#Edison Shop

[puppyboywinger]

COMMUNITY CHARACTERS AS LPS

jeff winger

britta perry

annie edison

abed nadir

troy barnes

shirley bennett

dean craig pelton

frankie dart

elroy patashnik

ben chang

[kogaracon]

Please welcome back Chef J’s Latin Dragon as our second food vendor!

Chef J brings his own take on Upscale Asian & Latin Fusion with a street food style twist Hitting the streets daily, Chef J's Latin Dragon is a premier Asian-Latin Fusion Food Truck that provides quick and delicious food on-the-go. Whether you’re in need of a delicious bite or just don’t have time to sit and eat, we got you covered. Definitely try their scallion pancake quesadillas and more!

[apas-95]

“Civil War” is a very poor war movie. There is a “war” in its title, but the U.S. has been at peace domestically for so long, that American filmmakers simply cannot imagine how a highly developed industrial society would enter a state of war. In every scene of the urban street battle, the backdrop is a brightly lit city. Even in the suburban area where the interview team rests on the first night, you can see machine guns opening fire with some functioning streetlights in the backdrop. Nearly a century after Thomas Edison’s death, Americans can no longer understand that “a lit lightbulb is a miracle.” Details that don’t fit the war atmosphere also include clean streets, freshly mowed lawns, and well-maintained highways—the worst “destruction” being a pile of abandoned cars that jammed the road so you have to drive around for a short distance. It seems the filmmakers were unaware that these commonplace, day-to-day living conditions require tens of thousands of professionals working around the clock to maintain. A real war would first destroy the daily operations of various public sectors, especially eliminating the financial basis that pays their salaries. On the one hand, the script sets up a detail where the U.S. dollar has devalued crazily and shopping is impossible, yet on the other hand, Americans still enjoy reliable power supply and roads. I can only say that Americans have been too well-protected for the past century.

— China Academy

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Cleantech has an enshittification problem

On July 14, I'm giving the closing keynote for the fifteenth HACKERS ON PLANET EARTH, in QUEENS, NY. Happy Bastille Day! On July 20, I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

EVs won't save the planet. Ultimately, the material bill for billions of individual vehicles and the unavoidable geometry of more cars-more traffic-more roads-greater distances-more cars dictate that the future of our cities and planet requires public transit – lots of it.

But no matter how much public transit we install, there's always going to be some personal vehicles on the road, and not just bikes, ebikes and scooters. Between deliveries, accessibility, and stubbornly low-density regions, there's going to be a lot of cars, vans and trucks on the road for the foreseeable future, and these should be electric.

Beyond that irreducible minimum of personal vehicles, there's the fact that individuals can't install their own public transit system; in places that lack the political will or means to create working transit, EVs are a way for people to significantly reduce their personal emissions.

In policy circles, EV adoption is treated as a logistical and financial issue, so governments have focused on making EVs affordable and increasing the density of charging stations. As an EV owner, I can affirm that affordability and logistics were important concerns when we were shopping for a car.

But there's a third EV problem that is almost entirely off policy radar: enshittification.

An EV is a rolling computer in a fancy case with a squishy person inside of it. While this can sound scary, there are lots of cool implications for this. For example, your EV could download your local power company's tariff schedule and preferentially charge itself when the rates are lowest; they could also coordinate with the utility to reduce charging when loads are peaking. You can start them with your phone. Your repair technician can run extensive remote diagnostics on them and help you solve many problems from the road. New features can be delivered over the air.

That's just for starters, but there's so much more in the future. After all, the signal virtue of a digital computer is its flexibility. The only computer we know how to make is the Turing complete, universal, Von Neumann machine, which can run every valid program. If a feature is computationally tractable – from automated parallel parking to advanced collision prevention – it can run on a car.

The problem is that this digital flexibility presents a moral hazard to EV manufacturers. EVs are designed to make any kind of unauthorized, owner-selected modification into an IP rights violation ("IP" in this case is "any law that lets me control the conduct of my customers or competitors"):

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

EVs are also designed so that the manufacturer can unilaterally exert control over them or alter their operation. EVs – even more than conventional vehicles – are designed to be remotely killswitched in order to help manufacturers and dealers pressure people into paying their car notes on time:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

Manufacturers can reach into your car and change how much of your battery you can access:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

They can lock your car and have it send its location to a repo man, then greet him by blinking its lights, honking its horn, and pulling out of its parking space:

https://tiremeetsroad.com/2021/03/18/tesla-allegedly-remotely-unlocks-model-3-owners-car-uses-smart-summon-to-help-repo-agent/

And of course, they can detect when you've asked independent mechanic to service your car and then punish you by degrading its functionality:

https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2024/06/26/two-of-eight-claims-in-tesla-anti-trust-lawsuit-will-move-forward/

This is "twiddling" – unilaterally and irreversibly altering the functionality of a product or service, secure in the knowledge that IP law will prevent anyone from twiddling back by restoring the gadget to a preferred configuration:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

The thing is, for an EV, twiddling is the best case scenario. As bad as it is for the company that made your EV to change how it works whenever they feel like picking your pocket, that's infinitely preferable to the manufacturer going bankrupt and bricking your car.

That's what just happened to owners of Fisker EVs, cars that cost $40-70k. Cars are long-term purchases. An EV should last 12-20 years, or even longer if you pay to swap the battery pack. Fisker was founded in 2016 and shipped its first Ocean SUV in 2023. The company is now bankrupt:

https://insideevs.com/news/723669/fisker-inc-bankruptcy-chapter-11-official/

Fisker called its vehicles "software-based cars" and they weren't kidding. Without continuous software updates and server access, those Fisker Ocean SUVs are turning into bricks. What's more, the company designed the car from the ground up to make any kind of independent service and support into a felony, by wrapping the whole thing in overlapping layers of IP. That means that no one can step in with a module that jailbreaks the Fisker and drops in an alternative firmware that will keep the fleet rolling.

This is the third EV risk – not just finance, not just charger infrastructure, but the possibility that any whizzy, cool new EV company will go bust and brick your $70k cleantech investment, irreversibly transforming your car into 5,500 lb worth of e-waste.

This confers a huge advantage onto the big automakers like VW, Kia, Ford, etc. Tesla gets a pass, too, because it achieved critical mass before people started to wise up to the risk of twiddling and bricking. If you're making a serious investment in a product you expect to use for 20 years, are you really gonna buy it from a two-year old startup with six months' capital in the bank?

The incumbency advantage here means that the big automakers won't have any reason to sink a lot of money into R&D, because they won't have to worry about hungry startups with cool new ideas eating their lunches. They can maintain the cozy cartel that has seen cars stagnate for decades, with the majority of "innovation" taking the form of shitty, extractive and ill-starred ideas like touchscreen controls and an accelerator pedal that you have to rent by the month:

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/23/23474969/mercedes-car-subscription-faster-acceleration-feature-price

Put that way, it's clear that this isn't an EV problem, it's a cleantech problem. Cleantech has all the problems of EVs: it requires a large capital expenditure, it will be "smart," and it is expected to last for decades. That's rooftop solar, heat-pumps, smart thermostat sensor arrays, and home storage batteries.

And just as with EVs, policymakers have focused on infrastructure and affordability without paying any attention to the enshittification risks. Your rooftop solar will likely be controlled via a Solaredge box – a terrible technology that stops working if it can't reach the internet for a protracted period (that's right, your home solar stops working if the grid fails!).

I found this out the hard way during the covid lockdowns, when Solaredge terminated its 3G cellular contract and notified me that I would have to replace the modem in my system or it would stop working. This was at the height of the supply-chain crisis and there was a long waiting list for any replacement modems, with wifi cards (that used your home internet rather than a cellular connection) completely sold out for most of a year.

There are good reasons to connect rooftop solar arrays to the internet – it's not just so that Solaredge can enshittify my service. Solar arrays that coordinate with the grid can make it much easier and safer to manage a grid that was designed for centralized power production and is being retrofitted for distributed generation, one roof at a time.

But when the imperatives of extraction and efficiency go to war, extraction always wins. After all, the Solaredge system is already in place and solar installers are largely ignorant of, and indifferent to, the reasons that a homeowner might want to directly control and monitor their system via local controls that don't roundtrip through the cloud.

Somewhere in the hindbrain of any prospective solar purchaser is the experience with bricked and enshittified "smart" gadgets, and the knowledge that anything they buy from a cool startup with lots of great ideas for improving production, monitoring, and/or costs poses the risk of having your 20 year investment bricked after just a few years – and, thanks to the extractive imperative, no one will be able to step in and restore your ex-solar array to good working order.

I make the majority of my living from books, which means that my pay is very "lumpy" – I get large sums when I publish a book and very little in between. For many years, I've used these payments to make big purchases, rather than financing them over long periods where I can't predict my income. We've used my book payments to put in solar, then an induction stove, then a battery. We used one to buy out the lease on our EV. And just a month ago, we used the money from my upcoming Enshittification book to put in a heat pump (with enough left over to pay for a pair of long-overdue cataract surgeries, scheduled for the fall).

When we started shopping for heat pumps, it was clear that this was a very exciting sector. First of all, heat pumps are kind of magic, so efficient and effective it's almost surreal. But beyond the basic tech – which has been around since the late 1940s – there is a vast ferment of cool digital features coming from exciting and innovative startups.

By nature, I'm the kid of person who likes these digital features. I started out as a computer programmer, and while I haven't written production code since the previous millennium, I've been in and around the tech industry for my whole adult life. But when it came time to buy a heat-pump – an investment that I expected to last for 20 years or more – there was no way I was going to buy one of these cool new digitally enhanced pumps, no matter how much the reviewers loved them. Sure, they'd work well, but it's precisely because I'm so knowledgeable about high tech that I could see that they would fail very, very badly.

You may think EVs are bullshit, and they are – though there will always be room for some personal vehicles, and it's better for people in transit deserts to drive EVs than gas-guzzlers. You may think rooftop solar is a dead-end and be all-in on utility scale solar (I think we need both, especially given the grid-disrupting extreme climate events on our horizon). But there's still a wide range of cleantech – induction tops, heat pumps, smart thermostats – that are capital intensive, have a long duty cycle, and have good reasons to be digitized and networked.

Take home storage batteries: your utility can push its rate card to your battery every time they change their prices, and your battery can use that information to decide when to let your house tap into the grid, and when to switch over to powering your home with the solar you've stored up during the day. This is a very old and proven pattern in tech: the old Fidonet BBS network used a version of this, with each BBS timing its calls to other nodes to coincide with the cheapest long-distance rates, so that messages for distant systems could be passed on:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FidoNet

Cleantech is a very dynamic sector, even if its triumphs are largely unheralded. There's a quiet revolution underway in generation, storage and transmission of renewable power, and a complimentary revolution in power-consumption in vehicles and homes:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/12/s-curve/#anything-that-cant-go-on-forever-eventually-stops

But cleantech is too important to leave to the incumbents, who are addicted to enshittification and planned obsolescence. These giant, financialized firms lack the discipline and culture to make products that have the features – and cost savings – to make them appealing to the very wide range of buyers who must transition as soon as possible, for the sake of the very planet.

It's not enough for our policymakers to focus on financing and infrastructure barriers to cleantech adoption. We also need a policy-level response to enshittification.

Ideally, every cleantech device would be designed so that it was impossible to enshittify – which would also make it impossible to brick:

Based on free software (best), or with source code escrowed with a trustee who must release the code if the company enters administration (distant second-best);

All patents in a royalty-free patent-pool (best); or in a trust that will release them into a royalty-free pool if the company enters administration (distant second-best);

No parts-pairing or other DRM permitted (best); or with parts-pairing utilities available to all parties on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis (distant second-best);

All diagnostic and error codes in the public domain, with all codes in the clear within the device (best); or with decoding utilities available on demand to all comers on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis (distant second-best).

There's an obvious business objection to this: it will reduce investment in innovative cleantech because investors will perceive these restrictions as limits on the expected profits of their portfolio companies. It's true: these measures are designed to prevent rent-extraction and other enshittificatory practices by cleantech companies, and to the extent that investors are counting on enshittification rents, this might prevent them from investing.

But that has to be balanced against the way that a general prohibition on enshittificatory practices will inspire consumer confidence in innovative and novel cleantech products, because buyers will know that their investments will be protected over the whole expected lifespan of the product, even if the startup goes bust (nearly every startup goes bust). These measures mean that a company with a cool product will have a much larger customer-base to sell to. Those additional sales more than offset the loss of expected revenue from cheating and screwing your customers by twiddling them to death.

There's also an obvious legal objection to this: creating these policies will require a huge amount of action from Congress and the executive branch, a whole whack of new rules and laws to make them happen, and each will attract court-challenges.

That's also true, though it shouldn't stop us from trying to get legal reforms. As a matter of public policy, it's terrible and fucked up that companies can enshittify the things we buy and leave us with no remedy.

However, we don't have to wait for legal reform to make this work. We can take a shortcut with procurement – the things governments buy with public money. The feds, the states and localities buy a lot of cleantech: for public facilities, for public housing, for public use. Prudent public policy dictates that governments should refuse to buy any tech unless it is designed to be enshittification-resistant.

This is an old and honorable tradition in policymaking. Lincoln insisted that the rifles he bought for the Union Army come with interoperable tooling and ammo, for obvious reasons. No one wants to be the Commander in Chief who shows up on the battlefield and says, "Sorry, boys, war's postponed, our sole supplier decided to stop making ammunition."

By creating a market for enshittification-proof cleantech, governments can ensure that the public always has the option of buying an EV that can't be bricked even if the maker goes bust, a heat-pump whose digital features can be replaced or maintained by a third party of your choosing, a solar controller that coordinates with the grid in ways that serve their owners – not the manufacturers' shareholders.

We're going to have to change a lot to survive the coming years. Sure, there's a lot of scary ways that things can go wrong, but there's plenty about our world that should change, and plenty of ways those changes could be for the better. It's not enough for policymakers to focus on ensuring that we can afford to buy whatever badly thought-through, extractive tech the biggest companies want to foist on us – we also need a focus on making cleantech fit for purpose, truly smart, reliable and resilient.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/26/unplanned-obsolescence/#better-micetraps

Image: 臺灣古寫真上色 (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raid_on_Kagi_City_1945.jpg

Grendelkhan (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ground_mounted_solar_panels.gk.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[jgracie]

LOVE GROWS (WHERE MY ROSEMARY GOES) — PERCY + CHILD OF DEMETER

masterlist | rules

❝ Hiya,can i request if you have time,Percy dating a Demeter kid?Thank you💕 ❞ — anon

in which percy dates a child of demeter

pairing percy jackson x demeter!reader

warnings me projecting as a child of demeter LOL, one swear word

on the radio . . . love grows (where my rosemary goes) (edison lighthouse)

an never stop requesting demeter!reader guys (i live vicariously through her) also this features another travis cameo LOL him and percy are bffs in my head ALSO the watering can thing is inspired by stardew valley i cannot wait for the day i get to upgrade to sprinklers

Percy’s never been a morning person. However, he has been forced awake at ungodly times due to nightmares

This was one of those times. He could barely remember what the dream was about, all he knew was that it was bad enough for him to wake with a start, his body drenched in sweat as he tried to recollect himself

Looking over at the clock on his bedside table, Percy could barely make out the time: 5:35AM. Well, there was no point going back to sleep now. Even if he did, he’d probably just be visited by nightmares again

So, Percy slipped the nearest t-shirt on and left his cabin, unsure of where he was heading - maybe the beach to cool off? Who knows, he was in disarray. The worst dreams were always the ones you couldn’t remember, the fear of them possibly being important haunting your day

Suddenly, Percy smelt a comforting scent waft through the air. He’d never smelt anything like that before. It couldn’t be ambrosia or nectar - while they both had good scents, they weren’t half as strong as this one. What could it be?

He decided to follow his instinct and find where the smell was coming from. Which led him to cabin 4

Despite it being right across from his own, Percy never paid cabin 4 much attention. Not until now

He continued following the scent and ended up at the back of the cabin, where there was a huge garden filled with what Percy believed to be the most appetising fruits and vegetables he’s ever seen. To the side, there was a greenhouse, where he could see the silhouette of a person

Curious, Percy made his way over to the greenhouse. He’d never spoken to a Demeter kid before, but he’d heard of your nurturing nature and kind hearts in passing

“It’s okay, Cassie, you can go back to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise,” Percy heard a voice say, stopping in his tracks. Deciding to take a peek, he found himself facing an angel

You were rocking a young girl who seemed to be six years old at most back to sleep in your arms. Wherever you went, the flowers in the greenhouse bloomed brighter, gravitating towards you and wrapping their stems around your arms, almost as if they were vying for your attention

The girl’s face was tear-streaked, but she nodded, nuzzling into the crook of your neck. You smiled and ran your fingers through her hair, praying to your mother that she wouldn’t have another nightmare

You hated when the younger kids got nightmares - they could barely understand the fact that one of their parents is a God, let alone comprehend the strange demigod nightmares

Then, you noticed him. When you locked eyes, Percy felt as if the last puzzle piece of his life was finally put in place. Was it too early to say you were made for him?

“Hello! Welcome to Flowers and Vines (shoutout to Stella for naming it!), how may I help you today?” You said, your cheery tone snapping Percy out of the trance you put him in. Walking inside (he’d been simply listening next to the door), Percy sheepishly rubbed his neck, hoping you didn’t think he was some weird stalker

Percy looked around, now fully being able to see everything your greenhouse had to offer. His mom would love this place

“Oh, I’m good, thanks… I didn’t know you guys had a flower shop here! That’s really cool…” Percy said, trailing off at the end once he realised he didn’t know your name. He was a little embarrassed, but luckily, you didn’t seem to mind

Giggling, you continued for him, “Y/N, my name’s Y/N. And Flowers and Vines is more than just a flower shop, we sell produce too! Mr D’s kids help us with the grapes.” As you told him all of this, you were going around with a pretty pink watering can and watering every single plant in the whole greenhouse. Surely, there must be a more efficient way to water them all?

That morning, Percy decided he would buy a flower from you. When you’d asked which one he wanted, he simply told you to surprise him

“These are some of my favourites,” you said while wrapping your flowers of choice - to Percy, they looked like every other pink, round flower out there, but he’d learn the difference for you. These were now special

Handing him the little bouquet, you continued, “Rhododendron - ‘I shall never look upon your like again’, that’s what they mean. I don’t see them around much anymore, which is why I planted them here!”

It was almost like you knew Percy would never look upon your like again. When he’d asked you how much they were for, you insisted on giving them to him on the house. After much arguing, Percy accepted, keeping them right next to his bed. Something about them made the nightmares a little better

After that day, Percy couldn’t stop thinking about you. Everything he saw around him reminded him of you - from the flowers in the forest to the smell of mangoes in the air as their season arrived

He’d see you occasionally, too, and would shyly wave whilst hoping you didn’t notice the way his face turned a bright red when you waved back

You thought Percy was really cute, too, and were a little disappointed when he didn’t show up a second time after your original rendezvous. You began taking on so many shifts you might as well have been working at Flowers and Vines full time. Your siblings (as well as Dionysus’ kids) teased you relentlessly for this, but you didn’t care. You just wanted to see him again

And then you did

Percy’s idea was one that was suggested by none other than Travis Stoll. He was simply catching up with the son of Hermes when he’d brought up the fact that everyone working at Flowers and Vines watered the plants using watering cans (something which had been really bothering Katie)

When Percy had asked why they did that, Travis explained that they used to have sprinklers but after the Ares cabin tinkered with them once (they were bitter over a game of Capture the Flag), causing the water to go all over the place and killing a lot of the flowers, the sprinklers were unusable and currently being fixed by the Hephaestus cabin

That’s when Percy came up with it. Since he was a son of Poseidon, he could spread water from a source as far as he wanted to. Therefore, he could help with your issue and have an excuse to talk to you

Immediately, Percy ran to the flower shop/fruit market he’d grown to love so dearly

“Hi! Is Y/N here?” He asked one of your siblings, breathless. They nodded and pointed behind them, smirking as they snuck knowing glances to your other siblings

There you were, in all your glory. You seemed to sparkle under the Sun, watering the flowers with your little pink pot. When the water ran out, you sighed. You really needed to invest in a bigger one

Just as you were about to go fill it, Percy proudly announced, “you won’t have to do that anymore!”

You couldn’t believe your ears. As you turned around, you fought the urge to hug the boy. Despite only speaking with him once, you really did miss Percy

Intrigued, you followed Percy to the fountain in the middle of the greenhouse. Before, it used to just be for decoration (since you had sprinklers), but now it came very handy for refilling your watering cans

Extending his arm towards the fountain, Percy willed droplets of water to hover in the air, then, with one motion, threw them all over the greenhouse, watering your plants perfectly

“Oh my Gods, Percy, this is amazing! Thank you so much!” You exclaimed, running over to him and giving him a peck on the cheek. It was a spontaneous decision mainly done because you were getting quite tired of manually watering all your plants

After that, Percy began working at Flowers and Vines as your temporary plant-waterer. You, your siblings and Dionysus’ kids would all cheer when he’d appear, and he’d play into it, making a big show out of getting the water out of the fountain and sprinkling it over the plants, winking at you as he did so

The plants seemed to flourish even more than usual, too. You told yourself it was probably because water from a son of Poseidon was more powerful than normal water (or something along those lines), but you knew the truth

As a child of Demeter, much like your mother, your emotions influenced nature around you. When you were sad, plants would wilt and wither, mimicking the winter Demeter creates whenever Persephone is in the Underworld

The opposite was true. Whenever you were happy, plants would blossom and bloom all around - and you were really happy when Percy was around. Which is why you needed to tell him before the Hephaestus cabin fixed your sprinklers

However, fear got the best of you every time you tried to get the words out of your mouth. Despite practising several times with your siblings (and even once with the Aphrodite cabin), whenever you tried telling Percy, you’d get shy and vines would grow out of your head, tangling with your hair and acting as a shield

Unfortunately for you, Percy couldn’t tell from that that you liked him, so you simply had to get over your fears and say it

Your confession happened on Percy’s last day as your plant waterer. That morning, Katie had pulled you to the side, telling you to hurry up your confession to Percy as she and Travis couldn’t delay the Hephaestus cabin any more (they were getting quite annoyed, having worked on the sprinklers for so long. What did those Ares kids do to them?)

So, you spent the whole day bracing yourself for Percy’s arrival. All you had to do was say it, get his response and move on with your life. It wasn’t that big of a deal!

After Percy watered the plants, everyone watched in silence, waiting for you to say something

“Hey… Percy, can we talk?” You asked, ignoring the hushed cheers of your siblings as you approached the boy. He nodded, smiling at you and letting you lead him to the back, where you kept all the extra supplies

Sitting on a stool, Percy looked up at you, just noticing your nervousness, “is everything okay?” He asked, concern laced in his voice

You nodded, taking a deep breath. You practically had this memorised. You just had to get the words out. You couldn’t get the words out

The vines grew from your head again and you wanted nothing more than to cocoon yourself in them. You’d faced terrifying monsters with a calm smile and eliminated them like you were pulling weeds out of your gardens, but you couldn’t tell a boy you liked him?

At this point, the vines were wrapping around the stool Percy was sat on, and he stood up, confused

Slowly, he made his way over to you and brushed the vines away from your face. As he looked into your wide eyes, he finally understood. Cupping your face with his hands, Percy placed a tender kiss on your lips

“I like you too, Y/N. Like, a lot”

Ok dating hcs 🥳

First of all I just wanna say PICNIC DATES!!! Sometimes you have them on the beach and it’s like you combined both your worlds <3

As a child of Demeter I can confidently say we know how to cook. Percy’s so in love with your cooking. He never thought any cooking could rival his mother’s until you came along

Somehow, you knew how to make meals that make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If you asked him to taste ambrosia and one of your meals blindfolded and then choose one, he’d choose yours in a heartbeat

He’s also so obsessed with the fresh produce you bring from Flowers and Vines. I said this in my Percy x Persephone!Reader headcanons but I don’t think Percy’s much of a fruits/vegetables guy so the fact that you have him hooked on them says a lot

Swears he’s addicted. You think he’s just saying that to flatter you but he means it. If someone asked him if he had an addiction he’d look them dead in the eye and go, “yes, my partner’s bell peppers.”

He’s actually right though! Demeter + Dionysus kid powers make the produce taste a little fresher and last for way longer

Percy also decides to learn the language of flowers. He borrows a book about it from the Athena cabin and makes little notes and everything

Once, you came to his cabin and found the book full of scrawled annotations and sticky notes in it and you had to fight the urge to bawl your eyes out because he’s just so adorable

Will literally buy you flowers from your own flower shop though LMAO he doesn’t even try to do the transaction with anyone else. He’ll buy them and you’ll give them to him and he’ll be like “oh thanks I’m gonna go give this to the light of my life now” and he just hands them back to you

Percy’s also def the type of guy to keep one with him so he can get you new ones as soon as they start to wilt. Except his timing is always off because flowers tend to last a little longer when they’re around you

Lowkey still works at Flowers and Vines except he just follows you around and has no salary (he says his salary are kisses from you but knows he’d get them regardless LOL)

Brings Sally and Paul to Flowers and Vines and they’re immediately hooked because flowers in the mortal world aren’t half as beautiful as these hello??

Also, as a child of Demeter, you are naturally very motherly and caring. He loves seeing you interact with Estelle so much!!!

His half-sister warmed up to you extremely quickly and now refuses to be babysat by anyone who isn’t you. Like it can’t even be Percy alone you have to be there!!

Percy ALSO loves it when you dote on him. This leads to him being a little dramatic at times

Looking up, you saw a pouty Percy make his way over to you, his brows furrowed as he looked down at his finger

“Y/N! You won’t believe what happened!” He said. The first couple times he pulled this stunt, he’d scared you shitless, but you now knew all about your boyfriend’s antics and simply gave him a knowing smile

Feigning worry, you asked, “oh no, what is it?” Percy revealed his finger to you, which had a barely noticeable cut at the tip of it

“I was talking to Clarisse when all of a sudden she swung at me!” He told you, looking over to the side. In reality, he’d asked Clarisse to cut him, knowing only a child of Ares could have such precision with a weapon

Sporting a pout of your own, you took Percy’s finger and peppered it with kisses, “I’ll speak to Clarisse, don’t worry.” You said

“Uhh.. Y/N.. she also punched me in the lips… My lips really hurt.”

Let’s just say you didn’t get much work done that day (SAFE FOR WORK!)

[cherryredlove]

☆ you spin me right round ☆

Modern! Record shop owner! au Aemond Targaryen x Bar owner! reader SMUT

• • • • • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • • • •

You're the blooming business owner that owns the chic new bar in town, The Alchemist's Guild. All that's left to do is befriend your sourpuss neighbour, the cool owner of the music shop Targaryen Tracks. Maybe a crisis will do the trick?

Word Count: 1.9k

Themes: SMUT, 18+, rough oral smex, pearl necklace, sex in semi-public place

• • • • • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • • • •

Owning a bar was always a dream of yours, and now that dream has finally come true. The place you purchased is a hidden gem on the artsy quarter of the city of King's Landing, nestled between eclectic shops and quirky businesses, with just enough foot traffic to guarantee interest. You’ve christened it The Alchemist’s Guild, and you hoped it'll become the hottest bar in the area soon.

Every bottle and glass has been carefully selected, and you’ve spent countless hours transforming the run-down space into a chic, cosy haven for anyone seeking to unwind. Edison bulbs hang from the ceiling, casting a warm glow over the polished wooden surfaces and plush seating. The shelves behind the bar are stocked with an impressive array of gins and wines, and the scent of fresh herbs and citrus fills the air.

The only hurdle now? Making friends with the neighbours, particularly the one who runs the music shop next door, Targaryen Tracks.

You’ve seen him a few times, Aemond Targaryen, always dressed impeccably in black, with silver hair and an ever-present scowl etched onto his face. His shop is a world of its own, filled with vintage records and obscure music that you occasionally hear through the walls.

Today, after a couple of good days of business, you decide it’s time to introduce yourself properly. Maybe you can even convince him to partner up for some musical collaborations, adding a unique touch to your bar’s atmosphere. With a deep breath, you step into Targaryen Tracks, the door chiming softly as you enter.

Aemond looks up from behind the counter, his single blue eye meeting yours with a curious, almost guarded expression. He nods in acknowledgement, though his lips barely form a smile.

"Hi, I’m Y/N," you say, offering a friendly smile. "I just opened the bar next door, The Alchemist’s Guild. Thought I’d come by and say hello."

"Aemond," he replies curtly, giving you a once-over before returning his gaze to the record he’s examining.

The shop is a paradise for any music lover, with rows upon rows of records neatly organized by genre and era. The atmosphere is nostalgic, and you can’t help but feel a pang of admiration for the meticulous care he’s put into curating his collection. You too take great pride in organisation and decoration.

You take a moment to look around, pretending to browse. The silence stretches between you, and you rack your brain for something to say, anything to break the ice.

"You’ve got quite the collection here," you venture, picking up a random record and pretending to study it. "I’ve been thinking about hosting some vinyl nights at the bar. You know, set up a record player, get some more out there stuff playing."

Aemond’s eye flickers with mild interest as he raises an eyebrow. "That so?"

You nod eagerly, hoping to engage him further. "Yeah! I think it’d be great to have something a bit more unique than just playlists. It’s a vibe, you know?"

He studies you for a moment, considering your words. "I suppose it could work," he admits, a hint of intrigue in his tone. "What kind of records are you looking to play?"

"Honestly, I’m open to anything that sets the right mood," you reply with enthusiasm. "Jazz, blues, rock, maybe even some classical if it fits."

Aemond nods, the hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "I might have a few recommendations."

A spark of hope flickers inside you. Perhaps this sourpuss neighbor of yours isn’t as aloof as he seems. Maybe there's a chance for some collaboration after all.

• • • • • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • • • •

Business at The Alchemist’s Guild is booming. You’ve managed to create a buzz around town, and the place is packed almost every night. The combination of exquisite drinks and the cosy atmosphere has made your bar a go-to spot for many locals and visitors alike. It's become a favourite with the artsy scene in the quarter, putting you firmly on the map.

But tonight, as you’re hosting bustling Saturday evening, disaster strikes. The trusty sound system crackles and dies with a sad whimper. Panic sets in as you realize that without music, the bar loses a significant part of its charm.

As the clamor of conversation fills the air, you frantically fiddle with the cables and speakers, hoping for a miracle. But nothing works.

Just when you're about to lose hope, an idea strikes.

"Hold down the fort for me, Dyana!" You call out to the bartender you employed.

You dash out of the bar and head straight to Targaryen Tracks, where Aemond is about to close up for the night.

Aemond looks up at you as you barge into the shop, mildly surprised to see you so flustered.

"Aemond, I need a huge favour," you blurt out, trying to catch your breath. "My sound system just broke down, and I have a packed bar with no music. Can you help me out?"

He pauses. "What do you need?"

"Your records," you say quickly, hope rising in your chest. "And your record player and speakers. Just for tonight. I’ll give you free drinks for a week in return."

He narrows his eye, contemplating the offer. After a moment, he nods. "Fine. But you handle the equipment with care."

Relief floods through you. "Thank you, thank you so much! I promise I'll be careful. You can even handle changing the records if that's better. "

Together, you gather a selection of records, and Aemond helps you carry them over to the bar. With his expertise, you set up the record player, and soon, the rich, warm tones of vinyl fill the space, transforming the atmosphere instantly.

The patrons love it, and you can feel the tension leaving your shoulders as the night goes on smoothly. True to your word, you offer Aemond a drink on the house as a gesture of gratitude. He graciously accepts your Greyjoy Gin and tonic with a small smile.

• • • • • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • • • •

As the night draws to a close, the last of your customers finally trickle out, leaving the bar empty save for you and Aemond. The soft glow of the Edison bulbs casts a cosy light over the room, and the record player softly spins its last tune.

"Thank you again," you say, leaning against the bar, feeling the exhaustion of the night catching up to you. "You really saved me tonight."

Aemond shrugs, a faint smirk on his lips. "It was interesting. Your patrons seem to appreciate good music."

You laugh softly, nodding in agreement. "I owe you. Seriously, free drinks for a week."

He takes a sip of his drink, regarding you with an appraising gaze. "Maybe we can make this a regular thing. Vinyl nights, as you said. I can curate the music."

"That would be amazing," you reply, feeling your heart race a little. "I think it’d be a hit."

As you tidy up the bar, Aemond helps, and the two of you chat more easily than before. You discover that beneath his stoic exterior, he has a genuine passion for music and a dry sense of humour that you find surprisingly charming.

With the bar finally clean and ready for the next day, you both take a moment to relax, leaning against the counter again.

As the last record winds down to silence, an unexpected tension fills the air. The kind that lingers between two people until someone is brave enough to try.

It’s Aemond who makes the first move. His eye locks onto yours, and you see a flicker of something you hadn't quite noticed before. You feel your body light up.

Before you know it, he’s closing the distance between you, his presence commanding and electric. He pauses, giving you a moment to stop him if you wish, but you find yourself drawn in by the intensity of his gaze.

And then his lips are on yours, firm and insistent, sending a jolt down your spine. You kiss him back, matching his fervour with your own.

Aemond’s hands are on your waist, pulling you closer, and you respond by wrapping your arms around his neck, grasping at his hair. His mouth is hot and heady, and you moan into his as his hips grind against yours.

You barely notice as you’re backed against the bar, the cool surface a stark contrast to the heat of the kiss. Aemond’s hands are exploring now, tracing a path down your sides, and you let out a soft sigh of approval, urging him on.

The kiss deepens, his touch is confident, and you can feel the hardness of his cock against your tender pussy. Your body reacts, arching into him to relieve your aching sex.

Aemond unzips your trousers, moaning at how wet you are, before gliding his fingers into your soaked heat. You cling to him, mewling, and bit down hard onto his neck. Aemond’s long fingers move inside you, fingering you with a beckoning motion. His eye rolls back as you grasp his cock in your hand, massaging through his trousers.

Aemond hoists you up onto the bar's counter, kissing you roughly before kneeling, facing your soaked pussy. Your hands grip his hair, urging him onto your heat. His tongue flicks out to lick your juices, and the moan you let out spurs him to bury his face.

His long nose is shoved against your clit, rubbing you in the mot perfect way as his tongue laps you expertly. Your thighs squeeze his head tightly. One of his hands grips your soft thigh hard, the other resumes its ministrations inside your tight pussy, making you choke and feel the hot lick of pleasure push you higher and higher. You grind against his face, Aemond sucking your clit with suchbvigour that you cry out, cumming hard on him. You cream against his tongue, and he laps it all up with a deep moan.

Once your head has stopped swimming at the pleasure of your high, you wobble down and fall to your knees. His thick cock sits right in front of your face, and he slowly parts your lips with the red cockhead. It's huge, you run out of mouth room pretty quickly as his hands grip your hair. You moan, the vibration making his hips stutter, and begin to suck him hard.

"Your lips look so beautiful wrapped arouud me baby," he rasps out. "I'll cum if you carry on."

Enthused, you bob your head faster, hollowing out your cheeks and rubbing your tongue right against the slit of his tip. When you fondle his balls with your hands and swallow hard, Aemond releases a strangled cry of pleasure, face-fucking you hard and fast. He lets out an unintelligible moan as he cums. Some of it leaks down your throat, but he pulls out to cum all over your face and neck. You gasp at the hot white ropes of cum that decorate your collar bone.

Panting, he helps you up, swiping his cum off with a finger and parting your lips for you to swallow it. He kisses you gently, salty and sweet.

"Want to come back to mine?" He asks, eye glinting. You nod eagerly, kissing him sweetly. His hands hold you firmly, and you thank the Gods for your sound system breaking.

• • • • • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • • • •

AN: save me modern aemond targaryen save me! love writing that so gimme ur feedback and send any requests! if u like this sort of stuff check out my masterlist!

[boudicca]

my proposals for 2024 house md plots

kpop stan slash koreaboo is believed to have deadly cancerous lesions in her lungs before house bursts in at the eleventh hour to declare she's been poisoned by a rare toxic fungus found only in the korean peninsula, which she consumed via contaminated haitai grape candies

a young gamer develops a severe illness which is impossible to diagnose until he confesses to chase that he drank an e-girl's bathwater which he purchased on onlyfans, contracting a bacterial infection

a lamp otherkin gets tungsten poisoning from their collection of antique edison lightbulbs

several college students' lungs are filled with microplastics and the fellows are sent to every vape and weed shop near campus to find out what caused it (high nicotine blue raspberry disposable)

the entire princeton polycule commune comes down with a mysterious illness. foreman insists that the diagnostic team treat them all for std's and send them home. one of the nurses (also a member of the polycule) tells kutner about her landlord cutting corners, leading house to realize that they were all exposed to toxic low-cost paint at a recent orgy

a millionaire's car crash is blamed on his malfunctioning tesla cybertruck but house is not so sure. they discover the man shows signs of lowered brain capacity and, after an mri, the fellows discover lesions on the millionaire's brain and treat him for cancer. he gets worse. house is at his wit's end and cannot figure out what is wrong. after looking at the millionaire's grindset tiktok, house realizes his brain capacity isn't actually affected and he's just an idiot. the lesions are because he has also contracted an infection from onlyfans bathwater.

[transform4u]

Hey, me and my boyfriend, we love each other to moon and back. But i heard him saying to his friends that he loves me, but it was his fantasy about being with a greaser with a leather jacket and a slick back hairstyle. But i am a sweet nerdy guy, not rugged thug. Can you transform me into one.

You murmur to yourself as you slouch through the crowded street, "Why am I always just some scrawny, sweet nerdy guy? Why can't I be more… impressive?" Your voice is barely audible, lost in the hum of the city.

As you step into the Enigma Emporium, you hear a sharp snaaaappp behind you. The sound is like the crack of a whip, snapping your attention to the cluttered chaos that greets you. The store is a labyrinth of old clothes and forgotten trinkets, with racks spilling over and objects strewn haphazardly. Vintage film posters peel off the walls, while vinyl records are scattered like forgotten dreams. A thick layer of dust hangs in the air, shimmering in the dim, flickering light. The air smells of old leather and mildew.

With your head hung low, you move almost in a daze, your feet shuffling over the worn floorboards. Each step feels heavy, weighted by the burden of your self-doubt. Just as you begin to lose yourself in the disarray, a voice breaks the silence.

"Ah, tsk, tsk, tsk. I see there is trouble in paradise." You look up to see a short but strikingly handsome man, dressed in a crisp red suit that contrasts sharply with the shop’s disheveled state. His eyes are intense, like they could see right through you.

"He wants something rougher, tougher, and more brooding, yes?" He says, his gaze piercing through you. “Back aisle, way back. You’ll find a closet with exactly what you need. Come on. Quick as you like.”

With a sense of urgency, he gestures towards the back. You nod, almost mechanically, and follow his direction. As you pass racks of clothing, you notice old film posters and dusty vinyl collections. The further you go, the darker the store becomes, the light dimming until it's barely more than a shadow.

A faint, warm glow from an Edison bulb catches your eye, barely illuminating a tattered curtain at the very end of the aisle. “This must be the closet,” you think to yourself, pushing the curtain aside.

The small space is dimly lit, barely illuminated by the soft glow of the bulb. Your eyes adjust to find a red leather jacket, battered and worn, hanging there like a relic. It’s odd—how could this jacket possibly make any difference?

Yet, you find yourself drawn to it. You pick it up without hesitation, and before you fully understand why, you’re standing in front of a mirror, the jacket now draped over your shoulders. A coy smile curls on your lips as you look at yourself. The moment you fasten the jacket, a sudden and almost imperceptible snap echoes in your mind. It’s as though your very thoughts are being erased, each memory popping like balloons, floating away into nothingness. Your first date with your boyfriend? Gone. The hours spent poring over Spider-Man comics? Disappeared. Your once-innocent crush on Chris Evans? It fills you with a sudden, sharp revulsion.

As your old self seems to fade away, a new sensation takes over. Your muscles begin to contract and swell with raw power. Your biceps bulge, veins straining under your skin as they grow, the definition becoming more pronounced. Your triceps, once lean, now ripple with strength. Your pecs expand, pushing out against the fabric, becoming solid, sculpted. Your once slender waist broadens as your muscles tighten, and your buttocks, too, swell with a new, impressive roundness.

As you stare at your reflection, your newly-bulging biceps flex in the red leather jacket, a surge of cocky satisfaction floods your being. The jacket, now a perfect fit, accentuates every curve and swell of your transformed physique. Your eyes, once a dull brown, now glow with an unnatural red hue, reflecting the newfound confidence and raw power surging through you.

A grin spreads across your face as you catch sight of yourself—there’s a devilish spark in your eyes, and the jacket seems to vibrate with a life of its own. Ignoring the odd little man who helped you find this jacket, you storm out of the shop, your footsteps echoing with a newfound authority. Your presence fills the space, demanding attention. The store’s dim light gives way to the harsh daylight outside, but even the sun seems to dim in comparison to your radiance.

You reach into the pocket of your leather jacket and pull out a flask, the metal glinting in the sunlight. Without a second thought, you unscrew the top and take a swig of whiskey. The liquid burns as it slides down your throat, a fiery warmth spreading through your chest and igniting your muscles with an intense, invigorating heat. The whiskey, like a catalyst, accelerates your transformation.

Your face begins to shift and harden, the contours of your jawline sharpening into a chiseled, almost glass-like precision. A five o’clock shadow, dark and rugged, deepens into a five-day shadow, enhancing your masculine edge. Your once smooth skin now bears a rugged, sun-baked tan, adding to your tough-guy aesthetic. The scar above your left eyebrow, faint and mysterious, now stands out more prominently, hinting at a past full of battles and brawls.

You feel your height increasing, your stature becoming more imposing. Broad shoulders expand even more, stretching the jacket tight across your back. Your neck thickens, now capable of holding up your newfound power with ease. Your biceps swell further, bulging impressively against the sleeves of the jacket. Your forearms grow thick and powerful, veins bulging as they pulse with life and energy.

As you check out the muscles in your chest, you notice the defined pecs pushing out proudly, creating a powerful, almost intimidating silhouette. Your abs, once just a hint of definition, now present a solid six-pack that ripples with every breath. The muscles in your legs are equally formidable, with strong quads and calves that attest to your newfound strength and endurance.

With each step, your swagger becomes undeniable. You walk with a confident strut, the leather jacket making you feel like an unstoppable force. You exude a raw charisma that blends arrogance with confidence. The swagger in your stride is punctuated by the occasional flick of your head, the tousled hair giving you a perpetually defiant look. Your gaze, shielded by a pair of aviator sunglasses, still pierces through with a steely intensity.

You find yourself walking through the doors of some loud club, women and men stare at you as you walk in. You know they're just jealous of your looks, your old boyfriend is a distant memory. You pull yourself up to the bar, demanding a shot from the waitress. Your eyes linger on her tits clinging to her tight t-shirt as she approaches with a smirk on her face.

"Hey there, handsome," she says in a sultry voice that makes your heart race. "What can I get for you?"

You lean forward and whisper, "I'd like whatever it is that's been keeping me awake at night." She blows you off with an eye roll before turning away to serve another customer. As she hands over the drink, you can't help but notice how tightly her t-shirt clings to her body - especially around those ample breasts that seem begging for release from their confines. Your lips curl into a smirk as lustful thoughts begin dancing through your mind. But quickly, you find yourself chatting with some even hotter Latina next to you who catches your eye immediately upon entering the room - long black hair cascading down past her shoulders; full lips painted red; curves that could stop traffic if they weren't already moving too fast for anyone but themselves!

As she laughs at one of your jokes, all thoughts of being polite or respectful fly out the window because this woman deserves nothing less than complete disrespect from someone like yourself - an arrogant prick who thinks he has everything figured out just by looking at himself in mirror every morning while brushing his teeth after waking up next door neighbor girl, some new girl to the city who never knew better then to fuck with a fucker like you.

You shamelessly flirt with the Latina, telling her all about your band and how we're going to be the next big thing. You know you're full of shit, but she doesn't seem to mind. In fact, she seems more interested in you now that she knows you have some kind of status or fame. Your antics continue as you order another round of drinks for both of you without even asking if she wants one. When the waitress brings them over, you casually reach into your pocket and pull out a wad of cash big enough to cover both tabs plus tip - just because YOU can! The look on her face is priceless; part shocked disbelief mixed with undeniable lust. It makes your cock twitch beneath those tight jeans.

You take a drag from your cigarette, while leaning closer so only she can hear what comes next: "So tell me babe… What would it take for someone like ME to get YOU outta here tonight?" Your voice is low yet commanding - daring her not only answer truthfully but also accept whatever consequences may come along with it…

As you continue to flirt shamelessly with the Latina, you can't help but brag about your band and how successful it is. "We just got signed to a major label," you say nonchalantly as if it's no big deal. "And we're playing at Madison Square Garden next month." You take another drag from your cigarette before blowing the smoke directly into her face, making sure she knows exactly who she's dealing with - someone used to getting whatever he wants whenever he wants it.

Memories flash through your mind of all the times you treated women like dirt: that one girl who cried when you broke up with her; that other girl who begged for another chance after cheating on her; and then there was… well, let's not go down that road again tonight! But still, here comes this hot Latina standing right in front of you now – what harm could possibly come from having some fun?

You lean closer so only she can hear and whisper seductively into her ear while running a finger down her arm seductively , "I bet my bandmates would love to see what kind of trouble we could get into together…" Your eyes lock onto hers as if daring her not back down from such an offer.

[edison-khc]

making teen wolf stickers in 2024!?

its more likely than you think

(get them at my redbubble)

[knitmeapony]

"LAY-DEES, Gentlemen, and THOSE for whom TIME is a factor, I bring you the FINEST, absolutely PALACE-GRADE goods so that you, too can REACH the GREAT BEYOND with SAFETY, SECURITY, and most of all -- QUALITY. Yes, step right up my friends to see what we have to offer. Do you need to speak to your dearly departed mother and ask where she kept the pin-money? Do you want the spirits to ask if he truly loves you? Do YOU need that HORRID little SPIRIT excised from your house?"

[icannotpickanamewtf]

The Day The Music Died (Part One)

(PART TWO)

Sooo...you meet spot and introduce your little world <33but you might know a little more than you are leading on? If you spoke up a little more...maybe others would know?

You remember seeing a man dressed in dark blue and red with a large S on his chest soaring through the sky. 

He looked free. You thought absentmindedly as you walked through the busy New York crowds. 

Some nauseating feeling bubbled inside of your gut. You wished you could touch the clouds like he could. 

Maybe then you wouldn’t feel so trapped.

One foot after another, you made your way through a dark alley to stop in front of a quaint coffee shop. 

The rats scattered beneath your feet and garbage decorated the shadows. The brick was dusty from age and the sound of horns honking and people walking became white noise as you reached for the door knob to the shop.

“Collin’s Coffee.”

Best fucking gig you’ve got going right now. 

You wondered if that Spider-Guy worked a normal job like you did. 

The thought of seeing a man dressed in clad spandex taking orders made you let out a soft chuckle as you ducked into the comforting atmosphere of the shop.

It gave the radiance of a library in Hognorts with the walls dripping with mounts of knowledge and books. The actual walls themselves had a sharp red brick hidden behind the shelves and posters.

Plants grew from the ceiling and succulents were plotted on the ceramic countertop. 

You quickly removed your bag from your shoulders and placed it behind the counter while reaching for a navy apron. Rubbing your eyes harshly, you began to slowly wake up and soak in your surroundings. 

“Hey! How’s it going, kiddo?”

Mr. Parker. Collin Parker. The kind old man that ran the coffee shop semi-hopped to where you were meticulously placing pastries inside the display case. 

Most of the time, and in the most endearing way, he had more energy than a toddler. 

“Fine. You?” You weren’t the biggest fan of talking, but you would make an effort to check in with the old. They held a tiny soft spot in your heart. 

If you even had one.

“Good, good…just filling out some silly old paper-work. Don’t mind this old man.” Mr. Parker slowly hobbled his way back to his office, letting you finish adjusting the glass plates that presented little scones and croissants.

The front door slammed open as a clumsy pubescent boy stumbled through. 

“Sorry I’m a bit late! I swear I was just on my way but a guy decided to–“ 

Sigh. There goes that peaceful, delicious, quiet. 

“Ok.” You kept it short. Honestly, you couldn’t care less.

“–He was awwwwfulllll! Trust me, if you met a guy like him on the train you’d absolutely lose your mind.” 

You had already lost yours a while ago.

“K.” Your responses where getting impossibly shorter as a the kid rambled on as he found his way behind the counter. 

Peter Parker, estranged somehow related to Collin Parker. He had a good heart, but a huge fucking mouth for a fifteen-year old. His brown fluffy hair bounced as he waved his hands around  to accentuate the supposed “annoying man” he met on the train. 

Peter was a nerdy kid, and you appreciated the child-like joy (probably because he still was a child in your eyes) he carried but you would rather die than admit it. 

You saw him as a little, albeit annoying, brother. 

“You can stop now.” You prided yourself in your honesty, but always tried to tone it down to be a bit less brutal for Peter. 

“Oh–Oh okay, sorry–right, silence.”

He wasn’t going to be quiet for long, but that was okay, you knew how to just–push it away. 

 Anywho…what’s going on? Do you want me to man the counter today? I don’t know if I’m really up for it…you know how much it makes me anxious. I would! I really would but…ya’know. I just get all shaky and–“

Buzzing echoed in your ear as his endless chatter filled the café’s walls. 

“Go in the back. Do restock and phone orders.” Like he always did. 

Peter let out a breath in relief, his shoulders noticeably loosened.

As he awkwardly made his way to the back, almost slipping on the white tile that covered where you and him were standing behind the counter.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I won’t disappoint you! Trust me, I’ve gotten reallllyyy good at using the new toaster that I think I am a toasting god!–”

You don’t really care, but you let a tiny chuckle leave your chapped lips before you turned to face the front again. You didn’t have enough energy to really play it off with a smile, but it’s the effort that counts right? 

“Mk. Bye.” 

Peter quickly ducked into the back while slipping in his ear buds to get ready for a comforting day at work. When you started working here, you noticed how he looked up to you. Thinking you were…”cool.” 

It made you gag when you thought about it too much. 

The bell chimed and the first customer of the day came on in. 

“Welcome.” Your voice just barely tipped the ‘annoyed and exhausted but had to make some cash’ tone. 

You looked up at the strange figure that just entered. 

Ok…are you fucking kidding me?

His huge trench coat covered his shoulders as he stumbled in, not too unfamiliar as to Peter’s entrance. 

What made your eyes blink a little more than usual was the stark white skin that stretched over him head to toe. Dark little holes scattered his body and a pair of big sunglasses covered the top half of his face. 

Was that a fedora?

You just swiveled to make your own coffee. A plain, black, hot coffee. Free of charge, and one of the best things to come out of this job. 

Just as you were sliding on the sleeve, you quietly shuffled behind the counter as he coughed behind you. You were almost ignoring the weird customer as a whole. 

To be honest, you just couldn’t bring yourself to care.  

You couldn’t bring yourself to care about most things anymore.

Was that bad? 

Eh. Whatever.

You just busied yourself with minimal tasks like rearranging the pastries in the display or picking at the scabs that littered your fingers. 

The customer coughed again. 

“Do you have asthma? Want me to get you an inhaler?” 

Whoops. That might’ve come out a little to sarcastic. You were genuinely worried, ok? 

Maybe not that worried, but still. You didn’t mean it to come out like that. 

“No! I–I do not…Give me the cash in the register, now please!” 

Ohhhhh.

You were being robbed!

Wait. 

You were being robbed.

“Nah.” Your responses were curt and short as you took short sips from your coffee. 

You needed some caffeine ASAP. 

“Wha–?! There isn’t a ’No’ in this! Give me the cash, now! Please!” The weirdo came up to the counter and this time you noticed how fucking huge this guy was. 

He was probably 7 foot. 

Did he seriously say please? At least he had manners.

“No.” You shrugged and casually went back to what you were doing, but before you could turn fully and brush him aside, a pale white hand launched out and flipped you back. 

”Look at me.” Static rippled in his voice. 

Maybe–just maybe-you wanted to fuck with this guy a little by actively widening your eyelids so you could showcase how you were looking in every other direction except his. 

“Just–Just give me the cash. Or else I’ll…I’ll shoot!” He showed off his other hand as it pointed at you through his pocket. 

If you were dumb maybe you’d have believed him. 

If you didn’t have a certain…experience with guns maybe you’d have believed him. 

“What kinda gun is that?” 

You were starting to get a little impatient with this banter. What if Mr. Parker came out and the poor man went into cardiac arrest? What if Peter stopped listening to his shit music and did his job and saw you fighting with this guy? 

“It’s a pistol.” 

That was definitely not a fucking pistol. 

“No, it’s not.” You shook your head and ran your fingers through your hair. 

“How would you know, huh? What if it is?” Was he trying to be smug? 

“The closest thing that your abnormally large fingers look like would be a fucking Longslide Glock 17 with maybe 3 out of the 17 rounds loaded with your kinda confidence. Gotta say, it is lightweight, sturdy, good for beginners...” 

You were good at talking guns. 

Real fucking good at talking guns. 

It was probably the most you’ve said all day. 

The ghostly white ‘robber’ looked shocked, if you could tell by the way his shoulders recoiled. 

Stepping back he bashfully turned away. 

“I just need some cash, okay? That’s all…please. I’m really not good at this whole supervillain thing.” 

A little gun talk was all it took to break this guy? 

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. 

You heard the front door bell chime and it broke you out of your thoughts.

“Nah. Maybe some other time. Bye.” 

You waved a little before setting your already cold coffee on the counter to prep yourself to take an <em> actual</em> order. 

“Do you even take me seriously! I am The Spot! I literally–I can travel through-- portals!” 

Unsurprisingly, you kinda got bored of this whole ‘supervillain charade.’ 

“Ok. Bye.” You shrugged him off to turn your attention to the new customer, locking eyes with them and insinuating for them to come up to the front. 

“What?!–I’ll show you! I’ll show all of you!” He angrily threw a–

was that one of his weird spot things?

Anyway, he threw a spot into an empty space in the shop and walked through it. 

Finally. You sighed as you took the customers order. 

….

And that, even if you didn’t know it at the time, was the end of your little world as you fucking knew it. 

[miakate-writes]

grumpy character x sunshine character! :o 💚

[thank you for this submission! if you have any suggestions for prompt lists or prompt lists that you would like to see, please don’t hesitate to pop into my asks box and i will get to your request asap <3]

Grumpy x sunshine prompts <3

[song for the vibes ^^^]

Character A is very passionate about a certain subject. Character B will sit and listen to them talk about it for hours. Although B claims that they think it’s boring, A knows that they don’t mean it.

B is quite protective of A. while they’re out they place their hand on A’s back, guiding them around and ushering them away from stores and any possible way to spend too much money.

“oh come on, that shop has really cites notebooks.” “you have like fifty of those.” “but i like them.” “no.”

A gets clingy in the mornings. B has to get up for work and A just wants cuddles. you can imagine how that ends.

B is often convinced by A to wear matching outfits. they’d coordinate what colour scheme they both wear.

sometimes when B is tired and doesn’t feel like talking they’ll ask A a question about something they know will cause a rant. B can just listen to A’s voice and not have to do or say anything.

A is the main friend-maker for the both of them, being annoyingly extroverted.

[hope you enjoyed the prompts! if you write something inspired by anything here PLEASE tag me in it, i would LOVE to read your writing :) if you like my content PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE follow me on tiktok and instagram @/miakate.writes i would really appreciate the support 🫶🏻]

[inkubann]

My GO 2 Headcannons:

I miss fun and silly hcs tbh

- Crowley got a tongue piercing in the 80s and hated it. He only kept it in when Aziraphale finally noticed and kept getting caught staring at it

- Crowley used to smoke in front of the bookshop but was chided not to by Aziraphale as it “set a bad example”. Crowley now doesn’t smoke as often. Aziraphale, meanwhile, smokes often, but behind the bookshop. (In reference to the GO New Year’s Resolutions)

- There are multiple articles of clothing in the bookshop that belong to Crowley from over the years. Aziraphale keeps them just in case.

- Aziraphale likes when Crowley grows out his hair and is devastated every time he cuts it short. It reminds him of when they first met.

-Every time Aziraphale visits a coffee shop by himself, they always spell his name (horrendously) wrong. Sometimes, if Crowley is persuaded to not do the ordering, he’ll miracle Aziraphale’s name correctly on the cups before he notices (it’s always noticed).

-Nina and Maggie used to refer to Crowley as “Mr. Fell’s Partner” before being introduced.

- Crowley has a collection of forgotten records in the book shop. Aziraphale keeps them in pristine condition with the rest of his records, occasionally adding some to the collection for Crowley if he spots any he thinks he’ll like.

- Aziraphale has multiple sketchbooks, many of which the pages are just of Crowley (He would rather discorporate than have Crowley see them). He might even have paintings that are even more well hidden.

- Aziraphale and Crowley got drunk one evening at a ball and had a portrait commissioned of the two of them. Crowley ended up taking it once they sobered up to “hide it”, that being hung in one of the rooms of his flat.

- Aziraphale once accidentally ran into Crowley at a gay bar in soho.

- Crowley has tried to convince Aziraphale to switch to CDs/Cassettes to save space. It never worked.

- Aziraphale owned an Edison Phonograph but had to stop using it because he lost the key to the locking lid. Crowley found the key forever ago and never told him, knowing Aziraphale didn’t want to miracle it open because he would “find it eventually.”

- Aziraphale’s favourite color is yellow because of Crowley’s eyes.

- Crowley doesn’t read much because, much like snakes, he has bad eyesight. (Hence, the Jane Austen bit in S2)

- Aziraphale is actually very physically strong. Crowley not as much.

- Crowley has sharp teeth because he’s a demon. Aziraphale also has pointed teeth as Cherubs are part lion.

- when some of the businesses near the book shop threatened to shutdown during lock down, Aziraphale miracled their bills away. The nearby owners were convinced Aziraphale had mafia affiliations.

-any minor tear or loose thread on Aziraphale’s very old coat/vest will be subtly miracled away by Crowley, hoping it will go unnoticed. Aziraphale always notices.

-Crowley’s corporation will sometimes form freckles during sunny days. Aziraphale might miracle extra sunlight onto him just to see more form. (Crowley is unaware of this)

-Aziraphale, at some point, was a good marksman.

-Muriel accidentally found the false book Aziraphale had hidden his pistol when they took over the shop. They frantically reported this to Crowley when they had the chance, making him smile ever so slightly.

-Aziraphale will often trick Crowley into sitting in a sunnier seat when they’re out in public so he can see Crowley’s eyes through the lenses of his sunglasses.

-much like cats, angels’ eyes will reflect light. This causes any images taken of Aziraphale with the flash to have glowing eyes.

-Aziraphale avoided Crowley in the 70s until he shaved off his moustache

-Crowley has memorized all of the constellations and at some point read up on Astrology which he takes credit for. (He claims it induces mass delusion)

-Crowley claimed to invent coffee tables to inconvenience humans’ shins

[usafphantom2]

development of the Blackbird program. Enjoy❤️

Clarence “Kelly” Johnson was an authentic American genius. He was the kind of enthusiastic visionary that bulled his way past vast odds to achieve great successes, in much the same way as Edison, Ford, and other immortal tinkerers of the past. When Kelly rolled up his sleeves, he became unstoppable, and the nay-sayers and doubters were simply ignored or bowled over. He declared his intention, then pushed through while his subordinates followed in his wake. He was so powerful that simply by going along on his plans and schemes, the rest of us helped to produce miracles too. Honest to God, there will never be another like him.”

― Ben R. Rich, Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed

Like

“We became the most successful advanced projects company in the world by hiring talented people, paying them top dollar, and motivating them into believing that they could produce a Mach 3 airplane like the Blackbird a generation or two ahead of anybody else. Our design engineers had the keen experience to conceive the whole airplane in their mind’s-eye, doing the trade-offs in their heads between aerodynamic needs and weapons requirements. We created a practical and open work environment for engineers and shop workers, forcing the guys behind the drawing boards onto the shop floor to see how their ideas were being translated into actual parts and to make any necessary changes on the spot. We made every shop worker who designed or handled a part responsible for quality control.

Any worker—not just a supervisor or a manager—could send back a part that didn’t meet his or her standards. That way we reduced rework and scrap waste. We encouraged our people to work imaginatively, to improvise and try unconventional approaches to problem solving, and then got out of their way. By applying the most commonsense methods to develop new technologies, we saved tremendous amounts of time and money, while operating in an atmosphere of trust and cooperation both with our government customers and between our white-collar and blue-collar employees. In the end, Lockheed’s Skunk Works demonstrated the awesome capabilities of American inventiveness when free to operate under near ideal working conditions.

That may be our most enduring legacy as well as our source of lasting pride.”

― Ben R. Rich, Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed

@Habubrats71 via X

[wizardfrogsbutevil]

Designs for a class swap au thing ill probably never do anything else with. Backstory ideas under the cut :)

Also ignore that the images are different shapes

Gillion is a rouge:

Edyn ran away with him when he was 7-8 when she saw how the elders were treating him

They stayed in the undersea for a while but realised it was too risky so went to the oversea

They both had to learn to steal to survive-gill ended up enjoying it as it felt like he was spiting the elders

He kept stealing for fun as well as just survival

He and edyn were separated when they were attacked by navy soldiers a few months before he meets the other 2 and he's been looking for her since.

Confident and cocky like chip was at the start of the campaign, though less of a bastard

More knowledgeable about oversea stuff than canon gill

He still worships lunadeyis

Chip is now the ranger/artificer

Instead of joining price's gang, he ended up in edison kingdom after the sinking of the black rose

He lost his eye during the sinking

He ended up finding his way to the second layer of the kingdom, where he was taken in by a person who ran a mechanics/inventions shop

He ended up working for them and they helped him construct a mechanical eye using a combination of magic and tech like we saw in edison kingdom

As he got older he got better at what he was doing and his talent was recognised by the blossom boss, who let him work with the warforged

He still wanted to be a pirate though, and ended up leaving to do his own thing and try to look for info on the black sea now that hes older, where he then meets gill and jay

Still keeps in contact with his old mentor though they're not actually plot relevant

Ends up teaching jay about mechanics and stuff and they bond over enjoying it

He uses a lot of more mechanical weaponary- guns and stuff, no bow like jay had at the start of the campaign in canon

Makes the wierdest and most seemingly useless contraptions ever when he's bored

Jay is now the paladin:

The navy caught word of the undersea champion but not of the fact that he ran away-the elders kept that part very secret

They decided to train their own champion to be able to fight the elders and their champion

Ava was supposed to be the champion but they figured it would be easier with a younger child, so jay was chosen

May didn't want her to go but couldn't exactly resist the entire navy

Jayson was reluctant as well but he agreed anyway as he believed it was for the best

Jay was trained in fire/sun magic and the navy basically made up a prophecy to justify her being their, they claimed it was from aster

She was trained to fight tritons- different techniques specifically tailored to fighting them

Jay's vow was to protect the oversea at all costs

Ava was killed in a similar way to canon, but the navy basically saw her death as a way to motivate jay against the undersea more so they framed gill and edyn for it, though jay doesn't know exactly who they are

She goes undercover like in canon but she acts much differently

She's way more quiet and serious than in canon

Her thing is less about honour and more about eradicating anything the navy taught her was evil, no questions asked

She hides this at least a little though and she absolutely hates gill at the start as he embodies pretty much everything she was taught to kill, although she hides this and mellows out later, especially once she learns he's looking for his sister like she's looking to avenge hers

Definitely some angst potential when she finds out gill and his sister were the ones she believes to have killed ava

Also ava had a thing with edyn in this like she did with lizzie in canon

Jay knows more about oversea things than gill was at the start, but she is very bad at interacting with people since she had literally no friends growing up

[destiny-doodles]

#Helluvaboss Apology Tour Pin preorder are open! ✨

Go to my Main Shop or Etsy To Order Now!

Preorders end September 21st 👇