#'just use a serum' its not the same lol

[pasdasin]

Wicked Game

wolverine x vampire!reader

an: set in a timeline where Logan and Alex Summers have beef since i envision this with the days of future past casting!

ch 1

warnings: mentions of blood, needles, generic doctor stuff, cussing i think, angsty lol

ur at the start -- next

~~~~~

The mansion was always having a frenzy. The rotating door of constant students, the random federal agents that never seem to fully go away, and the weird brotherhood that seemed to always succeed in attacking the school and yet never actually hurt anyone. In other words, this was the most fun you have ever had in centuries. The latest fun you ran into at the school was right now. Watching the students frantically try to finish the book report they were assigned by Storm. Listening to their banter and recollection of the book made you giggle at them. Scott Summers, the most vocal of the group, turned to look at you with a scowl on his face.

“Oh like you know anything about, uh, what are we reading?” He said turning back to his friends.

“Dracula?” You inquired, bringing the drink up to your lips.”I was there when it was written.” You smiled. “But don’t expect my help okay? I promised Storm that I wouldn’t say a word.” You walked out of room with a small smirk on your face, listening to their arguing fade.

Humming to yourself, you observed the students on your walk back to your office. As the school nurse, you knew a lot of the students on a first name basis. Many repeat visitors had graced your office with superficial wounds just so they would see you, and your favorite?

Mr. Logan Howlett, the Wolverine himself. Who was sitting on the bench in your office, awaiting your return. Your eyes locked onto his own, and your smile grew, exposing your fangs slightly.

“Well if it isn’t my most needy patient.”

“Guilty as charged,” he muttered standing to greet you. Pulling you into a hug, he squeezed you tight.

“Another day, another blood test?” You inquired, already knowing the answer. Your oldest friend nodded, removing his jacket so you could start to prep his arm for the extraction. Pulling over a stool, you sat as you wrapped the tourniquet over his bicep. “This might hurt”

“You say that everytime.” Logan responded, rolling his eyes and inhaling as the needle entered his skin. “You should train with us again” It was your turn to roll your eyes at him.

“Now you say that everytime,” he huffed at you using his words against him. “I am not who I was a hundred and what? Fifty years ago? I am a doctor, I help people… I am not a vampire.” You muttered the last bit, removing the needle from his arm and taping down gauze. Even though he didn’t need it, it helped him feel human.

You had met Logan around 1899, in the streets of London on the way to America. You both had caused some havoc and needed to escape the city until you had “died”. You both instantly bonded over your mutations and the fact that you both couldn’t die. You certainly had tried, burned at the stake, drowned, stabbed, shot in the head, even a stake to your heart. Your mutation had cursed to you continuously walk to the ends of the earth every time you needed a new identity, and somehow Logan was the same. If it weren’t for the adamantium poisoning his blood.

Holding the vial up to the light, you closed your eyes and focuses on the blood inside. Listening to the way it flowed and coagulated. Reopening your eyes, you stared at the vial until finally, you unscrewed the cap and took a sip. Closing it up, you placed it inside a centrifuge and wiped your mouth of any remains.

“Its so freaky when you do that.” Your rolled your eyes at him. “Especially when you drink it, why don’t you just take it from the source at that point”

“Firstly, I can taste the bourbon you had at lunch. Don’t you know addiction is bad for you? Secondly, I can tell that the serum has been working. I don’t taste the metal as much anymore. You should only need to get three more shots and finish one more round of antibiotics.” You informed him as he put on his jacket. “I love you Lo, but for the love of god please eat a vegetable, I can feel the fat you’ve been consuming.” He chuckled at your request and patted your head. Placing a small kiss on the top of your head, he left your office and shut the door behind him.

Sighing, you turned to start the centrifuge and rested your head on your hand. You hated how he did that. Joked with you and kissed you like you were his world. You knew you weren’t even close to being the owner of his heart. You had tried once, back before the great depression, but he wasn’t interested. He always had his eye on another.

You closed your eyes and let yourself drift away from your thoughts. Enjoying the silence you rarely got.

[thecluehunt]

welcome to the clue hunt!

how does this thing work?

to join the search for the 39 clues you will need to concoct a serum that will make you(r branch) all-powerful and set for world domination. follow this blog and/or like this post to register:)

this is an online clue hunt based on tumblr inspired by the 39 clues series. you do not have to have read the series to participate, although it might be more fun if you have!

a list of 39 elements, each with an associated number to account for its quantity in the final serum, has been determined and will soon be circulated across the threads of the interwebs. the goal of this clue hunt will be to collect all of these clues for your branch!

there will be four branches the participants will be loosely divided into based on their interests (will elaborate on this in a bit). the lucians (red, the cunning branch, think codes and logic and conniving), the ekaterinas (yellow, the stem branch), the tomas (blue, the athletic branch, which in the context of this clue hunt translates to gamers/shit that requires good motor skills) and the janus (green, the artistic branch)

each participant will be given a few clues at the start of the game. you will randomly be alloted into branches UNLESS you send an ask to this blog with a preferred branch. to make sure each branch has more or less equal numbers, asking for a specific branch will mean you will be given less clues than other participants at the start of the game (i.e. there is an advantage to random branch assignment).

you will be told your final branch privately and will not be revealed the branches of any other participants.

you will be required to hide the few clues given to you across the interwebs (there won't be many clues don't worry) in internet trails, using codes, links, metaphors, required tasks you need to complete to attain the clue, etc etc. this will largely be up to you and you will be allowed to use your creative license - but you will have to send your trail to this blog to make sure it is workable and not too vague lol. i will edit/fine tune everything and if you can't think of anything i will make a trail for you

if you pick your own branch, you will be required to incorporate the core values of your branch into your trails. so for the janus this means hiding clues in art, for lucians this means codes and cryptography related things maybe, etc etc.

write your tumblr url somewhere near where you leave the clue so people know you left it there!

a map will be provided with the location of each clue around the world, colour coded. so for example, myrrh, a clue from the original series, is an ekaterina clue native to north africa. so, a yellow dot representing myrrh will be marked in this region. this can be used to find out what branches other members are in. for example, if you find out a fellow participant hid the clue myrrh, you can deduce they are from the ekaterina branch because there is a yellow dot in the region it's from. if you are also an ekat, this means you can trust them with your clues because you're on the same team:)

a certain number of clues will not be given to any participants and will be withheld as madrigal clues. these will be hidden by me:)

you can recruit members who haven't registered to help you with your hunt well into the game! however, you need to have registered at the beginning (i.e. be following this blog and like this post) to receive your own clues

any/all forms of cheating and backstabbing will be allowed (for everyone except me/the madrigals that is):D

to help with organizing if you don't want to participate, you can join the madrigals! we are a neutral team who cannot by definition win and are just having fun organizing all this lol

more details including duration, prizes, etc will be shared/updated later!

happy hunting!

tagging people who interacted with my post about this: @the39cluesian @iankabra @yakalll @angelkat-x @icamebackfromnarnia @39addict101 @manicpixiess @bilhert @mediodedios @toiletpotato @39starrygurl @gaslighting69 @nimonaaaa @dinatela @amianislovely @fandom-oracle @sarasanddollar @carpe-astrae @ghost-in-a-cup @cosmo-babe @kadalakari

[vacantgodling]

I figured I should send you an ask instead of spamming your notifications: I saw the word "cyberwestern" and almost lost my entire mind. Graves and Dove are so interesting. Can I get an infodump on the project? What inspired it and how it's coming along, etc. The more details you can give on What Their Fucking Problem Is, the better. Thank you :>

honestly i am totally down with notif spam so if you still want to after i talk your ear off, HAVE AT IT :DD

so i did kinda do a mini info dump centering around graves like 20 minutes ago -> here but i figure a more... organized answer should be in order!

inspiration

what inspired the graves we dug is currently hard for me to remember. i think i mainly just wanted cowboy ocs? and one of my friends (@/nonsensical-pendulum) has an oc named 'graves' and the name sort of got stuck in my head because i thought it was Cool. and then, for once (this is a rarity for me) the title came pretty quickly after the graves we dug. and i didn't know what it was about for a bit, just that there were cowboys, a mc named graves, and they were digging holes... apparently. and then slowly from there things started to fall into place. unlike a lot of my other wips i feel like tgwd has a bit of a hard to pinpoint starting point, but i also think that's bc a lot of the stuff i had relating to its origins began on the blog i used to have in 2021, but then i deleted it entirely so all of that is lost now LOL

when it came to making it a cyberwestern itself, honestly i saw some cyberwestern style art with cowboys in citypop color schemes and i was like YEAHHHHHHH YEAHHHHHH. so i thought it'd be cool to go cyber instead of a traditional western lol.

how its going

so i'mma be straight up, tgwd is on my secondary wips bracket. if you look at my big ol wip list here it kinda breaks it all down, but those on my secondary list are ones where i enjoy working on them but they just don't have the same level of brainrot status as those at the top of my mind--namely paramour and btaf have taken those spots in the past couple of years. so usually how it goes with any of my secondary wips is i'll just be vibing, suddenly think about an aspect of it, think about it for a bit and then perhaps have a bit of a frenzy where i build on it, and then i end up deflecting back to my major ideals lol. so rn (at least for the past hour) i've been thinking about tgwd and getting asks is kinda an excuse to keep focus and work on it. i'll probably end up defecting back to my usual haunts in a few days.

THIS BEING SAID i have written some things for it which i shall get into momentarily

but what's going on?

so basically here's a mini timeline/play by play of what's happening that leads up to the beginning of the wip

firstly, the land is kind of a perpetual night; the sun on this world (haven't decided if its another planet or smthn yet) is pretty dim and so cities and fluorescent lights are the main lightsources of the world. there is also an 'artificial moon' but tbh idk what that means rn.

GRAVES in his early 20s leaves the ranch where he grew up to make a life for himself in the closest city called Rapture. Rapture is a city of glitz and glamor, run by crime lords and greed. he ends up entering "the organization" (it doesn't have a name yet) as an armed hire and gets hired out on different hits by different vendors to do their bidding (which is usually taking out their grudges on other crime lords. the organization has a strict neutrality policy that most everyone respects--if you have enough money for a hit, it'll be done, or you better hire some better guards).

to aid in the ever growing violence in the city, somehow someway the organization develops a special ops unit for their largest jobs, which includes an injection of a serum which manifests certain abilities in their best agents. graves, and his new acquaintance TOMB become some of the first to experience the serum, and this ends with graves gaining a black glow around his feet and an ability to walk silently and through solid objects, and tomb gaining an ability where his mouth glows orange (i haven't decided what it is, but i do know unlike graves or dove, he can't turn his ability off).

the two do solo jobs for awhile, until the organization decides that they need mentors to train new recruits that use the serum and this is how graves ends up meeting DOVE--a former opera star who's ability glows green centered around his eyes. they sort of hit it off immediately, and though tomb warns graves about getting too attached but graves can't really help it. he and dove get. attached.

a few years like this go by, and then the organization gets a huge hit--to take place at one of the biggest centers of crime, a club modeled like an old state building called The Rome, towards the epicenter of Rapture. the organization puts its best agents: graves and tomb, and their two rapidly trustworthy mentees: dove and dawn (tomb's mentee). the situation quickly goes south when their plot for assassination is discovered, and in an effort to save the mission, graves makes well--a grave mistake, and ends up trying to take down the target. unfortunately, the shot misses and ends up hitting dove instead. an explosion goes off afterward, and tomb and graves barely escape with their lives. dawn and dove are presumed dead.

while tomb compartmentalizes and continues on with his work, graves breaks down. and in his grief, he decides to defect from the organization without getting permission first. (after the mission at the rome, graves and dove did get permission to retire, but since the job wasn't done they aren't allowed to leave) since he was also pretty high up, he also has trade secrets and they couldn't just let him go and be a loose canon like that. its easier that if he's not going to comply, that he be dead--and so they send the one person who can catch him after him: tomb. tomb's taking his time, but he's also doing what has to be done.

the whole thing however turns upside down again when dove comes "back" from the grave. he's alive! very much not dead! and from what i'm comfortable sharing at the moment is yes, he was harmed by what happened but he's still very much alive and is ready to make good on their promise: to retire. and if he has to drag graves into making it happen then so be it.

what's written thus far

the official chapter 1 -> the start of the rapture

beginning of chapter 2 -> you're supposed to be dead

i want what you want (or they try talking about it, doesn't work, sleep together to create more problems instead)

do you trust me? (or, dove lets out some of his aggression at a very kicked puppy graves LMAO)

and yeah -- i think that's the most info i got right now! there's a lot of stuff i got to figure out an outline as well. BUT yeah i hope this was helpful :3c

[megamindsecretlair]

A New Assignment

Cross posted on @megamindssecretlair

Pairing: Bucky x Black!Fem!Reader

Warnings: There's cursing LOL

Summary: One-shot. SHIELD is trying to rebuild its numbers and its operations, without the pesky Hydra stuff. You are an agent with a troubled past who has been taking any and all assignment you can get your hands on. However, Handler has a different assignment in mind this time.

Word Count: 1,654k

A/N: I just finished watching the Spy x Family anime and I loved the idea of a handler, no name given. I love spy stuff in general and I just wanted to write the a** line. LOL. Enjoy. While likes are awesome, please consider reblogging and commenting to support writers!

You were tired. The extra assignments were kicking your butt and the agency-wide shortage wasn’t helping. On more than one occasion, you’ve told Handler that they could simply recruit more people. Shocker you know, but with so many things Handler had to take care of, it was possible that a simple solution could fall through the cracks.

She was not amused. She launched into her favorite speech about the vetting process and how there was a thin line between idiots and spies. Even their best technology didn’t catch Hydra agents under their noses. It wasn’t enough to pluck some pimply fresh face from college anymore. And on and on her complaints went.

Until then, you dragged your carcass across Shield HQ. The agents were…promising. And that was putting it politely. Recruitment was slow and the focus was on other agencies like Sword, though you weren’t sure what was going on there after the whole Hayward thing. 

The new HQ was a lot more discreet than the previous Triskelion. It still lacked any actual decorating. The walls and floors were bland, the fluorescent lights were as bad as ever, and they used the same landscape and ocean prints from before. For all intents and purposes, it was business as usual. 

You crossed the building and took the elevator to the eleventh floor. Analysts milled around passing folders and talking to each other over their cubbies. They gave you a wide berth and whispered behind their hands. You kept your head high and your shoulders squared back. You could not control rumors and they had nothing to do with you. You, Handler, and the brass at Shield knew what happened. That was all that mattered.

You made your way to the back of the open floor plan and knocked on the door. Handler called your name and you entered, closing the door behind you.

Despite the drabness of the offices outside, Handler’s office was more stylish. The carpet and walls were still a dull grayish blue, but the paintings she chose were thought provoking. In one, two forms were contorted so it wasn’t clear if they were embracing or fighting. It was dark at the bottom of the painting as if they were emerging from a pool of inky blackness.

Handler’s chairs were plush and it was like sinking into a cloud. The desk was large without being obnoxious and it held her two computer screens, folders, mail, and small knick knacks like mini snow globes from various countries and shot glasses lined a shelf behind her. Two large windows let in enough light that the overhead lights weren’t truly necessary. In one corner, there was a flat screen TV depicting the latest news story. 

Handler leaned back in her seat as she tore her amber eyes away from the computer screens. She narrowed her eyes at you, a frown spreading across her small face. It only made you smirk as you settled more into the chair.

“We have a long assignment for you,” she said. 

“What?” 

“We appreciate your dedication to the short assignments and picking up the slack. As a reward, we’re placing you undercover at Bowers Innovation. There’s chatter that they’re working on a super soldier serum,” she said. She nodded towards a thick folder hanging off the edge of the desk.

You took it and skimmed through it. The folder held dossiers on the target, the lab, coworkers, etc. 

“We have other agents already in place to provide some cover.”

“Will people ever give up on super soldiers?” You asked, more to yourself. It seemed like even though aliens and gods visited Earth on a regular basis, people would never stop their endless hunt to be better and do better and live forever.

“As long as there are wars to win and soldiers to fight, people will never stop. We’re sending you in as a team. You’ll be partnered with another agent,” Handler said. 

“I work better alone, you know that. Why are you giving me this?” You asked. This was more suited to grunt work. You were not a babysitter. 

Handler lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow and pursed her lips. She blinked a few times and conveyed an entire conversation in that one look. 

You tilted your head and communicated right back. This was not the best use of your time or skills.

“You are uniquely qualified for this mission. Your exceptional ability to bullshit your way through anything is needed. You could sell ice to a penguin,” she said.

“Why, Handler. Flattery gets you nowhere,” you said, with a grin. 

Her jaw flexed but the blank expression she was known for remained in place. You didn’t really think you could get beneath her skin, but it was fun trying. 

“So, what, you want me to break into this lab, destroy the formula?” You asked.

“Emphasis on a long assignment. We need to know who hired him, where the serum is going, has it been tested, etc. It’s all in the folder.” Handler waved her hand as if she were bored with the whole conversation.

That made two of you. You didn’t like one thing about this assignment. Any attempt at contact would make you suspicious, whether your coworkers vouched for you or not. You were pretty good at bullshitting your way through things but with something like this serum, security was going to be tough. And what was your partner supposed to do?

“Fine. I’ll head to logistics to pick a partner,” you said.

“That’s already been arranged,” Handler said. If you didn’t know any better, you’d swear she smirked.

“What’s going on here? Who’s my partner?” 

Handler turned cat-like amber eyes towards you and said the last name you ever expected. “James Buchanan Barnes.”

Heat flashed over your skin. Anger boiled in your gut. “Are you kidding me? Bucky? He’s the opposite of low-key! I’m not doing it. Bucky is a pain in my natural Black-”

“Ass? You can be sometimes, but it’s part of your charm.” 

You whipped around in your seat and saw the devil himself standing in the doorway. How did he manage to open the door and drop in on the conversation without you noticing? 

You glared at him before looking at Handler. Her face hadn’t changed but you just knew that she was laughing her head off under that stoic exterior.

“Assign someone else,” you said.

Bucky shuffled in and closed the door behind him. He sat down and folded his hands in his lap. 

“Aw, but we got married. It’s a little late for cold feet,” he said. 

You kept your eyes trained on Handler while he kept his eyes focused on you. You schooled your features and dropped your tone. 

“Perhaps this assignment will work better with a more qualified agent. James’ face is too recognizable,” you said.

“That’s precisely why he’s qualified. Any person we’ve sent to get close to the scientist, Julius Fisher, was quickly shut down or the agents were found out. He’ll know that anyone would pay top dollar to replicate the super soldier serum. And if he’s not willing to sell, they’ll steal his research or kill him. He will definitely be suspicious of the two of you. But, he also won’t be able to resist a super soldier. He’ll come to you, trap or not.”

“He’ll know that James isn’t married. If he suddenly turns up married, that’s going to raise suspicions,” you said.

“Don’t you remember how small our wedding was? We invited our closest friends and the reception was lovely,” Bucky said.

“Lucky for you, due to the nature of James’ status, it would make sense to keep his personal life private. Including a wedding,” Handler said.

Son of a bitch. She was enjoying this. She already thought of every excuse you would come up with. 

Your chest felt too tight. You couldn’t breathe well enough to get a full breath. 

“Fine,” you said. There was no situation you could think of to get out of this. You could bullshit your way out of most things except where the Handler was involved. You simply had to make the most of the situation. Even if it had to do with Bucky.

Damn him. He smelled good. And he looked good. When he came in, he wore a t-shirt and jeans and his signature leather jacket. But he made that look like he stepped off of a runway. His hair was short and he already had stubble growing in. 

“Excellent. In your folder you’ll find all the details for your lovely, whirlwind romance and the details of your new apartment together,” Handler said.

You knew a dismissal when you heard one. You stood up and left the office, not bothering to address Bucky at all. Regardless, he caught up to you before you reached the opposite end of the office. He held the door as you left and kept time with you as you stalked down the hallway. 

“So when do you want to move in?” Bucky asked.

“Let’s get something straight. We’re only going to do the bare minimum when it comes to this. Outside the home, we’re the perfect couple. Inside of it, you stay in your room, I’ll stay in mine. We’ll stay out of each other’s way, got it?”

As you spoke, you didn’t realize you were poking him in the chest or advancing on him until he grabbed your outstretched hand and tugged you close. Your chest rubbed against his and the smell of him clouded your senses.

He looked down at you, making his eyes half closed. His long eyelashes nearly fanned his cheeks. He licked his lips slowly as he perused your face.

“Got it,” he whispered, with a smirk. 

“And no touching,” you said. You yanked your hand back and stalked off down the hallway, hating how he made you feel. You were so not okay with this.

Don't ya want more Bucky in your life? Great news! The Secret Bucky Files

[cosmicjoke]

hi you always talk about levis choice more im context of erwin (beacuse of the asks and shipper) but i would like to hear more about armin in this context and what levi saw in armin

for me levi saw the compassion in armin, armin while being able to make hard choices never abandonded his humanity

Haha, yeah, I just posted about this, which I see you saw!

I think Armin was pretty pivotal in Levi's decision, though it seems to make some people angry when you even suggest it, for reasons I think we already know, lol.

The thing is, Armin's dream was pure, and I think Isayama deliberately contrasted Armin with Erwin during that entire scenario. While Levi was ordering Erwin to ride to his death with the other scouts, and give up on his dream, Armin was at that same moment, giving up on HIS dream by serving as the bait against Bertolt's Colossal Titan so that Eren could cut him out from behind.

Armin was able to come to this decision on his own, and I just had a debate about this with another person, and we disagreed, but I said that Erwin WASN'T able to let go of his dream on his own. Levi had to make that decision for him. Again, I think that contrast between Erwin and Armin is deliberate. One of the main themes of AoT is that dreams, and the pursuit of dreams, can lead to our corruption, our ruination. Our inability to let dreams go, our need to have them in order to remain "drunk" on something, as Kenny says, is what so often leads us astray. We see it happen with a lot of characters in the series. Eren is the most prominent one that stands out, obviously. But we see it with Reiner and what he does with destroying the walls of Paradis, we see it with Annie, we see it with Grisha and Zeke, etc, etc... All of these people end up really messed up, in their own ways, because they couldn't let go of their dreams. And Erwin I think is also in that category, or at least, he would be, if Levi hadn't helped him let his dream go.

But Armin is pretty special, because, again he COULD let his dream go.

People keep dumping on me for this, and saying I'm being arrogant because I talk about the juxtaposition of the panels during the scene where Levi chooses, like I'm being pretentious by studying these panels and trying to figure out what they're saying. But I think it's important in order to understand what LEVI was thinking and what was motivating him toward his decision. If, like some people claim, Armin wasn't at all a part of Levi's decision making process, or just a minimal or superfluous element, then why the hell does Levi repeatedly look at him during this sequence, and why does Levi think specifically of Armin from the night before, while he told Eren and Mikasa about his dream? Why does he recall the light in Armin's eyes in that recollection, and why is it contrasted with the dead, worn out look in Erwin's eyes when he thanks Levi for choosing for him?

It doesn't make any sense to me that this wasn't intentional on Isayama's part, or that we aren't meant to be making a comparison between Armin and Erwin.

The exhausted look in Erwin's eyes, his relief when Levi frees him from the burden of his dream, shows us what Erwin's dream has done to him. It's ruined him. It's left him with nothing but an overwhelming sense of guilt and self-loathing. And yet still, even with that, he can't let it go. It still haunts him. This is further emphasized in Erwin's dying moments, I think, when in a delirious state, he thinks he's a child again, asking his father about the people beyond the walls. I also don't think it's some sort of coincidence, or can be written off as unintentional, that it's THIS moment when Levi makes the decision to give the serum to Armin, when he'd been on the cusp of giving it to Erwin. Erwin's dream had destroyed him, and he still couldn't let it go. It continued to hold him in its grip, even as he was dying.

Again, all of this is juxtaposed against Levi's recollection of Armin's bright, innocent eyes and smile as he talks about the sea. Armin's dream HASN'T corrupted him. It's still a pure dream. Still a dream rooted in hope. That's a stark contrast to Erwin's dream, which is rooted in guilt and self-hatred and trauma. But even with the pure innocence of Armin's dream, unlike Erwin, he was able to let it go, and easily at that. He was content with the thought of Eren getting to see the sea in his place. He sacrificed himself without a second thought. His dream didn't have a death grip on him like Erwin's had on him.

That says a lot about Armin. About what kind of person he is. About what a strong person he is, and about the hope he could offer humanity through that strength. People go on and on about how Erwin would have figured out a way to stop the Rumbling, or prevent war with Marley, and maybe he would have, but that's really not the point.

Levi understood in that moment that what humanity needed was hope. What humanity needed was compassion. What humanity needed was innocence. It wasn't about whether Armin could replace Erwin, or be a better leader than Erwin. Levi himself says nobody could ever replace Erwin. It was about the purity of Armin's dream, and what that itself represented to the future of mankind. What good is it, fighting for a humanity that's so mired in hopeless cruelty and violence and corruption? What good is it, if in the pursuit of salvation, we doom ourselves to monstrosity?

Like I've said a lot lately, there is no "greater good" without compassion and morality. There is no better tomorrow without empathy.

So I think Levi's choice was, in equal parts, about Erwin AND Armin. For Erwin, it was about rejecting the idea of the ends justifying the means. It was about rejecting the abstract notion of the "greater good" to embrace the reality of kindness and mercy. To forfeit this intangible concept of an ideal world to the concrete possibility of relieving another human being of their suffering. And for Armin, it was about hope. About offering to humanity the hope of an innocent and pure dream. Offering humanity the hope of an uncorrupted dream. It was about being able to let go of the things that are leading us astray, or which have the potential to lead us astray. Really, it was about the future, and having a future worth fighting for. Like Levi says, an absurdly ideal world. Armin represented that kind of hope in a way I don't think Erwin could.

Anyway, I guess I made this post more about both Erwin and Armin, lol. Sorry. It's just, the two are so inextricable I think when discussing Levi's choice. I think they're purposefully contrasted, and we're meant to understand that Armin WAS the right choice. That, again, it wasn't about who gave humanity the best chance at "victory", (because victory without humanity is hollow anyway), it was about who represented hope for humanity. It was, ultimately, a choice guided by Levi's heart, not his mind. But still, it was the right choice. Morally, it was the right choice. Like I said in my post about the importance of staying true to ones heart, Levi stayed trued to his heart here. He did what his conscience dictated.

[annbourbon]

Tracking Drugs Inside the Cheritzverse (Soft Thread)

Unicorn drugs!!! Yeah~~ I'm not crazy.

⚠️ Spoilers Ahead ⚠️

Okay~ so for starters.

Canon (Things we know so far~)

♡ Eri's drugged by Tei during Nameless

♡ Because of a mistake I made once, I realized how close and how Tei and Teo are the only ones (that I know~) within the Cheritzverse with names that are like this. Like their names are only 3 words o.o and the only letter that changes it's the last one!?

♡ We know and it's almost confirmed but not explicitly showed~ that Teo ends up in Mint Eye and ends up helping Saeran (as Unknown/404) to drag us to Mint Eye, brainwash us and then send us to the RFA as spy. If you don't understand what I mean by this then you need to read this timeline

♡ Rika has sleep inducing drugs during Saeran's AE, to induce sleep into Seven. Apparently she has a thing for "natural" stuff now or something. Please can someone confirm? I dread Saeran's AE as it made me go into full depression mode so~ if I have to I will but rn I won't lol anyways~ it's heavily implied that it's some kind if tea/serum that they put into Seven bloodstream to keep him asleep.

♡ I completely forgot about the FUCKING unicorn as MC!!!

♡ Can we take these drugs Harry??

Harry:

omg~

(Harry going to a chinese store where it's a bit sketchy tbh~ but apparently they give him some weird things and the place has weird vibes and possible connections (although I didn't caught upon what exactly but I just got the feeling~)

♡ Let's not forget the creepy drink they have at Magenta. And the relation with 'Paradise' because if this is "unicorn drugs" then the only thing closer to that~ it's Paradise. No one actually is explaining how these things work but we know the drugs are so strong it causes a lot of symptoms... and I guess I'll have to track those. *sighs in I really have to go back to Another Story TT*

Not to mention V drugged the whole RFA *sighs* with an aromatic/gas version of this same drug: And yes; everyone including Jumin fell down asleep. But it's implied in some of the bad endings during Saeran's AE and through the whole Another Story that the very drug can kill you or leave you in a coma(?)

♡ There's a moment during MM in Another Story, where Yoosung says to have some kind of tea that helps him to relax.

♡ Tei's tea it's called ZZZ (keyword: herbal tea)

⋆ ₊ ﾟ ☽ * ₊ ⋆⋆ ₊ ﾟ ☽ * ₊ ⋆⋆ ₊ ﾟ ☽ * ₊ ⋆⋆ ₊ ﾟ ☽ * ₊ ⋆

* This is gonna get creepier from now on because I'm gonna talk about how the unicorn it's always on the treadmill being exploited and its role on emotions/planets~~ but that's for another post. I made this one only to be able to track down this cause, call me weird, I know they're playing a big role here♡

** For those who want to see the Cheritzverse Master List, you only need to click on the top title and it'll lead you back to that. I'm implementing this on almost every post I'm creating from now on ~

[megamindslair]

A New Assignment

Moving my fics to @megamindsecretlair

Warnings: There's cursing. Bucky x Blackfem!reader.

Summary: One-shot. SHIELD is trying to rebuild its numbers and its operations, without the pesky Hydra stuff. You are an agent with a troubled past who has been taking any and all assignment you can get your hands on. However, Handler has a different assignment in mind this time.

Word Count: 1,654k

A/N: I just finished watching the Spy x Family anime and I loved the idea of a handler, no name given. I love spy stuff in general and I just wanted to write the a** line. LOL. Enjoy.

You were tired. The extra assignments were kicking your butt and the agency-wide shortage wasn’t helping. On more than one occasion, you’ve told Handler that they could simply recruit more people. Shocker you know, but with so many things Handler had to take care of, it was possible that a simple solution could fall through the cracks.

She was not amused. She launched into her favorite speech about the vetting process and how there was a thin line between idiots and spies. Even their best technology didn’t catch Hydra agents under their noses. It wasn’t enough to pluck some pimply fresh face from college anymore. And on and on her complaints went.

Until then, you dragged your carcass across Shield HQ. The agents were…promising. And that was putting it politely. Recruitment was slow and the focus was on other agencies like Sword, though you weren’t sure what was going on there after the whole Hayward thing. 

The new HQ was a lot more discreet than the previous Triskelion. It still lacked any actual decorating. The walls and floors were bland, the fluorescent lights were as bad as ever, and they used the same landscape and ocean prints from before. For all intents and purposes, it was business as usual. 

You crossed the building and took the elevator to the eleventh floor. Analysts milled around passing folders and talking to each other over their cubbies. They gave you a wide berth and whispered behind their hands. You kept your head high and your shoulders squared back. You could not control rumors and they had nothing to do with you. You, Handler, and the brass at Shield knew what happened. That was all that mattered.

You made your way to the back of the open floor plan and knocked on the door. Handler called your name and you entered, closing the door behind you.

Despite the drabness of the offices outside, Handler’s office was more stylish. The carpet and walls were still a dull grayish blue, but the paintings she chose were thought provoking. In one, two forms were contorted so it wasn’t clear if they were embracing or fighting. It was dark at the bottom of the painting as if they were emerging from a pool of inky blackness.

Handler’s chairs were plush and it was like sinking into a cloud. The desk was large without being obnoxious and it held her two computer screens, folders, mail, and small knick knacks like mini snow globes from various countries and shot glasses lined a shelf behind her. Two large windows let in enough light that the overhead lights weren’t truly necessary. In one corner, there was a flat screen TV depicting the latest news story. 

Handler leaned back in her seat as she tore her amber eyes away from the computer screens. She narrowed her eyes at you, a frown spreading across her small face. It only made you smirk as you settled more into the chair.

“We have a long assignment for you,” she said. 

“What?” 

“We appreciate your dedication to the short assignments and picking up the slack. As a reward, we’re placing you undercover at Bowers Innovation. There’s chatter that they’re working on a super soldier serum,” she said. She nodded towards a thick folder hanging off the edge of the desk.

You took it and skimmed through it. The folder held dossiers on the target, the lab, coworkers, etc. 

“We have other agents already in place to provide some cover.”

“Will people ever give up on super soldiers?” You asked, more to yourself. It seemed like even though aliens and gods visited Earth on a regular basis, people would never stop their endless hunt to be better and do better and live forever.

“As long as there are wars to win and soldiers to fight, people will never stop. We’re sending you in as a team. You’ll be partnered with another agent,” Handler said. 

“I work better alone, you know that. Why are you giving me this?” You asked. This was more suited to grunt work. You were not a babysitter. 

Handler lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow and pursed her lips. She blinked a few times and conveyed an entire conversation in that one look. 

You tilted your head and communicated right back. This was not the best use of your time or skills.

“You are uniquely qualified for this mission. Your exceptional ability to bullshit your way through anything is needed. You could sell ice to a penguin,” she said.

“Why, Handler. Flattery gets you nowhere,” you said, with a grin. 

Her jaw flexed but the blank expression she was known for remained in place. You didn’t really think you could get beneath her skin, but it was fun trying. 

“So, what, you want me to break into this lab, destroy the formula?” You asked.

“Emphasis on a long assignment. We need to know who hired him, where the serum is going, has it been tested, etc. It’s all in the folder.” Handler waved her hand as if she were bored with the whole conversation.

That made two of you. You didn’t like one thing about this assignment. Any attempt at contact would make you suspicious, whether your coworkers vouched for you or not. You were pretty good at bullshitting your way through things but with something like this serum, security was going to be tough. And what was your partner supposed to do?

“Fine. I’ll head to logistics to pick a partner,” you said.

“That’s already been arranged,” Handler said. If you didn’t know any better, you’d swear she smirked.

“What’s going on here? Who’s my partner?” 

Handler turned cat-like amber eyes towards you and said the last name you ever expected. “James Buchanan Barnes.”

Heat flashed over your skin. Anger boiled in your gut. “Are you kidding me? Bucky? He’s the opposite of low-key! I’m not doing it. Bucky is a pain in my natural Black-”

“Ass? You can be sometimes, but it’s part of your charm.” 

You whipped around in your seat and saw the devil himself standing in the doorway. How did he manage to open the door and drop in on the conversation without you noticing? 

You glared at him before looking at Handler. Her face hadn’t changed but you just knew that she was laughing her head off under that stoic exterior.

“Assign someone else,” you said.

Bucky shuffled in and closed the door behind him. He sat down and folded his hands in his lap. 

“Aw, but we got married. It’s a little late for cold feet,” he said. 

You kept your eyes trained on Handler while he kept his eyes focused on you. You schooled your features and dropped your tone. 

“Perhaps this assignment will work better with a more qualified agent. James’ face is too recognizable,” you said.

“That’s precisely why he’s qualified. Any person we’ve sent to get close to the scientist, Julius Fisher, was quickly shut down or the agents were found out. He’ll know that anyone would pay top dollar to replicate the super soldier serum. And if he’s not willing to sell, they’ll steal his research or kill him. He will definitely be suspicious of the two of you. But, he also won’t be able to resist a super soldier. He’ll come to you, trap or not.”

“He’ll know that James isn’t married. If he suddenly turns up married, that’s going to raise suspicions,” you said.

“Don’t you remember how small our wedding was? We invited our closest friends and the reception was lovely,” Bucky said.

“Lucky for you, due to the nature of James’ status, it would make sense to keep his personal life private. Including a wedding,” Handler said.

Son of a bitch. She was enjoying this. She already thought of every excuse you would come up with. 

Your chest felt too tight. You couldn’t breathe well enough to get a full breath. 

“Fine,” you said. There was no situation you could think of to get out of this. You could bullshit your way out of most things except where the Handler was involved. You simply had to make the most of the situation. Even if it had to do with Bucky.

Damn him. He smelled good. And he looked good. When he came in, he wore a t-shirt and jeans and his signature leather jacket. But he made that look like he stepped off of a runway. His hair was short and he already had stubble growing in. 

“Excellent. In your folder you’ll find all the details for your lovely, whirlwind romance and the details of your new apartment together,” Handler said.

You knew a dismissal when you heard one. You stood up and left the office, not bothering to address Bucky at all. Regardless, he caught up to you before you reached the opposite end of the office. He held the door as you left and kept time with you as you stalked down the hallway. 

“So when do you want to move in?” Bucky asked.

“Let’s get something straight. We’re only going to do the bare minimum when it comes to this. Outside the home, we’re the perfect couple. Inside of it, you stay in your room, I’ll stay in mine. We’ll stay out of each other’s way, got it?”

As you spoke, you didn’t realize you were poking him in the chest or advancing on him until he grabbed your outstretched hand and tugged you close. Your chest rubbed against his and the smell of him clouded your senses.

He looked down at you, making his eyes half closed. His long eyelashes nearly fanned his cheeks. He licked his lips slowly as he perused your face.

“Got it,” he whispered, with a smirk. 

“And no touching,” you said. You yanked your hand back and stalked off down the hallway, hating how he made you feel. You were so not okay with this.

[jakesangel]

i even had to screenshot your answer my love! in order to respond to e-ve-ry-thing you’ve asked 🫳🏻🫳🏻

yep yep! mba is the exact same thing you’ve wrote in your reply! this semester i studied marketing and things like it! oooh and I also had a very interesting course on consumers’ behaviour and psychology! it was soso fun ><

i got my bachelor in my home country and then i thought about travelling a bit and i chose korea cuz ive been studying korean for a little and i just enjoy the culture yk?? so i applied for masters and got accepted ^^

and yesss i can speak korean!! not as great as i wish i could but its still something.. i mean im still alive here anddd it would be a pleasure for me to be your 언니 ^^

when it comes to books my fav is the secret history im not sure if you’ve heard about it but im so in love with the story I was literally obsessed with the book for like have a year!

i love horrors too but i prefer to watch mostly because im a scaredy cat to play by myself.. but i love playing league and overwatch and something like this!!

oh actually im planning to order some makeup today too! i was thinking the whole week about buying the new dasique lip painting palette anddd i need some glossies and probablyy some skincare things.. im out of my centella serum oops ><

and i love clean and cute makeup! do it everyday but I especially love my lashes and my eyes in general cuz I have big brown eyes and my friend call me bambi because of them so im trying to emphasise them to look like a little doll

hope you have a good day princess!!

— 🍧

🍧 언니 > < 잘 지내셨어요?

그렇구나ᵎᵎ 너의 과목를 좋아해요ᵎᵎ 난 의대 준비중인 학생이에요 >< 너도, 한국에 가고 싶어요 ᵎᵎ 빨리 갈 수 있으면 좋겠네요 ㅋㅋㅋ

please tell me about the book, it seems interesting >< i also love wathcing horrid but playing im so so so bad ㅎㅎ i need to have my brothers w me or else i cant physically move in the game. i've even scream at 3 am n angered my parents,,,, aaaah over watch n lol ᵎᵎ you would get along w my brothers so so well ᵎ i'm more into games w a story line like tomb raider or until dawn ^_^

i've never heard of those makeup products i'll defo look into it ᵎ i'm gonna get the anua skincare line and a new highlighter pen but idk where yet >< i also need a new gloss, i might get the one wonyoung uses ^.^ ong that's such a lovely n qtie name :( u must look so so so pretti irl ᵎ my little bambi 🥰 i'm also into trying to oook like a doll so i wear lots of highlight n pink tones, n my eyes are also round so i really really loving younger than my age. like i went to a doctor appointment for my brothers but they didn't let me pass and asked me where were our parents tho i'm 21 ㅋㅋ

what's your plans for summer >< so you age any girl ᵎ or things to visit in korea ?ᩚ

[brehaaorgana]

I did go to Sephora yesterday and the Internet wasn't lying or over exaggerating! I saw, in fact, MULTIPLE 8-12 year olds shopping there. although a lot/most of the actually youngest ones had parents trailing them.

specifically please pour one out for one dad trailing his preteen girls lmao. That man had the ultimate dad (or parent) expression that combined resigned exhaustion with supportiveness and searching bewilderment hoping for solidarity among adults. Or possibly rescue

.

Anyways one of them darted in front of me to reach/snatch at something she wanted because she was too nervous to say "excuse me," although I had already noticed her telling her mom what product she was looking for and was actively already stepping aside when she zoomed in to do this! I was making space and she literally was too excited to just wait three more seconds.

I mostly found the darting funny because she was clearly just afraid to talk to another person who wasn't her mom (nervous hand clasping, whispering to her mom's ear, hesitant hover back), but also like sweetie, your mom SHOULD encourage you to not snatch things or reach over people and say out loud "excuse me," even if it IS scary. I pre-emptively moved over when I saw what she was saying, she was just faster lol.

I will think on how to gently help them with this next time. I probably could've said something like "hey, it's okay to say excuse me so I can move over more for you! We can both look!"

This little girl DID open the box of what she was looking at which?? Why did her mom not tell her not to do that?? But she didn't unseal product.

Also this is what she wanted:

For anyone fascinated/horrified by the phenomenon of pre-teen girls being sold absurd skincare standards by TikTok, but who doesn't know much about the products involved:

This is a watermelon glow face serum. Serum is basically liquidy topical skincare products. They're often used for a more concentrated delivery of an active ingredient in your skincare. A little can go a long way.

In this case, the serum is boosting in order: (1) niacinamide, which is a type of vitamin B3 that helps your skin build keratin (for firmness), and the natural lipid barrier which helps you retain moisture. It can also help with inflammation/redness/coloration (acne, eczema, hyperpigmentation). (2) literal watermelon extract which idk says it delivers amino acids and hydration in the marketing. It's probably harmless. It's a good add for marketing, Glow recipe does fruit themed products. And (3) hyaluronic acid which could sound scary but is just a humectant that helps prepare skin to receive moisture, like in your moisturizer. (Fair warning: a straight hyaluronic acid serum is not enough on its own if your skin is super dehydrated. It will make your skin go all shriveled if you don't add moisturizer and you were super dry to start with. Ask me how I know)

Basically this angel faced & clear skinned child absolutely did not need anything to help acne or redness, but in this case it's a harmless product that will also help her skin stay moisturized in winter. It's pricey for what it is, but it's not meant for mature skin only thankfully. Basically if I had to choose something from Glow Recipe (which has cute, colorful bottles and fun fruit themes) for a little kiddo, this lands in the harmless to their skin pile.

She got the mini size which is $20

Her skin absolutely doesn't need this product. This is about marketing performative femininity and anti-aging towards girls and women. From an "everyone has skin to care for," perspective, "watermelon pink juice moisturizer" by the same brand is more relevant. Or the blueberry cleanser.

(most of the actual teenagers said things like "excuse me" if they needed to pass by and weren't rude to me at all. Like actual teenagers sans guardians and I had lots of normal sorry, excuse me, go ahead interactions between us. They're NOT all aggressive and rude.)

Idk idk I have such mixed feelings. I know I cared about the onset of acne at 11, 12... I hated the feeling of breaking out, not even just from a social perspective but like, the sensory feeling it produces in your skin. I pick at it even when I shouldn't. I still hate it! But to have that anxiety compounded a bajillion times by social media would've sucked.

[fandomfluffandfuck]

smth abt the way both marvel and the fandom is so ableist towards bucky is so disheartening :/

it's bad enough that so much of stucky fanworks basically just deletes bucky's existence and have an oc date canon steve (which doesnt even make sense bc the characters' stories have always been so connected that doing that would wipe out so much of steve that they're giving endgame a run for its money) but then it becomes more exhausting how it's so obvious most fans who claim to love the characters would rather just replace bucky with a random abled person to project onto

it feels like fans wish canon had "conveniently" erased bucky's disabilities the way it erased steve's disabilities with the serum so it's one less "obstacle" in the way of projecting a separate character onto him

and it's not like marvel is the only ableist fandom, not by a long shot even if only counting ableism in sci-fi media, but i've had a much easier time in other fandoms celebrating disabled characters in the piece of media

but the way bucky gets treated feels like a whole other level, like everyone working on canon and fanon despises the fact that he's disabled and wishes it went away so they can have as much as a blank white slate to paint whatever they want on

This immediately made me think of a post I saw floating around that was an anon asking someone, wait, Bucky has a disability? And the blog answering with something like, dude, he's missing an arm!

It is disenheartening to see people forget large parts of characters.

Although, personally, I haven't experienced much of the OC-ification of Bucky, but that doesn't mean it isn't there--I do inhabit a very small corner of the fandom. I see a lot of works of different iterations of Bucky, but I also see the same with Steve so it doesn't strike me as anything but charming, I like watching these idiots falling in love over and over in all different universes. But, again, I'm sure there is treatment of Bucky in that way out there. So, I can't totally speak to that.

But, I think a lot of the erasure of Bucky's disabilities are due to the source material and the larger context of where the source material came from. Marvel doesn't show Bucky has having a disability or did Marvel show Steve as having disabilities, as you said. And Western society does not fucking like disabled people, it likes to pretend they don't exist (or worse, it likes to get rid of them completely). So, it makes sense that fans would be seemingly strangely unaware of Bucky's disabilities or feel uncomfortable talking about them. I understand the frustration and tiredness around fans not speaking about it or not acknowledging it. I do. But I can see why it happens, and I've tried to find fandom spaces where his character, along with Steve's character, is treated in a way I like. It's work, but I find it worth it since I can't control other people, lol.

(It also goes without saying that, yes, there are going to be some bad apples in the bunch that do use Bucky as an OC and/or purposefully disregard his disabilities. And that the fandom could certain benefit from widespread discussions about this topic.)

This reminds me, though, that I should pay more attention to disability details. Every time I read a fic with Bucky's or Steve's disabilities mentioned or expressed thoughtfully, I am reminded that I don't do much with that. There are rich details I could add, but I don't. And disabilities don't always have to be mentioned in smut, but having it from time to time, especially when I write canon stucky, would be a good thing. You have to be aware of mental and physical limits in kink, especially, so I should be better about inputting those details myself.

[cowgirlcherrie]

youre so cute stop it im going insane♡︎ i feel like ellie would be so good at soccer like she’d know everyone’s next move

PLEASE i would definitely be head over heels for her soccer girls are just 🫣..

I LOVE YOU MORE BABY!!

i would still be begging on my knees

my day has been unbelievably boring so far☹️ i haven’t been doing anything special today my summer is just not summering this year

anywaays, how’s yours been babe? done anything fun today?

also i HAVE to say that your vampire!ellie fic was so incredible i had to put my phone away and process everything for a few minutes.. the details were so good and everything was so well written

ANOTHER MASTERPIECE BY MY GIRL!!

-☀️

my heart beats XTRA fast for you!!!

sporty women, I want to kiss all of them!! Ellie would definitely have a habit of doing tunnels (just pushing the ball between peoples legs) like she’s a tripper, leaves her foot out purposely!!

MWUAH MWUAH COME FETCH UR DAILY KISSES

Omg awe I’m sorry!! You are so right like when the summer started I was like omg this is gonna be my summer but eventually It was no longer summering and it rained more than anything. the photodump at the end of the summer is not gonna go that crazy on the gram it’s gonna be so humbling

I took digitals with my camera I just hope people eat it up LOL, I’ll post some during my face reveal one day..

My day has been super productive I had a big skin care moment which I love to do, I’ve been using this vitamin c serum and it works so nicely smells amazing and my skin has been glowing. Like I will say this summer I’ve been wearing makeup less bc my skin has been thriving on its own. I got had some really good carribean food which was yummy!!!

THANK U BABY OMGG ♡♡ It was so one of my favorites such a 2014 thing for me to do but like vampire plots never miss !! like I’ve written one in the past on here but deleted it (anyone who remembers this is actually an OG) but I wanted to do a spin off with Abs in the same universe as the ACERBUS fic

“MY GIRL” DO U WANT ME TO CRY CUZ I WILL

[coeurspurs]

I think this is one of the best skincare lineup for my current skin condition. 🧊🩵💧

Lately, my skin broke out again after I was being too carefree in what I consume. 🫠 Surely it's anything but good, but I'm trying to handle the stress now so it won't get any worse than this.😵‍💫

I didn't use any skincare products for about 4-5 months because I was using my doctor's prescriptions to heal my skin, and then I didn't repurchase any of those products for about 3 months because they made my skin look dull. 🥲

After weeks of having some thoughts and learned bits about skincare ingredients, I finally managed to buy some products that I think are necessary for my skin condition:

SOMEBYMI AHA BHA PHA Toner

Jumiso Waterfull Hyaluronic Toner

True to Skin Niacinamide TXA Serum

True to Skin Multi Hyaluronic Serum

The Originote Hyalucera Moisturizer

These products mostly has hydrating ingredient that can help my skin produce less oil (I have oily, acne prone skin type). I've been using the moisturizer for some time now and it does a great job in moisturizing my skin. However, the rest of the products are essentially new products that I just tried this year. 💐

I believe that something's wrong on my skin barrier, so I'm trying to fix it with hydrating products. I'm currently reducing my skincare routine to just exfoliate and hydrate to prevent even more breakouts. I had this thing called skin cycling before where I need to "cycle" the routines once every 3 days and I swear to God, it was one of the most stressing skincare routine I've ever had. 😂 But these methods are each to their own, I guess. Simplicity fits me more in so many things, including my skincare routine.

Before anybody jump at me, I know that AHA BHA PHA toner was so famous in around 2018. They were literally everywhere and people talked about it so often. Back then, I was afraid of using the product because I was new to skincare and I didn't want to over-exfoliate my skin. Just about 6 years later, here I am, praising that toner for how good it is on my skin! 🥺💞 It didn't give the tingling sensation when I applied it on my skin, unlike the previous exfoliating toner I used. It was so gentle and it did its job properly on the first try. I'm in love with this toner, it's obvious, and it's a very late response to a trend, lol. I would totally recommend this to anyone who's looking for an exfoliating toner.

And then, the Jumiso Hyaluronic toner. I saw the ad everywhere and I was so curious about it. I watched around 3-4 reviews on YouTube and dug some informations online. They succeeded on convincing me to buy the product, and here I am, loving the product as well. I don't know much about this brand, but I love this toner so much! I used another brand's hydrating toner before for around 1 year and it didn't give the very same result as this toner did! This toner's very refreshing and hydrating on my skin, it gave a bit of plump effect after I did some CSM on my skin. Loving it! 🥰😍❤️

And then, True to Skin's serums. I knew this brand way before when I visited my friend's house. She was using this brand's niacinamide serum. I wasn't a big fan of niacinamide, until recently after I tried reformulated niacinamide serum from this brand. It's called TXA Niacinamide now. I haven't learned much about this ingredient, so I don't know much about things that changed in the formula. 😅 My skin absorbs the products easily and they didn't leave a sticky feeling on my skin. They did their job properly and I'm here to see the improvements on my skin!

I can't wait for the final result on my skin after months of using these products. This lineup is so good that my skin gets super better within days. 😭💓 I hope they don't discontinue these products!!

[drops-of-universe]

skincare/makeup recs? x

This gonna be long bby *stretches fingers*

SO, this is very specific routine my dermatologist prescribed so it might not work on every skin but its makes mine v healthy and glowy

first in the morning i wash my face with the avène clenance intense gel then i apply the skinceuticals blemish + age solution let it dry then i use the sylimarin vitamin c serum by skinceuticals let it dry then the b5 serum by la roche. for the eyes i use the intensive hyaluronic eye serum by esthederm and then lots and lots of sunscreen! my fav is the fusion water by isdin

After it dries i apply my makeup. i havent been wearing much make up to work recently so i just apply the isdin with color and a little blush and concealer

At night i first use the hydra life cleanser by dior then wash my face again with the same gel from the morning, then the skinceuticals solution again. at night i use 2 different moisturizing serums, 1st the phytocorrective by skinceuticals and then the b5 by la roche. for the eyes i use the k-ox eye cream and every other night i apply the epiduo gel (its perrrrrfect for acne)

For makeup im gonna say the basics for a simple make up that ive been obsessed. my go to foundations recently are the l’essentiel by guerlain and matissime velvet by givenchy, the nars radiant creamy concealer and any blush by glossier lol and finish with the better than sex mascara by too face

god sorry that was long but i hope it gives u some ideas

[mingirn]

generally for skincare you do the lightest products first! :) i only have three. a niacinamide serum, a moisturizer, and a beta hydroxy acid serum. i do the exfoliator first (the beta hydroxy thing) then the other serum, then moisturizer. also youre not supposed to do like all the treatments and serums every day apparently. i do because thats what works for my skin but it doesn't for most people! so watch how your skin reacts to things. of course wait a week or so to make sure your skin is adjusted to a skincare regimen before you switch anything again (unless you have an allergic reaction :P) because your skin will be Upset at changes.

i watch this skincare youtuber who taught me a lot, Hyram, if you want to get into skincare/learn more hes the dude!! :) and he has some really good vids on like the most basic skincare routine if you dont want anything too much or the skincare routine under i think $30 if you dont have much to spend. like me. im a lazy broke bitch i need the least amount of work and money spent as possible lol

oh this makes a lot of sense!! when i was working during summer i used my thick ass suncream first bc my monkey brain thought the thicker cream should be first to help products sink in and then my moisturizer would not sink in AT ALL and i just thought my skin was impossible to work with. THANK YOU!!

the every day thing makes sense. i have 2 products i use semi regularly - like every 2 or 3 days. well its 3 products if you count my facewash as well, but other than that i have a serum like yours too and moisturizer. for some reason i always thought the more products the better and i’d overwhelm myself so much with all the things i see online so knowing other ppl have a light routine as well is comforting! oh i also have a toner though and im unsure of when and how to use that so im gonna have to do research. waiting a week is something ive honestly never done but i’ll do that from now on!!

thank you so much for the recommendation!! i will check it out :D thank you. also yeah i dont want to spend a lot of money on skincare, but if there was something that worked that was pricier i think it’d be worth it but that intimidates me a lot because what if i spend a lot of money on something that wont even work. so i think im better off sticking to cheaper stuff! im the same with least amount of work though i hate hate hate putting in too much work (especially for things i dont understand and dont have a big interest in) but generally im a believer in little work and big results <3

thank you so much for this ask i appreciate it so much!! i hope youre having a good day!

[binndnguyen]

HOW TO GET BRIGHTER SKIN WITH L'OREAL WHITE PERFECT CLINICAL

After holiday, my skin has been pretty dull and uneven because of pollution and exposure of sunlight. I saw that the radiant glow that I used to have has vanished in a moment. At this moment, I think this is the best moment to try the newest range of skincare from L'Oreal Paris, which is L'Oreal White Perfect Clinical that promises brightening skin in 3 actions. It promises to give result after 7 days even though I have been using it for 10 days, so what's my verdict with the product?

PRODUCTS

L'Oreal White Perfect Clinical comes in 3 products only. Day Cream, Night Cream, and Essence. It's practically very simple and the routine must be easy to maintain for everyday use! The products come in beautiful silver-blue acrylic bottle

So what does this skincare claim?

✓ Banish black smudges 

✓ Helps enlighten skin 

✓ Maintain skin youthfulness

I don't really have black smudge but my skin has lost it's radiant glow maybe because of my unhealthy food life during holiday (we are all guilty for it lol), pollution, and sun exposure. And soon I will reach my quarter life hence my youth will be gone sooner than expected!!! Therefore I am in need of something to keep the youthfulness. Some of my friends have started using anti aging too to combat against the aging process haha

So let's take a look of what the products offer

White Perfect Clinical Derm White Essence Skin contains Derm White Technology, which is a combination of 3 active skin lightening ingredients. It comes in an ampoule type of packaging and for me one ampoule is enough for my all over face 

When I first used it, the serum does the magic as my skin feels instantly moisturized as if I just inject a serum booster into my skin. It's absorbed pretty fast and not sticky! The essence can be used both day and night and priced at Rp 214.000

White Perfect Clinical Day Cream SPF 19 PA++ has Pro-Vanish 3, a brightening active ingredient that reduces skin melanin production and SPF 19 PA +++ to protect skin from UVA / UVB rays. The packaging comes in silver metallic shade and has nice contrast with the pink cream inside when it's opened

The day cream comes in pink tint to gives glowy effect after usage as well as the sunblock protection along with it. Like any other sunblock, the cream has pretty thick texture and a little bit difficult to blend because of its SPF. However once it's blended properly, it will give you a nice sheen of dewy finish. It helps to prepare my skin before putting on some make up afterwards! The Day cream is priced at Rp 161.000

White Perfect Clinical Overnight Treatment Night is a night cream to help regenerate skin. The night cream has cooling sensation effect that feels refreshing.  Unlike the day cream, the overnight treatment comes in deep blue shade so it's easier to differentiate which jar is for which routine

I applied it the overnight treatment right away after I took my night shower, along with the essence. The cream has gel-like texture and reminds me of an overnight sleeping mask because of it.  The texture is a little bit heavier and richer than what I expected so a little bit goes along way. The Overnight treatment is priced at Rp 192.000 

RESULT

Here's my before and after picture using the series in 1 week! The hair and body are all the same, but I the before and after face on top of the body so you can spot the difference clearer! On the after picture I only put a light eyebrow powder and a pink lip tint, no BB Cream, no powder and no other make up! Honestly I was a little bit skeptical with the product because I was only using it for around a week or so, but I kept the camera setting and lighting the same, and when I put the pictures side by side like this, I was in awe! My overall skin tone has become much more even and my dull skin has turned into a healthy shade instead! I am surprised that it really helps improving my skin tone, giving it a brighter radiant tone with just a week!  Overall I am giving it two thumbs for successfully bringing back my glow to life However my skin is really dry and this series is still not moisturizing enough on my opinion. So I suggest people with dehydrated skin to combine the products with another lotion and sleeping mask to help moisturized your skin even more instead of using it just as it is

PURCHASE

So where can we purchase L'Oreal White Perfect Clinical products? You can easily find them at any L'Oreal Paris at Department Stores, Drug Stores, and Cosmetic Stores. If you want to shop online at E-Commerces, Blibli and Lazada are two of many websites that offer the products! The price is a little bit pricey for a drugstore product, however since the products work well to brighten up skin, I would consider it a try! 

[triedandthoughts]

⚠️ PHOTOS ARE TAKEN ON NOVEMBER 2022 (and some emptied on or before November of 2022)

WHAT IS IT: Make Up

THOUGHTS:

Ellana Mineral Cosmetics OG/BB Foundie in ButterMilk - More of a letdown but not a terrible product. First letdown (in terms of my bank account) is it is Php 999 OG price ($18.34), Second, it's not a lot of product (let me rebutt that later), Third, is the packaging, its travel friendly but at the same time not because the product is kinda liquid-y so it's prone to spillness. So now that's out the the way let me talk about the good. Not a lot of product but a little goes a long way! The shade if kinda off for me but if I put a good amount it's okay. I got kinda confused about the BB side because its more of a foundation for me I'd say medium to full coverage. I have to be honest there is still alot of product but I just don't see myself using it anymore.

Ellana Mineral Cosmetics x Project Vanity Eyebrow Pomade in Dark Brown - Last really long but the product itself is prone to drying. I drop it with an oil just to keep it from drying but if you're not using it alot, it dries. I tried to give it another chance but the product it way too dried up for me to use it, I can't even get a proper amount using my brow brush. I had to let it go unfortunately. But great product if you're the type who does their brows everyday, this product will not fail you just watch out for the drying part.

Happy Skin Face the World Air Serum - Shade: UNKNOWN lol. Don't quote me on this but I think it's one of the first local brand that released a liquid face base. Doesn't really clarify what it actually is but I think it more of a skin tint. The shade is really close to my skintone even tho they release just ONE shade of this! They discontinued this product and for good reasons. Now I may not know the real reason behind why they stopped producing it by my hunch is that it didn't really do good in the market. Little back story: I believe they released it the time when not a lot of people invest in face bases (foundation, skin tints, bb creams) what's hot in the market back then was lip tints or lip products. The reason people did not invest in this is because the OG price is Php 1299 ($23.85)!!! Crazy! And not very inclusive to the pinay/pinoy skintone. I did not buy it the OG price I did got it on sale for Php 299. I remember this was manufactured in 2017 but I had it for a long time because out of all my face bases this was the closes to my skintone when I found another product from another brand I had to dispose it. *Just an update on this brand since it's 2023, they have kinda rebranded they have a ton of collections still great products, still hits and misses. But when they release a foundation/skin tint, it’s still not shade inclusive like other local brands who can release 9 shades minimum then expand it later on but this brand still releases 5 shades maximum. This is a very well known brand here in the Philippines but please do better.

Detail Cosmetics Contour and Blush Palette - I bought this waaaayy back 2016 or 2017 I believe. I mostly used the contour/bronzer shade because cream/liquid blushes were a hot hot thing back then (up until now) but powder blushes are making a comeback since last year 2022. It was cheap, it was chalky for how some people would describe it. A lot of fall out. But it was a nice beginner friendly palette because it has instructions on how or where to put in the product.