#(also I am trying to use photos I've taken for all the backgrounds and I had a nice beachy one to edit the surprise into)

[chiropteracupola]

Patience and curiosity, as you learn about each other.

[stephen maturin, requested by @dxppercxdxver]

[sirfrogsworth]

Meeting my longtime artist and good friend, Chris, IN REAL LIFE!

So, I hadn't been to a restaurant in over a decade. I can't even remember which restaurant since it was so long ago. But in the past few weeks I've now been to TWO restaurants.

I am becoming a social butterfly. 

And it is exhausting.

But also good.

First I reconnected with my high school best friend, John.

And that went great.

But then the opportunity to see my friend Chris (a.k.a @whosthewhatnow ) came up only a few days later. And this close proximity of social events scared me a bit, but I have been feeling much better since they figured out my heart thing, so I decided to try and do both things even though they were only a few days apart. 

The key to this was strategic resting. As soon as I got home from seeing John, I got in bed and I didn't get out of it until it was time to see Chris. And that was just enough recovery time to pull this off. Typically a short outing requires 2-3 days of rest after. 

I had never met Chris in real life. He has done nearly all of the artwork for my website and comics over the past decade. And he was a main character in my CRAPPRnauts series.

We know each other so well and it is crazy that we've never seen each other with our very own eyeballs.

He is such an amazing artist. He works fast and he adds so many cool extra details that you can stare at his comic panels multiple times and catch a new joke or easter egg each time. He is a dream to work with and my Corg Life series was only successful because he did such a wonderful job bringing Otis to life in comic form. 

So we decided to meet up at a restaurant with his friend Michael and then I was going to take a nice portrait of him after dinner. Chris had never had a professional photo taken of himself and I decided to fix that.

I told him I had a mobile photography setup. Which, in reality, is a trunk full of lights and stands and other various camera gear that I definitely won't need, but bring anyway. It's "mobile" in that it all fits in my car if you are good at Tetris (which I am).

The restaurant was downtown and I had visions of St. Louis's famous Gateway Arch in the background of Chris's portrait. I thought that would be such a cool shot. I could see it in my head and I even dreamed about it.

So I got in my car and headed downtown and my GPS told me to exit at 249B. But I kept looking and I couldn't see the sign for 249B.

This is how much road I had left when I finally was able to see the exit for 249B.

So I ended up taking 249A and going straight to East St. Louis.

Which, if you believe the headlines, is not a place you ever want to be.

Google Maps and I have been having issues lately. They also tried to get me to take the spooky way home that night, but thankfully I actually knew the non-spooky way back from when I used to go to Cardinal games with my parents as a kid.

My short term memory was trashed by shock therapy. And so was a lot of my long term memory. But it finally came through in a pinch and remembered something useful.

I only had to loop around and cross a bridge so I didn't really do anything but touch the edge of East St. Louis. I was mostly concerned about being late for dinner more than its scary reputation. Usually those news stories about a place being "dangerous" are actually just racist and hurtful to people stuck in poverty. I mean, technically my house is in a "dangerous" neighborhood, and we do have trouble with petty crime in some spots, but aside from a few dinged-up mailboxes, I've never felt unsafe in my home.

On the way back to regular St. Louis I could see the Arch on the horizon at sunset and it was kind of magical. And I wasn't able to get a good shot of it, but it sure looked pretty from my point of view. 

My photos kind of remind me of the beginning of movies like Training Day where they are trying to show you gritty, dutch angle shots of the city out of the car window to give you a sense of the location.

As I approached the restaurant I invented a new genre I call "stoplight photography." The sky was orange and the streets of St. Louis were just asking to be photographed. But I wasn't willing to die to get neat photos, so I just took them at every red light.

The big trick was trying to edit the dark area at the top of my windshield out of the photos to make it look like I didn't take these pictures from my car.

After a 15 minute detour through Illinois I arrived at my destination—a Mexican place called Rosalita's. It had a beautiful sign, so I took that literal sign as a metaphorical sign it was a nice place to get a quesadilla. 

Dinner was great. Both signs were right and their quesadilla was very tasty. Chris and I both got one, so we are quesadilla twins. The waitress was one of those "I can remember your order without writing anything down" types. And I am one of those, "I get anxiety when things aren't written down" types. And, to her credit, she did not forget our orders. But she did forget to give us silverware and napkins. So I still feel like my anxiety was valid. 

We told sad stories of the pups we lost. But we also had a lot of fun and laughed and I got to meet Michael who turned out to be an absolute mensch. I sometimes have trouble meeting new people with my social anxiety, but he was very affable and made me feel comfortable with his presence almost right away. He was a fan of Otis and mentioned he still has a Super Otis shirt. I always get choked up hearing that Otis is still loved. Hopefully we get to meet again. 

Dinner ended and it was picture time.

I asked Chris if he wanted the high effort photo or the low effort photo. Either we figure out how to get to the Arch or we find a spot near the restaurant and just take his portrait there. Chris and Michael had a driver because they were coming from a big conference and getting to the Arch would have been complicated. So we decided to go with the low effort option. 

I found a cool shop nearby that had an LED wall that changed to all sorts of different colors. And I thought that would make a neat background and give a colorful edge light on Chris's face. I pulled my car near that spot and started unloading my trunk full of photo gear.

I think Chris and Michael were a little overwhelmed when I started pulling camera gear out of my trunk like a clown pulling an endless handkerchief out of his mouth. But as far as photo setups go, it was actually pretty minimal. 

Light, giant battery, light stand, umbrella, tripod, camera, rolling walker with seat.

My dad's old rollator came in clutch because I wanted to shoot from a low angle and it is hard for me to bend down. In fact, I think I'm going to look into getting an all terrain version so I can do more outdoor photoshoots.

I started shooting in the middle of a downtown sidewalk. And I was super anxious. I could not focus (my brain, not my camera). I was very distracted with all of the people walking by and staring. I was not sure if any of the photos were turning out. I wasn't even sure if they were in focus (my camera, not my brain) because I had not yet had my lens calibrated. But down the street there was a guy with an old school boombox playing random music. His music helped to drown out the ambient noise and gave me some comfort.

I had no clue if the photos were any good, but when I got home and checked them on my computer, I realized I have 12 years of experience and muscle memory built up. I probably should have just trusted myself because the photos all turned out great.

I think Chris can now officially say he has had a professional portrait taken of himself.

This photo has been officially loved by Chris's girlfriend and mother.

There is no greater seal of approval and I am honored.

I was able to comp in any of the colors the wall displayed from other shots in case Chris is feeling a little more green in the future.

A literal rainbow of options.

I also liked this one, though it is a little more "environmental portrait" than regular portrait.

And I got some nice photos of our little group to help us remember the night. 

And I got a bunch of photos of Chris making silly faces like Calvin at his school photoshoot. 

I love this woman's reaction to our little impromptu sidewalk photo shenanigans.

After we said our goodbyes and I gave my friend a hug, I was a little bummed I didn't get to photograph him at the Arch like I had dreamed.

But then I realized I had my own car and it was capable of taking me places. (I actually haven't gotten used to that after not driving for nearly 15 years.)

So I decided to drive a few blocks over to Kiener Plaza—a park with a view of the Arch. 

TO BE CONTINUED...

[lissomelace]

THE EUROPA CLIPPER LAUNCHED THIS MORNING, AND I AM SO NOT NORMAL ABOUT IT!!!!!

Space is so fucking awesome. We're headed to one of JUPITER'S MOONS!

Every time a launch happens, it makes the latent space enthusiast in the back of my brain jump up and down. It also derailed all my plans for today. I did have plans.

Instead, someone made one comment about how I could now maybe make mission patches on my embroidery machine, and the space thing crossed over with my current hyperfixation (silm) to produce THIS:

Mission patch for the launch of Gil-Estel! A bit messy, but a good place to start!

Design and linguistics details under the cut, because I put WAY too much thought into it and now must talk SOMEONE's ear off about it. Feel free to ignore this bit:

So, to start: Elvish NASA. I chose to call them Vardildi Elengolmo Vilciryamoyë, or VEV. The Followers of Varda, Astronomers and Astronauts. This could very much be totally wrong. Vardildi is Varda+the suffix used in Yavannildi, the followers of Yavanna. Elengolmo comes from the coined word for astronomer, Elengolmë (star-lore), with the -o suffix from nolmo, wise person. Vilciryamoyë takes the vil- from the root of vilya, meaning air, sky. ciryamo is mariner, and yë is the suffix added to the second word meaning 'and'. (I may be very, VERY wrong on this! If anyone has better ideas, I very much welcome input/guidance/constructive criticism)

So I stuck the tengwar for this on either side of the patch. (None of the tengwar is all that legible, though, I'm working on getting that sorted out) Most NASA mission patches don't actually have NASA on them, but I put it on anyway. Here is the tengwar and the start of a logo I made an attempt at (the tehta is supposed to be a shooting star, but that did NOT come through clearly in the embroidery [because it's tiny]):

(Probably going to try to make an elvish NASA patch before too long, honestly)

Most NASA patches (from research I did with great self-restraint here) have the (last) names of the astronauts. Not sure if they also have the name of the craft or if that's generally somewhere else, but I put both--Eärendil Ardamírë (his fathername and mothername) are the tengwar at the bottom of the patch, and Vingilotë is written on the keel of the ship. None of these are legible because they are small, and my machine has limits. It's a work in progress. Also I apologize for the bad lighting in the photo.

NASA patches sometimes also have a mission motto. That's the tengwar across the top of the patch here-- aiya Eärendil elenion ancalima, Hail Eärendil, brightest of stars (a common cry among elves and Frodo [when facing Shelob]).

(I half wanted to do something a bit more funny--maybe something like 'Now I have become Venus,' or 'Do I get to come down?' but this was a bit easier since it comes pre-translated into Quenya and tengwar, and also I have no faith in my Quenya translations that are any longer than a word)

The horizon is flat because Númenor exists, in the middle there between the shore of Middle-Earth and a teensy bit of Valinor and the Enchanted Isles.

The design for the Silmaril is sort of taken from the heraldic device Tolkien designed for the Silmarilli (though it isn't clear), and it is rayed with the six-pointed star from Eärendil's device. (I stuck the moon phases from the same source around the edges as well)

This was really fun, even if it might be the silliest thing I've ever made! It definitely needs some workshopping--i don't mind the black lines framing some sections from the background fabric, but I might try turning all the tengwar into lines of stitches instead-the satin columns really are illegible.

I now need to restrain myself from doing some sort of NASA/Astronaut Earendil AU, because it now sounds kind of fun (I do not have the background knowledge for this)

Sources:

NASA patches here: https://www.shopnasa.com/collections/patches

Quenya translations here: https://www.elfdict.com/

Tengwar transcriptions here: https://www.tecendil.com/

And if you want info on the Europa Clipper mission, here: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper

Embroidery digitization done with Embrilliance Stitchartist 1, embroidery done with a Brother SE630 machine. Thread is Brothread Cotton and YLI cotton bobbin thread, with a little sulky rayon on the Silmaril. Cloth is a black linen from Fabric Wholesale Direct.

[steddieas-shegoes]

omg hi-- can you do 89 for the writing prompts thingy? it made me almost laugh out loud at work & i think twould be very funny so !!<3

(also you are doing so good & i am loving what you're writing !!!!)

HI! This one is hilarious and I am so amused by the versions I've already read: 89. "YOU SENT ME PICTURES OF YOU NAKED WHILE I WAS IN A WORK MEETING!"

Rated M | tags: mention of nude pictures, language, allusions to sex, this is borderline a crack ficlet because it's funny and absurd, modern au, rockstar eddie, corroded coffin guys

📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱

Steve hadn't moved from bed all morning, couldn't even try at this point.

He was a little sore from Eddie's homecoming last night, but that was to be expected when he'd been gone for a month.

But he could accomplish a lot in bed, even if Eddie had to go to some stupid meeting this morning with the band.

The photographic evidence of all the things he could accomplish were sent and Steve was just waiting for the hilarious emoji response that was sure to come.

But minutes went by and he got nothing.

Eddie had definitely seen the pictures, the little 'Read 10:06am' popup under the set of four images showing he'd seen them immediately.

By 10:15, Steve was sitting up in bed, biting his nails, a nervous habit he'd picked up during his senior year of college and hadn't been able to kick.

His phone started buzzing, Eddie's contact photo filling the screen.

"Eds?"

""YOU SENT ME PICTURES OF YOU NAKED WHILE I WAS IN A WORK MEETING!"

"No, I sent you four pictures of me naked while you were in a work meeting," Steve replied, smirking to himself.

"And you didn't think that maybe that wasn't the best idea? That maybe someone sitting next to me, or two someones sitting next to me, might see these pictures? That thought didn't occur to you?" Eddie sounded mad.

Which was something Steve wasn't used to.

No matter what, Eddie was never mad at him. He'd never raised his voice, never ignored him on purpose, never done anything to show anger.

Except now.

Steve bit his lip, pulling the covers over himself and curling into a ball.

Eddie sighed.

Steve could picture him running a hand over his face, tugging on his hair, closing his eyes, all the things he did when he was stressed.

"You look beautiful, Stevie, okay? I'm just, I'm stressed and the meeting was really important and our producer saw them. He's such a creep, and then Jeff accidentally saw them when he heard my phone vibrate, and he won't even look at me now, and it's just not good timing."

Steve nodded to himself. He probably should have thought about that, but honestly, he was so high on having Eddie back, he didn't consider much of anything beyond showing off how his morning was going.

"I'm sorry, Eds."

Steve wasn't crying, it was clear that Eddie wasn't actually mad at him, but his voice still came out a bit broken, a bit sad.

"Sweetheart, I promise I'm not mad about it. I'm gonna be home soon and I'll show you just how much I loved the pictures, okay?"

"Okay." Steve smiled to himself. "Maybe we could take some new ones together?"

"What, and send them to Jeff? He might leave the band," Eddie joked.

Joking was good, it was their baseline. Steve could handle joking.

"As if he hasn't been sneaking looks at my ass for years."

"Hey!" Jeff's voice yelled in the background. "It happened, like, twice!"

Steve giggled.

"It's okay, bud, it's very distracting," Eddie said to Jeff. "Let me just grab some coffee with the guys and then I'll be home to take care of you."

Steve let out a moan, tried to hide it in his pillow.

Eddie wasn't mad, but Steve heard the tone of his voice, knew exactly how he'd be taken care of when Eddie got home.

"I was gonna get dressed and go to the store," Steve lied.

"You won't. You'll stay right there." A door closed as Eddie spoke and Steve knew he'd just found a room to talk to him privately. "You won't put any clothes on, and you'll stay in bed with your fingers keeping you ready for me just like in that third picture you sent me."

Steve was gonna scream.

"But I was gonna run errands..."

"You aren't going anywhere until I've made up for the last month. We'll have food delivered. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good." The door opened. "Do you want me to bring you any coffee?"

Steve snorted. "Nope, I think you'll keep me awake just fine."

"Why do you even have him on speaker right now?" Gareth's voice said, faked annoyance in his tone.

"Because I have my hands full!"

"We know!" everyone yelled.

"Not like that!" Eddie yelled back. Then, "Okay, a little like that."

"See you soon, baby," Steve smiled into the phone. "Sorry about the pictures."

"You can say you're sorry when I get home," Eddie replied. "Love you."

"Love you too."

When Steve ended the call, he was sent a steady stream of texts:

Jeff: i swear i don't look at your ass. it's a nice one tho

Gareth: literally i don't wanna look at eddie anymore please make him come home now

Gareth: seriously please he doesn't need coffee he's already annoying

Grant: that's a good angle

Eds: be home soon 😉

An image came through a few seconds later, one that was clearly taken while he was talking to Steve, probably when he hid in a room.

It was just a dark shot of Eddie's crotch, pants unbuttoned and unzipped, showing absolutely nothing.

Steve shook his head and replied: you're not very good at this. love you though.

He would just have to show Eddie how to get a good angle for his next attempt at sending something suggestive.

[jaded-jezz]

Secret Smiles

Hi, this is my first one-shot so I obviously had to have Jack Champion kick off this account! Let me know your opinions or requests too!

Please do not repost this, reblogs are appreciated.

Jack Champion x F!Reader

☁︎ Fluff

summary: your relationship with Jack is still private so you communicate across events in different ways.

The Emmy Awards. I've heard that so much recently that its starting to sound like a made-up word. I still get goosebumps every time I remember I get to attend these prestigious awards with my cast, friends and-

"Y/N, as beautiful as you look right now, it is time to get up"

And- my boyfriend.

Jack and I have been together for almost 7 months and due to me living in England most of the time, we have been able to keep it a secret. Our relationship is like that Taylor Swift song “London Boy” but flipped. Because god he loves the English.

I give in to the whispering voice and slowly start to stretch to wake my body up. As I open my eyes I realize the curtains have been opened and warm yellow light is pouring down onto the mop of curls bouncing around me.

"Compliments already Champion?" I ask grinning as Jack whips around to see I'm awake now, "Maybe I should stay asleep forever if you think I look that good."

"Yeah but then all my bad jokes would never be laughed at again" he says as he walks towards me offering his arm and bowing slightly, "M'Lady, breakfast is waiting and it'll be cold if we don't hurry" he exclaims in his best British accent before grabbing my hand and pulling me through the hotel room in a fit of mischievous giggles.

He had ordered my favorite from room service and had it set in front of the window with a view of the beach in the distance. Although I woke up later than planned we were still ahead of schedule so we took our time eating and just talking to try and ignore the nerves for tonight.

A knock at the hotel door made us jump and we remembered Jack was supposed to stay in his own room. I tried to whisper that he should wait somewhere until it was safe to leave but my manager and the rest of my team walked in. I'd forgotten they had a key.

"Oh... I let myself in as I thought you over slept but I can see-" She glances at Jack trying not to break her serious face, " you are awake and have company"

Everyone glances at each other for a few moments before erupting into laughter as it's almost an unspoken tradition that me and Jack don't listen to staying separate before something so nerve wracking as The Emmys.

Sadly, Jack was kicked out swiftly so that my team could help me with my hair and makeup and eventually get into my dress. This is one of my favorite parts of the day because everyone is talking and having fun while music plays as background music for us to dance, sing or just listen to. One thing we love to do is make TikToks about the process of my makeover.

I thrive off musical.ly transitions and the fans love it every time, and it makes me so happy. My fans have always been some of my favorite people. When I first started out I followed the first fan accounts and we continue DM regularly after all this time. But even though they are lovely, Jack and I are still wary of hate and also some of the threats that his fans may throw at me. We will tell people eventually but right now its fun to mess with them and give subtle hints for the detectives among the followers.

I am finally ready. I've finished the last parts of TikToks, taken photos and grabbed my bag of essentials like plasters, gum and tissues. I shoot Jack a text and he's at my door in less than 30 seconds. Even though he has seen pictures of my outfit, his eyes almost pop out of their sockets when I open the hotel door.

"Hey-" My face starts to go red after realizing why he has stopped talking "Jesus Y/N, you look gorgeous, like actually breathtaking, I need an inhaler, Do you have to pay for inhalers? Where do you even buy them from?" He rambles as he becomes flustered in front of the beautiful woman he gets to call his girlfriend.

I grab his face, to stop the word vomit, and kiss him trying not to smile too much. "Thank you Jack, you look as amazing as always" I retort "Is it hot in here, somebody catch me I am going to faint, Cause of death: Jack Champion" We both laugh before our managers tell us its sadly time to separate for the ride to The Emmys.

We text non-stop throughout the journey talking about everything that has ever happened because neither of us can stay on one topic without branching off into a rant or an important piece of backstory to the first conversation. But Jack has to arrive at the theater first so that he can walk the carpet at a similar time to his cast mates, and so that I can do the same. So we text our goodbyes.

Stepping out of the car onto the carpet with fans shouting and cameras flashing is a feeling I will never get used to. The rush hits me as I remember to smile and walk properly to not look like Bambi on ice. My manager is that my side lightly guiding me towards the queue of celebrities next to the paparazzi for our official photos. I use the waiting time to scope out the brown head of hair that will calm me down.

I hear him laughing before I see him. He is doing an interview with one of his favorite cast mates and I feel my face already start to ache from smiling at him. However he doesn't spot me until I'm on the carpet.

(Jack's Interview- Jack's POV)

"So yes, we are extremely proud of this movie" I end my answer for the interviewer. They start to ask another but I am distracted by the roar of noise from behind me. Y/N.

She looks stunning. I can tell why she has such dedicated fans, I mean look at her. I finally catch her eye and we do our little signal.

It's like we have made up our own language for these events. Little head wiggles, eyebrows and nose scrunches and sometimes we risk it by lip syncing the words and we just pray that no one can see we are communicating with each other.

I laugh to myself before I'm pulled away from the trance she has put me in. My cast mate is elbowing me and I realize a few people are staring at me, expecting an answer.

" Oh I'm so sorry, I got distracted" Y/N is never going to stop talking about this, "What was the question?"

(Back to Y/N's POV)

As I walk off the end of the carpet my manager appears, telling me all about Jack's distraction and I already knew he was going to be so embarrassed about this even before I pulled out my phone to be met with the long stream of manic texts from Jack.

(Later that night, in the comment section of Jack's Interview)

jackonion: Is anyone else trying to work out what got Jack so distracted? ↳user142: no omg i was trying to do that too! ↳Y/N's.heart: It was definitely Y/N, you can see her dress at the end of the video. I might be going delusional but it's because I ship them.

"Uh Oh" Jack and I say at the same time.

Wow! So that is the end of my first piece?! Please let me know if its too long or doesn't make sense as I am now paranoid that I just wrote a random bunch of words with my eyes closed. I don't really know if this can have part two but if you think of anything let me know.

Requests are open, so send them through! Use as much detail as you want or have.

Please do not repost this, reblogs are appreciated.

[karma-simp]

I hate assassination classroom so I've been redesigning it

(That's my Ao3 which has all of my Karma x reader fics). Also TW! I have photos of my drawings in here and my phone quality is soooooo bad.

Don't get me wrong, I've been obsessing over assassination classroom since September 2020 (4 years). But like... the writing is so bad! Like Yusei Matsui, you had some very good ideas and concepts, but you were so bad at communicating them. It has taken over 3 years of analysis to understand even basic ideas

Like your main character, Shiota Nagisa is kinda badly written. His talent isn't bloodlust, it's deception. He appears weak and fragile but is actually a violent killer. He's observant but unnoticeable, so he fades into the background. His character arc is supposed to be finding himself, his way, and his self confidence.

Oh and there are so many 'jokes' made that aren't funny or things that are overlooked like I don't think there is a single good parent in that show except Karasuma. I mean Miss Bitch kissing the students isn't okay, the feminising Nagisa jokes aren't funny and honestly, I don't even like Korosensei anymore. Also Terasaka told Nagisa to kill himself and we never came back to it (or the actual suicide itself).

I mean sure, Korosensei does a lot for those kids, but he just comes off as more of a 'fun' teacher that plays games in class and is always there to talk to but he just seems unprofessional. I mean he's a goddamn mass murderer for god's sake. His backstory took ages for me to understand. Like wah wah, he has to die, cool story bro. I get a backstory every anime (or episode if your demon slayer) so I have no sympathy. But I guess I am a 'greater good' lover so whatever.

Also don't even think to bring up Karma. I mean my username is Karmas-wife, so I am not just his defender, I'm his lawyer. The civil war arc is so out of character for him and so is him teasing Nagisa about being girly after finding about his mum. Sure he might seem like an asshole, but that's the mask, that's what he wants you to think. But he's kind and protective, he's not egotistical. He defends his classmates and friends time and time again. I want to see so much more of him. His anger, fighting prowess, leadership, vulnerability and healing.

Also, the deuteragonist should be Sugino, not Karma. Sugino is Nagisa's best friend, he's literally attached to Nagisa's side, and if I were to ask Nagisa who his best friend was, he would say Sugino. I kinda don't like him because he wouldn't like Karma but I understand that's a bias.

So all of this has made me want need to rewrite assassination classroom. I mean there's a whole lot of angst in the themes that just doesn't translate. Honestly, the show probably would be more memorable and of better quality if it was 3 seasons.

So here are some of my redesigns of characters

Protagonist: Shiota Nagisa

He starts off seemingly timid, quite and oblivious. To try and make up for his insecurity of being useless, Nagisa takes notes of Korosenei's weaknesses, attempts that work, strengths of his classmates and possible future attempts (in a bigger book). He's surprisingly calm under pressure, like when executing assassination attempts. Scarily so. This initially doesn't seem very scary until it combines with his hidden bloodlust. He enjoys the dominance that killing someone provides. Little bit by bit, the little moments of scariness begin to bleed through. Until Kayano shows Nagisa how to conceal himself better, making himself scarier. He wishes for the confidence that Sugino has. Used to be friends with Karma, but now Nagisa really only asks Karma for help because he's kind afraid of Karma. He originally thinks he should be an assassin because it's 'the only thing he's good at' until he starts teaching. The he realises he likes helping people grow more. Also, his talent is deception/ disguising himself, not bloodlust.

Deuteragonist/ Best Friend: Tomohito Sugino

The common sense/ brain cell holder (the only normal person in 3-E). Dad friend who feels very concerned for Nagisa and (rightfully) weary of Karma. Doesn't really see a lot that goes on but is very honest and down to earth (good contrast for airheaded Nagisa). Although he isn't very muscly, he is strong and courageous, like a classic hero. Can be quite simple. Has a crush on Kazaki, likes basketball/ sports and the ten million yen bounty.

Main love interest/ main girl: Kaede Kayano Akari Yukimura

After losing her sister, she infiltrates the E-Calss under a fake name. She eggerates her love of pudding and pretends to be a bubbly airhead. She befriends Nagisa to hide herself then helps him find himself to do this. Later, she reveals herself and after her unsuccessful assassination attempt, she reintroduces herself. The classmates get to know the real her: more mature, determined, fierce, serious but still social and more aware of people than they though. She gains a crush on Nagisa for his steadiness and his emotional intelligence (and kissing ability).

Classmate/ Ex-Friend: Karma Akabane

Used to be friends with Nagisa but got weary of his dark side. An aggressive/ intimidating fighter with a bad reputation of getting into fights (with people that deserved it) like his fight (with a bully) that put him in the E-Class. Doesn't often interact with his classmates as he scares them. He doesn't see any reason to care about grades, them, or himself). Has issues with authority (after betrayal from teacher and being abandoned by parents). Learns to care and put effort into things after being adopted cared for by Karasuma. This makes him go from a bossy shadow to a decisive leader and gives him awareness of others.

Secondary Love interest: Rio Nakamura

Popular jokester who knows (and tells) all the gossip. Similar to Miss Bitch: confident, snarky, headstrong and attention-seeking. Likes Nagisa because he doesn't stand up to her so is 'easy to control.' She loses interest when he does eventually stand up to her. Smarter than she lets on and doesn't want to tell the class to keep her popularity. When she shows how smart she actually is, she loses friends and forces them to come back.

Classmate /Class Clown: Maehara Hiroto

Childish class clown that lives off the words 'no homo' and laughs at fart jokes. Isogai's best friend. He always has a girlfriend and in the very short time in between them he's super depressed because he's scared of being alone. Laughs to hide the pain. Charismatic, attractive and surprisingly loyal. Notices the little things. Romantic and funny so the girls are all over him but he's just a teeny bit afraid of commitment.

Classmate: Manami Okuda

Chemistry girly. Likes easy observations, formulae, and studies of things/ chemicals/ matter. Words/ people are too complicated and she's very unaware of double/ hidden meanings of things due to being very solitary. After being taken advantage of by friends, she gives up on trying. Then she meets Kayano and Kanzaki who work around it. Then Karma and Korosensei teach her how to understand people and why it's important, making her better at communication. Very blunt and straightforward. Horrible liar/ actress.

Classmate/ Bully: Ryoma Terasaka

Bully that uses his strength as power over others/ gets others to do his dirty work. After it doesn't work and he drops to the E-Class, then is put down by his friends for it and sees the effect on Nagisa and the class, he grows up and starts to take responsibility for his actions. Then, he starts listening to others and following their lead. The class might joke about him being a dumbass (which he is) but he does a lot of growing and learns to genuinely care for others, rather than hurt them. Also has common sense but no other smarts.

So there's part 1 of redesigns. Thank you for reading.

[night-dark-woods]

I want to start adding text descriptions to stuff i reblog, do you have any advice? is there a guide or something you use, the style of your IDs is very nice.

hey! thats great that you want to start writing IDs. I've reblogged guides before and ill tag this post with the tag they're in (image descriptions) so its easy to browse!

in addition to those other resources, here's some guidelines i personally keep in mind, & what i structure different IDs like.

for text transcripts: source & type of image, author, date if possible. here are some pretend/template IDs:

ID. a twitter screenshot from user @.[username] dated [date] that reads: "[tweet]." End ID.

i put the period after the @ symbol so it doesnt try to tag a nonexistent (or unrelated) user on this site, and a screenreader will just pause there briefly.

ID. a photo of a page from the book [name] by [author]. text reads: [transcript]. End ID.

if the OP cited the author/book/source, you can just do "Transcript: [text]. End transcript."

for actual images:

type of image is really important!

photograph, edited photograph, reaction image, edited reaction image, painting, digital painting, digital drawing, etc. you should always put what kind of image it is.

keep in mind the purpose of the image!

if its an art piece or a photo of one, its good to describe the medium, style, colors, and subject.

if it's a reaction image or other meme, you don't have to describe the surroundings in loving detail. the "point" of the image is enough.

if its a photograph, it might also be an art piece, or from the news, or someone sharing their pet. the amount and kind of detail again depends on the point of the image.

don't make judgements or assumptions!

dont describe things as badly drawn or badly photographed- and on the flip side, dont describe things as cute or beautiful. describe whats in the image, not how it makes you feel. if you love a certain part of how a photograph is framed, or how the light is painted in a piece of art, say that specifically. "beautiful" means nothing! do you mean realistic? vibrantly colored? "cute" means nothing! do you mean in a cartoony style? or that the subject matter is a cat, which many people find cute? be specific!

dont make statements about the gender or race of the people in the photo or art piece, especially if it's real people (like a news photo) unless you know those things as a fact (celebrities, fictional characters, people you know personally, people where it is mentioned in the article the photo is from). you can just describe things like hair length, skin tone, etc. exceptions to this rule imo are stock photos- eg if im captioning my favorite stock photo of all time, cyber woman with corn, i am going to describe it as "a stock photo of a white woman in a futuristic silver and black wraparound visor, wearing a silver bodysuit and cradling an ear of corn near her face and smiling slightly."

here are some example descriptions, all from images i have on my phone.

ID. a photo of two cats laying head to head on someones outstretched legs, which are under a blanket. one cat is an orange tabby, and the other is a gray and white splotched tabby. End ID.

the point of this image is my cats- im not going to spend time describing the blanket, the couch, the stuff you can see in the background, bc it's not relevant to the image, and adds nothing.

ID. a photo taken through a rainy window at twilight, with the camera focused on the raindrops on the glass, so the lights in the houses across the street are out of focus. the lights reflect on the wet pavement in a warm yellow glow. End ID.

i took this the other night bc i thought it looked cool how blurry it was- id consider this more of an "art" photo, so im describing the aspects of the framing etc that make it that- i wasnt just trying to show how rainy it was, but to take a photo in an interesting way, so those traits are "worth" describing.

ID. a photo of an acrylic painting done on a cardboard packing envelope of a city street at sunset, all the building windows reflecting gold. there are purple fluffy clouds in the sky, lit from below with peach and gold. the USPS tracking number barcode is still visible in the gap between houses at the end of the street. the brush strokes are very visible, the perspective is wonky, and the orange underpainting is visible at the edges. End ID.

this is a new ID for something i painted and already posted and i dont feel like getting the old ID. medium, style, and specific details i think are important are included. the perspective being wonky is a bit of a value judgement i wouldn't make about Other people's art, but it's my own and i think its an important detail so!

ID. an edited catcrumb comic, showing a simple mspaint illustration of a cat happily sorting things into piles with the caption, "sort sort. i love to arbitrarily sort." the cat has been colored in gray and its ears have been colored like homestuck troll horns, and the sorting piles replaced with some classpect symbols. End ID.

this is a good example of a edited image- its important to give (to some degree) a sense of what the original image was, say that its edited, and describe the changes. i dont need to list the classpect symbols i put on there, bc its not relevant to the message of the image- it would do nothing but make the ID longer.

oh- and to cap off the post- here is cyber woman with corn:

ID. a stock photo of a white woman in a futuristic silver and black wraparound visor, wearing a silver bodysuit and cradling an ear of corn near her face and smiling slightly. End ID.

[m-m--tv]

[-REVIEW-] IVE: I've IVE

Album cover taken from YoutubeMusic

Background pictures taken from reddit [1] [2] [3]

“It’s our time, we’re different, we like special things | Oh what a good time | I’m good, worrying about me is a waste of time | No reply after reading the DM you sent | That’s my answer (That’s my style)”

(english translation taken from colorcodedlyrics.com)

Ok, so first things first… this is my first album review in a looong long time, how exciting (and intimidating… kinda) ! If i’m not just de-rusting, I guess I am sort of debuting too, albeit today’s feature already debuted and this is another kind of debut for them but yeah you get the point.

Anyways, enough about me, and more about the feature in question, because it’s quite a heavy hitter ! If you’ve paid any attention to kpop lately, you might have heard of IVE – PAKs flying everywhere, broken records all across the board, enough albums sold to build a bridge across the sea and a handful of very strong songs to their name. What a year. Which made I’ve IVE (yeah), their first full-length project (and a full album at that !!!) all the more exciting; I mean, I really don’t consider myself an IVE stan (...yet?), even though I either really liked or LOVED everything they had released so far, but I can’t deny that I was impatiently waiting for April 10th to come – if only because, don’t lie, the thought of one of the leading girl groups of our times releasing their first album after an unbroken until now string of singles would at least slightly pique the interest of anyone. Well, it’s finally here, so what now ?

One of my main questions when this was announced was; just what sound exactly would they go for ? If ELEVEN, LOVE DIVE and After LIKE were all united in being excellent upbeat goodness, I wouldn’t really say they were cohesive sonically. And the answer is… honestly, a little bit of each ! But more precisely, I’ve IVE seems to follow in the girlboss crush (?) footsteps of After LIKE b-side My Satisfaction – somewhat of a surprise, but ultimately quite a pleasant one for sure. I maintain that My Satisfaction far outclassed After LIKE and was very close to being their best song and look at us now

I was actually a bit afraid of what the final result would be at first, especially after hearing the highlight medley. What I had heard was undeniably good, but not necessarily up my alley – to give you an example that stays within the kpop sphere, my heart is usually with the likes of T-ARA’s (immortal banger) Bo Beep Bo Beep. But I thought, well, it’s just a highlight medley… they have not missed so far… people said the songs they performed at the fanmeet were great (someone called NOT YOUR GIRL a Sistar song which DEFINITELY had me listening)… it’s IVE… surely an album tied to these insane concept photos won't miss… let’s wait and see. And I was right !! Because ultimately, I’ve IVE stands as an extremely enjoyable record !

The sound they went for here is very in-line with (what I perceive to be) their chic, elegant, cool girl concept; I’d say for the most part (mostly the b-sides) it’s very soft and never really in-your-face, quite easy to listen to with a nice flow, but at the same time it’s still really cool and commands your attention just by existing and doing it pretty much flawlessly. I’d compare it to silk. It straddles the line between cool and vibey & catchy and engaging perfectly; which I have to give it credit for, because like I said it’s usually really not the type of sound I'm fully into. I also think a lot of songs that go for it can easily fall in the trap of trying to be a ‘soft bop’ so hard that they end up feeling bland / boring / sanitized and turn into the musical equivalent of watching white paint dry. But here, it’s executed perfectly, from the subtle groove of Lips to the spacey synth touches of Cherish and many more. It’s also one more thing that works in the album’s favor, because as it’s located perfectly at those crossroads – for exemple, it’s both music to get ready to for a night out and music to actually live that night out to –, it’s a very versatile album that you’ll be more likely to run back to in different situations, and as such it’s always a strong player no matter where or what.

Part of why it works so well is that even though pretty much every song exists in that sonic universe, with super smooth modern beats and arrangements that feel minimal without ever becoming too sparse, they all have a different enough energy and goal that they try to achieve. You have the funk and playfulness of Lips & Kitsch, the calm and stillness of Cherish & Heroine, the subtle emotions of Mine & Shine With Me, the edgier sounds of Blue Blood, the super boppy joy and sass of NOT YOUR GIRL & I AM, and not only does it differentiates every track while also keeping the experience fresh without ever having to uproot the listener, it also helps the whole package come together into a strong album that at least touches every mark of what a typical album should be. Chill bops, boppier bops, more emotional bops, you have it all with no stark tonal shift; so as a self-contained work, I’ve IVE covers every ground it needs to in order to confidently stand tall while also keeping enough strengths redistributed in certain areas to add just that bit of charm that makes it shine. 

There is sort of an outlier here however, and that is track 7, Hypnosis; one hell of an outlier too, and one that I'm gonna have to give the spotlight to for a bit because whew. From the very beginning with those disorienting and rattling electric synths, you know you’re in for a treat, and the song is quick to confirm that. It’s almost the antithesis of the album, in a way; whereas I’ve IVE is elegant and subtle, Hypnosis is twisted and almost crooked in a way, with dissonants and irregular instruments crawling around the floor of a beat that ultimately proves itself to be SO addictive, contrasting with the soft and dreamy voices of the girls like a solar eclipse. Hypnosis takes the formula of the album and twists it inside out, resulting in this sort of shadow twin that feels like an occult experiment gone wrong in the best possible way. On 1st listen, it reminded me a lot of something I’d hear in the gym of Ecruteak City in Pokemon Gold, mostly because of those electric synths that have a very GameBoy Color quality to them, and god knows that hit me straight in the heart. If you feel bored by I’ve IVE "playing it too safe", then at least try this one, because it’s certainly experimental and genuinely such a great song like oh my god… no subtlety here, just a fever nightmare that won’t let you escape.

…Back to the album now. If this sound palette works so well here, it has to be said, it’s because the production is EXCELLENT. It’s clean, tight, professional and straight to the point, like a shiny, deep-cleaned high end kitchen. Good tools make for great work if used correctly, and the group was armed with nothing but quality here. But what I really like about it, and what lifts I’ve IVE higher, is that it’s littered with a bunch of sparkly flourishes that add the finishing touch to already strong songs. The kazoo in Kitsch, the violin-like strings in the Blue Blood post-chorus, the smooth piano and strings in the background of Cherish, the guitar slowly emerging in Mine for exemple; all are insanely neat little details that add so much to their respective song and truly take them there. In fact, I’d say that they make the softer songs like Lips & Cherish win over their more energetic peers such as I AM & NOT YOUR GIRL because that’s where they’re easier to pick up on and also where they work excellently, making use of the minimal landscapes to place themselves just where they need to and give the songs very pleasant depth – once again, that’s one of the ways in which I’ve IVE avoids the pitfalls of boringness, and that’s by knowing exactly how to mix its ingredients with the perfect amount of pop-up-y flavor to leave a mark. It’s not just “yeah make it as unoffensive as possible” minimalism, it’s minimalism where every little piece is perfectly arranged with the others and completed by that one touch which seals the deal. Their producers did amazing work, for sure, and it gave us such a treat to Listen™ to.

I do wish the songs themselves were a bit longer though – they’re already all pretty much great, but some would still hugely benefit from something like a longer bridge, an actual bridge, a post chorus, another verse… I’m thinking of Blue Blood in particular, it’s a good bop and serves as a great intro but it would blossom so beautifully if it was extended just a bit. Hypnosis also kind of suffers from this, but that one is so impressive that I kind of forget it’s very short lol, yet imagine if it was longer??? The 11-tracks length is perfect because the album doesn’t ever overstay its welcome while also having enough room to expand and do everything it needs to – you can’t take away from I’ve IVE that it’s an extremely concise experience, and that’s sort of a good thing. But I really think that effect would have been kept had the songs been given more time, so it’s a shame that a lot of them are pretty short, usually stopping at around 3 minutes. For all the things I love about it, I guess that’s the big drawback of the streaming era. In that way, it clearly works, because while writing this I went through the album like twice and I didn’t intend to do so at all but I just didn’t notice that it was looped lol, so here are the extra streams in question – but part of that does lie in the fact that like I said, I’ve IVE is an easy listen.

For a first full-length album, I’ve IVE was definitely a great start. It’s very approachable and appeals to a wide audience, but it’s not satisfied by just doing the bare minimum and sacrificing all individuality to reach as many people as possible. Instead, the album pulls out the tricks it has up its sleeve at perfect times to climb up to the next levels on this flawless model walk it’s taking – all without ever breaking a sweat. You can tell there was effort put into this and that they weren’t just like “oh yeah who cares this will sell anyways”. I’ve IVE invites the audience to get into its groove very smoothly, but it never babies them or insults their intelligence by giving them pleasing mind-numbness, instead opting to serve precisely-crafted offerings with that ‘connoisseur’ feel that they know will be genuinely appreciated. The end result is without a doubt a high quality product. Even if IVE’s concept is a match-made in heaven with the sound of the album – i honestly think this was the perfect road to take for them –, it’s still one that any group would be honored to have to its name. They landed on the ground strutting, and wherever it goes from there, this stop has not shown a single sign of wavering flames; if anything, they’re only getting higher thanks to a perpetually-refined craft.

Ranking:

Hypnosis 9.5

Next Page 9.5

Shine With Me 9.4

Cherish 9.3

Lips 9.2

Blue Blood 9.2

Kitsch 9.2

NOT YOUR GIRL 9.2

I AM 9.2

Mine 9.1

Heroine 8.8

Note: 9.3

Average: 9.2

…Now about me and this blog… as you know, this is my very first review, so this feels relevant to say here, but I’ll admit – allow me to be a bit dramatic – this is kind of a scary experience ?? I really don’t know what I’m doing and I’m still trying to tune this into something with a nice structure and good commentary and a strong footing that I don’t think I have found yet and I don’t even know if I’m just gonna lose interest after a week or keep it running for a month or two or a year who knows??? Certainly not me. So yeah it’s a bit shaky for now. But I guess I'll just keep walking until I get the hang of things ? (I haven’t even figured out Tumblr yet😭) So… until then, look forward to it !! (and I promise i won’t be pesky like that every single time lol, keep watching and you’ll see!)

[levi-supreme]

Hi there! I’ve got a self-shipping question for you, I’m in love with the reivi ship 💖

How does Levi act when he’s jealous over you? I think he’d be a little annoyed by his partner’s jealousy, but he’s not immune to the feeling lol. I love you ❤️

Hiiiii anon!!! 🥺 thank you for loving Reivi and for entertaining me <3 I am very touched!!! I love you very much too ❤️

Haha I've actually answered this jealousy topic over here, but I am more than happy to answer and elaborate on this again 🥰I'll talk about both Levi and I when we're jealous!! Please enjoy some cheesiness and jealousy/possessiveness XD

It's quite obvious that between us, I am the more jealous and possessive one XD I'm the crazy wife that checks my husband's phone and reads through his messages, checks his phone gallery, and looks at who he liked on Instagram etc. Well... you can't blame me when Levi is so good-looking and attractive, right???? On top of that, I am a pretty insecure person especially when it comes to this, so I feel extra possessive of Levi.

I show my possessiveness over Levi and flaunt our relationship through things like wearing matching shirts or shoes, watches, spectacles, phone brands, phone covers etc. We even have matching display pictures on our social media accounts, and I make sure his phone's lock screen and home screen are our photos (or any family photos) 😂 and like you mentioned, Levi does get annoyed about it haha, but he still does it anyway. He lowkey loves being matchy with me hehe.

If we can't wear couple outfits, we'll colour coordinate our clothes!! Like, we may have a denim theme, or our tops and bottoms will have matching colours. It's my way of showing him off to the world that yes, indeed, this hot guy beside me is taken. Women still try to hit on him even though he's married with four kids 🙄 it's like they all can't see his wedding ring on his finger 🙄

To be honest, Levi doesn't get many opportunities to show me his jealous side though, since I don't really receive stares from others (haha). But!! When we're out with the children, he gets really protective. Somehow, when we're out with the kids, we get a lot more stares than usual (is it because we look too young to have four kids? Lol), and Levi gets really annoyed by it. He always makes sure that his arm is around me when we're out, and he holds me reaaaaaaaaally close to him by my waist too.

I like wearing shorts, and Levi has a love-hate relationship whenever I wear shorts out haha. He loves staring at my thighs but he also hates it when people (guys) stare at me too 😂 he loves it when I flaunt my thighs in shorts and jeans but he hates it when people look (what is this logic???). So, like what I mentioned above, he always holds me by the waist and keeps me close to him haha.

Also, he doesn't really post on social media much, but when he does, he always subtly include me inside to show me off hehe. Like, he'll repost my Instagram stories that I tagged him in, or if he's posting something, you can see me in the background even though I'm not in focus 🥰

So... the tl;dr answer: Rei is the more jealous and possessive person in the relationship, but Levi's jealousy and logic can be very weird sometimes XD

[rinoaskyes]

Indie Live Expo - Part 1

Anyone who watches Indie Live Expo from start to finish should receive a Udemy certificate. This year's show was over 5 hours long and hand on heart honesty, I am still getting through it. But just in the first few segments, I've already found some really interesting games I want to highlight so let's get into it!

What is Indie Live Expo?

Indie Live Expo (ILE) is a multilingual multi-broadcast showcase of indie games from around the world. Since it originated in Japan, most of the titles, studios and publishers that participate tend to be Japanese. However in recent years, we've definitely seen a lot of entries from overseas. From the website, it says that ILE has been viewed by over 98 million people with more than 2,600 games introduced.

Here's a link to the YouTube stream if you want to check it out yourself!

There were so many games covered throughout the show with some of them getting prime placement while others barely getting a second a la ADHD flashcards. Below are 10 that caught by eye.

No Case Should Remain Unsolved by Somi

As the name implies, this is a detective game about piecing together fragments of memories to solve a cold case. The case involves a young girl that went missing back in 2012, but is now being reexamined.

I'm really intrigued by what the developers are calling a 'jigsaw puzzle' style reasoning system as it sounds quite different from what I might be used to from games like Ace Attorney or Danganronpa. It seems like it's a really short game too at only 2-3 hours of game play. I really want to pick this title up but I think it would be perfect if it was on the Switch!

SCHIM by Ewoud van der Werf, Nils Slijkerman

This is a 3D platformer about jumping from shadow to shadow! I think that's such a cool concept and I love the calm vibes that the art is exuding. It also has such a unique hand-illustrated look.

Also, according to the developers, a schim is the soul and spirit of an object, thing, or living being. Everything in the world has one. A schim should never be separated from their thing! This does happen to your schim, this schim who is attached to a human being is separated from them early on in the game.

The Star Named EOS by Silver Lining Studio

Just looking at the key art makes me feel so at peace. The Star Named EOS is a story-rich puzzle adventure with a strong theme of photography. You explore the past through photos taken and uncover the truth behind a family mystery. All of the art is hand-drawn and there are puzzles too

It's giving Opus Prism Peak Sigono which I am totally onboard for. I love games that explore meaningful personal stories.

Nightmare Operator by DDDistortion

I don't normally recommend or talk about horror games but the design of the game is too cool to resist! This is a a survival horror shooter about hunting yokai in the haunted ruins of Tokyo. The game has an over-the-shoulder perspective and utilises a low-poly aesthetic that's reminiscent of classic PlayStation games. The locations are inspired by real-world places in Tokyo, tense that's going to freak me out next time I venture outside! DDDistortion is apparently a 5-man team in Tokyo so incredible.

The Many Pieces of Mr Coo by Gammera Nest

This is a surrealist point and click adventure about a character named Mr Coo who is looking for all of his pieces. I really love this genre as it reminds me of old Humongous Entertainment games I played as a kid. The wacky yet lovable vibe of the game also reminds me of comics, Saturday morning cartoons with some fine art touches in the backgrounds.

Ultra Mushroom by TRY GAMES, room6, xemono

"There was once a man who made a billion yen in just three days by running a curry stall here. Our protagonist, inspired by this news, comes to the festival with the ambition of making it big with a mushroom stall (with zero cost mushrooms!)."

How is this not the best intro to a video game ever?! You play as a mushroom hunter/mushroom stall seller trying to make a killing at a festival in the foot of a mountain. There's not a lot of footage on Steam yet but it seems like it'll be a mix of foraging, running the stall and getting to know festival attendees.

There's definitely some psychedelic overtones here if you look at the colour palette of the game and some subtleties (not so subtle) around the special mushrooms you can gather.

Matsuro Palette by SleepingMuseum

A simulation game about surviving seven days with a girl who lives inside a cursed painting. You'll need to successfully paint her portrait by going off cues from past victims. If you make her angry, she'll kill you. There's a lot of painting and art-themed games these days but I haven't seen one that combines some suspense and horror elements.

Just a note that this game came out in 2020, but a remake of it is planned for Spring 2024.

Isles of Sea and Sky by Cicada Games

Set across ancient islands, you start the game as a castaway who must solve puzzles and uncover hidden secrets all without a set path or even any dialogue. The art is very reminiscent of old pixel art games, the music is meditative and atmospheric and the story is said to be deep.

I met the developer, Jason Newman at BitSummit in 2023 back when this game went by a different name. We had a really nice chat about anthropology as this game finds its roots across many different world cultures even if the themes feel universal. The released this month and I've yet to give it a go but I hope to play it soon.

Swappy World by Awakening Games srls

We've seen all kinds of card games but this is the first time I've seen card gameplay be combined with open-world crafting. Each card will help you craft weapons, build your base and explore. The goal is to plan out your resources and interaction points to help you survive for as long as possible. I love how intertwined the cards are with the environment. For example, when the game goes into the nighttime, you'll only be able to see the central card in front of you.

Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis by WSS playground and WHO YOU

Play as a hikikomori girl who is on a permanent high from listening to denpa music in this rhythm-adventure game. Fall into her brain rot as she loses all self-control posting anonymously with the goal of total world annihilation. Yes these are all real words that I riffed off of from the actual game description on Steam.

Where Needy Streamer Overload tries to tell a life lesson about the what it means to seek approval from internet people, YunYun Syndrome seems to go completely all-in insane with this plot and music. Also I think I have a type when it comes to games and it's mental illness and lots of shades of purple.

I'll come back to write a Part 2 after I've made it through the rest of Indie Live Expo!

[mariyekos]

In other news, I made it to the top of the Moonfire Faire Tower! 3 times as it turns out, but after no successes last year it was super exciting to get it in 2 or 3 days this year.

The first time I made it to the top in this glam. Then my static decided we were going to use the event glam for raid, so I felt like I had to make it back up in my glam for that. I technically had the outfit in my inventory on my first ascent, but it wasn't dyed yet so I had to leave, go to a marketboard for the dye, and make it back up.

My third ascent was to help out a static member who was having trouble with one of the last jumps. I wasn't sure how to describe my strategy so I hopped back down and then recorded myself working my way up the final stretch so he could see how it was done.

Cut here, since I'm going to ramble about climbing Kugane Tower (and the mini puzzle in Rhalgr's Reach) and post a bunch of pictures that I don't want clogging up people's dashboards.

Moonfire Faire First Ascent

(Had to take some photos with my main glam too! I ascended as MCH though, since I used Peloton for a handful of jumps, and wanted to show off my summer glam.)

And here's the extra platform you can reach by jumping off at the end. TBH, I hadn't even realized it was there until I landed on it. I just blind jumped off the top of the tower for fun once I finished it and then surprised myself by landing here. Had to go for some exertion/piece of cake photos xD.

Moonfire Faire Second Ascent

In between my first and second ascent, I went to the mogstation and got myself the new Ascent emote. It was the first time I bought an emote off the mogstation, since I generally avoid spending real money on things in games I've already bought, but it was on sale and I was given some extra (unexpected) money for helping someone out, so I decided to treat myself. I think the emote goes well with the outfit.

Kugane Tower First Ascent

I'd never climbed Kugane Tower before finishing the Moonfire Faire tower. I'd never even tried. But with that victory accomplished I decided to try my hand at Kugane Tower...and was honestly disappointed with how easy it was. I think it took me 2 hours max. Maybe <1.5. Counting my efforts last year, I am CERTAIN the Moonfire Faire Tower took me double digits.

I was a little disappointed it was night because I don't think the photos look quite as good, but it was still nice to GPOSE. Also MAN Kugane Tower is a lot harder to climb at night. The shadows on this one are killer.

The view from behind is much cooler than the one from in front. It's really cool to see the theatre ship in the background though! Whose name is escaping me. It's not one of the standard FF ones is it? Enterprise is taken, I think the Invincible is also taken...what could it be, hm. Oh. I looked it up and it's the Prima Vista, duh! FFIX reference in the midst of all the Tactics and XII.

Rhalgr's Reach....Second Ascent technically but ehhh

The Jump Puzzle in Rhalgr's Reach is kind of a joke. Baby's first jump puzzle. I tried it way back when and made it to the top, and I remember spending a good chunk of time running around trying to find where the rest of it was because I thought that couldn't possibly be it. But as far as I can tell, that is. So uh. Ta-da. You can see the entire jump puzzle in this screenshot. Khad's up there at the top.

Now I just need to find the one in Empyreum. But that's for another day- I've rambled on enough, and I do need some sleep. If you've read this far, thanks for checking this out!

[dragon-kazansky]

Made with love | Helmut Zemo

Chef Zemo AU! 👨‍🍳

Gender neutral reader!

Collage by @realremyd

[Next chapter]

Part 1

You had always wanted to travel through Europe. You wanted to see those streets at least once in your life. Meet the people, attention the languages, taste the food, and maybe even do a little shopping in certain cities.

Your friend, Wanda Maximoff, came from a rather unknown country called Sokovia. When you had told her about your trip, she had brought it up. She hadn't been back home since she left, but she remembered it well. She suggested some places to go if you ever stopped by. You made a mental note to drop by her home country for her sake.

Sokovia was a declining country. It had its fair share of issues and problems, but it was still out there waiting to be discovered. The least you could do was visit on your travels.

You had passed through Spain and France, spent a few extra days in Gemany, stopping by the Netherlands to see Amsterdam. You have lost count of the photos you had taken in Austria, and it was as your stay in Poland was coming to an end when you remembered about Sokovia. The other countries you had planned to pass through would have to wait. You spent your last night Poland planning the flyover to Sokovia, luckily finding a flight that will take you to the capital.

In your pocket you kept the list of places Wanda and suggested, her hoping most of them were still there. You would of course take pictures for her.

The plane landed and you exited the airport. You wanted to see the city. A cab station near by grabbed your attention, so you hurried over. You asked the driver of the nearest cab to drop you off in the city centre. He did.

Looking around Novi Grad, you were taken in. The city was old. People were going about their business, but some even turned to smile at you as you walked along. You took in the area, admiring the buildings and the people. You were impressed and in awe with the city.

You keep an eye out for somewhere to stay, checking Wanda's list as you go incase you spot one of the places on it.

You're not sure how long you have been strolling the streets when something catches your eye. It's not a very big building, but it stands out. A restaurant. A Spanish restaurant. You smile. Spain was one of your first stops when you got to Europe, the food was one of your favourite parts.

You realise just how hungry you are. You hadn't eaten anything since before your flight. The door is open and it looks like a good place to stop.

You look up at the sign as you get closer to it. Gold letters on a purple background. There was something elegant about it.

Escorpión Morado

You look at your list quickly. It's on there. Purple Scorpion. Wanda knew about this place. You put away the list, grab your camera, and stand far enough away to get a shot of the exterior. You smile at the outcome.

Outside there were a few tables. Four, to be exact. They had a nice view of the courtyard just in front of the restaurant. The entrance was two narrow double doors, opened wide to let air into the shop, and allowing easy access for the customers to come and go. The shop being on the corner of the street allowed a view on either side theiugh the large windows. On each window was the name of the restaurant in faint lettering. You could see inside, but decided you could admire it better by going in.

Entering the restaurant, you were welcomed with a certain warmth. It wasn't too busy, but there was still several people here, enjoying themselves. You took a picture of the inside.

The inside was nice and open, plenty of room to move around. A bar was situated at the far end, a couple of people sitting at it. You walked over the polished floor and made your way to the back. You pick a stool and sit down, looking up at the menu. There were plenty of options.

"What can I get for you?" A voice asks, coming over to you. You turn your head to see who was speaking, your voice suddenly doesn't want to work.

The man comes to stop in front of you. Brown hair swept to the side, dark brown eyes, sparkling with amusement, a smile tugging at his lips. His shirt sleeves were pushed back up to his elbows, and apron was around his waist. He had very clearly just been in the kitchen.

He tilts his head to the side slightly. You had yet to answer him.

"Are you alright?" He asks. "English?"

Oh, he thought you didn't understand.

"Um, yes. I speak English. I'm sorry, I'm fine," you feel embarrassed, shuffling on the stool slightly.

"That's alright. What can I get for you?" He asks, offering a friendly smile.

You glance up at the menu again. "What do you reccomend?"

As you glance back, you see his smile widen. You had eaten tapas while you were in Spain, but you found yourself wanting to hear him speak again. There was something about his accent that was satisfying.

"Since I haven't see you around here before, I'll make a special for you. How does that sound?"

"That sounds lovely, thank you."

He smiles and leaves you to go and make it himself. You look around the restaurant again while you wait.

On the wall just off to the side, there was a plaque. You get up and walk over to it, wanting to read what was on it. There was a photo above the plaque that caught your attention first. An older gentleman, dressed smartly and looking proud. You read the plaque to find out who he is.

Or was.

Heinrich Zemo

Founder of Escorpión Morado.

He died a few years ago, leaving the restaurant to his son, Helmut Zemo. There was no photo of his son, but you assumed he was here somewhere.

Actually, looking at the photo, you could awe some semblance with the man who had served you. Was he the owner?

You look at the plaque once more before going back sit down. The atmosphere in here was nice. You could see yourself coming here every day just to pass time. It certainly seemed like a favourite spot for these people.

You smiled as you glanced over the few people gathered here. A couple by the window, just looking out at people passing by. A man sitting at the bar talking to one of the staff members, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. There were a couple of families taking up tables here and there.

It was very relaxing here.

You turn back around when the man returns, he puts the dish down in front of you and smiles. It looks delicious, just like the one you had back in Spain.

He stands there as you take your first bite.

You stop and look at him as soon as the food touches your tongue. It's amazing. You smile as you eat it, nodding at him, impressed.

"This is the best tapas I've ever eaten."

He looks really pleased with himself.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, especially since I was Spain not that long ago." You go for another bite.

"A traveller?"

"Yeah. I always wanted to see Europe, so I've been saving like crazy and here I am."

He leans against the counter, seemingly interested in this information. You're not complaining, he is definitely attractive company.

"And you found yourself here of all places."

"I have a friend who comes from Sokovia. She had mentioned it to me before I left for my trip, the least I could do was come and see," you told him, still enjoying your meal.

"Sokovia isn't exactly a popular destination, but I welcome you all the same. I also welcome you to my restaurant."

"Ah, so you are Helmut Zemo? I was reading the plaque over there," you said, nodding over at the wall.

"The one and only. Do I get the honour of your name?"

"So you ask all your customers for their names?" You ask, smiling at him.

"Only the really interesting ones."

"Interesting? I've been here all of five minutes. What makes you think I'm interesting?"

"When you work in a business like this, you get to know who is interesting or not. It comes with the territory. Also, moat of my customers are locals, so anyone from outside the country has to be interesting in some way," he crosses his arms and looks at you smugly.

"I see," you chuckle.

"Is that a no, then?"

"Y/N. My name is Y/N," you reply rather bashful.

"Y/N, lovely."

The way he says it with his accent makes a shiver run down your spine. You had a sudden need for him to say it again, but you also had to remember to be a normal human being who isn't going to freak out the lovely man they just met.

"Your meal is on the house."

You look up at him sharply.

"Oh no, please let me pay," you say urgently.

He shakes his head.

"No, this one is free. Only this one."

"You say that as if you know I'm going to come back," you look at him with a narrowed gaze.

"I trust that you will," he smirks.

"Why?"

"Well, you ate everything, complimented both my food and establishment, and I'm far too interesting, myself, for you only to come by once."

You laugh softly, shaking your head at him. His eyes lit up at the sound.

"Insufferable," you say, sliding off the stool.

"I'm aware, you get used to it."

You smile as you make sure you don't leave any of your belongings behind and thank him for the delicious food.

"Come again," he says.

"I'll think about it."

You leave, knowing he was smiling as you left the building. You make your way across the square, resisting looking back through the window to see if he was still there.

You pull out your phone and bring up a map. You needed to find somewhere to stay for a few nights. You didn't have to look far. There was a small hotel up ahead and around the corner. You decided to try there.

Finding it wasn't too hard. You only had to go down a small backstreet. It was out of the way and hidden, a nice peaceful place to stay for a while.

You enter. The lobby wasn't too big and it was nice and quiet. The building was old, but the inside seemed well looked after.

You walk over to the desk and smile at the man sitting there.

"Hello."

He smiles, "hello."

He spoke English too. That was good. Your Sokovian was... nonexistent.

"I would like a room for a few nights."

He nods and opens a big book information front of him. He grabs a pen and flicks through room numbers.

"How long are you staying?"

"Three nights? Yeah, three should do." You still had countries to check off your list.

He nods and asks you to sign the book. While you do so he grabs a key from the wall behind him. You pass him the book back and take the key.

"Enjoy your stay."

You nod and take the stairs up. Your room was nice. Big enough for one person and on the main street side, where you came up to get here. You could just about see the square from the window.

You sat on the bed. Perfect. There was a TV, but something told you it would be Sokovian television. Maybe you could watch it just for the sake of it.

You lay back on the bed and took our your phone, calling Wanda.

She picked up almost immediately.

"Y/N, where are you?"

You smile, "Sokovia. You were right, Wanda, it's very pretty here."

You hear her little gasp down the phone.

"You're actually there? You're making me homesick now."

You chuckle softly.

"I'm sorry, Wanda. It's a beautiful city though. I even stopped off at one of the restaurants you listed."

"You did? Which one?"

"Escorpión Morado."

"Escorpión Morado? Oh my gosh! It's still there? Did you meet Heinrich? I remember him being so wonderful to his customers."

"Actually, Wanda, Heinrich passed away a few years ago. His son runs it now, but I guess you could say I did technically meet the owner."

"My heart is saddened to hear of his loss. I do vaguely remember his son. Though back then he worked in the kitchen and very rarely came out."

"Helmut is rather lovely. He stayed and talked to me while I ate."

"Is he cute?"

You roll your eyes at her question.

"He might be," you chuckle.

"Perhaps a romance will spark and you'll be left heartbroken because you'll have to come back here and maybe never see him again. I'll be here watching you drink wine straight from the bottle and gobble down ice cream because you're utterly in love with this man you met once while travelling."

"Wanda, I need you to stop watching those chick flick movies and come back to the real world. I'm not going to fall in love with him. His food, however, is to die for."

"Oh, you're in love with the food. Spain exists, you know."

"I know, I was there, remember? Kind of missing the sun, if I'm being honest, but my God Wanda, this man can cook."

"Marry that man, Y/N. He can cook."

"Wanda, shut up," you laugh with her down the phone.

"Never. Enjoy your time in my home country, Y/N. It honestly means the world to me that you're there."

"In taking photos, don't worry! I'll be home soon, Wanda. See you."

You end the call.

You drop your phone on the bed beside you and stare up at the ceiling. So far you really liked Sokovia, very different from places you had been to so far.

You smile as you think about Helmut. He was certainly the most memorable part of your stay here so far.

Maybe you would visit him again tomorrow.

For the food, obviously.

@namethathasnotbeentaken @belle82devart @cathrin2405 @lieutenantn @wilder-fangirl @latenightartist-author @lucky-luck-lucky @hb8301 @charistory @thatoneartgalsstuff @thesuitkovian @malkaviangirl @zemosimp420 @realremyd @the-chaotic-cow @lostghostgirl94 @zafiro-draco @lazygurl05 @pinkcutiepiee @goddessofmischief03 @whovianayesha @myybebe @awesomesauce-abbie @that-stupid-head-tilt-thing @zemo-is-my-muse @nonamec0s

[mermaidsirennikita]

Wait talk to me about the 365 movies lol. Always wanted to try them 👀 how is it in terms of the love story/sex scenes?

So here's the thing.

I love these movies. I love them with all my heart. The first movie is a literal comfort watch for me.

They are not for everyone, and I think you should know outright--these are adaptations of a dark, mildly taboo erotic romance series and they play the genre completely straight. There is no... acquiescence to good taste or morality. Like, deadass. The things I think everyone should know about before watching the movies that could possibly turn you off are:

--romanticization of the mafia, hardcore. I am not Italian (unless you count the Italian background on my mom's side according to 23andme, which I don't take seriously because I'm not an asshole); I've lived in Italy, I've taken courses on mafia history, I know people who've been negatively affected by the mafia. The various branches of the Italian mafia (Cosa Nostra is probably what the movie refers to, because it's largely set in Sicily and focused on Sicilians, but I honestly can't be sure because the author of the original books was Polish and frankly I don't think she did a lot of research or intended to represent the mafia accurately) are basically domestic terrorist organizations, full stop, which affect the nation to this day. I'm not going to argue with people who say that mafia romance novels or movies like this or even movies like The Godfather (which portrays the mafia negatively but also romanticizes it to an extent) shouldn't exist. I will say that there is no component of the mafia in these movies that is... accurate, or at all attempting to say "this is what the mafia is like". If you watch 365 DNI and say "they are convincing the masses that the mafia is like this", I don't know what to tell you. 365 DNI doesn't even attempt to portray Americans accurately.

--(Light, imo) BDSM and rough sex. People who tell you that this film is a rip off of 50 shades... No. It's a different thing. I would say that 365 plays into BDSM a lot more, not just in terms of the way that Massimo and Laura have sex (which is super explicit, but is not like. THAAAAT crazy) but the way she teases him and toys with him and the way he responds aggressively--which is what she wants. If you don't like the idea of throat grabbing, the heroine having her face presses into the pillow while she's getting fucked, and fairly rough sex in general? Don't watch this movie.

--Dubcon, which I hold separately because it is separate. Though there's basically nothing dubious about the second movie, I will say; she's fully in on the game by then. The entire setup of the first movie is that Massimo has Laura drugged and kidnapped (he also has her shitty boyfriend drugged so that he can have incriminating photos taken of him, but frankly Martin sucks so I'm neither here nor there about it). He then tells her that he will not touch her unless she basically gives in and wants it; he says this while playing with her nipples, lol. 365 very much plays the dark romance dubcon game of "I don't want to want it, but I do". The actress is playing responsively to the actor. Laura says she doesn't want to be there, but as soon as she is given a chance to get away (which is quite early) she just... doesn't do anything. Like, she has her phone and laptop, she talks to her mom, and is like "I'm good". BECAUSE SHE IS HAVING FUN LMAO. It's nothing close to reality, it's all fantasy. She's going on a shopping spree using her kidnapper's black card, and he walks in on her trying lingerie and is like I CAN SEE THIS WHENEVER I WANT and she's like "sure lmao". It's a heightened brat/dom thing.

So in terms of the love story, I personally really enjoy it because though I will never say it is deeply written (there are things they write into these movies that never get referenced again lmao, like Laura's weak heart which somehow doesn't stop her from having acrobatic sex every day) the connection between the actors is great. Michele Morrone and Anna Maria Sieklucka may or may not be an item in real life at this moment, but I'm fairly certain they've fucked around off camera at minimum and it shows. Their chemistry is insane, and it goes a long way. It's like a beauty and the beast type of setup where she's held "against her will" but he wants to learn how to be gentle for her. And their contrasting personalities are honestly very fun to watch, because he's truly insane, yet also kind of the emotional bitch in the relationship? I think that's the key to the movies. Massimo is all bark and no bite. He threatens, but he really doesn't... go there with her. He's aggressive, but he's not a whiny loser like Christian Grey. And she, in turn, has! Her! Own! Life! Laura is a grown woman who's been in a long term relationship, is sexually dissatisfied, has a killer job--she doesn't neeeeed him the way Anna in 50 Shades always seemed like she neeeeeded Christian.

As for the sex... To piggyback off of the other 50 Shades comparisons, lol. There's no comparison. I've seen a lot of graphic sex scenes in TV and film. These may be... the most... graphic I've ever seen outside of sex that I know isn't simulated. They claim it's all simulated in these movies, and I believe some of it is. Some scenes... I'm not so sure. I feel pretty certain that I saw some real penetration in the first movie, lol. They're GREAT sex scenes. The connection between the actors is fantastic, they both just fully go for it (he looks in her eyes before spitting lovingly into her pussy in the first movie; she fully coats a sex toy in her own saliva in the second, lmao) and it's super fun. I've watched the first movie with my mom and my sister, lol, I don't care--but it's probably the most graphic shit I've seen in a movie that is not specifically saying "these are unsimulated sex scenes". And it's VERY female gaze driven. Like, yes, you see everything with everyone (though tbh, I don't think either of them do full on full frontal nudity, just glimpses here and there) but it's very focused on what women want and what Laura specifically wants.

Anyway, I think these movies are really the only things standing between me and total insanity in today's world. I would recommend them, but I would recommend going into them knowing that like... This is being made to satisfy a specific desire, lol. Michele and Anna (and everyone else) are acting in a movie that largely has English dialogue (though also plenty of Polish and Italian, subtitled) and they are both ESL. There are weird fucking lines, odd translations that show that truly, nobody was that concerned with accuracy as long as the gist was right... And I love it. I really, really love it. I just enjoy watching two incredibly hot people fall in love with a surreal, insane backdrop, and fuck like rabbits all over Europe.

[reikoackerman]

Happy Birthday, Rei

Characters: Levi x Rei (Me)

Genre: Modern!au

Warnings: Smut. Yes I've gone overboard and delusional. Soft birthday sex (I'm w e a k). Extremely extremely EXTREMELY self-indulgent and probably very cringy. Also this isn't following any specific time line. The four kids aren't here xD

Word count: 4.7k (yes I am that crazy, forgive me)

A/N: Yes you all it's my birthday so let me fantasise about having a soft session of making love with Levi okay????? Also @mrscommandersmith and @hashaneeee I only have you two to blame for making me write this extremely embarrassing and indulgent thing. Also, Levi's outfit is inspired by this amazing fanart <3

Also there's a few songs I listened on repeat while brewing this smut lmao so uhh; Versace on the Floor - Bruno Mars // Be Your Everything - Boys Like Girls // Baby Good Night - GD&TOP // I'll Make Love To You - Boyz II Men // A.D.T.O.Y.(하.니.뿐.) - 2PM // You're My - Taeyang // Lullaby - BEAST

Today was the third of March, and also my birthday. 

Levi booked a suite in a fancy five-star hotel for the occasion even though I told him not to. I wanted to scold him for splurging on unnecessary things, but Levi said he wanted to pamper me since it was my birthday. I relented and eventually, we packed our bags for a short staycation at the hotel. 

We had breakfast in the hotel and set off to our first destination. Levi brought me flower viewing at the botanic garden. It was springtime and the flowers were all in bloom. We took lots of amazing photos and also had people take photos for us. We also had our photos taken and developed by their souvenir stand, and Levi bought them at the counter. He bought a photo frame to place in our room, and another in the shape of a crystal ball for his desk. We had lunch at the nearby mall and caught a movie too. We also had dessert at the ice cream parlour where I wanted to have waffles and ice cream. I asked Levi where my birthday cake was and he kept saying ‘later’.

For my birthday dinner, Levi brought me out for steak. I wore a sapphire halter neck dress that accentuated my shoulders, bringing along a light grey scarf. I tied my hair into a low ponytail while he styled his fringe up. Levi wore a charcoal grey three-piece suit and he wore a black necktie too. Levi even wore a long black coat even though it wasn’t that cold outside. Who was he trying to look good for? I frowned. 

“Really, amour. Leather gloves?” I cocked my eyebrow as I finished applying my mascara. 

“It’s unsanitary outside,” Levi simply said as he styled his hair into a messy backcomb. As I put on my lipstick, Levi was already wearing his socks. “You should bring your leather jacket, you know. Then you can match me.” Levi told me as he slipped on his polished shoes. 

“Fine, fine.” I rolled my eyes and laughed as I went to find a jacket instead since Levi did say the restaurant was cold. When we reached the restaurant, Levi suddenly took out a stalk of red rose from nowhere and gave it to me. I bit my lip and smiled at Levi shyly, suddenly feeling weak in the knees. 

“Is that why you’re wearing that coat when you obviously don’t need it?” I chuckled as Levi pulled out the seat for me. Levi merely shrugged and told me to order my food. 

We had a splendid dinner, the view from the restaurant was astounding. We had a panoramic view of the city and the night lights were stunning. The food and ambience were fantastic too, Levi’s ribeye was cooked to perfection and my striploin was tender and fragrant. The wine that the sommelier picked for us complimented our meals as well. Tchaikovsky's Rêverie du soir in G minor played in the background by a live pianist. I caught Levi looking at me while I was having my food, and when he realised it, he winked at me instead. I felt my heart leap to my throat, feeling utterly surprised by Levi’s act.

My second surprise came in the form of a blackforest cake which was my absolute favourite. Levi then said he was saving the best for the last. Just as I thought the day couldn’t be more perfect, Levi brought me to the rooftop garden of the hotel to stargaze. From high up, the stars seemed so close and within our reach. The cloudless sky was littered with countless stars, and the absence of the moon made the stars sparkle brighter.

“So beautiful.” I muttered, unable to take my eyes off the scenic view. The more I look, the more stars I see. They seemed impossible to count. Levi was silent, his eyes were dazed. Hugging my waist, he looked at me with a smile on his face. 

“You’re more beautiful, mon cœur.” Levi softly said. I felt my heart throbbing and heat crept up my cheeks. It was a good thing the surrounding was dim because I know how bad of a blushing mess I have become.

“W-what?”

“Tch, you've been with me for so long. Can’t take a little praise?” Levi teased, placing his hand behind the small of my back. He guided me to the lift. Looks like we’re going back to our suite.

“N-no, it’s… unexpected.” The lift door opened and we stepped in, pressing the button for the 50th floor. Once we reached, we slowly walked back and Levi opened the door to our suite. 

“Then maybe I should praise you more.” Levi whispered into my ear and I felt my heart leap to my throat again. Why does he keep saying things like this? We removed our shoes and Levi handed over his coat to me and disappeared somewhere while I went to pour two glasses of water from the kettle. Returning back to our bedroom, I hung up his coat and my jacket, sat by the dressing table and removed my earrings. I wanted to unzip my dress but it got stuck with the hair on my nape. 

“Amour,” I called out. He was still nowhere in sight. Weird. He wasn’t in the bathroom either. “Amour? Levi?” I called his name again, walking to the bedroom door. 

“Happy birthday, Rei.” Levi appeared in front of me with a bouquet of sunflowers so huge it looked bigger than Levi himself. I was pleasantly stunned, unsure of how to react. They were my favourite flower. I gladly accepted the bouquet, looking up at Levi. He told me to stand by the window of the balcony so that he could take a photo of me with the bouquet. 

“How did you hide them? They’re so huge.” I had to hug the bouquet with both hands while I stood by the windows. Levi merely shrugged and told me to smile. 

“Come here, amour.” I urged him to come over and take some photos with me. It was hard capturing nice photos because the bouquet was too big and occupied most of the space in the photo. It was hilarious, seeing Levi and me looking so tiny next to the bouquet. Placing the bouquet down on a small sofa, Levi stood by the table looking like he had a lot to say. He took a remote control on the table and pressed some buttons. Just then, the curtains in the room closed, and the lights dimmed. 

“I-I didn’t know what to get you,” Levi stuttered, sticking one hand into his pocket and the other hand loosening his tie, “it feels like you already have everything and anything, and you’re lacking nothing in your life.” I closed the distance between us, staring deep into his steely grey eyes. 

“The reason why I have everything and anything is that I have you. You’re my everything, Levi, and I’m nothing without you.” I held his hand and gave him a smile. “You don’t have to get me anything, because you’re all I need.” It sounded cheesy, but it’s the truth. Levi completes me and he’s all that I can ever ask for. Levi took a step closer and now we’re standing almost face to face. Excitement bubbled deep inside me, anticipating what Levi would say and do next.

“Instead of giving you something tangible, I’ve decided to give you a memory instead,” Levi raised his hand and stroked my hair, using the same hand to softly cup my cheek, “a memory of us that you will never forget.” With that, Levi gently pulled me closer to give me a tender kiss on my lips. One hand remained on my cheek while Levi’s other hand wrapped around my waist to pull me closer to him. My hands snaked up Levi’s chest, interlocking behind his neck and pulling him even closer. Levi’s tongue prodded against my lip and I gladly welcomed him, our tongues dancing together in perfect harmony. The room was silent except for the sound of our wet kisses and heavy breathing. It was starting to get cold, but Levi felt so warm and too hot for comfort. Levi’s hand on my waist started going higher and higher up my back. He tugged on the elastic band on my hair, letting it cascade down my back. As he slowly pulled my zipper down, I removed Levi’s jacket, contemplating if I should drop it on the floor. 

“Leave it.” Levi muttered next to my ear. I dropped his jacket and started unbuttoning his vest to throw it on the floor as well.

“Why did you have to wear so many layers?” I complained as I removed Levi’s necktie, letting it join the pile of clothes on the floor. Levi pulled me in for another passionate kiss, prying my dress off my shoulders and letting it fall on the ground. 

“Hm, so that you can have fun undressing me.” Muttering against my lips, we briefly disconnected from our kiss to look at each other. 

Levi had red smudges on his lips from my lipstick, and his cheeks were flushed. We’ve only been kissing for what felt like five minutes but those kisses got me panting for breath. Stepping out of my dress, our eyes locked on each other as I unbuttoned Levi’s shirt slowly, tracing his muscles with my finger. Levi cupped my cheek and kissed me harder, moaning into the kiss as I locked my arms behind his neck and jumped on him, interlocking my ankles behind his back. Levi walked towards the mattress and put me down gently, throwing his shirt somewhere. 

“So beautiful,” Levi muttered as he trapped me with his body, his hands grabbing mine and keeping them above my head, “and all mine.” Leaning his forehead against mine, our lips met again in another urgent kiss. I rubbed my thighs together, squirming around to dissipate the wetness gathering around my core.

Levi broke the kiss and peppered kisses to my neck, nuzzling his head between my nape and shoulder. Pressing a kiss beneath my ear, I let out a soft moan as I tilted my head to give Levi more access. Levi released my hands and caressed my cheek while he nibbled on my neck and continued to kiss me slowly and sensually down my clothed chest. Levi bit and gently sucked on the skin above my left breast, leaving a hickey right where my heart would be. Crying out a small whine of delight, I squirmed again and my knee brushed against Levi’s crotch. 

“Arch your back for me, baby.” Levi coaxed as his hands reached to my back. I obediently listened and he swiftly removed my strapless bra, my bare chest in full glory. Kissing his way slowly down my chest, Levi took a hardened nipple in his mouth, teasing the little bud with his tongue. A mewl of pleasure escaped my lips as I gently stroked Levi’s hair, watching him have fun circling my nipple with his tongue. Levi rested his right cheek on my chest and looked up at me. He noticed I was watching him, and Levi stopped everything he was doing to smile at me instead. At that moment when our eyes connected, I felt heat creep up my cheeks again, a sudden wave of bashfulness causing me to bite my lower lip. Levi chucked and latched onto my nipple once more. 

“Ahh! Amour—” my breath got stuck in my throat as Levi sucked on my sensitive nipple, his tongue flicking and circling it non-stop. Levi took his time, using his tongue to slowly play with the nipple in his mouth while the other hand massaged my breast. His fingers gently pinched and tugged at the hardened bud while my fingers now threaded themselves in Levi’s soft ebony hair. Within seconds I became a whining mess, my wet pussy throbbing with want and need. Once he had his fun, Levi released my nipple with a soft ‘pop’ before slowly kissing his way to my other breast, each soft kiss eliciting a moan from my lips. Giving both breasts the attention they deserved, Levi continued to lick and suck on the perky nub, driving my senses up the wall and making me feel closer to my release. I covered my mouth to hide my gradually increasing voice. I didn’t want to ruin the mood with my nasty voice and weird pants. Levi however was thinking otherwise and pulled my hand away.

"Let me hear your voice, mon cœur, don’t hide it from me.” He chimed softly while looking at me. My face flushed red with embarrassment, Levi’s words igniting a burning want in me. I cupped his cheek and I meekly nodded. “I want to hear those beautiful moans coming from your pretty lips.” Levi kissed my palm before going back down on my breast again. 

As he finished lavishing on my chest, Levi kissed his way down my stomach, stopping on top of the waistband of my silk panties. Sitting on the carpeted floor, he eyed me as though he was asking for permission. I lifted my butt from the mattress and Levi swiftly pulled my panties down with his teeth without looking away from me. I swear he needs to stop doing this, for every moment he spends looking at me only makes me want and crave him even more. It left my mouth feeling dry and made my heart tremble. Levi placed both my legs on his shoulders and stroked my thigh, fingertips lightly tracing every mole and scar on my skin. 

Lying on the bed naked and strangely feeling very exposed, I clamped my thighs around Levi’s head as he bit on my inner thigh, feeling me squirm once more. I could feel how wet I was down south, and Levi could definitely see it too. I tried to close my legs out of embarrassment, yet Levi’s hold on my thighs kept them open. Levi sensually kissed my inner thighs from my knee all the way up, not forgetting to leave tiny purple hickeys along the way. As he kissed every inch of skin his lips could reach, I could only pant and moan and let Levi do whatever he wanted to me. I wanted to touch him too, to leave bite marks across his body, to him with my own hands. Yet, all Levi kept saying was that he will take care of me tonight.

“Mmm, I’ll make tonight the best night you can remember.” Levi smiled as he left a featherlight kiss on my clit. I let out a mewl of pleasure as Levi kept kissing my outer lips softly, taking his own sweet time to slowly lick my cunt from the bottom up. I couldn’t control myself any longer. I tried to sound demure to mask my moans. Yet with Levi’s touches and skillful tongue, there was no way I could hold it in. The coil in my belly started tightening and my toes started feeling ticklish. My chest heaved with every breath I took and my moans got louder as time passed. Levi knew how much I loved it when he went down on me like this, and he knew exactly what to do to push me over my limits. 

“That’s it, baby, I wanna hear you out loud.” Levi peeked at me while his lips were still on my cunt doing wonders. His skillful tongue was drawing circles on my clit while he interlocked his fingers with mine, his thumb stroking my knuckles. As Levi continued to suck on my clit, my fingers found their way back to Levi’s hair again. I gently scratched his scalp as he tickled my clit with his tongue, circling and playing with it using his hot muscle. Another dirty moan escaped my lips as Levi licked up and down my cunt once more. Levi hummed against my soaking entrance, pleased with what he felt was music to his ears. Levi’s hands were on my hips holding me down while his tongue began to circle my clit faster and faster. My moans became sloppier, my breathing became heavier. Likewise, the more incessant my moans were, the faster Levi licked and sucked on my cunt. I couldn’t take it any longer, the pleasure was too good to be true. 

“Amour, I-I’m… g-gonn—” the coil in my belly abruptly snapped and I clamped my thighs around Levi hard, my breathing haggard and eyes shut. Levi gave a satisfied groan as he rubbed his hands up and down my thigh and slowly went to cup my butt and lift my hip higher, drinking up all I had to offer. All that clouded my mind was how dizzy I felt, and how Levi made loud slurping noises as he lapped up my essence. As I slowly came down from my high, Levi lowered me back on the mattress and he climbed back up, his body hovering above mine again. We locked eyes and my hand went to cup his cheek. 

Levi’s hair was even messier than before, the remnants of him eating me out were evident on his mouth and chin as well. His face was red and sweaty and the dim lights in our room gently illuminated his features. His steely grey eyes which were usually cold and stoic looked at me with so much love and adoration. I stroked his nose bridge with my finger and swiped my thumb across his lips. I don’t know why I had a sudden urge to kiss him. I swiftly pulled Levi down and met him halfway, a moan escaping my mouth each time our tongues intertwined. All I could hear was the sound of our wet kisses, the loud beating of my heart, and the sound of Levi removing his belt. Pushing myself upwards, my hands went to Levi’s belt and I unbuckled it instead. 

“Let me.” I whispered as I removed his belt, unzipping his pants and pulling it off him. Levi removed them and kicked them off, clad in the boxers I bought him for his birthday. I opened my arms and pulled Levi back to the mattress. For some reason Levi started to tickle me before I could kiss him, his fingers kept attacking my waist and he nuzzled his head near my neck, letting out hot breaths on my skin. Levi tried to nibble my earlobe but I quickly pushed him away, rolling on the mattress to escape his clutches. 

“Stop it, amour! No!” I squealed as I jumped off the mattress, running around the bedroom. Levi was a lot faster than I was and he swiftly rugby tackled me on the mattress once more, trapping me beneath him and mercilessly tickling me all over. I laughed out loud, begging Levi to stop torturing me through my endless giggles. Levi seemed to be having fun because he decided to not only tickle my waist but also blow raspberries on my neck too. I was a laughing fit, unable to control my spasms and movements. While laughing, I accidentally kneed Levi loudly in the stomach and he collapsed on top of me with a loud grunt. 

“Levi!!! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry amour, I-I didn’t do it on purpose—” I tried to push him up but his body was like a dead weight on me. “Amour…?” I tapped on his arm only for him to look up at me again with his chin in between my cleavage. “Are you okay?”

“You know, Rei, you have a really lovely smile and a beautiful laugh.” Levi scooted closer to me and his face was just inches away from mine. I was flabbergasted, why was Levi praising me out of nowhere again? Levi picked up a few strands of my hair and twirled it around his finger lazily, ignoring the confused look on my face. “You always try to hide your laughter because you told me you sound like a bird cawing but I beg to differ.” Levi pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead, the tip of my nose, and even under my jaw. That simple gesture made my lower lip quiver and my words got stuck in my throat as Levi sucked on the skin on my neck, whispering sweet nothings next to my ear while removing his boxers. 

“I love your eyes. They’re full of vigour and life, and I love staring into them,” Levi kissed my eyelids as he grabbed his shaft and tugged it up and down a few times. “I love your cheeks. They always turn into such a lovely shade of red whenever you’re embarrassed or flustered,” Levi stroked my cheek with his free hand while the other was busy prodding my entrance with his dick. I could feel tears welling up and threatening to spill the more Levi continued to praise me. Without breaking eye contact, Levi entered me slowly while pushing my knees to my chest. 

“But the biggest thing I love about you most is your heart, because of all the men in the world you could have chosen, you fell in love with me.” Levi captured my lips in another passionate kiss and I eagerly kissed him back, my hands cupping Levi’s cheeks as he continued to thrust into me at a slow, loving pace. Levi rolled his hip gracefully into me as I weaved my fingers through his hair again, feeling absolutely pampered and loved with his gentle movements. We continued kissing each other, Levi’s breath still had hints of the wine we had for dinner. Breaking the kiss to catch our breaths, I laced my hands behind Levi’s neck as he stared at me again. 

“Why do you keep looking at me tonight, amour?” I questioned him before I knew it. It’s not like I dislike it, but Levi has been staring at me a whole lot and I really wanted to know the reason why. Levi looked at me with a blank look before lowering his gaze, unable to control his laughter. 

“Why can’t I look at you? I’ll stare at you all day if you allow me to.” I can’t believe we’re actually having this conversation while Levi’s dick is still grinding into me, his rhythm comfortable and easy. I looked away pointedly, unable to hide my smile. No matter how long we’ve been together, Levi really never fails to surprise and fluster me. 

“Does that answer your question, you silly girl?” Levi playfully tapped my nose and kissed me once more. Levi’s pace on my cunt was slowly building up in me and fuelling my need. I reached my finger to my clit and circled it, moaning into our kiss. Levi broke the kiss and looked at me again. 

“Besides, I want to look at your beautiful face while we’re making love,” Levi pressed our foreheads together and cupped my cheeks, “let me look at your face while I stuff you full of my cum.” At that moment, Levi looked at me like I was the most precious thing in the world. His touches were so delicate and his movements were so graceful. Levi sucked on my nipple once more while I continued to finger myself, feeling my euphoria coming soon. I kept whining and panting, feeling nothing but pleasure and Levi’s dick softly thrusting in me. My toes started to curl, my body started to spasm. Levi sang praises next to my ear and there was only one thing on my mind: Love. 

From the day we met until now, Levi never stopped showing his love for me, be it a simple gesture like holding my hand while we were walking, or pampering me with hugs and kisses. Levi was never good at showing people his emotions. Yet with me, Levi always expressed his feelings whenever he could. Tears started forming in my eyes again when I think about how lucky I am to have someone like Levi in my life. 

“I love you, Levi.” I blurted out, sensing my orgasm approaching. I quickly blinked my tears away as Levi kissed my cheek. I didn’t want him to see me cry. My finger quickened its pace on my clit while Levi continued to thrust into me slowly, his dick brushing past my sweet spot. I bit my lip again, trying to muffle my moans. My other hand wrapped around Levi’s sturdy back, my fingernails leaving their mark all over his alabaster skin. Levi kissed me again and again, dragging his wet and swollen lips across my jaw. 

“Don’t hold back, baby. Let me hear you.” With that, I let out a loud cry and hugged Levi close to me, my hips involuntarily grinding Levi and my walls clenching tight around his dick. Levi continued to pant and grunt as he rolled his hips chasing after his own high. Moments later, Levi let out a gasp as he collapsed on me, panting loudly as I felt his dick throb inside me. I felt so warm inside out. We stayed like this for a while. No words exchanged, just Levi and I with our sweaty bodies and synchronised heartbeats. 

“I love you too, Rei,” Levi swept my fringe out of my eye and smiled at me, “more than you ever know.” I gazed at Levi lovingly while he cradled my body and held me up tightly, making sure not to let even a tiny drop of cum land on the sheets. Locking my ankles behind his back, I latched onto Levi like a koala bear hugging a tree. Levi walked us to the bathroom and set me down in the jacuzzi, filling it with water and switching it on. Levi lit a candle and told me he’ll be back after a while. I sank lower into the warm water as Levi wore a bathrobe and went out. 

I closed my eyes and was nearly dozing off when I heard Levi singing me a birthday song. When my eyes opened, Levi was holding on to another slice of black forest cake, two champagne flutes and a bottle of champagne. I quickly made a wish and blew out the candles. Levi threw the candle away and removed his bathrobe. Popping the bottle of champagne, Levi joined me in the jacuzzi as he filled both our flutes. Levi handed me one and offered me a toast. 

“Happy birthday, mon cœur,” our glasses clanged as we both took a sip, “I hope you like your present.” I beamed at Levi and cuddled close to him, laying down on his chest. 

“I love it, amour. Thank you. I’ll burn this memory into my brain and bring it to my grave.” Levi had an arm draped across my shoulder, fingers gently stroking my arm. Laying on Levi’s chest and listening to his strong heartbeat lulled me to sleep. 

“Hey, wake up. You still have your cake to eat.” Levi tapped me suddenly and I rubbed my eyes sleepily. 

“Can’t I have it for breakfast tomorrow?” I whined, snuggling closer to him. Levi chuckled and pushed me up again. 

“Your birthday cake is to be eaten on your birthday.” Levi took the plate and fed me a small slice of cake. I hummed in delight and urged Levi to have a few bites too. We finished the cake and our champagne, and it was time to get out of the jacuzzi to take a proper shower. We then brushed our teeth and took turns blow-drying each other’s hair. While I was doing my skincare routine, Levi went to wash the flutes and plates. Levi came back and fluffed the pillows, lying in bed while waiting for me. I joined him in bed when I was done, switching off all the lights and taking off my silk robe.

“What did you wish for?” Levi hugged me close, kissing my temple. I stuck out my tongue before realising that Levi probably can’t see what I was doing. 

“I'm not telling you, Levi. If I tell you what my wish was, then it won’t come true.”

“That’s a whole load of baloney.” Levi complained as he pulled the comforter higher. Pulling me close, my back was snug against his bare chest. Levi’s arms wrapped themselves around my waist while I interlock my fingers with his.

“Bonne nuit, mon cœur,” as Levi pressed a kiss to my shoulder. I hummed a soft “bonne nuit, mon amour” as we closed our eyes, letting the sleepiness take over. 

I wish that Levi and I will be happy together until forever ends. 

A/N: I am very sorry for the cringe and how disgusting this is omg. Thank you for reading till the end of this embarrassing writing >\\< just... let me enjoy my birthday fantasy lol kthxbye.

[neptunetheplanet7]

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨 - 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦

DM ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE PUT ON THE TAGLIST!!

;mikasa ackerman x fem!lesbian!reader

;modern au, band au

word count: 2.1k

warnings: swearing, floch’s bad flirting

bold italics is a text conversation

listen to the music masterlist

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disclaimer again!! i wrote this a long time ago. i know there are things that need to be fixed and things that don’t fit right. i plan to edit this story more in the future but today is not that day :)

You took a shaky breath in as you stopped midway of putting a clean sheet on the bed Mikasa would be sleeping in. The room still had some of her old stuff in it, it's just no one ever came in here after she left. You looked around at all the items she left behind. Smiling fondly at an old picture of you two, you noticed a small figure crossed out in the background. Glancing at the rest of the photos on the shelf, you noticed that every photo had something crossed out.

After looking at each picture, you came to the conclusion the figure was Jean. She must have only taken the photos without him and did this to the rest. You frowned and walked back to the bed. Carefully, you climbed onto it and propped a few pillows up to support you as you leaned back.

For the first time in two years, you got a good look around the room. On the side of the room with the door, there was a large glass window overlooking the balcony above the living room. You always found it strange that she chose a room like that when she usually kept those blinds shut. Her bed was in the middle of the room with a tv mounted on the wall across from it. On the other side of her bed, there were a couple of bean bags below the bay window that looked out on the driveway.

You sighed and took out your phone, pulling up old texts with Mikasa. The last time you texted her was three months ago when you got too drunk at one of Reiner's ragers.

mikasa

mikasas pleasdse

come home

i miss you

i miss you so much

we all miss you so much

come home to me.

She didn't respond to that and you wouldn't know if she even looked at it. She turned her read receipts off for everyone after the first week of trying to contact her. The only time she had ever contacted anyone was two weeks after she left the house.

Don't look for me. Don't contact me.

You got a lot of your friends asking if you got the same message. She sent the same thing to everyone who tried to get in contact with her. You still didn't know where she was or what she was doing. The only thing you knew was that she was coming home the next day. You sighed. Suddenly, you didn't feel like cleaning anything else. You briskly walked out of her room and dialed the number of your best friend.

"Hey, Y/n! What's going on?" Sasha's cheery voice rang through the line.

"Hey hey, Sasha. I'm doing great. At least, I think I am. Do you wanna go somewhere? You can pick me up? Or I can pick you up if you like."

"I'll come to pick you up, honey bunny, don't you worry." You heard her struggling with her keys on the other side of the line and snorted at the noise.

"Need some help, Sash?" You grinned while skipping steps.

"Fine, thanks." She grumbled. "I'll be there in fifteen! You stay put!" She briskly hung up.

Sasha had been your best friend ever since Eren's nineteenth birthday party. She caught you and Eren coming back inside just as she was about to leave, with half the pantry in her arms. She asked for your number to make plans to hang out and chat sometime. You happily obliged, which was probably the happiest thing you had done that night.

You tossed your phone onto your bed as you walked into your room. Your room was on the first floor. You got first pick since you were the one who inherited the house. The house was big and beautiful. It was also on a lake. Perfect for the parties Eren and Jean loved to host. Perfect escape from paparazzi.

Your room had big glass doors that opened to the balcony that wrapped around the back of the house. You had a great view of the lake. The room was painted white. There was a black marble fireplace in one wall with a small wardrobe you used for storing memorable items to the band. You didn't need to use it for clothes since you had a walk-in closet in the big bathroom you partly shared with your bandmates. Jean liked to use the large bathtub.

You collapsed onto the bed and stared into the vanity mirror next to it. It was then when you realized you were still in your pajamas. "Oh shit." Your eyes widened as you hurriedly stumbled over to the closet, falling over once.

You grabbed a pair of baggy sweats and a big t-shirt. With duck socks, of course. The outfit didn't look much different than your pajamas but Sasha would probably be wearing something similar.

You threw your hair into the easiest hairstyle you could muster. You grabbed your boots and hopped up and down while trying to put them on while also leaving the room. "Jesus." You muttered.

Your phone vibrated, signaling that Sasha was here. "I'm heading out with Sasha! You're on your lonesome!" You called out to wherever Armin was in the house.

"Okay! Don't be back too late!" He shouted back.

You laughed aloud as you realized how much he sounded like a dad. You opened the front door and ran to Sasha's car. "Let me in!" You knocked on the passenger window as she reached around to find the button that unlocks the door. Once it was unlocked, you swung open the door and hopped inside.

"Nice outfit," was the first thing she said to you. You glanced at her outfit and scoffed. Your predictions were correct, she was wearing something similar.

"Gee, thanks." You gave a lopsided smile and rolled your eyes.

"Where to, honey bunny?" Sasha said, giving a mock salute while her other hand rested firmly on the steering wheel. You giggled and thought about it. You called her on such a whim that you forgot to even plan anything.

"Uh how about Brain Freezes? I could really use a catch-up with Connie right about now." You suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea! Turns out you do have a brain up there." Sasha snickered.

"Oh good one, because you're the real genius here, clearly."

After a lot of lighthearted banter, you arrived at Connie's workplace. Sasha aggressively grabbed the door handle and slammed it open, causing the bell to fall off its perch and land on your face. "Oops." You grimaced and bent down to pick up the bell. You rang it in front of her face.

"Sasha! Y/n! My two favorite customers!" Connie jumped up and down on the other side of the counter. "How can I assist you ladies today?"

"I'll have the usual." You gave a half-hearted smile, head still impaired from the bell. Sasha had quite the habit of accidentally hurting you.

Sasha snatched the bell from your grasp and started ringing it. She announced her very long order that you could barely keep up with, but Connie was used to this kind of thing, especially with her.

You noticed one of his coworkers scowling at Sasha. You didn't like Floch, to say the least. He was always inviting himself to your parties but he was rude to all of your friends at the same time. He noticed your gaze and smirked.

He strutted over to where you stood, pretending to become very interested in toppings. "How are you, Y/n? It's been a while huh?" He leaned over your shoulder in a way that workers shouldn't with their customers. You made a hasty effort to slip away from his presence.

"It really hasn't. I came here last week. I come here every week and you say that every time." You usually tried to be nice to Floch, but today you didn't feel like being nice.

"Well, even a day without you feels like an eternity." He flirted horridly. You stared blankly at him until he awkwardly cleared his throat and traded spots with Connie at the register.

Connie took off his apron and handed you and Sasha your orders. "Sorry about him. That guy really can't take a hint even if it's right in front of his face." He shot Floch a venomous glare. "Luckily, you guys got here right as my shift ended! Wanna get out of here?" His previous anger seemed to dissipate in an instant.

"Yeah, I do! Where should we go?" Sasha beamed with her spoon still in her mouth.

"Can we just drive around? I've got something I wanna tell you guys." You played with your spoon in the ice cream, averting eye contact.

"Sure thing, Y/n. Let's go." Sasha and Connie said in unison.

Sasha let you drive her car since she was preoccupied with her mountain of ice cream. Connie didn't have a car, he failed his driver's test every time he took it. You'd think he'd learn most of the material by now. "Hey, Y/n?" He asked from the backseat.

"Yeah?" You nodded to him.

"Are you gonna finish that?" He said, referring to your cup of ice cream in the front cupholder. You sighed.

"Go ahead." He thanked you over and over as he leaned over and snatched it.

"So, Y/n? What was it you wanted to tell us?" Sasha wiped her hands on her pants and set the empty container in an extra cupholder.

You gripped the steering wheel harder then relaxed. You took a shaky breath in. "Mikasa is coming home tomorrow."

Connie started choking on your ice cream. "I know, I had the same reaction." You quipped.

"Mikasa..is...WHAT?" Connie managed between coughs.

"After all this time? It's been two years. Tomorrow? That's so sudden! Are you even ready to see her?" Sasha's mouth was gaping open. You leaned over and shut it for her.

"Yes, tomorrow. I still have to get the house ready. I couldn't even make it through her old room without calling you. Jean told us this morning. I don't think we should be worried about me being ready to see her. I think we should be more concerned about her and Jean." You informed. "But, then again, she told Jean about her return first. Plus he's picking her up tomorrow at the airport. So based on that, I think they're on better terms."

"You don't think they'll get back together, do you?" Connie said, his eyebrows furrowing.

You snorted. "Of course not. You know Jean is with Marco now, and he seems pretty happy with him. They've been together for two years now, probably longer if I'm being honest."

"Then what do you have to worry about?" Sasha asked, confused.

"Are you joking? I mean, what if she has found someone? What then? What if she quits the band forever? What if we argue? She dropped off the map two years ago. Completely. She stopped responding to me, to all of us. For two years I thought she lost her interest in everything and went to live a new life, with people better than me. And now she's coming back, out of the blue! It's too much." You stressed.

Connie and Sasha made quick eye contact. "Y/n, I think you're reading too far into it. I doubt anyone could lose interest in you. You're too cool! Let's look on the bright side, she's ready to come home and you finally get to see her again," Sasha said in an attempt to lift your spirits. You smiled graciously. You really were lucky to have a friend like her. "Right, Connie?" She gestured to Connie who looked very deep in thought.

"Didn't you and Mikasa go out in high school?" You almost crashed the car from the shock of the question.

"Briefly, yes. But we weren't 'going out' so to speak. We just, like, made out a couple of times." You could feel your face grow hot at the subject. You thought you were over your crush on Mikasa, but after hearing that she was coming home, the familiar feeling was coming back.

"You're going red, Y/n. I think it was more to you than just a make-out." Connie grinned while Sasha wiggled her eyebrows.

"You're totally in love with Mikasa!" Sasha sang.

"Shut up, you two. I don't wanna get into the details right now." You couldn't even try to hide your heated face since you were the one driving the vehicle.

"Not right now? So maybe somewhere down the line, you will?" Sasha raised her eyebrows and broke out into another infectious grin.

"Whatever, Sash. Enough about Mikasa and me. I really wanna hear about you and Niccolo." You gave her a similar grin while she slowly turned red.

"Nice one, Y/n!" Connie cheered.

"You idiots should just shut it!"

posted: 8/24/21

neptunetheplanet7© 2021

no reposts, edits, or modification to my work by anyone other than me.

[uhforfuckssake]

Holbeck: A Case Study of Hell — FiLiA

By Dr Em

Holbeck is a case study of hell. It is misogyny and objectification in the legal system, a triumph of men’s rights activists. Alan Caton, the detective who led the investigation into the murders of five prostituted women in Ipswich in 2006 and subsequently led the strategy to put an end to street prostitution in Ipswich is highly critical of the Leeds ‘managed approach’. Canton is clear that ‘I totally disagree with it’ he is of the opinion that ‘it plays right into the hands of pimps and abusers of women, and turns a blind eye to the most vulnerable people in our society. It allows men to carry on in their misogynistic ways, to abuse and exploit women who are out on the street selling sex’.1 Canton added that ‘The demand is there in this country because men are allowed unfettered to buy sex from women, to do what they want to them’.2 ‘Because that demand is never quelled, people will use all sorts of criminal avenues to traffic and exploit women. It's all about tackling that demand, telling men it's not acceptable to buy women and abuse them in that way’.3 In Holbeck human trafficking is rebranded as ‘migration for sex work’, paedophilia and child molestation becomes ‘under-age sex work’, rape becomes ‘a disputed sale’.

If one wants to know how unempowering the situation is for prostituted women and girls, one needs only read the punter reviews. Yes – reviews – like one would review a restaurant or hotel. Men describe their experiences to each other using degrading language and slang. For example, women likely trafficked from Romania are known as ‘Roms’, from Poland, ‘EE’, while men bemoan their lack of English or desire to participate, and the presence of pimps. Other men get a sexual kick out of the fact that the women and girls are disengaged. ‘Howaboutit’ related how:

‘i've had a few girls from down Holbeck - usually pass through at about 5am on a saturday morning. Always at least 1 or 2 around, as mentioned above, some are horrors!… total lack of interest while i had her in missionary.. but that kind of turns me on. Bored and checking her texts while i unload bare inside her!!’.4

One particular poster uses the moniker ‘Yorkshireripper’, referencing the serial killer Peter Sutcliffe who murdered prostituted women in Leeds during the 1970s. ‘Many of his attacks came after he had cruised the streets looking for victims, and the area’s reputation as a red light district meant that it was easier for him to persuade women to get into his car while soliciting’.5 ‘Yorkshireripper’ described one prostituted woman thus:

‘she looks a shit fuck based on that video [an uploaded porn film taken during street ‘sex work’] but I just think there's something about her being a really lowlife desperate dirty prostitute with such a shit background who's cunt has had many hundreds of hard cocks up her … that makes me want to empty my filth in her, just for the thrill of it’.6

‘Yorkshireripper’ had actually gone in search of potentially underage girls that night, he informed the other men that ‘I was seeking teenagers or under 25s’.7 ‘Yorkshireripper’ likes to negotiate the already low prices down further, he particularly likes bad weather as a means of creating more desperation in the women. He outlined how he:

‘went for a little scouting mission myself last night, first time in a few months due to reports of increased surveillance by anti whore brigade. Was a cold, wet and rainy night which is my favourite time as it seems gives you that extra cover of visibility and offers a quick respite from the cold as an incentive to the girls when your knocking down the price’.8

The women are looked upon as objects which the men can use, abuse, consume and collect. One ‘Richard1982’ described how ‘Of all the girls I've picked up she's the only one I haven't bb'd [had sex without a condom] so I want to collect the full set lol’.9 And the ‘sex work is work’ champions claim it is empowering for women. Do you feel empowered after reading that? Alan Caton, the detective who led the investigation into Stephen Wright who murdered five prostituted women in Ipswich in 2006 has related that “When I asked the [men] about it, they said: ‘I am paying for it, I can do what I want.’ That helped me form the view over time that this is not right. Men should not be able to exploit and abuse women in that way”.

DESPERATION & DRUGS

Holbeck creates a desperate cycle which we see trapping prostituted women across the world. Drugs and prostitution become a ‘chicken and egg’ problem. Women enter the trade to fund their, or their partner’s, drug addiction and then require more drugs to cope with what they are experiencing. Drugs become a means to endure male violence. While talking about Holbeck, Jenni described how she ‘gave up drugs to get out of the ‘managed’ red light zone – it was too dangerous’.11 Julie Bindel stated that in the opinion of one exited survivor of Holbeck ‘Her biggest criticism of the managed zone is the failure to offer women a route out of a world where drugs are rife’.12 Jenni discussed how “All the girls are down there because they’re dependent on drugs. I don’t believe it’s their choice to do it,” she says. “The key is to stop the drug use and it will stop the girls having to work for drugs”.13 Charles Hymas and Corinne Redfern reported how in Holbeck, it ‘was the sight of a prostitute injecting drugs into her groin on the backseat of a car in full view of residents in the neat terraced street in Beeston, Leeds, that convinced artist Claire Bentley-Smith it was time to act’.14 In 2019 'A woodland of suffering' was discovered by a mum-of-two dropping her children off at school which revealed a ‘sex worker's’ 'home' next to a Leeds primary school.15The drug litter is a constant in the area and a sharp reminder that allowing men to buy women on the street is ineffective at tackling the women’s drug addiction. In one clean-up of one small wooded area it took more than 20 vans to remove mounds of waste from a 'needle and condom hotspot' in Holbeck.16

Then men purchasing the women know they are desperate and many are addicts. One ‘Munterhunter’ said of the prostituted women in Holbeck that:

‘in most cases it's to feed a drug addiction or because some pimp is telling them "go and earn me 200 quid tonight".

I know that a large number of street prostitutes have serious drug habits my mate's wife works with a project which operates all over the UK working with street prostitutes and the biggest challenge they face is drugs. My mate is a support worker working with people on drug rehab and community punishment orders from the courts his wife works for a national organisation working with street prostitutes’.17

Yet he was undeterred from buying women. Mark Edmonds has outlined how in Holbeck, ‘there are no sanctions and no risk of conviction. Widespread drug-taking — sadly an integral part of the lives of many of these women, who have often been abused as teenagers and are subsequently used by pimps who see them as no more than a commodity — is also tolerated, under a scheme that costs local taxpayers £200,000 per year to run’.18 A BBC documentary highlighted the link between drug addiction and prostitution. In the documentary Sammie-Jo described how she ‘has been forced to work as a prostitute in the red-light district of Holbeck in Leeds to fund her addiction’.19 Yet still the ‘sex work is work’ lobby talk about women choosing this.

Safety and Violence

The ‘sex work is work’ pimp lobby and men’s sexual rights activists argue that prostitution should be decriminalised to make it safer for those being sold. Holbeck, and other examples such as in the Netherlands, shows this is false.20 It makes it more dangerous for the women being sold and other women in the area. In 2015, within months of the ‘managed approach’ zone in Holbeck becoming operational Daria Pionko was murdered by a punter.21 Julie Bindel spoke to one Holbeck prostitute who told her: ‘Because [the men] can’t get arrested, they think they can do anything they like. I’ve been raped, and one man urinated on me once and then took a photo’.22 With the first year of the ‘managed approach’ figures released by police show complaints of rape almost trebled … and have remained significantly higher than before’.23Alongside this, rapes are under-reported as the police and courts do not take it seriously, particularly if the woman is prostituted. On the 7th September 2018 Holbeck residents, David and Calum, reported stopping a rape of a prostituted woman. They stated that while walking home through Holbeck after they had finished work at a club they heard a woman’s voice calling for help. They ‘saw a man trying to strangle a woman. He released her as soon as we approached and she ran towards us… she’s a sex worker and he’s a punter. The fight was about condoms. He wanted her to have sex without a condom… but she refused’.24 The fetish killer, Donald Sheridan, who the council and probation service decided to house in the managed zone in Holbeck while he was on parole, told police in an interview regarding his abduction and attempted rape of a woman in Holbeck in 2019 that ‘he still experiences urges to rape and murder women, especially strangling them, and he had recently felt the urge to strangle an older sex worker after using her services’.25

The frequency of sex attacks on women in the small area of Holbeck was highlighted in 2019 when there were three sex attacks within 36 hours. Samantha Gildea and Kristian Johnson reported that ‘A female sex worker was assaulted by a male client in Shafton Lane on Sunday afternoon, then in the evening, a woman was grabbed on a footpath near Kenneth Street in an attempted rape at around 5.30pm. A third incident was reported to officer after a woman was physically assaulted in Holbeck Moor Park at around 10.15pm last night’.26 Julie Bindel interviewed ‘Sammy, who was pimped on her 17th birthday straight into the zone by her “boyfriend”, who told her that the police “don’t give a fuck about the women”. Sammy said that “One night I was screaming my head off when a nasty punter got really rough with me, but these two coppers just walked past’.27 Another prostituted woman, Jenni, told Chris Hymas and Bindel of ‘the constant threat of robbery, sex tourism, exploitation by traffickers, and women so desperate for drugs they sold sex for just £10’.28 Hymas and Bindel reported that ‘the zone, designed to crack down on pimping, was in reality a magnet for men seeking to exploit the women by charging them for protection’.29 Jenni described how “There were loads of young lads who were basically glorified pimps.. There were more and more attacks before I left, of people coming into the area to rob the girls, knowing they were on their own with money’30. Rather than improve relations between the prostituted woman and the police, the managed approach has caused them to deteriorate and the prostituted women feel even less protected.31 Nevertheless, ‘the council says the increase in crime is due to improved reporting and includes Beeston which is not part of the zone. Others disagree. “It was a disaster from day one,” a senior police officer told The Telegraph on condition of anonymity. “Other criminals came into the area quick as a flash. Drug dealers, pimps, even traffickers that brought the women from Romania’.32

Male violence and rape, and police inaction over these crimes, is also a problem for women and children not in prostitution who live near or enter the Holbeck zone. In 2015, ‘Sally – a young woman with learning disabilities, then aged 17 – was approached at a bus stop in Beeston on a weekday afternoon, bundled into a car, and raped in a nearby home. With DNA evidence, the attacker was quickly arrested and prosecuted in court. However, during a gruelling court case which saw Sally forced into a cross-examination, the defence lawyer argued that his client had simply mistaken Sally for a sex worker, and he walked free’.33 In 2017, Ian Staines, managing director of the Fresco Group, a local business, told the Daily Mail regarding the increase in rapes and sexual assaults that ‘these figures do not surprise me. Female members of our staff feel threatened. The police aren’t interested’.34 In 2018, a Holbeck woman was raped on her way home from work by a group of men who assumed she was a prostitute’.35 In another case of rape in the small Holbeck zone, Ed Carlisle reported of the rape of Alice, a previous victim of domestic abuse, that she had moved into a hostel in Holbeck, where she was repeatedly approached by kerb crawlers. Then in May 2018 ‘a gang of men manhandled her into a car, refused to believe she wasn’t a sex worker, and took her to a nearby house, where one of the men raped her. With DNA evidence, the attacker was quickly arrested, but again (supported by the testimonies of his friends) argued for mistaken identity, and was not even prosecuted’.36 At 4pm Saturday 8th September 2018 a resident reported that ‘my 12 year old daughter walking home from school rang me to tell me she’s just seen a lady being raped! 2 men had her pinned against the wall… one was pulling her knickers off as she screamed. My daughter ran home and I’ve called 999’.37 In November 2018 it was reported to the police and the press that a man tried to buy a baby for an hour in Holbeck. ‘The 47-year-old [woman] was carrying her four-month old grandchild in a pram in the area before the man reportedly said 'Give me an hour with it and I will bring it back'.38 In 2019 a woman claimed that while simply out walking she 'was raped in the street in Holbeck'.39 She did not report this as she thought the police would just say her rapist thought she was a ‘sex worker’ and he would thus walk free. Also in 2019 Donald Sheridan, a convicted fetish murderer, was housed in Holbeck while on parole, and later went on to abduct and strangle a woman until a passer-by intervened.40 The housing of Sheridan in Holbeck highlights how the judiciary and police view the women of Holbeck as dispensable. Susie Beever reported in 2019 how ‘many of the area's female residents feel at risk, preyed upon and "constantly scrutinised". Holbeck has one of the highest recorded crime rates in the entire Leeds South policing ward. There were 161 crimes reported in the area in September alone, of which 51 were classed as violent or sexual offences’.41/sup>

The Save Our Eyes community campaign group set up by residents of Holbeck records their experiences. One resident recorded how ‘My granddaughter was approached at 3.15pm in the afternoon in her school uniform by a punter looking for sex’.42 Another resident shared her experience of how ‘My daughter was followed home from school by a man making rude comments and trying to touch her’.43 13 year old Katy tells the story of how while waiting at a bus stop in a residential street adjoining the Holbeck managed zone on a Saturday morning with her mum ‘A man came up to us and said “Are you working?” My mum was confused and asked what he meant. He replied “Not you! I mean her. Is she working?” and pointed at me. My mum… shouted at him “She’s only 13, she’s a child!” but he wasn’t even bothered. He carried on, “It doesn’t matter about her age. She looks like one (meaning a prostitute)… It’s acceptable on Holbeck to ask”.44 Helen, Katie’s mum, described how ‘the man who wanted to buy her on Saturday argued with me. He felt he had a right to ask any woman in the area for sex’.45

Conclusion

Yet despite all of this evidence and Holbeck conforming to the pattern of other decriminalised areas of prostitution around the world in terms of an increase in crime and danger to women Chief Super Intendent Steve Cotter, of West Yorkshire Police, ‘said the force "remain convinced" the system was working’.46 One wonders how Mr Cotter defines success. Mr Cotter elaborated, that the managed approach in Holbeck ‘provides the best opportunity to safeguard the vulnerable women involved in street sex work, to limit the issues that impact on residents and businesses and to reduce the level of street sex work in Leeds," he said’.47 This is contradicted by reality. Still, a controversial report published in 2020 has claimed that the managed approach in Holbeck has had a positive result. This report’s statements are not supported by the data and the report itself ‘failed to comply with the legal obligations of public bodies to consider the equality impact of their policies and did not properly investigate how the scheme affects local women and children’.48 As Nordic Model Now asserts, ‘Prostitution has been recognized by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women to be a form of gender-based violence – meaning that not only is prostitution inherently violent, but it is also an intrinsic part of the systemic oppression of women and girls’.49 Why would this be different in Holbeck?