#I wanted to include so many more but alas there is only so much space

[threebooksoneplot]

what draws you both to jalice/makes you so feral about them as a ship?

you should know we had an entire meeting in order to answer this ask. no this could NOT have been an email (unlike new moon) 🤭

Secretary G took notes. they are as follows (read the bolded parts for a tl;dr)

we kind of see it as though jalice got the traits that edbella weren’t allowed to have, either due to their status as protagonists or because smeyer's mormon background causes her to view these qualities as too sinful/negative for her wholesome Waiting Until Marriage main couple. (examples: alice's materialistic, "shallow," hyperfeminine qualities, her character flaws (especially her manipulativeness), and jasper's aura and history of fucked up violence closer to what you'd find in traditional vampire stories/horror/adult gothics/books not written by a mormon author)

in terms of how much screentime the non-main-love-triangle canon couples get, their relationship is kiiiinda given the next-most weight to edbella’s (examples: jasper's extreme overprotectiveness, the New Moon chapter 19 moment where alice prioritizes jasper and bella is like “yeah I get it, I would do the same.”) basically smeyer gives jalice's relationship a lot of the qualities she finds romantic/ideal, (and which are either similarly romantic to us or entertainingly toxic/a good source of drama), presumably because alice is like her 4th-favorite character after the main love triangle and she wants nice things for her

we both really love how, superficially, as presented in the books, jasper and alice seem to have this almost “courtly love” that smeyer has described as "spiritual." yet when you look closer, their relationship has so many darker undertones—the deep codependency bordering on obsessiveness (mutual, but especially the way it manifests on jasper's end—"I will kill this random teen girl who witnessed edward's jean valjean moment™ because any means are justifiable when the ends are Protecting Alice"), the dark sides of both of their powers, the idea that jasper is only a cullen and/or only a vegetarian for alice's sake, etc. hell, even the fact that they're the only Cullen couple who we know had (gasp) premarital sex 😏 (I mean we assume rosemmett did too, but alas, they don't have that hilarious "carlisle convinced jasper and alice to get married" quote from smeyer)

partially summarized: "jasper’s general desperate willingness to sell everyone to satan for one corn chip if it keeps alice safe (carlisle: I know this and I love you)"

we're forever smug that the movies gave us even more jalice screentime (especially remarkable in such a protagonist-centric universe), including jasper being in the same grade as alice/bella/edward, and the extra jalice kisses in Eclipse and BD 🥺

what we wrote down as the “who’s protecting whom" phenomenon, as coined by G in this old ask. (shannon: "jasper is the toddler you've given the PS2 controller that's not plugged in")

we also like the characters individually. jasper is for the girlies with competency kinks—a stoic caretaker who speaks little and mostly expresses himself via acts of service. we also both love the way in which he needs protection from his own uncontrolled violence (slipping up and killing humans, suffering the pain and fear he inflicts, etc.) he is, in the words of our beloved @liceparade, the "line cook trauma boyfriend"

“It’s hot when there’s a fictional violent man who wet babygirl 😌” —shannon

and alice, unlike bella, genuinely loves being spoiled and bossing people around. she's brat-coded, she's confident and secure in who she is, her god complex ("I'm close enough [to omniscient]") causes fascinating conflict, bella eats drywall from sheer horniness at her merest movement, she dresses like a slut in the Mormon YA Novels and yet somehow escapes authorial condemnation, she has a sickass gothic heroine backstory, she's "annoying," aro started a whole war over her (eat shit helen of troy 🖕), she spaces out in public and has to be led around by jasper, she's one of the most powerful vampires in the world, she's in high school getting a C+ on her precalc test 💅🏻

it's appealing that smeyer frequently puts alice in the center of the series' various conflicts (james' singer and "one that got away," the accidental cause of all the drama at the end of new moon, one of aro's secret True motives for starting the conflict in BD.) this is mostly as a consequence of smeyer using alice as a plot device and/or deus ex machina, but it is in fact interesting

is alice jasper's morality chain? we love pondering this question via fic, meta, etc (especially because...alice ain't exactly a model of ethical behavior herself)

together, the two of them exhibit lots of classic tropes. they're grumpy x sunshine, chatty x silent, opposites attract, etc. to say nothing of that height difference 🥵

we love the yin/yang symbolism of a character with a horrific past paired with a character with NO memory of her past, who is focused on the future and all about potential. not to invoke an ancient phrase but POETIC CINEMA

the next note just says “POTENTIAL in general.” I assume we meant how all of the above stuff creates potential for interesting stories, conflicts, metas, art, fic, etc

G has brought this up in the past, but we love the irony of jasper, a character whose chief desire is to be left in peace, being soul-alteringly in love with the one character who will always be a giant glaring target through no fault of her own. hilarious

[08melancholie]

Untouched. — Micah/Reader

tags: Loss of Innocence, Loss of Virginity, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Gentle Sex, Mild Hurt/Comfort, always have to include some angst sorry guys, Porn with Feelings, Angst and Porn, Emotional Porn, Blood, Porn with minimal Plot, Angst with a Happy Ending, Guilt, Emotional, Emotional Hurt, Vaginal Sex, Cunnilingus, Vaginal Fingering, Aftercare, Female Honorifics/Terms, Not Beta Read, no beta we die like Micah Bell, Established Relationship

summary: Virginity and sex have been a pretty taboo topic between you and your lover, Micah. You've been together a long time now and he's started initiating intimacy almost every night. But you were too scared, of the way the other girls described losing their innocences. So you turned it down every time. Finally, after realising how unfair you were being to Micah, you cave in, one fortunate night—surely, Micah will take care of you? It probably would have been smart to ask if the two of you both lost your virginities, first.

a/n: another micah fic to heal my unresolved trauma.. mmmmm yes. do u guys like your h/c with your smut or am i alone on this..

warnings: loss of virginity

words: 3,514 | AO3 LINK

You always heard that it hurt, stung and bled a lot. It made you afraid, that much was sure. What made it worse was how much Micah wanted it—he hinted at it every night when in bed with you. So many nights in which he'd do everything he needed to, hoping that you'd finally give in and finally sleep with him. But no; every night, you chickened out. All of the other girls had told their experiences, most of them sounding absolutely terrifying—some of them saying they were crying, even. It was horrific, and it scared you away from ever even wanting to lose your virginity.

But your lover never seemed to complain. Micah was quite understanding, even if he was unaware you were still untouched.

Another night approaches the two of you, hidden away from everyone inside Micah's tent. You're both already in your sleepwear, your back pressed to Micah's chest with his arm lazily slung around your abdomen. His face is buried into the crook of your neck, the exact space where the shoulder ends and extends to the neck. His breaths are slow and calm, but the energy feels weird. His actions feel a little reluctant, which you learned was usually an implication that he wants to ask something. So, you gently took his hand and squeezed to get his attention.

"Hm.?" He glanced at you from over your shoulder, groggily humming while fluttering his eyes open to see you in the dimly lit tent.

You slowly turned yourself around, wanting to look him in the eyes while you talked of this. "Something on your mind?" You feel his arm, on your back now that you turned over, tighten slightly—meaning you were right.

Micah was quiet for a moment, contemplating his answer while his hand went from lazily hanging into your body to holding it more firmly. "Just.. 'bout us." He mumbles his answer, partially scared to even bring this up. "I know.. you always say no to it. But, I would really like to show you.. my love in every way I can." His palm slowly moves around your lower back, caressing it through your thin nightwear in a circular motion.

You dreaded just talking about it, all your fear coming right back to you. You didn't want blood, tears, stinging and hurt. You didn't want that, not with your lover. "I know..." Your fear always got in the way before, that feeling of agony whenever this and any similar topic were brought up in conversation. Being the only person in camp still with your virginity, the girls who knew teased you relentlessly—don't even get started on the men. Alas, tonight felt a little different; you felt for Micah. He's been begging you for... months. It's all he's wanted from you for endless weeks, and he's been doing anything and everything to get you to agree. Micah has been so good to you, and yet you turn him down every time. It was pity you felt now, more than fear. And so, you prepare yourself to either make the best or the worst decision of your life. "I think.. tonight wouldn't be so bad." And there it is, finally out of your mouth.

You see Micah's darkened face lift to you, barely able to see you, but he's unmoving and just staring ahead at your face. After a moment, you hear him briefly and quietly chuckle. "Attagirl! I knew you'd come around, baby!" He's excited, like a child getting their favourite toy from the store, which makes this worth it no matter the experience. His arm tightens around you and he wastes no time scooting closer, giving you many reassuring and rewarding kisses and pecks on the lips, which you all return. His hand on your lower back is still massaging your back, but is now traveling lower, hovering over your rear. He brings his other hand into play, placing it on the back of your head and gently grabbing you by the hair, starting to deepen the kiss. At least you knew how to make out with him, thank God.

His hand finally reached your backside, and he gave it an experimental knead to hear your reaction—loving how you squeaked into his mouth at the sudden contact. So, he continued to massage your ass while deepening the kiss, his tongue finding itself exploring your mouth, not one singular crevice left untouched by your lover. You could feel yourself getting more hot, gradually. It was really happening. You had that same fear in the back of your head still, but it was overpowered by the lust slowly creeping up your body and down between your legs. "Let's do this right, hm?" Micah parts from your mouth and stops kneading at you, patting your rear before standing off the cot to light a lantern. He wanted to see you while he finally had you. "Lay on yer back for me, sweet thin'."

You do as he says—he's definitely the expert here—and shift from your side to your back, watching as he starts stripping off his shirt. The grey undershirt finds itself on the floor, and he gets back to the bed, this time climbing over you. It's a sight, seriously.

"Liking what you're finally seein', eh babydoll?" He lets out a brief chuckle before leaning back down to continue making out, one hand on your cheek and the other on your knee. His fingers are tinging, practically desperate to touch you, and it just sends more heat to your core and dampness to your underwear. He starts to slowly move his hand down, devilishly slowly. Your hands wrapped around his neck to pull him closer, and he started gently biting your lip. His hand slowly moved lower, soon enough finding itself on your inner thigh just under your chemise. "Let's see," he brushes over your clothed sex, finding you wet already and making you sigh into his mouth. It boosts his ego and he can't stop a small exhaled laugh leaving him. "damn, lookat'chu. Already so wet fer me?" He drawls, pulling away from your mouth to give you a breather. He fiddles with the hem of your undergarments, just barely sliding his fingers under it. "How about we get this off next?"

Your panties get tossed onto his shirt, and you feel very nude despite the chemise covering you perfectly fine. He's rightfully impatient to have you, and immediately swipes a finger through your folds to slick his finger up, the other hand fumbling with his jean zipper and button. It's happening. His slicked-up finger pressed to your entrance, slowly pushing itself inside as you mewled underneath him, just turning him more on with how responsive you were. "There we go," he pulls his jeans down while slowly entering and leaving your walls, fucking you with one finger. It's pure bliss; you're gasping at every thrust and curl of his finger, despite knowing what's coming every time. Then, he adds another digit. You moan, pleasure mixes with a small stinging, but it's soon drowned out by pleasure as Micah uses two fingers on your cunt, and starts rubbing circles into your nub with his thumb. "Shit, girl, you're tight." He comments, feeling how you clench around his digits and how hard it is to ease them in. He curls and scissors them inside you, more of your moans filling the tent. You look down at him as he slowly pulls his coated fingers out, seeing him kick his jeans off and pull his drawers down. It's actually happening.

He's fully nude now, crawling to your knees and beckoning you to sit up. You comply and he grabs the hem of your chemise, quickly removing it off your now bare body and throwing it to the other discarded clothing of yours. Both of you, nude as the day you were born. "You don't even know how purty 'ya are," He shimmies back onto the bed, looking down at you for a moment. "turn around, on your hands and knees." The command feeds into the fire in your abdomen, feeling butterflies practically attacking it. You roll over in compliance, lifting you hips up. You hear the cot creak quietly before his hands find your hips. It's finally happening. You cling to the pillow that the lower half of your face is buried into, grabbing fistfuls of the plush material to brace yourself. Good that you did. Micah—still unaware—doesn't even try to wait, and with no warm-up thrusts, he lines himself up.

The way the pillow muffles out the sound that escapes you, a pained and squeaky yelp, makes Micah unaware of the fact you're hurting. He's pushing himself in further, and you're gripping onto the pillow for dear life. The other girls were right—it burns, stings and you can't even move your body in protest. "Damn, girl.. still so tight?" Micah murmurs, but something just feels odd—even more so when he feels you start shaking. Tears have begun seeping out of your eyes, like the girls said they might. The pillow is absorbing every little drop, but it's your body that betrays you as you start shaking, and it all goes to shit. "Hey—honey, 'ya good.?" Micah leans over your back slightly, and seeing as he gets no response other than a muffled sob, he withdraws himself out of you, earning another yelp from you. And, that's when he sees it.

His tip is red, covered in both your slick and blood. He feels his body stiffen as he looks down at it, then at your bleeding sex. He's not a fool or an idiot; he knows exactly what it all means. "Jesus fucking Christ.." Micah instantly gets off of the cot, picking his jeans and undergarments off the floor. He doesn't even bother to wipe his shaft—now soft, from the realisation of the horrific situation he's put you in—before he tucks himself away, just staring at your weeping form as you shake. It takes him a moment to break out of it, but he's instantly coming over to comfort you as he does. "My God, I am.. so sorry, my sweet girl." He coos, walking to your side of the bed and gently rubbing your head, his palm caressing you as his fingers tangle in your hair. "I am a moron.. I never noticed or.. even asked—God, babydoll..." He curses himself mentally, the sounds of your crying fogging his brain completely.

You slowly sit up on the cot, with slight issue, wiping your face dry. "No.. I should have told you—it's why I never.." Micah nods and cuts you off with a "I know" as he extends his arms, his stomach churning at the sight of you like this. You don't need another word from him before you crawl over and fall into his arms, emotions higher than usual. Your tears overtake you again, and you're weeping into his shoulder while hugging him impossibly close. And so, It happened.

You always imagined your first time would be this.. fairy-tale moment you read about in books, but it was so much worse. Micah is cooing quiet reassurances into your ear, and you're crying into his shoulder as you're still bleeding down under. This, it was the opposite of what you read about—it was so much worse. "I'm sorry.. I ruined this for us." You mumbled against his skin, your words barely coherent.

"No—No, don't even say that." Micah practically scolds you, not even wanting to hear about any of that. "You didn't do anything, 'ya hear? I should have known.. or at least asked." He huffs and brings his head into your hair, sighing shakily against it. "So sorry, babygirl. I would have been.. so much gentler, if I knew." His voice is quiet and soft—highly uncharacteristic, but you like it, in a way. You just hug tighter to him, feeling a drop of your blood ooze down your thigh.

Once you two finally compose each other, Micah makes you take a seat on the cot. "I'm gonna take care of 'ya, doll. That okay?" You nod before he walks over to another corner of the tent, getting out a clean rag he keeps about before returning. He kneels before you, placing his free hand on your thigh. "Spread them," he can barely look when you comply to his command, seeing the blood again. He pushed his own feelings aside—you're doing much worse than he is—and gently parts your thighs some more before bringing the rag to your bloody mound, very carefully wiping you clean. You gasp a few times as the rough rag brushes over you, but bite your lip to keep quiet. Once he's done with you, he kisses your inner thigh and murmurs another apology before standing and turning away from you, unzipping himself free and wipe off what was on his shaft from before.

You're looking up at the back of his head; you feel guilty, terrifying him this way after you finally gave in to the one thing he was missing from you. "Micah.." He tosses the rag and hides himself back into his jeans, turning around to the sound of your voice addressing him. "I.. I don't want this to end."

Micah creases a brow at your statement, a tad confused. "Baby, we won't do anything you—" "I want to, Micah You cut him off, wanting him to understand, so badly. "You said you could.. be more gentle, right.?" Micah silently nodded, ready to hear you out. You look up into his eyes—guilt-ridden like your own, somber and hurt. Finally, after a long pause of melancholic eye-contact, you speak. "Can you show me?"

Silence fills the tent, and Micah can't find it in him to respond right away. He stares down at you sitting there, face ridden with dried tears and your body still nude. Even after he's hurt you, made you sob and weep and shiver—you'll still try to make it work. He's in awe with you, really. So many nights he spent wishing you'd let him in, let him show you love in the most intimate of ways he knows of, just for it to go so south. Alas, you're still willing; willing to try, for him.

The pause between you is hellishly long, so long you even start to feel a bit nervous. Micah breaks up the silence after what feels like years. "Are you sure, baby?" And as you silently nod, it's all he needs to hear. "I'll do this right, show 'ya how nice it can be." He steps up to you, kneeling before you once again. Micah's hands part your thighs, happy to see you not bleeding any longer. "You trust me?" He looks up at you from between your thighs—a sight you could get used to—as he asks. And you nod again; you do trust him, with your life.

Your wordless nod is enough for him, coaxing you to lay back with one hand on your stomach while rubbing and slowly parting your thigh some more. "I'm gonna take good care of 'ya, hm? You gonna let me, dollface?" Of course you'll let him; you couldn't find it in you to decline him even if you wanted to. Which you absolutely don't. You lean down but keep yourself held up to watch him. "Good," Where he would usually tease or prolong the process, he can't do it to you after what just happened. "did you like how I did it previously?" One quick glance and a nod from you before he lifts his hand off your stomach and slicks him thumb up on his tongue, pressing it to your clit and circling it around.

If he could, he'd get the sweet sounds of pleasure you let out on a record and play it on Dutch's gramophone every damn second of the day.

You're gasping and sighing, looking down at his moving digit over your sensitive nub with hazy eyes, your lips slightly parted the entire time. He's drinking it all in, your sounds and expressions as he works up the wetness between your walls again. You mewl his name a few times, and it instantly un-softens him. "Damn, baby.." He looks mesmerised with you, staring at you like you're the most beautiful thing to grace the planet; which, to him, you most certainly are. After he deems it long enough, he slows down his thumb, not stopping but still moving at a reasonable pace for you to meet him back on earth and in the tent from wherever the blissful experience took you. "Okay, I'm gonna start with one, is that alright with you, princess?" You simply nod, watching him show you his index finger. With your silent consent, he rubs around your entrance briefly before slowly sliding it in, making you gasp briefly but enjoyably. He slowly curls and thrusts it out and back in, repeating the process a few times before looking back up at you. "And, how many do you want me to stop at?" He asks his question carefully, waiting on your response. You contemplate your limit and decide on stopping at three for today, and he nods. "Let's see how that feels for you, hm?" He makes sure to slowly coax the second digit into you, watching your face—both for any discomfort and to see your pleasured facial expression. You sigh, fluttering your eyes closed and clenching around him, which he just gives a faint smile to. "I'mma go real slow, baby," He slides both fingers halfway and curls them, making you breathily moan and clutch onto the sheets. He withdraws them to the very fingertips, then pushes back in a bit more quickly, slowly and surely getting you used to the feeling. Soon enough, you're clenching tightly around three fingers, shuddering and groaning breathily.

"That's it, pretty girl." He's praising you all throughout the process, he's gentle and showing you he cares—that he loves you. He's doing exactly what he planned out; showing you his love in the most intimate way he knows to. He draws his three digits fully into you, a nice curl against your walls that makes you lean your head back slightly. "Heh, 'ya think that's good?" He keeps them inside you a brief moment longer before fully pulling out, giving your sweet juices a taste. You watch him pop his digits between his lips, practically sucking your slick out of his skin. You watch in awe.

He's quick to pop them out of his mouth, chuckling lightly at your reaction to it. "I got somethin' even better for 'ya, darlin'." He drawls, wasting no time in returning his thumb to your bundle of nerves. When you assume that's all, he still manages to surprise you.

Your head rolls back when his tongue enters your cunt, fucking into it. It's quick and repetitive, almost making your head spin from pleasure. You hadn't experienced something like it yet, and you just want more. You grip the sheets and lean back, spreading your legs more. Micah gives you a little hum, patting your thigh as praise with his free hand. Then, he grips it and places your leg on his shoulder, diving back in. This position is all the better—he's brushing all the right spots inside you, making you whine and squirm—and you feel the heat in your stomach rise with every thrust of his tongue to your walls. You let him know of this, and he hums into your cunt, which makes you squeak out another moan. This man...

It's not long before you arch off of the cot and squeeze your thighs slightly, your orgasm meeting you. Micah just continues to eat you out, his moustache getting soaked with the juices of your high. He stops when your legs un-squeeze and let go of him, moving his head away from between your thighs. His lips are glistening, and he comes up to give you a taste of yourself, stealing a long kiss from you while rubbing your outer thigh comfortingly. "Did so good, my girl." He breaks the kiss to grab the rag and wipe off the space between your thighs, affectionately kissing your neck and shoulder while he does so, slowly and enjoyably. Taking care of you how you imagined him to.

When he finishes, he helps get you back into your nightwear. "Next time you want to try, I'm makin' sure we're both ready," He lays himself behind you after blowing the lantern out, like you were before tonight escalated. "and I'll make it an experience you won't forget, babydoll." He kisses the nape of your neck, brushing his moustache over your bare skin while rubbing your abdomen lovingly, showering you in the comfort and praise you knew would come out of him one day.

You trust his words; you know he'll make you enjoy it one day.

Kudos on AO3 always appreciated! I finally finished this fic after putting it off for weeks.. thank you very much for reading it!

[spoiledleaff]

Hello! Do you happen to take xReader requests? I would just love to see a ficlet from you where Mountain catches Rain and Reader cuddling in the gardens? They/Them pronouns for the Reader please? and SFW if possible?

I know I'm asking for a lot, so please don't feel like I'm pressuring you! :)

i mean, i've been threatening to delve into the world of /reader fics for quite some time, but i've never actually made true on my threats, unfortunately :') but!! i will tonight!! >:3c

sfw ✿ he/him mountain/rain + they/them gn sibling of sin reader ✿ wc ; 860.

Mountain knows that Rain's been... predictably vacant from the Ministry's hallways, but the earth's sin had just figured that he was napping in between the pews after Mass or getting high at the lakeside. Rain might not be the same... 'level' as Dewdrop, but the water ghoul certainly knows how to shirk the work he simply doesn't want to do.

Luckily for the Ministry, it's only during the more extreme seasons that Rain choses to abandon his duties. Luckily for Mountain, nothing's really happening at this point in time, so Rain's extra hands aren't a necessity for the wellbeing of the Abbey.

It was midday when he caught them, the black ink of their church uniforms clashing dramatically against the vibrant colors of the garden's flowers. It wasn't surprising at all to find Rain curled up in the depths of the gardens, the shade of the gazebo sparing the water's sin from any risk of drying up in the sun's rays. It took a moment, however, for Mountain to find that Rain wasn't alone in his loafing around.

Mountain recognizes the Sibling from the way they wear their uniform: elongated in some traditionally short areas and trimmed shorter where it was once long. He recalls Rain rambling once — after having met the Sibling a couple of times — about how everything they did was just so uniquely them; their uniform included. It drew Rain in, among other things, and Mountain was happy to watch as Rain grew increasingly infatuated with the very existence of the Sibling.

Speaking of, the earth's sin watches as Rain's tail flicks lazily against their ankle, docile barbs brushing against the sliver of exposed skin. There's small pink welt dragging across the bone of their ankle, he notices, and Mountain decides he's going to have to talk to Rain again about human fragility.

Other than that small detail, the sight laid before Mountain is actually quite wholesome. Rain has the poor Sibling practically suffocated in his arms, his mask flattening the grass below them though his balaclava remains secure over his face. His arms are locked tight around the small of the Sibling's back, their arms curled up in the small spaces left between them and the water's sin. Mountain notices how one of their hands is buried deep between the seam of Rain's button-up shirt, one of the golden buttons having been popped free to accommodate the space of their hand.

The Sibling is curled up tight in Rain's chest, so small and human in comparison to the water ghoul's borderline awkward proportions. It's cute, and Mountain can't help but think of how much smaller the Sibling would feel tucked up into his own side.

Well, it's not that he's never thought about it — the way this Sibling in particular would slot so perfectly into his side or the weight of them on his chest — and he knows that they wouldn't mind! Mountain's lost count of how many times he's caught the little creature wrapped up in Dewdrop's arms or faceplanted into Cumulus' chest. Of course, Rain is never too far away from the Sibling, but Mountain knows the water's sin — or any of them for that matter — wouldn't have any issues with sharing.

They've even offered it to him before! All sweet smiles and an outstretched hand, somehow managing to wiggle out of Rain's grasp just enough to brush their fingers against the leather of Mountain's boots. But, alas, Mountain was supposed to have been in Copia's office two minutes prior to your proposal, and the earth's sin had to refuse.

But now? Mountain's finished his chores in the greenhouse, dinner isn't for another hour or so, and there's no gremlin trying to get into his pants with nothing but hot hands and sly smiles, so-

There's nothing stopping the earth's sin from joining the pair.

Just in case, Mountain quietly slinks off to Rain's side of the cuddle pile, watching the steady of rise and fall of both cuddlebugs' chests as he moved. Mountain plops himself down right behind Rain's curled up form, carefully slotting himself behind the water ghoul so as not to disturb neither sin or Sibling. He presses his chest against the hard plane of Rain's back, scrambling to be rid of his own mask before getting too comfortable dozing underneath the gazebo's shade in the company of those he adores. He sets his mask next to Rain's, mindful of the 'clink' the two masks make, before allowing himself to curl up around both Rain and his napping partner.

Mountain purrs quietly as throws one arm above his head and wiggles the other carefully in the open spaces between Rain and the Sibling, quickly finding the lump of their hand underneath Rain's partially unbuttoned shirt. Through the cotton of the fabric, Mountain holds the Sibling's hand, delighting in the way they snuggle closer and press their nose against his knuckles.

Rain's tail stops swishing, and the devious little bastard starts up a purr of his own, taking great pleasure in having lured in another sailor lost at sea with the sirensong promise of a nap in the middle of the day.

[missgossiper]

The Miss Gossiper's press newest addition to our paper services; Saturday Polls!

Do not fear, the press is back in business again and near once more! And this time, returning with a new addition to our usual papers. Alongside the submitted gossip of around, event reports, our papers will now even include joyous little polls to keep the entertainment around town up and spirits high.

Curious to know who would be nominated most attractive in our fine town? Who would hypothetically die first in a horror movie setting determined by popular vote? Then look forward to our Saturday scheduled polls and remember to submit your vote!

Requests are open, so if an idea ever arises as to possible polls you would like to see the town riot over - just submit a friendly letter in our drop box! But alas, do remember that it is not solemnly promised to be made possible and only if it is at our most convenience.

Until next time, Dearest Readers~!

— · Miss Gossiper

EDIT OOC: due to everything this past month, I've decided to clear up confusion and add some steady guidelines that will now be strictly followed.

1. these polls are targeted towards a sub-branch of the rp usually consisting of ocs or historical figures all run by a familiar set of mods: i.e the Columbia college, the "satire rp" tagged ones, etc. you will commonly see the same set of characters repeat in the polls if you need further example. if you have not interacted with these set of characters for the past year or a half, you will likely not find yourself included.

2. certain characters/mods will also be excluded, regardless of their consistency with interactions, if they have proven to be a discomfort. wether I have you blocked, dni'ed, or whatever else, I am entitled to my space of comfort and am under no obligation to include everyone if it means risking my boundaries.

3. dms are my preferred form of communication, I do not like arguing with anons. if you have any complaints, issues, requests; you want to request be included, or you want to see other characters included, just send in a polite dm and I will try to get back to you. if, however, you are under number twos conditions (e.x. blocked) I cannot promise a response. any anons making requests for characters to be included will be deleted and ignored.

4. anons making suggestions for future polls however will not go ignored, as that is what they are there for in the first place. not for ooc demands, but possible suggestions for ic purposes.

5. I am a busy person with a real life and real responsibilities, I will likely never be able to remember every character and have them included and nowhere do I ever promise that. I am one person only capable of so much + there is a limitation to how many answers a poll can have. I will try my best to categorize them in such a way to leave enough room for everyone, but in no way is everyone entitled to a spot on the poll. it is purely based on my best efforts.

[stranded-labyrinth]

Prompt: Hannibal runs into Molly in Cuba at a coffee shop while she's on holiday there and she doesn't recognize him (maybe bc he's got whiskers and long hair, but Hannibal knows exactly who she is!!!) and they have coffee together and he invites her out for dinner with he and his husband 😳

i'm not sure the mood you had in mind for this fic, but i'm afraid this will likely be darker than that.

i genuinely cannot tell if a portion of this story could read as domestic violence, given how these two are, but i'll warn for it just in case.

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

She was not difficult to persuade, the kindhearted thing that she was.

Will had mentioned once that she’d read an article on them. Tattlecrime, no doubt, but even so, he had only mentioned there being one. There was no telling how many photos of their faces there were in said article, or if there were any at all. Knowing Miss Lounds, however, there were bound to be as many as she could paste. Or perhaps she would have run out of them eventually, and thus spaced them out accordingly.

Lounds was good at presenting things as she wanted them, that much could be said.

Perhaps Mrs. Graham had come across an article with a smaller photo, or none at all. Perhaps she hadn’t focused too hard on Hannibal’s face, only that of her betrothed.

The thought burned at the base of his skull, though he supposed it couldn’t be avoided.

She hadn’t recognized him at all, interestingly enough. He’d been on his way to grab a surprise cup of coffee for Will, knowing it had become his favorite location for such a thing. Perhaps the two wedded ones shared a taste. 

That idea burned worse.

He remembered her face, a rather specific taunt from Dr. Bloom. Alana had been rather intent on everyone recovering from whatever state Hannibal Lecter had left them in, including Will himself. While she hadn’t been able to attend his wedding, the date cutting too close to her wife’s due date, she had sent him her best regards from her and her wife both.

He had sent her some wedding photos, at her request. Proof that he was actually happy, maybe.

Alana had visited Hannibal’s cell, or more so the glass outside of it. She slipped one of the photos into the metal tray, shutting the small door behind it. Hannibal approached, opening his side and removing the photo. Seeing it. Inspecting it.

His body had been completely, entirely still, before he placed the photo back in the tray.

Alana grinned then, turning and taking her leave without taking the photo with her.

Leaving him with it.

Molly was sweet enough, as it turned out, ever so slightly shy and yet still as kind as could be to the man who approached her. He’d noticed her sitting alone, her gaze off into nowhere, and he could never be one to let sleeping dogs lie if he noticed such a thing.

She’d smiled then, at the comment involving dogs. Remembering Will, most likely. Hannibal wondered how much fire his skull could take until he would be engulfed in flame.

He’d almost wished that she was a complete horror to be around. It would have been so simple to do away with her then, or to lure her in such a way that Will would do away with her. Alas, there had been a reason Will wedded her after all.

He swallowed down the idea that she could have been “kinder” than he, the idea scorching down his throat with coffee that was still far too hot.

The dinner invite came almost instinctively. He found himself wanting to grant her mercy from himself, and yet cruelty would surely come along with it. Perhaps it wasn’t so much cruelty to her as a final strike against Will’s decision to wed her to begin with. Poor Mrs. Graham couldn’t be blamed for succumbing to the man’s charms.

Closure for them both, then, her seeing what he’s become. Will could decide how the night would end.

He didn’t bother asking for the whereabouts of the son that wasn’t Will’s. He wondered briefly if she’d shipped him off to a boarding school, if he’d grown to obtain too many of his stepfather’s tendencies for her liking, if that was why he wasn’t there.

A small part of him wished them that pain, solely for their place in Will’s life. The more sensible aspects of him rejected the notion.

He’d mentioned dining with his husband, glancing at the wedding band still around the woman’s finger. He wished he could melt it with his gaze alone, branding her with that sinful ring of gold. He asked if she was married. She briefly glanced down, fiddling with her ring before telling him that it was complicated. Her eyes held pain.

Oh, Will, what have you done?

He wouldn’t lie to himself and say that the idea wasn’t exceptionally appealing, Will’s cruelty towards anyone. Nobody was exempt. Whomever happened to fall victim to him, to be his prey, it would be a sight that Hannibal would deem beautiful to behold.

He’d informed Will when he had arrived home, new cup of coffee in hand, that they’d be having a guest at dinner. Will had raised an amused brow, the question going unsaid as Hannibal smiled and assured him that they were, in fact, a true guest. Will nodded, gratefully accepting the coffee.

Will was in the kitchen when Molly arrived.

Hannibal was quick, though not suspiciously so, to lead her to the dining room. She asked about his husband’s whereabouts, and he gave her a polite smile, telling her that he would be joining them shortly.

Footsteps approached the dining room, and just as they did, still out of sight, the crash of glass against tile could be heard.

Molly’s head turned quickly as she jumped in her seat, beginning to stand. “What was that? Is he alright?”

Hannibal stood, making his way around the table to head into the kitchen. “I will check on him. Please, sit.”

Molly did, albeit still too worried to sit still.

He stepped through the small hallway that separated the rooms, approaching the kitchen. He finally crossed the threshold–

Faster than he could react, he felt a swipe of searing pain across his face, forcing his head to the other direction.

He stumbled back slightly, instinctively bringing a hand to his injured cheek. He felt his palm press against blood, the pressure and touch causing the wound to sting. He pulled back, observing the thin line of blood on his hand, shocked eyes lifting at last to meet infuriated ones.

Will was gripping the knife in his hand with such force that his knuckles were completely white. Hannibal felt the urge to soothe, despite the fact that it was his own blood that now coated the blade, despite how Will’s typically beautiful anger instead burned so hot that Hannibal had been branded, a permanent mark made across his cheek.

Before he could speak, Will stepped forward, pointing the knife at him and practically spitting his words out, quiet as they were.

“Either you get her out of here, or I’m leaving.”

Hannibal’s eyes remained on his for a long while. Too long. He read them for everything that they gave him, and he had come to a few conclusions:

Will had ways of making his vengeance something even Hannibal would want to avoid.

He had just threatened his primary method of being able to do so. Length of time was not mentioned. He could be referring to the dinner, or he could be referring to the rest of their lives.

Hannibal had severely and utterly miscalculated how this evening would pan out.

Despite his analysis, Hannibal was left just as shocked as he’d been ten seconds prior. Even he himself couldn’t figure out why, until the weight of Will’s broiling glare finally struck, leaving him feeling as though weights of lead were hanging at the base of his lungs.

Will had never truly hurt him before.

Emotionally? Of course he had. Physically?

He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t remember because it had never happened before.

And now Hannibal would have a scar, tucked just beneath the one that had already been on that cheek. Will had swiped like a backhand, his fury powerful enough to finally leave a permanent mark, the length matching the one on Will’s forehead.

You forgive the way God forgives.

God gloats often.

“Uh– Is everything okay?”

Her voice collided with the tension in the room, striking Will and sending the emotion in his gaze cascading into sadness for a brief moment before rage soaked his features once more.

Hannibal swallowed.

“I will see her out,” he whispered, forcing his legs to move at last.

She was led out with explanations about broken glass, and how accidents happen, and not to worry, he was an E.R. surgeon, but his husband is rather upset and now would not be the best time for guests. She exited quickly with apologies, and she wished his husband well.

He returned to the kitchen afterward, though Will was long gone.

His stomach dropped. Will only risked skipping meals during times where he’d been intensely focused on a task, and even then, Hannibal was typically able to pull him back from his mind and feed him.

The door to the guest room was shut and locked, with not so much as a sound coming out. Hannibal gave the door a gentle knock, receiving no response.

“Will?” he tried. “We still have dinner…”

No response.

Even as his blood was now meeting his collar, it was secondary in his focus. Will’s frantic attack was nothing compared to his calculated one.

Hannibal left the plate outside the door. Just in case.

He moved to the kitchen slowly, retrieving his supplies to tend to his wound at last. The adjacent bathroom was good enough to use to clean and suture it, trying to will his tears to remain along his waterline as he worked. Only when he finally placed the bandage over his work did he allow tears to roll from each eye, swiftly wiping them with a tissue.

He would have to plan a new location. There were several houses they could go to across several countries. He would allow Will to take his pick. He would encourage ones with yards that could accommodate dogs. He would encourage locations that had intriguing insect life.

He remained on his left side that night, facing the doorway that he had left open, staring at the plate of cold food left on a hallway table outside a door that hadn’t moved. He felt nearly childish, leaving the bedroom door open so that if Will were to exit the guest room, he would see.

But he was never able to predict his beloved, was he?

[fff777]

watched dream sketch #7 in london, paris, and berlin

Renjun doing a ballet spin and Haechan stretching. Renhyuck ballet AU.

Whatever Jaemren are doing.

Dream practices are always just cuddlefests

Look at this brat, Chenle acts tough and talks big but he's the biggest princess ever

Just a million things going on while Renjun takes cam control

Jaemin, in Korean: How do you say "get it together" in English Mark, in English: I love you

Jisung hyping up DJ Renjun even though he is not DJ-ing right now

Whatever's going on here

I'd seen a gif of this before watching this video and y'all must know I lost my shit. Jaemrenists we are so back.

Renjun just permanently at 180 degrees while practising

Oh wow they performed at Wembley. I only know that name because of soccer lol.

Mark explaining how "guys" refers to men but is also now used as a catchall term for everyone.

They're always just chatting amongst each other in huddles in the breaks between practice <3

Mark's already got his pretty hair done

Yeah okay Nohyuck

Renjun: I'm feelin it are you feelin it Chenle: No

I want to highlight the fact that I am only 3 minutes into this half hour video. There is always so much going on with these dudes.

Saturday Drip rehearsal (y)

Haechan is a sun but suns are also stars

Nomin

Game time! They all look so pretty

It's cool that Hrvy met them backstage :P Hrvy remembers all the details hehe.

Hrvy @ Jisung: You got a lot taller and your voice got a lot deeper ToT I know dude ToT I wasn't even there for it but he's all growed up.

Jisung prepared a little something in English :3 That's my son <3

I wonder why Chenle spoke in Korean (since he's pretty good at English ^^;;)

Kyuu pose strikes again

Deja vu's been growing on me. It's a pretty hype song eh.

My little guys. Also I'm so mean but every time Renjun wears that outfit I think of McLovin.

Low angle Chenji

Jeno flip!!!!!!

Jaemin: Don't skip a meal He's so malewife coded and yet not

Kissu

Picking up and playing with the toys that the fans throw on to the stage

樂樂���在撒嬌啦

Aigo with 350% energy by Haechan

Group huddle. Also Jisung looming over Renjun.

Renjun continues to be horizontal

Their rehearsal space in Paris is pretty small ^^;;

Chenle just promoting Starbs' iced vanilla latte for free and with his homemade slogan.

Mark sliding to the food and Chenle finding him adorable

My little guys again

Princess x Princess (I originally had so many screenshots for this part but I had to delete on account of the Tumblr pictures per post limit hmph)

Headlock of love

Whatever they were doing

They were all just having an insane dance party while Mark watched

Chenle and Renjun having a high pitched siren voice competition

Haechan believing in the power of Ratatouille inside his beanie

Getting hyped while practising Trigger the fever. It does hit different doesn't it.

Jaemin practising French :3 He likes Paris a lot :3

I took sooo many screenshots during this video but Tumblr only allows 30 so I keep having to delete some ToT

Anyway here's more Jaemren

And Markmin

Oh wow the standing spaces are REALLY close to the stage

Aw Haechan picked up a Crayon Shin-chan plush :3 And Chenle picked up a Daegal pillow X3

Lil cuties

Wait omg who gave Renjun and Jisung PSG jerseys??

Now onto Berlin

Mark taking a video of German pigeons

Did Haechan back his ass up into the huddle to get spanked

Jaemin's sweater said "GO HOME SOCIETY" which I assume is some form of introvert social club

Creation of Jeno?

They're such energetic performers. Watching them in concert must be so much fun~

Jeno helping Mark fix the back of his shirt?

Quite a few of them prepared something in German :3

Haechan tummy

Nomin again

Chenle wearing sunglasses during boom

Oh man this video was soooo much fun. I would have included so many more screenshots but alas, Tumblr said no. (I know I could technically reblog this post to add more photos but I am queueing this so I'll forgo the hassle and just cut down on number of photos).

[cookies-sports]

Matches from the week of September 16th (2/2)

Continued from this post, some thoughts below the cut on:

Manchester United vs West Ham

Montpellier vs PSG

Manchester United 3 - 0 West Ham United

There is a part of me that always wants West Ham to do better than they do. I think a lot of it is because of how much bullshit the players over the years have put up with from a club that does not care about its women's team.

There have been so many things over the years (being kicked out of their training ground, having to raise money for their own kit, the chairman of the women's team lodged a complaint about the club in 2016 due to the team's mistreatment) and there's a line of thinking (including voiced by players from other teams) that West Ham only have a women's team because they think the bad PR from not having one would be worse. Yet so many of the players really do give it their all, despite that, and I guess I like to see the players get something good for all the stuff they have put up with.

Alas, this was not the match for them to put out a surprise win.

However, they were against Manchester United, another team of players who have put up with a lot from their club, including being closed down in 2005, then reopening again in 2018, and not exactly having a stellar ride since then. So, there's a similar sentiment there of wanting the players to do well.

You can see sparks of quality and intention from West Ham, but they just are so chaotic and unable to implement what they want that Manchester United over-ran them. Szemik had a really nervy game, though I was pleased she got two good saves at the end to end the game on something good. West Ham got better during the second half, though, and I think if they'd played like that all game, it might have been a more even match. I still think Manchester United would have pipped them to the win, but maybe it would have been a 2-1 loss they had instead. Not quite as disheartening in some ways.

With United, despite the scoreline being much in their favour, they were also suffering with the sort of uneasy 'new season' playing that most teams have had. I think it's just how these opening games go. They kept up good pressure and broke away past the defense a lot, especially during the first half. Geyse, Toone, Clinton, Terland, Galton...they all gave the West Ham defenders trouble; Millie Turner was so involved in the attacking play at one point she was called offside and not for a set piece. Le Tissier had positive forward play and long balls, and had a solid first game as Captain. Tullis-Joyce looked comfortable, for the most part, in goal and made some decent saves to deny the West Ham attackers in the second half but she wasn't hugely tested in her new role as United's first string goalkeeper. I suspect that test might come in Week 3, when they face Chelsea.

Good start for Manchester United, not so much for West Ham. Let's see what next week holds for them both.

Montpellier 1 - 3 PSG

After a rough outing for the Champion's League qualifiers, PSG had a better time in the league.

This was very different to the game versus Juventus, where PSG got overrun and outpaced on the wings, then punished in the box for slow closing down and attempting to dribble/pass out of their own 18-yard box rather than just whacking the ball down the pitch for some breathing space (I understand the need for controlled play out the back sometimes, but at other times...you just need to boot it outta there).

It looks like they played a 4-3-3 both times, but with a narrower formation set-up vs Juventus and, notably, with a lot of different players. PSG controlled the majority of the game, with a lot of time spent building up into the Montpellier half. They had a lot of chances and Justine Lerond was another goalkeeper this week who kept her team's scoreline much more respectable than it could have been. PSG were much better at clearing their own half, though there were moments where the same things that cost them in the Juventus game nearly caught them out again. I was pleased to see Naolia Traoré, who played so well for the France U-19s team during the Euros recently getting good game time with the senior team. She struggled with the more physical play and, I think, just the pace of the senior players, but that's something younger players just have to get used to, so it's good experience.

What was most interesting about this game was that you could hear the goalkeepers very clearly. There was no commentary for technical reasons (which were never resolved) and wherever the microphones were positioned, you could hear the goalkeepers and the coaches throughout. This gave me even more insight into just how much the goalkeepers do off the ball that doesn't necessarily get seen often on TV. I knew goalkeepers did a lot of off-ball action that often got missed in discussions, but hearing it in this game fascinated me.

From setting up defence during throw-ins, corner kicks, and free kicks; to telling them that they were ahead of the attacker they were racing to reach the ball first; telling defenders to clear down field or clear for a throw-in, there was so much going on. I suspect Earps will have an easier time communicating with her back-line when she speaks more French, though. I did laugh when you could even hear her yelling well done to Romée Leuchter for her attempts on goal.

With the coaches, there was a lot of shouting of 'allez' from the touchline, which...I mean I question the value of yelling "go, go, go"' or "'come on, come on, come on" over and over but I'm not a coach, so maybe it works?

I think PSG supporters might still be very, very nervous for the reverse leg against Juventus, though. There's...some edginess and uncertainty to the team that is still there, even with their win in this game.

A few other things...

Michelle Agyemang got her first minutes for Brighton and Hove Albion, with the additional time she was on the pitch for 8 minutes. Hopefully she'll get a bit more time later in the season as well.

Unfortunately, in the same match, Everton's Auroro Galli went down with what looked like a knee injury similar to many ligament injuries we've seen before. The coach afterwards confirmed that it seemed to be a severe injury and Galli was on crutches at the end of the match. Massive blow for Everton, following a rough opening game, if it is indeed her ACL or another ligament she's torn.

[what-to-imagine-next]

02-18-2024

I am both. In love and filled with hate, when it comes to my life. I love some of it. Hate a lot of what I am part of due to some deeply ingrained distrust into every thing I partake in. I’m tired of the ongoing affair of this deep seeded wrath when it comes to my existence. I am so tired, yet sleep even is getting harder and harder to obtain to use as a sort of escapism.

I am though also in love with parts of myself, I can see parts of what makes me “me” and see it in others and am able to appreciate and enjoy them  thoroughly. Yet I become almost full of hipocracy when it comes to myself.

I can see my caring nature for others in the interactions I try to partake in. Yet somehow my brain will go fill with the idea of how somehow my mind is doing it only for my benefit. I am nothing but a manipulative bastard who is taking others hardships on in the benefit of myself if it means use of someone else in the future. I know it is not true, yet somehow my brain keeps me running.

In the same breath I see others I never have those thoughts come to mind unless I am fearful of being hurt. Which is not much of a common thought when it comes to now.

I can see my hardworking self, yet see myself even when trying, as someone who is not worth my effort, and my work has never been good enough from the get go. I am an unfortunate addition, who overall is not someone who is of use. Well, no beneficial use.

I feel so out of place, always have. This sickly hold on my being comes from my earliest years of suicidality. Always outside of the crowd. Only included when of a use of laughter at the earliest memories. I alas, have still have those grasping feeling onto myself.

The musical part of myself still feels as if I am not of it, surrounded my musicians and technically a part of them, yet some how, some way. I am still not fully part of the cohesiveness in which I have been a part of for years. I am still the one that gets looked at weird for how I am looked at. I am still the one who somehow cannot fill in my spot correctly, always a filling that space incorrectly. A momentary placeholder. Unfortunately part of something I know I do not belong, no matter how much I wish I was to be involved fully.

Somehow it goes where ever I do. I want to love and be happy and laugh. Yet somehow, every interpersonal relationship I am apart of seems to be filled in my mind in this sense of… space. I cannot help but feel out of place no matter how much I hope to be correct, be right, finally to fit in without having to lose part of myself yet so many times I see the looks I get. The judgement of my character due to who I am.

Walking kind of helps. Hours at a time. A bus to some spot in town and walking with nothing but music to drown my thoughts. Bring me away from the onslaught of things dragging my further down. I look to the pathways I follow. The love of the nature and human expansions intermingling together as I walk for miles at a time to drown the chaotic brain of which I must live in. I am sleeping mentally, as I walk aimlessly. And thats something I love. Somehow drowning the monotony of my thoughts with the monotony of the walk. 

I would say more but the wine is starting to feel more a part of me right now at 1:41am, technically Feb 19, 2024.

[asterlizard]

UK Trip October 2023 (Part 1)

(oh boy I have missed doing one of these!)

This was the first time travelling since the pandemic began, so of course there was a bit of stress while prepping for this trip. But because we were careful throughout the trip, we avoided anything that could have hindered us.

This felt like a part two to our trip back in 2019, with some unfinished business finally feeling finished. And yet, with only two weeks of travel time, even more unfinished business was made!

Like our previous trip, our flight would leave in the middle of the day, so we had to wake up pretty early in order to get to SFO, check-in, and board the plane on time.

Unfortunately for us, we didn't get much sleep that night. We also used a different ride-share service this time, rather than taking the bus, because our schedules would have conflicted.

We met up at 7:15, and had a good chat with our driver for almost the entire trip, who was from a small town in the Balkans of Bulgaria. When he brought this up, I brought up what I knew about the culture, mainly roses and yogurt (cultural knowledge is a really good ice-breaker!) While chatting, we'd deviate to other topics, including computer science and the rise of A.I. As we drove through San Francisco, he even recommended a restaurant to us! (Kevin's Noodle House)

We arrived at the airport after 9 AM, and checked our bags in pretty quickly. Our flight wasn't until 12:30, so we had plenty of time to kill. I did have a little something to eat before going through customs, but alas I wasn't hungry enough didn't have anything else until the flight.

The flight itself wasn't packed at all! I'm so used to flying during busy seasons, and this flight was like half full! We even got to move to an empty row so we could have a space to ourselves! (Thanks Shawn!)

While we wanted to be careful and were prepared to wear our masks during the flight, because we had plenty of space (There was someone in the row ahead of us, but they slept almost the entire flight, and an empty row in front of them) we didn't really need to! There was also plenty of hand sanitizer on board which I used multiple times to keep my mind at ease. And there were no screaming babies! It was a very pleasant flight!

Wildfire over Idaho?

Entertainment-wise, I got to watch two films on the flight:

'6/45': a funny Korean film about soldiers from the North and South fighting over a winning lottery ticket across the DMZ

'Lost Love': a bittersweet Hong Kong film about a couple who recently lost their young child to an illness, eventually trying out fostering children

Also got to listen to some 80s and 90s music (no 60s or 70s anymore it seems, RIP)

During the night portion of our trip, I saw the stars so clearly (alas I couldn't take good photos) It's also been a while since I've arrived in LHR during the dark. Day just started to break as we were landing.

Once we got to LHR, we travelled by rail to stay at a friend of mum's for a couple of nights (first time taking the Elizabeth Line! Though there were some delays)

When we got there, mum's friend drove us to Hastings and gave us a bit of a tour along the beachside.

Note: I'm using an old camera that has a few cracks in the lens that is unfortunately visible in some photos like the one above. I won't be sharing much of these.

They had a cute working mini railway! With a proper mini crossing!

>:U

Stopped to have a sample of some fudge (it was really really good, mum commented it was how her mum used to make it, I wish I had more!)

This place is so charming!

Tumblr is now limiting how many photos I can add to a post, and I don't have the heart to remove photos I want to share, so this journal will be split into multiple parts.

Here is part 2: [link]

[dkettchen]

My thoughts on actual canon!Sanji since resuming the anime have led to the realisation that truly his entire character is built on how profoundly insecure he is, about his ability to abide by his gender role, about his ability to be loved, and everything inbetween and included in those things.

(in depth thoughts & analysis under cut pls enjoy)

Between his abusive bio-family childhood trauma (that I am still not happy abt being canon but alas, we're analysing text rn), including in regards to his cooking & his sensitive nature, and his gnc-ity as a women-attracted man, he's grown up being told directly or indirectly by those around him and society he was wrong or weird or deserving of punishment rather than love for being his actual self, all the while being presented with the supposedly more acceptable models of masculinity etc that he could not fit.

So he became this person who acts the way he thinks people want him to act (white knighting and refusing to fight women, trying to be better than Zoro as proven by who has the higher bounty, "girls don't like guys in dresses", etc), even if the people in question including his loved ones tell him otherwise (like Nami and various other women repeatedly telling him not to treat them that way/to fight them normally, etc).

He doesn't care if girls actually like him, because attention (whether good or bad) is all he can conceptualise as approval, he can't imagine someone genuinely caring about him and acting on that.

He's so caught up in his own mask, his own fake version of himself, that he struggles to let go of it even when people tell him it's ok to, because he's too terrified of the alternative. It's his shell that he hides in and he doesn't know how to exist without it.

The reason he's so competitive with Zoro specifically (who does not reciprocate that energy lest out of annoyance at him, Sanji is usually the instigator) is cause Zoro is so utterly and unquestioningly confident and true to himself. He doesn't question whether he deserves to be loved, that thought has never even crossed his braincell as a possibility. He doesn't care about what other people think about him, he only cares about what he knows he can do (ex doesn't care about his bounty or current rank among swordspeople, only cares abt beating the current best one, and won't need anyone outside of himself and his opponent to know he did). He is honest and wears his real self on his sleeve. He is utterly incomprehensible to someone like Sanji, and Sanji admires and is so insanely jealous of him because of it.

I think that insecurity and all the bad feelings it brings with it, is what endears so many people in the fandom to Sanji, in spite of his horrible behaviour. It's cathartic to bully and laugh at him not being able to break out of it. To laugh at ourselves struggling to break out ourselves.

It's also I think what makes me, as a queer male-aligned fan creator, ultimately fall off the canon versions of so many male/-aligned characters I've related to over the years. They hit a ceiling of how much character development they're allowed as men in our society, and where someone irl could break out of mainstream society and evolve beyond their gender role expectations, mainstream media made by men who are not in that case will never properly reflect that. They can identify and represent the problem but they have no solution to it. (The solution generally being queer and alternative in the current world we live in.)

Sanji would've cracked that mask on Kamabakka, he was there for two years, there's no way he wouldn't have. He might've reverted back to it out of sheer terror at the idea of having to leave that accepting space and returning to the real world, but he would at least be more aware of it, more torn about it, more angry under it, but he's not and that breaks my heart at the end of the day.

Sanji refuses to fight women because he's afraid of what it'd mean for his fragile masculinity if he gave it his genuine best shot and they still beat him (which most of the women he's refused to fight in the past would, lbr)

[aquarterasian]

New favorite female character chart!! Characters under the cut because there are a lot of them. 

Starting from the top left and going clockwise

Outer Border: Coco (Witch Hat Atelier) Emiru Aisaki (Hugtto! Precure) Yona (Akatsuki no Yona) Hitomi Tsukishiro (Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara) Ichigo Hoshimiya (Aikatsu!) Ichigo Amano (Yumeiro Patissiere)  Meiling Li (Cardcaptor Sakura) Ritsu Tainaka (K-On!) Saki Hyuuga (Precure Splash Star) Naho Takamiya (Orange) Akane Hino (Smile Precure!) Noel Otoshiro (Aikatsu!) Suzie (Witch Hat Atelier) Aya Maruyama (BanG Dream!) A’Qing (MDZS) Umi Ryuuzaki (Magic Knight Rayearth) Aoba Naruko (Magica Wars) Mika (Hiraeth Wa Tabiji No Hate) Meiko Honma (Anohana) Riko Izayoi (Mahoutsukai Precure!) Fuu Hououji (Magic Knight Rayearth) Yui Hirasawa (K-On!) Hinata Hiramitsu (Healin’ Good Precure!)  Lysithea von Ordelia (Fire Emblem Three Houses) Rin Natsuki (Yes! Precure 5) Rin (Inuyasha) Urara Kasugano (Yes! Precure 5) Seira Otoshiro (Aikatsu!) Najika Kazami (Kitchen Princess) Teresa Wagner (Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai) Juri Kurebayashi (Aikatsu!)  Yor Forger (Spy x Family) Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket) Agathe (Witch Hat Atelier) Hikaru Shidou (Magic Knight Rayearth) Ahiru (Princess Tutu) Inner Border: Himari Takakura (Mawaru Penguindrum) Hiyori Iki (Noragami) Hibiki Houjo (Suite Precure) Sakura Kinomoto (Cardcaptor Sakura) Maquia (Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou) Miyuki Hoshizora (Smile Precure!) Riche (Witch Hat Atelier) Mitsuha Miyamizu (Kimi no Na wa) Kagome Higurashi (Inuyasha) Sana Kashimura (Alice to Zouroku)  Rin Kurosawa (Aikatsu!) Anya Forger (Spy x Family) Middle: Tetia (Witch Hat Atelier)

[leejungchans]

caramel popcorn : s.mg

༉‧₊˚✧ for my 1k event !

requested by @belledamsceno : Hi Sol!! I’m so happy for your 1k 🥰🥰 Now, can I request a friends/idiots to lovers with Mingi where the f!reader never really hid her interest, but she just assumed she had been friendzoned cause Mingi never seemed to really reciprocate, but in reality he is just dense af and needed someone else to point out the obvious (sorry if this was super specific, I’m kinda going through it and if you wanna gossip about it I’m game hahahah)

a/n: hi belle 🥺💗 thank you so much for the well wishes and for your request!! i hope i did justice to your v cute req and that you’ll enjoy <33 sending you lots of love!!

word count | 1.4k

pairing | song mingi (ateez) x f!reader

genre | fluff, idiots-to-lovers au

warning(s) / includes | food mentions, one alcohol mention but there’s no drinking (please lmk if i missed anything!)

requests are now closed! thank you so much for the support <3

“Something happened the other day,” Mingi brings up casually, hand reaching for the bowl of popcorn nestled in the space between you two. You secretly prefer buttered, but he loves caramel so it was an obvious choice when you went grocery shopping.

Sure, you could’ve gotten both, but isn’t sharing snacks the highlight of movie nights with one’s best friend?

You arch a curious brow. “Yeah? What was it?”

“Wooyoung tried to set me up with one of his friends,” he answers, oblivious to how the smile freezes on your face as he rolls a kernel between his thumb and index finger. It’s not his fault that you’re hopelessly in love with your best friend, that the thought of him being with somebody else makes your heart plummet to your stomach.

You’re not quite sure how it happened, but you found yourself gradually seeing him in a different light, in a way that tells you you’ve long stopped seeing him as just a friend. Suddenly, your heart beats a little faster when he slings an arm around your shoulders, your smile grows a little wider when he waits for you outside your lecture hall, your cheeks feel a little warmer when he texts love you!! even though you’re sure he only meant it platonically.

Suddenly, you want to know what it feels like to reach into his sweater paws and hold his hand, interlacing your fingers with his.

“—so I don’t think it ended well.”

Guilt sends a pang to your heart when you feel yourself slightly perk up at Mingi’s words. He’s your best friend, you should be sad and sympathetic when a date didn’t go well for him, not be… relieved.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Min,” you say with a small pout, patting him on the shoulder gently before adding brightly, “there are always other fish in the sea, right?”

“Yeah, I guess…” He still seems unsure.

It’s me! I’m the other fish! a small voice in the back of your head is screaming; if you had a little more courage you might tell him just that. Alas, any hope you’ve held for a successful confession has been diminished after many failed attempts at letting your true feelings be known.

You’d been pretty dejected, but you also didn’t want to dwell on such feelings of rejection for too long. Besides, you’d much rather keep what you have than not have Mingi—your Mingi, the version of him you know presently—in your life anymore. Your soul would be genuinely crushed if your friendship ever took an irreparable turn for the worse, and you’re not about to risk your many years together.

And so, you shove down the lump that’s been building in your throat and lay a gentle hand over his. “I mean it, Mingi. You’re an amazing person,” you say sincerely, butterflies erupting in your stomach as a rosy pink flush colours the tip of his ears. “Anyone would be so lucky to have you, and I’m sure the right person will come along soon.”

He looks down at your joined hands, then back up at you, his cheeks glowing pinker by the second. His eyes curve into little crescents behind his glasses—you remember spending all day in the store with him picking out the perfect pair—and a smile slowly stretches across his plump lips.

“Thanks, Y/N,” he mumbles, “really, I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re the best.”

There it is again: the feeling of your heart practically leaping out of your chest. I don’t know what I’d do without you… it replays over and over in your head as you scramble to figure out what the hell he meant by that.

Lost in the tangled web of your thoughts, you don’t even realise that Mingi’s gotten up from the couch until you register the lack of warmth, the lack of his presence, next to you.

He smiles sheepishly when you peer up at him with a questioning glance. “Sorry, bathroom.”

An understanding ah leaves you, and you dutifully reach for the remote control to pause the movie. He shoots you another grateful smile before shuffling across your living room and down the hall.

Your shoulders fall with the deep exhale that you breathe out, your head tilting back to rest against the soft couch. There was no way Mingi never caught on when you’ve become increasingly less subtle at your ways of confessing, perhaps this was his way of letting you know so he wouldn’t hurt your feelings—

His phone buzzes four times consecutively.

yunho (23:35) another movie date with y/n?

yunho (23:35) and you’re watching the notebook?????

yunho (23:35) dude.

yunho (23:35) she totally likes you back

You didn’t want to look, you swear. Peeking at someone’s phone? The most sure-fire way to sever any trust you have with someone else… On the other hand, it was hard to ignore the messages that popped up on Mingi’s screen when: 1) his phone was right next to you from where he left it in the now vacant spot on your couch, and 2) they mentioned you explicitly.

She totally likes you back. What does Yunho mean by that? ‘Back’… that would imply he likes you to begin with.

The sound of the toilet flushing startles you. Hastily, you lock the screen and readjust the blanket around you, feigning innocence by taking a sip from your soda can as Mingi shuffles back over to you.

You reach for the remote control to unpause the movie when his phone lights up again. Your finger freezes on the smooth button.

yunho (23:37) you should tell her before you don’t get the chance to

yunho (23:37) she’s not going to stop being your friend bc of it

The smile you had plastered on your face upon his arrival fades when the new messages from Yunho pop up above the ones sent just minutes ago. Hesitantly, you glance up at Mingi to find him already staring back at you, the look in his eyes can only be described as one of pure horror as realisation dawns on him.

“You…” he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, “d-did you… happen to see the other ones too?”

It’s pointless to lie. You’re both terrible liars, even more so with each other. “I didn’t mean to, Mingi, I really didn’t…” you admit guiltily, “they were just… right there, y’know?”

His expression is still dumbfounded as he stuffs his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. “Yeah, I understand. ’s okay.”

You gather the courage to ask, “So… when Yunho said you like me back, does it mean… you like me? Like, like-like me?”

With the apartment still plunged into silence, you can hear the ticking of your clock, your neighbour’s faint rustling through the thin walls that separate your apartment, the soft inhales and exhales coming from Mingi… you wait for his response with bated breath.

Nervously, he tugs his sleeves down until they engulf his hands entirely. His cheeks are bright pink now, reminiscent of him after a few beers. “We can pretend this never happened,” he mumbles, “I know you don’t feel the same—”

“‘Don’t feel the same’?” you echo incredulously. “I’ve been trying to drop hints that I like you for—for forever!”

Mingi tilts his head to the side and blinks blankly at you. “You have? When?”

He can’t be serious. “So many times I couldn’t count,” you splutter, “but you never seemed to return the feelings so I assumed you were trying to subtly turn me down. I—I sent you a playlist on Spotify with only love songs once, for God’s sake!”

You can almost hear the lightbulb going off in his head, and you can only gape as his mouth falls open in a large ‘O’. Did he really not think anything about it at the time? “I… I thought you were just in your love song phase?” Mingi offers, the corners of his lips tugging upwards in a shy grin.

“You’re—you’re so… dense,” you blurt bluntly, the smile creeping onto your face being the only indication that your words held no malice.

Mingi chuckles sheepishly. “I know.”

“You owe Yunho a huge favour.”

“I know.”

“I like you a lot.”

“I kn—” His face splits into a bright smile upon registering your words, one that you’ve already seen a million times and will still never get tired of seeing, one that fills you with a warm, fuzzy feeling until all you think about is Mingi, Mingi, Mingi.

“I like you a lot too.”

if you enjoyed my writing, please take a little time to reblog and give feedback to support it <3 it tells content creators what you like and motivates them to keep creating for you <3

[julesapprentice]

MC getting revenge on Julian by breaking and entering his apartment. Interesting things ensue 😳😳😳

[First of all love that you know that julian has his own place and doesn't sleep in the hole at Mazelinka's everynight, second of all thank you for sending this in and it's subsequent addition, I thourghly enjoyed writing this]

Mc finally gets revenge on Julian for his habit of breaking and entering with asras help:

Fair to say Julian has a bad habit for breaking and entering and he's not subtle nor careful about it either

Part of you can't blame him he is after all a lanky bugger and he doesn't fit in the door to the shop

That excuse becomes a bit old however when you have to constantly replace the jars for your stock or move things so he doesn't fall into a bed of smashed glass

You'd had enough of his antics one night when he came to visit and knocked over a bottle of one of the most foul smelling potions you carried at the shop

Not only did it smell horrifically but it also got all over the various pillows, rugs and furniture strewn around the shop

Julian of course apologised and took full responsibility for his actions, he's not lucio, but by this point you are past your limit and hell hath no fury like a magician scorned or however that saying goes

Situations like these call for revenge and revenge requires a partner in crime hence asra

Asra is on board without hesitation you needn't ask twice

Julian doesn't just find his way into your place, I'm doubtful he has the key to asras place in Nopal and even more so that he's any less clumsy alas he turns up anyway and scares the skin off your former master who just wanted to get away for a few days

Apparently it just couldn't wait until Monday when he was home

You discuss whether or not you want to be there when julian is or wait for him to get home, how you're going to get in there and what to do once you're actually in

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you're not gonna waste it

You probably close up shop early together and start brainstorming

Julian is a doctor and is either at his clinic or making house calls to his most unwell of patients

Either or he's gone from his abode long enough for you to have some fun with him

The clinic is right next to the shop so whilst you're 99% sure Julian will be too wrapped up in his work to notice you've sneaked away

Where else would julian live but the South End

Its the rougher part of Vesuvia but its always felt like home to him, besides he does like to get rowdy and rowdy it does get in the South End

Julians place is in the vicinity of Mazelinka's and the Rowdy Raven, he did once consider buying the place right next to the famous tavern but was talked out of it by everyone including Malik for obvious reasons

The building is tall and thin like a certain doctor, the paint is chipped and the door looks warped from the cold and damp of this part of the city

It's apparent that the people who live here often secure their homes...differently to how's it done in your part of town

You might have protective charms for your shop but the ever memorable Dr Devorak has about 15 locks on his door

Most look to be from previous owners but your mind wanders to what that set of keys looks like and how often he loses them

Luckily you are in fact a powerful magician and locks are barely a problem

Asra will act as lookout as you enter, this is as much their revenge as it is yours

The stairs are particularly creeky and there is not better way to describe the place than it is exactly how you would imagine

The kitchens untouched and there is very little food there besides some cheese that was not blue when it was first bought

The whole place is a mess actually

Julian doesn't strike me as a man to have very many clothes but the ones he does have are spread all over his living space

The centre of the mess is his home office, it smells of ink and late night anxiety

There's stacks of paper all over the desk, a shelf with various trinkets and too many books for the number of places to put them

You nearly trip over a book on the human skeleton on your way in

It's what you would expect except worse I think

After a few minutes you hear footsteps up to words where you are

You dive behind one of the doors to try and conceal yourself before you notice a fluffy head of hair

It's just asra to see how things are coming along and to offer his help, mostly for his own amusement

He laughs softly, "Did you think I was Ilya, mc? Great hiding place"

You can hear the smirk in his voice although it's not often you don't with asra

Julian is, let's face it, a bit of a coward and has no love for anything horror or spooky except for an anatomically correct skeleton

What can he say, he likes it when people know their bones

The objective is to freak him out but not so much he has an attack

Anxiety or heart

You and asra take your individual liberties with the place, a sprinkle of magic here, a touch there

By the time you're finished you're practically buzzing with excitement at the though of scaring tha pants of your beloved

By the time you hear the gentle humming of your lover its late in the evening and you're already in wait

Julian arrived to find his door ajar, he's forgetful but he certainly didn't leave it like that

Walking up the stairs he swears he hears a ghostly moan, not that that would happen of course and he certainly isn't frightened

Ghosts do not exist except for the one time where they very much did but that was a one time thing

Walking through the doorway to his living space it feels cold and vacant, as though no living thing had ever passed through it

Everything was where he had left it but his own living area felt strange to him; uncanny

It felt as though he was the only living thing in a room that rejected his very presence

"Very funny, P-pasha" he heart started to beat faster than it had before, perhaps dangerous considering how much caffeine the doctor regularly consumed

He invited his mystery jokster to take a bow but they never did and... skittering?

Ah an old nightmare, never had another individual been so haunted by the sound of a mere insect and yet here Julian stood shaking at his own doorway

Everything stopped and he heard giggling? A haunted child from times past perhaps? No this was familier

... That was not funny!

Julian is not at all a fan of his own medicine

He's going to be so dramatic about this for weeks to come, a betrayel of the highest order and by his friend and partner no less

He will almost be more determined to surprise you in your own home now if not just for the small taste of revenge he gets when you're startled by his presence

Give him a hug and a lecture about how he should take better care of himself and once asra has left offer to draw him a warm bath to soothe his nerves

And something else if he's good

[happy spooky season]

[sylwanin-was-right]

Why... why would smutty/kinky writing not belong in the "normal" fandom tags?

Because I think tagging sexually explicit writing (and other media, like erotic/pornographic art) in tags that are most frequented by all demographics in a fandom, including minors, is inconsiderate (and, among adults, its irresponsible).

No where in my post did I demand ppl do anything lol. I started my post with "i wish", which is not a request or mandate, but a personal vent expressed with gramatical modality lol. I wish that ppl would have more courtesy about how they tag their sexually explict content, especially of the teenage characters in the movie.... but, alas. Lol

If you took this post personally, then thats unfortunate. If you took this post as an entry into a debate then... thats also unfortunate lol.

But to be clear, since there was apparently confusion, you dont have to do anything just because I made this post. I just find it tactless and jarring to constantly find kink related posts in common, or "normal" fandom tags, like #[character name] and even "avatar 2".

Agree or disagree on your end. I dont mind at all as my opinion still stands as, well... an opinion... lol.

Sex is normal. Sex and wanting sex and writing about sex and having kinky fantasies? It's all normal. (As is not wanting or doing any of those things. It's all normal, because nothing is normal.)

Of course having sexual feelings and expressions are normal feelings one can have lol?... What is making you think I believe otherwise?

It really feels like youre reacting to a strawman you imagined by projecting many preconcieved notions about what I believe, which is strange because the conclusion that I have a problem with ppl having sexual desires and sexual expressions in and of themselves and want to start some sort of censorship campaign in the Tumblr Avatar fandom in the name of my feelings is completely false lol.

Not only am I mainly venting in a meme format, but I dont believe its unreasonable to post a grievance about a fandom phenomena I've noticed; that some people in this fandom, particularly those who are part of the kink community—which is supposedly about consent among participating adults—can sometimes lack self awareness and fail to regulate their content away from minors and those who dont consent to view and participate in it as much as possible (which, imo, is more responsible and enjoyable for the engagement of fandom, and kink participants and non participants alike).

Furthermore, I think its an agreeable and reasonable standard in online spaces that minors shouldnt be exposed to or interact with sexually explicit content, nor should anyone else who wasnt looking for it. Tumblr's tag system, particularly on mobile (which is my main medium), reveals any and all posts with keywords in search results and filters. Partly bc its broken, partly bc thats how search functions work. So one would expect a Tumblr user whos active in kink circles on the platform to be considerate of Tumblr's functioning and try to funnel their works to their targeted demographics as much as possible, whom are other adults and consenting participants of events like "kinktober", not everyone in the Avatar fandom (one particular way I've seen is using special tags or avoiding frequented tags).

Lastly, its just very uncomfortable and honestly concerning seeing so many kink posts abt teenage characters from AWOW from bloggers who are not always clear abt their own age and from writers who dont even age up the characters (tho, personally, i dont think that makes much difference). For instance, scrolling thru the "#na'vi" tags and seeing a post with a screenshot from AWOW of Neteyam captioned with something like "i wanna rub my [redacted] on his back" is rlly disturbing, quite frankly, and so is seeing st_p.s_bling or vo_yerism content about teenage Lo'ak

If someone is writing in a fandom, they are absolutely able and welcome to put them in the main fandom tags, no matter what they're writing. If you don't want to see it? Block the relevant tags, block the writers, do whatever you need to do.

I dont have an issue with anyone simply writing in the fandom lol. I wasnt refering to censorship or demands abt who writes what and when. I'm venting abt courtesy and responsibility that I wish more Avatar fans on Tumblr had specifically abt posting sexually explicit content in fandom tags frequented by all fans.

Blocking the tags would mean blocking "normal" or common tags for the fandom, including main character names and their normal tags (ex "#Neteyam", etc), which would make interacting in the Avatar fandom on Tumblr very restricting. I've found plently of smut, and now "kinktober" content, among tags like "Avatar 2" while scrolling that, I do, indeed, scroll past (I also blacklist smut and kink tags).

But theres only so much manual curating one can do to filter out sexual content before it becomes an issue of some fandom participants lacking courtesy to other fans and not regulating their content as a group. This is what I'm complaining about on my blog, not the fact that ppl in the fandom write certain content I dont fancy or have sexual desires and can express them through media bc they are human beings with human feelings lol.

But god, "don't post this in the main fandom tags because I, personally, don't like it" is such a ridiculous approach. Especially combined with the "normal = no sex" and "weirdos = people engaging in smut and kink" puritanical approach.

"Approach"? What are you talking about?

Youre talking this post as a political stance in some sort of discourse and not a vent post thats indeed about something I dont like in the fandom that I shared on my fandom blog. You, could have followed your own principles and scrolled past this post if you didnt like it (or made a vent post or meme abt it like I did w the kinktober-shit lol).

I know I tagged this post as "Avatar 2" and "Avatar Way of Water," but thats cuz I tag all my posts with relevant tags (I'm currently behind on tagging many posts on my blog, actually, particularly reblogs. I digress). Also cuz I'm p sure some other ppl share the same sentiment.

I cannot imagine having the audacity to demand people don't post in their fandom's tags because of my personal preferences, good grief.

Okay? Good for you. 😬

Did writing this reply make you feel accomplished? Did you say the right things here? Do you feel relieved now that youve said this?

Tìpängkxotsyìpìri nìtxan hek. Hrh

I wish all avatar fans who are participating in kinktober a very stop posting in the normal fandom tags you weirdos . Jpeg bugs bunny

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Crimson Ties (Bela Dimitrescu/Reader, Soulmate AU) Pt. 3

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village Rating: T for language Warnings: Typical Vampire shenanigans + mentions of animal death Genre: Hurt + comfort Summary: Time to meet the family! What exactly has Cassandra told her mother? Can Bela convince her family to calm the hell down? We'll find out! Spoiler: there's the start of a cute date afterwards Notes: Once more we visit Bela's private study, which I first described in a chapter of Serenade. Added a few more details this time. PS reader is probably low-key a theater nerd with a hint of a goth phase, just saying. Also this chap is a little short, sorry. Previous Chapters: 1: Stem the Flow, 2: Tangled Strands

3: Rumbling Thunder

Heart racing, you step into the dining room, just behind Bela. Both of you are nervous, but find comfort in each other. Still, what you see upon entering only makes you feel worse. At the head of a large table stands none other than Lady Alcina Dimitrescu. Besides her is her middle daughter, the one who confronted you earlier, who sends you a knowing smirk as you walk in. Lady Dimitrescu, on the other hand, is scowling. Her eyes are squinted in a clear display of disapproval. If not for Bela’s hand squeezing your own, it was likely that you would have fainted from fear.

“I see Cassandra has wasted no time in spreading rumors,” Bela said bitterly. You’re amazed by her ability to stand tall in the face of her family’s tension. Yet there was a part of you that wondered if you were worth the struggle, at least for your soulmate. Thankfully, you are not given much time to ponder the thought. No, you’re being pulled towards the closest side of the tabe, guided next to an ornate seat. Neither Bela nor yourself sit yet, however. “Please, mother, do not be hasty to make your judgement. I promise that-”

“Do not presume to tell me of my own business, daughter. The timing of my judgement is my prerogative, not yours,” Lady Dimitrescu interrupted, staring right at you. A shiver runs down your spine at the eye contact. What did Cassandra say to her? You wonder, struggling to breathe past the lump in your throat. Even Bela becomes visibly nervous at the interaction. “Now… are you certain, without a doubt, that this is your soulmate?” Did she really even have to ask? What were the chances that Bela would save you, one person out of at least a dozen in the cellar, for any other reason? Still, your soulmate straightens up at the attention, and replies as confidently as possible.

“Yes, of course, mother. I would not dare risk your anger for any lesser reason,” Bela assured. Then she gives your hand another soft squeeze, before pulling hers back a little, catching the thread that bound you together with her fingers. Lifting it, she tugs it somewhat absentmindedly. Out of habit you immediately return the action. Unfortunately, those around you would be unable to see the display. For all they knew, the two of you could be faking it, simply attempting to get out of the situation unscathed. Surprisingly though, you see Alcina hesitate. Her left hand twitches as if she was thinking of her own red string. Has she ever met her partner? Did she know the pure joy that her daughter had so recently felt?... Maybe she’d be more sympathetic to your situation if she had.

“We will see if your defiance pans out in time, Bela. For now… Why don’t we hear what your pet has to say about themselves, hmm?” Lady Dimitrescu suggested, giving a somewhat devious smile. Next to you, Bela grimaces, then sends you a pleading look. Alas, you cannot read her mind, and can only guess as to how you’re supposed to respond. Bowing is a sign of respect in virtually all cultures, you think, probably a good place to start.

“It is an immeasurable pleasure to formally make your acquaintance, Lady Dimitrescu,” you said, before giving your full name. Then you rise from your bow, once more making eye contact. Out of the corner of your vision you see Cassandra rolling her eyes. “I know that I am a mere human, and hardly the epitome of a prime specimen. But I am determined to prove my worth, for there is no prize on this earth more grand than being allowed to love Lady Bela. Every ounce of my willpower is prepared to devote myself to this task, entirely, so that I may give Lady Bela the courtship and happiness that she is deserving. It is both an obligation and an honor.” Hopefully your soulmate wouldn’t mind you using the same line twice, at least under these circumstances.

In the seconds that follow, several things happen: One, you see Cassandra frown a little, and refuse to look in your direction. Two, Lady Dimitrescu makes a surprised face, but quickly shifts into an expression of satisfaction. Thirdly, Bela’s hand finds your own again, giving it an incredibly soft squeeze. Last but not least… someone you haven’t seen before enters the room. She has red hair, a green pendant around her neck, and eyes that light up with curiosity when she sees you. If you had to guess, you’d assume that she was another one of Bela’s sisters. Here’s hoping she’s a tad bit friendlier, you think.

“Did I miss anything? Ooh, please tell me we’re having this lovely stranger for breakfast?” She asked, grinning maniacally. So much for being friendlier, you think, figuring that she was being literal. Based on the way Bela tenses up in response, you’re probably right. Before she can protest, however, Lady Dimitrescu clears her throat and speaks.

“Ah, Daniela… This stranger-” she says the word with far less venom than you anticipated, but it is venom nonetheless- “is your dear sister’s soulmate. We will not be draining them of blood. Again. Assuming that they behave themselves. Is that clear?” She asked, staring down at the newcomer. There’s a slight pause, tension still lingering in the air, followed by a sigh of relief from Bela. Much to your surprise, neither Cassandra nor Daniela seem particularly upset by this announcement. In fact, the latter simply shrugs and takes her seat at the table. Next thing you know everyone else is sitting as well, including Bela, who gestures for you to follow suit. “I’ll have one of the servants fetch you some more… appropriate food. Cynthia, my dear?” Soon enough a maiden, perhaps a decade or two older than yourself, hurriedly enters the room. With a bow, she addresses Alcina.

“Yes, Lady Dimitrescu?”

“Have Miss Bouregard make an extra plate of whatever it is you sort eat, and bring it here. We have an… unexpected guest,” Alcina explained. At that, Cynthia glances at you, her eyes briefly widening in surprise. Without another word she turns away, giving another bow before heading away to fulfill her task. Once more you’re the only human in the room. Oddly enough, you manage to feel quite at ease, as if surviving one round was enough to guarantee you’d win the overall game. Well, at the very least you now had a chance. Regardless of what was to come, you were glad for that, for this opportunity to be with your soulmate. At the end of the day… little else mattered to you.

———————————

Much to your relief, the rest of breakfast proceeded smoothly. Conversation was sparse, with most of it being hushed whispers from the other side of the table, but you hardly minded. Normally you would find it rude. Now, you were simply pleased that they weren’t being up front with their hostility. More so, it allowed you and Bela to have your own conversation, which mainly pertained to your plans for the day. Several times during your discussion, a glance elsewhere would show you that Alcina was paying attention. Exactly once you even saw her attempting to hide a smile. A sense of pride had swelled in your chest at the sight.

It has remained there, even until now, as you move into Bela’s private study. One quick survey of the room tells you a thousand things about your soulmate. For starters, it’s clear that she’s musically inclined. There’s a harp in one corner, adjacent to a folded music stand, as well as a small bookshelf dedicated entirely to sheet music. A couple medium sized instrument cases are nearby, but you don’t immediately recognize their shape. Further into the room is a rather old looking desk, slightly worn, yet clearly cared for. Possibly passed down the generations? Next to the desk is a massive window with a couple spare chairs. All across the walls were bookshelves and mementos, including several skulls (at least one of them human). Every book you looked over appeared to be well read, with many bookmarks inside, some held together by tape and prayers.

“This… this is sublime, my darling. I could rest here for a month and hardly finish cherishing half the space!” You said, grinning at your soulmate. She’s equally pleased, seeming a tad relieved as well. Perhaps she had worried you’d be thrown off by the skulls? Wanting to reassure her, you approach that particular shelf, examining them closely. However, you do not touch them, not wanting to risk damaging her collection. “Truly marvellous. Dare I ask where you got these specimens?” It’s a joke, but Bela stiffens nonetheless, making you quickly redact your statement. “My apologies, I meant it as a jest. Though you are welcome to tell me more about them if you so desire! I will listen with rapt attention, I promise.”

“Most of them are gifts from Cassandra. During the summers we hunt, her more so than Daniela or myself. I… dislike wasting anything, and there’s only so much to be done with most bones. They have quite a few ornamental uses, however. Useful for study, as well,” Bela mentioned, smiling softly. Then she moves to stand next to you, carefully reaching to grab one of the skulls. “This was from one of our hounds, actually. I raised her from puppy to adult, took her on every hunt, even let her sleep in my quarters on colder nights. When she got sick I…” A pause, mouth open but unmoving, eyes slipping shut. “I couldn’t bring myself to put her down. Even argued with my mother, night after night, begging for another choice. None came, of course, and in the end even I could not deny her the softest embrace of death… Still, you must think me strange, to keep such a thing as a reminder of her.”

“Not at all, my dear. We all remember, and grieve, in our own ways. I’ve often found myself intrigued by skulls, of all sorts,” you admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of your neck with your hand. “All we are, our minds or mayhap our souls, contained in one hard shell. It’s incredible, and terrifying, all at the same time, to hold one in my hands, or even merely examine one. Oh, what stories these bones could tell, if only they could talk… Though I suppose there are entire fields of science devoted to such a thought…” With that said, you look back at Bela just in time to see her staring fondly at the canine skull. Then she places it back on its perch, dusting her hands off afterwards, taking one last moment to appreciate her collection.

“I’m glad you and I agree on this,” she said softly. Once more she’s looking at you, smiling wide. “Now let’s make memories of our own, to hold in our bones forevermore, yes?”

[hanazou]

matching onesies with him.

Books : Dazai | Chuuya | Oda

Shelf : Mixed

Genre : Fluff, domestic

Note : I did this of my own accord because I am, in fact, a softie

Dazai Osamu

This clingy crackhead.

Dazai will be the first to come up with the idea. It's actually a random one and he asked it so spontaneously, he doesn't expect you to actually say yes.

"Sure, why not?" You agreed.

He's both surprised and elated, and he didn't hide this reaction at all.

"Oh, darling!" He wrapped a hug around your neck. "You always revive my heart with your love!"

You both will be enthusiastic about picking the onesies and agree to surf the net instead of looking from shop to shop since Dazai is under the supervision of a certain angry Kunikida

It almost feels like babysitting. Not that you hate it right? Should you get an identical pair with different sizes? Or complementary ones?

Dazai will call the customer service to ask if they have black crow onesies since crows represent death in some cultures. The response is obviously no and it's obvious that the customer service was confused.

"That's a shame," Dazai whined disappointedly, shoulders dropping. "Wouldn't it be both cute and poetic if we had a double suicide while wearing matching crow onesie? Two achievements in one!"

At that point you wouldn't even be surprised anymore. You will just take the phone away from him to apologise and thank the customer service. You have to convince Dazai that you won't find a onesie of that kind

"Wait, don't tell me," You stared at him. "The reason you want to get onesies is just to wear a matching crow pair?"

"Is it?" He grinned mischievously. "Maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong, but I just want to match with you."

Other ADA members will wonder what you and Dazai were doing, Kunikida the most. He isn't exactly curious, more like suspicious. What's that good-for-nothing Dazai up to now?

Eventually you find a pair of identical ones. Kind of rare designs too! Guess what?

Crabs! In red! The little eyes on the hood!

It will take less than a week for the onesies to arrive in a small box. When it does Dazai will pull out a cutter so energetically Atsushi will think he's going to pull a suicide attempt with it

"AAH! Dazai-san! No!"

Nothing will happen aside from Dazai stabbing the box (while making sure he doesn't cut the onesies inside. he's good with blades, ex Port Mafia and all)

The crab pincers for your hands are soft like mittens and so smooth???? Imagine sweaterpaws but with crab pincer mittens (!!)

It will take everything in you to stop Dazai from wearing it that instant since a client Fukuzawa talked about will be coming. You will need Atsushi's help to take it off him but let's not talk about it

Both of Dazai's legs are already in the onesie too..

It seems like Kyouka wants one. Yosano and Naomi will tell Atsushi to buy the girl one and match with her

When Dazai and you go home together, he will be so excited to wear the onesies immediately. Dazai will be light on his feet.

And when you finally put yours on? Pictures. Dazai will take lots of pictures of you. You're a piece of art and he wants pictures so he can recall the image anytime

"Oh, dearest~ How is it possible for you to be so cute?" He began his dramatic poses, a hand over his head while spinning like a ballet dancer.

You both will take a lot of couple pictures.

"Love, you are so adorable I want to eat you!"

"Is it me who's cute or the crab?" You teased back.

When Dazai makes a troubled expression to answer your question, you will have to pinch him 💢

If you can cook crab soup, wouldn't it be funny to make and eat one with Dazai while wearing crab onesies? He will be so clingy when you do it, like an old school married couple; when you cook, he'll be bugging you while hugging from behind. It feels cozy, don't blame him

You have to be keen with your eyes so you won't miss Dazai secretly pouring ajinomoto to the soup. Get him a healthier diet, I'm begging you.

"Look, the crab is red like us." He pointed at the soup. "And like your face when I do this." He took advantage of you turning your head to peck your cheek.

He will also pinch your nose with his pincer mitten. "Boop!" It's a challenge. Boop his nose back.

You think he's already as clingy as he can be, huh? Wrong. You are absolutely wrong. If he previously sticks around you like a magnet, this time he's glued to you.

Even in the shared living space, he won't let you go. Is it the softness of the onesie under his touch, the warmth, or your cuteness? Well, it's all of them. What then?

Snuggles.

You both cuddle together in the futon until falling asleep together. You feel twice as warm.

He's the big spoon, let him feel the smoothness of the onesie while feeling your heat. And for once, the double suicide joke stopped for the rest of day. That's how much this impacts him, and you're proud of him.

Nakahara Chuuya

Matching with Chuuhuahua in a onesie? You lucky fella.

You have to be the one initiating it with Chuuya. Baby boy will be like "Eeh?" at first. He's not against it at all but more like, confused. The request is out of the blue

"Come on, why not?" You tilt your head. "It will feel so soft to cuddle with?"

That's it, that's the spell for him to agree

Mans is a Port Mafia executive, you can't go out from shop to shop in a mall to get your onesie with his schedule, so you have to settle with online shopping with this guy too

Only when he has time to spare from beating up people

You will sit together on a couch at the headquarters once Chuuya and you don't have missions. It's a good chance to relax and unwind together too

Chuuya knows best where to find clothes, including onesies. There are so many options! Dinosaurs, frogs, bears, Sanrio characters, Doraemon, Pikachu, Line characters, pandas, unicorns, penguins!! (I should stop fantasizing Chuuya in each of them)

Chuuya will act cool and chill about it at first, but he actually got invested in choosing and thankfully he isn't a crackhead unlike a certain someone

He has a good fashion sense I don't accept criticism, and this side of him will jump out while both of you scroll the catalogue. He nails both street wear and mafia outfits daily, so you can bet he'd pick the best onesies for you both

"This one doesn't suit you," He moved to the next option. "These are the only colours available? Pass.", "What's with the unnecessarily long tail?", "Oh maybe this? Wait, I don't like the stripes."

Of course, he will listen to your opinion too but since you feel he's better at this, you just either nod or shake your head with him

You have to be careful with your words when picking the size (this is much more valid if you're taller) or he'll go "I'm not that short!"

Kouyou and Mori (+ Elise) will catch you both on the couch together while browsing, comfy and all, and Kouyou asked what you two were doing. Chuuya's face will be as red as wine.

When you want to explain, his gloved hand will cover your mouth and he frantically shakes his head, screaming "Don't!" silently.

But alas, while you want to tell him there's nothing to be embarrassed of, Kouyou will take the phone from your hand with a curious grin and a "What's this~?"

Chuuya will just accept fate at that point, growling to himself and all

Kouyou and Mori won't expect to see a catalogue of onesies, apparently. The "Huh," on their faces are hilarious, and Mori will be instantly inspired to get a full set for his Elise-chan, much to her distaste.

While Mori and Elise are going at it, Kouyou will actually share her opinions. Chuuya will crawl out from his burrow of embarrassment and listen to her with you.

"Rather than identical ones, these would be much better. They have variety." Kouyou said. And you both will agree. You both have been eyeing a specific pair anyway

You both will decide to get complementary ones! Chuuya's will be a brown teddy and yours a white bunny! (Try googling Line's Brown and Cony, they're cute you won't regret it) Kouyou will totally agree with the decision.

When the package arrives, both of you will open it together. Chuuya's eyes for clothes are never wrong, the quality is immaculate. So warm and smooth, not a seam out of place.

Imagine the blush on Chuuya's face when you put on the white bunny onesie. The bunny ears on the hood! The fluffiness! His flustered face!

He will be slightly hesitant to put his own on, but when he does, you swear you can die from the cuteness. Want to see more cuteness? Tease him about it, and maybe he'll tickle you down until you're too breathless to tease him.

Chuuya doesn't want to say it explicitly but it does feel really comfortable, it's suitable for winters too.

As usual, Chuuya will be the big spoon. You will melt into his warmth and the smoothness of his onesie, and you can tell he's enjoying it too, from the way he'll drag his hand all over you to feel the smooth fabric

"It's a good thing we listened to ane-san's suggestion, hm?" You asked. "I didn't exactly like the matching penguin pairs."

"Yeah, this isn't bad at all." Chuuya admitted, snuggling his chin into the crook of your neck. "You're so warm."

Oda Sakunosuke

First off I'm Odasaku's lover before I'm anything else.

When the weather gets cold, it's your idea to get onesies for the kids. They could use some cute onesies to sleep in.

Unlike Dazai and Chuuya, Odasaku will have time to spare to go shopping with you. Being the handyman of Port Mafia has its good sides, after all.

The atmosphere is identical to a date! You both meet up at evening after work, have a simple dinner first, then start the shopping. Shopping for the kids' onesies with him makes you feel like a parent doesn't it?

Odasaku and you will make sure not to pick flimsy, thin, or rough ones. Only the best for the kids. Both of you put your keen eyes to use, examining every considered piece

Odasaku and you will definitely discuss whether to get five identical or different ones. After considering that the kids have different personalities, choosing different pieces will sound more ideal. You both will grant them the liberty of picking themselves.

"We just have to make sure they don't fight over it." Odasaku said.

Lion, dinosaur, piglet, panda, and penguin. That's what you both will choose!

Odasaku is a man who doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeves, so you relied on his eyes when it comes to him. You will see love and sincerity. He picks each piece with careful consideration.

The store clerk will throw an unexpected (yet clichéd shoujo) question at you both. "You picked such good choices. We have sets for adults too, why not match with your children?"

Odasaku and you will widen your eyes. First of all, parents? And match? Both of you stare at each other in confusion. Should you get two get a pair for yourselves?

"Why not?" Odasaku eventually said.

Odasaku's will be a brown dog and yours a white cat (remember that one official art of Odasaku with puppy ears? <3)

Odasaku and you will immediately visit the kids and give them their onesies. Their excitement in picking one for their own made you smile, and you can see the joy in Odasaku's eyes when the kids thanked him and you. He doesn't smile, but you don't need him to just to know he's glad his children love your pick. The way he pats their heads already speaks volumes of love.

Thankfully no kid wrestled to get what they want. You were especially concerned Kousuke will compete with someone

Odasaku will bring a secondhand polaroid he once bought at Yokohama's flea market to take pictures of the kids. You will herd the children to gather for the picture while Odasaku looked for the right angle in the other side of the room.

"Why don't you stay there for the picture too?" Odasaku asked you, half of his face behind the camera.

You kneel behind the kids and put your hands on Sakura and Yuu's shoulders, the ones who stood on the far left and right. That much is enough to warm Odasaku's heart, but when you too, smile for the camera, he freezes for a while to take the sight with his eyes

The picture comes out nicely. You will end up convincing Odasaku to take more but with him in it, together, all seven of you. You would need the curry diner owner's help to take the picture

"Sakunosuke, smile, will you?" You held his shoulder while you both kneeled behind the kids for the picture. He would be a little stunned

He smiles, but it was faint. Nevertheless, you recognise the content in his eyes in the photo, and it's enough.

When it's just the two of you in the living quarters, you will have to remind Odasaku that he too, bought a onesie. He will gladly put it on him since you look so eager, he's curious how it feels too

Your heart stops when he put on the hood with the puppy ears. You will have to fight back the urge to attack him with cuddles right there and then when his confused and innocent face matches the onesie so much!

"You're adorable," You smiled half teasingly, taking in the look of confused Odasaku who looked down at his onesie. The weight of the material felt right, it's like a cozy blanket.

"Try to put yours on," He says. When you did, his heart also missed a beat. The kitten ears on your head! The pure snowy white on you!

Odasaku is a bear hugger and when he hugs you, his embrace will feel tighter than usual. It's no surprise, he likes you and cats, and the way you interacted with the kids that day played tricks on his heart. You hug him back and ruffle his head while he mumbles his thank-you's at you

That night's sleep will be filled with nothing but cuddles of love and adoration. Yes, Odasaku is the big spoon, but you will also hold his arms tighter around you as you both drift into the night, chatting about life.