs, tables, beds, dressers, desks, mirrors, shelves, lamps, etc. - large and small) — let yourself dream and be very honest with yourself. Where do you feel most at peace, comfortable, cozy, relaxed, productive, etc.. Based on what the function of the room is, do you feel what you desire to have created with your furnishings? Admittedly, once you have your list of what you need but don't have yet, it may take time. Have the patience because once you know how you want to live and feel in your home, the waiting is easier until you find and/or save up for what you know will fit perfectly in that particular space. Be a bit ruthless in letting go of items that don't serve a helpful or comfortable purpose and vow yourself to not just purchase filler items - an ill-made side table. Get creative with what you have to hold space until you have the ability to welcome into your home what you have on your list.

Explore more specific décor posts here for customizing your home.

Now that you have clarity that you either have what you need, or know what you need and have let go of the rest, you have let go of some stress, alleviated some unwanted burdens on your ability to relax when you arrive home and are ready to more swiftly and intentionally clean your home regularly without it becoming overwhelming, and maybe even a bit enjoyable. ☺️

2. Daily simple habits that reduce the amount of weekly and monthly cleaning

When we are at the point of burn-out even the simplest task of picking up after ourselves can be taxing. I can remember more nights than I want to admit while I was both teaching and blogging that I was too tired to entirely pick up the kitchen after cooking dinner before I went to bed. I literally needed more energy and going to bed was a necessity over cleaning the kitchen. Don't worry, I would without fail, clean the kitchen in the morning, but that was a task that didn't help to begin the day well. Stepping into a clean kitchen, a clean home each morning is a wonderful way to start the day and I knew that, but I did not have the energy to make it my regular practice on certain days of the work week. All of this built up to show me that I needed to make a change, so I share all of that with you to acknowledge, you may have an extremely busy schedule, so much so you cannot tend to these tasks listed below each day, but when you do make the necessary breathing room in your life to tend to these habits daily, it has a beautiful ripple effect of reducing stress, increasing clarity and giving you the ability to make better, more constructive decisions so that you never find yourself in such a schedule again.

Okay, so what are the daily habits? In order of the day's events:

Clear the bedside table(s) of anything such as water glasses, opened books (close and restack neatly), etc., so it is neatly organized when you return to bed in the evening.

Make the bed

Empty the dishwasher (if you ran it at night)

Clear the table after breakfast (and after any meal), placing dishes in the dishwasher, not just in the sink. Run the dishwasher when full, or nearly full but on an eco-saver wash.

Wipe the kitchen countertops after each use of the kitchen.

Empty the trash when it is full.

Empty any recycling bins when they are full to their exterior destination for pick-up on their scheduled day.

Upon receiving/picking up the mail, immediately recycle any flyers/mailers/magazines you don't intend to read/use; open all letters and recycle the envelope and any contents you don't need.

Place all mail you need to address in a designated basket or holder in the main room where you look at your mail. I do this in my Boot & Basket room and have a basket on the wall that is used for just this case (tour the room here). When it is time to pay bills or tend to business, I take the basket into the office.

Place your keys in the same spot every time you walk over the threshold of your home from outside.

Have hooks on the wall as necessary and/or enough hangers or bins in the coat closet/mudroom for your outerwear, dog leashes, scarves, umbrellas. Immediately deposit the items in their designated spot when you return home.

Have a designated basket/bin for your reusable grocery totes, preferably near the kitchen and/or near the door you exit when you head to the market/grocery so that you don't forget them or lose them.

Fold up blankets in the living room, snug, reading nook upon leaving the space.

Resituate/Plump the pillows on any chair or sofa you sat in upon leaving the room.

Clean as you cook: in between steps, not just after the meal is completely done.

Return tea trays or food trays back to the kitchen once you have finished relaxing. Don't leave it to be picked up later.

Vacuum as necessary throughout the week. I have a Dyson wireless stick vacuum which makes it super simple to grab, swoop across the floor and pick up any dirt or dust the pups may have brought in from a walk, pick up crumbs from the dinner I just made and with ease place the vacuum back in the closet. Once I purchased this vacuum (2019) I have come to enjoy cleaning a bit more because there is no tedious cord, no bending over, light-weight and dare I say, it almost feels magical how easy it is to tidy up. This keeps the house clean throughout the week and lets us live our lives as well. Here is a link to the one I have.

If you work from home, tidy up your desk top/office at the end of each workday, prepared for a clean slate the next day. Make sure to have a presentable garbage bin (small) in your office. I use one from The Citizenry, and while my style isn't no longer available, they still make many small baskets that are perfect for a waste basket.

10 Ways to Make Your Office Desk Space Efficient and Inspiring

3. Choose one day during the week, an afternoon or morning (early or late), that you can designate 1-2 hours to clean

Now, again, I am not someone who enjoys cleaning, and when I used to write this task in my planner, I sighed a bit because I would have rather been doing something else, prior to retiring from teaching, it would have been just having more time to relax at my home, now it is time to create, to explore, to be with my pups without a vacuum or a cleaning rag/mop in my hand. However, #3 on this list is a be a misnomer because you don't have to do all of the same cleaning tasks each day of the week, rather you are going to alternate a few. Let me explain.

It was an aha moment for me the first time I hired a cleaning service to regularly clean my house: they came every other week. And I thought to myself, how can I possibly wait two weeks to have my house cleaned? After all, for years I had attentively cleaned my house each Friday after work, no matter what I was up to later the evening or how long my week had been. Well, what I discovered was that if you clean it well every other week AND tend to the daily habits shared above, your house will be just fine, and you will be less stressed and have more free time.

What to do each week (every other week tasks designated as such):

Vacuum everything - the floors, hardwoods, carpets, rugs, upholstered furniture, pillows, window trims, etc.

Clean the stovetop (aka the hob). Get some good dish soap and water, some stainless steel cleaner if necessary (I use EZBrite as it is environmentally friendly)

Wipe down the fronts of the dishwasher, refrigerator (use EZBrite for these as well if they are stainless steel), cupboard fronts, and around the handles as they tend to get the most dirty from being touched frequently.

Every other week: Wipe down doors, near the handles to remove prints, etc.

Every other week: Dust (I used to do this each week. It is unnecessary.)

Every other week: Mop all floors. I used to do this each week, but no longer do. If it was a particularly dirty week, I will mop, but so long as I vacuum regularly, remove my shoes and wash the paws of my pups when we return from a dust-filled/mud-filled walk, the floors stay presentable until the following week.

Welcome fresh flowers into the house - between 1-3 small bouquets placed in the living room, bedroom, dining room, foyer or office, I either pick them up at Trader Joe's or source them from my own garden during the warmer months, sometimes picking one up at the farmer's market.

Clean/wash bed linens. Air dry the sheets to ensure they last longer, especially linen sheets - NEVER put them in the machine dryer as it is too harsh of heat.

Wash any regularly used towels - bathroom and kitchen.

Clean bathrooms that receive regular use, this can be done every other week depending upon how heavily the bathroom is used. For bathrooms used occasionally, monthly is fine.

Clean mirrors and windows/glass doors, removing fingerprints as necessary.

Go through the refrigerator, assessing prior to heading out for your weekly grocery outing.

Wash your dog/cat food dishes.

If you have a microwave (I do not), clean inside and the front window/door.

Clean switch plates for regularly touched light switches.

4. Quarterly/every 3 months/Seasonally

Many of the items on this list will come from tasks shared in #3 that don't need to be done as often depending upon how you live, or need to be done more frequently that are listed below in #5.

Thoroughly clean all trash canisters/recycling bins

Dust lamps, shelves, any place that can collect dust that you can't reach easily, or isn't seen or used regularly.

Dust computer screens - this may be done more frequently, but at least every three months.

Launder all blankets used in the living room or in snugs/reading nooks.

Clean/dust/wipe down items in trays and vignettes on top of console tables, dressers, coffee tables, etc..

Store seasonal décor in a clearly labeled box or bin and place where it doesn't distract and is out of the way (garage, attic, storage space).

5. Twice a Year, during a day or couple of days that you have energy, so ideally after a day you have been able to rest

One time of year I tend to many annual or semi-annual tasks is during the week between the years, that final week of the year when I am able to have time to myself and just rest, then be energized to tidy up which always feels good upon going into a new year. Here's the list:

Clean all windows – inside & out.

Flip the mattress

*Clean and reorganize the pantry, this happens at least once a year, sometimes twice. As I become more clear about what I need and organized to refill when I run out as it happens, I have found tending to this once a year is enough.

Thoroughly clean the refrigerator - remove the drawers, the lining on any side shelves, and clean, clean, clean. If you have been assessing your fridge's contents each week, this won't be a difficult task and should only take about 30 minutes.

Clean oven thoroughly

Launder pillows - I cover my pillows with liners (aka pillow protectors) and then place the pillowcase over the top of those. This helps to protect the pillow itself.

*Wipe baseboards and moldings - this can also be done once a year depending upon the work you have had done in your home, how often you leave your windows open, etc..

Clean the kitchen range hood.

Clean the filter in your dishwasher.

Clean any bird feeders (this can be done more often if you have an active bird café).

Clean under and around any furniture that isn't regularly vacuumed or moved.

Clean the garage thoroughly, editing as you go.

Have the sprinkler system (if you use one), turned on in the spring and winterized in the fall.

Cover/Remove vent covers - for winterizing and then come spring remove and store.

Exterior hoses, watering cans, non-frost proof pots in the garden - drain all water and store.

Replace the water filter in your refrigerator or other water dispensing device (filter dependent).

Clean gutters - this may need to be done only yearly depending upon the amount of debris that potentially can fall into your gutters. I tend to do this in the spring and the fall.

~Nelle was my helper cleaning the interior of my stove recently. Learn more about why I chose Le Cornue for my stove here.~

6. Yearly as the time is right on the calendar/season for each task and your schedule

The yearly tasks will be dependent upon your home, climate, and other variables, but whenever you tend to what you need to, choose a time that works with your schedule, budget and the best time of year to tend to this task, if it requires, for example, you to be outside.

Service HVAC - this will prevent any surprises during the winter or the summer when you want to be able to trust your heat source or cooling source is able to work properly.

Clean your fireplace if you have a traditional wood-burning fireplace.

Deep clean any carpet and rugs, either done by a professional or on your own.

Have any curtains or hanging fabric cleaned.

Clean upholstered furniture (I sometimes do this twice a year depending on how heavily used each particular piece, and I do it myself with an all-natural cleaning product the cleaning company that used to clean my house recommended - Nurturals.)

Clean around dryer vents and any vents in your home (above your stove, for example), where they leave the house on the exterior as well.

Clean porches/balconies deeply, typically I do this in March just before I place my furniture back outside after being stored in the garage.

Test and/replace smoke alarm batteries - write the date on the battery when you insert a new battery so you know how long it has been in use. This will help you decide if you should replace it as no one wants to be woken up in the middle of the night by a dead battery.

Optional and dependent upon the city ordinances: Have your water back flow tested by an approved business (this is something we have to do in Bend if we live in the city limits).

Phew! Okay, just looking back at this list may seem like a tremendous amount; however, when what you are taking care of are items and spaces in your home that bring you comfort, calm and repose, it becomes motivating to keep them at their best which is why I began with #1. When we remove what feels like a burden because we never use it, it simply takes up space or holds memories we don't want to revisit, then tidying up does become more of a chore. Once #1 has been taken care of, and you spread out all of these tasks over a year, it actually isn't that bad at all. In fact, while compared to the list I wrote in 2011, this list is quite extensive, due to the fact that I have a far smaller house (nearly half the size) than I did when I wrote the previously list, all that I do is far less and done far better which ensures that I can space out the time between tasks or when I do them more frequently, not have that much work to do.

Compiling this list occurred on a wonderfully rainy day here in Bend which gave me much time to reflect on a year's worth of responsibilities, but also, as I wrote each one, I was also expressing gratitude, thankful to have a home to care for well. Which leads me to my final idea for creating more enjoyment of the task of caring for our homes, why not name your home? I know it may sound silly at first, but when we humanize the space that gives us life, safety, security, comfort, nurtures love and care, it reminds us that is more than four walls and in a way, a part of our 'family' so to speak, and that too helps in providing an internal motivation to care for it well.

And with that to ponder, wishing you a wonderful start to a brand new season when spring arrives next Monday, the 20th. 😌

~Click here for the free PDF TSLL Cleaning & Home Maintenance Schedule~

~Learn more about the benefits of becoming a TOP Tier Member.

SIMILAR POSTS/EPISODES YOU MIGHT ENJOY

22 Ways to Start Fresh!: Spring Cleaning to Welcome Mother Nature's New Year, episode #200

10 Ideas for Reveling in the Spring Season, episode #325

Why Not . . . Take in All That Spring Has to Offer?

9 Ways to Organize Your Kitchen, Improve Your Health and Help Out the Planet

Petit Plaisir

—Palais des Thé's Herboriste (herbal/tisane) Thés

Tune in to the latest episode of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

[oldqueergrandma]

Grandma wants to talk about a dead name.

This is where all my darling grandchildren and fairy godchildren get to discover my given first name. I'm not sure I can tell the story without it.

Among the many things I was assigned at birth, were that I was female and given the name "Patricia".

And my family immediately shortened it to Tricia after my aunt, who was a mere 11 years older than I.

I went to school and my kindergarten teacher was... Not Good(tm). Particular to this story is that she tended to give kids nicknames arbitrarily, and decided that she would call me "Pat."

As an an undiagnosed nerudivergent child with "failure to assign dominance" ambidexterity, learning to write was a grueling task. I could already read, but my fine motor skills were just plain terrible.

So, upon realizing that the name "Pat" had only 3 letters to laboriously scratch into every single paper I touched at school, I went along with the change of my name. (I probably also did not want to attract the attention of this shitty teacher.)

And my folks went along with it.

Fast forward past my therapy, my mother yoinking me out of that shitty Catholic school with much fuss and bother, and get to High School. I wanted to switch my name back to Tricia. I'd already made some attempts, but no one was down with it. I figured that since it was a new school I might be able to pull it off.

Nope.

Not after people changing it to "Fat" to my face. Not even after SNL started the "It's Pat!" Sketches. (I graduated in 1992.) Not after my name had been mocked by bullies in every school I ever attended.

I could not get anyone to call me Tricia. Not the people who loved me, not my friends, not my teachers. I was ridiculed for it. My best friend had a different name that has many permutations as well, and she seemed to change it every year; and I always worked hard to call her what she wanted to be called.

But I was stuck being Pat.

I got my first "real" job my senior year. I filled out my paperwork as "Tricia," my name badge said "Tricia."

This was the first leverage I had to actually get this to work.

My father was a dick about it. "But your name is Pat."

"You named me Patricia, I want to be Tricia again."

For many, many years, he reverted to simply calling me, "Patricia." I called him "Father."

My grandmother passed away in 2022. She never stopped calling me Pat.

I dated someone after I graduated, that I had known in high school. It took him a few weeks to stop calling me "Pat".

And these aren't the only names I've used, or discarded, or had assigned to me. I have had childhood nicknames, and online personae, and blog names, and characters I've embodied; and some people only know me by those names.

Being called "Pat" is jarring. I probably will still hear it from time to time until I die. People who have met me after that point are genuinely shocked when I reveal my dead name.

And none of this struggle has anything to do with gender identity or presentation.

I do consider myself gender fluid. If I'm being really deliberate about presenting a gender other than female, I'll typically use a different name. But for that matter, when I'm the queen of the faeries, I'm Mab, so I'm accustomed to having a variety of names that I can put on like various colorful hats.

But I know, first hand, what it feels like to try to choose your identity, and get zero support. I know how jarring it is to hear a dead name. I know the bitter flavor of being identified as something that I have gone to great lengths to change.

My loves, my darlings, my weird and wonderful children; I see you. I believe in you. And I will call you by the name you have chosen, whether someone else gave you that name or not.

[twistedmusings]

Wake Up From Your Dream

A/N: I don't even know what I can SAY to this one except...I think I was so angry at not writing that I wrote smut outta SPITE? Can I be so angry with myself that I write Malleus smut to just get something out there? I guess I can. Anyways this ask certainly let my imagination fly q wq

Warnings: Non-con making its way into dub-con, manipulation, impregnating sex and Malleus realizing that family is really important.

You needed to find your way back to Night Raven College.

It has been so long since you’ve been back there, laughing and walking around as if there was no trouble in the world. Nevermind that you weren’t anywhere close to home and nevermind that your family was seeking you out.

As long as there was a possibility of you finding your way home, you had pretended that everything was going to be alright.

You were still a stranger to this world, you had no ties to this world and there would be no reason for you to stay once Crowley found your way back home. It was wonderful making friends with such a variety of people and watching them all grow in their own way. The way you knew you would grow from this experience as well.

Watching Ace and Deuce really come into themselves and their Unique Magic, watching the dorm leaders step into their positions of power and truly start to make a name for themselves that would help them out in their own version of the ‘real’ world. Riddle had gotten a wonderful position befitting of his family name, Leona was actually graduating, Azul was said to open a Monstro Lounge in the Coral Sea while Kalim had started investing time in his father’s trade without having Jamil help him. Even Idia was starting to take strides in his own field!

And you were proudest of Malleus. One simple conversation outside of Ramshackle had turned into a friendship you thought you would never forget. It was so wonderful to see him interact more with students, shyly following after you as you pushed him to talk more to others despite his position. That was what college was for, right? To experience new things and find your future--

You just didn’t think that Malleus would take it that far.

Was it because he was spoiled? No, even though he was born in a monarchy he still did his best to remain kind to others, especially his subjects. You were sure he was going to make a kind king in the future, even if you never got to see with your own two eyes.

You pull the hood over your head as you enter a bath house, the fae receiving you with a curious look and a smile as you hand her 2000 madols.

“Will you be booking a room tonight as well?”

“Just a simple shower and bath, that is all.”

If you were to make a guess, you were in the borders of the Valley of Thorns, a more rural area compared to the now rather modernized capital. You had stolen enough money to get you by for a few trips and you knew that places like these were the best at getting you directions. It had been a bit of a grueling trip, testing your knowledge of the fae language as well as avoiding questions about who you were and why you so desperately needed to make your way back to such a prestigious college. In a sense, you kept it minimal.

You needed to get back home.

“It’s fine. You’re fine. It’s fine. You’re fine.”

The mantra you kept repeating to yourself was whispered under your breath as you removed your articles of clothing slowly, still looking around to see if anybody had followed you in. But this is what was raising all of the hairs on your body, wasn’t it? This constant vigilance that didn’t let you sleep at night. You needed to relax, no one else would come this far.

You feel the fatigue melt as several days of walking are washed right off your body, a smile slowly creeping up on your face as you wash the dirt and oil from your hair.

It would be fine.

You would make it to Night Raven College and sneak into the Hall of Mirrors before wishing yourself back home. Crowley had said that they had pinned down the world you lived in and only after you make your wish would the connection be broken. This most likely meant that the connection was still intact since you didn’t even get a chance to to look at the mirror before you were whisked away.

Everything was going to work itself out, that’s the most you could promise yourself.

The bath is heavenly, the temperate water cooling you down from the hot shower as you look around.

There were no other patrons.

“Good.”

You lean back and press your head against a soft pillow of towels, enjoying the silence as you feel your worries soften while thinking back to what you would do when you were back home. It had been so long since you’ve seen some of your friends, your family was probably worried sick and you still had your own plans you wanted to get through.

If you had time, you could maybe drop by to see how your first year friends were doing?

Or were they in their third year now?

Wouldn’t that be a sight to see?

Your eyes close as you let yourself relax entirely, almost succumbing to sleep.

Only for a hand to grab your throat, the other covering your eyes as you hear a familiar chuckle that tenses your body up and breaks your heart.

“I am afraid we will have to postpone this shower.”

Tears well up in the corner of your eyes as you hear the sound of footsteps into the area, most likely the royal guard.

“Lilia--”

“You’d do well to stay put lest they chase after you.”

The hands covering your eyes pull back as you see a teasing smile looking down pitifully at your fresh set of tears.

“It has taken far too long to find you, Your Majesty.”

-----

“HUMAN!”

“[Y/N]-san!”

Lilia smiles as he leads you by the hand, the royal guard following close behind as Sebek and Silver join him.

“He might have already woken up, Father.”

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? DO YOU KNOW WHAT MY YOUNG MASTER HAS GONE THROUGH?”

“Sebek.” Lilia looks at his charge, “Quiet. Malleus might still be sleeping.”

Silver takes one peek at you, trying to meet your gaze but pulling away when he sees that the veil Lilia had put on you is blocking anybody’s stares from seeing your face. In fact, the second in command had put you in one of the traditional outfits for fae royalty, complete with a light veil that flowed down from the silver circlet placed on your head.

“Excellent.”

Lilia turns his attention to you and laughs.

“He has been absolutely miserable since you left. It was quite a surprise to all of us when you managed to leave the palace walls. None of us thought that you had really done it, especially him, and it really was a hassle to search the palace up and down to see just where our little human had run off to.”

His voice drops to a whisper as he brings your hand up to his lips.

“I’ll make sure to punish you for that later.”

The older fae leads you along as you finally reach your destination, smiling as he knocks on large wooden doors while pushing you slightly to stand in front of everybody.

An answer he was going to get by the end of the night.

“Malleus.”

No answer. He tests the doors and nods when he sees they are unlocked, opening them as he leads you to step inside so that you both could see the figure drenched in moonlight, looking out the window as if awaiting for an answer.

Lilia waits for his other charge to say anything but shrugs as he looks at you with a smile and a bow.

“We are glad to have you back, Your Majesty.”

The door closes with a loud click as you turn your eyes to look up at the imposing figure, your nails digging into your fingertips enough to draw blood as you try to hold back from screaming and shouting at him to stop acting like such a child. Yet you do not wish to anger him, at least to save yourself from any sort of harsher punishment.

So instead you make your way over to the bed--

Only for the fae to turn around, grab your wrist and slam your back into the rough stone wall. Bright green eyes glare down at you as you wince in pain, still looking away from him but letting out a yelp when Malleus’s fingers grab your chin and force you to look at him in the eye.

“Why did you run?”

He really had no idea, did he?

“Because I don’t belong here--”

Malleus tightens his hold on your wrist.

“We’ve discussed this before, child of man, you belong here just like anybody else, you are my Queen--”

“Malleus wake UP!”

You push against his hold but the fae’s hold gets tighter, most likely leaving a mark. But that wouldn’t deter you, not anymore, you were going to tell him.

“I’m not from this world! Coming to Twisted Wonderland was just an accident! A stupid, stupid accident that no one bothered to fix! And just when we were close to making it right you---you--!”

Shit, you’re crying again.

“I have people waiting for me. Just like you had a family waiting for you. I came to the Valley of Thorns thinking that I was supporting you during your coronation but you just--made a decision entirely by yourself and announced me as yours! Why did you lie to me? To them?!”

Malleus’s hold softens as you finally let your tears flow freely, wishing to wipe them away only due to how weak they were making you look.

“...did you not say you loved me?”

“I did! I did but--Malleus after what you did I can’t--”

He lets go of your wrist only to cup your face as he leans down to press his lips on your cheek, his tongue licking up the warm tears as you grab hold of his wrists to try and push him away.

“Do you miss your family?”

You nod as he moves to kiss the corner of your eyes.

“More than anything…”

The dragon fae hums, letting his lips stay where they were a few seconds longer before chuckling as he pulls you close.

“I see--I really have been cruel to you, haven’t I?”

Your heart nearly leaps out of your throat at his words, hands clutching at his robes as you quickly nod. Maybe this was it, maybe it had taken you breaking down to let him see reason?

Please. Please!

“...A family.”

Malleus’s words are like dripped honey as a thought formed in his head, the thought taking shape and form as his hands clutched you tighter.

“Then we’ll just need to make a family of our own…”

-----

Hands clutch at his sheets as Malleus takes in the shape under him.

How beautiful could you be? How complex? To him it was as if not a day had passed since you first met. What had been mere curiosity had delved into deep affection and blossomed into a love that Malleus would only read about in fairytales. The sort of books that led him to believe in soulmates, in happily ever after’s and the possibility of spending the rest of your life with the one you loved.

And yes, you weren’t a fae, but the power of his magic was grand enough to keep you tied to him for the rest of eternity.

His lips can’t help but seek out yours as he thinks about how he is the one who will decide when you die.

This love hadn’t started out like this. What he felt for you had been a bit more relaxed, a lot softer and dreamier. You had confessed to him after his Overblot incident and he had gladly accepted your feelings. He was still keen on finding you a way home and promised himself to not let any moment be wasted in thinking how you soon would be far away from him.

Every day was spent happily with you, the rest of the school year flying by as you both enjoyed the time you still had together.

But Malleus was still a dragon at heart, a fae that yearned and longed to take and take.

So when thoughts about you leaving started to make their way to the forefront of his mind, not even your constant love and affection could keep him from his instincts.

You would leave him to go back to your world. Go back to the normal and the familiar. As you walked your path, you would eventually find someone that enchanted you the way he had, all ending with you walking down a beautiful aisle to your now beloved.

A person that wasn’t...him.

As the days of his third year started to run to a close, his hold on you had become a lot tighter, his kisses a lot more possessive and in the end he had invited you to watch his coronation as he entered his fourth and final year.

With his announcement of making you his Queen.

“Malleus! Please I can’t--I’m not ready--!”

He let Lilia make up some story about you not returning to Night Raven, fooling Crowley into believing that you had found your future in the Valley of Thorns with him. The announcement of you taking up the role of Queen had been surprising but Malleus had woven the story in such a way that there had been talks of having it printed for others to read.

It was a wonderful ending to your love story, you ending up in his arms. But something was missing…

Malleus was glad that you had given him the answer.

Both of your knees were on either side of his waist, your hands clutching at whatever they could as his cock buried itself deep into your cunt. The veil was long forgotten as his robes and your own are thrown carelessly around the room while you wail and scream at being broken into by such a thick length. The small sight of blood on his cock made Malleus smile as he pushed in further, the tightness that was pushing him back slowly opening up for him as he watched you do your best to fit him inside.

It would be fine, you would be fine.

With a growl he finally bottoms out, two hands holding your hips and forcing you down to take all of him as the tip of his cock pressed right under your womb--

He shivers as you tighten up again, leaning down to lick up the trail of tears on your cheek before eating up your tiny whimpers with a hungry kiss.

“Here...right here is where our family will start.”

A large hand takes yours as Malleus puts it right over the small bulge on your stomach, your eyes growing wide as you realize just how deep inside he is. He kisses you again, not daring to break away as he lets a trail of saliva dangle from his lips to yours, the clear liquid disappearing into your mouth as your body relaxed and your eyes grew hazy.

“Do you love me, child of man?”

It was a simple question, but your brain seemed muddled from his kiss. Dragons tended to excrete a certain liquid as they got ready to mate, the experience painful even within his own species but being eased with the help of saliva, sweat or cum.

And with the way he was pressed against you, his sweat matted on your skin as he let more of his spit drip down his tongue and onto yours...surely the answer would come the more you two worked to start your family.

Malleus hardly gave you any time to recover as he started to move, his eyes entranced with the way he disappeared into you with each thrust. Your mind was still muddled but your body was already eagerly accepting him, your legs wrapping around him slowly before locking him in place as he repeated the question.

“Do you love me, child of man?”

You open your mouth but the only word that comes out is a plea for him to go faster.

Which Malleus gladly listens to.

It didn’t take long for him to start pounding into you at a brutal pace, every thrust having the tip of his cock slamming against your womb as your toes curled from the pleasure of taking him so deep. His cock disappeared inside your tiny cunt, shaft now coated not just with blood but with your arousal as well. The bed creaked in protest while the sounds of the bed frame hitting the wall helped him keep time, Malleus leaning back down to kiss you again as your lips this time part eagerly and sucked on his tongue while your hands clutched his shoulders and horns.

Cries turned into happy moans, your sad and abandoned look now one of pure ecstasy as your pussy flutters and tightens around him, pushing him to go harder and harder so he could---!

“[Y/N]--!”

Your legs close tighter around him as you bury your face on the crook of his neck, your orgasm being ripped from you unexpectedly as Malleus halted his movements with a stiff body. He drops his head on your shoulder as your legs keep him in place.

“Malleus...ah--!”

He groans as he paints the inside of your walls white, the warmth of his cum filling your womb to the point that what you hadn’t taken merely dripped out onto the now stained sheets. Malleus lifts his head to look down at you, smiling as he sees your eyes staring up at him eagerly despite how much you had protested before.

“A family…”

You smile as Malleus nods, your hands going all the way to your stomach as you feel the warmth start to twist your brain even more.

“A family with you…how wonderful…”

Arms wrap around him as Malleus kisses a trail from your shoulder to your lips. He just needed to ask you one last time.

“Do you love me, child of man?”

With a hum, your answer is whispered into his ear as Malleus closes his eyes as he realizes that this is where his happily ever after would finally start.

“I love you Malleus, more than anything else.”

[not-huwy]

Dive With You

Park Jinyoung x Reader

Summary: Jinyoung is your college classmate and he writes a song for you.

Word Count: 1.5k

Genre: Fluff (two fools inlove)

-

Jinyoung loves Thursdays.

He’s not thrilled with the 4 hour lecture in pathophysiology, but he’s always looking forward to seeing you. He’s at his usual seat, early and eyes occasionally glancing to the door.

A few more minutes of fidgeting, you finally walk in and he notices how his heart loses it’s steady rhythm. Creeping warmth rises to his neck and cheeks. There you are, stunning as ever.

You’re blinding, like an angel descending to bless everyone with your presence.

He watches you tuck your ashen strands behind your ear. Your eyes roam the almost empty room before it settles on him. You smile at the sight of him and he thinks his heart is going to explode in his chest soon.

“Hey Jinyoung,” You greeted.

“Hey,” He says. “You look nice.”

You look down, suddenly conscious of your outfit. You wore a white, long sleeved square-neck cropped blouse with your favorite high rise jeans. You didn’t really think much when you put it on this morning so you couldn’t help feeling glad for his compliment.

At the start of the semester the teacher provisioned seats for everyone alphabetically by surname. You thought it was ridiculous, and made you feel like you were in back high school. But over time, you couldn’t be more thankful for this arrangement because you get to sit behind Park Jinyoung, who is honestly the most gorgeous guy you’ve ever laid your eyes on.

You perch forward, and he naturally turns his chair to face you.

Squinting playfully, you search for something in his gaze. “You seem more handsome today, did you get a haircut?”

Jinyoung clears his throat and looks away, “Er… no, but thank you.”

You don’t let it show but you love how his cheeks slightly turn pink.

You don’t know what came over you when you reached over to gently fix a stray lock of his bangs, your fingers brushing against his skin. You feel a fleeting bolt of shock running through your spine and jerk your hand back.

Jinyoung looks surprised for a short second before his eyes slightly narrow and a genuine smile graces his beautiful face. Sometimes, you just want to let go of your self-control, grab his face and kiss him senseless.

“Oh, I finished reading that book I borrowed.” You shoo tempting thoughts away and veered toward a safer topic.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, but the lady protagonist frustrates me. How can she be so dumb sometimes?”

Jinyoung goes on a little rant about the characters of the book. Your love for reading was what made you guys friends. Honestly, you could listen to him eagerly discuss about the novels he’d lent you for forever.

The conversation begins to fade as the professor walked in. Jinyoung flashes a grin before swiveling his chair to the front of the room.

You sigh and rest your chin against your palm, staring at the back of his head hopelessly.

-

After 2 hours of grueling info-dump, the professor gives everyone a break for half an hour. Most students bring snacks, but you weren’t in the mood to stop by the store this morning to get anything.

“You didn’t bring anything?” Jinyoung turns to you again, now with a danish between his teeth.

You shrugged and nod at Jaebeom — Jinyoung’s best friend — when you see him approaching your way. He sprawls comfortably on the seat next to you.

“Hey, lovebirds.”

Jinyoung glares at him, “Did you bring food?”

“Why, yes—” Jaebeom haughtily shows the contents of the crumpled paper bag. You couldn’t help but laugh, seeing at least 5 variety of muffins inside.

Jinyoung peers from his seat and quickly grabs one, despite his best friend’s very loud disapproval.

“What the hell!” Jaebeom’s eyes widen, he kicks Jinyoung’s chair with his outstretched leg petulantly.

“Share your food, Y’N didn’t bring any.” Jinyoung widens his eyes as well and shows him a tight-lipped smile.

“Whatever.”

“Thanks for the muffin, JB.”

“Happy to share.” And Jaebeom sounds like he kind of means it.

The rest of the time was spent happily chatting with the two friends. With Jaebeom occasionally looking annoyed when Jinyoung trails off, distracted — mostly from sneaking a glance at you when you laugh or just smile.

“Jinyoung, I’m sick of this,”

“Shut up.”

Jaebeom ignores him and you freeze at his resolute gaze. “Are you coming to see us perform?”

You nod, unsure of where this is going. The university is having a summer festival this coming weekend, and Jinyoung has mentioned that their band was going to perform weeks ago.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Hyung,”

Jaebeom scoffs, a mischievous glint forming in his eyes, “Did you know Jinyoung wrote the song we’re going to perform?”

This caught your interest, you knew Jaebeom composes songs, but not Jinyoung so you curiously ask about it.

“Can I hear it?”

“I have a video from our band’s last rehearsal right here,”

Jinyoung finally snaps out of his reverie and all but lunges at Jaebeom, “Okay, stop!“

“It’s for a girl he really lik—”

“I’ll kill you!”

Dumbfounded, you and the rest of the class watch them squabble over Jaebeom’s ‘big mouth’ and Jinyoung’s ‘sickening pining’ until your professor breaks them up for acting like children.

“Now, if you’re all done gawking, turn your attention to page 174,” Resounding groans echoes throughout the lecture hall, and everyone goes back to their respective seats for two more hours of boring lessons.

You can feel Jinyoung’s aura turn somewhat somber and you resist the urge to console him, lest he becomes more pissed off.

You stay quiet for the rest of the time and diligently take your notes, feeling an unfamiliar and odd feeling in your chest.

-

Spending your entire Friday overthinking about what Jaebeom said was making you restless. It was already ten p.m., when you opened kakaotalk, typing and deleting a message for Jinyoung.

You shrieked, almost throwing your phone when he texted first.

You reply an “Okay 👍” and tried to go about your night. Not thinking about Jinyoung and his song at all.

-

Jinyoung still hasn’t forgiven Jaebeom for running his mouth to you, he follows the older guy’s movement with a piercing glare.

“Stop killing me with your eyes already, she’s here.”

The student volunteers were still setting up the band instruments, so Jinyoung peeks from the side of the stage and scans the crowd for your face.

You stood there motionless among the bustle, looking striking in a midnight blue dress and an oversized leather jacket.

“She’s here.” Jinyoung whispers to himself. And at that moment, you’re all he can see.

You arrive ten minutes before seven p.m. and will yourself to stand among the throng, hyperaware of every movement and sound.

The rumbling roar of applause startles you, they finally finish setting up and you see Jaebeom on the keyboard, he winks at you and mouths something.

You mouth a “What?” but he just shrugs and tips his head toward the center of the stage.

“Even though I know it’s stupid, I’m falling down,”

A light wind made the hair on your arms bristle as Jinyoung’s voice disrupts your thoughts, he’s singing, and the words from his mouth are beautiful, but most of all he’s looking at you the entire time. The spotlight glittered against his face and he’s moving around the stage, not breaking eye contact as he sings.

A sudden realization hit you, and all the moments shared with Jinyoung instantaneously came into focus: his intoxicating laugh, the crinkle of his eyes when he smiles, his enigmatic beauty, and his fascinating brilliance. He’s the guy you’re in love with, and you’re aware he’s the guy every girl is in love with right now.

In awe, you let the melody and warmth of his song embrace you.

You maneuver through the crowd as the song finishes and the next band is on the stage. You don’t stop until you see him, talking to his bandmate. He looks so perfect, his brown eyes bright with excitement and his hair so perfectly rumpled by the summer breeze.

“Jinyoung,” You call out, taking advantage of your unexpected bravery. You stare at his handsome face, trying to find the right words to say.

His bandmate moves away and you carefully step closer, he’s much taller than you and you aren’t used to craning your neck to look at him.

“I’m glad you came. You saw us perform, right?”

Yeah right, you’ve been staring at me the whole time.

“So, who’s the song for?”

“Curious?”

You groaned, frustrated and incredibly shy, your prior courage slipping away.

“It’s for you.”

“Me—”

“Yes, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’ve been in love with you for two years now.” He scratches the back of his neck and tries to avert his gaze. You’ve never seen his face so red before.

“Okay, good.”

“Good.”

He grabs you by the waist and you thread your fingers through his devastatingly messy, perfect hair. He kisses you like how you imagine him to. Your heart is fluttering and you get lost in the moment.

Jinyoung holds your face in his hands and sneaks in a few more kisses before you break apart, breathless and in pure bliss.

——

[thatmexisaurusrex]

If you still have drabble spots left, I'd love to see the prompt about driving people to appointments (I think it's 6). I just think it would be so precious!! Thanks in advance!!!

Awww, thank you @lovely-lady-of-fandoms for the magnificent prompt! I hope you enjoy the drabble 🥰

Captain 6 of 7: The Driving Captain

| 5 | Prompts | 7 |

"We've been driving around for hours, Bucky. Do you really know where this person is?" asked Sam, watching them pass by the same building that supposedly this Captain frequented.

Sam and Bucky were driving around Charlotte, North Carolina because they had heard a rumor that there was a Captain America there driving people around. Helping people get to the grocery store, to appointments. Driving around in some Cap Van.

Speaking of a Cap Van -

"Wait - I think I see it," said Sam, pointing the van.

It was a very well-done spray paint job, really. There was a retro-edge to it that made the art look like it came right from one of those 40s comics except it was Sam.

"Oh, I see it," said Bucky, pulling into the parking lot, parking the rental car as he watched the van stop into the drop-off zone.

Sam and Bucky walked away from their rental car as they saw a young person dressed in something Sam could only describe as streetwear Cap attire step out of the van and help a few old women out.

Sam smiled as he watched this Captain America walk the old women up to the front door, opening the door for the old women as they waved goodbye to the ladies.

"I'll be right outside once your appointments are finished," called this Captain America.

They turned, walking towards their van, but froze. Saw Sam and Bucky leaning on the Cap Van.

"Holy shit. Captain America and the White Wolf," said this Captain America, "Oh shit. Wait. Am I in trouble? I swear, it's just you help people all the time, and I thought - I don't know. I just got my license. Maybe I can help people too."

"You're not in trouble. You're providing a wonderful service," said Sam.

"I don't know. Some people don't have transportation. Public transportation doesn't always get people where they need to go and can be grueling or take too long. If I can do something to make someone's life easier? Why wouldn't I, you know?" said this Captain America, smiling proudly at their van, "So, I painted the cheapest van I could buy and got to work."

"Is there anything I could do to help with this?" asked Sam, wondering what would really help.

This was just one person. Doing this one small thing. An important thing, but it didn't look like the kid wanted to expand or anything.

This Captain America shrugged again.

"Maybe help with gas? Gas isn't cheap," said this Captain America, mulling their answer over, "Maybe some help with food and drinks too. I'd like to offer more variety, you know?"

Bucky nodded.

"Can do," said Bucky.

"But, seriously, is this really okay?" asked this Captain America, "I - I know I should have asked permission. Not a lot of people even know I do this, but it was wrong not to ask."

"Hey, no. I'm proud that someone who decided to help those who need transportation is using my name," said Sam, "And I'd love to go on one of your drives at some point if that's okay."

"Would that - I'd love that. Please do!" said this Captain America beaming, "You're my hero. Of course I'd love that."

Sam looked at the van. Looked at what this teen did with so little.

"No," said Sam, "I think you're my hero."

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This series is being made to celebrate the anniversary of TFATWS. It’s loosely inspired by The United States of Captain America miniseries. Click here to see the upcoming prompts I’ll be doing!

[costellos]

❥ ┋ ❝ nanami, itadori, fushiguro & the things that make them flustered!

@babyyuji said: for your valentines day event can i request blush with itadori, megumi, and nanami? thank you so much!

a/n: you sure can! thanks for the suggestion 🤍🤍

tw: none.

ask game:💌 15 valentine’s day questions (closed!)

disclaimer: I’m anime-only outside of the prequel, so apologies if my character interpretations aren’t accurate.

nanami kento.

Nanami gets flustered when you fix his blazer.

fashion and sorcery aren’t a good combination. it’s a shame really, because if you’re going to be stuck in a job that you hate, you can at least make a statement. and Nanami does try to make said statement. the Tokyo Stock Exchange has a very strict dress code. since he’s left it, he’s tried wearing things that make him feel as far apart from it as possible.

key word: try. again, fashion and sorcery aren’t a good combination. he still finds rips and tears in his clothes despite how careful he is.

hence, he has a good relationship with his tailor. she’s a grumpy old woman who knows she’s good at her work. but Nanami always tips her well, and that’s enough to keep her thoughts to herself (especially when she finds dried blood on his blazers’ lapels). although her work is affordable, even that piles up over time.

so before Nanami can bring his next set of blazers to her, you take it upon yourself to fix them. you’ve taken home economics. you know how to work a needle. so much so that when Nanami comes home and he sees that his favorite’s sleeve has been reattached to its shoulder, he asks when you brought it to Mrs. Fujimoto.

his face suddenly feels warm when you beam you did it yourself. all this work? for him? a small part of Nanami is annoyed you didn’t tell him sooner you could fix it, but... most of it is pride. pride that he has someone like you, that knows him so well, and cares that much to help him. ↳ “you didn’t have to go through all this effort to do this. but... thank you. I... I really appreciate it.”

itadori yuji.

Itadori gets flustered when you make him a playlist.

it’s cheesy. even he’d admit it. but he’s a sucker for cheesy antics, and this is just one of many. it’s not his fault that mixtapes are such a personal gift, made with nothing but love for the receiver. maybe it was from watching too many John Hughes movies during his training or maybe it’s just his being a romantic, but he’s always wanted one.

no he hasn’t thought about standing outside of your window with a stereo.

it’s something you’ve known for a while now. cassette tapes are a thing of the past and other than his laptop, Itadori would have no way of listening to a burned CD. so you opt for a Spotify playlist.

you fill it with a variety of songs. songs that remind you of him, songs that you’ve danced in the quad to, the song that played during your first kiss — all little moments shared with him, all the perfect summary of your relationship. of course, it being Itadori Yuji, there’s a handful of joke songs thrown in there, too. romance and humor mesh well with him. it’s a fact you’ve become very familiar with.

and Itadori just lights up the moment you show him the playlist from your phone. the cover photo is an ugly selfie you’ve taken together, with the title being something like “heat beats 2 play on repeat.” it’s something so stupid, but something that matches your relationship so perfectly. he’s unbelievably giddy. he honestly can’t believe that you remembered such a small thing he mentioned in passing. ↳ “you’re joking. all of this is for me? I’m... agh— this is perfect! ...wait, did you seriously put Chug Jug on here...?”

fushiguro megumi.

Megumi gets flustered when you stand too close to him.

he gets embarrassed far more easily than he’d like to admit. it doesn’t help that you have this peculiar habit of coming into his personal space. it’s not that he minds, it’s just something that you do frequently.

like when you’re studying together. you always bump shoulders with Megumi, peering over his work in a desperate attempt to see what he wrote for number 12. he always covers the answer and looks away, mumbling for you to do your own work. he’s thankful it’s just the two of you in the quad today. it’d be embarrassing if anyone could see how red his ears are.

there’s also when you go out to watch movies. every damn time you do it: you get settled in your seat, nestling yourself in the plush chair with a smile on your face. and when the movie starts, you always hook your arm with his. it’s customary for you to lean your head on his shoulder at the 30 minute mark. again, Megumi doesn’t mind. he’s just glad that you’re watching an action-packed thrill ride. the beating of the film’s percussion help deafen the beating of his own heart.

his favorite habit, though, is when you take the train home after missions. Gojo’s gotten into the habit of sending you both on grueling tasks. Megumi’s starting to think that these are really the missions his teacher is too lazy to take on himself. but he isn’t complaining. he loves it when you rest your head on his shoulder, eyes closed, breathing soft. he won’t wake you until it’s time to get off. besides, he doesn’t want you to see how much his hands are shaking.

you decide to ask him about it. you’re not stupid. you know how embarrassed he gets. does he mind, though? because you could always stop... ↳ “why would I ever want you to stop? all of these things are things unique to you. if you stopped, it wouldn’t be you.”

like this piece? here are similar works! 🌑 🌒 🌓

[systlin]

Hey plauntie! You probably won’t remember me, but I’m the anon who sent you an ask a while ago where I told you about how your blog helped me to finally embrace my love for fiber craft and enter myself into a trade school to hone that love, choosing to get an education for the first time in nearly a decade.

It’s been a while since then, and today I got an email saying that after a year of work and studying, and a month long, grueling application procedure, I’ve been accepted into one of the few apprenticeship positions at my school. I’ll be starting next year and learning under some of the best masters in my country.

And I wanted to thank you, plauntie, for playing a vital role in getting a depressed and apathetic person to care deeply about something again, to be enthusiastic about something, and to try one last time to make something out of enthusiasm. Your genuine excitement and stubborn persistence in perusing so many things in life helped a lost soul more than you know. So... thank you. You’re doing something great here. And know that I’m dedicating my next finished garment to you in spirit.

(PS: I’m pretty sure someone of the divine variety has started hanging around lately as well, and they have a distinctly pagan vibe about them. If it is who I think it is, I’m blaming you for that as well.)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is such wonderful news! How fantastic! I wish you nothing but the best and would love to see some of your creations in the future!

[forever-rogue]

I dunno if you’re still looking for request but uhhh I’d kill for some Boba content rn. Maybe him being soft and perhaps some smooches 👀

Okay, but sign me up for this 🥺 So I pictured a younger Boba for this, but y’all can imagine any Boba you want!

18+ only for a few mentions of sex.

Boba x Fem!Reader

»»————-　♡　————-««

Kisses with Boba came in several different varieties. All of them were as delicious as the other, and usually left you hungry for more, wanting all the touch and contact that you could get from the Mandalorian.

There were the rushed kisses.

The ones that came almost out of nowhere. Sometimes these came in the morning when he was leaving for whatever job he had to attend to you and you were still lingering in bed, not quite ready or willing to start your own day just yet. Usually he’d be up and dressed, going about as the ship as he made sure he had everything he would he needed. But then just before he was ready to dart out, he’d come back to you, just before slipping the helmet on, and press a soft kiss or two to your lips, murmuring something incomprehensible. Usually you were left pouting at him, sometimes it would work and he’d come back and give you a few more kisses, but other times all he could offer was a quick wave a soft sorry before he disappeared and promised to be back soon.

Sometimes it was a quick hello kiss as he came back with a quarry and had to work quickly to set them in carbonite before they tried to make a hasty escape. These were usually harsher, more needy, but you knew he’s make good on plenty more later.

There were the tired, needy kisses.

This often came at the end of a long, grueling day, or when he’d been gone for a short or extended period of time. You always hated when his work took him away from you, but you understand, and you’d never come between him and his work. There was a reason he was the best and most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy after all.

But even Boba had needs, and those needs usually started and ended with you. He’d never ask for your touch or your kisses, even if he wanted to; that wasn’t his style, and honestly, he never had to. You were able to read Boba like a book and often knew what he needed before he himself did.

It was nights when he’d come home late, head for the ‘fresher immediately as you sat up in bed and listened to the sounds of his return. You’d shuffle out of bed and join him, slipping inside the open door and stripping off your clothes before joining him under the hot water. He took solace in your touch as you helped to wash his tired, aching body and shampooing his hair. Once it was all done and the soap had been washed down the drain, you’d still find yourself under the water, bodies pressed tightly against each other as your mouths chased one another, lips only separating when you needed a moment of air. It wasn’t anything hasty or rushed, it was slow, and tender.

Your touch grounded him and he craved it when he needed a pull back to reality, especially after a particularly hard job. Your touch was the light and gentle, staving off the darkness and brutality of what he did on a daily basis. Sometimes he wondered how and why you put up with him, when he felt anything but worthy of your love. But you worked to remind him as much as you can, with your words, your actions, your touch to convey just how much you loved him.

Other times, they were more hungry, need kisses. Ones that came after he’d missed and long for your touch. These were times when he would come home and seek you out, discarding his armor along the way, starting with the helmet. By the time he made his way to you, he was practically throwing himself in your arms, and you were quick to respond. You were always ready to welcome him back however you could, even if it was him chasing your lips with a sense of urgency and necessity. Even if it only ended up with him collapsing and falling asleep in your arms, it didn’t matter. He was home, safe and sound in your arms.

There were the playful, teasing kisses.

Boba was a business man through and through, rarely taking a moment to fully indulge in leisure. But when he did, when he actually relaxing, he was more fun than you would have imagined. He would stop at nothing to make you laugh, to hear that magical sound emanate from your mouth.

Sometimes it ended up with the two of you on the floor as he as he tickled you, causing you to be breathless with laughter and pleas of mercy. If he was feeling extra cheeky, he’d even let you win, let you have the advantage as you pinned him under you, holding his hands down on the floor.

It was moments like those when he’d pepper your face, hands, arms, any part of you he could reach, with lots of soft, little kisses. Sometimes the fleeting feel of his lips and the light brush of stubble mad you laugh all over again .

Other times, they were little kisses and touches, like a slap to your bum as he passed by and you were busy doing something else. These were the ones that made you grin and left you with the anticipation of what was to come later. But don’t worry, you took every opportunity you could to get back at him as well. Sometimes he huff and scuff, but you could always see that little gleam in his eye, or how his lips quirked up in a smile. He enjoyed this just as much as you.

There was the passionate, hungry kisses

These were the ones that came as he was making love to you, or in the alternative, mercilessly fucking you.

They came after he took his sweet time between your thighs, after your legs were shaking from the overstimulation, after the only thing off of your lips was his name in reverence. He'd make his way back up your body, leaving a trail of fire his wake, his mouth touching over every part of your body that he could reach as he made his way to your lips.

They came after you reunited when he'd been gone on a hunt, and he needed you more than anything else. As he slipped inside you, his mouth found yours and his lips never seemed to leave yours. It was often tender, slow, and you would forget where he started and you ended.

Other times it was bruising, fierce, and left you baring his marks for days. It was when he was slamming into you from behind, causing you to mewl and cry his name. It was when he'd pull against his chest and grab your face and crash his lips against yours.

It was when he was being rough, as rough as you could handle, and he was kissing every part of your skin. They were messy and rushed as you both worked towards a climax, but still somehow conveyed with feeling and love.

Boba's kisses were all varied and different. But you still treasured all of them because they were all him.

All Boba and all consuming.

[lazuli-bloom]

Roses and Styx

Chapter 1 - An Inconvenient Attachment

Beetlejuice x Reader

Word Count : 5365

Sure life wasn’t always easy, it had it’s ups and downs, but you were doing alright for yourself. Mostly. However when you find a strange sight while on your lunch break one autumn afternoon, your life gets all the more unusual.

Archive | Next Chapter

--=--=--

The sun beat down on you, unobstructed by a single cloud in the vibrant blue sky. A pleasant breeze wafted by, chilling the heat of the sun’s kiss. Summer was in its death throes, but stayed determined to linger as long as possible. It gave an odd contrast to the scenery. The blazing warmth of a summer sun illuminating the turning leaves and tombstones on that early October afternoon.

You sat on a stone bench enjoying your lunch in the quiet peace of the graveyard. Most people avoided visits to the cemetery, not wanting to keep the company of the dead. You, however, frequented it. With few visitors and lovely Gothic inspired architecture, the cemetery made a relaxing place for lunch breaks. Plus, it was only a short walk from your job.

While there were benches throughout the graveyard, your favorite spot was one off in the corner and closest to the gate. That day, however, there had been a funeral held in that corner of the cemetery. So as not to impose, you picked a different bench to occupy. You tried to not let your gaze stay fixed on the graveside service, but the task proved to be easier said than done. The funeral repeatedly pulled your attention back to it by partly virtue of being an event you’ve rarely seen.

Many people, dressed in black, all focused on one grave. Most of the figures standing there were adults, but among the crowd were children clinging onto parents. The group was too far to get a proper look at any of the mourners, but there was one that stuck out. A man, slightly broad in build, wore a peculiar striped suit with wide vertical bars in black and white. You noted the clothing choice as strange, but tried not to judge. Perhaps he wasn’t able to get a solid black suit on short notice.

The strange pattern of the suit made it easy to pick him out against the other mourners. He didn’t stay still. He moved around, seeming to want to get other’s attention only to be ignored. The man’s bizarre actions, coupled with the indifference of the crowd, were major reasons you kept glancing back to the funeral.

You shake your head and check your phone, almost two o’clock. Time to head back to work. You grab your trash and get up with a stretch. With one last glance back to the funeral, you find the striped suit man looking back your way. You pay him no mind and check your phone once more before heading to leave.

To wring the most time and relaxation out of your lunch, you amble back to the hardware store. You turn to the next street where brick shops sat side by side. On the corner was a shop with a rounded, sun-faded green awning stretched over most of the front facade. Your eye glanced over the printed “Rose Creek Hardware” in yellow letters for what must have been the millionth time.

The bell above the door chimed as you stepped inside. To your left an older mustached man stood behind the front counter. He wore a light blue button down under a green apron, both tight around his rounder stomach. He gave you a warm smile that you returned.

“Back from lunch already, Cass?”

“Yeah. It’s really nice out today, I can hardly believe it’s October already.”

“Hopefully, when I get the Halloween decorations up, it’ll give things a more autumn feel.”

“Can’t wait to see it, Mr. Turner! Oh, and is Sam still here? Or have they left already?”

“They’re still around. Sam was helping the new hire.”

You nod and make your way behind the counter to retrieve your apron. After you get the strings tied, you do a sweep of the store. You found Sam in the back corner pulling merchandise forward. They didn’t notice you straight away, so you softened your footsteps for your approach. You stayed at their back until they turned enough one way that you could slip around to their side and not get caught in Sam’s peripheral. Once close enough to the shelving yourself, you slap your hands down on a bare spot- “-Missed a spot!”

Sam seized up, grabbing the shelf for support. “Geez, dude! You trying to kill me?” A wide grin breaks across your face. You chuckle to yourself as Sam regained some composure. They took a breath, shot you a glare, and got back to work.

“Heard you were training the new guy.”

“Yeah, he left already.”

“What’s he like?”

“Eh. Kinda boring? White bread personified, if you ask me. Dude came in with a dress shirt and tie.”

You shrug and start helping pull forward items. While turning products to have labels front-facing you continue on with your conversation. “Sounds like all I’ll have left to talk to will be Mr. Turner.”

There was a pause in that moment, and a sting of sorrow poked at your heart. You do your best to smother the feeling and focus on your work. It’s better to cherish the moment. You force yourself to smile and keep your chat going.

“So, there was a funeral today-”

Sam groaned and rolled their eyes at you. “You went to that creepy graveyard again? How are you not haunted?”

“Hey! I told you, it’s close by and usually quiet. I enjoy taking my lunches there. Anyway, there was a funeral and one guy there was in a weird suit with black and white stripes. Kinda like the Hamburglar.”

“I swear. You’re a magnet for the weirdest shit. It’s all those shitty movies you watch that seep into your head. How the hell do you not get nightmares?”

You stay silent and look over the product in your hand as your mind wandered back to your most recent nightmare. Piercing blue dots masked in shadow, watching every move you made. You shake your head to dismiss the thought.

You huff out a small laugh. “Guess that stuff just doesn’t get to me.”

“Whatever. Just don’t let any of your weirdness rub off on my cat.”

You press your lips into a tight line and tap your finger against the pliers in hand. “You sure there isn’t anywhere else he can go?”

“Cassie, I already told you I checked.”

“I’m just worried. I don’t think this is a good idea. My apartment doesn’t allow pets.”

“It’s just for two weeks. I’ll pick him up on the sixteenth. Hell, that’s not even a full two weeks, just thirteen days. You’ll be fine.” Sam finished with their side of the aisle and took a step back. “When do you want me to drop him off?”

You breathe out through your nose and make a noise somewhere between a hum and a groan. “Seven should be alright. Donna’s always heads out to the bars on Saturdays, so it should be clear by then.”

“You need to lighten up and not worry so much. Maybe a cute roommate is exactly what you need.”

You don’t give a reply and go back to work. The two of you split off and start tackling other sections of the store. Time marched on, and all too soon, Sam’s last shift ended. Mr. Turner bid them a farewell with a handshake and handed Sam their last paycheck. You give them a small wave and focus back on your task. You knew full well you were going to see them later that night, so you didn’t see the point of having a drawn out goodbye right then.

Once Sam left, the rest of the day dragged on slower than a sloth on crutches. When there weren’t any customers needing help, you talked with Mr. Turner. It gave you something to do, sure, but time still crawled.

That day was one of the worst kinds you can have in retail. The kind that’s just slow enough you bored out of your mind, and peppered with enough customers that you couldn’t slack off and dick around on the store’s desktop. It’s like they coordinated to space themselves out to be the most annoying.

As grueling as it took to get there, five-thirty eventually rolled around. You and the boss took the last half hour to close the store. Sweep, wipe down the counters, count the till, all that good stuff. You were in the middle of dusting when Mr. Turner handed you an envelope. You thanked him and opened it to count the bills inside. Five whole Benjamins. With another thanks, you move the bills into your wallet and get back to dusting.

Once all finished, you headed out, followed by your boss. He locked the front door and walked with you around the side to the small parking lot. He hopped into his old pickup while you climbed into your little junker. The bucket of rust masquerading as a car was on its way out, but you planned on getting every mile out of it you could. Mr. Turner had driven off by the time you coaxed your car into starting. The car sputtered and hissed, but you got the clunker going.

The drive to your apartment complex was as mundane and silent as ever. Your only option for music was to sing it yourself, since the previous owner had beaten the hell out of the radio. CDs weren’t an option either as the owner before the last had stuffed the disc slot full of cookies. For what reason remained a mystery.

You drum your fingers on the steering wheel as you drove, watching familiar sites go by as you neared your apartment. Nicer well-kept buildings and streets slowly turned to the more rundown variety. The street grew more broken and in increasingly desperate need of repairs as you went.

Building after building, you passed by until finally it was time to turn off. You pull up to your complex’s parking lot, just as run down as the roads leading to it. Two buildings sat facing each other, both in contest for which one can be the most rundown. Your building nudged ahead of its twin with the recent addition of graffiti marring the exterior.

You park in your designated spot, managing to not bump up against the two cars encroaching on your space. You worm your way out without adding anymore dents to the black sedan, and head to the complex’s front door. Standing near the door with a cigarette between clawed yellowed fingers was a scrawny older woman with a perpetual sneer on her wrinkled face. Cold steel eyes narrowed at you as you dared to approach the harpy.

“Hi Donna. How are you?”

“Parker! Where’s the rest of your rent?”

You force a smile to mask the spike of irritation. This harpy is going to be the death of you. You clear your throat to help prevent your ire from bleeding out into your tone.

“Right here, Donna. I get my pay on Saturdays.”

“Not my problem. Rent is due in full on the first. Today is the third.”

“I tried paying you last Saturday, but you-”

“The first, you stupid child. Not Before. Not after.”

“Yes Donna, I know. I’m sorry, I needed to replace a flat tire an-.”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. Just pay the rest of your rent and get out of my sight. You worthless leech, can’t even follow basic instructions.”

You press your lips into a tighter line to keep yourself from screaming at the horrid bat. It was best to bite your tongue and get the interaction over and done with as quick as you could. You pull out your wallet and hand over four bills. It was nice while it lasted.

Donna snatched the money from you and promptly counted it. Once satisfied, she took a long drag off her cigarette. She ordered you to leave while smoke seeped out of her mouth like a dragon.

You didn’t need to be told twice. You hurried off to your apartment, climbing the stairs to the second floor and making a beeline for your door at the end of the hall.

You shut the door, leaning against it and breathed out a deep breath. After calming yourself some, you set your keys on the counter by the door and step further into your little abode.

You make your way back to the small living room and crash on the dingy brown love-seat, tossing your phone onto the stained coffee table. You lean back and stare at the ceiling. A boring white painted over heavy popcorn texture, collecting all kinds of dust. You close your eyes and let your mind wander, wanting to squeeze some relaxation time out of the rest of the day. Too bad your phone rang.

Sam called to tell you they were on their way with the cat. You told them to be careful and not let Donna see them on the off chance that she hadn’t left for the bar yet. Sam, however, brushed aside your concerns and told you not to be so worried. You pinched the bridge of your nose and groaned at that. Sam wasn’t the one that had to deal with Donna and hopefully never will.

It wasn’t until a long while later that there was a knock at your front door. A quick check through the peephole showed you Sam was on the other side with a backpack and pet carrier. You open the door and hurry them inside. Sam stepped in, stopping in the space between the kitchen and living area, and looked over the place.

“Wow. This place is shitty.”

“Thanks, hadn’t noticed.”

Sam set the carrier down on your couch, and the cat inside growled in a low tone. Sam took off their backpack next and handed that one over to you.

“Here’s all of Rigel’s things; food, bowls, litter box, toys. I’ll be back in town to get the last of my stuff on the sixteenth, and I’ll pay you then.”

“I thought we agreed half now and half when you got back?”

“It’ll be easier to just pay you all at once.”

You drum your fingers on your thigh and let out a sigh. “Alright, fine. It will be nice to get two hundred dollars all at once.”

“See! You fuss over the smallest things.”

You change the topic by offering Sam something to drink but they declined. Sam still needed to pack up a few more boxes before the end of the night. You nod and give a small wave goodbye, only for Sam to pull you into a hug. Your muscles tense up, but you did your best to return Sam’s sudden hug.

There was a unique funk around Sam that made the hug even more challenging to bear. An overly strong lavender tried and failed to cover some mix of sweat and burnt coffee. Sam left shortly after, telling you to just call them should you need anything. You nodded and waved them off.

Once they left, you turn to Rigel stuck in his carrier. His hissing got louder the closer you got to the carrier, and was full on slashing at the front when you reached down to open it.

You recoil and let him be for the moment, choosing to set up his things in the bathroom instead. While your bathroom was on the smaller side, it seemed big enough for one cat to stay in. You pack up all the various toiletries that a bored cat might knock down and set out Rigel’s things. Litter box in the corner across from the shower stall, while his food and water were against the opposite wall between the door and the sink.

With that set up you go get the carrier. You did your best not to jostle it too much, but Rigel wasn’t pleased and let you know. He let out some of the most chilling demonic screeches as he knocked against the fabric carrier, desperate to break loose and slaughter you. You set the carrier down in the closet, closing one of the bi-fold doors so he had a dark corner to hide in. You braced yourself with a few steadying breaths before swiftly unzipping the front. Once open, you pull your hand back and leave the bathroom completely, making sure the door shut behind you.

You did your best to salvage the rest of your night, enjoying your cup of noodles while watching a movie. It was a B-Movie slasher about a supernatural being going on a killing spree in Las Vegas. And this somehow led to the being going to space in the next film. Overall, it was pretty cheesy, but got a few laughs from you.

Soon you had to wrap things up and head to bed. You sneak into the bathroom to swipe your toothbrush and clean them at the kitchen sink that night, and probably for the next two weeks. With a yawn and a stretch you change into sleepwear and crawl into your bed.

Sleep didn’t come to you easily, but it wasn’t a night full of endless tossing and turning, either. The rest you got didn’t feel like enough, as the buzzing of your alarm woke you too early for your liking.

You sat up rubbing your eyes and checked your phone for the time. The small screen on the back of the thin flip phone showed the time was seven o’ two. You heave out a sigh and pull the warm covers off.

While your body went through the motions of your morning routine, your mind wandered back to the images you saw in your dream. An island floated in the middle of a dark ocean with storm clouds rumbling high above. The cold wet sand pricked against your bare feet like needles, yet you kept on walking. You had found yourself on a rickety dock at least fifteen feet above the violent waves below. There was nothing around you, but you knew you weren’t alone. Down below, lurking beneath the water, two hungry orbs of blue glared up at you, waiting. Expecting. When you didn’t move from your perch, the beast thrashed at the pillars of the dock. You lost your footing and tumbled down to the abyss.

You shook your head, forcing your thoughts to jump back to the present. Chills ran down your spine as the nightmare crawled around in the back of your mind, clawing its way forward. You stuffed it as far back as possible and carried on with your morning.

You soon were out the door and on your way to work. You grip the toilet paper wrapped over your forearm, letting the lines of blood soak into it so it can better rest on your arm. Rigel had given you a few nasty scratches when you got him fresh water, the ungrateful bastard. At least there’s a first aid kit at work.

The bell above the door chimed as you looked at the time on your phone. The damn cat almost made you late for work. You make your way to the back room to grab your apron, only to bump into a man turning the corner. It took a second to get your bearings and notice you ran right into Mr. Turner.

“Oh shit. Sorry, sir.”

He laughed and waved you off. “Morning Cass, see you’re in a hurry.”

“Ah- no, well, kinda. I hit every red light getting here and-”

“You’re fine, don’t worry. No need to rush. Just get your apron and I’ll introduce you to the new guy.”

You nod and scurry back to grab the green apron. It hung by itself on the hooks, speckled in paint and smudges. By that point the thing was overdue to get tossed and replaced, but the same thing would end up happening to the next apron.

You throw it on and tie it behind yourself before going out to the sales floor. Mr. Turner stood next to a man younger than himself but older than you. The boss was the first to notice you and gave another wave. “There they are.”

The new guy turned and flashed you a wide smile, showing off straight white teeth in a hollow smile. Tamping down the disquiet, you force yourself to offer a smile in return. The man strode up to you and held out a hand. “Great to meet you, I’m Brandon! Mr. Turner was just telling me how great of a worker you are-” He squinted at your apron before going back to that fake smile- “Art. Interesting name.”

“Thanks,” you said, and hesitated a moment before taking his hand for a brief shake. On contact that strange buzz of discomfort shot from your palm through the rest of your arm. Once your hand was free, you fight the urge to rub off the non-existent traces of him. There wasn’t anything there, nothing real, and you knew that, but more than anything you wanted that feeling gone and the only way for it to leave was to brush it off. Why did people have to insist on handshakes, just needless physical contact with strangers? It’s stupid, and you hated it.

For the first half of your shift the boss had you go over the day-to-day tasks with Brandon. There were few customers in the store that Sunday morning, so you mostly had the guy pull forward merchandise and clean some shelves. Brandon did the tasks, but they all came with questions. Most of the questions were mundane things about the products stocked, store hours, and what times saw the most customers. The problem came when Brandon veered his questions towards you personally.

“So, is Art short for anything?”

“Artemis.”

Your answer was short and pointed. You already didn’t like that he was the type to read name tags over asking for someone’s name.

“Interesting. So you from around here?”

A shiver shot through you, and you’re quick to stop that line of questions. You ignore the question entirely, instead cutting in to tell him to finish front-facing the aisle while you go check on Mr. Turner.

The day dragged on until finally getting to your lunch break. Brandon, thankfully, caught on that you weren’t one to disclose much about yourself to a new face. However, that didn’t make the morning smooth sailing. You grab your lunch and speed off to the cemetery, eager to get a break from Brandon.

Your usual bench was free, and you took your place to enjoy lunch. Munching on your meal, you take in the sights, finding a serenity in the quiet. The sun shined brightly, causing some of the glossier headstones to reflect the rays. You hum to yourself and scan over the graveyard. To your surprise, you spotted someone in the far corner opposite you. Your brows furrowed, perplexed by the other. You watched the figure, curious of what they’re doing.

They wandered from gravestone to gravestone, kicking at the earth with hands stuffed into pockets. The build of the figure suggested a man, and one dressed in monochrome. You squint your eyes at them making sure you weren’t mistaken; but no, that was the same bizarre suit you saw a man wearing the day prior.

You keep your gaze fixed on him, wanting to figure out why he might be here a second day in a row visiting completely different graves. Did the man simply like to visit graveyards and have a limited wardrobe? If so, you didn’t want to comment on the matter out of fear of shattering the glass house.

You ate lunch with glances at the man. You wanted to piece together why he might be there. He wasn’t mourning; he moved from one grave to the next as if searching for something. The man in the weird suit went down one row of graves, heading away from you, only to hit the end and turn back for the next row.

You forced yourself to not look at him for fear of getting caught. But your curiosity burned, and you chanced a look up. He didn’t notice you, too engrossed in whatever he was doing. Embolden by that, you continue to munch away at your food and sneak glances at him. That is, until you swallowed wrong and went into a coughing fit.

You got your breathing under control a minute later and checked to see if he noticed. And oh boy, did he notice. The man was staring straight at you. It was awkward enough to get caught looking, but you noticed the man closing the gap between you two. He was still at the far end with well over two hundred feet between you, but you didn’t want to stick around and have that plummet to single digits.

Nope. You scoop up your belongings and speed-walk straight back to the store. You didn’t even chance a look behind you. Eyes forward and keep moving. You weren’t sure if he was actually still following; you didn’t hear any footsteps behind you. So that seemed like a good sign.

You blew past the door, bell violently chiming, and you made a beeline for the back. Your heart pounded against your ribs, wanting to break free and make a run for it. You take quick breaths, forcing the next to be longer than the last to get yourself to calm down. In the middle of collecting yourself, Mr. Turner walked into the back area with worry knitted on his brow.

“Cass, you alright? What’s wrong?”

“Is there a man in a striped suit in the store?”

He gave you a puzzled look, but left to do a sweep of the store. He came back half a minute later, shaking his head. “No, no one’s in the store dressed like that. What happened?”

“Nothing really. I just saw him in the cemetery and it looked like he was starting to follow me.”

He frowned. “Well, you just come to me if any creep is giving you a hard time. I’ll knock his teeth out for you.”

You manage a smile and nod. You take a few more breaths to calm down before you grab your apron. Things were going to be okay. The guy might not have even seen what store you went into. Heck, that guy probably didn’t even leave the cemetery. And even if he did, Mr. Turner was there to help you out of a tight spot. You smile a little brighter and step out onto the sales floor where you see the stripe suit guy looking at paint chips.

A strangled scream catches in your throat. You step back, dipping back into the employee’s only area of the store before he could see you. What the Hell were you going to do now? You couldn’t hide back there all day.

You push aside the fabric curtain dividing the sales floor from the back, and get a look at the man. With him much closer, you could see his green hair and the distressed look of his suit. He leaned forward, looking over the paint colors. Maybe he didn’t know you were back there. If so, you could wait in the back for a few minutes for him to just leave.

You close the curtain and slip your hands into your apron pockets. Your fingers brush over cool metal, and your thumb flicks up the slider on the side. It wasn’t much, but it was certainly better than nothing. Box cutter in hand, you look back out.

The stranger stayed put in front of the paint colors. You take a shallow breath, prepping yourself to go out. In the middle of psyching yourself up, you see Brandon wander over to the paint section. Hope bubbles up in you. The new guy can take care of him for you.

Brandon scanned over the section. He pushed down some color chips, looked over the desk before looking your way.

“Art! There you are.”

Brandon’s voice bellowed in the small store, not only earning a squeak from you but also causing the stranger to turn and look. You yank the curtain closed, hoping the man in the monochrome stripes didn’t get a good look at you.

Brandon parted the curtain a moment later and looked you over with knit brows and lips in a thin line. “Art, what are you doing back here? I don’t think it looks very professional for an employee to skulk around in the back all day.”

“The guy over at paint followed me from the cemetery.”

Brandon raised a brow at you. “There aren’t any customers in the store, and certainly not in paint, I would have seen them.” He pulled open the curtain with a flourish to reveal the man standing just on the other side. “See, no one’s there.”

Your eyes dart between the idiot holding back the curtain and the green-haired man tilting his head some with a grin plastered on his face. Thought processing came to a crawl as you tried making sense of what you were seeing. Your gaze lands on Brandon in the end.

“You don’t see anyone there?”

He rolled his eyes and looked back out to the sales floor. He then looked back at you with brows knitted further. “No, there’s no one there, Artemis. Perhaps you should stop taking your lunches in the cemetery if they’re just going to put scary thoughts in your head.”

Brandon frowned at you before stepping out onto the sales floor, going right through the man in the striped suit. He stopped to shiver, only to keep walking a second later. Once he left, your wide eyes landed on the man still standing there, still grinning and showing off sharp yellowed teeth.

“Hi there!”

Nope. Nope nope nope. You grab your box cutter and pull it out to point at the guy. And without a word you push aside the curtain more and go around the man. The man whined at your action and followed you.

“Come on babes! Don’t ignore me, I know you can see me!”

You keep walking, heading straight for Mr. Turner. He turns to you at your approach and the small smile fades from his face. “Cass? What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

The gravelly laugh behind you sent shivers down your spine. You did your best to shake off the feeling and forced a smile.

“I’m not feeling too good. I was hoping I could go home early today.”

His lips sink further into a frown, but he gave you a nod. “It’s fine by me. But what about that man you were talking about that followed you from the cemetery? Are you going to be okay?”

The man behind you continued to laugh. You tighten your hands into fists, the metal of the box cutter pressing hard into the flesh of your hand.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay Mr. Turner. See you tomorrow.”

He nodded, and you handed over your apron while keeping the box cutter in hand. You offer one last quick goodbye and head out the door, the bell only chiming once. You march down the sidewalk and hear the strange man continuing to talk.

“So, babes, where are we heading?”

You pause at your car door. You take a few quick breaths and finally respond to this... person. “I’m going home. I’m obviously not feeling well and seeing things that aren’t there.”

You slip into your car and promptly lock all the doors. You heave a sigh and lean against the steering wheel as your brain sorts through all this nonsense. A groan rumbles in your throat and you lean back in your seat. In your peripheral, the man in the striped suit sat in your passenger seat sporting a sharp grin. Well shit.

[helaintoloki]

Hey, hola. I am the girl who requested Loki x Reader in the week of sweetness o semana de la dulzura (It is a celebration of Argentina, in case you want to search for it online or something). You asked me to ask again, but it honestly doesn't matter if you can't. I get it.

a/n: thank you for waiting! I used the concept of the holiday and made it an Asgardian type of thing, I hope you like it!

warnings: one sided pining, very brief mention of injuries, fluff, Loki

prompt: A candy for a kiss...

As you have gathered over the course of the last few months, Loki is a very persistent man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Unfortunately for you, his latest endeavor just so happens to be sweeping you off of your feet and winning your hand in courtship, a feat previous challengers have failed at time and time again. It wasn’t that you didn’t want a relationship, but that you didn’t want just any relationship. You worked a stressful job and had a stressful life, so you wanted to make sure that when the time finally came for you to let someone break down your walls they’d be worth it. It wasn’t going to be easy, but Loki was determined to worm his way into your heart.

His fascination with you developed about a week after his redemptive training began; he wanted to start anew, his run-in with Thanos prompting him to seek a positive change in his life, and so under the watchful eye of his brother and the rest of the Avengers Loki became an honorary member. He had been in the middle of a sparring session with Romanoff when you had walked in, returning from a grueling month long mission. You looked and felt like death: various rips in your uniform, dried blood stains that had begun to crack along your skin, bruised and bandaged knuckles, a limp in your step. It was as if you’d crawled your way out of hell and just barely made it out alive, which wasn’t too far from the truth considering what you’d endured during your time away. But to Loki it was as if heaven and earth had collided to create perhaps the most breathtakingly beautiful creature he had ever seen, and it was your distracting presence that allowed Natasha to send him sprawling face first onto the training mat below with one single blow.

“Rule number one: never turn your back on Natasha,” you had noted offhandedly, carefully stepping over his form and heading into the shower room without another word. Whether it be from the blow to the face or the sound of your sweet voice, Loki was left seeing stars. It was then and there that he decided he would stop at nothing to win you over, and so far he had stuck to the unspoken promise.

His normally silver tongue now felt heavy with lead any time he tried to approach you, and every attempt at flirtatious banter often left the room feeling awkward and uncomfortable. You hadn’t been present for the 2012 attack on New York so your opinion of Loki was indifferent, something that weighed in his favor, but that didn’t mean you made any effort to befriend him. Every Avenger knew that you didn’t let just anyone in, they had to work to gain your trust and companionship, so Loki would be no different. No amount of pet names or sweet talk or magic tricks would change your mind, and now the god had no choice but to get “creative” with his strategies. He had been reluctant to use what he did best against you, but the title of God of Mischief was bestowed upon him for a reason, and mischief was exactly what this situation called for.

You’re sitting on the couch trying to catch up on all the shows you missed while away when Loki saunters into the room looking as innocent as ever. You barely acknowledge the god with a small nod of your head, only sparing him the time of day when he plants himself right in front of you and effectively blocks your view of the TV.

“Agent y/l/n,” he greets curtly, a charming smile curling upon his lips.

“Loki,” you reply in the same manner. Knowing that whatever attempt he’s about to make in an effort to gain your attention will prevent you from enjoying your binge watching session, you let out a defeated sigh and switch off the screen. “How can I help you today?”

“I’m not looking for any help at all,” he says smoothly, “I simply wanted to offer you one of these.”

A silver box is held out before you, and upon closer inspection you are able to see a variety of candies and chocolates nestled inside the wrapping. Each is dusted with flakes of gold and almost seem to shimmer expectantly as you scan over them suspiciously.

“What are these?”

“Asgardian chocolates,” Loki states proudly, “said to be the richest candies in all the galaxy. Please, do take one.”

“This isn’t going to make me sick, is it?” You ask, wearily eyeing the treats. “The last time I accepted Asgardian food I had food poisoning for a week.”

“I assure you, they are completely safe for your consumption.”

Loki’s eyes sparkle with excitement as you carefully pluck a single chocolate from the box, the little square fitting perfectly in the space between your fingertips as you hesitantly take the tiniest bite he’s ever seen and swallow slowly. The sweetness takes over then, a small hum of delight falling past your lips before you can catch it as the chocolate melts along your tongue. Loki smiles expectantly.

“Well?”

“It’s not bad,” you try to say nonchalantly, but you give yourself away by asking, “Can I have another one?”

“I’d be delighted to indulge you with more, but there’s just one small problem,” Loki states with a click of his tongue, brows furrowed in what appears to be dismay and the faintest hint of guilt.

“And that is?”

“Well, these are chocolates meant for lovers,” he explains with a bashful smile. “When a woman or a man is gifted one of these little candies, it is expected that a kiss be given in return. These candies can either be accepted or denied, and, well, you accepted it so I’m afraid you do owe me a kiss...”

A long, heavy pause settles over the room, and Loki fears that perhaps he’s pushed his luck and made a mistake. Your reputation as the Avenger with the strongest walls proceeded you, and it was foolish to think something as silly as this would really win you over.

“Okay.”

“I beg your pardon?” The flabbergasted Prince asks.

“I said okay,” you repeat with a shrug. “It’s just a customary thing, or at least I’m assuming it is, so it’s not that big of a deal. I’ll kiss you.”

“Please excuse me,” Loki laughs anxiously, “I-I didn’t think this would work...”

His heart thrums violently in his chest and for the first time since standing face to face with Thanos Loki is nervous. Honestly, he hadn’t anticipated making it this far with you, and now that he was in the prime position to shower you with affection he suddenly found himself stuck. Thank Valhalla no one was here to witness the crash and burn of the god of mischief.

“Oh, Jesus,” you sigh impatiently, and before he can comprehend what’s happening you’re pulling the man down by the collar of his shirt and pressing your lips against his own.

He responds with a jolt, the unfamiliar sensation of your plush lips against his own stiff ones catching him completely off guard. You smell and taste of Asgardian chocolates, eyelashes tickling his skin as they flutter shut before him; Loki hopes you don’t notice the way his normally cool skin is now set aflame with warmth and love. This wasn’t what he pictured a kiss with you to be like at all. No, it was so much better than he ever could have dreamed of.

You pull away before he can kiss you back, much to his dismay, but Loki is in such a trance that he doesn’t have it in him to protest. You rise from the couch with the faintest of smiles, one that sends a jolt through his heart, and even shoot him a playful wink— you’ve never been so chummy with him before.

“Thanks for the chocolates,” you say, pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek before leaving the god to his own devices.

“What a curious woman,” Loki notes with a dreamy smile as he reaches up and gingerly runs his fingertips along the spot in which your lips had pressed against his cheek. The hold you have on his heart is so great that the prince has failed to notice you’ve bested him at his own game.

Loki stole a kiss, and you stole the box of chocolates.

[lizbotw]

Karasuno popsicle eating competition? 👀👀👀 (i saw you were bored so-)

Karasuno Popsicle Eating Competition

choco omg i loved this concept even though i was definitely not expecting it in the middle of fall, but also, i absolutely get. i spent all night thinking about this so thank you, you successfully cured my boredom, and now here it is, i finally wrote out all of my ideas. please enjoy because i had way too many thoughts about this ♡

Karasuno

100% Nishinoya’s idea.

What? He literally adores Garigari-kun popsicles. A proper popsicle enthusiast and therefore of course it would be none other than him that would come up with such a plan.

You would probably be walking home with the second-years after practice after a quick stop into Coach Ukai’s store to pick up snacks on the way.

Classic meat buns and crinkly packs of chips that always felt like they contained more air than well... chips—that’s what most of you had gotten. But Nishinoya? It was him and his trusty popsicle (soda flavored of course).

You had to stop too many times to keep track of because he kept devouring them before you could even blink and somehow the lucky bastard kept getting the ones with the sticks that qualify you to get another popsicle for free. You best believe he was cashing those in instantly.

You bumped Tanaka with your shoulder to get his attention, not taking your eyes off of the back of Noya as he disappeared up the hill and back to the store. “Why doesn’t he just buy a whole box of them at this point?”

“Mmm,” Tanaka hummed in agreement, hand deep in his bag of potato chips. He stuffed a few more in his mouth, crunching in thought. “Good point.”

Noya was never gone more than a few seconds and you didn’t even get the chance to reply before he came barreling down the hill, blue wrapper in his hand—prize secured it seemed.

The group didn’t resume walking just yet, waiting to see if finally Noya’s reign of exploiting Ukai’s store for free frozen treats would come to an end. (You were hoping the stick at the center of the popsicle would turn out to be blank, not have another cheesy message about how “You won an extra popsicle! Take this stick to any participating retailer to cash it in.”)

“Aren’t you tired of running back and forth?” That was Ennoshita, chewing on his meat bun and looking like he very much wanted to go home.

Noya pulled the popsicle out of his mouth to reply, tongue already stained blue. “Nope! It’s good cardio, plus I get a reward at the end!” As if to prove his point, Noya punctuated the end of his sentence by shoving the popsicle back into his mouth. It wouldn’t be long until he reached the stick and you guys would (potentially) have to wait another five minutes for him to repeat the process all over again.

“It makes sense to buy more than one though. We’re never going to get home at this rate,” Ennoshita grumbled. He was clearly too tired to be dealing with this or he would have dragged Noya away from the store by his ear a long time ago.

Before Noya could bring up the benefits of running up and down a hill in the middle of the night (on a school night nonetheless) again, Tanaka cut in. “Yeah, why don’t you buy an extra one for me, dude. Then we’ll match!”

It was like a switch was flipped and Noya’s eyes lit up, widening. “Dude, great idea!”

“Right? It was (Y/N)’s idea actually.”

“Tanaka, that was not what I said.” You were quick to defend yourself, casting a nervous side glance at Ennoshita who was already glaring daggers at you.

“Either way, I still think it’s a good idea. I’ll be right back-”

“Oh no you don’t.” Ennoshita grabbed a hold of the back of Noya’s shirt to prevent him from running off (he’d already gotten in position to run up the hill—getting two steps in before he’d been stopped—and if Ennoshita had been a second slower Noya would have gotten away completely).

“Even if you did get one for Ryuu, I don’t know if it’d be very fair,” Narita cut in. Clearly he was just being nice and thinking about everyone, but words had a tendency to get twisted when it came to matters like this, especially when the other second-years were involved.

“Yeah, what are the rest of us, Yuu? Chopped liver?” Kinnoshita finished off his meat bun and crumpled the empty napkin he’d been holding it with into a small ball in his hand to throw away later. He was smirking mischievously and you could tell he wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea of free popsicles.

“True. You really should be offering to get all of us one.” Of course Ennoshita was the one to deliver the final blow. The trio could be real menances when they wanted to be and judging by the look they all shared, they were clearly enjoying poking fun at Noya.

And of course Nishonya took their words seriously, a thoughtful expression taking over his features. Sarcasm? Not detachable when it came to popsicles. “You’re right.” Uh oh… Nishinoya having that faraway look in his eyes was never a good sign. “And if I get it for all of you then… I should just get for the entire team!” His voice increased in volume as he spoke until he had the sudden epiphany at the end that he shouted. Energized by the thought, he made to go run towards the store again but seemed to forget the vice grip Ennoshita still had on him.

Nishinoya struggling against the hold and Ennoshita trying to pull him back so you guys could finally go home and work on your excessive amount of homework quickly turned into a yelling match. You should have known it would turn out this way...

It looked like things were about to get messy, so you decided to intervene, speaking hurriedly before someone lost a limb in the scuffle. “I think it’s a good idea. Let’s just all go ask Ukai now if we can have popsicles tomorrow for practice and then we can go home.” You said the last part looking pointedly at Ennoshita—listen, you were also tired so you knew exactly how to get through to him. How Noya could keep going like this after a full day was beyond you.

There were a few more moments of grumbling and arguing but eventually everyone caved and agreed. And thus you six made the trek back up the small incline to the store perched off to the side. (“No, Nishinoya, we can’t ask him to bring only soda flavored ones. Where is the variety?”)

The jingle of the bell had Ukai looking up from the magazine he was reading and he fixed all of you with an exasperated stare. “You six again? Don’t you have homework or something?”

It didn’t take much convincing to get him on board and he waved a dismissive hand, leaning back in his chair, cigarette between his lips, and opening back up his magazine. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get home already. I don’t want to be responsible for you getting back so late.”

He for sure delivered on his promise because the next day at practice you found a cooler hidden away in the storage closet in the gym. About an hour into a grueling practice session, he called for a break and revealed the surprise (thank god because Nishinoya had been buzzing with anticipation all day, almost spilling the secret several times, and you were sick and tired of it, please send help).

To say the team was excited was an understatement. The sweltering heat of the gym wasn’t exactly ideal and everyone was dying to go out into the summer sun—at least in the outdoors you had the chance of a light breeze whispering across your neck and relieving some of the suffocating tension of the weather.

Moving everything outside, you helped set up the cooler in the nearby school field.

Takeda was surprised that Ukai even considered doing something like this out of the blue and you overheard Ukai admit that he had been working the team pretty hard for the past few days and that they deserved a break.

The atmosphere was relaxed as some of the team members took up residence on the grassy field, sitting among the bright green and running their hands over the cushiony ground as they got situated.

Leave up to Nishoinya to completely ruin that.

Parking himself right in front of the cooler near the top of the hill and thus preventing anyone from gaining access to the mouthwatering treats inside, he declared, hands on his hips for emphasis, “We should make this a competition!”

Daichi was not having it. “Nishinoya, get down from there, we are not-”

“Challenge accepted!” Hinata and Kageyama were already glaring at each other, determination written all over their faces. (You’re pretty sure either Tanaka or Nishinoya told him some lie before about how eating an ungodly amount of popsicles would make him better at volleyball.) At this point, they were simply waiting for Nishinoya’s signal to begin.

“Now that’s the spirit! Let’s start!” And with that Noya stepped away from the cooler with a dramatic sweep of his arm, bowing low. That’s all the confirmation Hinata and Kageyama needed before they made a beeline for the cooler—you should make sure not to get in their way during this part because they are taking this very seriously.

Tsukishima would just scoff at their childishness, telling them to hurry up and move because they’re hogging all the space.

Tsukishima would not participate in “stupid competitions” of any kind, although he would take a popsicle (begruidngly so after Yamaguchi kept pestering him to do so; secretly he really wanted one though).

You could probably find Tsukishima sitting on the gym steps, rolling his eyes at Hinata and Kageyama. He was also the perfect distance away to throw snide comments at them without risking his safety. Just adding fuel to the flames from the sidelines—that was his role.

Yamaguchi would be perched faithfully next to him eating his own popsicle and Yachi would be leaning up against the side of the gym building since there was no more space left on the steps, talking with him. She kept getting over excited or focusing too much on the conversation though, so the sticky juice of her melting popsicle would be trickling down her arm before you could warn her.

She gets very embarrassed over the whole thing once you point it out and then when she’s busy flailing her arms in apology, that just gets the juice everywhere and then she feels even worse about it, and it’s a whole cycle from there.

If you wanted to join the trio, Tsukishima would not be willing to give up his spot on the steps, but if you kept bothering him about it, he’ll probably give in eventually to get you to shut up or you could take your chances trying to shove him over.

Yamaguchi would take pity on you and squeeze over a bit so you would have room, even though he barely had any space for himself.

Or honestly just go stand next to Yachi, she would be more than happy to have someone else to talk to. The only thing is you have to keep an eye on her melting popsicle or else the above scenario will probably happen except you’ll be right next to her when it does. I sure hope you didn’t wear your favorite shirt today.

Kiyoko is the unofficial referee for the competition.

She was appointed after a unanimous vote was taken between Tanaka and Nishinoya—yes, only those two got a say in it—and technically she would be the official referee if not for the fact that the official default for Karasuno is always pure chaos. Rules? There were no rules. Was this even a competition anymore? Why is everyone taking this so seriously? Does no one have any ideas for a prize for the winner? Why is Asahi on the floor?

Speaking of Asahi, he’s in charge of giving out the popsicles and supervising them in the cooler.

Noya tried to get him to join in on the real action of competing, but Suga and Daichi were absolutely against it because Asahi just looks like he would win. To them, that was automatically cheating (poor Ashai).

Kiyoko helps him out because she doesn’t have much of a job if the boys are doing whatever the hell they want anyway.

Please go hang out with those two at the cooler. You’ll have direct access to all of the popsicles (you now hold all the power) and you can actually relax and have a calm conversation—perfect for some lounging around in the sun. And if you did want to witness the chaos of the competition? Well you also have a front row seat to that. It’s a win-win situation honestly.

Nishinoya and Tanaka were, of course, a part of the competition with Hinata and Kagayama. Now the debate of whether the challenge was to eat as many popsicles as possible or to just eat a certain amount as fast as possible was up in the air because by God, they were doing both. That couldn’t be healthy.

Daichi originally started off just watching from the sides, shaking his head in disapproval and barking reminders at them to slow down lest they choke while on his watch.

Suga was next to him of course, eating his own popsicle and telling him not to be such a stick in the mud. He was enjoying this a little too much and honestly was already hatching a mischievous plan to join in on the chaos himself. Definitely cheers for everyone in order to rile up the situation further and then elbows Daichi in the gut when he tells him to stop encouraging them.

On one such occasion, as he rubbed at the sore spot on his side that Suga kept hitting, Daichi narrowed his eyes at the popsicle in his friend’s hand, taking special notice of it now. “Suga… what flavor is that?”

“Cherry. Why?” He continued eating innocently, although he had an inkling of where this was going to go.

“Didn’t you have two cherry ones already?”

“...maybe.”

There was a gasp of betrayal. “You know those are my favorite! You’re trying to eat all of them before me aren’t you!”

The bold accusation leads to them sharing a look and a tense beat of silence passing before they both sprint to the cooler, digging among the other flavors for the highly coveted cherry.

“It’s mine!”

“No, you have to learn to share!”

They inadvertently end up in the competition through this alone, grabbing as many cherry popsicles as they can and piling their arms high.

You have to remind them that the popsicles are going to melt if they keep that up and then there will really be none left, which then sends them into a new flurry of ripping open the packages and chomping down on the glistening red treat inside.

If you join in on the competition, I hope you have a big appetite because everyone involved is not slowing down anytime soon. They’ve doubled over due to brain freeze a few times already but that doesn’t seem to be stopping any of them. If you chicken out at some point, you will be socially outcasted. You have been warned.

Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita are actually being normal and sitting a bit away on the grass, eating their popsicles at a normal rate (not scarfing them down like some people) and actually enjoying themselves.

Ideal group to join—lots of space to sit near them and stretch out on the field, good view of the uh… “competition” (can it really even be still considered that? what do you call the absolute chaos that’s going on there? honestly, why is no one stopping them? where are you, coach? isn’t this your job?) but still a safe distance away from the chaos, and lots of things to discuss. That’s right, these three know all the drama going on in school so sit back, eavesdrop on the gossip, and enjoy. You may or may not choke on your popsicles a few times because how do they even know these things.

Lean back on the grass and bask in the sunlight with these three—the good vibes are there. You’ll probably all end up laying down in the grass after you finish eating and just talking, poking fun at each other and rolling around in the grass in laughter at the latest antic or joke you’ve come up with.

Coach Ukai probably should have thought this over a bit more because it’s hard to get anyone back to practice after having this small taste of freedom (also tensions are still high after the competition so no one wants to work with each other anyway—let’s hope the grudges don’t last long), so he basically gives up for the day and dismisses “practice” early (it had already spiraled way past that at this point so the term was used loosely).

Everyone who was involved in the competition either never wants to hear the word popsicle ever again or they’re feral for more once the cooler is empty (Nishinoya).

Who would’ve thought a normal walk home would turn out like this?