#(i wish it was not limited to 10 pictures)

[justcallme-ant]

[my-jokes-are-my-armour]

The witcher review - part 2

So here we are… this is the hardest post for me to write. Because I have to fight my inner rage to think straight and keep as much of cool as I can while I write. This is rare.

As always since the announcement, the general consensus is to hate no matter what, and I won't lie, it's driving me crazy. I had even a breaking point not long ago, stumbling on an "article" mourning Hector the horse that won't come back for S4, and turning a not returning actress as she left the boat for implicite bad scripts whereas her character is simply not returning story wise (in the books also).

Do I have to mention the constant rain of bad comments on every video or official posts ? Or the vast majority of the articles and reviews are over focused on one thing only, erasing from the existence of every other good work done ?

Because yes ! Curiously there is good work in there too. Sheer stupefaction ! The series is not that bad. And do you believe it ? Quite book accurate in the global storyline also !

Am I a tad sarcastic there ? Yes. Not in my points though. But I am really REALLY pissed off. And this is my last stand. I understand that I am a drop in the ocean. A little shit screaming into the void. A stupid arse loving the series for the stories it offers.

So… if you are still here, that's because you surely are in the same state of mental exhaustion than I am. Maybe angry too, or sad. Maybe you liked the series also and want something else to read other than "burn it down !".

[Pretty accurate representation of myself]

So... Here is the short version for those who don't care about the development of my review :

I loved it. Yes !

A lot of emotions.

Geraskier. I rolled down the hill again so hard and so fast that you can see burning traces on the grass on my path lol.

Buckled some storylines from the first season for the main characters and secondary characters too.

Perfect ? Certainly not. There are problems and I will address them.

Book accurate ? Mostly yes but no at the same time. The story is there, not told the same way. There are twists and changes but the checkpoints are validated and cohesive (believe it or not), catching up books threads and the divergent series' too. Some almost straight out of the pages in this second part too.

Proper send off to Henry ? If you aim for fulfillment, then no. But his ending matches with the beginning of the Hansa, so I am personally happy with it. Also it had more depth than what it seems.

So now behind this break, I will spoil the series in great lengths, as much as the books. I will probably go further than Time of Contempt because they included pieces from Baptism of Fire. Again I will say what works and what doesn't in my opinion. I am not on a solo thread of thinking.

But you know I guess even some gray is giving light in this infamous soup darkness. So let's go !

Warning : it contains mature subjects.

[Important note : I have read the RI article about Tomek giving explanations about plot simplification. I will address this in the flow in my review. Well kinda].

My detailed general point of view :

Even with a lot of twists and turns, I did like the series part 2 (and the series overall !). The second volume had me having emotional roller-coasters. If you care for any characters, they have their moments of raw emotions. Secondary characters included. That moment between Fringilla and Francesca for example or Tissaia's farewell… 😢.

Everything emotional with Jaskier had just me on my knees… 😭

It goes pretty much by the books in terms of events and uses pieces of them as framing devices. For the twists. Some are good, some less. What we have the most is one character doing something another would normally do. But most of the time this is fluid and it doesn't bother me much. Mostly I liked, loved even, the stories that were told behind.

In the middle ground. I don't see it as bad but more as an irritating thing.

There is a big change of plot with Yennefer (again) but this is more a problem of how to tell the story afterwards more than a big wrong like in S2, and I am just curious how they will handle some storylines from there. The irritating part though is that they have a tendency to use her too much for everything, so she runs everywhere. This is quite frantic in episode 6 but then it slows down fortunately.

Also the series doesn't fully go on the darkest side of the books. The rating 16+ is a bit overlooked in my opinion. There is blood and some monsters but this is a soft 16+. There is real gore in the books and the subjects are far more disturbing. The flesh monster tries to compensate for what is not told about Vilgefortz's experiments for example. But the mage is a f.cking lunatic. And if you felt bad for Geralt after his fight with him, go get some brutal internal pov of Geralt while he is literally destroyed. Also a part of Geralt's arc with the parallel with Ciri is more disturbing in its core. But they didn't go as far as with the Rats (yet ?) so they crafted another motivation, which is not a bad one, by the way.

This is middle ground to me because, for sure it would have challenged the viewer more, but some subjects may not be easily validated to show on screen to fill the rating.

On the wrong side (yes because I am not in a tunnel - I see goods and bads), for me there are some strong editing problems that put an uneven rhythm that can bore or frustrate, depending on the part. I was not bored but a bit frustrated sometimes so I can understand why some were annoyed, let's put it that way.

They seem to rush for the plot, cutting some breathing moments or dragging on some other parts. With a recurrent issue to make us feel the passage of time

For me this is what severes the series the most, especially in the second volume.

Also, on the visual effects, there are some issues too. Something is sadly unfinished there. It feels like the deadline was an immovable obstacle and they tried to rush everything they could in it.

So, here we are. Now I will detail everything ! Compare with the books when I can etc. Because I can't bear anymore reading all this dry "they did not respect the source material" thing, to say it politely. Maybe I will be annoying as hell. But this is how I work. I have feelings, I have opinions, like everyone else I can be passionate, but I can justify my position and I will do it.

SO !

Book accuracy ?

First, because I have to play dumb, these are the large blocks of the Time of Contempt only, just to have a visual idea of the proportions of the stories.

So now please tell me there is too much of Ciri, too much mages, too much politics… ** cough cough **

OK let's go. As I said in the short version, accuracy is a yes and a no for me. Let's begin with the no.

Things happen pretty much in the same chronological order but like in an alternate version of the books. In some events, this is not always with the good character carrying the moment. But this is the case from the beginning of the show. And although I found this strange sometimes I never felt confused by it. Some of them are necessary compression of narratives, some are holding arcs to fulfill and become relevant at the end. And the arcs, the stories told, are what appealed to me the most.

A large part of those switches comes from the invented parts for secondary characters. Because they had written things in advance. Why did they choose to set up a lot of them from S1, you say ? Because otherwise we would have to deal with a massive drop names with everyone having their agenda, popping out of nowhere, and trying to have the big part of the cake this season (2 to 4 in my picture). What would happen then ? Confused audience for those who haven't read the books or play the games. And if you tell me, but we are the audience ! Then why I read so many : "Why the politics ? Why Ciri desert thing ? Why the sorceresses ? This is boring and long, why no monster hunts ?" Well… 👆.

At least, I can understand the last statement from the gamers because the story is rhythmed by the hunts, but for the rest, lads, this is the book for Time of Contempt and a part of Baptism of Fire.

And this where my "yes this is accurate" lands.

Time of Contempt particularly contains a f.cking loads of politics, of mages and a lot of Ciri. Sure Geralt is the main POV in a good amount but in the politics part for the most of it. This is basically him in rooms with people, discussing. He doesn't do much other than that. To be fair, there are always good fights, he has always good fights, and this books provides, but the monster fights are not that over present and overall, Geralt is reluctant to kill in general except when he has to protect. He fights people… The real monsters of the stories.

What did I find book accurate in this second volume ? The Thanedd coup setup (the battle is almost pure entertainment). Ciri in the desert, definitely. Some parts of Brokilon. Tissaia's death is delayed in time but accurate. Dijkstra and Philippa general plot in Redania even if simplified. The false Ciri at Nilfgaard. Geralt on the road with Jaskier and Milva at the end.

The issues

As I said, for me the problem is really the choice of pacing that makes some parts feeling dragged and others rushed. Particularly in episode 7. This is the most book accurate part with Ciri, but the pacing of what is before and after makes it odd. She is the only one we feel the passing of time for. The Brokilon part almost not. But technically days had passed too.

I understand what they did there, trying to make us feel her isolation, but putting two parts with different rhythms together that way was what makes it crumble. Making a parallel between Ciri's struggle and Geralt's would have maybe corrected the pacing, and just having scenes with places, travel from afar, something that links the time and space with the characters (they did that a bit with the first episode and that was great !). But distance and time is an ongoing problem on this show.

Speaking of time, note that in the books Geralt stays a long time in Brokilon healing. A month like. And he was in a very bad shape for a long time during this period. This is for those who are unhappy to have him stuck in a bed moaning for too long.

Then the last episode has the major shift from the book with Yennefer. The birth of the Lodge of the sorceresses has one of the best ending arcs and the most twisted storyline with dragged moments. I am not against Yennefer being in the heart of the Lodge with Philippa doing her things on the side, because I understand that having that part told without main character to connect with would be hard for a lot of people but the fact that Yennefer is used has a plot insert too many times irritates me.

The scene where she heals Geralt for example is one that I don't like. In terms of emotions, this is great. But for Geralt this is wrong. I hope the healing is not complete, for S4, like in the books. Because the fact that he is experiencing phantom pain is a part that makes his journey psychologically interesting.

Now, that said !

And this is where I'll develop the good parts for me. And I am sorry if I become (even) more sarcastic but you know… I do what I can with my bleeding heart in front of so much hatred.

The arcs

This is where a lot of people sadly give reason to Tomek about the need for simplification, in my opinion.

They did simplify the plots, true that, but as soon as there are some under layers to dig, this is the big farewell of the crowd. Because I read things like : volume 2 is empty. Geralt is barely in it or without depth. They did wrong to him.

Know that if they really had stopped where Time of Contempt ends, then you would have just Ciri in the desert and the Rats. Final dot (cf my picture).

And if this is empty to you, maybe this is because you've erased the plotlines from your memory, or defining a character the way it is done in the book is not for you.

The series plays with circular references and mirroring characterisation but I guess this is unimportant. Lazy. Irrespectful. Uncaring. Or whatever. Because this is not forefront.

Maybe you wanted more than a rampage at a post frontier and the walk into the mist. I can understand that this is not satisfying in terms of fulfillment for his presence, I really can, but there is closure for his arc too in there.

But maybe you missed the full circle in this part of the journey for him too. And if you didn't. Maybe you don't care. I don't know...

I am not above anybody else. I watch things with my own perspective. Maybe you think I am stupid or currently arrogant or overlooking things. So be it. I am the stupid one then. I don't mind. But I'll do it anyway. I'll do my shitty analysis. So many scream. I have the right to stand my ground for what I appreciate. Who would read this anyway…

So let's get into the thematics and dig everyone's plotlines, shall we. I will divide this into parts and develop many characters through those aspects.

Blood family vs found family

Vulnerabilities

Loyalty and betrayal

Clinging onto the past and repeating history

Blood family vs found family

In the last part of S3, several characters have a defining moment about family. And they are mirroring each other within their relationships. They have been setup early in the previous seasons.

The accent is put on the found families and how strong their links are. For some more than blood. And then how sometimes, blood heritage goes against that.

We have obviously THE found family. Ciri, Yennefer and Geralt, extended to Jaskier (thank god!). They have all left their blood family behind. Book Jaskier not totally but the series one seems to.

The trio of Destiny as I like to call them, are three orphans linked by destiny but fighting it in the first place. This is only when they accept it that the family emerges. And this is a strong one. Their issues with their blood family define a part of their actions and how they grow.

Geralt was abandoned. In response to that trauma he printed in himself the will of never to do that to Ciri ever ! (vol 1). Even in the letter he wrote to Yennefer, he tells her that this is the first time he experiences real fear. And this fear is to lose Ciri and her… Losing against Vilgefortz made this fear a reality. So now in Brokilon when he is trying to walk back to Ciri even when he can't is the display of his desperation. He has to accept that despair first so he can heal enough to actually have a chance to succeed. This desperation transforms into rage that can burst at any time. He is calm on the surface, but a boiling volcano inside.

White Knight complex and neutrality (side note). In S1, in Blaviken we established that Geralt has a white knight complex and he tells the story to Renfri of how he chose neutrality, telling her a story that illustrates that. He saved a young girl from a rapist. And while he thought he did the right thing he ended up being the one treated like a monster. That is why he chooses not to get involved again. Renfri's story showed him that not taking a side was impossible but he sticked with it anyway. Neutrality became his mojo and tried to live with that, even teaching it to Ciri. Renfri's broach was a reminder of that silent promise he made to himself. And the Thanedd coup is the pinnacle of that resolution and desire to protect. Till the end he won't pick a side. But when he failed against Vilgefortz everything crumbled.

The last scene we have with him, that rampage doesn't come from nowhere as a lot likes to think. The soldier suggests he would rape the girl. And that's what triggered his rage. Yeah the same story that made him who he was… I guess this stupid and empty…

The broach he leaves behind is the symbol of the neutrality he abandons. He is a man with a huge scar inside and the only thing that can soothe him is finding his daughter.

Jaskier says it out loud beforehand in case you would miss what to come : the war outside is nothing in front of what Geralt would unleash on this Continent to find his daughter.

The arc of neutrality is closed. Time for a new one. A hurt dad, a warrior, roaming the Continent to find the child he promised never to abandon. No depth at all in the writing of this arc… yep yep.

But this is not the only layer of Geralt. We will see that in another point.

Now Yennefer. She has the easiest arc to get. Her blood family sold her and in her struggle to get control over her own life she hurt the two found families she had. First Tissaia whose mother side became apparent when she had to take the same responsibilities with Ciri. Then Geralt and Ciri when she succumbs to Voleith Meir. But her redemption arc fulfills her need to be a mother. Even if she fails finding Ciri and leaves that task to Geralt (which is a plot hole in a way*), she comes full closure with her motherhood duties.

And she has a beautiful and powerful new goal and it is turned toward the found family. She will make sure to make the world a better place for her to return to. Isn't that some of the strongest push parents can experience ? The need to make the world better for their children ?

(*) In the books, Yennefer is incapacitated so it is logical that she is unable to find her. Here they will need to find a good explanation.

The arc of Yennefer circles and mirrors the one with Tissaia in a very emotional way. For a part, this is one the lesson she gave to Ciri and the one she took so long to understand. Without control, power is nothing. When you have control you can move mountains.

The first day in Aretusa, Yennefer tries to commit suicide because she feels that taking her own life is the only thing she can control. Tissaia tells her that doing so, she didn't have control, she was losing it. And the rectoress did the exact same thing at the end… (she lets go for other reasons though)

Ciri is at the core of the found family and she lost every one of her blood family. Emhyr is the last one and you can't say this is a nice perspective. Yet she doesn't know. Then she grew being afraid of her own heritage. Her bloodline is terrifying to her and makes her feel like a monster. And she is trying to make the best of it, expressing idealistic thoughts and wishes.

The found family is her last grip on feeling safe and having a life. She clings onto them with everything she has. She is so afraid to lose them too. And… it happens. Her mojo is to find them.

Hallucinating, in the desert she confronts her blood ancestors who push every button of her insecurities. When she relinquishes her powers, this is her last stand to protect her found family from herself. She doesn't want to be Falka and burn the world down and them with it.

But then when she kills for the first time, she loses herself. The importance of a life was one of the last of Geralt's lessons, but she succumbs to a penchant to like killing (see her face when she killed the echnea) buried deep inside, exactly like Falka. That's why she chooses to call herself after her.

For those who find this too easy, that she should be used to visions and not break. OK then, get in the same state of desperation, get lost in a desert for days, hallucinate and try to stay strong. Too long ? I thought she broke easily…

One of the things that was so touching, on the first part of that desert wandering, was how much she tapped into her found family teachings. Geralt and her witcher brothers for survival skills. Yennefer for magic. And Jaskier… for comfort.

So now Jaskier. He is a different kind of protector. We don't know much of his past in the series to know about his siblings and past traumas but the found family is everything to him. This season proves it even more blatantly. He chose Geralt as his family very early on but the real turn into a proper family member dynamic appears with Ciri. The fun uncle or even big brother.

From S2, we saw him develop a strong protector side to his personality. He is willing to help those in need. The elves. Yennefer… Also he kind of protects Geralt, even under torture. S3, within the found family he isn't the strongest member. The weakest we could say. But we see that protector side to him, in the fights for example. Helping the wounded to get to safety. Or pushing people out of the way (Valdo or the last fight with Geralt). Or even helping Radovid returning home after a heartbreak...

Ciri has the strongest protectors possible. Geralt and Yennefer. And they are teaching her their skills. She has enormous latent power. What can a simple bard do ?

Answer : he protects the last drop of childhood she has. He is the one she can be a normal child with. Playing games, even having fun of the parents (lessons of smiling, imitating them in the wood,...). He is a confort person that grounds her in her normality.

Being a comfort. This is what he does in the found family. For each member. But this is particularly moving to witness for that lost child. And hearing her sing the song he sings to her to help her sleep, trying to stay strong in the desert, tells how much he was important to her too.

The trio of Destiny isn't the only one that struggles between blood family and found family. We have other characters that are much defined by this dichotomy. Like Milva, Dara, Fringilla and Francesca.

For Milva, we just understand that her found family is the dryads, whatever happened to her and wants to forget. Dara has lost all his blood family because of one of Calanthe's army's raids. His found family is the elves led by Francesca, with whom he has a feeling of being with his kind again, until he understands the path she is taking will just send him in a very bad place. He is tired and tries to rebuild himself with the dryades.

Both of them highlight what is nursing inside of Geralt, for us to understand his last fight. Dara speaks about the hatred he carries and is going to destroy him if he doesn't stop. Milva makes him speak about Renfri and his neutrality paradox.

This is not a sign of erasing a character to make others speak in his presence and having some kind of defining moment. That character then reflects on the other, defining him by a mirroring effect. Sometimes in the same way, sometimes in the opposite direction. Heroes don't have to always say things out loud for that to exist in them. Maybe some thought that Dara and Milva were taking the spot. I did not.

Now for Fringilla and Francesca this is a bit more complex. And for them, they go down the other way around for a long time. Blood family first.

It begins with Fringilla whose uncle is a member of the Brotherhood. The magic school isn't much of a found family to her as she has an anchor there. After Yennefer switches kings with her, she ends up in Nilfgaard having a totally different life. She built strong links there and in a way she found guidance and purpose. While she tries to serve her emperor she meets the elves and makes a very strong friendship with Francesca. She begins to move forward and that alliance blossoms into something inspiring. Especially when she saves the elven bady.

But as soon as this baby is born, the loyalty of the elves shakes and what I believe was her kind of found family begins to drift away. Francesca says to her that she values their friendship but blood is more important. Fringilla will try to find the support of her uncle at some point but he refuses to help her.

This is when Fringilla becomes independent.

The rupture is particularly strongly displayed in S3 when she watches her uncle die without any feeling for him.

On the contrary, Francesca sticks by blood first at all coast, and she loses everyone brutally. Not that she is wrong or anything else to be that attached to her kind. This is just the way it turns out for her. And by the end of it, learning that Fringilla hid the real murderer of her baby, she ends up pushing her from her life, severing the last link of possible family outside her kind. She is alone with her vengeance burning inside of her. Pretty much like Dara described it. Pretty much like an old part elf woman who let the rage consume her… Mirrors again.

Vulnerabilities

Maybe the biggest character who shows vulnerabilities and is able to demonstrate love is Jaskier. This is the obvious one. And I will probably make a separate post analyzing him and Radovid this season, because the games of masks plays a big role in Jaskier defense mechanism. Let's just say for the sake of this f.cking review that this so empty relationship for the majority is there to help us understand how and when he hides his feelings, how he speaks of real love…

He is probably the most open character to emotions and shows us a lot, but, even he, tries to hide his wounds to the others. For others.

So emotional shock after another, we can assess the damages and how strong he is for those he loves.

His main weakness, if I can call it that way, is his biggest strength too. Empathy. Makes him feel too much. And his love for others (especially Geralt) plunges him in deep vulnerable emotional states. This season, this is still the case, and to a great extent too. Don't get fooled by his levity, jokes and smiles.

But let's take a look at our trio of Destiny.

Ciri is vulnerable and afraid at first but she learns to hide it more and more, until everything is unveiled during Thanedd and the desert. She is so damaged by her abandon issues and she is living her worst nightmare. When she hallucinates, all of her ancestors push her buttons, poking at this particular pain she holds.

Yennefer has many issues and she is a insecure person empowered with strong chaos. We saw her struggle to free herself from everyone wanting to control her in S1, and on top of that to have her powers back in S2. That internal urge to be the one deciding about her own destiny, to be able to have a choice.

She goes to great lengths for that. Too far. Yennefer gives Ciri two valuable lessons based on her experiences. One about control and power. The other about making choices and their consequences.

And one thing I appreciate and shows growth in her character is that she lets the one she loves see when she is vulnerable and talk about it. Ciri, Geralt, Tissaia. Even Jaskier in her own ways, since S2.

But one of the biggest growth in that field is Geralt. If I wished they included more of the book's vulnerabilities early on for him (about the fact that he believes that his mutant condition excludes him to be worth his own emotions), they didn't cut it all and he had other vulnerabilities and insecurities worth the growth.

He is emotionally constipated and has problems expressing his feelings. Not the hiding part, when he is like, I am a rock, I don't feel, but more when he has to communicate his feelings.

In S1, he tries and fails with Yennefer at the mountain. But he shows a great deal of emotions, at the expense of Jaskier though. In S2, to help Ciri he has to open up. And we find him having deep introspective moments with Vesemir. Likewise, he is a bit more open to Jaskier with whom he shares his fears.

But in S3, for the first time, he expresses his feelings and exposes his vulnerabilities to Yennefer and they connect deeply then. Also when he is wounded and healing, he is open raw for a moment.

After that he brings back his kind of neutral face, but the last fight is one of the moments he bleeds what's inside.

Also like in the books, they show that even a character that strong can be broken.

This failure brings a lot out of Geralt for the future. He wants to die because of it ! He refuses healing because he wanted to die ! The only thing that kept him alive was to have news of Ciri and Yennefer. When Jaskier finally arrives (days after) this is what he asks only. He just wants to go knowing that they are well. He clutches Jaskier's wrist because he is his last hope to have this news. He empathises with him as he struggles to deliver the informations (that subtle stroke) but he needs to know. This is a silent "please tell me Jaskier".

Then he chooses to accept the healing when he knows Ciri is still in danger. He won't rest until she is safe.

But I get that the consensus is right. Moaning in a bed. Boring as fuck. No depth in it either.

Loyalty and betrayal

Here again I could speak for days about Jaskier. His portrait should be in the dictionary next to the definition of loyalty. Even in his faux pas, he doesn't betray because his heart is in the right place. When Geralt confronts him trying to push him to Redania, they simply have an honest discussion about it.

I could speak about Yennefer's betrayal also, trying to sacrifice Ciri in S2. But I wanna highlight some secondary characters that have arcs around this.

The first one is Cahir. At the beginning of the series, he is the definition of loyalty to his leader. He has almost a religious faith (S2). But the mission given to him leads him on a path to lose that faith. In S3, he is trying to get back to a position where Emhyr valued him, and he goes to the point of killing a friend to get there. The broken mirror symbolizes that moment of shift.

(This part I could have put in vulnerabilities but I won't come back on the character sonI put it all there)

He is mirroring Ciri in his fears. She had nightmares about him. He has nightmares about her. When they face, they face their own fears. When Ciri cannot kill him he kind of pledged her allegiance, setting up his obsession to join de Hansa to save her (they may drop the weird attraction thankfully).

For him to work fully, we needed maybe one more scene between the Thanedd coup and fighting with Ciri. This is Emhyr's lie about Fringilla's death and her last little push, telling him to think by himself, that cut the last string attaching him to his emperor. But Cahir cannot live that way. What he has done is too much, he needs to be free from his guilt. Hence he asks Ciri to take his life as a price to pay for the sufferings he caused her.

But this is not how she thinks (yet) and vengeance is not her solution. Winning the fight was enough for her to overcome her fear about him. She won a silent battle.

Cahir needs redemption so he goes by the only way he knows. He devotes himself to her. This can seem blurry because he has very little screen time this season. But here we are.

Francesca is loyal to her blood kind, but trying to find a way for her species to survive she betrays some of them, losing progressively the faith people have in her. The last one to have an undefective trust in her is Filavendrel because they share the same pain, I guess.

The dramatic turn for her is that she has to sacrifice the squirrels in order to save the others. So she kind of betrays them all at that point.

Though one of her last biggest sad moments is when Fringilla tells her the truth about Emhyr. The last scene they have together is hard. All is not black and white though we can understand Francesca's deep emotion and feeling of betrayal. This is not fair for Fringilla and this settles the down path for the queen of elves.

In the secondary characters we could play all day with Dijkstra and Philippa in terms of loyalty and betrayal. The frontiers are so blurred between them two. Dijkstra is loyal to Redania to a sick extent. Philippa plays by her own rules to the point that it is unclear who she is loyal to.

But the last but not least big loyalty betrayal moment goes to Vilgefortz and Tissaia.

Technically Vilgefortz is loyal to no-one. But he played for so long with Tissaia… Their story is the evil side of what could have been Geralt and Yennefer's if Yennefer had been truly malevolent. Tissaia is echoing the deepest hurt in Geralt's heart and rewinding everything why Geralt took so long to forgive Yennefer.

(Tissaia was way more developed in the series than in the books to help building the emotions for what is lost and internal struggles for other characters)

Clinging onto the past and repeating history

That you liked it or not, despite being not lore accurate, BO has a lot of circleling and mirroring meta. Elves being the oppressors of dwarves, and humain becoming the oppressor of everyone less. Or the funny parallels between the couple Eile/Fall and Jaskier/Geralt.

The simple story of Merwyn is an example that repeats itself in history. Francesca being her mirror through the length of another elven legend.

The elven queen is one character that is very changed from the books and has a strange setup for later parts with the lodge. But she echoes some other characters, and stories. There was a symbol in S2 with the white rose that was a foreshadowing of what would happen to her as it echoed Sherraewedd of whom we learn the legend of in S3. The same way that elven warrior did, she is the one that may lead her kind of a new path of extinction, sacrificing the squirrels to Emhyr for a land for the rest of them… Cintra in place of Dol Blathanna.

And in the same way if Merwyn who had the well being of her people in mind she clings too long onto legends of the past. Willing to find a new home for them.

Btw, she is set up as a vengeresse willing to burn the world down as everything she loved was taken from her. Does she not remind you of someone who could now do the same for his found family ?

She is the circling history for a part of elven history.

For the human part, still connected to the elves though we have Falka whose story is set up in S2 and nourishes Stregobor hatred. That burning hatred is seen in many characters with the effect it has on them. Ciri relinquishing her powers in order to prevent falling in that pit too is a first step to break the cycle but what is waiting for her is a pit of darkness.

Also we have Istredd the historian that digs to unveil the mystery around the monolithes. Very quickly said in S3 but he knows about the book of Monoliths. Vilgefortz knows already about it and he is yet to unlock their power. That's why he made Istredd prisoner during the coup. That mystery is one of the key component to BO story and the Wild Hunt that is now leaking in our dimension.

And those monoliths were there before the elves came. Dwarves and gnomes venerated them.

I know people are mad about this but I think this is an easy visual anchor for the gates between realities. And if you read the books you know who can travel through dimensions… So yeah. We are circling again there with this.

And now the Thanedd coup is the shock that finally destroys the old system but nothing emerges except chaos and favors Emhyr's. The wipe of the Brotherhood is also a not too subtle nudge to women getting free from patriarchy. In this battle we see the oldest and the male fall one after another. And in this mayhem I have to admit I loved Stregobor last stand. Delightfully twisted and satisfying.

Now there is one final point because one member of the old system has survived a little bit longer…

Tissaia has a bunch of lost children under her care. Every one of them rejects the model she is trying to preserve. She believes in the fragile peace they have created and maintained with the Brotherhood.

Fringilla sees another way with Emhyr and believes in his goal for quite some time, until she has the chance to evolve by herself and she discovers the true face of the emperor.

Working with Dijkstra, Philippa sees the crack in the old system. And she sees the opportunity to take a new turn as it crumbles.

Yennefer doesn't care about the system. She wants to regain control over her life. And she opposes Tissaia on a personal level. But doing so she adds cracks into the walls. She reconnects with her mentor when she becomes a mother to Ciri, seeing finally the mother in her she always has been. Yennefer doesn't protect the old system, fighting by Tissaia's side, she is fighting for her.

The final push that lead Tissaia to commit suicide is Yennefer saying that she is their mother and that they need her. Her children don't need her anymore. She is just a relic of the past. Because they love her, they cling onto her. But they have to fly. We see her abandoning her severe mask and going soft, accepting to lose control. She cuts herself the last string that holds them to the old system. And the Lodge of the Sorceresses is that : a new power emerging from the ashes of the old one.

And there so many other little parallels that I wish I would speak about. Little pieces for us to dig and get the layers under those characters. I didn't even get into the political part. But I have to stop somewhere because I am too long...

OK but why pointing out that repeating history, the past parasitizing the present, all the time. We are going nowhere. Do you think ?

Nenneke said to Ciri that she could be the key to ending the circle of hatred and the young woman idealized it. She doesn't know how. But she wants to put an end to all this. Does she succeed ?

Well I guess that no-one cares now.

The circle of hatred had won on this side of the spheres so...

Empty, without soul, unnecessary, diversity garbage, unfaithful, no actor good enough except one… you are so many so it means you must be right. But still I love this show. I can't help it.

I hope someone would appreciate the effort of the underlying structure of my garbage. Circle and parallels...

[flowery-draws]

Slice looks so coolz

I wanna know more about this funny little meow meow!! :D

Ooooh. Errr about that-

This little meow meow is not funny as you think. He had a bad past and not really a good life. He witnessing his mom's d3ath, k1ll his own father bc he's very abusive and k1lled his mom, he lost his wife and daugther. It's sad.

When he come to another world (in the world where original Almond live. Ya know what i mean right?) He work with the mafia.

He always bring his daughter's teddy wherever he go. Even when he doing the mission.

And he sometimes want to try to k1ll Almond Cookie and replace him (cuz his life better than him and he want that life. Especially he keep seeing another Walnut is still alive, he want to be her father only). But he can't. He know it will be more worst. It won't work that easily.

Everyday, he keep getting a nightmare where someone that he love is keep gone.

But right now, he's not alone. Now he has people that he care and protect

I think for the silly but also it's sad part is, whenever he saw kids having fun or with their parents, he sometimes cry because he wants that moment.

Or when he found a lost child, seeing them crying, he cheering them up before he search their parents. When the kids being cute he will crying bc it reminds him of his daugther.

Plus when they kind to Sliced, he will "take them home"

(Btw that flower baby is Sunflower seed and it belongs to @charlotteperrydot )

[sirfrogsworth]

How do you take a photo of time?

I've been watching the track events at the Olympics since I was a wee lad. It was a tradition in our family. We'd gather around our ancient low-definition 19 inch CRT television and watch tiny blobs compete against other tiny blobs and root for our country.

It was a bit like watching YouTube on your phone in 144p.

Several heroes emerged.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee was amazing.

You can't forget about Flo-Jo.

And then the Olympics decided NBA players were allowed in the competition.

Which formed... The Dream Team.

Was this fair?

Well... they won each game by an average of 44 points.

So... no. It was not fair.

Though it became more fair as time went on.

But, umm... yeah. The other teams looked like the Washington Generals and the US looked like the Harlem Globetrotters if they stopped screwing around half of the game.

But my absolute favorite Olympian was a runner named Michael Johnson.

He was cool as heck.

For one thing... gold shoes.

But he also had this crazy, upright, Tom Cruise-ish sprinting style that just made him look like a running robot on the track.

And in the 1996 Atlanta games he just trounced EVERYONE. I mean, it wasn't even close.

Yikes. Those losing blobs are probably really embarrassed.

Last night I decided to invigorate my nostalgia and watch the track events again. And I got to see one of the wildest races in history.

It didn't even last 10 seconds but it was one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever witnessed. Almost every runner won the race.

After I saw that initially, I was like... who the heck won???

Even in slow motion I wasn't sure.

This was one of the closest finishes in history. There has never been a race where all 8 runners were within this margin.

The arena was silent as the winner was being confirmed. The runners just kind of paced around waiting for official word. My best guess was the Jamaican runner, Kishane Thompson. But then the loudspeaker announced Noah Lyles.

The last tiny morsel of American pride burst out of me with a big "Wooooo!"

I forgot what it was like to be proud of my country. I wish it happened more often. But this young man, despite being last place in the first 3rd of the race, turned on the afterburners and won in a photo finish.

And that's when my inner nerd took over.

Because when they showed the photo finish image, it looked super weird.

Why is the track white?

Why do all of the runners look all warpy like that QWOP game?

So I went down a research rabbit hole to figure this out.

Photo finishes are actually fascinating. The first photo finish captured the end of a horse race in 1890. But that was mostly luck and timing. The actual photo finish mechanisms weren't used until 1937.

Originally they would film the finish line through a physical slit.

And the first horsie head that appeared in that slit would be the winner. This technology ended a huge aspect of corruption in horse race fixing almost overnight.

But we have come a long way since then. And I'd like to introduce you to the Omega Scan 'O' Vision Ultimate.

This slow motion camera sits fixed on the finish line of every race. The concept of the photo finish has remained remarkably similar to the 1930s approach. The camera sensor is specially designed to only record a vertical slit.

Only the finish line itself is actually captured.

And because it limits what it records to only that slit, it can capture 40,000 frames per second to get amazing temporal resolution.

So why don't the photo finishes just look like, well... this?

That is because the camera takes a picture of time more-so than dimensional space. I guess it would be more accurate to say it *assembles* a picture of time.

As the runners cross the finish line, the camera combines all of the little strips of pictures into a single image.

It's almost like if you tried to reassemble a piece of paper after it had been shredded.

Imagine each strip of paper is a picture of ONLY the finish line, just at a slightly different point in time.

What if someone stopped on the finish line and didn't move... what would that look like?

Once they got there, the same part of their body would just be repeated.

So the right side of the photo finish picture represents earlier in time and it just assembles the image strip by strip as time passes and you literally get a picture of time itself.

NEAT!

Okay, but how do they determine the winner from the photo finish?

I mean, that shoe looks like it is ahead of Noah Lyles!

Clavicles!

The IAFF rules state the foremost part of the torso must cross the finish line first. And the endpoint of the torso is the outer end of the clavicle.

So if you get this bone across the finish line first, you win the race.

Two more fun facts!

The start of the race is actually just as carefully timed as the end of the race. There are sensors in the starting blocks of each runner.

The starting gun also has an electronic sensor.

They have determined the fastest a human can react to the sound of a gun is roughly 100 milliseconds. So if you start running before 100 milliseconds they know you didn't actually hear the gun, you just got antsy and started running too early.

And the final fun fact...

Did you notice the Omega logo at the top of the photo finish?

That isn't superimposed or added after the fact. That is captured by the camera.

But if this image is composed only of tiny little slivers, how did they get the Omega logo to show up?

That is a little display. And it is synchronized with the Scan 'O' Vision Ultimate to show a little sliver of the Omega logo for each frame captured.

So when the final image is stitched together, it looks like a cohesive logo at the top of the photo.

Pretty clever, Omega!

[ghostlyferrettarot]

🦋Pick a Picture: 💎🦚You hidden talents🦚💎

•Pile 1 •Pile 2 •Pile 3

❗️This is a collective reading, take what resonates and leave the rest❗️

✨️Paid Services ✨️ (Natal charts and tarot readings) Open!

💎If you like my work you can support me through Ko-fi. Thank you!💎

🦚Masterlist🦚

🦩Pile 1: 3 of Wands, 3 of Cups and 8 of Wands.

You have a unique ability to connect with people. Although you may not recognize it at times, there is something about your energy that draws others to you. Your presence radiates a mix of maturity and softness that makes people feel at ease around you. It is as if your company alone can calm those around you, creating an environment where they feel safe to open up and share. That ability to calm others is a gift that not everyone possesses, and it is something that you should value. Many around you perceive that you have a voice that resonates strongly and can influence the lives of others. If you have ever thought about using your voice more actively, whether in the professional or personal sphere, do not hesitate to follow that impulse. Your path seems to be aligned with the idea of ​​communicating and expressing yourself, and that can take you to surprising places.

There is a special quality about you that makes you stand out when it comes to helping others. Not only are you a good listener, but you also know how to provide advice and comfort when it is most needed.

🦩Song:

🐞Pile 2: The Empress, 5 of Pentacles and 4 of Swords.

You have a unique ability to create, I feel that you can be a master manifestor. Any project that crosses your mind, any idea or work that you wish to carry out, has the potential to generate a significant impact on your life and the lives of those around you. Your ability to innovate and think differently is something that many fail to understand, but that does not matter. The essential thing is that your ideas are original and can lead you to achieve notable recognition, so do not hesitate to share them with the world. Your ideas have the power to endure over time, and I am convinced that you will be able to build a legacy of your own. The way you see things is unique, and although some may not capture the essence of your thoughts, that should not discourage you. On the contrary, it is precisely this uniqueness that sets you apart and gives you the opportunity to leave a mark on the world. Every idea that comes from you can be the start of something great, so keep going and don't hold back.

Don't limit yourself by the opinions of others; instead, focus on what you are truly passionate about and how you can bring your visions to reality.

🐞Song:

🦋Pile 3: 10 of Cups, The Sun and 2 of Wands.

You have a special gift for brightening the day of those around you; it seems like the day of others doesn't start until you appear. It may seem a bit extra, but that is the impression you leave. Your energy is contagious and you are one of those people who always looks for the positive side of things. This attitude of yours is what makes you so loved and appreciated by everyone. Many people admire your charisma and the confidence you radiate, even if sometimes you doubt it yourself. It's funny how, despite your insecurities, there are those who see you as a role model. The truth is that you have a natural charm that attracts others, and it's essential that you start recognizing it in yourself. Don't let your achievements or productivity define your worth; what really counts is the unique essence you bring to the world.

At the end of the day, what really matters is how special you are in the lives of others. In their eyes, you are a true winner, and that is not measured by material success or goals achieved. So, start believing in yourself and the positive impact you have on those around you.

🦋Song:

💎Thank you for reading and tell me if it resonated💎

[misserabella]

OMG I NEED A PT2 TO PLAYING GAMES WITH ELLIE USING A STRAP

playing games pt2

ellie williams x fem! reader

pt1!

summary; you need ellie. the thing is… your parents are downstairs.

cw; +18 content! minors dni!, sex with parents in the house, dom! ellie, sub! reader, sexting, naked pictures (nudes), masturbation (reader), fingering (r receiving), strap-on sex, making out sessions, hickeys, tit and nip play, needy sex, multiple orgasms, praising, dirty talking, degradation (kinda?), choking, multiple orgasms, use of pet names instead of y/n…

it was a friday night, and you had gone back to your parents house for the weekend. you loved your parents, you really did. but you missed ellie so much it was killing you. you hadn’t stopped texting her for a minute, being on call and telling each others about your day.

i miss you :(

i miss you too sweet girl, so much

i wish you were here

me too, i wouldn’t stop kissing that pretty face of yours

you smiled, letting out a little giggle before biting down on your lip.

i would like that a lot

i bet you would, huh?

yeah

you snapped a picture of your chest —only covered by the towel you’d surrounded yourself with right out of the shower—, tits popping out and wet.

fuuuck, don’t play with me like that doll

let me see you

you smirked, letting the towel fall and snapped another picture, now fully exposed. ellie groaned when she received it, her hand cupping her cunt. shit. you really knew how to drive her insane.

so fucking pretty, making me so wet…

yeah?

she smiled at your teasing.

yeah baby. wanna fuck you so fucking hard. see your tits bouncing up and down as you ride my dick.

you blushed, so fucking hard you had to take a deep breath.

then come and do it

give me 10 min

your breath hitched. oh fuck. she was coming. and your parents were downstairs. fuck, fuck, fuck!

you dropped your phone on the bed and went to quickly close the door with the lock. should you put some clothes on? stay naked? shit. you were already dripping.

you sighed when your fingers met your sticky cunt. you couldn’t wait for her. you needed to touch yourself. you called her, biting your lip nervously as you laid down on the bed.

“els…” your voice was so fucking sweet and needy it was making her throb.

“i’m five minutes away, pretty girl.” she said, and she truly was. she was sure she was breaking the speed limit. but she didn’t give a single fuck about it. and then you moaned, and she was loosing it. “fuck. are you touching yourself?” you hummed, your fingers circling your clit.

“need you. need you so bad ellie.” you whimpered, voice airy and needy. she was throbbing on her sweats.

“i know you do baby. i’m right there i promise.” you whined as your fingers plunged inside, and she could hear the wet sounds of your fucking. “fuck. you’re killing me.”

“els please… please…” you moaned, fucking yourself harder.

before you knew it your window was being open, and she was crawling inside. she was breathing heavily. she had parked two houses down the block and ran towards your parents’ house. she groaned when she saw you, spread open with a hand between your legs, fingers deep inside and the phone on your free hand. she threw her phone aside, not really caring about even ending the call before throwing herself at you. you moaned against her mouth, her tongue pushing inside. one of her hands came up to your throat as the other pushed your hand away, plunging her own fingers inside of your drooling cunt. your moans became muffled and silent.

“shhh, you don’t want your parents to hear us, hm baby?” you shook your head, your eyes rolling to the back of your head when her fingers curled and hit your g spot. “looking so fucking pretty taking my fingers. that’s it. atta girl…”

“i’m gonna cum.” you whined as she sucked bruises on your neck and chest, licking your tits and nipples.

“you gonna cum baby?” you nodded, your orgasm building up so fast it was almost embarrassing. your pussy was making wet sounds that made you blush. “go ahead, doll. no one’s stopping you.” she had to kiss you to stop you from screaming and your parents to hear as you gushed all over her fingers. “good girl.” she praised you, fucking you through it as you kept every little sound inside. she wanted to hear you. but she too knew that she couldn’t. or else you two would get caught. she hummed as she licked your cum from her fingers, relishing on how good you looked with your lips swollen and reddish for her kisses and flushed cheeks.

“els i want you. please.” you begged, tugging from her white wife-pleaser. she pulled it off, giving you the perfect view of her exposed breasts. you fucking loved them. you could just think about sucking on them ‘till her nipples would feel sore the morning after. but you needed her to fuck you so much that it hurt. so it would have to wait until later.

she cooed, kissing you while pulling down her sweats and exposing her strap on. “you want my dick baby? want me to fuck you?” you nodded, whimpering when she teased your folds with the tip, bumping your sensitive clit.

she had to kiss you one more time to silence the pornographic moan that scaped your throat at the sudden and harsh thrust that filled you completely up to the brim. “fuck.” you sighed, and she smirked, starting to slowly fuck her cock in and out of you.

“so good. being so good for me, princess. taking my cock so well.” she muttered against your cheek, giving you a peck. your nails dug on her shoulders, your legs surrounding her hips to pull her closer, make her reach deeper.

a moan ripped your throat at her praising, and she sweetly hushed you, her hand —who had found it’s way back around your throat— tightening just the slightest and making your back arch.

she was softly whimpering and grunting on your ear, the back of the strap rubbing perfectly her clit through her boxers. your mind felt dizzy with the possibility of getting caught.

“shit, baby.” she groaned and you moaned, rocking your hips against her as she sped up her pace. the room was filling up with the wet squelches of your pussy. “what would your daddy think, hm? me fucking her little girl while he’s downstairs, choking her like she begs me to.” your walls tightened, her words making you so horny and wet it was embarrassing how easily her cock slid in and out of you.

“fuck ellie. don’t stop!” you pleaded in just a mere whisper, her thrusts now animalistic. you were so fucking close. and she knew it. your juices were pooling out, and it was getting harder for you to stay quiet.

“you gonna cum, princess? gonna cum on my cock?” you nodded, babbling multiple broken ‘yes’ s that had her burying her face into your neck to try and silence herself. it always drove her crazy when you would get cock drunk, babbling and muttering intelligible words of praise. “cum baby, please, fuck.” she moaned, rubbing your clit, feeling her high about to hit her as well.

you swore you saw stars when you came, your walls fluttering around her dick as she fucked you through it. you two kissed each other, trying to silence yourselves as you rode your respective orgasms. you looked like a mess, with bruises decorating your skin and glassy eyes. completely fucked out.

but for ellie…

“you’re so beautiful.”

well, for her you were nothing less than perfect.

-

a/n; 😫😵‍💫

xxx

[g1rld1ary]

you never disappointed me - part three

part one part two part three part four

➻ synopsis: luke castellan x aphrodite!reader ; after beckendorf does some research with silena, luke finally knows how to ask you out (10 things I about you AU)

➻ word count: 2642

➻ warnings: ooc/kind of loser!luke, ooc silena, she/her pronouns used for reader, sexual innuendos, alcohol, smoking

➻ so i immediately got hit with a ton of uni work lols (so mean for first week??) so this took a little longer than expected sorries!!

TAGLIST: @myxticmoon @wicca-void @leeknows-wife @thekittyxo-blog @number-onekidqueen @instabull @slaybestieslay946 @sflame15-blog @yourfavmiki @ivory-sage

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

While you were being tormented by the two boys Camp Half-Blood (or maybe your mom?) kept sending your way, Charles was following Silena around like a lost puppy, noting down whatever she could find about you in your limited personal space in the Aphrodite cabin. After several minutes of nothing promising, he was starting to feel hopeless.

“She’s not a…” Beckendorf trailed off, looking for more delicate phrasing.

“Girl in Red fan? No. I found a picture of Heath Ledger under her bunk once so I’m pretty sure she’s not harbouring any queer feelings.”

“So that’s the kind of guy she likes? Pretty guys?”

“I don’t know,” Silena said impetuously, “All I’ve ever heard her say is that she’d die before dating a guy that smokes.” Beckendorf cringed. That was an issue. Silena continued mindlessly, digging through your drawers and belongings. She pulled out your reading list, planner and a sticky note of things you were going to do when you left after summer. Finally, Silena let out a devious giggle as she dug through your top drawer. She didn’t let Beckendorf wonder for long, as she pulled out a pretty pair of lacy black underwear.

It wasn’t the most scandalous piece of lingerie sitting in that cabin — not by far, but Beckendorf still blushed like the teenage boy he was, almost too afraid to look at the scrap of fabric.

“And, uh, what does that tell us?” He asked, eyes anywhere but the cloth.

“She wants to have sex someday, that’s what,” She said it as if it were obvious, and Beckendorf wished a hole would open up and swallow him down. He really didn’t want to be talking about your sexual desire right now.

“She might just like the colour?” He mumbled, hand running over his hair in an effort to ground him.

“You don’t buy black lingerie unless you want someone to see it.” Beckendorf felt kind of guilty, he figured he probably wasn’t who you had in mind when buying black lingerie, and it was starting to feel like a serious invasion of privacy. That was only heightened when Silena pointedly avoided telling him which area was hers, saying it was ‘private’. He rationalised his actions by praying to the Gods the plan would work and everyone would get a happy ever after.

Still, Percy and Beckendorf took this research to Luke in his semi-secret spot behind the training arena, where he could drink and smoke without being worried about being caught by the younger kids or Chiron. He didn’t look exactly happy to see them, but Beckendorf thought he might just be warming up to them.

“So, what’ve you got for me?” He asked, taking a swig of his beer.

“Insights into a very complicated girl,” Percy said, dislike of you obvious.

“Just one question,” Beckendorf asked “Should you be drinking if you don’t have a liver?” One of his new brothers had told him the rumour that Luke had sold his liver on the black market during his quest for a pack of cigarettes and a ticket back to camp.

“She hates smokers!” Percy interrupted, hopefully before Luke could process what Beckendorf had said, and very successfully redirected his focus as Beckendorf grabbed the lit cigarette out of his hand, snuffing it out on the dirt.

“So I’m a… non-smoker now?” Luke spat the words, sounding almost disgusted with himself.

“Just for now,” Beckendorf assured him. “And one more problem — Silena said that she likes ‘pretty guys’.” A tense silence fell upon them and Charles wished that sometimes he would think before he spoke. Luke’s gaze on him was heavy and intimidating, and if Percy wasn’t there with him Beckendorf probably would have cowered and escaped.

“Are you telling me I’m not a pretty guy?” Luke asked, and if he had to say, Beckendorf thought his attitude right now definitely wasn’t helping his case. He and Percy shared a quick look before reassuring Luke that he absolutely was a pretty guy, they just had limited experience in deciding those labels. Satisfied, Luke glanced at the list Beckendorf handed him of all of your interests and engagements. He frowned, and both the younger boys exchanged uneasy eye contact.

“So what, I’m supposed to buy her noodles and books and sit around listening to some shitty girl power band?” He asked, dread and boredom evident in his eyes.

“Have you ever been to Club Skunk? Her favourite band is playing there tomorrow night,” Beckendorf provided, disheartened by the quick shake of Luke���s head.

“I cannot be seen at Club Skunk.”

“But she’s gonna be there! She’s got tickets!” He protested, and Percy put a subtle hand on his arm.

“Dude, everyone you know is here. No one’s gonna see you at Club Skunk and think you’re less of a man or whatever. I’ll tell everyone you’re off in the woods smoking weed or something.” Luke looked at them for a long moment, seemingly considering the offer. Finally he agreed, and Beckendorf thought it may have just been to get them to go away, but he was happy enough.

Luke, having gotten over the humiliation it would be to go to Club Skunk, was more than interested at the new piece of information he’d just learned. He thought he was the only one who snuck out of camp, and he wondered how often you did it. Reasonably frequently, he guessed, since you were going to all the trouble to see a band that probably played around the state constantly. You just kept on surprising him, and though it was all a bit of an effort on his part, he had started to enjoy getting to know the parts of you that you kept hidden behind the icy exterior.

You, on the other hand, were getting really weirded out. You might’ve just been paranoid, but you were sure that the new Hephaestus kid who was friends with Percy kept staring at you. Even Percy glanced at you more than once during dinner, something you didn’t think had ever happened before — and you were not looking for attention from the camp’s golden boy, no matter how many times he’d probably saved your life by extension of his quests. Those two, coupled with Luke, whose attentions had inexplicably been focused on you for the last week, made you feel a bit like an animal on display; violently uncomfortable. As you left the meal you shot Beckendorf a nasty glare, somewhat satisfied when he jumped and averted his eyes. You shook your head in a physical attempt to clear the burdens of your thoughts. Soon you wouldn’t have to worry about any of the campers or the stupidity that flowed around the grounds.

About twenty minutes after the campfire started and the rest of the camp were safely together, you began the trek up to the Hamptons — the closest city with a venue. You waited anxiously for the bus to pick you up outside the camp lines, looking over your shoulder to ensure no one had caught you. If your adventures got around camp then Silena would absolutely tell your father as payback for being the reason she can’t date, and that was a whole new set of issues you really didn’t care to deal with. Luke, standing in the shadows watching, felt almost bad for spying on you. Almost.

You could feel your shoulders relax as you got further and further away from camp, the judgement and expectations of people you didn’t even like far behind you for the night. You’d been looking forward to this show since you got tickets with your friends during the school term, and you were determined to make it worth the pain of summer. And it really, really was. Your whole friend group had made it, making it a long awaited reunion, and the band was one you’d been following for years. You danced with all your energy, gleefully shouting lyrics and laughing loudly when you got them terribly wrong.

Luke watched this from his seat at the bar, entranced in your private bubble amongst the chaos. You were smiling — a rare sight at all at camp — but this was one he didn’t think he’d ever seen in all his years of knowing you. It wasn’t filled with pride like the ones you tried to conceal when you got a new record on the climbing wall or you finally beat Clarisse in a training match, nor was it the satisfied smirk you had when you put an egotistical camper in their place or beat up jerks like Ethan. Your smile was alight with joy; relaxed and wholehearted happiness that spread through the room and seemed infectious to anyone who passed you.

It was at that moment that Luke truly understood how you were a daughter of Aphrodite. The way the lights reflected off your hair and your eyes, the easy way you moved your body to the music, everything about you suddenly seemed perfect, and he wondered how he’d never noticed it before. Your appearance hadn’t changed drastically; your hair was loose instead of the practical up-do needed for camp, you wore a tight fitted crop top instead of the camp shirt and you might’ve had some glitter smeared around your eyes. All inconspicuous, ordinary things, yet you seemed like a brand new person. Luke decided he liked this version of you, and if this whole plan failed, at least he’d gotten a glimpse into your real world and behind the facade you hid with at camp.

He was ripped from his thoughts when he saw you make a drinking gesture to your friend, heading towards him unwittingly. He turned in his seat hurriedly, trying to act cool and unaware. You spotted him almost immediately, persona switching up as disgust crept back under your skin.

“If you’re going to ask me out again, could you just get it over with now so I can get back to enjoying my night?” You sighed, grabbing the water bottles from the bartender.

“Would you mind? You’re kind of ruining this for me.” Luke gestured around, hoping his acting chops were as good as he needed. You ignored it either way.

“You’re not surrounded by your usual cloud of smoke,” You noted, curiosity getting the better of you.

“I quit. Apparently they’re bad for you.” You raised an eyebrow, almost too surprised to come up with a quip.

“You did?” You hated how genuine it sounded and turned to go, sensing him get up to follow you.

“You know, I was watching you out there before,” He yelled over the music, “I’ve never seen you look so sexy.” In possibly the worst timing in history, the song ended and the entire club was treated to Luke’s compliment. You both flushed red, and you were unable to contain a small giggle — wildly uncharacteristic for you. Luke, to his credit, only had a mildly sheepish grin on his face, and continued to follow you across the dance floor. “Come to the Apollo party with me.” You couldn’t believe him! Here you were, miles from camp and he was still asking you out. Though, you couldn’t deny that he wasn’t quite as infuriating as you originally thought.

“You never give up, do you?” You gave a good natured sigh, ducking under someone’s arm to get to your friends.

“Was that a yes?”

“No.”

“Was it a no?”

“No!” You let out another laugh which floated over the crowd and straight to Luke. He couldn’t contain his own grin.

“I’ll pick you up at 9:30!” He yelled back. You gave no indication of having heard him apart from a momentary glance, and he couldn’t tell if the smile was directed at him or just a byproduct of your situation. He took it either way.

Having gone to the effort of sneaking away from camp, Luke decided to stay for the remainder of the concert and grudgingly decided the band wasn’t that bad. Not his style, sure, but he could kind of see why you liked them. Besides, these drinks were easier to get than the contraband ones he had to smuggle into camp.

Tired from a night on your feet dancing and feeling your pleasant buzz slipping away, you were less than charmed seeing Luke waiting for your bus. It made sense, obviously you were going the same place, but you didn’t want him to ruin your great night by pestering you about a date.

“What are you doing here?” You asked bluntly, eagerly sitting on the misshapen little bench.

“Getting home?” He trailed off, unsure of what you were looking for. “Besides, we’re a long way from camp and it’s late. Didn’t feel right leaving you here alone.” You hated that you thought it was sweet.

“Do you not think I can take care of myself?” You picked a fight instead, unwilling to be genuine with him. Luke wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it.

“I have complete faith in you,” He laughed, “I’m making sure you don’t kill whoever bothers you.” You let out a snort of a laugh accidentally. You tried to recover,

“It’ll be you if you’re not careful.” Somehow Luke didn’t believe you.

Surprisingly, the trip was almost pleasant. Luke had already gotten what he wanted from the night and the next phase of his plan was shaping up, so he knew bringing up your impending date would only sour your mood. Instead, when he plonked himself down in the seat next to you on the bus, you talked about mundane, silly things. He asked about the friends you were with and let you talk about your life in New York, waving you off when you started to feel guilty since he was at camp all year.

“There’s this really cool record store, we go there all the time. They have this huge bulletin board on one wall where these tiny little bands put up posters for random gigs with, like, fifty people there — it’s so sick, like the 90s I guess. Maybe —” You cut yourself off but Luke knew where you were going. Maybe I could show you. You would deny it if he brought it up, but he couldn’t contain his smile either way.

You were surprised that you had so much to talk about, briefly wondering why you’d never been friends with him before, but the conversation continued all the way to the camp border, where you both knew the risk of sneaking back in meant your night together was over. Once you got into camp there’d be people all around; campers should be in bed but counsellors often patrolled for a while, and many of the non-demigod folks around camp could be up and about well into the early hours of the morning.

“So, um, I’ll see you around?” His sudden shyness was unexpectedly charming, and you found yourself giving Luke a smile — a real one that made his heart flutter embarrassingly.

“Bye, Luke.” You held eye contact for a fraction longer than necessary before disappearing into the shadows. Luke watched you go, not quite starstruck but close to it. A rustle of the trees behind him spurred him into action, but the image of you on the dance floor played on repeat behind his eyes as he lay in his bunk.

[etherfabric]

Messages for Reassurance + Songs

Choose a pile by which picture you resonate with the most.

If your mind is too busy to clearly decide, take a few deep breaths, and use the finger of your non-dominant hand to hover over the images. One will give off the most subtle yet prominent signals, like tingles, a magnetic pull, or temperature. This is your pile. Multiples are also possible.

You are the ultimate authority over your life. I merely provide my perspective. Sometimes the Universe lines you up with something that doesn't resonate with your truth, so you have contrast to find out what does. Never give away your power.

Pile 1

Knight of Cups, High Priestess

The hope inside of you is not delusion. You are safe to go after the things that seem promising and enriching. The days where you couldn't hear your gut well enough to listen to it are gone. Serendipities of various sizes permeate your day to day life, and it feels almost to good to be true. Did you really make it? Yes, dear. You did. You embraced your shadows enough to bask in the sun again.

Of course this is no utopia, and the frights of the past have sharpened your foresight to real possibilities, but believe yourself when you can't feel any danger closeby. You are stronger, smarter, and in better company than ever before. Now all there is left to do is putting some weight in those timid steps towards your bliss. Don't worry about tripping - you'll land on your foundation and get up again, eyes forward, one foot in front of the other. You will get there as soon as you fully arrive internally, and you are so close to completion already. You will see it once you believe it.

Pile 2

6 of Wands, The Hanged Man

You are exactly where you are supposed to be, in the exact context and circumstances you see at this very moment, inside and out. The conditions are perfect for you thrive in. You might have to get a little unorthodox in your approaches, and the shape of other people's successes sometimes clouds your inspiration, but let good be good enough for now. Think of past you - they prayed to have what you have now.

Okay, yes, they were a little misguided in a few details of their wishes (thankfully rejection is divine protection), and in thinking once you would be here, everything would be perfect - life is still life, you are still human - but the lessons that led you here widened your understanding of how everything had to happen this way. Guess what, future you will look back at this very moment with the exact same wisdom and compassion.

You can work with what you have at your disposal and rightfully expect the glory of tangible progress. Just keep doing what you are doing already, keep it simple and managable, and there will be nothing significant standing in your way. Those bouts of stagnation? That's where the depth of your skills comes from in the first place. Just like muscles, the soul and mind need their periods of liminal passivity to come back with full force to charge you ahead. You are on the right track. You are doing great. You can be proud of yourself.

Pile 3

Page of Swords, 10 of Wands

Oh dear. It's okay to say you are tired. It's okay to break apart. It's okay to hurt and just want to quit it all. Why are you carrying all this by yourself, tasks and thoughts alike? Don't you know the relief once you put them both down? For the thoughts: Speak, write, scream. To somebody, or nobody. The most important part is admitting it. Then at least you are freed of the burden to act like everything is fine. I know you are scared, I know you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if you knew for sure you could let go. But I trust in the magic of coincidences, and you reading this right now tells me you need to stop swimming against the current and let the flow carry you downstream.

Stop clinging to things that only stay if you wreck yourself. The tide will wash them out of your hands anyway, because soon you will reach your body's limits, and then the decision will be made for you. Let the dam break. Let nature take its course. You are so smart and truly believed the best, I can see that, and it's no lack of character that caused things to go this way. But this wasn't meant for you. I know it hurts. I hurt with you. But once you stop fighting gravity, you will be drawn to what is truly for you. Put the burden down. I know you had the best intentions, but it's over. You can rest now.

Pile 4

9 of Cups, Knight of Pentacles

You already know this, but slow and steady does indeed win the race. Instead of doing a million things exhausting yourself, you are focusing on a handful of daily tasks, knowing they will lead you exactly where you want to be. Time and consistency are on your side. You know you don't have to be perfect and can always pick up where you left off. Appreciation from outside sources resonates with your own satisfaction about how things are playing out for you.

Your longterm goals seem closer than ever. You have your routine down pat, and trust in your ability of finding even better tweaks and spins for it in the future. This calm air of confidence looks so good on you! You have earned it. You can read the signs relative to your success, know which road to take, and which pitfalls to avoid. You feel incredibly rich and know how to pass the time until certain things come to fruition. It used to make you anxious when you were faced with slowpaced processes, and you fell back on less sustainable approaches to selfsoothe. Now you appreciate the journey itself, even welcome the delays, so you have ample time to smell the flowers on the side of the road.

[holidayking102]

CHRISTMAUS 2024 SUBMISSIONS

Today I am proud to announce ChristmAUs 2024! As you may have seen earlier, I have taken the reigns of ChristmAUs from @fmsdraws / @ut-poppy-askblog (with his permission). Unfortunately, I can not make a game like ChristmAUs 2023 (which you should really play Link here)! However, I do have a big plan for ChristmAUs 2024, and that plan is: Animated Christmas Card!

That's right! Unlike most of the other ChristmAUs collabs, this one shall be animated! Give your AU characters animations to bring them to life for all to see! Of course, animation is a hard, time consuming process. But with over 2 months to work, and with the simple rules on how the characters should be animated, it shouldn't be too difficult to get your character in in time!

RULES: *Submissions are open until Sunday, December 8th, 12 AM! Meaning that they are open through out December 7th and then they close! *Submissions must be in the style of Undertale and Deltarune! *No limit on the amount of characters you can submit, but I may ask you to slow down if I feel you are submitting too many. *The AU character(s) you submit must come from a publicly revealed AU that must have some content behind them other then this ChristmAUs. This includes: Art, Audio, Comic, Animation, Photography, Game, Sprites, Written Sources, or any combination of them. *No content that would be 18+. This is a family-friendly ChristmAUs! *No content that would be harmful or hurtful to anyone. ChristmAUs should be a joyous time, and hate and harm have no place in it. *No content that would violate the TOS of the majority of websites, including Youtube, Reddit and Tumblr. *You must have permission to submit the character, if you did not create them yourself! (UT and DR canon characters excluded; just link UT or DR for them.) Submission Rules: 1: Make sure you've read all the rules! 2: Give your Handle; how you want to be credited in the public. I do not accept anonymous contributions! 3: Share your characters name(s) and AU(s), along with link to the AU/those AUs! 4: Share your characters sheet(s); this should include every frame individually used for the animation, and I will add them in myself. Character Sheets should be 1x1 (meaning a pixel is just 1 pixel). Animations should be based on 12 Frames Per Second and Frames should be based on Multiples of 6! (6, 12, 18, etc.) 5: Share where you wish for your character(s) to be placed on the map. Keep in mind that while I will try to place them where you wish, I may move them slightly to fit the environment better. 6: Optionally, if you wish, include a GIF of the animation so that I can get an idea of how they should look in action! 7: Additionally, for those who can't animate, or for those who want to go above and beyond, there are also opportunities to add static content to ChristmAUs. These include: +Ornaments (20x20 max) +Gifts (30x30 max) +Table Set Pieces (45x45 max, 13 Max) +Pictures (30x18 or 17x18, 15 Max) 8: Characters should not be placed in areas that obviously would not fit them; like a massive character in a tiny area, for instance. 9: No walking animations, or animations that move characters from their standing point. This is to ensure there's no collisions and for a maximum amount of characters on the map. 10: All animations should loop into themselves. No animations should simply end. 11: All art submissions should include your handle/credit name!

SUBMISSION LINK:

I hope everyone has fun with this ChristmAUs! And I hope doing it in animated form works wonderfully for everyone! One last shout out to @mickonline1 for his wonderful ChristmAUs tree submission! I'll see you again through out the month, and ChristmAUs will see you on Christmas!

[intuitively-her]

What career fits you best?

Pile 1-(6 of wands, The Star, The Moon, The Magician, 6 of swords rx, 6 of cups rx, 8 of cups, 2 of wands, The Devil rx, 5 of wands rx, Knight of wands, King of pentacles, 10 of cups)

You need to be in the spotlight!📸 Someone here wants to be an actor/actress. Or maybe you like to perform in theatre? Burlesque dancer? For someone specific, this is something you wanted to do since you were a kid. Your confidence is out of this world! It needs to be showcased on a stage somewhere.🤩 More people should know your name. Get into some acting classes if you can. For someone specific, you should get into a dance class. Someone here needs to take an etiquette class. Or something related to speech and communication. For some of you, this will require you to move somewhere new. Atlanta, Texas, or California could be significant.🌍 Something about this career could be unconventional. Performing naked/half dressed? Idk I keep getting a sexual theme here. This career will bring in endless abundance for you.📈 You possess many skills. It's like one day you're playing an extra in some movie, and then the next you're doing a big show on Broadway. You shouldn't limit yourself with your creativity in your line of work. There's nothing you can't do pile 1!🌠

🎶channeled songs: R.I.P by playboi carti & Cameras by drake

Pile 2-(4 of swords, The Hermit, Knight of swords, Page of cups, The Moon rx, Death, The World, Wheel of fortune, 9 of pentacles)

This is my artistic pile.🎨 Someone here could be into graphic design? Or clothing design. Your style of art is unpredictable. You set the trends. Realism art? Someone here could be into mural art. Your art could have a morbid nature to it. If so, people love this. You might primarily work from home. In your own little sanctuary.🏡 You could like to create art that "speaks" to people. Or you like to create art that evokes emotion from the audience. Someone here likes to draw cartoons? Reflect on your childhood for better inspiration. Maybe something you used to draw as a kid? A childhood t.v. show? You wanna contribute to the public and give back to people through "art". You're a very down to earth person in general and can get along with just about anyone. Use that skill to network with others in your field. It would be very beneficial for you.

Pile 3-(The Empress, The Hierophant, 4 of wands, 10 of cups, 5 of pentacles, Knight of swords, 3 of pentacles rx, Ace of cups, Wheel of fortune)

You would make an amazing teacher!🏫 For someone specific, you should look into spiritual teaching. Or maybe working in the church? You could be in the middle of a career change right now. Someone here wants to run a daycare? Or teach small children. You make others feel comfortable. People love how you're easily vulnerable with them.🫶🏽 You're an open book to most. Someone here would make a great therapist. People might've seen you cry before. Or you're often a shoulder to cry on for others. You're very good at consoling others. It pretty much comes natural to you. You're the type of mother that others wish they had growing up. Someone here could be newly pregnant or nursing.🤱🏽 For someone specific, your cooking is the best! There's no one that compares to you in the kitchen.🤣 Someone here could be in a feminist organization? Or you should try one. Many would describe you as a "godsend". You make others feel at home, always. You always know what to say at the right time. Your advice makes people see the bigger picture. It makes everyone around you want to be a better person.💫

[ofmd-buys-boats]

#TinyCrewBigRaffle is LIVE!

Practical Info

What could I win? One of seven authentic Our Flag Means Death tiny boat props as pictured on our Social Media accounts. These are tiny boats that were damaged on their trip to the UK from Aotearoa New Zealand, but have been repaired for this raffle. Each winner will be assigned a tiny boat at random - no requests regarding preference will be accepted. 

How do I enter? 

Make a donation to any of the 7 recipient charities. Every value of £5 / US $5 / €5 equals one entry, e.g., you would receive 2 entries for a donation of £10 to a single charity OR 2 separate donations of £5 to 2 different charities (this applies to any of the listed currencies).  

Complete the Raffle Entry form with your proof of donation - this must include: name, donation amount and currency, and time and date of donation. Any other unnecessary personal or financial information can be redacted. You must complete the entry form before the close of the raffle for your entry to be valid. 

How much is one entry if my currency isn’t £ / US$ / € ? If your currency is not USD, GBP, or EURO, the number of entries you receive will be based on the amount you donated, converted into the charity's currency using the exchange rate at the time of your donation. Each entry will equal the donation amount in the charity's currency. For example, a donation of $9 CAD to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is equivalent to £5 and will count as one entry. Where is the entry form?  https://forms.gle/kTLhXyApmZGid44Y7

How many times can I enter?  As many times as you like!  There is no limit to the number of times you can donate across the raffle period or complete the entry form with new / unsubmitted donations. 

When can I enter?  The raffle is now open for entries!

When does the raffle close? 23:59 Thursday 21st November 2024 (GMT) 

When will we know the winners?  The winners will be announced between Friday 22nd November and Sunday 24th November 2024. We are working on something special for this, but we can’t share details until we are certain we can make it happen. Full details of when and how we will announce the winners will be shared across our social media accounts and via our email updates when they are confirmed. 

If I win, how will I receive my Tiny Boat?  Amy or Christina (depending on your location) will ship you your tiny boat, at no cost to you, with tracking. All winners will be contacted directly by email for your preferred mailing address - if you do not reply within 14 days a replacement winner will be selected. If you are attending the Republic of Pirates convention and win, you can collect your tiny boat in person (proof of identity will be required). For all tiny boats sent by post, tracking information will be shared once sent. 

What is a Gift Entry?  Anyone who is unable to donate can sign up to potentially receive a Gift Entry. These are entries donated by those ineligible to enter or donated by anyone who wishes to Gift an entry.  (Gift Entries will be assigned at random, and anyone who makes a donation will not qualify to receive a Gift Entry. If you were on the Gift Entry list, and then made a donation at a later time, your name will be removed from the Gift Entry list.) 

Where do I sign up for a Gift Entry?  https://forms.gle/Rod2M45aPTWmq5nT6

How do I donate a Gift Entry?  Complete the standard Entry Form (https://forms.gle/kTLhXyApmZGid44Y7)  and select the Gift Entry option in Section 2 to Gift your entire donation or a single Raffle Entry from your donation. 

Where is the list of charities?  Our Charity Pack - containing the full charity details and links to donate - can be viewed / downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Xy4sOhWRUXgseKB_PcT_znCTsSDdVLus?usp=drive_link

Can I donate to a different charity?  For a valid Raffle Entry, your donation must be made to one of the 7 selected recipient charities as listed on our social media and in the Charity Pack here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Xy4sOhWRUXgseKB_PcT_znCTsSDdVLus?usp=sharing

Do I have to donate to all of the charities? No. You can make your donation(s) in any way you want, be this to a single charity or multiple. The number of entries you receive is based on the total amount you donate. 

What is a Bonus Entry?  We will be awarding bonus entries for the following: 

• If you donate to all 7 charities you will receive 1 bonus entry

• Sharing publicly on social media (with OFMD.Buys.Boats tagged or linked) after making a donation. Please indicate in the Entry Form where you intend to share so we can track your Bonus Entry. You can share and tag as many times as you like, but you will only receive 1 bonus entry total from sharing.

How can I win an entry?  We will be running a competition to win entries to the raffle, launching on Saturday 26th October, across our social media accounts. 

Who is not eligible to win?  Any member of the original Tiny Crew (people who already have Tiny Boats from the original auction) will not be able to win, but will still be able to donate / Gift an entry.  See Rules for disqualification criteria.

Can I still donate if I don’t want to win a Tiny Boat? Yes! We want to have an accurate total of how much money we have raised for each charity when the raffle closes so please still complete the entry form. In Section 2 either select to make your donation a Gift Entry or select the No Entry option. 

FAQ

When will you announce how much was raised?  As soon as possible after the close of the raffle, date and time to be confirmed. 

Can I win more than once?  No. If a name is drawn for a second a time, a replacement will be immediately drawn. 

You said the Tiny Boats have been repaired, how damaged are they?  All Tiny Boats have been repaired using their original parts - no replacements have been made. Photographs of each prize is available on all our social media accounts. 

How have the charities been selected?  We are committed to supporting charities that are meaningful to the cast and crew of Our Flag Means Death, whether they’re ones they have selected for us or have supported through their own fundraising efforts. 

We have been in direct contact with Lindsey Cantrell (maker of the Tiny Boats and S2 On Set Dresser), Megan Vertelle (S2 Set Decorator) and Con O’Neill (Izzy Hands), who have all nominated the charities we are supporting in their name.  

Additionally, the Tiny Crew Big Raffle team have selected: 

• Cure Kids NZ, on behalf of Taika Waititi (Ed Teach / Blackbeard), previously supported. 

• Kitten Rescue LA, on behalf of Rhy Darby (Stede Bonnet), which he currently supports through kitten fostering, and donated a signed cast photo to their recent fundraising auction. 

• World Central Kitchen, on behalf of David Jenkins (Pirate Daddy), which he has supported on IG. 

Why only 7 and not a charity for each of the main cast?  Honestly, we'd have loved to. The Our Flag Means Death cast and crew have supported so many great charities, but, we want to raise a meaningful amount for the ones chosen for this raffle. Our initial list had over 16 charities, and that wasn't even all of them!

How do I know this isn’t a scam?  We will never ask for any money for Raffle Entries to be sent to us! All donations are to be made directly to the selected charities using their donation platforms / websites. You can also see from our Instagram post history (https://www.instagram.com/ofmd.buys.boats/) various Tiny Boats out in the wild with their new Co-Captains. 

Can I help?  If you would like to help, signal boosting (sharing) the raffle is always welcome! You can find a selection of graphics by following the Shareable Media link in our profile, which will continue to be updated. 

The Rules / T&Cs 

• Donations must be made to the charities officially selected for the Tiny Crew Big Raffle as detailed below and in our Charity Pack:

Inner-City Arts 

Mermaids (UK) 

True Colors United

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Cure Kids NZ

Kitten Rescue LA

World Central Kitchen 

• Proof of donation showing the following information must be included with the Entry Form to be a valid Entry: 

Name of donor 

Date of donation 

Amount (including currency) of donation 

Recipient charity 

Email address (preferred where possible, but not required)

There is no limit to the number of entries per person. 

• Each value of £5 / US $5 / €5 of donation will equal one Raffle Entry, e.g:  A donation of US$20 to a single charity = 4 total Raffle Entries OR a donation of £5 to Charity A and a second donation of £10 to Charity B = 3 total Raffle Entries 

• Donations made in any currency not listed must equal the amount of one entry in the currency of the selected charity.  

• No one may win more than one Tiny Boat. If an entrant’s name is drawn a second time, a replacement winner will be drawn.  

• Prize Tiny Boats will be assigned at random. No requests regarding preference will be accepted. 

• Existing owners of a Tiny Boat / members of the original Tiny Crew are able to donate and donate Gift Entries, but are not eligible to win. 

• You are only eligible to receive a Gift Entry if you have not submitted your own donation. 

• No resale of any winning tiny boat for profit.

• The Tiny Crew Big Raffle Team reserves the right to confirm the amount of any donation made with the recipient charity before assigning Raffle Entries. 

Disqualification criteria: 

• Anyone found to be digitally manipulating donation receipts or proof of donation (excluding the removal of identifiable financial information) will result in complete disqualification from the Raffle and all Entries will be invalid. 

• Multiple submissions of the same donation(s) will result in all entries related to that donation being disqualified. New donation entries will be accepted, provided the entry criteria is met.  

[happylittleshrub]

Rocket Plushie Review

My thoughts on Rocket plushies! I only own some of these so for those I'll go into a little more detail, but most of this is just based on vibes lol

This isn't in any sort of ranking or order

I love this one! His fur feels so soft and he sits on my desk and keeps me company. Reminds me of Pokemon's "Sitting Cuties" line of plushes. Sometimes he'll fall over a little but that's really only if he's sitting on a more uneven surface like a bed or sofa, on my desk he sits fine

This one looks like one of those Littlest Pet Shop toys. So many of the other Rocket plushies look good I don't know what happened here.

Sweet, sleepy boy I love to cuddle him ❤️ Both huggable and snuggable. My sleep has improved 120% since getting him 10/10 would recommend

This is my son my precious little child I love him I want the world for him he is the greatest thing in all of existence. He is so very soft and the perfect size to hug and to hold. ❤️

This is the first Rocket plush I ever got he is very special to me 🥹 I like the chibified design, very adorable! He does have a hard time sitting up on his own because of his disproportionately sized head, I usually have to lean him against something. His ears are velvety soft!

Tiny gremlin, an actual creature. He is full of bad ideas. I like that he comes with a tiny gun

This one looks kind of like a dog more so than a raccoon. Maybe it's just this picture. Idk he still cute tho

This one is good but something about his eyes feels a little off. I don't know if I trust him

Absolutely adorable! He has Animal Crossing vibes. I would buy him but he's over forty dollars 🙃

This one is cute but uh... this is legally distinct off-brand Rocket Wolf not Rocket Raccoon

He is 100% friend shaped I love him I want to give him a hug

"I can't believe I'm taking orders from a hamster." -Some Nova Corps Guy. I like this little dude, he's smol and squishy like a marshmallow!

This one is cute, but I do kinda wish his face wasn't so flat, otherwise no notes

This is so adorable wth you can carry Rocket around on your back like he's a sleepy little child I love it

Bro's lookin' like a finger puppet. He's very small and cute!

This Rocket looks like he needs some love. Well, that's all Rockets but especially this one. Looks like he'd be standing alone a street corner somewhere. Someone needs to bring him home and make him soup

I feel like this one should be the reference image next to the word Blorbo in a dictionary. This is the embodiment of blorbo and all other blorbos should bow to him

Shadow the Hedgehog wannabe. Gritty 90s reboot edgelord

This Rocket is smiling but I feel like he's screaming on the inside while this rando pulls on his ears

Football Head here stares into my soul. He can and will beat me up

Cute but not the best. I'd probably put him in a B-Tier (Shrub, you said you weren't going to do rankings!)

Adorable little guy! He has tiny magnets in his hands with which to hold batteries and other stolen items. You can also buy little outfits for these types of plushies so 20/10! During the colder months I let him ride around in my hoodie ^-^

This one is up to no good I love the mischief in his expression lol

I love Disney Tsum Tsum so this little peanut is an absolute winner in my book

"Until a second ago I thought you were a build-a-bear."

"MAYBE I AM"

He's so sweet and adorable would absolutely bring him home and love him forever (would be even better if he came with sound like some build-a-bears do)

WHO PUT HIM IN THE DRYER???

The way they did his eyes reminds me of Spiderman

He's a sweet boy he just needs someone looking out for him and to be his conscience and stop him from stealing batteries 💛

FERAL

Bro's got them sparkly anime eyes. Also sideburns

Alright I've reached the photo limit so that's all for now. If you read all the way down here thanks for checking out my silly ramblings!

[fatgirlonadate-blog]

21 Days - Day 10

Xavier has the unique ability to keep everyone, even those closest to him, at an arm's length. He will speak freely and easily about casual topics, yet guards anything personal like his life depends on it. He's an open book until you dare try to turn the page past the first chapter. It's something that you've had to accept about him over the course of your friendship, and you rarely get anywhere when you press him on it. But as the two of you grow closer, it's becoming increasingly frustrating.

"Why am I just now finding out that your birthday is in six days?" You ask him, scrolling through his employee profile on your phone as the two of you sit at the dining table eating breakfast.

"You never asked," Xavier replies simply, continuing to eat his food.

The deep scowl you shoot him over your phone makes it clear that his answer isn't good enough and he sighs, setting his spoon down.

"Why would I mention it? It's the same as any other day."

"The same as any other day?" You repeat his words, incredulous. "What do you mean? It's your birthday!"

"It's not important. I don't really celebrate it."

The way he says it so casually, like he really believes it, doesn't sit right with you. Sure, it's his birthday and he's entitled to celebrate it however he wants, but the idea that it's not important - that no one has ever made it feel important - cuts through your chest like a knife.

"You don't do anything for it at all?" You press, setting your phone down to really look at him.

"Sometimes I have hot pot or spend the day reading a new book."

It takes everything in your limited self-restraint to keep your expression neutral and only nod in response as a plan begins to form in your mind. Hot pot and a new book were not going to cut it - not this year. The mature thing would be to respect his wishes, you know. But you've never been particularly mature, and Xavier deserves more than a bowl of noodles and a new book. He deserves to know that he's important. He deserves to feel...loved.

"Maybe we could spend your birthday reading together then? I'm feeling nice, so I'll even let you pick the book," you joke, trying desperately to sound natural.

"How very generous of you," Xavier says with an amused laugh, "I'd like that."

He returns to his meal, and you suppress the urge to ask him more questions. It would be nice to know what his other birthdays were like; surely he must have celebrated them with his family when he was younger? The image of a 5-year-old Xavier flashes through your mind unbidden, and you can almost picture him: chubby cheeks, wide blue eyes, fluffy hair, and a light blade taller than he is. You'd sell your soul to hear stories about him as a child. But you know better than to ask him. He'd grow quiet and tense, giving you a vague, evasive answer that would only make the distance he keeps between you feel wider.

The rest of the meal passes in comfortable silence, and you spend the time mentally creating a list of things you want to do for his birthday. It cannot be the same as any other day. Not this time. Not with you. Six days isn't a lot of time to plan something, but it should be more than enough with a little help.

"I have to head back into the city today." You mention, grabbing the bowls and utensils to clear the table. "I got distracted and forgot to cancel a doctor's appointment. I'll probably be gone for a few hours."

"Are you sick?"

"No," you call back to him, placing the dishes into the sink, "it's just a routine check-up."

"I'll come with you." Xavier offers, joining you in the kitchen.

"Nah, you don't need to. Besides, someone has to stay behind and make sure our suspect doesn't happen to choose today to finally make an appearance."

The old faucet squeaks to life as you rinse the dishes, and distracts you from the sound of his footsteps. You startle slightly as Xavier wraps his arms around you from behind and presses his chest against your back. "I'll come with you. Who else will keep you out of trouble if I'm not there?"

These small moments of blatant affection are still new. Xavier had always found subtle ways to express himself before: a brighter smile whenever you walked into the room, a hand on your back to steady you even though you didn’t need it, linking his pinky with yours as the two of you fell asleep on his couch, his lips brushing against your ear during a hug. But things have been different the last few days—it’s as if he can’t stop touching you. Neither of you has acknowledged it—too afraid to give it a name.

"I'm a grown-ass woman," you protest, "I don't need anyone to keep me out of trouble."

Xavier hums against your ear, and you can practically feel the way the corners of his mouth turn up in amusement, "I don’t know about that. Do you know how many times I have had to practically carry you home? I'm coming."

You huff in protest, but your smile is wider than a Cheshire cat’s. "Fine. Come with me then, but make yourself useful. No sleeping on the train, mister. I expect to be entertained."

You can feel him smile again as he places a kiss on the side of your neck.

"I'll do my best, Mrs. Shen."

It is not a surprise that Xavier lasted all of 15 minutes on the train before promptly falling asleep with his head on your shoulder. Light shining in through the window bounces off his fluffy hair making it look more golden than usual. The soft glow he's illuminated in transforms his normal cute features into something more ethereal. He's handsome. Jaw-droppingly handsome. It's easy to take for granted when you're seeing him every day, but you are painfully aware of it now.

He had insisted that you wear his white zippered jacket the moment you'd left the house despite it being quite warm for an Autumn day. Between the added layer of clothing and his body pressed against your side, it's hot on the train. It's not the kind of heat that makes you sweat; it's the kind of heat that makes your body feel languid and sleepy. Xavier never stood a chance of staying awake for the entire train ride.

You're nearly nodding off yourself when the loudspeakers announce that you've arrived at your destination. A flutter of excitement builds in your chest as you rouse Xavier and the two of you exit the train. Dr. Zayne is a man of few words, and you'd hardly heard from him over the last 10 days. It's the longest you've gone without seeing him since the two of you reconnected, and you're anxious to see him again.

The streets are bustling with shoppers and tourists, and the sounds of the city are almost deafening after spending nearly two weeks in the relative silence of the countryside. Xavier's fingers lace with yours, and he gives your hand a reassuring squeeze as the two of you weave through the sea of people on the sidewalk.

The receptionist greets the two of you as you arrive, and after confirming the details of your visit, instructs you to sit in the lobby while you wait. The hospital looks much the same as the last time you were here; the white walls are stark and bright, and the sterile scent of disinfectant is strong in the air. The space is relatively empty, and there is no sign of Dr. Zayne - likely still busy with his last patient. But your eyes light up when you see Dr. Greyson passing through the waiting room, and you give him an excited wave.

"Hey, doctor!" You call to him, "It's been a while."

He approaches the two of you with a warm smile and takes a seat in the chair next to yours, "Ah, Dr. Zayne's most unruly patient. How are you doing? You look well."

Xavier sits silently beside you, his eyes shifting between you and Greyson.

"I am, thanks to the two of you. How are you? How's the protocore syndrome research going?"

"Busy, but I can't complain. Not much progress has been made since your visit last month, but I did run across something you might be interested in." He pulls out his phone and angles his body closer to you to share his screen. With deft fingers, he quickly navigates to a medical journal that he has bookmarked. "It's a paper that Xander Sciences just published."

Thankfully, the abstract is brief, and you instinctively lean in toward Dr. Greyson as you skim through it. Xander Science's research is notoriously secretive, making it surprising they've released new findings. Just as you reach out to scroll to the bottom, your chair unexpectedly skids several inches to the side.

"Woah!" You yelp in surprise and turn to look in the direction your chair was yanked. Xavier's hand is retreating from your armrest that is now flush with his.

"Sorry, hand slipped." He says flatly, looking not at all apologetic.

Dr. Greyson eyes flit curiously between the two of you, and he slips his phone back into his pocket. "Right. Well, it was good to see you. Dr. Zayne's schedule is packed today, but I doubt your wait will be much longer."

"Thank you, see you next time!" You say to Dr. Greyson's retreating back. The moment he's out of hearing range, you turn toward Xavier and hiss, "What was that about?"

Xavier looks sheepish for a moment, and then shrugs, "My hand really did slip."

You frown and roughly tug at the cuff of his long-sleeve black t-shirt. “Really? This hand just moved on its own?”

“Yep,” he answers definitively, grabbing your hand with his and holding it in his lap. His thumb idly traces back and forth across your wrist.

"I don't believe that for one sec-"

A short woman wearing scrubs interrupts you mid-sentence, "Dr. Zayne will see you shortly. Please follow me."

As soon as you rise to follow her back to Zayne's office, Xavier stands up too, catching the petite nurse's attention.

“No guests are allowed in exam rooms—only immediate family. I’m afraid I'll have to ask you to wait here, sir,” she says, her tone flat and dismissive, as if she’s had this conversation a thousand times before.

"I'm her husband." Xavier says with a lazy smile.

It is a good thing that he wrapped an arm around your waist at the same time as he said it or you would have tripped over thin air. Husband. HUSBAND. What in the world is he thinking? This is Linkon. This is your hospital. These people know you!

The entire English language is wiped from your memory as you open your mouth to speak, and you're left stuttering like an idiot, "I...um...well..."

The nurse shifts on her feet and glances between the two of you, clearly uncertain if she should believe you or not. But after glancing at her watch, she simply shrugs and motions for you to follow.

"You'll be seen in exam room 4 today rather than Dr. Zayne's personal office."

The walk to the exam room is short and punctuated only by the sound of your footsteps and the beat of your own heart in your ears. The room itself is familiar - plain white walls, a single exam table, an ECG machine, and a small desk in the corner. It's the same every month. But what isn't the same is the sight of Xavier slouched in the chair by the door looking comfortable and at ease with the situation.

The nurse begins running you through the typical set of diagnostics for your visit: checking your pulse, blood pressure, and a slew of questions about any symptoms you currently have. Though you've answered questions about your menstrual cycle and sexual activity a dozen times at these appointments, it feels so much more awkward with Xavier listening. Finally, when she's satisfied that the basic checks are done, she excuses herself, and the two of you are left alone.

"You are not my husband! I cannot believe you said that!" you whisper-yell at Xavier.

"I am," he retorts, "for the next few months, to be precise."

"Not here, you aren't! Not in the city! Not actually!"

Xavier laughs softly at your quiet outrage, clearly not appreciating how embarrassed you feel. "Should I have said I was your brother? We do not really look alike."

You groan, and bury your face in your hands, "No! You should have just stayed in the waiting room!"

He lets out another soft laugh, and then goes quiet. The only sound in the exam room for a moment is the sound of his chair sliding across the floor as he moves closer to the table. The next thing you feel is his hand wrapping around your right wrist and pulling your palm away from your face.

"Did I mess up? I'm sorry," he says softly, "I thought you'd want me to come in with you."

The teasing expression is gone from his eyes and replaced by something gentle and vulnerable. He's trying, you realize. He's trying to be supportive and a part of your life in a way he never has before. He's trying to support you for something even as simple as a checkup. He cares about you. It's always been obvious that he cares about you. But this feels like more. It feels like...a word you won't even let yourself think.

A soft knock at the door interrupts the moment, and you spring away from Xavier like you've been burned and jerk your wrist from his grasp. Your eyes snap in the direction of the door right as it swings open.

"Hello," Dr. Zayne greets you, his voice cold and professional, "I apologize for the delay. My last patient had a lot of questions."

If Zayne is surprised that Xavier is present, he makes no outward sign of it as he takes his seat at the small desk and reviews your file on the screen of his monitor. He's dressed impeccably, as always. The white dress shirt and black tie under his lab coat look good on him, but there are darkened circles under his eyes that hint at sleepless nights.

"It's good to see you, Dr. Zayne. How have you been?"

Zayne responds without looking up from his computer, "I've been quite well. But that's not why we are here. How have you been feeling? Any changes recently? Fatigue? Shortness of breath?"

The coolness in his tone would have once intimidated you, but you'd long since come to understand his aloof facade. With more and more frequency you were able to break through it, but for the second time today you wish Xavier had stayed in the waiting room. It's rare for Zayne to let his guard down while inside the hospital, and Xavier's presence here makes the possibility virtually nonexistent.

"I feel good. Sometimes I'm tired, but who isn't? And no, no shortness of breath."

"Good." Zayne says with a slight nod and turns to face you, "Should I ask why you've brought a guest or would you rather I stay in suspense?"

His eyes cut toward Xavier briefly, and then returned to you. His gaze is sharp and intense, and it's unclear if he's irritated or simply curious.

"Xavier. I'm her partner," Xavier answers before you have a chance to speak.

"My hunting partner!" You clarify quickly.

Zayne's brows raise infinitesimally, "I see. And is it customary now for your colleagues to accompany you to your doctor's visits?"

While it was unclear before, it's not now. Irritated. That's irritation in his voice, and he is pointedly ignoring Xavier's existence.

"No," you answer with a nervous laugh. "We're on a long-term mission. He wasn't supposed to come back here. We just had a teensy misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding." Zayne repeats, and his lips twitch into the barest hint of a smile. "Interesting. Hard to believe that could happen with your excellent communication skills."

The tension in your shoulders ease at his small attempt at humor, and you return his ghost of a smile with a much livelier one. The moment of ease is fleeting, though, because Zayne quickly slips back into doctor mode. He asks question after question about your daily activities, sleeping habits, and nutrition. Zayne finds very few of your answers to be satisfactory. By the time he's finished, you feel properly chastised. Xavier, thankfully, remained silent throughout your interrogation.

"Sit here, please." Zayne requests, pulling a stool out from under the desk. "I'd like to check your heart before we part ways."

You do as you are told, and move to sit in front of him. He slips the stethoscope from around his neck and places the instrument over your chest. His silence during this part of the exam always makes you nervous, and you cannot help but try to fill it for him.

"I'm sure it's fine, right? If something were wrong I'd have felt a difference. Wouldn't I?"

Zayne leans closer as you babble, his brows furrowed, his attention focused.

"It's only been a month since my last checkup. What could have chang-"

"Shhh," Zayne shushes you, and his eyes on yours are a reprimand.

You immediately snap your mouth closed with a click and freeze, sitting perfectly still under his stethoscope.

"You should still breathe," he softly admonishes, meeting your eyes.

You immediately suck in several quick lungfuls of air, your chest rising and falling dramatically in response.

"Slowly. And deeply." He corrects, moving his hand to the small of your back and pressing insistently to correct your posture. You straighten your spine at his touch, and take a deep, slow breath in before releasing it at the same rate.

The corner of Zayne's mouth twitches upward as you comply, and he moves the stethoscope to another spot on your chest, "Good girl. Keep doing that for me."

You flinch and feel Zayne's hands tense against your back as the lights in the room flicker once, twice, and then go completely dark for a moment. There's a scraping sound as Zayne scoots his chair back and stands up just as the lights in the room hum back to life as if they'd never gone out in the first place.

You dart an accusatory glance at Xavier only to see that his posture has completely changed. He's sitting with his arms crossed, jaw clenched, and is staring unwaveringly at Zayne.

Zayne, however, remains the picture of composure as he settles back into his chair. Though you're seated directly in front of him, his gaze shifts past you, locking onto Xavier with a calculating look.

"Must be a storm," Xavier says roughly, leaning back in his chair and uncrossing his arms.

"Must be." Zayne replies, his expression is as inscrutable as Xavier's.

Silence stretches between the three of you as they continue to stare at each other. Your eyes shift between the two men, waiting for something to happen. An explanation. A diversion. An act of God. Something. Is this how men size each other up? Does the man who speaks first lose?

"So...how'd my heart sound, Dr. Zayne? Fit as a fiddle, right?" You ask, breaking the silence for them. They both turn to look at you as you speak, and the tension eases a fraction.

Zayne swivels in his seat to face the desk and begins typing. "You're in good health, despite your best efforts to sabotage it. I'd like to see you back in two weeks for a follow-up."

"Two weeks?" You repeat, "But I usually come once a month."

"Two weeks." He confirms, reaching into the drawer of his desk, "We'll go over your test results then. Privately."

Zayne stands and nudges the drawer closed, gesturing toward the door. A clear dismissal.

You stand and Xavier is quick to follow as Zayne opens the door and steps out of the room to show the two of you out.

"Thanks, Dr. Zayne. I'll see you in a couple of weeks, then."

Zayne nods as you and Xavier exit the room into the hallway. He gently catches your wrist in his hand as you're about to walk away, and presses a small, foil-wrapped candy into your palm.

"Do not hesitate to call me if anything changes," Zayne says quietly, his voice as professional as always. But you hear it. The message that's hiding in the words he won't ever say: I'm here for you. Any time.

Zayne pulls away and returns to the exam room with a polite, distant smile.

As soon as the door shuts, Xavier slips his hand into yours and begins walking toward the hospital exit. His fingers around yours are slightly too tight for comfort, and his pace is quicker than normal. It's an effort to keep up.

"What is that?" He asks, clearly not having missed the small exchange between you and Zayne.

"Oh! It's candy." You open your other palm to show him the small piece of candy in your hand. "I always get one after a checkup. It's kind of an inside joke."

"He complained about your diet." Xavier says wryly, glancing down at your hand, "But he gives you candy?"

"Are you jealous of the candy now? Do you want me to give it to you?" You tease him, bumping your shoulder into his.

Xavier scoffs, "No. You can keep your hospital candy, Mrs. Shen."

Your laughter echoes through the hospital corridor, and Xavier's face relaxes into a smile. The tension leaves his body, and his grip on your hand eases. His pace slows, and he falls in step beside you instead of pulling you along behind him.

The streets of Linkon are crowded by the time you and Xavier leave the hospital. The sky has grown darker, gray clouds rolling in from the distance, and the air smells heavy. There's a chill wind that wasn't there earlier today, and you wrap Xavier's jacket closer around you as you walk.

You're halfway toward the train station as the first raindrop lands on your face. It's followed by another, and then another. The clouds open up and the rain falls in a torrent. Within seconds, you're both soaked to the bone.

Xavier tightens his grip on your hand and the two of you begin to run, weaving your way through the crowd of pedestrians. It's cold and wet, but the adrenaline of running hand-in-hand through the street with him has you giggling uncontrollably. You squeal with laughter and pretend to protest as he scoops you up and carries you through the large puddle separating you from the entrance to the train station. 

The train is already boarding when the two of you arrive, so there's no time to find a bathroom and dry off. You're wet, shivering, and the two of you leave a trail of water and footprints in your wake as you board.

The train car is mostly empty, and you quickly make your way to the back and claim the last two seats in the row. You sit by the window and Xavier plops down beside you, shaking his head like a wet dog. Water droplets fling in every direction, and you laugh and whine as you try to shield yourself.

"Xav! No!" You scold him, "You're getting me all wet!"

He stops shaking his head and turns to grin at you, "What? You're already drenched. Is it even possible to make you more wet?"

The thought that instantly springs to your mind has nothing to do with rain, and you feel your cheeks heat even though you're shivering in your seat. Xavier's grin grows wider and you can see that he's caught onto your thoughts.

"Oh, are you blushing?" He asks, trailing his cold fingers down your too-warm cheek, "I wonder why."

"No! I'm not blushing. Shut up. It's...It's just very cold."

"Cold? Really?" He coaxes, "You sure it's not something else?"

"Very sure. What else could it be?"

"Hm, I think I know," Xavier says softly.

He snakes an arm around your shoulders, pulling you against his side. He's cold, too. The thin material of his black t-shirt is damp and clings to his chest in a way that should be illegal. Your eyes stray to the planes of his chest and stomach that you can see against the fabric. The temptation to touch him is only tempered by the way he's shivering and the fact that you're both very much in public.

The rain is still falling hard as the two of you make it back to your temporary suburban home. The warmth of the cozy apartment is an immediate relief, and you do not waste any time kicking your soggy shoes off and peeling off your jacket. Your damp jeans cling to your legs as you bend over and roll your drenched socks off one-by-one.

"Come on, let's get changed. You'll catch a cold if you stay in wet clothes," Xavier says, placing his hand on the small of your back to lead you down the hall to the bedroom.

The moment you're both in the bedroom, Xavier begins stripping out of his wet clothes. He peels the soaked t-shirt off of his upper body and throws it into the laundry basket near the door. There's no hesitation in his hands and he's not looking in your direction as he starts removing his jeans. The button is quickly undone, and he's just hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his pants when you finally remember to turn away.

Your attention is now directed to your own clothes, and you suddenly feel more shy than you should. The two of you have changed clothes around and near each other for the last several days, but there's always been some unspoken agreement to find a reason to leave the room once one of you gets down to your underwear.

Your cheeks feel hot again, and your fingers are clumsy as you pull at the hem of your shirt. The wet fabric sticks to you as you pull it over your head and toss it into the laundry basket to join Xavier's wet clothes. You fumble with the button of your jeans, and the zipper sounds unnaturally loud in the quiet of the room. Your heart is beating hard in your chest as you push the stubborn wet denim down to your ankles and step out of them.

Your bra and panties are slightly damp, and there's no reason not to take them off. There's no reason to be blushing this hard from simply changing your clothes in a room with a man. Especially with a man you're sure already has his back turned toward you, but you're not brave enough to check.

"I'll get some towels," Xavier offers, his footsteps already heading in the direction of the door.

Your shoulders sag with relief and maybe a little disappointment. With a frustrated shake of your head at your own conflicting emotions, you quickly unhook your bra and slide off your panties. They land in the laundry basket with a quick toss, and you open the closet to find something to sleep in. You swiftly scan through your side, but can't help but notice that all of Xavier's sweaters look so soft and warm. A lot warmer than any of your pajamas.

You reach for the frayed white sweater on the shelf and pull it over your head. It's soft and warm, and the sleeves hang well past your fingertips. The bottom of the sweater falls midway down your thighs.

Choosing a pair of panties, something you normally do without a second thought, shouldn’t make you blush. "It’s not like he’s even going to see them," you whisper to yourself. Yet your hand hesitates as you sift through the options. There’s no reason to pick anything sexy—you barely own any, and it’s not like you’ve had someone to wear them for. But before you can second guess yourself, your hand moves instinctively, reaching to the back of the drawer to pull out a lacy black pair. You slip them on without another moment’s hesitation and pull the sweater down to stretch past your thighs.

Xavier returns moments later with a towel hanging loosely around his bare shoulders and another one grasped in his hands. His hair is tousled and messy, sticking up at all angles. It's a sight that you'd find adorable under different circumstances, but not tonight. Not right now because he's shirtless and his gray sweatpants are hanging low enough on his hips that you can see the beginning of the "V" line of his pelvis.

There should be an award for the effort it takes not to stare at him, and you reach your hand out for the towel that he's holding. Xavier shakes his head, and moves the towel further out of your reach.

"I'll do it," he says quietly, "Sit down."

"I can do it myself" you protest, but he's already herding you toward the bed.

You back up as he advances until the back of your knees press against the bed and you sit on the edge. Xavier joins you and wraps the plush towel around your shoulders, rubbing it lightly over the wet ends of your hair. He's gentle and thorough as he wrings the water out of your damp hair and uses the towel to dry the moisture off of the back of your neck.

Once you’re mostly dry, he sets the towel aside and gently runs his fingers through your hair, combing it out with care. Gathering it in his hand, he drapes it over one shoulder to clear the way. His fingers trail from your ear down to the nape of your neck.

"Is this mine?" He asks, tracing the collar of the white sweater you're wearing.

"I had no choice. I had to borrow it."

Xavier's eyes drift lower, to where the sweater ends at your bare thighs, before returning to your face.

"Is it the only thing that's mine?" He asks, his eyes searching yours.

For the slightest moment, you had thought he was asking if you'd stolen any of his other clothes. But then his meaning hit you like a lightning bolt burning heat through all of your nerve endings. Your mouth goes dry and you swallow thickly, trying to find your voice.

"Do you want me to be yours?" You whisper hesitantly, unable to directly answer his question.

"More than you could ever imagine."

His answer is quiet and breathy, but there’s not a second of hesitation in it. And it's the only push you need to finally close the gap between the two of you. You lean forward and catch his lips with yours, cupping his face in your hands to pull him closer. His lips are soft and warm against yours. When he traces the seam of your lips with his tongue you part them instantly to invite him in.

He kisses you slowly at first, but then his lips become more greedy and desperate. There’s a lack of finesse due to the urgency with which he’s consuming your mouth. And every movement of his lips and tongue against yours draws you in deeper and makes you feel more needy.

Need. That’s what this is. You know he feels the same way as his hands move to your shoulders and he pushes you back against the bed. He moves with you as you lie back against the bed and presses you down into the mattress with his weight. You part your thighs instinctively so that he can settle in between them. 

He caresses a path up your sides as he turns his attention to your neck and begins to place wet, open-mouthed kisses against your skin. These are not the chaste, small kisses he usually gives you while you fall asleep. You gasp and rock your hips against his as you feel the bite of his teeth against your throat. His tongue quickly soothes the area as he sucks on the ache his teeth left behind. His fingers halt near the top of your ribcage and he fists the fabric of the sweater in his hands before pulling back slightly to look at you.

"Can I touch you?" His voice is ragged and he's breathing hard between his parted lips.

"You already are," you answer distractedly, dragging your nails lightly down the smooth skin of his bare back.

"No," he clarifies, slipping one of his hands under your sweater. His fingers are rough and warm as he slides his hand up the expanse of your stomach, stopping right under the curve of your breast, "Can I touch you like this?"

Your heart is beating wildly, so hard and fast you're sure he must hear it. The warmth of his hand against your skin, so close to where he's never dared touch you before, makes you squirm with need and anticipation. You nod, eyes locked on his, and Xavier leans down to capture your lips in a hungry kiss as his hand inches higher and finally cups your breast.

The moment his fingers graze your nipple, your back arches off the bed, and a whimper escapes into his mouth. His warm hand caresses your sensitive skin, sending waves of pleasure straight to your core, but it’s not enough. Your sweater is bunched awkwardly around your waist, his arm trapped beneath it, though he doesn’t seem to notice as he kneads your breast more firmly. But you do—you don't want anything between you. Tilting your head to the side, you break the kiss and press gently against his chest until he pulls back.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" He asks softly, confusion clear on his face as he relaxes his grip on you.

"No, I just...I want..." Your words trail off as you move your hands down to tug on the sweater that's bunched up between the two of you.

The sound that he makes in response is somewhere between a groan and a growl, and he immediately pushes himself up to help you yank the sweater off and toss it on the floor. Goosebumps erupt across your skin as the cool air of the room hits your skin.

"You're beautiful," Xavier whispers reverently, his hands moving to cup both of your breasts, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to touch you."

Your head falls back against the pillow as you let out a breathless sigh of his name, "Xavier..."

He exhales a shuddering breath and leans down to fit his body against yours - chest to chest, skin to skin. He moves one hand to the back of your neck and tangles his fingers in your hair, pulling gently as he leans down to kiss you again. You can feel the hard length of his cock is pressing insistently against you through his gray sweatpants as he grinds his hips against yours.

"It sounds so good when you say my name like that. Say it again." He commands softly, trailing kisses along your jaw and down to your ear.

"Xavier," you repeat, your voice breathy and barely audible as he bites your earlobe. "Please."

"Good girl." He whispers against your ear as she shifts to trail kisses along your collar bones.

You fist your hands in his hair as he moves lower, kissing and nipping a path between your breasts. The gasp that escapes your throat is loud in the quiet room as his mouth closes over one of your nipples and his hand caresses the other one while he sucks.

The coil of tension is building low in your belly, and you can barely contain the way your body responds to him. You're so wet that you can feel the lace of your panties slide against your smooth skin every time you rock your hips against his thigh. You want him so badly that your whole body starts to tremble with need.

“Please, Xavier," you beg through gasping breaths.

"Please what?" he asks, releasing your nipple with a wet sound and trailing kisses across to the other. "Tell me what you want. I'll give you anything."

"More...just more..." You plead, "Touch me."

He leans back onto his knees and his hand slides down your stomach, tracing circles around your belly button, before his fingers finally come to rest at the waistband of your lacy black panties.

"Here?" He asks, unable to draw his eyes away from his own fingers, "Do you want me to touch you here?"

You nod, and your chest rises and falls rapidly as his hand trails down the lace and presses against your pussy. The sound he makes when his fingers find the wetness between your legs is almost a whimper. You throw an arm over your mouth to muffle the cry that leaves your throat as Xavier strokes you, his fingers brushing against your clit through the thin fabric of your panties. His touch is bordering on too gentle as he rubs his fingers up and down the front of the lace.

"Is this mine, too?" he asks, cupping your pussy with his palm.

Your breath catches in your throat, and you know your face must be flushed crimson due to how hot it feels. You nod slowly, lips parted, your eyes glued to the way his fingers are splayed over your center.

"I need to hear it." He says in a low rough voice, and his fingers flex against your skin.

"Yours," you answer, your voice shaky and breathless.

Xavier groans softly and trails his hand upward to hook his fingers in the lace, "Can I take them off?"

"God, yes." You find your voice.

His fingers tremble slightly as he grasps the waistband and begins to pull the lace down your thighs. It's the hottest discovery in the world to see that Xavier - cool, calm, and collected Xavier - is just as nervous and affected by this as you are. He shifts somewhat awkwardly, his position between your thighs making it difficult, and you can't help but giggle as you help him pull the panties down and off.

But your giggles die in your throat and reincarnate as soft gasps and moans as his fingers slide up your thighs and he finally caresses your bare pussy. You rock your hips up against his hand, urging him to touch more of you, and you whimper loudly as he slips one of his fingers into your wet heat.

A moment later, he slides in a second finger, and the gentle stretch as he fills you sends a shockwave of pleasure rippling through your body. His fingers are long, curling inside you at just the right angle, making your legs tremble and your pussy tighten around him. It’s as though he already knows exactly where and how to touch you, like he's done this countless times before.

"Xavier," you whimper, feeling a familiar pressure beginning to build inside of you.

"You feel so good," he murmurs, "You're so tight and wet. Just for me. Isn't that right?"

The second you nod he crooks his fingers inside of you, pressing against a spot that feels electric, and you cry out his name as his thumb circles your clit. Your back arches and you reach out and fist the sheets in your hands.

"Good girl. Just like that." Xavier says, shifting so that he can lean over you and kiss your lips again.

His lips are firm and insistent against yours, the kiss is messy, and your breathing becomes shallow and fast. Your hips rock and grind against his hand as his fingers pump in and out of you. His thumb is still stroking your clit is the most delicious torture you've ever felt, and you don't ever want it to stop. You can feel the pleasure coiling and building low in your stomach as you suck on his tongue. He pulls away from the kiss and buries his face in the crook of your neck, his breath hot against your flushed skin.

"You're so close. I can feel it," he whispers, and his voice is low and rough, "Come for me. Please."

The sound of him begging and the feeling of his thumb pressing harder against your clit is all you need. Your orgasm crashes over you, your walls convulsing around his fingers, and electric pleasure blooms from your stomach and spreads through your body.

You're still trembling as he slowly withdraws his fingers, and you watch with sated eyes as he sucks both of them clean. He hums softly and closes his eyes, and if it were possible to cum again on the spot, you would have.

His hair is messy from the way your fingers had tugged and pulled on it, and there is a distinct dark spot on his tented gray sweatpants from where you were grinding against him earlier. But it's his eyes that you can't seem to pull yourself away from. They're that soft, happy blue that you love and shining with adoration.

With a smile, he lies down next to you and pulls you into his arms. He grasps the edge of the blanket and brings it up to cover both of you as he places small kisses all over your face. You giggle as he kisses your nose and then rubs it with his own.

"Close your eyes," he says softly, threading his fingers through your hair as you yawn.

"I'm not tired."

"Yes, you are," he insists.

"But..." You trail off, too embarrassed to actually voice your thought, and slide your hand down his chest toward the waistband of his sweatpants.

He circles your wrist in his hand, and gently slides it back up his chest, "It's okay. Tonight was just for you."

You pout, "But I want-"

"Shhh." He shushes you quietly and shifts so that your head is resting against his chest with his arms wrapped around you.

"Just let me take care of you. That's all I want."

[sardix]

WOTFI 2024 Bingo results

If you didn't know @midnight1nk created a bingo map! (You can find the original post here). With these peoples ideas: /midnight1nk, /Sardix (me), @34saveme34 , @time1srunout , @porschas-palette , @yullalightk , @Nicc

Anyway, here are the results (and yes i am aware the picture looks a little off with colors but it's a printed out wersion with stars as stickers) + screenshots from the moments that I felt counted or not. And a reminder I was going off of the description of spaces and not their names. (However, If I put something in the wrong place tell me and I will fix it :), I am also always up for discussion)

Sadly we did not get Bingo but there will be plenty oportunities in the future

1. Mario ruins the show! (He did the final blow)

2. Karma (they did beat him although he didn't become something like Leggy)

3. Mr. Puzzle having a grudge against Smg4 - (I think this counts?)

5. It's gotta be perfect (IGBP) - (it wasn't really mentioned BUT this monster was present + the whole hate Smg4 gets that played an important role in IGBP) (add Photos from IGTBP)

6. Freak Show - it wasn't really said but they all got a whole makeover for the carnival show

7. Carnival-themed rap - this one doesn't need explaining (also it was a banger, I cannot stop listening to it)

8. The Bell tolls - I don't know if this counts or not, but I decided to put it here because there is like A LOT of "death" during the minigames. (I could put all the moments in here because of the picture limit)

9. Merch - I mean, it was gonna be for 100%; this time, tho mostly Mr.Puzzle teamed, which makes sense seeing his popularity in and outside the fandom.

10. Sacrifice - Meggy getting saved by Smg4 by using Mario (also my theory about Smg4 after the IGBP whenever angry getting suddenly super strong physically works, because he was FAST and you could see in his eyes the determination to not let any of his friends die again)

11. Meggy confronts - she does, in fact, confront him but doesn't really scold him for his wrongdoings. Still, I think that the interaction counted.

12. Brand new look - as shown before most of the cast gets a makeover, which are new look carnival-teamed

13. Puzzle Tune - it appears at the very beginning of the first song that Mr.Puzzle sings as Smg4 and Mario are in the boat

Now the stuff that I think didn't count and why:

1. Past arc or trauma - the trauma from past arcs wasn't mentioned unless you count Smg4 hate comments. Or Mr.Puzzles past but that's not really mentioning past arcs.

2. Park destroyed - it wasn't destroyed like Wren's lab, just got closed

3. Puzzles backstory - we got a scene where what was already shown in the Didney episode was explained; we didn't get any new info from the one we already knew.

4. Not so different - sadly, a scene like this does not happen no matter how much I wished it did. ( it sounds too good to be true.) BUT it may happen in the future.

5. (Ending) twist - Mr.Puzzle didn't reveal that he was behind the 2023 WOTFI, and I don't think Leggy 2.0 counts as a character foreshadowing, although Marty the cardboard became an actual character, so we never know.

6. Star Rating system - suprisingly it is never out right mentioned, Mr.Puzzle only mentions the destruction of his show.

7. Tenner tunnel - which I assume is just the tunnel of fun, but since it never is really shown, we cannot know for sure. It only kinda appears in the background

8. Smg4 kids - they didn't even appear in the background, so...

9. Puzzles dies - it is not his time yet, and it appears he has yet to play some really important roles in the story.

10. You saved me - to probably a lot of fans disapointment with Smg3 under control we did not get to see them interact other than fighting (Smg4 and Smg3).probably becouse of the movie being a litle shorter than usual (less than 30 minutes if you take out the merch talk) we did not get a scene with them even reuniting after being freed from the hypnotic state.

11. Dynamic change - some people would probably say that the dynamic between Mr.Puzzle and Meggy changed but from the beginning, we could see that deep inside she wanted to help or a part of her, and I do not mean Leggy (although I suppose it could count but for now I'm leaving it here)

12. Leggy's flag - honestly I'm not sure if it even appears, but it definitely did not play an important role

Bonus: They remembered the video where Smg4 became the clown king, aka where it was never resolved, so I think now it is officially canon and not just a one-time joke. (Please tell me I wasn't the only one who joticed that)

Well, would you look at that? We got 14 out of 25, not a bad score, I must say! And I'm sure we can't wait for what will come in the future

[moonstandardtime]

OFFICIAL ART COMMISSIONS POST!!!

BASE COSTS

SKETCHES / SMALL DOODLES -- $10

BUSTS / PROFILE PICTURES -- $15

HALF BODY -- $20

FULL BODY -- $30

FULL PIECE -- $38

Communication will be over Discord, or Tumblr DMs if necessary. DM me here or use Ko-fi to start!

previews + more info under cut (blood/gore warning for one of the previews (its part of a screenshot, so not detailed))

WILL DO:

Humanoids

System alters

OCs

Fanart

NSFW (with limits)

Gore (probably not anatomically accurate)

WONT DO (with exceptions):

Super high detail designs (unless you have a detailed ref/are okay with less detail)

Animals

Complex scenes with over 3 characters

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

ALL OF WHAT FOLLOWS, AS WELL AS PRICES, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Payment via Ko-fi or Cashapp.

Costs are loosely based on an hourly wage. I'm open to minor negotiations, but don't expect discounts.

Payment is up front. If either of us needs to cancel at any point, I will provide (NOT FULL) refunds depending on where I am in the process.

Timeframe is around a week, give or take a few days, depending on the complexity of the ask. My ADHD is awful, so PLEASE pester me!

I need a ref! I'm not great at visualizing from text descriptions, so if you could provide references and a general sketch of what you want, that would be great! It doesn't need to be good at all--what I have in mind is really nothing more than a stick figure scribble. It just needs to get the idea across somehow.

I will work with you and talk back and forth as I work on the sketch! I will also check in throughout the process to make sure everything is going as you wish.

You can ask for a specific style! Simply provide an example of a piece I've done in the past. You can see my art on my tumblr -> https://moonstandardtime.tumblr.com/tagged/my%20art

PLEASEEE COMMUNICATE!! Thank you!

SPECIFICS:

REFUNDS:

- If you commission a piece and you cancel it, you will be refunded for what I haven't made significant progress on. For example, if you cancel a full-body with color, simple shading, and a simple background, and I've finished the lineart and started flat colors, you will be refunded $20 out of $55. You will recieve the unfinished piece.

- If you cancel a commission before I start it, you will recieve a full refund.

- If you cancel a commission before the intial sketch is finalized, you will recieve a 90% refund and the sketch.

REVISIONS:

- You can change as much as you want during the initial sketch. Anything after may come with a fee.

- If you want something changed late into the process, the fee will be increased.

- If it's too late, I may not be able to change it.

COPYRIGHT & USAGE:

ON MY SIDE:

- I reserve the right to cancel and refund the order at any time for any reason.

- I retain all copyrights over the commissioned artwork.

- I will NOT claim the intellectual property (IP) of the commissioned artwork (your characters are still yours, etc.)

- I will NOT profit further from the commissioned artwork unless you (the customer) break any of the terms.

- I reserve the right to post the commissioned artwork online and in my portfolio..

ON YOUR SIDE:

- You may upload the commissioned artwork on any website and social channels.

- You may NOT make profits from the commissioned piece (reselling, redistributing, uploading to POD-services, making prints for selling, etc.)

- You may NOT alter the commissioned artwork without my consent.

- You retain the rights to the intellectual property (IP).

- You may NOT use the commissioned artwork for commercial purposes.

- The following is considered copyright infringement:​

- Reproducing/using the copyrighted artwork commercially - means making money off it in any way not excluded from these terms.

- Claiming the artwork as your own.

- Altering the artwork without my consent.

[keelt9]

Chapter 10 (Final)

A/N: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing. 🧡

I’ve been thinking about an epilogue but I don’t know, I don’t want to mess up anything, so I’ll keep that in mind.

I’ll write to you soon.🧡

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

Masterlist

The fireworks it's my item on the photo wall. Now every photo on my wall, metaphorically or literally has a firework on it.

"Ready?" Mom softly knocks my door perking in it. 

It's the conference game for the championship, Joe didn't have to ask if I was going to be there or not. 

"Yes, one second." I just revealed new photos for my wall and my favorite by far is the one his mother took from us playing under the moonlight in his parents backyard, a lot of snowballs.

Archie it's definitely at the limit of his excitement. Joe insisted we must watch the game from the box, so each second Archie expanded his smile. By the half of the game the Bengals were up by a touchdown and my throat feels pretty sore already.

All week Joe has been fully focused and still makes his time to call me from time to time, both of us have been busy with work lately.

"There you are!" Leah raises her phone, a picture of me chatting with Joe in his warm ups appears on the screen. "Joe Burrow's girlfriend on the field in a lovely moment."

I chuckle because the photograph took pretty well the angle of my kissing his lips as he pulls me by my waist.

"Joe definitely will want that." Mrs. Burrow hugged me with a proud smile.

The last quarter was a cardiac one; Bills came closer to them leaving them the Bengal up just for one point and our faces speak for ourselves, we're dying of nervousness.

A turnover of B.J let them keep the ball for the rest of the quarter, if the OL kept him covered he would work to increase the difference of points. Joe scanned the field with urgency feeling already tackles over him, he threw a dime finding Chase but with our bad eyes it seems he didn't get the ball before fall.

"I can't see." I hid on Peter's shoulder covering my eyes, hearing the awful silence.

>IT GOT HIM! First and goal for the Bengals. 

The crowd in Paycor turns wild; when I lift my eyes, Joe is totally fired up, he just has to do what he knows, be him.

The final score light on 31-24, they're the Champions of the AFC one more time; in the box screams and claps couldn't wait. Neither I, who runs down to the field, can't wait for him.

As I reached the field a lot of family and friends were coming too. Among the crowd cameras and reporters I found Joe congratulating Zach, by the time he opened his eyes I was already waiting for him.

"Babe!" He let his helmet go down and lift me in a big hug. "You did it!" 

He breathes in on my neck as I close my eyes feeling so distant the noises and cameras of us. 

"Go, I just want to hug you but people are waiting for the champions." He chuckles, kissing me deeply.

"Don't you dare to move from here." He said point where I'm standing. "Love you!"

Seeing him standing with a trophy however looking for me in the crowd confirms, some risks are totally worth it.

Pam surprised me with balloons falling from the door, a cake in her hands and a loud “Happy birthday!”

“Make a wish!” I close my eyes blowing the candle. “Yeah.” Pam leaves the cake on my desk and hugs me softly.

“Thank you.” I hug her and I see the bag on my chair. “Pam.” 

“Open it. I hope you like it.” I took the bag immediately and I knew what it was.

“Oh my, you don’t have too.”

Months ago when we were doing our Christmas shopping I saw an old camera in an antiquity store. I refused to buy it because the shoppings was left me without money but Pam has a good memory.

We chat a while before we have to come back to work about my plans for the day and if my family is coming.

“You’re parents?” I shake my head. My parents want to come but in 3 weeks I have a Monday off so I decided to go home for the weekend. “Peter is out of question, kid in the school. Joe?”

After the loss of the Super Bowl, Joe decided to spend that week alone. He explained to me right now, not even from himself is the most nice company and doesn't want to ruin my birthday. That’s the issue, the SB, turns out to be a weekend before your birthday.

“Joe is busy with all the post things game.” I tried not to sound concerned but Pam knows me well.

“Still mad?” Pam sits one more time. 

“It’s not mad, he has been a little too hard on himself.” The knock on my door interrupted our talk.

In the door appear a big bouquet of flowers and a balloon, and an amazing writer holding them.

“Happy birthday!” Lucy enters pulling her boyfriend who is holding a box with a big ribbon on the top of it. 

“Lucy! I thought you'd come until next week.” I stand for she and her boyfriend wish me a happy birthday. 

“I am, this is a small…” She thinks in her words. “Stop.” 

Her boyfriend laughed and explained she didn't want to miss my birthday even if it’s just for giving me a hug.

“I hope you like it, if Lucy gave enough time, I could do something better.” I open the box inside an embroidered sweater with my favorite colors. 

After all it seems it’s going to be a good day. “It’s fantastic and the flowers, perfect, thank you so much.”

Claire orders me that if I don't take the day of my birthday at least I should go home earlier and rest, but Lucy warns me about something she will bring and I want to progress in all I can. By 7 pm, I found Claire leaving the office too. She scolded me about not leaving earlier, and still she wished me a happy birthday.

“I’m talking seriously Y/N, the food will arrive at your apartment. I’ll know if you don’t go right there.” Claire “threatened” me with her cellphone while walking to her car. “Don't make me take away your promotion.” I giggle, waving my hand to the other side of the parking lot.

As I get in the elevator I keep replaying the video of Archie singing me a happy birthday as my brother plays the piano and Nora signs along with him too; at the end Archie walks closer to the camera holding it blowing a kiss, “I love you aunt” was the last thing you could hear.

Probably I should do what Claire told me and leave earlier for rest; my neck is really tense, while I walk to my apartment I grab it and move in circles trying to make it more loose.

Inside a warm light it’s in the middle of the hallway, as you walk closer you can see it’s a cupcake with a candle.

“I’m sorry that is not enough, right?” Joe appears in one of the doors of the bedroom, puffy eyes sing that he probably hasn’t slept well. 

I choke my head and open my arms. “Isn’t even necessary, I understand.” Joe sighs deeply. “However, I don't mind a birthday hug.” 

Joe chuckles and lifts me in one big hug, hiding his face on my neck. “Happy birthday babe.” He whispered to me.

"I need that photo." After a long days of endless activities Joe finally has a day of rest before another week of meetings and talks begins.

"That's mine, sorry." I show him the new pictures on my wall, especially the one of the warm ups of the Championship.

It’s late at night, Joe had me next to him, my legs over his lap. In a quick move he tried to take the photo of my hands so now I'm completely under him. 

"Ok, ok, god, you're heavy! But one condition." He narrowed his eyes. 

"Anything." A mischievous smile makes him choke his head, grabbing my things as he sits back with me in his laps.

"No! It's not that! Oh my god!" He clicked his tongue. "Be serious with me.”

Joe shakes his head and nods. "Don’t be so hard on you." Joe grabs my face pulling out foreheads closer.

"I love you." He kisses my lips then looks straight to my eyes; I see his blue eyes full of love. 

I kiss his forehead. "I love you too.” I take a deep breath grabbing his face. “You know I do anything for that smile right?" 

"Yes ma'am, now give me the photo." I laughed and gave him the photo winning a breathless kiss.

The next morning Joe was surprised about the fact I actually didn't take a day off for my birthday not before and of course not after it.

“But it’s your birthday.” I’m searching my blazer in the closet as he follows me like a lost puppy. 

“Was, it was my birthday.” I found it. “I have to go, but hey, in 3 weeks I have a day off and I’ll be Cinncinati, ok?”

I give him a peck before going. “No, no, no, wait.” He grabs my hand. “Are you sure? I mean…” He tosses his hair. “I have to go this afternoon, I was expecting to celebrate…”

“I promise, now I have to go or I’ll be late.” I check my watch. “Love you!” I scream before closing the door Joe pouting waving his hands.

Like Lucy promised, as soon as she “officially” came back, she entered my office with papers of multiple colors in her hand; she said she had a lot of ideas but nothing clear, so she was hoping for a helpful eye. That’s how I spend 3 weeks between Lucy’s work and a few manuscripts I have to deliver to Claire.

“Anyway, I’ll be a call away, ok?” It’s my last call of the day. “Yes, Lucy, I got it.” Pam enters her purse on her shoulder ready to go. “Ok, bye.”

I laid back in my chair hearing Pam giggle. “Are you leaving today?” I move my finger, yes.

I bought my ticket for the middle night, hoping to spend a little bit more time with Joe but out of the blue he has to do his chek ups out of Cincinnati, he expects to be there in 2 days.

“My bags are there.” I point to the corner of my office, Pam laughs. “I’ll call a cab after going to dinner.”

“Let’s go, this is on me.” Pam stands grabbing my bags. 

In the elevator both of us realize this is the first time she and I take an extra day at the same time. 

“You think Clare is going to be fine?”  Pam asks, we look at each other and chuckle.

By the morning, I have 6 hours of sleep and a stomach growling. When I go down I see my parents making breakfast.

“What are you doing here?” Mom scoffed at me moving around the kitchen.

“Good morning to you.” Dad laughs taking out from the oven bread for sandwiches. “The coffee shop has a little issue.” 

I look at them, dad nods and clarify. “We’re painting so it’s been closed for a couple of days, nothing serious.” 

Mom put a plate with fruit in front of me. “What are your plans for the day?” I sit turning around in the stool.

“I was expecting to have a full day with my boyfriend, then go to have dinner with Leah but apparently they’re busy.” My days off aren't going as I plan. “So nothing, do you have something in mind?”

My parents look at each other like they’re in trouble. “You have plans, right?”

“Mrs. Carmichael, invite us to domino night, so we’re hoping…not it’s ok we can cancel it.” I shake my head, I don’t want to ruin my parents night.

“No, please go, I’ll find out what to do. Tomorrow we can spend the day together.” My dad kissed the top of my head. 

“We hope that.” I narrowed my eyes, they probably had plans too.

My day passed watching old films, cleaning my old room and sleeping from time to time; my parents were ready to go around 9 pm, arguing about something in the coffee shop.

“You should check it before closing.” Mom complains coming downstairs.

“I’ll go and meet you with Mrs. Carmichael, don’t worry.” Dad tried to calm her but her eyes only scream more anger.

I roll my eyes. It seems I finally have the chance to do something else. “What happened?”

Mom sighs. “Your dad forgot the keys of the house in the coffee shop and guess what? Yes, from the car too.” 

Mrs. Carmichael doesn’t live more than 2 blocks away, so her anger must be because they have to wake me up to getting in. 

“It’s all right, I will go for them, besides I want to have dinner outside.” Mom was about to complain. “I’ll go change and go, don’t worry.” 

I ran upstairs and didn't give them time to replay something. “My keys are on the table next to the door!” 

As I get down from the cab I notice the curtains down but still, a glimpse of light, if dad leaves the light on and mom finds out, he will be in trouble. I shake my head and giggle as I walk to the door.

But there were no bright lights on as I think, it was a new type, small light bubbles hanging in the ceiling, and a few papers too. As I walk closer the bubble lights help to see there aren't papers hanging on the wall, it’s actually polaroids.

“What the…” I grab one and turn around, the photo is me and Joe, laughing with the Christmas tree at our back. The second one I grab it’s us in pjs watching movies on his sofa. The third one is a selfie he took, me at his back reading some papers.

Then a soft music is heard on the piano, “Enchanted”; at the window Joe is sitting there playing the piano, above him three small light bubbles hanging from the ceiling. He turns slightly, smiles at me and turns back and keeps playing until the last notes.

I clap for him as he recalls sitting with a slight tremble in his hands. 

“Beautiful.” I raise my sight seeing the ceiling cover with photos. “All of it.”

Joe chuckles. “Even so, I’m hoping to get my favorite one soon.” 

“Is it not here?” I narrow my eyes, he shakes his head pointing to the back, at the other side of the coffee shop.

“There is a peek of what I want. The one with the red ribbon.” I smile at him walking where he’s pointing.

On the way I saw a lot of photos I had never seen before, some taken by him and others, probably a good contribution of friends and family.

I see the red ribbon. “This one?” Turning around to face him, he nods. 

In the photo, I can see Joe in a jewelry shop looking at something in the glass cabinet, full focus.

“Mhm, new diamonds?” I don’t understand. “Hey, I love how that sunglasses looks on you.” 

I take a closer look at the photo, slowly noticing the details. “No…This is not, rig…”

I see what he wants me to see.

Joe is standing in front of me with a black velvet box biting his lips; my hands start to shake as any coherents words come, just mumblings keeping my fingers stuck to my lips. 

“Joe?” He giggles and opens it, inside there is a ring that emits a soft golden glow.

The band is simple and elegant with clean lines, at the center a captivating tanzanite sparkles, its blue-violet hues shifting with the light. .

“Will you marry me?” I cover my face sitting on the floor, he laughs and sits in front of me too.  

I asked him with tears in my eyes. “What should I do?”

Joe shuggers his shoulders. “A yes will be an amazing answer.” I look at him, he chuckles. “But it’s your choice after all.”

I hug him so tight as he extends his legs for I can sit on his lap, feeling his heartbeat so fast, it just feels like being at home, safe and protected.

“Are you going to put it on my finger or what?” I laugh and split slightly, facing him. “Yes, I will.”

In Joe's face appears a side to side smile and a tear roll from his face, he grabs my hand and puts the ring on kissing my lips, in a tender way.

“This fits perfectly.” I said to him looking at my new ring. 

“Thank god because Chase was pretty judgy that day.” Both of us laugh. The idea of him and Joe searching for a ring is hilarious.

“I actually didn’t mean the ring.” He narrowed his eyes. “Well, I got a promotion, in which Claire said I can work remotely if I want too.” His eyes are bright. “Don't be over excited, I still have to go to the office frequently.”

He grabbed my face and kissed me one more time. “So, Joe Burrow, will you be my home?”

Joe bites his lip, tingles his finger with mine. “Always.”

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

Almost forgot, any request, it’s now open.