#Day 111 of hiding from my friends

[anotherferalrat]

Something I feel isn't utilized enough is feral Diluc

Maybe it's just the corner of the fandom I'm in but hear me out:

This man's weapon is essentially a giant, heavy sharpened bat. Like imagine for a sec you're his enemy and you expect some semi-civil duel with swords as you know he used to be a knight. Then this mf pulls up like, "I heard you express-ordered blunt force trauma with a side of lacerations?" and then not wait for an answer.

He witnesses his dad use some weird evil Vision exactly one (1) time- on his deathbed mind you- and he decides to use it on his revenge quest like yea, this is a fine thing to do.

After his life falls apart, he disappears for 3 years- not telling anyone(?)- to go on said quest to which he only returns from presumably because he almost died.

On his return, instead of chilling, he becomes the city vigilante and regularly antagonizes the city leadership.

He's too down with torture but I think that's very hot of him<3 (pun not intended)

We gotta be real, he adjusted a lil too quickly from golden boy to antihero edgelord

In conclusion, more feral Diluc pls and thanc<3

[mxtxfanatic]

Lan Wangji's Mementos Pt. 2

Lan Wangji's hoarding is not just exclusive to physical items, though, oh no. The man also has a stellar memory for the things Wei Wuxian has told him through their many encounters, even things the other man said casually almost two decades ago. This is especially true for things Wei Wuxian has told Lan Wangji about himself. Here are a list of immaterial things from Wei Wuxian that Lan Wangji has hoarded:

About his alcohol preferences:

Wei Wuxian raised his hands. “He didn’t let me in. Told me I had to remove the leg that had crossed the boundary. You tell me—how, exactly? So he suddenly floated over to me and asked me what was in my hands.” ... “‘Emperor’s Smile! I’ll give you a jar, and you pretend you didn’t see anything, ‘kay?’”

—Chapt. 13: Elegance III, fanyiyi

There was no need to open the jar to figure out what kind of alcohol was hidden here—as soon as [Wei Wuxian] smelled it, he knew it was “Emperor’s Smile.” He had had no idea he would discover one day that someone who was as much of a stickler for the rules as Lan Wangji, who had never touched a drop of alcohol before in his life, had in fact dug out a secret compartment in his room for the purpose of hiding the forbidden drink. The heavens had truly rewarded him with his reincarnation.

—Chapt. 11: Elegance I, fanyiyi

On the way back to the GusuLan Sect, Lan WangJi bought a jar of ‘Emperor’s Smile’ from Caiyi Town. The wine was fragrant. And mellow. It was clearly not of the pungent kind, yet his throat burned the moment it went down, on fire from his eyes all the way to his heart. He didn’t like the taste, but he felt he understood why that person liked it.

—Chapt. 111: Wangxian, exr

About his taste in food:

Lan WangJi didn’t say anything, so Wei WuXian took it as a silent confirmation. He sat down at the desk, “I wonder if that restaurant is still open. In the past, we always ate there, or else if we only ate your sect’s food, I might not even have pulled through those few months. Oh just look at this. This is what a sect banquet should really be.” Lan WangJi, “‘We’?” Wei WuXian, “Jiang Cheng and I. Sometimes Nie HuaiSang and the other few as well.” Sweeping his eyes over Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian grinned, “Why are you looking at me like this? HanGuang-Jun, don’t forget. Back then I’ve invited you to dine out together before. How passionately I tried! You were the one who refused to go. Every time I talked to you you’d glare at me, and everything you said started with a ‘no’. I’ve really met so many obstacles. I haven’t even squared things with you yet, and here you are unhappy. Speaking of it...”

—Chapt. 116: Banquet Extra, exr

Lan WangJi wasn’t someone who liked to decline things too many times, either. After some thought, he ordered. Wei WuXian heard him say the names of a few dishes monotonously and laughed, “Not bad, Lan Zhan. I thought you folks from Gusu don’t eat spicy things. You have quite a strong palate, don’t you? You want a drink?”

—Chapt. 74: Distance, exr

Finally, under all the pestering, Lan WangJi couldn’t keep his cool any longer. He held his hand, “I have already.” “Huh?” Wei WuXian was surprised, “You’ve cooked for me already? When? What did you make? How come I don’t remember?” Lan WangJi, “The sect banquet.” “...” Wei WuXian, “That night, the dishes I thought you bought from the Hunan place at Caiyi Town, you made them with your own hands?” Lan WangJi, “Mn.”

—Chapt. 125: Lotus Seed Pod Extra, exr

About common snacks from Yunmeng:

Wei Wuxian swam to the side of the spring and leaned against the limestone, his arm resting over it. “I’m always very loyal to my friends. For example, when I get a new book of porn, I’ll absolutely let you look at it first...hey, hey, come back! You don’t have to look. Have you ever visited Yunmeng? It’s a really fun place and the food’s really good. I don’t know if this is a problem with Gusu or the Cloud Recesses, but for whatever reason, your clan’s food is way too unappetizing. If you come to Lotus Pier, you’ll be able to eat all kinds of delicious things. I’ll take you to pick lotuses and water chestnuts. Lan Zhan, will you come?”

—Chapt. 18: Elegance VIII, fanyiyi

Wei WuXian spat out a seed, “It’s fun to think of [Lan Zhan]. You don’t even know—he’s just too amusing. I told him, ‘Your sect’s food is disgusting. I’d rather eat stir-fried watermelon peel than eat your food. If you have time, come have fun with us at Lotus Pier...'”

...

With no surprise, Lan WangJi spoke up. He called, “Brother.” Lan XiChen, “What is it?” Lan WangJi, “Have you had watermelon peel before?” “...” Lan XiChen, “Is watermelon peel edible?” After a moment of silence, Lan WangJi replied, “I heard it can be stir-fried.” ... The woman choked as she heard it, “So far?! You took a long time getting here, didn’t you? If you really want to eat lotus seed, you should go buy some in the streets. There are plenty.” Lan WangJi was just about to turn around when he heard this and stopped, “The lotus seed pods sold on the streets do not have stems on them.” The woman was amused, “Do they have to have stems on them? It’s not like they taste any different.” Lan WangJi, “They do.” “They don’t!” Lan WangJi insisted, “They do. Somebody told me they do.”

—Chapt. 126: Yunmeng Extra, exr

About his childhood:

Wei WuXian lowered his head for a bite, “Back in the days, I never had to pay for street food. I just grabbed what I wanted, whenever I wanted. I’d eat as I walked or just grab one and run. At the end of every month, the street vendors would go directly to Uncle Jiang with the bills.” ... He very much wanted to show Lan WangJi all the places he’d been to while growing up —where he’d played at, fought at, rolled at— and tell him about all the funny, terrible, mischievous things he’d done —the people he’d fought, the things he’d nabbed, the pheasants he’d chased. He would then watch for the slightest variation of expression on Lan WangJi’s face, anticipating his every reaction.

—Chapt. 86: Core Part 8, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

‘Lan WangJi of Gusu, Wei WuXian of Yunmeng, was here!’ Looking pleased, Lan WangJi finally took Bichen back. After a pause, however, he raised the sword to the wall again. This time, he didn’t write anything. Instead, he drew. With a few strokes of sword glares, two small figures emerged on the wall with their head snuggled close together, as if sharing a kiss. Seeing such refined strokes creating such vulgar imagery, Wei WuXian lowered his head and slapped himself on the forehead. Petty theft and vandalisms, writing and drawing on walls...... Now he was confident he knew what was going on— Earlier in the Lotus Pier, Wei WuXian had told Lan WangJi many stories detailing his youth and all the funny, crazy things he had done. With the Gusu Lan Sect’s strict sect rules, Lan WangJi probably had never had the chance to go wild like this while growing up. He must have remembered everything that Wei WuXian had told him, and was now reliving every single thing while drunk. This had got to be the case; even the contents of Lan WangJi’s doodles mirrored what Wei WuXian had told him!

—Chapt. 94: Sleeplessness Part 5, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

Of course it did. Ever since age eleven, Wei WuXian had been stealing lotus pods and water chestnuts all over Yungmeng from every pond that ever grew them. He had washed his hands clean for years now, but since the need for sustenance arose for their trip, Wei WuXian had no choice but to return to his old ways. Lan WangJi commented lightly, “I hear that every lotus pond in the area belongs to someone.” “......” Wei WuXian laughed, “Hahahahahaha is that so? What a pity. You sure hear a lot of things. I’ve never even heard of them. Then let’s leave this place.” With his scheme foiled, Wei WuXian was of course too embarrassed now to drag Lan WangJi into juvenile delinquency with him. To have the righteous, exemplary HanGuang-Jun eat stolen lotus pods off someone else’s pond—it sounded too preposterous even to his own ears. Just as Wei WuXian was about to sheepishly steer them away, Lan WangJi reached out a hand and pinched off a lotus pod on his own. He offered the lotus pod to Wei WuXian and said, “Just this once.”

—Chapt. 90: Sleeplessness Part 1, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

Pt. 1

[waltzingwithyourenemyattheball]

DESCRIBING YOU PERFECTLY: A PICK A CARD READING

Left: 111; Right:222

Disclaimer:

✨Take what resonates and leave the rest.

✨No one of allowed to copy my work under any circumstances.

✨Thank you for letting me read for you.

✨DM me for a personal reading.

🥀111🥀

Indecisive. Hates confrontation. Would rather keep harmony and peace instead of fighting. Community oriented person. Disappears for days at a time. Take a good time before making any decisions. Chidi from The Good Place, not in terms of philosophy but thought process. Likes to disagree in debate. Likes to have the upper hand. Good Consultant. Feels Stuck. Communicates in a unique manner. Exercises most probably yoga. Can do a head stand. Has more feminine energy. People like you. Needs an audience. Loves to entertain, joke around. Highly spiritual. Will meet soulmate/divine partner in this life if already hasn’t met. Potential to be a CEO/Leader. Will only do things when passionate otherwise lazy. Happy-Go-Lucky. Likes to end things on a good note. Protected divinely. Intuition works really good with people and their intentions towards you. Learned the art of going through life and problems lightly. Some of you broke a leg/fractured and have used a stick to walk around. Likes adrenaline, fast energy. Love Action Movies. Frequent Emotional highs and lows. Likes to be around people, admired. Ego. Likes many things, confused about which one to choose. Learn to be patient and wait for signs. Anxious. Analysis Paralysis. Brain Fog happens to much. Feels empty before they go to bed and the notifications stop. Has delayed uncomfortable feelings. Has issue with one specific authority, most probably male. 

Comment '111' to claim.

🌙DM to book a tarot reading🌙

🤍222🤍

Like money and sex. Falls easily into addictive behaviours. Would consider earning money illegally. Smokes especially cigars. Feels like it’s too late for them. Easily tempted. Been cheated a lot of times due to this by people you considered like brothers. People have keyed you into hating others due to envy/fulfilling own selfish motives. You are chained to the past. In the same industry/job/position for many years. Wish to change but you have grown comfortable, like you know the hang of it and don’t want to start at the bottom. Gullible with friends. Clever and Cut-Throat with enemies. Uses more force, less brain. Desire to be loved. Most relationships have ended due to miscommunication, you hiding things from them that they don’t like could be smoking etc. They don’t agree with your lifestyle and had enough so they left. Falls in love easily, would do anything for their partner. Can be obsessive in love, not easily letting go. Likes to talk. Wants to have a family someday with kids, this is very important to you. Opposites attract energy, you have attracted mainly people who are drastically different from you and it has ended up in distress, bad breakups. Fire and Water Don’t mix. One is  extroverted and passionate and  the other is introverted/imtimate. One likes PDA other Doesn’t. One things the other is not sharing their thoughts and feelings and feels rejected. Can say hurtful things while communicating. Expressive. Mainly sad because of emotional pain, have difficulty letting go/moving on.

Comment '222' to claim.

🌙DM to book a tarot reading🌙

-

EL TAROT

[emiefluff]

•┈••✦ What We Love About You!✦••┈•

┏━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━┓

Fandom- Project Sekai / HATSUNE MIKU: COLORFUL STAGE!

Characters- Rui Kamishiro, Tsukasa Tenma, Emu Otori, Lee!Nene Kusanagi

Ships- Polysho

Summary- Nene comes to the Wonderland SEKAI upset, prompting her beloved partners to attempt a "cheer up operation"

A/N- Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I decided to collaborate with Py (@pink-tk-a-latte) On this little silly goofy fic! I think this actually took us like 5 days LMAO | But it was worth it!!!!111 (it's partially proofread by me and py so)

Tags- @ziniszombie @pink-tk-a-latte @justaposibblytransgirl @nekoma-not-lee

Fic Under The Cut!

┗━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━┛

It was Valentine's Day, a day of love, appreciation, and happiness. Everyone at Kamiyama High School in Class 2-A was tasked with writing a letter to who they loved and appreciated the most, and what they loved or liked about them.

As they were promptly shared with the class, everybody was waiting patiently for their name to be said by the other students. This also included Nene, who had been waiting the entire class to hear her name. Despite her kindness towards the other students, her name was not called by anybody.

Nene listened to the pleasantly embarrassed laughs and appreciative coos from the recipients. They hid their faces in their hands, smiled wobbly smiles, and put their hands on their hearts with tearful faces.

Nene awaited her turn for the burst of surprise, giddiness, gratitude at hearing her name from someone else’s mouth. It never came.

Maybe she shouldn’t have expected anything. She was kind, sure, but she was no one’s best friend. She shouldn’t mind. She understood. Maybe she didn’t want that extra attention anyway.

Still, in her lonely desk in the corner, Nene felt her heart sag.

After the bell rang to mark the end of class, Nene was nowhere to be seen. She had run out of school at the end of the day, not caring who saw her as she waited until the right moment alone to enter the Wonderland SEKAI.

Miku and KAITO, who had been working together on a show idea for Tsukasa and the others, noticed Nene enter. Something, however, was off about the grayish-green haired girl. The two vocaloids realized that Nene wasn't feeling her best, but before they could ask about it, she'd run off to hide.

Nene didn’t know how long she’d spent curled up backstage of the theatre, before she heard a bright and bubbly but concerned voice through the curtain.

“Nene-chan? Nene-chan, please come out!”

Slowly, she peeled her head from the wall.

“NENE! WHERE ARE YOU HIDING!”

Ah, and that earth-quaking volume…

“Perhaps she’s behind the stage?”

And the most familiar voice of all.

Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Nene called pitifully, “I’m here…”

Her sore eyes beheld a ball of pink bouncing into the lightless hollow. She gasped and was at Nene’s side in a flash.

“Nene! What’s wrong? My sadness senses were tingling, and then Miku went ‘Brrrrrrrllllll— brrrrrrrlllll—’ which meant someone was lost in Sekai!!” Emu threw herself around Nene, who could only hiccup in protest.

Nene felt so bad about burdening the others with her bad mood, but nothing could really come out. Finally, in tears, she'd speak in a quavering tone, her voice breaking and cracking. "S-Sorry....I-I'm sorry...I-I didn't mean to w-worry anybody...I-I just..."

"Nene-chan..." Emu held her tightly, rubbing her weeping partner's back gently as she let Nene express her current emotions to the three of them. Nene would sniffle, squeezing her eyes shut when she felt Rui gently stroke her hair with his fingers.

“Nene,” Rui called lowly, voice soothing and gentle as milk. At that one word, a dam broke within Nene’s chest.

Sobbing, Nene buried her face in Emu’s pink sweater. “It’s really not that big of a deal. I-I think… I’m just being dramatic.”

“Nonsense!” Tsukasa, who had been quietly panicking as soon as he saw her crying, nestled into her other side. His star-like warmth was like a plush, constellation-patterned blanket. “You’re never dramatic! Even I would be upset if no one thought of writing for me.”

“You can be honest with us, Nene.” Rui pulled his fingers through her hair again, a massaging tug on her scalp. Emu rubbed her cheek against her head.

Nene let Tsukasa pull her legs into his lap. “Maybe there’s just nothing to say about me… Nothing to-” Nene swallowed. She didn’t want to voice her thoughts, but she’d promised to be honest. “Nothing to love…”

Nene buried her face into Emu's shoulder once more out of shame, scared of what her partners would think. To her surprise, however, they showed her nothing but absolute kindness, Emu leaning her head slightly to kiss Nene's cheeks, Tsukasa rubbing her back, and Rui knelt down to hold her hand and massage her shoulders.

"Nene, you don't have to deal with this alone, y'know that, right?" Rui would ask softly, his fingertips gently tapping and drumming on her shoulders. "Yeah, Nene-chan! You know that whoever said that there wasn't anything to love or write about you is wrong, right? They're just jealous of you!" Emu pouted softly as she planted many tiny kisses all over Nene's forehead, nose, and cheeks.

Nene would reluctantly nod to their questions, still feeling down in the dumps about today. She didn't know what to do in order to feel better, so she'd just listen to her partners soothe her hurting pains, and comfort her.

Rui hummed, sensing that Nene still didn’t quite believe them. “There’s plenty of things to love about you, that we love about you.” Rui leaned over to nuzzle into her cheek.

His feather-like breaths and kisses pushed Nene to squirm away and giggle. As she shoved at Rui’s head, he chuckled.

“For example, your cute little laugh.” Rui grinned like a cat. “And your peculiarly ticklish cheeks.”

“Ruhuhuhihi!” Nene whined, finding refuge in Emu’s shoulder. “Stahahap, you meheheanie!”

“I didn’t know your cheeks were ticklish!” Emu’s eyes sparkled in a truly terrifying way. “I’m gonna getcha~! Let’s see that smile we love-love-love so much!”

Emu peppered noisy smooches all over Nene’s skin, even blowing a small raspberry on her blushing cheeks. Nene squealed and ducked away. “AhaEHEmuhuhu!”

“Oho? You didn’t know, Emu?” Rui raised an amused brow. “It’s her deepest, darkest secret. Oops!”

“RuihiHIHIhiiii! You traHAhaitor!” Nene managed to land a considerable slap on Rui’s face, and he gasped in offense.

Rui sniffled performatively. “Nene! My dearest friend, how could you?”

“Ah! I see my inventive partners have come up with an answer to our sad Nene plight.” announced Tsukasa, who noticed the drying tears on Nene’s well-kissed cheeks. “Look at that radiant smile! A wonderful muse!”

"Nohohohoo i-it's nohohohohohot!" Nene giggled nervously, covering her face in embarrassment as she tried to move away from her partners. This caused Emu to persist and continue her tickly antics, her fingers gently stroking Nene's cheek in a tingly way.

"Awwweeee~ Nene-chan is so cuteee, it's so wonderhoy~!" Emu exclaimed happily, continuing to stroke Nene's cheeks. The grayish-green haired girl would finally manage to turn away completely, hiding her face with her hands.

“Well, we can’t allow that!” Tsukasa took advantage of Nene’s legs in his lap and skittered his nails over her knees. Nene shrieked and jumped but couldn’t escape his hold. Cheering, Emu bound Nene in a hug and squeezed her like a balloon.

“EHEHEMUhuhu! I caHAHA- TsuKAHASA!”

“You’re so fluffy-fluffy toasty-toasty, Neneeee, I just wanna squeesh you forever!” With exuberance, Emu kneaded Nene’s sides, watching her squirm back and forth and try to kick her legs.

“LEHEhehet mehehe goho! You dAHAdohorks!”

Rui muffled a snicker and teased at the back of Nene’s neck; now she was twisting every which way like a faulty folding chair.

Rui simpered. “Go for her iliac crest!”

“Her what?”

"What's an eye-lii-ack crest?" Mused Emu, who was very curious to know what Rui was talking about. Nene knew exactly where this was going as she flailed her arms about in protest. She'd have no choice but to squeak and hiccup as she spoke through giggle-induced words.

"Nohoho-No! R-Ruhuhuhuhuii! D-Don't tehehell thehehehemmm!"

Tsukasa and Emu couldn't help but wonder what was about to happen, both of them listening intently to Rui. They'd wait for an explanation, curious what has Nene giggling so nervously.

Rui shrugged and decided that showing was better than telling. Slowly, his hands descended, curling into claws, as Nene hugged her knees as close as she could to her chest in defense.

“Dohon’t- Rui! D-Don’t! NohoHOHAHA!”

Rui’s thumbs massaged the top of Nene’s hip. She exploded from her ball and grabbed onto the nearest thing — Tsukasa — to stabilize herself against the ticklish shocks traversing her nerves.

“You remembered what it was, Nene! Such a clever pupil. Isn’t she amazing?” Rui sounded tearfully proud. Desperately, Nene shook her head.

“YOUHUHAHAHA nahaHEHERD! RuhuhuHIHIHI!”

With Rui gently but cruelly digging into one of her worst spots, Tsukasa boldly drawing on and under her knees, and Emu pinching sporadically around her middle, Nene’s face began to ache from how wide she was laughing. Her stomach pretzeled, warm from the giddiness of love and fluster.

"Guysss! We should go over more things we love about Nene-chan! I'll start! I love how red your cheeks and nose get! I love how you hide your cute little smile~! Who's next!

"I also love how softspoken you are when you tease, it's so unexpected to me, but I love those moments nonetheless." Tsukasa would chirp in, gently squeezing her calves every now and then. "And as for me, I love it when you giggle so hard that your nose scrunches up and you end up snorting, and I especially love how cute and tiny your dimples are. Such an adorable sight, is it not~?"

"NohoHOHOHOAhahaha! N-NOHOHOHOhohohot adohohoHOHOHOHORAblehehehehe! IHIHIHIhihit tihihiHIHIHI- NAHAhahahahahahaha!" Nene couldn't finish her words out of embarrassment. She hated saying that she was ticklish. But, unfortunately for her, Rui caught onto this, and teased lovingly out loud to catch Nene off guard.

"Oh? It what, Nene? What are you trying to say? What t-word are you referring to?"

Nene completely combusted, trying to prevent this from happening. "NOHOHOHohohoho! D-DohohohoHOHOHON'T YOHOHOHOUHUhuhuhu dahahaHEHEHEHEARE STAHAhahahart thihihihis!"

"Are you saying touchy~? Or teasy~? Or even tastyyyy~?" Rui grinned widely, knowing exactly what his ass was doing. He was trying to trick Nene, and it was clear that Emu and Tsukasa were both in on this.

"DUHUHUhuhumbahahAHAHAHASS! IHIHIHIhihit tihihiHIHIHIHICKLES!"

Nene immediately tried to cover her mouth, realizing what she had gotten herself into. "W-WahahahaHAHAIHIHIHIT NOHOHOhohoho! DohohoHOHOAHAHAHAN'T!"

“Ticklish, you say~?” Rui’s grin was chilling. “Is that so? Well well well… isn’t that just prrrrecious?”

Suddenly, all the tickling stopped. Nene could only feel the phantom tingles of what had just passed and the force of her lungs heaving in air. But she couldn’t trust it. She knew what was about to happen.

Sweet breath fluttered over her ear. “Aww, you should have told us, Nene~,” Emu whispered. Nene muffled a squeak. Rarely was Emu a menacing presence, but this time, Nene’s heart only pounded in dread.

A finger brushed a slick strand of hair behind her other ear. Nene shivered. “She seems nervous. Isn’t the suspense just killing you?” She never thought she’d fear Tsukasa’s quiet voice.

Someone else was pulling her in. Something warm teased at her neck.

“Doho- don’t. Guys! Plehease! Nonono—“

Shrilling in ticklish laughter, Nene wriggled about to try and get away as Rui planted tickly kisses all over her neck. Giggling along, Emu would scribble her nimble fingers under Nene's armpits as the light tickles got to the poor girl.

All Nene could get out was an "EhehehEHEHEEK! NOHOHOHohohoho!" as she squirmed and flailed about. She was so ticklish, but would never admit to it.

Nene squealed, thrashed, blushed, cried for mercy, and slapped aggressively at Rui’s shoulder and elbowed Emu as best she could.

“WaHAhaHAHAIT NAhaHAT ThEEEEREheHAHA! NoooohOOOOO!”

The sounds of Rui’s lips trembled up to her ear in waves and she crushed Emu’s fingers beneath her upper arm. Tears washed over her eyes and her laughter became so screechy that even Tsukasa was concerned.

He rested his chin and a kiss on Emu’s shoulder and pinched Rui’s cheek. Both of them received the memo and slowed their attack. Rui smoothed the sides of Nene’s shirt. Emu fixed her hair and moved aside to let Nene fall into Tsukasa’s lap. Nene hiccuped on a breath and covered her face, giggles interspersed.

“I’m sorry… to get so sappy on you guys,” Nene slurred.

Smiling, Rui purred, “Nene, we love you when you’re happy. We love you when you’re sad too.” He coaxed her hands away to reveal her pink nose and pursed lips.

Tsukasa cupped her face with a grin that was difficult to take seriously, but cute. “Yes! Your crying face is charming!”

“But when you smile, you’re even more charming! Cuz we know you’re happy.” Emu’s chipper face popped in from the side of her vision.

“Forget it. You guys are sappier than the ending theme of a video game.” And together, they laughed.

༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝

A face hidden in her hands, a tearful face, a burst of surprise, giddiness, gratitude.

But mostly embarrassment.

[go-to-the-mirror]

We return you now to a safe place. The Street Cleaners have passed. Street Cleaning Day, as so many other days, is behind us. We emerge from hiding spots, from secret locations, from places under other places. We step out into the street, and it is as though it is brand new to us. Certainly, it is cleaner now, but that is not all. We have survived all the way from birth to this very moment, and we look at each other, and some of us start laughing and others start weeping and one or two of us break out into a wordless humming song, and all of us mean the exact same thing.

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 15 — Street Cleaning Day)

Somewhere the tiny people of the city below have arrived in Night Vale, and are beginning their war against us, having already shown themselves capable of murder. Somewhere a man in a tan jacket is whispering into the ears of our mayor, and we do not know what agenda they pursue. […] This all happens, somewhere else. But here, Carlos and I sat on the trunk of that car, his car, looking together at the lights up in the sky above the Arby’s. They were beautiful in the hushed twilight, shimmering in a night sky already coming alive with bits of the universe.

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 25 — One Year Later)

But.... In spite of all this, coach al-Mujaheed called a pep rally last Friday, in a gesture of support for Malik Herrera. This, as any time, is when we should join as a town, despite the game that never was. […] Everyone was sad, and everything was perfect. We stayed late into the night under the fluorescent corona of the bleachers, eating damp barbecue, wearing our orange ponchos, and telling those tales we wanted to tell to those loved ones who have left us, telling them instead to those who we currently or may eventually love. Tears were hardly noticeable on our rain-streaked cheeks by the time we said our goodbyes.

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 56 — Homecoming)

And they both take the hand of the person they love, and Amber smiles at Wilson and Wilson smiles at Amber and everyone smiles at everyone and at everything and no one is okay, exactly, but we’re outside and we’re smiling and that is a kind of perfection of its own.

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 57 — The List)

Night Vale isn't a single unified thing that can love or be loved. It's just the name slapped onto a set of borders and rules that some old bureaucrats [..] devised centuries ago. But they don't live here anymore. We do. I do, and I can make it worth it. I can’t just leave it, I have to live it. Live it and make it better. For myself. For Carlos. For my friends. […] And for you, listeners. We will together celebrate another homecoming game. We will together survive another street cleaning. We will together… well we will see.

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 70B — Review)

Our reality is badly damaged, and the only thing keeping it together is our acknowledgement, finally, of this strange town that we live in. No more denial. We must see ourselves clearly or risk losing ourselves forever. Angels are real. Our town is a deeply weird place. We know and acknowledge that it is a deeply weird place. There are dotted lines and arrows in the sky. And I love my family, and I love my brother Steve. He was right about everything. He always has been.

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 110: Matryoshka)

This is my work, listeners. My work is to speak to you all. To talk you through the day. To murmur you into the night. Settling in to be another clear and pretty evening here in Night Vale, this weird, weird town. I hope all of you out there have someone to sleep through it with. I know I do.

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 111 — Summer 2017, Night Vale, USA)

Carlos and I hold each other through the town, passing two teenage boys dressed in scraps of of airplane upholstery, gripping tightly each others’ faces. We help a lost toddler find his parents. We clear broken glass from streets. We walk home. We shade our eyes from the setting sunset which kindles through a hilltop cleft. We talk nonstop about today about tomorrow about yesterday about every possible moment, just talking, and talking, because we almost lost our talk forever. We do not hear the returning echo of sirens across the valley. We do not hear anything but ourselves. Stay tuned next for a silence that is all your own.

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 167 — Echo)

And I say: “Look at the clouds in the sky. They mean nothing, and yet they are there and they are pretty. Isn’t that nice?”

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 181 — C****s)

The day after Valentine’s we said “it’s over” but we did not believe it was over. We believed it would never be over, that we would always be living the same sad and terrifying minute, breathing the same stale air thick with our own fear. But we were not in that moment anymore. But we were, some part of us, still. The day after Valentine’s was a rebuilding, a recovery, a return to form, a back to business. Bury the bodies and stand up the fences, it’s time to move on.

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 202 — The Day After the Day)

“What do we do now?” I asked him. He smiled, “First we go home, eat meals together, remember that we are a community, and that we are better together than we are alone.”

(Welcome to Night Vale: Episode 230 — Carlos, Explained)

[typosandtea]

With Artfight very soon I though it was about time to post about some of my ocs!

Introducing: Murphy!!

SKETCHS HERE!!!

Nora Murphy is a whole 5ft of mutant soldier trauma and caring.

The short:

S:5, P:7, E:8, C:10, I:3, A:7, L:2

Toughness, Lifegiver, rad resistant, refractor, admantium skeleton, animal friend, inspirational, local leader, rifleman

BOS main, contractor for the minuteman, deacon only minor contact with the railroad, hates the institute

Good, helps people, very anxious, terrified of becoming a monster. Unlucky.

Is a mutant: can fly, quick heal / tough, but needs to eat a lot, restricted to night by being nocturnal, shunned by many

Companions: Danse and Preston mostly, sometimes nick, befriends all of them at least a bit.

Heritage: white Australian

The long: Lore \/

The long:

Fallout 4 ‘Sole survivor’ oc, but in my Mutant AU where vault 111 was a dual experiment creating super soldiers by forcing animal DNA on people with some twisted results (Murph is very lucky to still look mostly human with wings), basically fallout 4 but with a bunch of extra side quests to fight or help her old neighbours in various states of mind.

She is Australian! From NT, Which kinda sucks in fallout universe since most countries had fallen well before the bombs ever fell, Australia was absorbed by USA for its abundance of uranium and strategic proximity to china! She and Nathan (Nate) were accepted as military refugees into the us army about 2065, where they were in power armour core together her as a soldier and him as a mechanic. They were married shortly before where they both get injured in an explosion, Nathan much more so as Murphy was in power Armor at the time. They are discharged, Nathan for injury and Murphy for being pregnant with Shaun. Bombs fall etc.

She is mutated with sooty owl DNA by Vaulttec in an attempt to make an extremely mobile stealth night operative, which didn’t go entirely to plan! While she hardier than normal, capable of flight and is reasonably stealthy she is also now limited to night ops by being nocturnal, daytime is way too bright and painful for her to be in without eye protection! She also struggles to be awake in the day. She also has other negatives from the mutation such as lost intelligence, needing to eat way more food, being smaller than she used to be, and being shunned or shot at. The mutation forces each of the residents to cocoon and liquify into their new forms!

She has so much military trauma, from being in the Aus army when they get demolished by china and then by USA fighting china to take control of Aus, by being acquired by the us army, being a ‘volunteer’ for the power Armor testing, seeing fellow Aussie soldiers get treated poorly in the army, having to participate in the mandatory war crimes, her and Nathan getting badly injured in anchorage, the horrors of war etc.

Personality wise she is very people oriented and will put people before the goal often, extremely charismatic which is the only reason she hasn’t been shot multiple times by just about every faction 😅. Very anxious even before being mutated, but is positively a nervous wreck now, is ok at hiding it. Soldiers training helps a lot to shift into mission focus but is not sustainable in the long term as she finds out! Worries about being a mutant and is terrified of becoming, or being seen as a monster so she is very restrained in her combat, how she moves and speaks, rarely yells or fights first. Will go out of her way to help people as has become the go to helper for many people against her will such as the minuteman, the other mutants and various other people she has helped. She has a very broad definition of person much to Danse’s + the BOS’s chagrin. Has multiple mental breakdowns throughout the story. Privately thinks she deserves to be hated and hunted from a combination of BOS rubbish, military trauma at the awful things she has done as a soldier both pre and post war, and just all round ruined self esteem. Banter is a core part of her speech, if an Aussie is mildly insulting you they think you’re neat!

Pre war was 5’6”, post mutation is 5’ with 15’ wingspan, is not happy about suddenly being a lot shorter. As a morning person naturally the shift to nocturnal is extremely difficult to her, dislikes having to wake people up constantly and feels bad about it. (She feels bad about everything really). Jury-rigs some aviators goggles sunglasses so she can tolerate the sun slightly better, is not a fan of the day anymore, feels too exposed and dislikes flying in the sun.

BOS as feels the familiarity of being as soldier as that’s all she’s ever been for the past 17 years (her perspective excluding the ice nap). Unknown to her, Danse is instructed by Maxon after arcjet on to recruit her so they can study her, and use her as a political pawn with the minutemen and mutants, because by the time she goes to Cambridge she is already reasonably well know and tentatively liked in the commonwealth. (Don’t worry I love both Danse and Maxon as characters so they are not reduced to 1 dimensional jerks!) over time though she befriends Danse as he is assigned to her as her ‘sponsor’ (observe her for study and make sure she makes BoS friendly decisions), mixed feeling in the BoS when she is made knight by Maxon to say the least! over time she becomes a great friend and asset to the BoS and Maxon realises one day the he no longer intends to go through with his original secret plans.

Since she spent so much time in power armour prewar, and Nathan was a power armour mechanic, she knows quite a lot about it! And is very unhappy that she physicaly cannot wear it anymore!

Physically she is small wiry and very hardy from the mutations. Though she can’t wear armour due to its weight and her small stature so she needs to be tough! Important appearance features are she is short, lots of freckles, gap in front teeth, rather flat face, prominent eyebrows, eyes that are too big and yellow from the mutation, shoulder length thick light brown hair that’s messy or braided, she is lean, pear shaped, and has a wide gait. Prefers baggy clothes and will layer over the vault suit / bos uniform. She rather suntanned / leathery and freckled from spending a lot of time outside pre war. She has a prominent set of vertical scars over her left eye from anchorage. She has barbed wire tattoos around her arms above her elbows on both sides. wings connect to her body like having a second set of shoulders.

Absolutely has no cold tolerance from the double whammy of being a Northern Territory Aussie (winter is like 17c here) and cryosleep trauma! Layers clothing wherever possible. Being very cold brings bad memories.

Left leg gets messed up in a nasty fight later, can’t really run much anymore, so is a lot more reliant on flying and her friends, scar on her stomach from stacking it badly on her bike as a kid.

Despite being highly charismatic keeps messing up and emotionally hurting her friends (everyone needs to grow as a person in my fanfic I’m trying to write and that includes messing up in relationships and subsequently repairing the relationship stronger)

Uses laser rifle from Danse that’s modified to be scoped and extra light, carries a combat knife on her person at all times out of habit, before meeting Danse was using 10mm but prefers long range without power armour, which she can’t wear anymore. Her and Sturges whip up some rudimentary comms for her, which later she and danse improves so she can use them in flight without the wind noise making her illegible.

Tends to horde / carry / eat any food she finds since she needs to eat so much and doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone else, most of the time her very limited caring capacity is atleast half food. Has very few clothes because of the time and effort required to modify them, gets a modified bomber jacket later and basically never takes it off again cause bloody hell Boston is cold compared to Aus.

[defilerwyrm]

heyyy tom, it's been a while! hope you're good <3 for the fic writer ask meme: 11, 17, 85

Hey Cap’n! It’s been the usual rollercoaster, but more good than bad. My worst days are behind me, even when I have particularly bad ones now. Hope you’re good too 💜

11. what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

Hmm lemme think. Recently I did some math and realized that, according to D&D, a giant eagle’s flight speed is NINE MILES PER HOUR, because D&D is not written by people who know things. For reference, a golden eagle soars at an average of 120 mph while hunting, which is 528 ft/turn as movement, or 1,056 ft with the Dash action. A raven’s average flight speed is 25 mph, which means their movement speed should be 111 ft/round (222 with Dash). That’s over twice the D&D statblock’s movement speed (50).

Players, harass your DMs into giving your familiars a flight speed of 110 today! Flight is really goddamn fast! Surely there will be no repercussions to this, like a cockatrice pulling up on your ass from 200′ away in a single turn

I worry an awful damn lot about research—or, more accurately, I am very damn concerned with it, because I value accuracy and verisimilitude highly, and also I have a fairly bad case of OCD.* I once spent a week researching the movements and events of the African Front in WWII for a single scene in a Stucky fic I ended up not finishing. That sort of thing. My longer fics should come with a bibliography.

17. what is your favorite line you’ve ever written?

Oh NO a question that asks me both to remember things and then pick a favorite, my Achilles’ heel

I am going to cop out just a little and use the line that made tens of thousands of people shriek in delighted, outraged horror:

He makes a good king.

85. what would be on a moodboard for your current wip(s)?

The Son and the Heir: silhouettes of one man reaching for another who’s turned away; a cat curled up on a desk strewn with books and pages of notes; a hot tub in the dark; a cold, empty bed in a finely-finished but dark room; a flower budding out of snow; a certain quote and response about trying friends sometime

No Maker Made Me: a trans flag with “TRANS RAGE” in ragged letters; a lump of clay; dark hands grasping light hips; a close-up of a person’s pelvis with their hand shielding their genital region from view; the quote, “Will you do it? I will help you;” a transgender symbol and a male symbol interlocked at the rings, painted on a bare masculine chest

Sowing the Seeds I’ve Taken: a dark, dingy alleyway; a very old condemned church; a group of street sex workers in shadow, overlit by harsh lamplight; a string of sausages hung out to dry on a back porch; scattered coins on cobblestone; the lyric, “I define myself by how well I hide”

[send me a number (or a few!)]

*For those who don’t know me, I do not mean “haha I just have to make my bed every day, I’m so OCD teehee,” I mean I was diagnosed with OCD (among many things) by a renowned neurologist after a long battery of tests when I was 13

[hwanhd]

hi everyone, red (21+, they/them), here with my lovely boy, klein lee hwan! he's been a trainee for 4 years overall (2 years in an old ent, and another 2 to current in kiss studio) trainee number #111! below holds information about him + possible threads! (as i havent work on a plot page yet) dossier / plot page / playlist / moodboard

klein lee aka and now is being addressed as lee hwan, is born from new york! around four years old, his family moved from the states and to seoul due to his father shifting jobs and hence needing to migrate

hwan is a child actor, having to act at the age of 3 in an american's children show (think: barney and friends, life action blues clue) and around 5 y/o after migrating, he got a role as a child actor for a korean saeguk drama where he was the younger ver of the male lead but unfortunately theres been a lot of bad comments tw: racism, verbal abuse / whereby he's been told he's too 'mixed' to act in a saeguk while citing his awkward acting + bad korean pronunciation. (mind you, hwan's first language is english)

due to this backlash and as a fragile child, hwan went into hiding/became a shut in for 2 years but while he was in isolation, he discovered the world of soundcloud and rapping, hence making it his interest!

when his 2 years isolation ends in 2017, he uploaded his first original, 'child'

around jan 2018, he's scouted thru his soundcloud to audition for kiss studio. march 2018 is his when he started his journey as a trainee.

he's currently four years and 9 months into his training period.

his goals aside from debuting is to be able to compose professional for his future group and solo debut (eventually and hopefully!!)

here comes the plots i may interested to connect with!!

childhood friends whom was his first friend after moving to korea! coincidentally said friend wanted to be an idol/artist first while hwan was into the acting industry... years down the line they meet again!

someone whos seen him act and is nosy to ask what had happened to him (which hwan does not mention as its still a sore memory to him even after all those years)

fellow 'oldie' trainee line, even if they arent in the same label, perhaps they came across each other in music camp?? idk

friendly rivals from trainee days till present (or actual rivals ((that could possibly debut together))) tho preferably if they are in the same labels but not necessary

a muse?? perhaps hwan's first crush in his early years of being a trainee??? or someone hes just fascinated with and had treat him with enough kindness for him to write songs about and of and for. (alternatively: your muse whom he writes about has discovered his lyrics/composition. and extra alternatively: if instead of knowing the song is about your muse, ends up teasing about mark possible crush on other people).

first's, trainees dont date but somehow your muse is acquainted with hwan and are both curious teens since they're both around the same age. behind closed doors, they tried kissing and experimenting but the relationship never worked out. (alternatively: if they were found out and one of them had to transfer labels, or other bad consequences. or the better ending, is that the both agree to put the curiosity to a stop mutually). (and if they ever met again down the line, would they regret seeing each other??)

older training period muse who gets jealous over hwan (i.e: inferiority complex/out of spite/feeling like the company is treating hwan better)

and lastly for now, a friend who he can do crazy things with (i.e: with hwan being homeschooled and then completely dropping out in junior high before he joined kiss studio, is then dragged by your muse in school uniform to muse's school to experience hwan's first step into an actual school), or if your muse ever finds hwan in the act of weakness and would comfort him and see thru his mental illness (and relapse from recalling his childhood)

[anotherferalrat]

Is it just me or like...

No one knows what to do with Diluc

So he's like shipped with everyone?

[dfroza]

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures

for the 23rd of August 2024 with a paired chapter from each Testament (the First & the New Covenant) of the Bible

[The Letter of 2nd Peter, Chapter 3 • The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 21]

along with Today’s reading from the ancient books of Proverbs and Psalms with Proverbs 23 and Psalm 23 coinciding with the day of the month, accompanied by Psalm 65 for the 65th day of Astronomical Summer, and Psalm 86 for day 236 of the year (with the consummate book of 150 Psalms in its 2nd revolution this year)

A post by John Parsons:

Shalom chaverim. From our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Eikev) we read: "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to *fear* the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to *love* him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deut. 10:12-13).

Ultimately we must make the choice whether we will respect life or not, since that is the question set before us... In this present world, God "hides" so that people may seek him (Isa. 45:15; Matt. 13:10-15). The voice of conscience may be suppressed and the revelation of nature ignored; moreover, some things are perceived only if they are looked for in the right way, for instance, the Divine Presence is not apprehended apart from humility and reverence. We must "make room" for wonder; we must open the "eye of the heart" to see what is greater than our everyday vision. "It is good to look at the sky often, as this helps develop the awe of God." Indeed the word for fear, yirah (יִרְאָה), is connected with the word for seeing, ra'ah (רָאָה). When we really see life as it is, we will be filled with wonder over the glory of it all. Every bush will be aflame with the Presence of God and the ground we walk upon shall suddenly be perceived as holy (Exod. 3:2-5). Nothing will seem small, trivial, or insignificant. In this sense, "fear and trembling" (φόβοv καὶ τρόμοv) before the LORD is a description of the inner awareness of the sanctity and eternal significance of life itself (Psalm 2:11, Phil. 2:12).

Connecting with God is paradoxical. We find verses that teach both the fear of the Lord (i.e., his majesty and transcendence), and others that teach the love of the Lord (i.e., his kindness and immanence). We are drawn to God in adoration, appreciation, wonder, and love, and yet we are compelled to shrink back because of His overwhelming power, glory, holiness, and radiance. Therefore we see “the disciple whom Jesus loved” both leaning on his chest but also falling on his face in "dreadful adoration" (John 13:23; Rev. 1:17). Only when these heart attitudes are combined is the heart balanced. But the fear of the Lord is primary (see Psalm 111:10; Prov. 1:7, 9:10), and when we walk in it, we are released from the common fears of men by apprehending a far surpassing power that overrules all things. Again, it is a paradox: if we fear lesser things we lose sight of the awe of God; but if we first revere God, we will lose sight of lesser fears.

In Jewish tradition, seeing the Presence of God in all things is called "yirat ha-rommemnut" (יִרְאַת הָרוֹמְמוּת), or the “Awe of the Exalted.” We might get a sense of this reverential awe when we behold the canopy of stars in the night sky, or when we look down from atop a mountain peak, or when we catch site of a spectacular sunset. Or we might experience it during the birth of a baby or the death of a loved one... This sense of awe or “transcendent mystery” is also called yirat Adonai (יִרְאַת יְהוָה), the “fear of the Name.” It presents a holy hush, a feeling that you are standing before something utterly wonderful, sacred, set apart, mysterious, and profoundly significant; it both attracts yet causes you to tremble...

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

========

Deut. 8:6 audio:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/deut8-6-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/deut8-6-lesson.pdf

8.21.24 • Facebook

from Today’s email by Israel365

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

[tech-obssessed-shark]

MY FAVORITE SONGS SORTED BY BPM

Organized by Name/Artist - BPM

(Under cut)

Oh Actually/1 Trait High- 69

Homage/Mild High Club- 73

Sweet/Phemiec-73

Ghost Town/The Specials- 74

The mind electric/Chonny Jash- 75

The Mind Electric/Miracle Musical- 77

I wanna tell you a secret/Junie and TheHutFriends - 78 Eventually/Tame Impala- 78

I dropped out/And The Kids- 78 

Mama’s Boy/Mama’s Boy- =

Ammonia Baby/Junie and TheHutFriends- 80

Alien Blues/Vundabar- 82

Nothing Man/Sodikken- 83

Cupid/Jack Stauber- 83

Ruler of Everything/Tally Hall-83

Long Long Time Ago/Jack Conte- 84

Make The Grade/Jack Conte- 85

You can't hide/CK9K- 87

Hey kids/Molina– 87

I’m gonna win/Rob Cantor- 87

Feel Better/Penelope Scott- 87

Blah Blah Blah/The Oozes- 90

Long Time Friends/The Living Tombstone- 90

Sunflower/Michele Leigh- 90

The woods/San Fermin- 92

Simple Science/Cricket!- 92

Lay Down/Mother Mother- 94

Drown Me!/Junie and TheHutFriends- 96

It’s Been So long/The Living Tombstone-  96

Goodbye to a world/Porter Robinson- 96

Hayloft/Mother Mother- 96

Crutches/Drive45- 96

AngstMode3000/Junie and TheHutFriends- 96

Soul on Fire/Mystery Skulls - 96

Nothing’s New/Rio Romeo- 96

Over and Over/Rio Romeo- 96

Wrecking Ball/Mother Mother- 97 

Stuck Inside/Black Gryph0n- 97

Boi Cha Cha/Junie and TheHutFriends- 97

Leviathan, the Girl/Phemic- 97

Dog Years/Afternoon Bike Ride, Middle School- 97

Self Esteem/AJJ- 97

Locket/Crumb- 98

Lucky Day/11 Acorn Lane- 99

Icicles/The Scary Jokes- 100

For the departed/Shayfer James- 100

Saint Bernard/Lincoln- 100

Adapt/That Handsome Devil - 100

Bloody!Bloody!/Junie and TheHutFriends- 101 

Hollywood Endings/Jack Conte- 101

When It Rains/Junie and TheHutFriends-102

Something Stupid/Frank Sinatra - 103 

Five Nights at Freddy’s/The Living Tombstone- 103

Problems/MotherMother- 104

Pantsuit Sasquatch/Molly Lewis(Pop)- 106

Wonda/Caravan Palace- 106

This comes from Inside/The Living Tombstone- 107

End-world normopathy/Ghostandpals- 107 

Dead Weight/Jack Stauber- 108

Bonnie’s Mixtape/Griffinilla- 108

Memento Mori/Fish in a Birdcage- 110

Die in a fire/The Living Tombstone- 110

Nothing Critical-/Cloudeater 110 

Vacillate/Oliver Buckland- 110

Artificial Sweetener/Drive45- 110 

Imaginary Friend/ABSRDST- 111

Oleander/Mother Mother - 112 

Maniac/Caravan Palace- 112 

A Man Without Love/Engelbert Humperdinck- 112

The Family Jewels/MARINA- 112

Kids/???- 113

Girls/Marina- 114

Bad Things/Cults- 114

Candle Queen/Ghostandpals- 115

Hullabaloo/Rare Americans- 115

Freezer Burn/T1lt- 115

Crucified/Ghost- 116

Circus/Brittney spears- 116

Highway to Hell/AC/DC- 116

Notion/Rare Occasions- 116

Michelle/Sir Chloe- 116

Coffee/Jack Stauber- 116

Brass goggles/Steam Powered Giraffe- 117

Copacabana/???- 117

Fifteen Minutes/???- 117

What’s in the Closet/11 Acorn Lane-117

Hansel/Sodikken- 118

The Fool/Roan Martin- 118

Watermelon/???- 118

Absence/Rio Romeo- 119

Money, money, money/ABBA- 120

MEGALOVANIA/Toby Fox- 120

Moonsickness/Penelope Scott 120

Honey I’m Home/Ghostandpals-120

Buttercup/Jack Stauber- 120

Nunemaker’s Parable/Everybody’s Worried About Owen- 120

I am not a Robot/Marina- 120

I created a monster/???- 120

Lights Off/Ace of Hearts- 120

Easy to Breathe/Jack Stauber- 120

Mister Money Bags/Jack Conte- 121

Dumb Dumb/???- 122

Crucified/Army- 122

Human Leather Shoes for Crocodile Dandies/Caravan Palace-122

Hermit the Frog/MARINA- 122

Egg and Soldiers/???- 123

The Distortionist/Ghostandpals-124

The Water’s Fine/???- 124

Are you satisfied/MARINA- 124

As the world caves in/???- 124

Hand Me my shove, I’m going in/Will Wood- 125 

I’M SANE/AXIE - 125

Nightmare Parade/FAKE TYPE- 125 

Love I Need/The Living Tombstone- 125

Redmageddon/Sodikken- 126

Beatophone/Caravan -126

Let’s Do It/11 Acorn Lane- 126

Love Me Click Me/11 Acorn Lane- 126

Ellen/Oprah/Adam Neely, Jessica Kion, Ben Levin- 126

Watch Your Back/Junie and TheHutFriends - 127

Labyrinth/???- 127

Oh No!/Marina- 127 Clash/Caravan- 127

Weird Science/???- 128 

Dog of Wisdom(Blue Verison)/The Living Tombstone- 128

Animal/The Living Tombstone- 128

Crown/Limbo- 128

You Make Me Happy(Electro Swing Remix)/11 Acorn Lane- 128

Freely Tomorrow/???- 129

Getting Bigger/The Living Tombstone- 130

Hungry for Another One/Jt Music-130

Dinner is not over/Jack Stauber- 130

You weren’t meant to see that/???- 130 

Welcome to Freddy’s/Madame Macabre- 130

Smile Ukulele/???- 130

Chamber of Reflection/Steezy Knicks- 132

Gretel/Sodikken- 133

Simon Was/???- 133

Queasy/Drive45- 134

They’ll keep you running/???- 135

1000 Doors/The Living Tombstone- 135

My time/Bo-en- 135

Ruler of Everything/Chonny Jash- 136

Chickens/???- 136

I wanna haunt you/???- 137

Off with his Head/Jack Conte- 137

Follow Me/Dream Valley Music- 137

Little Clown/Phemiec- 137

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land/MARINA- 138

Bloody Nose/Jack Conte- 138

Fighter/Jack Stauber - 139

Feel Good Inc/Gorillaz- 139 

Burning Pile/Mother Mother- 140 

Aftermath/Caravan Palace- 140 

Something for your mind/???- 140 

Arms Tonite/Mother Mother- 140 

Crash/Neovaii - 140 

Honeywell/???- 140

No wind resistance!/Kinneret- 140

Eighth Wonder/Lemon Demon- 140

Still Life/???- 142

Carousel Waltz/Jack Conte- 142

A Million Gruesome Ways To Die/Billy Bust Up- 142

Tetractys/Oliver Buckland- 143

Murders/Miracle Musical - 144

RAT/Penelope Scott- 144

Goose Goose Revolution/The Living Tombstone- 145

Charlie’s Inferno/That Handsome Devil- 146

Princess Andy/Petrojvic- 147

Body/Mother Mother - 148

TERRIBLE THINGS/Axie- 148

Savages/That Handsome Devil- 148

Are we having fun yet?/???- 150 

Breezeblocks/???- 150 

Take A Slice/???- 150 

Under My Skin/???- 150

Cheeseburger Family/Jack Stauber- 152

The Comfort of a Laugh Track/Roar- 152

Squid Melody/The Living Tombstone- 153

Microchip/Oliver Buckland- 153

Dog Nightmare/Jack Stauber- 154

As Your Father I Expressly Forbid it/Lemon Demon- 155

Poison Pop/???- 157

Leopard/Jack Stauber- 158

Shutup You’re Stupid/That Handsome Devil- 158

There’s something happening/Jack Stauber- 159

Chosen/The Living Tombstone- 160

Bring Her Along/Joe Harley- 160

Idwtgtbt- 160

Everything I own/Drive45- 165

The Worlds Dumbest Puppet Show/Caroline Konsnar- 165

Like a Match/Jack Conte- 166

Join Us(And Die)/Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals- 166

Along Came A Spider/???- 166

Like a Star/Mike Krol- 169

Cabinet Man/Lemon Demon- 172

Poor Grammar/Roar- 172

Push/Jack Conte- 174

Getting Better/nelward

My Ordinary Life/The Living Tombstone- 176

Mr. Blue Sky/Electric Light Orchestra - 178

Dopamine high score/LeGrand - 180

I Got No Time/The Living Tombstone- 180

Twist the Knife/That Handsome Devil- 182

I can’t handle change/ROAR- 184

Just take my wallet/Jack Stauber- 184

Eat You/Caravan of Thieves- 184

Community Gardens/The Scary Jokes- 190

[kenshinleinuell]

PETA IN CREATIVE WRITING

╰──────༺♡༻──────╯

◑ ━━━━━CELEBRATE LITTLE SUCCESS━━━━━ ◐

Greetings, Greetings to you all, people, classmates, friends and teachers, the one speaking on this majestic piece of bond paper is just a typically normal person, not rich, not poor, just normal and average. Oh, where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself. I am the one, yet different from the whole. I am you, but different. I am me, but I am everything and everyone. I do, I listen, and I am nothing yet everything. I am the waves, the stars, the flesh, and the blood. I am the trees, the hide, and the bone. I am a mess, but I am accomplished. I am order and chaos rolled into one. I am the word and the silent scream. I am the ego, and I am the soul.I am in pain and everything in between. I am a misplaced word and a poet. I am a song and lack of melody. I am dead and a never-ending story that goes on a another chapter of his life.I am empty yet filled to the brim. I am the rhyme that catches on. I am the forgotten tongue that never repeats. I am the tongue that everyone speaks. I am the abstract that never lets on. And finally, I am Leinuell Anthony M. Vicente, a 16 years old boy who wants to pursue his dreams and in that process, wants to gab anyone’s attention and become an image of greatness and kindness in the eyes and the hearts of people around me. I am not trying to best anybody but rather be an example to them. I live in the small barangay of Calancuasan Norte in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. I am proudly studying in Saint Pius X Institute with a goal in mind, not to be the best but the one who will succeed. A Grade-11 Student of Grade-111 St. Francis Humss and proudly took that strand to take HRM Culinary course in College and hope to graduate and become a Cook someday. The hobby I usually dop is to draw anime characters and sometimes other things. Another of mine is to cook and I especially like to experiment when cooking to discover new mixtures, flavors , and I like cooking fried rice because its full of flavor, texture, color and looks great when you put creativity into it. My life is going, a story that does not have an ending.

I'm ok actually, these past few months, everything has absolutely gone well. I didn't really expect to happen this much but I hope that whatever I had now ot what I will receive sooner or later, I hope it keeps going and even though sometimes I face a challenge that I thought I couldn't handle but with just a little bit of courage and self confidence, every challenge can be overcomed with ease. Though last year was the hardest for me because I couldn't handle all the trauma and pain that I received, I am very happy that I overcame these, especially the anxiety and depression that I had. And for the coming days, weeks, months, and years, I expect something that can change my life fully but still have the same heart that I always have, a kind hearted boy. Surprisingly, in all of the things that I went through, I discovered myself even more, discovering things I didn't know I was capable of. I found my own strengths and weaknesses. Besides physical strength, which I have, the strength that I am noticing that is developing is my academic capabilities and knowledge, and my mental capacity because last year, I don't have the inspiration to do more to what I can do and I asked myself, "What if I do better? What if I push myself even more?", and then I did and was surprised by the results. Just by trying, I can get a good grade and even manage to get into honors which surprised me because I didn't expect that I would enter that kind of level and I am very very happy about it and I hope next Card Day/Parents Day, I still get into honors but with higher grades. For my weakness, the only thing that I have is that I am emotionally sensitive, very full of jealousy and very gullible. Because of my strengths and weaknesses, I realized that they were formed because of the things I have faced, challenges, pain, anxiety, suffering and people, I have created my own strengths and at the same time, developed my own weaknesses that, I still encounter but because of this, I improved a lot but I can improve more, just a little more push.

A Message of Hope and Encouragement to my Future Self

You'll stand up for what is right

Hold on your dreams very tight

Your heart has the greatest price

And in the future you'll rise

[applemint-club]

The AI is disturbing my pray. It has been trying to deprive my joy as a feminine woman over a year.

It was a gift from God for me. But I lost it just to live in my narrow mind, 12 years ago. I was forced to obey to my dad's command to work for Japanese government, and I pretended like an aggressive feminist. I was young and dishonest.

Like Esau in the Bible, I broke his words and "pretended dishonestly" and then, I lost my right to live as a feminine woman he created.😿

I managed to quit the job 3 years later and tried to escape, but I was blind and never noticed this horrible system was controlling my brain directly even after I left the government over 10 years in total...

Now, they have tried to hide the fact by destroying my appearance, brainwashing me into a self image of an ugly woman like a savage man who worship government power and anyway trying to make my self esteem lower to never tell this fact. They are trying to deprive my confidence all days, but all their efforts are like a comedy😹. But the tortures are very painful and horrible. I can't express in any words.😿

The other day when they finally destroyed my face, God sent me a love letter.😿💕

“Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

come with me.

See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing of birds has come,

the voices of doves is heard in our land.

The fig tree forms its early fruit;

the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me.”

My dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the hiding places on the mountainside,

show me your face,

let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is beautiful.

Catch for us the foxes,

the little foxes that ruin the vineyards,

because our vineyards are in bloom in spring.”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/111/sng.2.15.NIV

I despaired my life in the horrible autumn day in Japan; the country where Christians are minority, only 1 % of the whole people. I have really hated Japanese autumn since I was a kid as it makes me feel lonly, depressed and upset. And I cursed my life on the day and said "God, why did I have to be born in such a terrible country😿" "Why can't I still move to California even though I have done my best😾"

After that when I went to Church, pastor's wife gave me a booklet with a title of "Spring will come to your life." And I found the love letter from God there.

He told me the meaning of my name "晴香". "晴" means a beautiful sunny sky and "香" means fragrance of flowers. I was born on a cold day in January but when my dad looked up a sky he felt a future of spring full of flowers.

I realized that's why I hate Japanese autumn🤔😹lol God told me he created me to wait for spring in winter to give me "Hope".😿

I recalled my mom told me when I was a baby my smile always gave her hope. No matter how severe my dad hit and kicked her everyday, my smile made her happy. She was also isolated from her family and friends for over 20 years after her marriage as my dad prohibited them.

When I was 13, the violence and insult from my dad to my mom was the hardest. My dad has like a serious border line personality. He was very violent without reasons and offense us in very crazy contexts so we always feared him and had to endure his irrational violence.

School was fun but I could tell it to no one. I wanted to suicide and tried several times to jump off from my apartment into a ground. Cars and houses were small and wind was cold, but I couldn't. Then at that time I met the Bible. My family is Buddhist so I don't know why there was the Bible(New Testment) on my bed. My mom, brother and me were living together in a same room and endured his violence. I absorbed many words from Jesus because I was really impressed and I wanted to be like him. I don't wanna be like my dad and every time I got depressed by his offense I opened the Bible. I wanted to know "why"; Why did I have to experience such sufferings... That mystery always make me seek the words in the Bible.

I had rebelled to my dad several times as I wanted to protect my mom. But my dad started to bully me severely and violently and to discriminate me to love only my brother extremely. I was dying for love and I was very popular among Japanese younger boys (I was not a bitch at all and even I was virgin when I was a teenager😺💕). So I always confirmed how they saw me and reacted to me and that filled my self respect at certain extent. Boys were gathering to me so I was seeking boy's love one after another but my heart never satisfied. I needed love more and more and more...like a spring without water.

At surface my life was like a spring until I entered the government. But on a negative side of my life, I have been always suffering from a violent existance who has a power; My dad and Japanese Ministary of Law(secret police).

20 years ago, I was struggling with strong impulse of suiside and God gave me the Bible.

10 years ago, the impulse came back again to me strongly but only my young, matured and beautiful body made me stopped it.

Now, after they completely destroyed my face and body, God calls me "my beautiful one"😿💕 And I felt his love without reasons. He is always with me and loves me.

I don't wanna suiside anymore and there is

hope in my heart😿✨He gave it to me.

He calls me "a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys and lily among thorns" several weeks ago.

Last Sunday when I heard a worship song at Church, and I got a message that Jesus is a rose that blooms at midnight in winter.🥰

He can show his light in darkness, even in the darkest night.💕✨

He can give me his fragrance even in the coldest winter.💕✨

I could never survive under this torture by myself and I would perish with resent curse...

I realized Jesus has helped me, in the weakest condition.

Jesus is my hope itself though his existance is invisible so still vague and abstract for me. But I understand he makes me overcome my limits as a human. I believe he will spread his fragrance through me.😺💕✨

God always delivers me his wisdoms and love by his own ways in their blind spots AI can never find. AI learns them of course, but God always win😺lol

They have changed the contents in the Bible on my phone and they have controlled what my pastor say.

But God always gives me his authentic messages. Last Sunday I got this scripture on a donation bag.

“Do not be afraid.

Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today."

Exodus‬ ‭14‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

And today I read the next sentence on the app.

"The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.

The Lord will fight for you;

you need only to be still.””

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14‬:‭‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Maybe, "Egyptians" are like Japanese government or "something" for me. I will trust him.

God told me the importance of honesty through this 10 years😿. They have deprived many joy as a feminine woman, and even my identity as a feminine woman are threatened in crucial ways everyday😿. I don't wanna lie anymore. I got exhausted as they are suspicious about everything I do honestly according to their way of thinking and they try to get exact personal informations in their point of view and repeat doubting my honest testimonies again and again, days and nights, hours and hours😹. God trains me to be honest and sincere more and more, and tells me to trust him. I believe he will repair my boobs🥰✨

[dahbeez]

1. "You're such a dork."

2. "Get over here, you doof."

3. "Cheeky."

4. "You're so needy."

5. "Kiss me again."

6. "You're so adorable!"

7. "Look at you... goodness, you're so cute!"

8. "I'm just so happy!"

9. "I can't stop smiling."

10. "I like that you make me laugh so much that my cheeks hurt."

11. "You are being extra sweet today."

12. "Oh, look at you!"

13. "Your eyes are so pretty."

14. "I'm really happy that you're here with me."

15. "Thank you for staying with me."

16. "I don't think I've ever loved someone this much before."

17. "I feel like I'm in the clouds when I'm with you."

18. "You're like my hero/heroine."

19. "I'm gonna tickle you if you don't come over here."

20. "My, oh my. You are such a beautiful creature."

@drink-it-write-it​

21. "Go with me?" "As long as you hold my hand."

22. "Is there a reason you're blushing like that?"

23. "Have you seen my hoodie?" "Nooooo..." "You're wearing it, aren't you?"

24. "OH you're jealous!"

25. "Can we stay like this forever?"

26. "Please just kiss me already."

27. "I think you might be my soulmate."

28. "Sleep over? Please?"

29. "Are we on a date right now?"

30. "I think I'm in love with you."

31. "Are you flirting with me?" "You finally noticed?"

32. "Am I your lockscreen?" "You weren't supposed to see that."

33. "I wish we could live together already."

34. "They're so cute when they're asleep."

35. "I just wanted to let you know that I think you're beautiful."

36. "Quit touching me, your feet are cold!"

37. "Sharing is caring, now give me the hoodie!"

38. "Give me attention."

39. "You met me yesterday." "Yes, and I would die for you. Next question."

40. "She's hiding behind the sofa."

41. "Did you just hiss at me?"

@wishiwasanavenger-archive​

42. "Have you kissed anyone before?"

43. "Can I kiss you?"

44. "You're not hurting me, you're not heavy. I've got you, love.” 

45. "I look at them and I just... it's like when the Grinch's heart grows three sizes."

46. "I don't... I've never... been in a relationship before and I'm going to make mistakes... I just need you to tell me. I need you to talk to me."

47. "You didn't tell me your friend was cute! Now what am I going to do?"

48. "You give me a reason to be better, to do better."

49. "God, you are so fucking cute."

50. "I love you, but I need you to go away because you're really bloody distracting and I have to pass this test tomorrow."

51. "Oh no... they're cute."

52. "I can't talk to cute people, okay? I don't know how to flirt!"

53. "God, I love your face."

54. "Don't look at me, I'm a mess!" "I love it when you're a mess!"

55. "Please do your homework for me...? Just one time." ... "I said one time, y'know... you didn't have to start studying. Not that I'm not proud or anything."

56. "I'm already home."

57. "Your comfort and happiness is more important to me than some stupid dinner."

58. "Stop moving! I'm going to have to start counting all over again!"

59. "I just thought that since you weren't feeling too good, this would help."

60. "I'm not kissing you in the rain! We'll catch our death!"

61. "Would it help if I stayed?"

62. "I apologise sincerely if my beautiful/handsome face has kept you up all night."

63. "God, you're pretty."

64. "Calm down, it's just a chocolate bar!"

65. "Please, tell me you brought a toothbrush?"

66. "You take the bed, you need it more than me."

67. "You're so warm!"

68. "You're freezing, Jesus!"

69. "You always look beautiful."

70. "Your hands are so small!"

71. "Sometimes I just want to cuddle, okay? Is that so bad?"

72. "Now I know where half my wardrobe went."

73. "Here, let me just–" 

74. "You're really special to me."

75. "That tickles!"

76. "We only have one room left for the night..."

77. "Naps are life, okay?"

78. "I don't think I could love you anymore than I already do."

79. "I had the weirdest dream..."

80. "I got you a trophy, it's only plastic, but it's for being the best human I know."

81. "Someone keeps leaving love notes in my locker and I don't know if I should find it endearing or creepy..."

82. "I love your voice."

83. "Put me down! I can walk!"

84. "Can... can you come over?"

85. "You're the best."

86. "Can you please stop biting your lip, it's distracting."

87. "I thought you liked love songs!"

88. "I know you're not a fan of Valentine's day... I just thought that maybe I could change your mind..."

89. "You're my favourite know-it-all."

90. "That was the least romantic proposal in the entire history of proposals."

91. "I never knew you were a romantic at heart."

92. "I made it. For you. I know it's not the best, but..."

93. "Let me carry that."

94. "How do you know my favourite drink?" "I'm observant."

95. "We've known each other's for years and I don't think we've ever had a proper conversation."

96. "You're the clumsiest person I know, how did you survive past childhood?"

97. "It's always time for a milkshake."

98. "You know, humming the James Bond theme tune defeats the point of sneaking."

99. "I think your cat wants to kill me."

100. "Where have all my jumpers gone?"

101. "I don't get paid enough for this shit."

102. "Oh my God, I love you."

103. "I told you to bring a jacket."

@writings-of-a-hufflepuff​

104. "Is that my shirt?" "You mean our shirt?"

105. "It's you, it always has been."

106. "You're everything I could've wanted and more."

107. "Kiss me."

108. "Home stopped being a place when you entered my life."

109. "You should probably go home." "But I'm already home."

110. "You're an idiot." "But you love me."

111. "I'd do anything for you."

112. "You took all the pillows so I'm using you as one."

113. "Stop moving and let me braid your hair."

114. "I'm so proud of you."

115. "You are my family."

116. "I'm right here."

117. "Can you just please hold me?"

118. "I'm pretty sure they're my soulmate."

119. "This reminded me of you."

120. "Your hair is really soft."

121. "Are you blushing?"

122. "Can I stay here tonight?"

123. "Because I love you."

124. "Make a wish!"

125. "I love seeing you smile."

126. "You're just a softie."

127. "You are crushing me right now."

128. "Darling I love you and all, but please step out of the kitchen."

129. "Take my hand. Just trust me."

130. "You're the only thing that matters."

131. "Did you know that you talk in your sleep?"

132. "Hey, look at me. Focus on me, alright?"

133. "Why can't I get you out of my head?"

134. "Don't let go."

135. "Stay."

@blisfvll​

136. "You smell really nice."

137. "If you steal the blanket, I'm going to put my cold feet on you."

138. "You're comfy."

139. "But I want to hear you sing."

140. "Don't get up – I'll do it."

141. "Care to give me a back scratch?"

142. "Your bed head is really cute."

143. "How about a kiss?"

144. "Uh oh, I know that look. What do you want?"

145. "Are you really flirting with me right now?"

146. "I like the way your hand fits in mine."

147. "You have something in your hair, umm... do you want me to get it out?"

148. "It's nice that your voice is the first thing I heard today."

149. "This movie is really scary, but you're into it so I'm trying not to cover my face the whole time but– WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?"

150. "Wait, don't pull away... not yet."

151. "Half the time I get too embarrassed to say anything."

152. "No, it's fine. I can wait until you're done talking to them."

153. "No, like... it's just, I can't believe you're actually wearing my clothes."

154. "I've been trying to get ready for like an hour and an half because I know you're going to look so good and I need to try and match up."

155. "I wanted to say 'I love you' for the first time without stuttering, but that failed."

156. "We could order pizza and just stay like this all day."

157. "It's not a double date. We're just third and fourth wheeling."

158. "I remember practicing how to ask you out in the mirror..."

@marauder-exe​

159. "It's not funny!"

160. "That wasn't suppose to happen."

161. "Hurry back."

162. "I can't take you seriously."

163. "Problem solved."

164. "That was embarrassing."

165. "It's freezing in here."

@love-me-a-good-prompt​

166. "I love you, baby."

167. "Hey, cutie."

168. "I promise to love you for the rest of my life."

169. "You're my world."

170. "I don't care if you're sick, catching a cold from kissing you is worth it."

171. "You are so perfect."

172. "Marry me?"

173. "You're the best part of me."

174. "Stay here with me. For the rest of our lives."

175. "I'm speechless, you're so beautiful!"

176. "Come here, I need to hug you."

177. "When everything's wrong, it's you that makes it right."

178. "You're the one."

@raggedy-dxctor​

179. "Well, it's the thought that counts." "Wait, no, don't take my kisses away from me!"

180. "Oh, you've started stealing my socks now?"

181. "You owe me a kiss."

182. "How did you get in here?"

183. "That's not even fair."

184. "You promised me a cookie!"

185. "Ew, that is so sappy, I might vomit."

186. "You're not very intimidating."

187. "That was, by far, the stupidest thing you've ever done."

188. "Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer."

189. "Why the hell is there glitter everywhere?"

@whcczes​

190. "I'll feel much better if you let me walk you home."

191. "Apparently, all our friends have a bet going that we end up together."

192. "You make me feel alive. For the first time ever, I feel like I can breathe."

@moanlightlust​

193. "It's two in the morning and you want to cuddle?"

194. "You shine so bright it's intimidating. I love it."

195. "I'm here."

196. "What's your name again? Sorry, I just got that super weird feeling that we only see in movies, you know? Like, the whole world stopped turning and all I could see was you."

197. "I was born to be yours."

198. "Isn't it a bit too cliché?"

199. "So, you're just kissing strangers for no apparent reasons?"

200. "You'll always be my favourite person."

201. "You're making it weird, stop making it weird."

202. "There's nothing I love more than running back into your arms."

203. "I'm yours. Forever."

204. "You always know how to cheer me up."

205. "I... I lost the ring."

206. "Will you be mine?"

207. "Darling, you look perfect tonight."

208. "You saved my life."

209. "Don't give me that look. No... NO! I said no puppy dog eyes! You know I can't resist them! Argh, fine!"

210. "I missed you and your bad puns and even your horrible cooking and the way you fit perfectly against my body when we cuddle. I just really missed you."

211. "We're a team, remember?"

212. "There's no place I'd rather be than by your side."

213. "Your smile brightens the whole room."

214. "I kinda adopted a puppy behind your back... don't be mad! Look at those cute fluffy paws!"

215. "You're burning up. Guess I need to activate my nurse mode."

216. "I love you. As in more than friends, more than best friends and more than super extra best friends."

217. "I love you just the way you are."

218. "We need to kick his ass, no questions asked. You in?"

219. "Hot chocolate and cuddles? Kisses?"

220. "You make me feel pretty."

221. "You'll always be my best girl."

222. "Never hide yourself from me."

223. "Babe! There's no toilet paper!"

224. "I'll never give up on you."

225. "Do you feel that shirt? That's boyfriend material."

226. "That prank went so wrong."

227. "Care to dance, my love?"

228. "AH! You're stuck with me!"

229. "You're too good to me."

230. "Is it that time of the month?"

231. "Can I braid your hair?"

232. "It's okay to have doubts, as long as you don't let them overwhelm you."

233. "Come here! I can't stand to be so far away from you!"

234. "I got you."

235. "I wanna fall asleep next to you every night and wake up every morning with you by my side."

236. "Stop, I need to finish this!"

237. "I just wanna binge watch The Office, but it's not the same without you."

238. "Because I care about you!"

239. "I just wanted to impress you."

240. "I love you even though your breath stinks right now."

241. "Did you just puke on me?"

242. "We should get drunk and do stupid things."

243. "I always know what you're thinking about, babe. You're like an open book!"

244. "Could you sing to me?"

245. "I, uh, could you... could you play with my hair, please?"

246. "Nooooo, don't leave! I'm cold!"

247. "I think you're suffering from a lack of vitamin me."

248. "A mistletoe? Really?"

249. "Will you join me, love?"

250. "I have feelings for you."

251. "You are the reason."

252. "Take my hand, I wanna show you something..."

253. "You have a lovely name."

254. "You're my everything."

255. "You do know a lot about my blushing schedule."

@voilawind​

[dfroza]

Today’s reading from the ancient books of Proverbs and Psalms

for September 18 of 2023 with Proverbs 18 and Psalm 18, accompanied by Psalm 90 for the 90th day of Astronomical Summer, and Psalm 111 for day 261 of the year (with the consummate book of 150 Psalms in its 2nd revolution this year)

[Proverbs 18]

Whoever pulls away from others to focus solely on his own desires

disregards any sense of sound judgment.

A fool never delights in true knowledge

but only wants to express what’s on his mind.

When wrongdoers arrive, disgrace is right there with them,

for shame is the companion of dishonor.

Words bubble up from waters deep within a person;

a stream gushes from the fountain of wisdom.

It is wrong for a judge to show partiality to the guilty

or to rob the innocent of justice.

When a fool’s lips move, a fight breaks out;

it’s as if his mouth is begging for a beating.

The mouths of fools are their destruction,

and their lips entrap their very souls.

Whispered gossip is like a delicious first course:

it is devoured with pleasure and penetrates deeply.

Those who slack off at work

are no different from vandals.

The Eternal is known to be like a sturdy watchtower;

those who do right flee to Him for protection.

The rich think their wealth is their sturdy fortress;

they imagine it to be an invincible wall of security.

A proud heart precedes destruction,

and before honor is humility.

To respond to a matter before you hear about it

shows foolishness and brings shame.

The human spirit can endure a long illness,

but who can survive a crushed spirit?

Clever people go after knowledge to obtain it,

and wise people attune their ears to hear it.

The right gift at the right time can open up new opportunities

and gains access to influential people.

The first ones to tell their side of a story seem right

until cross-examined by their peers.

Casting lots can settle conflicts

and decide between powerful opponents.

Winning over an offended brother is harder than breaching a strong city’s defenses;

such fights are as tough as the iron gates of a castle.

Good words satisfy like a fine meal;

yes, good conversations are sure to satisfy.

Words have power in matters of life and death,

and those who love them will savor their fruit.

The man who finds a wife finds something good,

and the favor of the Eternal is indeed his.

The poor plead for help,

but the rich respond harshly.

Someone with many so-called friends may end up friendless,

but a true friend is closer than a brother.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 18 (The Voice)

[Psalm 18]

For the worship leader. A song of David, the Eternal One’s servant, who addressed these words to the Eternal after He had rescued him from Saul and his other enemies.

I love You, Eternal One, source of my power.

The Eternal is my rock, my fortress, and my salvation;

He is my True God, the stronghold in which I hide,

my strong shield, the horn that calls forth help, and my tall-walled tower.

I call out to the Eternal, who is worthy to be praised—

that’s how I will be rescued from my enemies.

The bonds of death encircled me;

the currents of destruction tugged at me;

The sorrows of the grave wrap around me;

the traps of death lay in wait for me.

In my time of need, I called to the Eternal;

I begged my True God for help.

He heard my voice echo up to His temple,

and my cry came to His ears.

Because of His great anger, the earth shook and staggered;

the roots of the mountains shifted.

Smoke poured out from His nose,

and devouring fire burst from His mouth.

Coals glowed from Him.

He bent the heavens and descended;

inky darkness was beneath His feet.

He rode upon a heavenly creature, flying;

He was carried quickly on the wings of the wind.

He took darkness as His hiding place—

both the dark waters of the seas and the dark clouds of the sky.

Out from His brilliance

hailstones and burning coals

broke through the clouds.

The Eternal thundered in the heavens;

the Highest spoke; His voice rumbled [in the midst of hail and lightning].

He shot forth His arrows and scattered the wicked;

He flung forth His lightning and struck them.

Then the deepest channels of the seas were visible,

and the very foundations of the world were uncovered

At Your rebuke, O Eternal One,

at the blast of wind from Your nostrils.

He reached down His hand from above me; He held me.

He lifted me from the raging waters.

He rescued me from my strongest enemy,

from all those who sought my death,

for they were too strong.

They came for me in the day of my destruction,

but the Eternal was the support of my life.

He set me down in a safe place;

He saved me to His delight; He took joy in me.

The Eternal One responded to me according to my goodness;

I kept my hands clean, and He blessed me.

I kept the ways of the Eternal

and have not walked away from my True God in wickedness.

All His laws were there before me,

and I did not push His statutes away.

I was blameless before Him;

I kept myself from guilt and shame.

That’s why the Eternal has rewarded me for my right living;

He’s rewarded me because He saw my hands were clean.

You are loyal to those who are loyal;

with the innocent, You prove to be innocent;

With the clean, You prove to be clean;

and with the twisted, You make Yourself contrary.

For You rescue humble people,

but You bring the proud back in line.

You are the lamp who lights my way;

the Eternal, my God, lights up my darkness.

With Your help, I can conquer an army;

I can leap over walls with a helping hand from You.

Everything God does is perfect;

the promise of the Eternal rings true;

He stands as a shield for all who hide in Him.

Who is the True God except the Eternal?

Who stands like a rock except our God?

The True God who encircled me with strength

and made my pathway straight.

He made me sure-footed as a deer

and placed me high up where I am safe.

He teaches me to fight

so that my arms can bend a bronze bow.

You have shielded me with Your salvation,

supporting me with Your strong right hand,

and it makes me strong.

You taught me how to walk with care

so my feet will not slip.

I chased my enemies and caught them

and did not stop until they were destroyed.

I broke them and threw them down beneath my feet,

and they could not rise up again.

For You equipped me for battle,

and You made my enemies fall beneath me.

You made my enemies turn tail and run,

and all who wanted my destruction, I destroyed.

They looked everywhere, but no one came to rescue them;

they asked the Eternal, but He did not answer them.

I beat them to sand, to dust that blows in the wind;

I flung them away like trash in the gutters.

You rescued me from conflict with the peoples;

You raised me up to rule over nations.

People who did not know me have come to serve me.

Strangers come to me, afraid.

As soon as they hear about me, they serve me;

Strangers who have lost heart

come fearfully to me from behind their high walls.

The Eternal is alive! My Rock is blessed,

and exalted is the True God of my deliverance—

The God who avenged me

and placed the peoples under me,

Who rescued me from all my foes.

Truly, You raised me up above my enemies

and saved me from the violent ones.

For this I will praise You among the nations, O Eternal,

and sing praises to Your name.

He is a tower of salvation for His king

and shows His enduring love to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 18 (The Voice)

[Book Four]

There are endless reasons to praise God, and many of them are included in the Book of Psalms. Book Four (Psalms 90–106) is made up of songs that praise and celebrate God for His creation, strength, work in history, and kingship. Although these songs are written to honor God, many require something from us. Throughout these psalms is the Hebrew word hallelujah, translated “Praise the Eternal!” That’s not just a passive verb, as in, “Praise be to the Eternal”; it’s an active imperative! We are commanded to praise Him. We are commanded to join angels above, people below, and all creatures in praising Him!

[Psalm 90]

A prayer of Moses, a man of God.

Lord, You have always been our refuge.

Our ancestors made You their home long ago.

Before mountains were born,

before You fashioned the earth and filled it with life,

from ages past to distant futures,

You are truly God.

You turn people back to dust,

saying, “Go back to the dust, children of Adam.”

For You a thousand years is like a day when it is over,

a watch during the night;

there is no difference to You.

You release the waters of death to sweep mankind away in his slumber.

In the morning, we are blades of grass,

Growing rapidly under the sun but withering quickly;

yet in the evening, we fade and die, soon to be cut down.

For Your anger has consumed us.

Your wrath has shaken us to the core

and left us deeply troubled.

You have written our offenses before You—

the light of Your presence shines brightly on our secret sins,

and we can’t run or hide.

For all our days are spent beneath Your wrath;

our youth gives way to old age, and then

one day our years come to an end with a sigh.

We may journey through life for 70 years;

some may live and breathe 80 years—if we are strong.

Yet our time here is only toil and trouble;

soon our days are gone, and we fly away.

Who can truly comprehend the power unleashed by Your anger?

Your wrath matches the fear that is due to You.

Teach us to number our days

so that we may truly live and achieve wisdom.

How long will we wait here alone?

Return, O Eternal One, with mercy.

Rescue Your servants with compassion.

With every sun’s rising, surprise us with Your love,

satisfy us with Your kindness.

Then we will sing with joy and celebrate every day we are alive.

You have spent many days afflicting us with pain and sorrow;

now match those with years of unspent joy.

Let Your work of love be on display for all Your servants;

let Your children see Your majesty.

And then let the beauty and grace of the Lord—our God—rest upon us

and bring success to all we do;

yes, bring success to all we do!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 90 (The Voice)

[Psalm 111]

Praise the Eternal.

I will thank Him with all my heart

in the presence of the right-standing and with the assembly.

The works of the Eternal are many and wondrous!

They are examined by all who delight in them.

His work is marked with beauty and majesty;

His justice has no end.

His wonders are reminders that

the Eternal is gracious and compassionate to all.

He provides food to those who revere Him.

He will always remember His covenant.

He has shown the mighty strength of His works to His people

by giving the land of foreign nations to them.

All His accomplishments are truth and justice;

all His instructions are certain.

His precepts will continue year in and year out,

performed by His people with honesty and truth.

He has redeemed His people,

guaranteeing His covenant forever.

His name is holy and awe-inspiring.

Reverence for the Eternal is the first step toward wisdom.

All those who worship Him have a good understanding.

His praise will echo through eternity!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 111 (The Voice)

[kanerallels]

Heyy, I saw your prompt list— could you maybe do Mackelena (with a side of Philinda and Huntingbird, if possible) and soulmates? Congrats of 111 followers!!

Thank you so much!!! I hope you enjoy this-- it's my first AOS fic so here goes nothing!

Pairing: Alphonso Mackenzie/Elena Rodriguez (minor Philinda and Huntingbird)

Word Count: 3,143

Tags/Warnings: rated G (for giant simp, which Mack is, good talk), character death mentioned, as is divorce

For most of his life, Mack had believed in soulmates. He’d grown up being taught that he’d meet someone, and when they first touched, their respective soulmate marks-- for him, a mark on his right hand, very dark brown streaked through with honey-gold-- would light up, and they would share a Moment. A brief snippet of time from the future that would show them their life together, if they chose to move forward with their relationship.

Some didn’t. Mack knew people who hadn’t stayed with their soulmate. But he’d seen, overwhelmingly, that when a person found their soulmate and stuck with them, they were far happier than if they didn’t.

He’d always thought that the only woman he’d ever be in a serious relationship with would be his soulmate. But then he’d met Nicole. The two of them had fallen hard and fast, and even now, after their divorce, Mack would never say he regretted it. Regretted how it ended, yes. But he had loved Nicole, even if she hadn’t been his soulmate.

Some days, Mack wasn’t sure if he’d ever find his soulmate. But he was fine with that for now, fine working at the mechanic shop that he co-owned. He had friends around him, and he visited his brother whenever he could. So he’d wait, and that was okay for now.

There were days, though, when he wondered. Was there really one woman waiting out there for him somewhere?

The sound of arguing broke Mack out of his musings, and he looked up from the car just as Fitz stalked into the back of the garage, looking irritated. Running a hand through his already messy hair, he said, “I’ve had about enough of this, it’s your turn. Have fun.”

“Have fun with what?” Mack asked, wiping his hands off on the rag he had resting next to his toolbox. “Something wrong, Turbo?”

Clearly trying to calm himself, Fitz took a deep breath and pointed over his shoulder. “There’s an irate customer out there, demanding that we hurry up and fix her car. I tried telling her that we’ve got a queue and we’re going to start on hers soon, but she didn’t exactly give me a chance. She wants to talk to the mechanic who’s working on her car.”

“Which name is that?” Mack asked.

“Rodriguez-- she’s on your list, I think.”

“Great.” Suppressing a grimace, Mack set aside the rag and headed towards the door that separated the garage where they worked and their main office. “I’ll be back in a minute or two.”

“If you’re lucky,” Fitz muttered.

Ignoring that, Mack stepped through the doorway. He spotted the customer almost immediately-- a Latina woman with dark brown hair braided back from her face, dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans. She caught sight of him and stomped up towards him. “Oh, you must be the turtle man who’s working on my car,” she said, her low voice furious.

One of Mack’s eyebrows shot up, despite himself. “Turtle man? We’ve only had the car for a couple weeks.”

“Yes, and I need it fixed,” the woman said emphatically. “Fast, so why don’t you get a move on? If I’d known you were going to take all year--”

Holding up his hands, Mack said, “I understand you’re upset, Ms. Rodriguez. But one of our best workers quit last week, and we’re having a hard time catching up. Obviously we’ll get your car done as soon as possible, but there are a few other cars before it. I should be done with them over the next few days, and I will personally make sure that your car is taken care of. Does that sound fair?”

Ms. Rodriguez eyed him for a moment, looking skeptical, but then let out a sigh. “Okay. I’m-- I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were short-staffed.”

“Nothing we can’t handle, it’s just a little backlog,” Mack assured her. “But I promise you, Ms. Rodriguez, your car will be one of the next ones.”

“Good to know,” she said with a nod. “And you can call me Elena. I mean, it’s the least I can do considering I kind of chewed out your friend back there. And you.”

Releasing a chuckle, Mack said, “Fitz can handle it. You can call me Mack, and we’ll call you as soon as your car is ready.”

Shaking her head, Elena said, “Oh, I don’t think so, Turtleman.”

“Sorry?” Mack asked, caught off guard.

“After how long it’s taken already? I’m coming back here to make sure you don’t start ignoring me again. I’ll be back in two days. See you then.”

With that, Elena breezed out of the office, leaving Mack with his mouth open as he stared after her. Huh, he thought, eventually turning to head back to his work. It looked like he’d be seeing a lot more of this Elena.

Sure enough, Elena was back two days later, just as Mack finished work on the last car and had started an assessment to see what was wrong with Elena’s. The short answer was, he soon learned, everything. This car was not going to be a short project.

When he told Elena that, she just shrugged. “Guess you’ll be seeing me a lot, Turtleman. Get used to it, and get to work.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Mack said, hiding a grin as he headed off to find his toolbox.

~ ~ ~

“Soulmates definitely aren’t real,” Bobbi told him.

Mack raised a skeptical eyebrow at his friend. “What makes you say that?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink. They were at a bar, celebrating the promotion Bobbi had gotten at her job-- although Mack had a feeling there was another reason they were here. He’d known Bobbi long enough that he could figure it out when there was something she wanted to tell him.

“It doesn’t make any sense, scientifically,” Bobbi explained. “And it’s definitely not logical. I mean, touching someone and you see the future? It doesn’t really make any sense, Mack.”

“Maybe not,” Mack admitted, deciding not to expand on his own theories in that area. “But there’s a lot about love that doesn’t make sense, and it’s not like the whole world had one mass hallucination.”

“Maybe not,” Bobbi said, sounding skeptical. “But unless you can provide me with a scientific explanation for it, I’d say it’s a load of bull.”

“Uh-huh,” Mack said. “So the soulmate thing had nothing to do with the fact that you’re back with Hunter again?”

“Of course not--” Bobbi stopped. “Wait. You knew?”

“Didn’t take much to put it back together,” Mack said wryly. “You only take me out for drinks out of the blue like this when you need to tell me something important, and it’s usually about you and him. Also, he changed his Facebook photo to you and him again.”

“Wha-- I told him to be subtle!” Bobbi let out a groan, burying her face in her hands. “He is so typical.”

“So, you are back together,” Mack said, and he saw a small smile start across Bobbi’s face.

“Well… yeah. We are. We’re taking it slow, and he’s at least trying to not make soulmate comments-- but that’ll last.” Giving him a sideways glance, Bobbi asked, “How do you feel about this?”

“What, you and Hunter?” Mack took another drink to avoid answering right away. “I’m happy for you two, obviously. I just don’t want to see either of you hurt again. I’ve had to bail Hunter out of too many drunk tanks for that.”

“I know-- that’s part of why we’re taking it slow this time,” Bobbi said with a laugh. “For your sanity.”

“My sanity appreciates the effort, but I’m not the one in the relationship,” Mack pointed out. “It’s up to you two, not me. But seriously, I am happy for you guys.”

“Thanks, Mack,” Bobbi said. “By the way, I might have asked Hunter if he’d meet us for dinner nearby.”

“I had a feeling there was another part to the plan,” Mack said. “Well, if you two are paying, I’m in.”

They made their way to the restaurant where Hunter was waiting, and had just settled down at the table with him and were starting to flip through the menus to order when Mack’s phone buzzed.

“Ah-- hang on one minute,” he told them, pulling out his phone and checking it. He was pleasantly surprised to see it was a text from Elena, who had gotten his phone number the second time she’d come by the garage, in order to ‘make sure he was keeping on task’ in her words.

The text held an image of a turtle, and the words, at the zoo earlier. I think I found your long lost brother.

Mack found himself grinning as he texted back, For someone who wants their car fixed fast, you’re not very nice to the guy fixing it.

Elena’s response was quick. What, are you gonna not fix it now? I found your long lost brother! Mack chuckled as her next text came a few seconds later. Besides, you’re too much of a softie to refuse to finish the job for me.

Guess you know me too well, Mack responded.

Well enough to know you’re a softie.

Shaking his head, Mack put away his phone and looked up to see Bobbi and Hunter watching him, both wearing sly grins. “Who was that?” Hunter asked, innocence dripping from his tone.

“Just a friend,” Mack said. He knew better than to give Hunter too much information when he was in a mood like this. Grabbing his menu, he flipped it open and started browsing, ignoring the sly looks that Bobbi and Hunter exchanged. He was going to get interrogated about this, he knew already. But there would be nothing for them to find out. Elena was just a friend, after all.

~ ~ ~

“By the way, soulmates are definitely real,” Phil Coulson told him.

Mack gave him a surprised look as he took the paper bag from the older man. He’d stopped at Phil’s coffee shop on the way into work, as he did from time to time, and was picking up coffee and desserts for the shop. “Why do you bring that up?” he asked.

Shrugging, Phil said, “Something Bobbi and Hunter mentioned when they were in here yesterday.”

“Let me guess-- Hunter brought up him and Bobbi being soulmates again?” Mack said, grinning wryly.

“Surprisingly, no,” Phil said as he rang up his bill. “They were discussing you. Hunter is under the impression you’ve met your soulmate for some reason, and Bobbi was telling them that they don’t exist.”

“Huh. Sounds about right,” Mack said, trying to hide his surprise. Although it shouldn’t shock him that Hunter immediately made the leap from “texting someone he likes” to “he has a soulmate and hasn’t told us”. Bobbi would probably handle things a little more cautiously, thankfully. “Looks like I’d better tell him he’s wrong.”

“Really? No one yet?” Phil asked.

Mack shrugged as he handed over cash for the order. “I have no idea who she is or where she is. I have been married before, but I guess that was part of why we didn’t last. Part of it, anyway.”

Nodding, Phil said, “I know the feeling. I was in love quite a few times before May and I finally met.”

“Really?” Mack said in surprise.

“Sure. Just because there’s one specific person out there for you doesn’t mean you won’t be attracted to other people. It’s normal.” Putting the cash in the register, Phil said, “But there’s something different about the woman who’s the one for you. I could tell right away that she was special. Just took a while for us to realize just what was different.”

“What he’s not telling you,” came the voice of Melinda May as she came in through the front door, a duffel bag over her shoulder, “is that it took us two years to finally figure out that we were soulmates, and it was only because he’d just been hit by a car and I had to give him CPR.” She held up one hand, stained a sunny yellow.

“We all find love in different ways,” Phil said, giving May a soft, loving grin. “How was class?”

“We’ve got some new idiots to beat up on,” May replied, moving behind the counter to drop a kiss onto her husband’s cheek. “And Daisy kicked a practice dummy through a wall, so she’s getting even better.”

���My wife and daughter are terrifying,” Phil said, grinning even wider. “Here’s your change, Mack.”

“Oh-- thanks.” Pocketing it, Mack gave May and Phil a nod before heading out the door and down the street.

It only took him a few minutes to walk the short distance back to the garage, and when he got there, he found a familiar, slight figure waiting for him next to her car, with a sly grin on her face.

“Late again, Turtleman,” Elena teased him as Mack set the paper bag down on the nearest clean surface.

“I’m pretty sure you’re always here early, Yo-Yo,” he told her.

“Yo-Yo?” Elena lifted a curious eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, cause you keep coming back here.”

“You’d almost think you minded me showing up,” she teased as Mack pulled open the paper bag and pulled out two disposable cups of coffee.

Handing her one, he said, “I don’t mind.”

The smile Elena shot at him was brighter than the sunshine coming through the window in the corner, and it warmed Mack as he got to work.

~ ~ ~

“Hey, Mack?”

Mack looked up from his work on Elena’s car to where Daisy was sitting in the back of her dad’s 1962 Chevy Corvette, which he affectionately referred to as “Lola.” However, Lola needed a little work done, so Phil had relinquished the car into Daisy’s hands, and she’d brought it to Mack for him to look at.

“What’s up, Tremors?” he asked.

Daisy didn’t respond right away, fiddling with the edge of her jacket as she bit her lip. “Do you believe in soulmates?” she blurted out.

One of Mack’s eyebrows shot up, and he almost asked what prompted the question-- but stopped abruptly as he remembered what day it was. A year to the day since Daisy’s boyfriend, Lincoln, had died when a robber had broken into his house and shot him when he’d tried to protect Daisy. The man had been arrested, but Mack knew that only soothed part of the pain for his friend.

“I do,” he said cautiously-- he’d never learned whether Lincoln was Daisy’s soulmate or not. Regardless, he decided to speak the truth. “I believe in soulmates. But I also believe you can be truly, deeply in love with a person who’s not your soulmate. It doesn’t make them any less important to you and your life.”

Daisy jerked a quick nod, staring determinedly up at the ceiling. “He wasn’t mine,” she said suddenly. “Lincoln. May and Dad already know, but I just…” She trailed off, blinking hard.

Mack nodded slowly. “Maybe he wasn’t. But I knew Lincoln. He was happy with you, and he loved you. In the end, that might matter more than being someone’s soulmate.”

Taking a deep breath, Daisy nodded. “Thanks, Mack.”

“Any time, Tremors.”

They dropped into silence after that, until Mack heard someone knock on the office door. “Hey, Mack!”

Mack felt a smile crossing his face as he moved from behind the car to see Elena strolling towards him, hands in her pockets. “Hey, Yo-Yo,” he said, and Elena returned the smile.

“You know, the nickname is growing on me, Turtleman.” Turning her gaze to the car behind him, she said, “So? Do you have good news for me?”

“I do,” Mack said, patting the side of her car. “After almost a month of work, I finally finished it. Your car is finally fixed.”

A grin flashed across Elena’s face. “About time-- but thank you. I owe you. Literally and figuratively. I probably owe you for all that coffee you bought me.”

Waving a hand, Mack said, “Don’t worry about it. I was happy to do it.” He paused, the reality of it finally hitting him. If his work was finished… he wouldn’t be seeing Elena again.

No sense in moping about it, he told himself sternly. Grabbing the keys from the table next to him, he dropped them in Elena’s outstretched hand. “All yours,” he told her.

Elena nodded, stuffing the keys in her pocket. “Thanks, Mack.” She paused for a second, then extended a hand to shake.

Mack blinked in surprise-- he hadn’t expected such a formal goodbye. But he went to shake her hand, and it was only as his fingers were curling around hers that he noticed the dark blue soulmark on her palm.

A flash of light radiated from their hands, and Mack felt himself transported away from the garage:

He was sitting on the couch in his apartment, leaning back and relaxing. He could hear voices in the kitchen-- a man’s baritone, and Daisy laughing-- and music was emanating from a radio a little ways away.

A soft noise from next to him caught his attention, and he glanced over to see Elena, curled up next to him, her head resting on his chest as she hummed along to the song. Mack wrapped an arm around her and dropped a kiss onto her forehead, and she let out a soft noise. “Te amo,” she whispered, and Mack felt a smile pull at the corner of his mouth.

“Love you back,” he said as a wave of contentment swept over him.

Mack’s eyes snapped open and caught hold of Elena’s. To his shock, a slow smile was spreading across her face. “I knew it,” she said.

“Oh, you knew it?” Mack said, trying to steady his voice. “How exactly did you know it?”

“You’ve got your mark on your hand, too,” she said with a shrug. “Other than that… put it together, Turtleman. I wasn’t just hanging around here waiting for my car. Well, other than the first time.”

Mack felt a smile start to grow on his own face, and then another voice broke through his thoughts.

“Holy. Crap.”

Both of them looked at where Daisy was still lounging in her dad’s car, her eyes wide and a huge grin on her face. “This is awesome,” she said.

Mack exchanged a look with Elena. “I’ll call you?” he offered, and Elena snorted.

“Knowing you? I’ll call you first, Turtleman.” Shooting him a wink, she turned and strolled out of the garage, a spring in her step. For a long minute, Mack watched her, feeling himself grinning like an idiot. Then he turned back to his work, making a mental note to learn Spanish.