#I waited 1.5 years so finish it in one day

[blakescoven]

no one:

me: *spends 10 hours in a row watching OBX3*

[catsfor2]

hit me, part 1.5 (bonussss!)

wc: 1.5k, largely unedited warnings: swearing/language, very very light talk of smut, drug use (alcohol) a/n: hi everyone. the feedback on part one made me so so happy that i wanted to drop this for ya'll. i hope u like it ;) tags: @elliewilliamsmunch@intrnetdoll@me-and-your-husband@3zae-zae3@milahnoz@elliescumm

For context, this chapter takes place 4 years before part one, or where *reader is 16 and Ellie is 19*.This part is simply to explore an interesting friendship dynamic, teenage sexuality, and some backstory to Ellie + reader.

*I do not condone underage relationships and there will be no insinuations, assumptions, or even words that would suggest Ellie being romantically interested in reader at this point considering their age gap.*

I know this makes it sound super serious but i PROMISE YOU its not. i had to put in a disclaimer simply for respect and safety reasons. enjoy!

-j

part 1

"'Natty Light'? What the hell is that?"

"It's beer," Ellie reassures you. "it's what the college folk drink. Want some?" She says, offering out the can in her hand.

"I think I'll wait until I become...college folk." You remark, unsure.

Ellie liked being around you. When your dumbass boyfriend wasn't trying drown you with his spit every six minutes. God, he's such a dick. Ellie couldn't wait for you to grow up and see the scum of the world without youth clouding your eyes. Scum not just including your boyfriend, obviously, but mainly him.

You sit on Ellie's bed, flipping your phone back and forth between your hands like you'd been doing the entire hour you've been here.

Ellie knew what that meant. It meant that he hadn't responded for a couple days, and you're just starting to get anxious about it.

Fucking. Dick.

"What do you do in college?" You ponder.

"Fuck girls, get high, get drunk, and maybe learn. Not sure." Ellie says mindlessly. She didn't see the point in college. Thought it was a waste of time and energy. She also didn't have the money to attend.

"Or at least, that's what I would do." Ellie finishes, snatching your phone from your hands.

She chugs around half of the can after she finishes talking, topping it off with a burp.

"Give it back, Ellie." You demand.

"Why? If he hasn't texted in four days he's not gonna start now."

Ellie regretted saying that almost immediately. Sometimes you seemed so...grown up. It was hard to censor herself around you. Especially when it's something she's been trying to tell you forever.

She sees your face fall, head turn swiftly towards her window. You liked how she had a bunch of sketches up there, and when the sun shined through it you'd always say it 'looked like all of her drawings were glowing'. Ellie smiled so hard when you'd said that. One million watts for sure.

Some of them were of her current girlfriend. Some of them of her ex-girlfriends. Some of them of Dina. All you really wanted was to see yourself up there.

You were too nervous around Ellie to ask her to do anything like that. Like drawing you.

"Y'know he wasn't that way in the beginning. I used to really...like him, I think." You mutter, still facing the window.

Ellie scoffs.

"You think?"

"I'm being serious, Ellie. It's like you don't listen to me cause you think you know everything. You're not even that much older than me."

"Oh yeah? What's a condom?" She asks, eyeing you.

You don't even say anything.

"So is that because you don't know? Or--"

"Shut the fuck up. Give me my phone back already." You huff, frustrated.

"Oooh shes swearing now?" Ellie teases. She watches as your face gets all pink as you get more irritated. You cross your arms hastily. It was fun to make you mad, Ellie thought.

"You should break up with Cat."

Uh, what?

"I'm sorry?" Ellie questions, less upbeat than she was a moment ago.

"I'm tired of you nagging me about my boyfriend. Cat's not very much better than he is. In my opinion."

"Christ, you sound like Joel," Ellie spits.

If there's one thing Ellie never expected from you, it was this. You usually never breached the subject of Ellie's love life. Ellie didn't mind not talking about it, she knew you weren't homophobic or anything. She just thought, honestly, that you were disinterested. So she never really...brings Cat up.

"If you can talk about my boyfriend than I can talk about Cat. It's...fair."

"It's fucking different. You don't get it."

"Why?! You always say that," You retort, sitting up a little taller on the bed. "Just—just because I'm dating a guy and you're dating a girl?"

"Yes. Literally, yes. It's fuckin' different, I don't know what else to say." Ellie remarks, throwing the can she emptied minutes ago onto the floor. She grabs a new can from the pack, cracking it open on the spot.

"Tell me, then." You say. "Tell me how it's different."

"Well, first of all, no dicks—"

"Ellie."

She huffs out a big sigh before starting again.

"I don't even—" She burps.

"I don't even know why you wanna know. And like, right now, of all times."

When Ellie asks you that, you freeze. Obviously, noticeably, freeze. Because, well, you didn't even know why you wanted to know. You just did.

"I—I just wanna know more about you, I guess." You stutter out.

Ellie's eyes narrow. Are you...nervous?

"I know he's not a good boyfriend. I know that, Ellie. You think I'm stupid and I'm not. But I can't break up with him."

Ellie still feels like that's total bull.

"Why not."

"I just can't! It's like—it feels, like, safer, to be with him."

"That guy is anything but fucking safe—"

"You know what I mean." You say quietly.

"No, I don't." Ellie says, trying to look into your eyes.

Your head was faced downward toward the bed. Ellie practically screamed through her thoughts. You couldn't even look at her. Had she been too mean to you? In Ellie's mind, it always feels lighthearted. She didn't always take the time to make sure other people took it that way.

Finally, you look up, meeting Ellie's eyes.

"You...don't? You don’t get what I mean?”

"No, y/n. I have zero fuckin' clue. Am I...supposed to?" She questions, clearly starting to get confused.

Safe? Safe? It feels safer?! Ellie was fucking lost.

How could being with that piece of shit feel any safer than being fucking alone?

"I—y'know what, nevermind. It's dumb. I don't even know what I mean. I just thought that you would get it—for some reason. It's stupid. Sorry." You mumble out, trying to forget whatever miniscule things you were telling her.

"Don't say sorry, you didn't even fuckin' do anything," Ellie quips. "Why me?"

"I don't know. I just...thought of...you." You trail off, rubbing at your shoulders.

Yeah, whatever you were talking about? It made you really fucking nervous.

"Hmm..." Ellie hums, hopping off of the bed and beginning to rummage through a desk drawer. "Here."

"...What."

"Would you like to hear the story of my first gay crush?" She grins, knowing absolutely that you'll want to hear.

She hops back onto the bed, sitting a little closer to you.

Ellie knew she was a good storyteller, but you were by far her best listener. It's endearing, how engaged you get. Never even daring to take a glance anywhere but at Ellie.

"So her name was Riley. And I was...youngish, but—I knew for sure that my feelings were...gay feelings, y'know?"

"Well how'd you know?" You ask bluntly.

"Well I wanted to like, hold her hand? And stuff? I wanted to...to take her places. Like, cool places I found outside, and like, dumb little lookout points. I'd draw her tiny pictures of things she liked. Write stupid little notes and shit. I would make her...bracelets and, things she could wear. Stuff that didn't really cost anything. I don't know...I just kinda...knew."

You don't respond. Your eyes are glossy, barely gazing at Ellie.

"Y/N, you good?" Ellie laughs, grabbing your shoulder and shaking it a bit to get your attention.

"Yeah! I'm fine, sorry. Got in my head a little."

"Right, right, wanna see somethin' stupid?" She says, awaiting your response.

"Sure."

She picks up the item she was rummaging for a minute ago. It's a post it note.

"Oh! Can I read it?" You beg, excited to see the parts of Ellie's life you're so unfamiliar with.

"Hah, yeah, go for it. I promise you it's...underwhelming." She hands you the blue paper, drawing side down.

You begin to read.

"You are the prettiest girl I've ever seen. I drew you a penguin wearing a hat that says, 'you are the prettiest…princess…ever'. Best wishes, Ellie." You smile without meaning to.

You give her the post-it note back.

"I wish I got notes like this. Do guys...do that?" You ask.

"Um, maybe some? I wouldn't know." Ellie admits.

She wanted to say no, y/n, no guy will do that until you get married, probably, because that was the truth. However, seeing how happy you were at somebody else's love note, she didn't have the heart to say it. Ellie didn't mind letting you be sheltered a little longer if it made you happy.

Before the two of you could say anything else, a phone chimes.

Your phone.

It's him.

"Oh thank god. Ellie, I have to call him. Can I call him? I'll be back in a second I swear," You ramble, basically sprinting out the door to talk to the meathead in your phone.

Fuck.

One day you'll grow up. Ellie knows this. She sees how you change every day. It still makes her feel funny to see you so...dishonest with yourself.

The day you break up with that dick is the day I fucking win, Ellie thinks.

And that day occurred exactly a week later.

After Ellie had already left.

[jamsandsuch]

advice for first year uni students from a uni senior

the roommate(s) will always be more important than the room

+ for roommates, SET. CLEANING. EXPECTATIONS. EARLY. don't wait until you're uncomfortable with how much mess is in the kitchen for you to start thinking if you should bring it up or not. set standards and make them clear.

put your key on a lanyard and hang it from your doorknob when you’re at home so you don’t forget it on the way out

if your dorm has a shared laundry room, set your timer for when your laundry finishes ~5 mins early to give you time to walk from your room to the laundry - especially during weekends/evenings/finals people wont have the patience to wait for you - even if your load just finished

If you have noodle arms like me, buy yourself one of those collapsible grocery carts you drag behind you like a luggage - best purchase i've ever made

Or if you're lazy, order online - but order on a free day because even if you schedule a time they're always gonna come stupid early and you dont want any frozen items to get spoiled or have your groceries stolen

DONT BUY ANY TEXTBOOKS/MATERIALS UNTIL THE FIRST WEEK/CLASSES ARE OVER. sometimes you’ll have early access to the booklist or syllabus and go ahead and start buying textbooks, but increasingly often you’ll buy the materials and show up to class just to find your prof has uploaded scanned copies of everything. *save your money*, wait!

BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS - look at your class schedule and walk around campus to find each classroom. you will probably get lost on day 1 and so will many other students so this will save you a lot of walking around bumping into other lost first years

trust me after a few weeks you won’t be waking up for that 8am class. i know you did it 5 days a week in high school, but there’s a reason uni students are allergic to morning classes. know your natural energy/attention levels and take advantage of the freedom to build your schedule around your energy fluctuations

compress/stack your class schedule as much as possible. if you absolutely do need breaks, make them at least 1.5-2 hours long or you probably wont get anything productive done and minimize these long breaks as much as you can so you can just get your day over with sooner

work smarter, not harder - when school starts note each course’s assessment type by quizzes/finals/essays. if i ever have a course thats just essays, i only do lecture notes + write my own annotations about readings rather than taking notes on them which saves time i can dedicate to textbook notetaking for courses with frequent quizzes + finals

if your school has benefits/discounts/insurance - know what it is and USE IT.

most clubs wont be like high school where there are regular meetings you attend. unless youre in the exec team the membership fee you pay/when you sign up for membership it’s just for access to their events when they happen. if you want to be involved in a club in a way thats as involved as high school, look at their social media pages for hiring.

+ as someone who has had to hire before - if you’re nervous, literally just do it. i was in an exec position for our student union services and once only had like 3 applicants to pick from

if you want to be noticed by a professor, sit in the front row. and always answer/ask questions - it doesn’t matter if you said anything of substance or not, they will remember that you contributed

that and also always make the point to say hello and goodbye! eventually (in my experience) if you come early enough and are just waiting for class to start, a conversation will happen - make these regular enough and you could have an important connection!

disclaimer: of course, not all of this might be something that resonates with you/possible for your course or school, so in the words of my cousin - take what resonates

+ anyone else is free to add on!!

[awarmbowlofhomemadesoup]

There’s some weird dissonance reading Leosagi fics first before watching Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles. I mean it, I enjoyed the fics, truly. But some of them made Yuichi more like Miyamoto Usagi than himself (and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing). It’s just funny after finishing 2 seasons of SRTUC because:

While Miyamoto Usagi has a resting bitch face, Yuichi did NOT inherit it. Yuichi has a resting space face when he’s not getting excited about his ancestor or Yokai.

2. He wants to be like his ancestor so bad, but he’s just too wholesome.

3. A lot of people have already said this in a lot of posts, but dude is a disaster (affectionate):

Whooping and swinging his sword and yelling he doesn’t need a sensei after making a promise to his auntie that he would find one and treat the sword with respect.

Almost got run over by heavy traffic (and is not aware of it)

Pissed off every single one of his would-be friends who were ready to beat him up.

Was given a wide selection of mystical weapons, and ended up with a yoyo because he got distracted by it. 

AND went to jail. That’s just his first day in Neo Edo. 

He is not easily distracted, he's "momentarily focused" on other things ("oh look, a bird!")

Went into a self-induced drug trip after trying so hard to meditate

4. While Yuichi can be spacey and distractible, he’s already a skilled swordsman with good instincts and reflexes. What he lacked was experience and something to temper his one-track mind.

5. When the show said he’s “all ears, no brain,” they meant it. Guy keeps syrup packets in his pockets so that he’s always prepared. (for desserts, ig) 

6. “All ears, no brain,” was said within his hearing range and it just went through his head because he’s too excited about fighting yokai like his great-great-greatx grandpa.

7. Has the selfishness and self-centeredness of someone with ADHD (and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing). He can be so caught up in wanting to be a hero, he would sometimes not listen to his friends, or hog the mission for a chance to be remembered for a thousand years.  

8. He wants to be the main character so bad:

Jumped into conclusions with Gen and made a wanted person escape.

Attacks yokai on sight to live out his fantasy of being like Miyamoto Usagi

Tries to pilot a giant robot and did well for 1.5 seconds.

Risks his life more than once by making contact with a giant magic crystal that could’ve burned him alive with too much power.

He’s goddamn lucky his show is for a younger audience or he’d be traumatized along with Leo (and his bros) from rottmnt, Luz from TOH, and MK from Lego Monkie Kid. 

9. Likes one-liners because it’s like in his comics/manga of his greatx grandpa. (”Put down the pig, or I’ll put down the hurt -wait, I can do better than that.”)

10. But yeah, all of that and he’s still a polite and considerate kid who sincerely wants to help people and his friends and will do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. 

Saves the three people who were going to beat him up.

Got delighted when the three people who were ready to beat him up were there to rescue him. (”Are we friends now? :D”)

Wants to hug them in the first hour of meeting them.

Somehow convinced one of the most terrifying yokai to be his sensei.

Would babble about yokai in the middle of fighting one.

Risks the city for an alien.

Like I know some people can’t stand its animation. It’s not the best, but it’s not bad either. Anyway, this is the Yuichi Usagi that I have known from the show and I’m glad I’ve met him. 

[corzydoie]

Read Between The Lines

Author's Note: So THIS is why it's taken me so long to finally post (this and school cause MIDTERMS). This plus some (A LOT) more was originally supposed to be Part 2 of Sketches of Goodbye and was going to be published under a different title. HOWEVER, it was taking me too long to get to the meat of what I wanted Part 2 to be about so I just decided to post a chunk of it as Part 1.5. If you haven't read Sketches of Goodbye, you shouldn't read this yet cause it will make ZERO sense. NOT PROOFREAD!!

Summary: You finally got a much-needed break from your work, and decided to plan a getaway trip with friends you haven't seen in forever!

Word Count: 1.8k

Content Warning(s): Cursing, Mentions of Killing Attempt, Choking

It’s been over a year since you left Lando in Monaco to pursue your dreams in Japan. Although you texted each other congratulations on achievements and special occasions, calls and visits were cards that were never played. 

Lando would be lying if he said he didn’t stalk your personal and professional social media accounts. There were multiple times one of the other drivers caught him watching your story or commenting pleasantries on your latest post. Some thought he was delusional and others knew how hard it was for him to let you go considering the length of your relationship.

December 14th, exactly a week after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, you had just finished preparing for the company’s Valentine’s Day collection. You took photos of your discarded designs and messy workspace before leaving for your holiday break.

Lando’s phone dinged, signaling he received a notification. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he read his screen. His colleagues paid him no mind and continued to eat the postseason dinner they gathered for.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Lando exclaimed as he jolted out of his seat. All of the drivers glared at Lando due to his sudden outburst.

“Mate what is so catastrophic you almost upend the whole table?” George questioned his friend. Lando frantically showed his dinner mates his phone screen, most struggling to see the image clearly, which led them to check their phones to see what the McLaren driver was upset over. They opened Instagram and were met with your most recent post. At first, they couldn’t understand how a simple wintertime photo dump would upset Lando.

Until they saw the third photo.

yns.sketchbook

Liked by carmenmmundt, lilymhe and 62485 others

yns.sketchbook fun in the snow 🌨️

lilymhe so cute can’t wait to see you again

yns.sketchbook omg I miss you too I’ll come visit soon

carmenmmundt we should all hangout when you come yn!!

yns.sketchbook say less already booking my flight

username her instagram is so aesthetic 

username literally my role model

username ok but who is that

username idk but maybe we shouldn’t ask??

username yeah shes literally hiding their face on purpose

username IS THAT A MAN???? THAT’S A MAN’S HAND???

username the internets favorite designer

username honestly at this point she should be the model

username deadass shes so gorg

username her face isnt even in this post hello??

username somebodys new here...

username does she have a new boyfriend??

username OMG I HOPE NOT I WAS ROOTING FOR HER AND LANDO TO GET BACK TOGETHER

username they broke up for a reason maybe it should stay that way

“There’s no way you’re upset 'cause she moved on,” Lewis laughed.

“Lando it’s been over a year, she was bound to find someone else.” Max tried rationalizing the situation to his friend, but Lando’s thoughts clouded his judgment. He felt betrayed. In his head, you were meant for each other. He was willing to wait forever to be with you again. He only wanted you.

“You’re getting mad because she posted someone that might not even be a man. But do you think she would be upset over the fact you slept with girls left and right after she left?” Pierre’s question prompted an uproar of oohs, laughs, and dropped jaws around the table.

“But that’s different.” Lando attempted a defense as he slumped back into his chair.

“HOW?” everyone screamed at him.

“CAUSE THEY MEANT NOTHING TO ME. Those were just hookups, she has a BOYFRIEND!” Lando explained.

“Y’know,” Franco interjected, “if I broke up with a girl that beautiful, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself either.” The group went silent as they looked quizzically at the Argentine who continued eating his dish.

Lando got up and started walking away from the group of drivers. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“I wonder if she knows he stalks her,” Pierre hollered after him.

“Oh, she knows.” Yuki’s statement causes Lando to freeze, slowly turning his body back towards everybody. She knew? Yuki knew she knew? How did he know? How did she know? Sensing the unwavering glares from his taller counterparts and what they wanted from him, Yuki answered their unspoken question. “I told her.” Yuki’s face remained unbothered until Lando came hurling at him, placing his hands around his neck as he vehemently shook the poor little guy, purely out of frustration. The other 18 drivers immediately got out of their seats, some yelling at Lando to get off Yuki, a few trying to pry Lando off manually, and others leaving the room to get help, even though the overlapped yelling was warning enough to anybody else in the building.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU TOLD HER?”

“WHAT THE FUCK BRO?”

“YOU TALK TO HER? DID YOU KNOW SHE GOT A BOYFRIEND?”

“LANDO GET OFF YUKI.”

“YOU’RE FUCKING INSANE.”

“YOU’RE GONNA KILL HIM LANDO.”

“WHY DOES SHE TALK TO YOU AND NOT ME?”

“HOW WOULD I KNOW?”

“LANDO THIS IS IRRATIONAL.” Eventually, Max could yank Lando’s hands off Yuki, sending the Japanese man into a coughing fit.

“You need to leave. Right now,” Max commanded his friend. And without putting up (another) fight, Lando walked out of the restaurant. Everybody slowly turned their attention to George, the dinner planner and GPDA director, wondering if this would be an incident he had to report.

“He’s lucky it’s the off season,” he sighed, easing any remaining tension at the table.

It was the middle of the night in Tokyo, and a storm was knocking against the glass of your windows. As much as you attempted to sleep, the constant pattering of harsh winds and repetitive dings from your phone overwhelmed your tired senses. Three blankets, hot chocolate, and another person to keep you warm were not enough to lull you into a fanciful dreamscape. You had barely arrived at your front doorstep when the interesting comments on your post began rolling in. It was always the same, so you became unfazed by their existence. You remembered commenting jokingly with your old friends Carmen and Lily. You truly did miss them, it just never seemed there was time for you guys to see each other due to vastly different careers. You were reminiscing about the winter trips the three of you would take to New York, with your boyfriends tagging along. As a wonderful plan began forming in your mind, you reached over to grab your phone off the bedside table, sending a quick text before finally falling asleep.

The next couple of weeks were spent preparing for your New York trip. It was a spur-of-the-moment plan, but Carmen and Lily were on board immediately since the last time you saw each other was during the Suzuka race week. It would almost be like old times, except you would be bringing someone else as your plus one. But you knew that Alex and George knew how to be cordial, even if it was their friend getting the short end of the stick.

Your phone rang as you were packing the last of your bags. You glanced to see the name YUKI POOKIE <3 plastered across the screen, deciding to answer immediately. It mostly contained catching up on your journeys and laughing about Lando’s murder attempt on his small companion, with a small reminder that he was supposed to pick you up in a couple of hours and drop you off at the airport.

You swiftly found your luggage at the claim and pulled your phone out of your jacket to call Lily. She arrived in New York with Alex a week before you, so now you just waited for Carmen and George, who would arrive in a couple of days. You stood waiting at the pickup zone for your friend as your phone kept ringing, signaling she hadn’t answered yet. As you were about to give up trying to reach your friend, you heard her voice from the other side.

“Hey y/n, sorry I took so long to answer I was in the bathroom. Alex is gonna pick you up, I have a few errands I need to run before the end of the day. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, no worries, that’s fine. Do you know what car he’s driving so I know what to look for.”

“It should be a black Land Rover, the windshield isn’t tinted though so you should be able to spot him when he drives up.”

“Thanks so much, Lily, I owe you guys one!” You waited a few minutes before you saw Lily’s boyfriend, Alex, slow down and pull up in front of you. He rolled down the passenger side window, asking “Uber for y/n y/l/n plus one?” You were a little scared about George and Alex meeting your new boyfriend through this trip since it was usually Lando at your side, but Alex seemed cordial at the first impression. He got out of the driver's seat and helped the both of you load your luggage into the trunk, sticking his hand out towards your boyfriend for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Alex.” Even though you were already on your way to the passenger side door, you slowed your pace to hear their curt interaction.

“Eiji, likewise!” ‘Likewise? Why are they being so formal?’ you thought as you took your seat. The two men walked along opposite sides of the car, one in the backseat and the other in the driver’s seat. Alex checked all the mirrors to make sure they were to his liking before he pulled away from the airport and drove to your destination.

When you arrived in front of your hotel, you made sure to thank Alex and asked him to say hi to Lily for you. The check-in process was smooth and you found your room with ease. As soon as you opened the door, you dragged yourself to the bed and plopped down with a thud and a groan.

“I don’t know why you were so nervous for me to meet them, Alex seems like a nice guy,” your boyfriend said as he closed the door you left wide open.

“He is a nice guy, I was just scared that it was gonna be awkward.” You could hear his footsteps faintly approaching you which were followed by the bed sinking next to you, indicating you joined you on the comfortable queen. You could hear him talking, but the jetlag hit you in a single strong wave, and his voice started to fade as you could finally get a reasonable amount of sleep for the first time in months. Eiji noticed you weren’t replying to any of his points of conversation and looked over to see you asleep, remembering the stressful weeks and sleepless nights leading up to this trip. He knew this was your only break before summer and decided to take a nap right beside you.

Written By: CorzyDoie <3

[orchidyoonkook]

I wish you would write a fic where: UTWT Yoongi and Reader were cuddling while it was raining outside. 🥰

(This is just for that post you shared - although I would be over the moon if you did do this. But you do whatever your heart desires!!)

You're the best and I hope you have a lovely week. 💕

Rainfall Brings Tomorrow | MYG

Pairing: UTWT Badboy! Min Yoongi x (F)!Reader

Genre // Rating: (T) | fluff, touch of angst, some self reflection

Summary: You leave tomorrow, and there's one thing you need to say goodbye too.

Warnings: none! I think. Reader just thinks a lot.

Word Count: 923

Release Date: October 19, 2023, 3:00PM

A/N: Well I wrote this from 2am to 6:14am. I didn't even see this ask until about 1:30am and then I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I hope it lives up to your expectations, dearest Anon.

A/N 1.5: This was written in 3 hours and then only edited twice. I think it's coherent but if there are mistakes, please forgive.

The soft patter of rainfall falls around you, filling your ears with earthsong. His soft breaths flow in a steady rhythm to its beat, and the patio umbrella you shoved into the ground is doing its job well, keeping your resting forms dry from the delicate cadence of an afternoon shower. 

Your pond vibrates in its own little symphony of ripples, ducks hidden away in their nests while it plays. The boughs and branches of your home away from home rustle in its light wind, their tune mixing in beautifully with the rest. 

It’s cold and overcast out, but his body keeps you warm, as yours keeps his. He sits in your usual spot, back against the years worn wooden truck, while you sit against his chest, both covered by his leather jacket, preserving the heat you two were just beginning to learn to share with one another. 

It’s the day before you leave.

The day before you say ‘fuck you and goodnight’ to everyone and everything in your town, hop on the back of a motorcycle and never look back. 

But you needed to have one last visit to the place that brought you and Yoongi together for the first time, plus all the times after. And you wanted him here with you when you did. 

To say goodbye. To the one thing you would miss more than anything else.

Your willow tree. 

Yoongi’s arms circle your waist as you lean your head back against his shoulder. His touch still sends sparks anywhere it lands on your skin, and you hope that it never goes away. Hope it never dulls or fades. Because you’re learning way too fast that it’s becoming one of your favourite things, and you don’t even want to think of what you’d do if you lost it. 

A gentle kiss at your exposed neck, under your ear, lets you know he’s finished the page. But you still have a couple sentences to go as you hold The Mysterious Island open with a hand through the jacket sleeve for both of you to read.

You found it suiting, to truly bring this chapter in your lives a full three hundred and sixty degrees before closing it forever. And that’s what you need more than anything, you think. 

Closure. 

Because as much as you hate it here, and as much as you can’t wait to go, it’s all you’ve ever known. And while this change is good and needed and necessary, it’s also incredibly scary. 

You hate that a very small part of you doesn’t want to go, for the sake of familiarity. It’s safe here. You know what to expect. You know what will happen, when it will happen, what to do, where to go, who you’ll become. There’s a guideline written into your future by your past here. One you’ve never wanted to follow and always wanted to change.

But there are the absolutely terrifying ‘what if’s’ that comes with big change. What if you leave and it’s no better than where you were? What if you somehow mess all of it up? What if nothing goes to plan, everything goes to shit, and you’re forced to come back?

That’s your biggest nightmare, and it could very easily become your reality. 

But it’s not enough to change your mind. 

You’re going. Tomorrow morning, you’re leaving, come hell or high water or…maybe rain water if this keeps up. And you’re taking the man currently drawing you closer into him with you. 

He takes a quiet inhale of your hair, happily drowning in your scent. Yoongi’s still settling into the fact that the woman he’s holding is his. At least for now. The one that always caught his eye. The one that he never knew he could want so badly. The one who reads with him on a rainy afternoon in their shared space so she can say goodbye to the only thing that was kind to her, with him here to support her.

He’ll support you however you need, forever if he can.

His girl.

Pulling your legs up to rest the book on, you flip the page though your focus wavers, and you stare out into the shower blurred haze of your favourite place. 

This is the last time you’ll ever be here, so you take in every detail you can. The way the grass feels underneath you, the shape of the pond and the colour of its water. You commit the height of the tree and the ebb and flow of its leaves to memory as best you can. You take in the feeling of Yoongi behind you, remembering how he used to sit a foot away from you.

How every day, whether you realized it or not, he got just a little bit closer.

And before you can stop it, a silent tear slides down your face. You wipe it away but Yoongi catches it, and gives you a reassuring squeeze.

“You okay?” he asks. 

You are.

It’s just finally hitting you that your years of pain and loneliness and misery are ending. You’re finally taking control of your life like you’ve always planned, and better yet, you aren’t doing it alone. You have someone now. 

You can’t remember the last time you had that. 

“Yeah,” you say, lifting your chin to look at him. “I think I’m going to be just fine.”

Holding the book back up, you see you’ve reached the final chapter. And somehow you know, it’s the first chapter of your own.

A/N 2: Thanks for reading, loves. Xoxo, Yoon <3

[fluffyartbl0g]

Ohh my God the most recent comic, when it's spelled out like that, speed running paradise, fighting an admiral sun God thing happening way early than any of this should be it's any wonder ace isn't in worse shape in this let alone seeing sabo again because it's two years early and he would probably be fresh into white beard crew im picturing *jinbei the warlord I just finished fighting days on end to exhaustion is joining your crew?* "I give up, it's too much at once, there are to meany others to be more concerned about" their concern on white beards ship should be warning about black beard before the bastard gets the 1st stupid strong devil fruit.

YEYSYEYSYESYEYSYRFSEUDYGTYUHSDOGUHFDGUDFUH!!!!!! Like I drew Ace getting kinda choked up in the second page when listing things because,,, man he really was worried. I dont think he was like losing sleep type worried until he found out Luffy and his gang had a pretty intense encounter with an admiral.

It's only been like 1.5 to 2 years since Ace last left Dawn Island and sparred with Luffy, so even if he's improved a lot, there just cant be any way his 15 year old baby brother would be able to handle an Admiral- HECK he can barely handle an admiral. So when he found out they had an encounter, I assume his stomach just dropped and full on big brother freak out mode started happening.

Like he always had a mild worry niggling in the back of his mind, but Ace has his own adventures and his own nakama now, he's got stuff to do and at the pace Luffy is going at, it seems like explanations will be coming soon anyways.

Luckily this whole admiral encounter thing happened shortly before Luffy found Ace again, because every second Ace was waiting on Whitebeard's ship after he found out about it was another second away from Ace just going completely ballistic and shooting off to find his baby bro. The Whitebeards were real good at getting Ace to just calm down and wait a bit, soo good job to them :D! Though, that like idk,,, week or two??? (im not good with timeframes tbh), that he was just waiting to see if his brother was okay was prolly one of the worst weeks of his life.

U know I really debated if I was making Ace recognise sabo too quickly and if I was making him like too emotional or what not,,, but like YEA HE'S SO CONFUSED AND TIRED AND WORRIED!!!! IF THOSE BROTHERS DONT SPEND THE NEXT HOUR JUST SOBBING AND GRASPING AT EACHOTHER LIKE NO ONE ELSE EXISTS THAN I DONT KNOW WHAT I'LL DO!!!!!!

[upkeeptolters]

WOOPIE!

Soffía's POV (@rosakajo )

A new horse just arrived today, and I was of course here to welcome him. His name is Vopni frá Teitur, and he is 1.5 years old. He is already a tall boy, as you can see, and seems quite sensitive, which might be a good thing or a challenge when training him, depending on whom might be his trainer, when he grows a little older.

As you can see he walks very nicely on leadrope, even if there are horses in the background.

When I entered the stable for the stallions and geldings, where Vopni will be living, I could hear the loud chatter of Frederic and Froya. It was nice how lively the barn was being today. Froya was in the process of tacking up her oldest friend Hrafn, while Frederic was standing with Flóki in leadrope. The stallion was pearing curiously over his shoulder, as I walked by with Vopni.

"Is that the new one?" Frederic all but yelled through the stable, which made me shake my head at his antics and lack of manners, while Froya laughed loudly with a snort in the end.

"Yes, that's Vopni. From Rosa Kajo," I called back, though not quite as loudly.

"Woopie? His name is Woopie? Like Woopie Goldberg? What kind of Icelandic is named Woopie?" He was still talking very loudly, and his confusion really shone through.

Froya hit him on the arm with her reins, she had apparently finished putting on Hrafn's bridle, "Not Woopie, Vopni!" she laughed, rolling her eyes at him probably - I couldn't see her face as she had her back towards me.

"Oh..." his cheeks grew warm and red very quickly.

Later that day, when the rain had stopped, I had put Vopni into the stallions' pasture, so he could meet the herd. As the stallions are generally friendly, when it comes to the young ones, I just let him inside, clicked off the rope and then let him run off.

And that he did, quickly! Apparently he had gotten spooked when one of the stallions had neighed 'welcome' to him. Damn that little guy could run!

I waited inside the pasture for a little while, as the young colt seeked me out, so I could comfort him. Poor baby!

[notjahrethh]

me day one of doing standup vs me 1.5 years into doing standup….

My set time has more than doubled in that time and my ego has too! I graduated high school, went through a (MESSY) divorce, finished a year of college and got two tattoos…

I love this job so much I wouldn’t trade it for fucking anything in the world !!! Open mic in Grand Rapids #soon !! I need itttt

I can’t wait to learn more about this craft and just keep getting better with time !

Effin love my effin life…

[voxofthevoid]

Wait I— WHAT— 500k+ words for JJK? Alone? Oh my god. I’m one of your new readers, and I’m blown away by not only your word count but the wRITING LOGS?? How?? Do you keep track of your WIPs?? Do you write consistently, period?? Do you have any advice for someone who can barely squeak out a paragraph to describe a vision in their brain?? Please bless me with your skills, Vox-sensei 😭🙏

Welcome to my madness 🤣❤️

Okay, in all fairness, I'm usually not this unhinged productive. Last year, for instance, my total word count was only around 250k (iirc). I'm sure I wrote more than that from 2018 to 2020, but my logs from those are divided by fics/chapters or weekly.

... I've, uh, tried a lot of shit over the years.

Which is an important point! I've been posting to ao3 for nearly a decade now (not consistently, but I don't think I was away for more than a year or two), and I've been writing in some capacity for around 15–17 years now. There's been a lot of trial and error over the years, plus changing life circumstances leading to varying energy levels and writing time. The main factor is inspiration; if it's there, I'll write a lot, but if not, I'll be a potato.

So with all that in mind!

Logs

I do keep track of both my word count and my WIPs. I've got color-coded docs and spreadsheets even because I'm a fucking nerd. I've got pictures of it floating somewhere on this blog, but my fic folders tend to be nested, numbered little monstrosities.

WIPs

I call them WIPs sometimes because they're extensively detailed outlines mostly, but the more accurate term is ideas/plot bunniesdemons. I don't work on more than one story at a time. Typically, I start something and write it in narrative order until it's done. There are exceptions—my current fic was started in a post-236 frenzy, and I set aside the PWP I was working on for it. But usually, I only actively write one story at a time while everything else gets developed/outlined as inspiration strikes.

Consistency

You could say I write consistently, yeah! I don't do it every day because I take breaks whenever I finish a chapter (and of course, life throws curve balls sometimes), but typically, I write around 22–25 days a month. I set aside a few hours for it. Average daily word count also varies, but these days, it's 1.5–3k. When I'm really in the zone, it can reach 5–6k.

I'm a hobbyist writer with no aspirations of writing professionally, so my approach to the whole thing has been to wing it and see where it takes me. So I haven't really done anything with the concrete goal of improving. The best (and only) advice I have is very boring and cliche though: read and write.

Read widely if you can and narrow in on the kind of style and genre you like. Note down passages or turns of phrase that struck you and figure out why. You'll absorb a lot automatically, but I've heard people recommend emulating styles on purpose as a writing exercise.

Mainly though, the best and easiest way to improve is to keep writing. Technical rules can be learned pretty easily, especially with how many resources are available online now. Field/subject-specific reference materials are also abundant. But developing your own style and improving the flow of your prose are things that need practice. And it never really stops, especially because your writing will continuously evolve in more ways than one.

This got way longer than I intended. Oops? Thanks for asking though, anon. I did have fun replying!

[cross-word]

Right person Right time

Ethan Landry X male reader

Tbh I never knew if I wanted to make a pt2 to the other one but. I got this idea like the second I woke up so I wrote it

Word count: 827

It had been two years since you were hit by a car. Mindy wouldn’t let Ethan near you after finding out why you ran into the street without looking. You finished your education and moved back home unfortunately Ethan’s hometown was also yours.

You never noticed him before but now he's the only thing you notice from his beautiful brunette curls to his 6’2 height everywhere, your local convenience store, to the mall, and now across the street. “Mom how long have they been living here” you ask pointing across the street “oh since we moved in, they were there before us” you never knew Ethan lived across from you.

What are the chances of that?

You were scrolling through dating apps hoping to find a connection but all that pop up is men in their 40’s or guys who clearly are not old enough for this app. When you stumbled upon Chase he was 2 years older than you, he had a job and he was looking for a relationship.

You two talked for weeks before he asked you out on a date.

Your parents were gone, it was just you home alone and soon chase would pick you up for your date.

You sat in the living room waiting for Chase to text you when a knock came from the door. You opened it to see Chase with the nicest outfit and most beautiful smile. But you can’t help but steer your eyes to the house across.

He was watching Ethan from the living room. He might not notice, but you knew he was watching.

You walked to Chase's car and drove away. You watched as a nice casual restaurant showed up. You two talked for hours until you went to the bathroom. You drank your drink, it tasted weird you thought.

“So is anybody at your house” Chase asked “no, my parents are gone for a vacation they’ll be back tomorrow though” you say that your eyes start feeling heavy.

You watched as Chase paid for the meal and took you to his car driving back to your house. You drunkenly walked over to your front door. When you pushed against it. Chase was kissing down your neck and touching you in places you didn’t want to be touched.

“Stop. Get off me” you tell him trying to push him away. Failing as the drugs flood through your veins, suddenly you feel the weight of him fall off. You look in front of you as he is being beaten by a person.

The same person came up to you “are you ok Y/N” they asked you shake your head as a no he grabbed your keys and opened the door. Letting you slump down the couch.

You get up feeling disoriented you look to the kitchen seeing someone cook you walk in to see Ethan “Jesus what are you doing here” you ask him “first of all I’d be more grateful to the person who saved you from getting date raped” he says giving you a plate with pancakes, bacon and eggs.

“I deleted your profile on that app no one’s is going to bother you anymore” he says patting your back “where’s the dude” you ask him “in custody I called the cops and they found date rape pills in his pockets” he says.

“Thanks, Ethan” it felt weird saying his name after what he did to you “can we try this again” he ask “hell no, after you cheated on me it’s going to take a long time before I even trust you again” you tell him chugging down a cup of apple juice.

Long time it did, everyday Ethan would talk to you before you go off to work, ask how work was when he saw your car drive in the driveway.

It took 1.5 years for you to consider liking him back but it was worth it. That’s what Ethan says.

What broke your don’t date ex’s rule was when Ethan surprised you with Valentine’s Day balloons and you agreed.

Slowly you and Ethan started to date and he kept his promise, he never cheated, he never even looked at another person even when they were hitting on him he would look at you with the most caring eyes and they walk away.

Eventually Ethan’s parents wanted to retire so they sold the house to him and sailed across Europe and wherever else they wanted to travel to.

It didn’t take long from him and your parents to convince you to move in. Your mom never wanted you to move out worried you’ll move far and Ethan wants a house where you and him can do anything you two like and anywhere. Never have to worry about your parents walking in on you.

Now here you are, sleeping in the master bedroom with your fiancé tucked into your neck while your dog is tucked into your other side.

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2024-12-02

It's beginning to look a lot like December the second

Listening:

Got the soundtrack to Paradise Killer at last, which is all hits all the time. Hard to beat the first track for an introduction

Winter is better with hilariously out of place pop jazz.

I also read the artbook that came with this and it's really funny how much this game was made by like four people. Ruthlessly optimized development process by which we mean every corner that can be cut to make this a manageable workload was.

Reading:

Finished the Book of All Skies, which once again confirms that Gregan can write a good drama based on a semi-fantasy science concept.

One thing I like about Gregan is that his characters often only kind of understand the world they're in, which adds verisimilitude! I also don't know that much. If you asked me to talk about fundamental particles a lá Scale, you'd get a similar kind of "Well the last time I was really into this was six years ago, is it leptons or bosons, well, either way, the one that protons are, so yeah the strong force scales with..." kind of half assed kinda correct partially incomplete explanation.

Working through the ROS2 tutorials and reading a lot of things about robot architecture as a result. Now that I suddenly have 1.5 3D printers I don't need I'm going to be trying to hijack their control boards for Robot Shit.

Got back into The City and The City after putting it down for a while. Love an Okay Detective. Tyador is not an exceptional cop, he is definitely not a good cop, but he is, trying, so hard. Poor little meowmeow candidate.

Hard to imagine a book making a more pointed case about borders. I feel like having now half-assedly followed some Euro politics for a year I get the various weird right wing groups more thoroughly.

Watching:

Watched Miami Vice (2006) because I downloaded it at some point and was like huh sure.

This is a mixed bag. It's shot really well, it manages tone and pacing clearly and cleanly, the vibes are impeccable. The actual plot? Okay! There's gay and there's whatever these two have going on. I have not seen the TV series.

Apparently this is mostly digital? Pretty impressive for 2006, Clone Wars was only 2002, given how dark some scenes are, although I'll say we pick on DP's for lighting all black people like Moonlight these days but it's a damn side better than what we did before! Absolutely crushed skin tones in some of these scenes. A movie with a lot of very poorly lit black people.

Started and then stopped watching The Driver (1978) in Czech. It opens with a solid 15 minute car chase that works pretty well! Got distracted in the middle though.

Playing:

Very busy week here:

Got through a couple loops of Elsinore, the Hamlet time loop game where you play as Ophelia. It's okay! It struggles a bit with managing all the things you can do, and it lacks the best part of Hamlet, which is to say the text, but it's fun to mess with Hamlet and pull on weird threads. What happens if you convince Laertes to hang around. What if you don't let Polonius get killed!

There's an added story running the background that is novel to Hamlet, mostly to help make the Time Loop work out, which is okay except for the fact that it's really easy to figure out.

The game doesn't handle its information the best. Unless someone directly tells you something you often can't act on knowledge you see in the world, nor can you update other people based on things you've witnessed. If you follow an arc that makes Lady Gertrude leap from the battlements to her death, you can see this happen in person! But you have to wait for the body to be found, you can't tell the guards about this. It's a little odd.

Haven't hit an ending yet. Getting there.

Beat World of Goo 2, the 15 years later sequel to World of Goo. A noticeably harder game that is making a lot of references back to World of Goo, some fun new mechanics and generally much more complex levels that you have to make your way through. Also some very fun meta stuff that gets a little Stanley Parable Deluxe about sequels. Worth playing! But play World of Goo first, it'll make more sense, and it still holds up.

Started Cyberpunk 2077 which is... hmm. I chose Corpo because I find the concept of "Corporate ladder climber cast out on their own" to be a really compelling concept, definitely not because that's an anxiety I have. It's not like the medical program my new employer pays for costs more per month than I used to pay for a year of the one I used to have. Haha. Wouldn't that be silly. I love satire.

Anyway kind of miffed that they don't let you do the "build yourself back up" part of the roleplaying, I think it would be fun! I love roleplaying in my roleplaying games, I was looking forward to playing V as desperately holding on to the comforts of corporate life that she can no longer afford. Shame.

The gunfighting is good! One of my favourite parts of Cyberpunk the RPG is Friday Night Firefight, which is a tremendously deadly combat system. The gunplay is a little more gamey in here but you still go down fast and staying in cover and taking every advantage you can get is still important, at least as low level.

Why is there a crafting system. I saw that menu entry and recoiled physically. This is a city I exchange eurodollars for goods and services.

Making:

As mentioned, ROS2 tutorials. Many of my ESP32 projects end up reinventing message passing architectures from scratch so I figured I should just cut out the middleman. I will need to figure out a good source of embedded Linux ROS2 host, but I'm very interested in the MicroROS/ROS2 system.

ROS2 is a very *nixy approach to software, you have a lot of litle daemons and environment management and directory-heavy build system shit going on. I'm running this all in an Ubuntu Distrobox on my Arch system to keep it contained and happy which is working well.

Tools and Equipment:

You ever steam eggs? You should steam eggs. Steaming eggs is a very quick and efficient way to get boiled eggs without having to deal with a large pot of boiling water. It's much more consistent as you increase the number of eggs and you don't get any eggs bumping around in boiling water, so you can do it in very small pots or with a very large number of eggs.

A nice hardboiled egg takes about 12 minutes of steaming, and you can get a softboil out in 10 minutes. I've used bamboo steamer baskets and stainless steel vegetable steamers for this.

[wedreamedlove]

Early on in the game, we learned that Osborn’s three sizes were 102-76-96 but now look at how the man has grown thicker after 1.5 years, haha. There’s also the secret size of 3L too...

Translations under the read more!

SHOULDERS (46cm)

Just like its invincible owner, this tidy and unstained white shirt brings an unblemished victory for him and all the people he protects.

FAIL MEASUREMENT = “You want to hear my heartbeat? You have to come a bit closer then.” BAD MEASUREMENT = “This length isn’t very correct, is it? Do you want to measure it again?” PERFECT MEASUREMENT = “Mm, you’ve measured it very accurately. I’m already looking forward to the finished product.”

HANDS (16cm)

A pair of fitted soft leather gloves for punching enemies efficiently and for interlocking fingers with one’s partner, gently and solidly.

FAIL MEASUREMENT = “You want to start with measuring someplace else? Sure thing.” BAD MEASUREMENT = “The measurements are a bit off… but it seems like it can be made into couples gloves.” PERFECT MEASUREMENT = “Is the size of my hands the same as how you remember them to be?”

WAIST (77cm)

Tactical combat requires a nimble mind and extremely quick spontaneous reactions. This nylon belt can protect flexible waist muscles and, in extreme circumstances, it’s also suitable for binding people.

FAIL MEASUREMENT = “You said you were going to measure my waist. If you keep messing around, I’m going to counterattack.” BAD MEASUREMENT = “What are you turning red for? Haven't you known my measurements for a long time now?” PERFECT MEASUREMENT = “Your serious expression when you're measuring my waist is lovely.”

CHEST (103cm)

Field combat conditions change greatly but with tactical straps personally put on by one’s partner not only are one’s clothes tidy, but it also provides support for various combat like daggers, firearms, and thrown weapons.

FAIL MEASUREMENT = “My physique isn’t bad? Looks like my recent exercise has been pretty effective.” BAD MEASUREMENT = “Made a mistake? Don’t be nervous, you can measure me however many times you want.” PERFECT MEASUREMENT = “Your technique is so clean, the tactical straps you make should be well-fitting.”

THIGHS (58cm)

A strong and durable utility bag with plenty of capacity. The inner material has been carefully improved by the tailor to lessen the burden on the thigh, and even if one marched for an entire day with a full load there will only be a slight mark on the surface of the skin.

FAIL MEASUREMENT = “Hold on, wait until the measurements are taken, then whatever you want to do, I'll do it with you.” BAD MEASUREMENT = “Relax, do it again. You can definitely measure the accurate size.” PERFECT MEASUREMENT = “So professional? Looks like I can entrust my thigh to you without worry.”

FEET (27cm)

Formal leather shoes that can flexibly pair with various settings. Its owner can hide their deadly footsteps when carrying out missions, or they can dance to their heart's content with their partner at a celebratory banquet.

FAIL MEASUREMENT = “Tickles a little… Where are you touching?” BAD MEASUREMENT = “It’s different from my usual shoe size, did your hands shake?” PERFECT MEASUREMENT = “As expected, you’re extremely professional even when measuring shoe size.”

[thefringespod]

Been in a haze all day post Lunar New Year activities but its #AudioDramaSunday once again! Starting with The Magnus Protocol which had me wanting to reach into the podcast and shake the person the story was about. Jamie Petronis of The CellarLetters wrote one hell of an episode!

Leanne Egan has once again made me cry at work with @tellnotalespod How am I meant to cope with ghost dad, Leanne?? How am I supposed to feel normal after that?? It was beautifully written but also how dare

Public release of @souloperatorpod ep 3 was this week and I am shaking Tot for what she's done. Each episode Tot manages to take the paranoia up another notch and it always turns out so spectacularly that I can hardly believe I get to work with them on 2 shows Tot's too talented

The @somewhereohio season finale was marvelous in every imaginable way. Rat Grimes took this season places that I never expected but absolutely adored every step of the way and I can't wait for the eventual next season that's to come

My beloved @woebegonepod returned for the start of season 13 this week! It hurt me in ways I didn't know were possible given the episode framework. Dylan has once again done something different in wbg in the most fantastic of ways and im so worried about Mikey (my default state)

New @kingmakerpod answered the question "what if Jonny Sims got lost in a magically confusing forest for 25 years" in the best way possible. They fully get that Jonny's typecasts are either men named Jon or cannibals. A brilliant brilliant episode as always

I listened to The @Grotto again this week because I love feeling pain (and it takes less time to relisten than woe.begone does). Athan has also released an album of the music from the show so far! Its amazing! Go check it out! Tay and Lyssa are on it!

Listen to episodes 20-25 of The Storage Papers which were phenomenal as always! Slowly but surely i am making my way through this show and enjoying every step of the way

Here on the Fringes we returned with episodes! This was one of my favorite as I love my silly little moss character. On the writing side, only 1.5 episodes left to go! And if you want access to this week's episode RIGHT NOW you can support the show at patreon.com/PineTreePods

And over on @forgedbondspod I've taken a bit of a break to focus in on finishing up the Fringes, but I have received a bit of test audio from some of my cast and im already in love with their portrayals

That's all for this week! It was a bit of a rough one mental health wise but I'm picking myself back up and continuing to work on the things that I love

[fuckkbrunch]

Should've saved the duck quesadilla to post with this one, but I didn't! Not much pre planning involved in these posts, not gonna lie.

I have my suspicions that the chorizo I bought at my local grocery store wasn't real chorizo. It didn't have the same crazy fat content that true chorizo does, but this still turned out decent.

Just Monterey jack with onion, green pepper and chorizo, sautéed until everything is nice and browned. Makes an okay quesadilla, if not a little bit boring. It's the pico that really makes this.

I was waiting until summer to make this, so that the tomatoes would be nice. My partner had just sharpened my knife, so this was really satisfying.

Pretty straightforward ingredient list.

Just showing off a little with my itty bitty jalapeno dice.

TMI story time: once when I was working as a $10/hr line cook, I was rushing through prepping a jalapeno sauce we made at this fish and chip joint. I didn't have gloves on because I was 22 and dumb as hell. Felt my period start, so I went to use the bathroom and put a tampon in.

I guess I didn't wash my hands after handling the peppers, because over the next ten minutes my junk starts tingling, then burning. So fucking dumb. Jalapeno pussy is no joke. Finished my shift though.

Anyway. Yum. So fresh. I love raw red onion so much. I also made some guacamole for the side, but he didn't specify that part, just the pico. It was still good two days later when I made some steak tacos, I was surprised.

Decent summer dinner. Served with tequila and Squirt, my favourite cheap Mexican drink, which was not specified by Tony. I just lived off of tequila and Squirt when we went to Mazatlan a few years back, and happened across it in a Latino market last week.

| Chorizo Quesadilla & Pico de Gallo |

Taste is a 3 out of 5. On the good side of average.

Difficulty is a 1.5 out of 5. Especially easy if you've got knife skills.

Time was about 35 minutes. Snappy.

Even though it's pretty average, I enjoyed this one much more than the duck quesadilla. But the duck one had goat cheese in it, so I was bound to hate it.

[longbobmckenzie]

rc has dr about every two weeks – not to mention shopping days & tea days every so often in between – so I see no need for them to lower prices in the store, when they’re already soooo generous. best way to support them is just to play, save up diamonds in between dr’s (but spend them when you can/want to esp during an update!), and buy then during dr buy some tea. 😊

Hi anon! I both agree and disagree at the same time. Yes, the diamond rush events are frequent and incredibly generous and it's a great way to play the game when you're gem poor. I actually have quite a few diamonds as it is (I started the most recent update with over 6k and spent about 4k...), primarily from ads and daily rewards (I've been playing 3 years so I get 10/day).

I'm definitely happy to buy tea during DRs and in the first few days after an update releases because I can't wait to play all the stories.

however...

I would be happy to support them further by buying gems, if the prices were lower. As I said, I've been playing for 3 years now, and as far as I can remember, the diamond prices in the store have stayed the same (other than adding bigger packages) throughout - they're for sure the same as they were 1.5 years ago, probably before that, too.

But the cost of gem scenes in the newer stories has gone up, which reduces the value of the gems you're purchasing. You could spend $130 (Canadian) on 1500 gems and that won't even cover a single story (you couldn't even buy all the outfits in LSE for that...). That's insane!

Now, as you mentioned, they're generous with DRs and ads, so what exactly is the incentive for anyone to even buy gems?? Unless they're new and don't know about diamond rush events and haven't farmed enough from ads yet.

I'm guessing their main source of revenue is from ads (and, of course, people buying tea, which actually is worth it even though prices have gone up on multiple occasions). But I think Romance Club is a great app, and it's one I'd be happy to open my wallet for more often. I'm just not incentivized to purchase gems when I know I can play diamond rushes or watch ads.

At this point I've also played every story on the app, so I don't even play DRs that often unless I'm replaying something for a different LI or if I want to buy clothes, so there's less incentive for me to buy tea as I can just use the free tea during the DR and save what I didn't finish until the next event.

Even if they had sales on their gems, I'd probably consider buying them. I do have time to watch a lot of ads as I work from home (not everyone does!), but I'd probably still buy some here and there and then spend more on outfits.