#I'm still doing plenty of experimenting when it comes to coloring so sorry if my style has seemed a bit inconsistent lately...

[s735]

8/23/23

The scouter must be broken..!

[causenessus]

more than anything else. | akaashi k.

I LOST THE REQUEST BC I TRIED TO SAVE YOUR ASK AS A DRAFT I'M SO SORRY ANON </3 (i just wanted to do a fancy title color </3333 which thank u wyr for teaching me how!! i finally did it!!) they asked for a drabble with akaashi about a reader struggling in med school who isn't doing as well as she wants to but tries to keep it hidden but ends up breaking down in front of akaashi </3 i hope that's an acceptable synopsis of ur amazing idea anon </3 thank you sm for your request i loved writing this!!

akaashi x f!reader

written in 3rd pov

dialogue prompt from 1k followers event: ❤️‍🩹 -> "you deserve more"

"but still i'm alone, and that's what scares me the most. forgetting myself, forgetting what i said i would be." from clown car by lowertown

word count: 1.9k words

lots of hurt/comfort </33 akaashi and y/n are already in an established relationship

thank u to my very cool sister in med school whose experiences very heavily influenced this entire story which might very well be me tomorrow when i get my college test scores xx

NOT edited esp after i lost my draft the first time. tumblr, i have words to speak to u. the tumblr hq complaint list ree and me have formed gets longer everyday.

tokyo’s medical school program had been no joke. for as long as she could remember, she had wanted to be a nurse. she'd dreamed of it for so long that even when she didn’t initially pass the entry exam, she kept trying. it took her four times to finally get accepted. keiji had told her she was resilient, and their low acceptance rate was nothing she could control.

he was right, but she couldn’t help feeling worn down a little. she had known people who’d passed the exam on their first try, yet all her work up until that fourth retake hadn’t been enough. although they were in completely different majors, she subconsciously compared herself to keiji, as well. it made her sick to think that she was being left behind. while he had already finished his first year of university, she’d spent the twelve months completing prerequisites and working in a hospital, unable to do anything else.

she knew she couldn’t give up after coming so far, but things didn’t get easier once she made it into the program. keiji had already been busy enough with his own school work, but with the both of them trying to balance their classes, they didn’t find much time to do things outside of studying together. their daily routine became one of them buying coffee and meeting up at the library, staying there until it closed, and then walking home to collapse in bed together, falling asleep in each other’s arms.

the familiarity of their schedule was a stable anchor in both of their lives; neither of them minded daily study dates. it had always been this way since they met–being together was enough for both of them, they didn't need anything fancy. they showed their love for each other through looks from behind a computer screen and cold coffees with extra shots.

yet despite how hard she studied, she couldn’t help but feel like she was falling behind her peers. some of her classes she had passed by the skin of her teeth and when she compared that to her outstanding grades throughout all of high school, seeing even a B was enough to make her heart drop. even worse were C’s and D’s. although a part of her was just thankful to have passed all of her classes, she wanted to do better. she knew plenty of classmates who were struggling just as much as her–these classes weren’t meant to be easy, but when she continued to do worse than she wanted to, that didn’t stop her from feeling like a failure.

it was affecting her entire being; how confident she felt in her competency as a person and how much she was even contributing to the world. was it even worth it for her to continue studying medicine? was she worth all the money her friends and family had spent on her? worth the love keiji gave her? what if he found someone better?

one particular night in the library, her worries had overwhelmed her to the point of tears, and keiji had paused what he was doing to help her.

“i’m sorry, i'm distracting you from your work,” she had cried, trying to stop her tears, “you don’t have to help me or anything, i’m okay.”

“i’m not going to ignore you when you're crying, y/n,” he had said, voice filled with nothing but care and worry. “tell me what’s wrong,” he urged, moving around the table to sit next to her.

she’d explained her anxieties to him briefly that night, but she never wanted to inconvenience him again. even when she felt like she was drowning in her stress, she made sure to keep up a front around him. she could never erase the thought of how much better he deserved, despite his continued reassurance that there was no one better fit for him than her. 

their study dates had returned back to normal after that night. frequent trips to a coffee shop for another coffee resumed, and their stolen glances across the tables continued. she was currently working on a large presentation–an insurance project that would boost her grade if she was able to score at least an 80 on her upcoming final.

she felt good about the material; the project helped her study the chapters on top of the cramming she was already doing. her test scores in the class had averaged around somewhere in the 80s anyway and she felt confident she’d end the class with a good grade. keiji had reminded her of bokuto, who had barely gotten by in his high school classes, yet still graduated and made it out to be a talented volleyball player. although it was a completely different field from her, thinking about bokuto had helped her worry less about perfect grades. she wasn’t content with bare minimum grades that meant she was only just barely passing, but she’d been reminded that As weren't the standard and plenty of people had had successful careers despite struggling with school.

but perhaps she had got her hopes up too high, and everything seemed to fall apart when the notification popped up on her screen. 

not even an 80.

when keiji got home, the lights were off. his mentor at his internship had asked him to stay late and help with their current big project. it was a good opportunity and chance for experience, and he had texted her that he wouldn’t be coming home until later that day in order to keep working. she'd replied, telling him to be safe but had said nothing about a night shift at the hospital; she should've been home.

when he called for her, he didn’t get a response, and he was quick to put away his shoes before making his way to their bedroom. he didn’t think she’d be sleeping so early into the night, but perhaps she’d had a rough day.

then he remembered that her test score for her final exam was supposed to come out today.

the light pattering of rain on their roof was almost loud enough to mask the sniffle he heard, but the moonlight peaking through the curtain of their window illuminated her silhouette.

she was curled up on the wooden floor of their bedroom, leaning against the bed, and when he came around the side of the bed, he saw her tear-stained face, looking forward blankly.

“oh, my love—” his heart twisted at the sight of her, his chest tightening with nausea and guilt thinking about how he’d left her alone on the night she’d needed him the most. “did it not go well?” he asked softly, kneeling next to her with a hand on her back.

at the mention of the test, she choked out a sob as she shook her head and tried to hide her face, “no. i failed it, keiji. i failed the entire class.” through the hand on her back, he could feel the way her body was shaking as she tried to keep in her cries.

“let it out, love,” he whispered, encasing her in his arms and squeezing his own eyes shut. his heart hurt for her, imagining the pain she was going through. he heard it in the hiccups and whimpers that escaped her. she’d probably been here all night, and the thought only made him hug her all the more tightly. “they won’t kick you out of the program, right?” he asked.

“no, i get one strike. i’ll have to retake the class, but if i fail another one—” she didn’t finish, only letting out a shaky breath but he understood and he pulled away to hold her face, brushing away the tears that fell from her eyes with his thumbs.

“then it’ll be okay,” he tried to reassure her, “you have a second chance, and you’re going to do great. plenty of other people have failed, too. it’ll be okay. you’ll be okay, and i’ll be here to help you with whatever you need.”

she placed a hand over one of his own that was still on the side of her face, trying her best to calm her breathing down. “keiji,” she whispered, her lips trembling as she tried to hold back another sob that escaped her anyway.

“yes, dear?” he answered, trying to comfort her with a small smile, letting her know he was there and listening.

“why are you even with me?” her voice broke, as if it physically pained her to even say it. her hand dropped back down to the ground as her tears started falling again. “you deserve more. you deserve someone smarter. and better. i can’t even pass my class, what made me think i could do this? i wasn’t resilient for retaking the entrance exam, i was just being stubborn. i should never have been let in. i don’t deserve to be here.” she pressed her palms into her eyes, letting out ragged breaths that turned back into sobs when she pull herself back together.

her words hurt him even more than it hurt her to say. it pained him to hear how lowly she thought of herself when he thought she was the most admirable person he’d ever seen. he could tell the thoughts had been weighing heavily down on her for long–this was the result of pent up emotions she’d been stuffing down ever since that night she cried in the library. he knew that she hadn’t told him everything, but he had trusted that she would open up to him when she was ready.

he moved to grab hold of her hands, gently pulling them away from her face, “i’m with you because of your passion for this career, y/n.” he feels the way her hands start to relax in his hold and keeps going, “just because a test is difficult doesn’t mean you’re not right for this job, y/n. if you enjoy it and you’re passionate about it, that’s all that matters. the rest will come with time. and i know you’re passionate about this. i’ve seen how you treat others, you have so much kindness in your heart. you want to help others and that’s enough. a grade doesn’t define you or your future. i’m with you because you’re so much more than just a grade. i’m with you because i love you, i love your dreams, i’ve loved watching you work towards them, and i’ll be here to continue supporting you every step of the way.”

his words seem to get through to her and her tears start to dry, “do you really mean it?” her voice is just barely above a whisper.

“every single word, love. i love you more than i can put into words and i think everything about you is beautiful. your passion and spirit and the way you carry yourself. i'm the one who doesn't deserve you, i look up to you so much," he tells her, shifting to sit against the bed next to her.

she laughs, pushing at him playfully, “don’t start turning this around to criticize yourself. here, how about we make a deal: if i deserve you, then you deserve me.”

“deal,” he agrees, grabbing her hand to hold it between his, rubbing it gently, “as long as i get to be with you for the rest of my life.”

she sighs, looking up towards the ceiling, “if that’s what you want.”

“it is,” he tells her, turning her head gently to face him as he presses a kiss to her lips, “i want you more than anything else.”

[adventures-on-foster-island]

Adoption Application Received

Name - Pepper @peppers-premier-ball

Age - 21

Region and city/route or a detailed description of the climate you live in - Wedgehurst in Galar (it rains a lot)

Home size, including property - I'd say its pretty big compared to most of the region but average in the town, but half of the lower level is used for my bakery, so I don't think that part counts, so 4 rooms on upper level, large living room on lower (and the bakery). hedged back yard, average sized with some berry trees :]

List any other humans or Pokémon living with you and their relation to you - none!

How many hours per week do you spend away from home at school/work? - I work from home ^_^

Allergies or aversions? - Slime, a lot of drooling, heavy shedding (sorry that its specific, I just need something that won't absolutely tank my shop's 5 Starmie hygiene rating!)

Tell me a little about yourself. What are your goals with your new partner? What kind of person are you? Is there anything else you think I should know about you? - Honestly I'd just like to have a Pokémon around, but I don't have any experience with them, which is why I wanted to ask someone for advice on any possible adoption! I'd like something to sit with after a long day and go on walks with, those sorts of things! but also a Pokémon that would know when I'm working and would be ok with watching some Pokévision for an hour or two while I'm working on a big order! I work as a baker, so I'm very hesitant to adopt a Pokémon that may cause customers to get sick, like poison types and grass types with poisonous spores, but I don't think it'd be too much of a problem if we found a way to keep it under control! I have been attacked by Pokémon a few times and it wasn't fun, so I'd like a Pokémon that wouldn't get mad easily, and wouldn't try to scare me or pretend to attack, but may still be able to stop new trainers from raiding my shop when I'm out getting berries.

"Thank you for your patience while I find you some suitable partners to meet! Why don't you follow me this way to meet them."

Ellisa led the way to a meeting room in the main building with a glass wall facing the garden. The floor was concrete for ease of cleaning, however there were plenty of plush rugs for comfort, as well as a few bean bag chairs, a recliner, and a small table with a few Pokémon toys. Waiting in the room were three Pokémon.

"First up, I would like you to meet Nacli! This poor little guy came from a shiny mill. The breeders were obviously inexperienced, otherwise they would have known that a pink color variation is far more rare than a shiny. The color comes from a high presence of iron in his mineral body, making his salt particularly nutritious.

Next up is this Swadloon. Her mother passed during the Shadow Sky last year, forcing her to evolve too soon in order to protect her siblings. She's stayed here a while to catch up on lost time, and is now ready for a permanent home. She's small for a Swadloon, but with time she should grow, and should she decide to evolve again later on she may grow to balance out. She is also a little shy, but very protective of those that she cares about.

Finally I have this very cute Litwick! They're a lavender variant, and very timid about their flame. They will do well in a bakery environment with their steady, cool-headed nature, able to feed off of and lower your stress during busy times. Their last partner unfortunately developed an allergy to lavender and was forced to put them up for adoption."

[dinoplantsghost]

pairing: Tom Riddle x fem! original character

warning(s): body horror, death, tom is a warning in itself, 1940s: time accurate misogyny (???), (a singular) violent thought, i actually don't know how to tag this im sorry 😭😭

word count: ~3064

Disclaimer: I have a huge google doc that holds all of my drafts and I'm quite literally just copypasting everything, so if there are any typos/errors, no there isn't!! :)

Edit: I just realized Saoirse may or may not be a Celtic name and Google is not giving very concise answers so I've changed it to Irish instead 😭

Chapter List

Murder in the Building [1]

She didn’t mean to kill that girl. She had gotten in the way of Saoirse's experiment that was clearly expressed minutes before that it was dangerous and a risk. But people usually don’t listen; they never listen. When the body was found, it was unrecognizable. Hanging from the wrists, the body was displayed on the wall of the shared room of the two girls, its entrails scattered from the opening to the stomach, to the floor, all the way to the table that had bloody parchments and numerous tools. 

There’s never been an incident like this before at Mahoutokoro, the only wizarding school in east Asia, situated on the southernmost island of Iwo Jima, Japan. Students were always obedient, curious little things; always ready to learn and always ready to face the consequences when incorrect. Maybe she was too curious, but Saoirse didn’t mean for this mishap to come about. If it weren’t for the change of color in her robes or the stench from her room, she would have gotten away with harmless Dark practices. The scrolls and books and memoirs she read stated that the sacrifices wouldn’t feel pain, so why is everyone looking at her like she was a lunatic? 

There are more wizarding schools that allow the practices of Dark Magic than ones that ban it altogether—ones to the point where they will completely replace it with a class on how to defend oneself against it. 

‘But how can you defend yourself from something you know nothing about,’ Saoirse thought as she eyed the bookcase behind the High Priestess’ headpiece. Dark Magic functions perfectly fine when used for good intentions—like blood magic, for example; blood magic has been around since the dawn of wizarding time, protecting precious manors and homes from outsiders and potential dangers, with some seals still going strong after centuries of being active. 

“You are extremely lucky to only be transferring,” the High Priestess yelled in Japanese, her voice reverberating in the chamber lined with gold and jade. “If it weren’t for that Merrythought lady, you would be executed on the spot if it were left up to me.” 

Saoirse sighed. “I apologize, my High Priestess, but I am sure that lady Merrythought and the rest of the staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will do their best to keep an eye on me.” 

Truly, if she could, Saoirse would kiss Merrythought. Mahoutokoro has always been too “uptight and pompous” for the girl with cerulean hair. The robes were absolutely horrid in her opinion. The pink and gold looked sickly on her. 

Saoirse had met Galatea Merrythought, professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts, at a training camp to perfect her dueling skills. She had been the only adult figure in her life to support her decision to research Dark Magic, stating that there were plenty of jobs for the girl within the British Wizarding Community that are within that line of work. 

High paying jobs were difficult to obtain for the few girls attending Mahoutokoro. It wasn’t common to see any females working for the Japanese Ministry of Magic or anything of the like. True to the average east Asian lifestyle, the ladies were expected to care for the children while the men went to work for countless hours in a day. The girls that do get into Mahoutokoro, though, often attend in order to aid their future children in their studies once they are ready to go to school at the age of seven.

Saoirse was finally able to drag herself away from the High Priestess only after a ceramic piece resembling the Chinese Ming Dynasty shattered from the old lady’s magic, going haywire and out of control. As the young girl wandered down the halls aimlessly, waiting for her escort to show up, many of the other students peered around the corners to see the murderer in the building. To become a murderer at only fifteen years old..It was simply unheard of. Whispers of rumors enveloped the island in what seemed like a matter of minutes. 

‘There are more victims than just that poor girl.’

‘She must be a cannibal; some body parts were missing at the scene.’

‘It must have been some sick love story, she was jealous and finally went crazy.’

‘She was cursed the moment she was born, the gods must have punished her.’

‘She gets off to the blood and dismembered bodies.’

Of course, none of this was true, but there’s no use in trying to convince them otherwise, especially when she was leaving for Scotland anytime now. The onlookers disappeared down the hallways as a boat appeared in the distance, a figure holding a ball of light from what Saoirse assumed to be their wand. 

Soon, she hopped onto the boat, excited to continue her experiments elsewhere.

┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

Saoirse craned her neck as she whipped it back and forth to see every intricate detail of the castle, its ancient history oozing from every crack and crevice. While she knew Mahoutokoro was also old, it was built with precious stones and metal in mind, taking away the aesthetic of a worn look. With Hogwarts, though, things were shaky and uneven. Despite the asymmetry, it was warm. 

Following the instructions of the staff that escorted her off the island, the girl was met with a stone figure poking her nose as she twirled her way to the Headmaster’s office in the middle of the night. 

‘Oh,’ she thought. ‘What did they say about the password?’

As if hearing her internal struggles the statue moved on its own, scaring the bespectacled girl into jabbing her Walnut wand towards its general direction, only for it to roll its firm eyes and walk off to the side, expecting her to walk into the office of Armando Dippet, the Headmaster of Saoirse’s new school. 

Coughing, Saoirse returned her wand back into its holster wrapped around her right forearm, and took her first step on the spiral staircase. As her eyes reached the new floor level, her breath was taken away by the amount of eyes staring into her soul from mere canvases. Looking around, she found a red clad man with gray hairs hunched over the desk in the middle of the round office, little trinkets catching the light from the room and refracting into her gaze. 

“Ah, yes, Saoirse! I hope your travels went well?”  

“Yes, everything went as planned, sir,” She said politely. 

She watched as the elderly man struggled to walk over to a shelf encasing many curious objects. A sword made of pure silver shimmering in the light, many golden objects beckoning her closer as she followed Dippet to the shelf. With a tap of his wand the glass covering disappeared, allowing him to grab the one object that was out of place—an old and wrinkly hat with dark patches here and there, fraying at the edges. Sagging in Dippet’s hands, Saoirse raised her eyebrows in amusement as she watched the hat become animated, with eyes and a mouth forming. 

“Why have you awoken me, you dusty old fart,” the hat yelled, glaring at the smiling old man. “I already sorted all of the students.” 

The lively piece of leather continued to mumble complaints and obscenities until it was placed down on a stool that appeared out of nowhere, the holes where its eyes should be now falling on the girl that stood awkwardly in near a corner of the room. On que, Saoirse walked over to the stool, and stopped in front of the hat. 

“New student, eh?” The hat whined. The cerulean haired girl crossed her arms in discomfort, sure that if the magical item was human, it would have a deranged look in its eyes. “Well hurry up, girl,” it yelled. “The Sorting Hat doesn’t have all day!” 

Once Saoirse sat on the stool, Dippet placed the Sorting Hat on her head. Expecting the sorting to be over as soon as it started, she blinked as she was met with a moment of silence. ‘Does the Headmaster know you brutally killed a girl?’ A voice boomed in her head, making her jump in the stool. 

‘It’s not like she felt any pain; I did the procedure perfectly fine,’ she retaliated. ‘Honestly, what kind of school just has tomes filled to the brim with the Dark Arts? If anything, it’s the school's fault, not mine.’ 

‘Usually students don’t take it this far, to the point that they practice what was once a theory just to make a statement. Are you usually like this; wanting to know everything and anything?’ 

‘Yes.’

Silence. 

Saoirse tapped a beat on her lap, waiting for the Sorting Hat to say something. Looking to the side, she fumbled a light smile as she caught the Headmaster staring at her, nodding to the old man and quickly turning her gaze away. 

The Hat caught her attention once more as it shifted slightly on her head. ‘You are a very inquisitive young lady. A bit nosey if you ask me.’ 

‘What is the point of this?’

‘To see which house you will be sorted into, of course. Merlin, did no one teach you about the sorting process here at Hogwarts?’

‘No, I did not have the time to learn, but I fully intend to know more after this.’ Saoirse rolled her tense shoulders in exhaustion. Again she was met with silence, until the Hat moved to open its mouth. 

“I know exactly which house you fit in. With a keen brain like yours, it should be…Ravenclaw!”

The sound of clapping hands brought Saoirse out of her trance. She watched as Dippet picked up the Sorting Hat once more, to place it back in its original resting spot. But before the Hat was completely off her head, its final message sent shivers down her spine. 

‘Do not get lost in the pursuit of knowledge. The consequences are deadly. Do not go looking where you are not wanted.’ 

Confusion was left in her mind as the Headmaster rambled on about how proud Ravenclaw will be when they find out they have a new eagle in their midst.

┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

Soft footsteps clacked upon the stone floor as a boy made his way to the Headmaster's office at 2:00 in the morning. He had only recently finished his Astrology class, as a typical lesson finished at 1:00, so to stay up and dressed for an unknown reason due to Dippet’s wishes displeased him extremely. The Slytherin boy, Tom Riddle, halted in front of the statue protecting the office and sighed, his low voice echoing throughout the long halls as he muttered the password to Dippet’s domain. 

“Ah, Mr. Riddle! There you are,” Dippet exclaimed, making Tom wince in the very slightest. 

He never liked his name. It made him sound ordinary. He hated it immensely. Quickly recovering, he faked a smile. “What is it that you need of me, Sir?” 

Dippet clasped his hands as he stood up from his seat. “We have a new student joining us, Tom; all the way from Mahoutokoro—the only magical school in east Asia!” Dippet gestured to the figure to his right and Tom let his gaze follow. There, a girl standing at 5 feet and 6 inches, owlish jade eyes behind her round frames. Her face; soft and pouty, with her bobbed, cerulean hair encasing her head ever so lovely. Her eyes; despite their light color, held a darkness in them. Her posture; an indication of annoyance was her crossed arms. Her lips; they formed a slight frown as she looked anywhere but at the two men in front of her, clearly not used to the attention. The Headmaster laughed at her sheepishness. “Now, come on, girl—don’t be a stranger!” He lightly pushed the foreigner closer to the two, causing her to stumble slightly at the abrupt action. 

“I would have gotten a Ravenclaw prefect to do this, but I figured Miss Saoirse here needs a good influence from someone her own age,” Dippet continued. “And I thought you would be the perfect example for her! Introduce yourself, Saoirse!” 

Tom mentally sighed at this new information. He had to cancel tonight’s meeting for this? It irked him to know that a senile man like Dippet was the Headmaster; one weak Ventus and he would die on the spot. Still, he kept up his clean and perfect image, no matter how strong his urge was to bash his head into the desk and burn this girl to a crisp jump the elder like a madman.

A mezzo-soprano voice hit Tom’s ears. “Hello,” she said, her accent becoming clear as day. “I’m Saoirse, but you already knew that.” The boy watched as her hand disappeared behind her neck as she coughed awkwardly. 

He sighed for the umpteenth time today and decided to play along. “Good evening, my name is Tom Riddle,” his stomach squeezed dejectedly as he outwardly stated his normal given name. “Your name, Saoirse; that's an Irish name, is it not?” Tom asked as he feigned innocence in front of the Headmaster and the new student. 

“Yes, it is.” she said, finally meeting his eyes for the first time. A shocking pair of jade sent chills down his spine. 

“Looks like the two of you are getting along just fine,” Dippet cheered lightly. To Tom, the man’s adenoidal and wheezy tone sounded like nails on a chalkboard. A quick Crucio would not do him too much harm, right? “Well, Tom, would you be so kind as to give our new student a tour of Hogwarts?”

“It would be my pleasure, Headmaster.” 

TR~S

“Hogwarts was built around the 10th century by Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin.” Tom said, his voice echoing through the extensive hall made of old stone. Saoirse gazed upon the beauty that is She; Hogwarts was something to truly marvel at. With Her high arches, wondrously intricate details, the girl could feel the presence of Hogwarts Herself—She is alive and She is a powerhouse to reckon with. 

Mahoutokoro, on the other hand, is not alive whatsoever, not in the way that Hogwarts is. With every step she took Saoirse would feel Her magic swell, as if She were breathing. Compared to this, the Asian school was nothing but a laughing stock in the girl’s opinion. The gold and jade that decorated Mahoutokoro always looked so…dull. But here She was, nothing but bare stone and some wood, and She was the most ethereal piece of architecture Saoirse had ever seen. Nothing could ever compare. A flash of green came into Saoirse’s view as the boy in front of her took a right turn, his robes swishing in the moonlight.

 “This is where you will be attending your Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, taught by Professor Merrythought.” 

Tom turned to stare at the girl he was painfully giving a tour to. He scoffed inwardly as she continued to look hard at the door to Professor Merrythought’s classroom. Soon, his ears caught a question, one that he would have missed if Saoirse wasn’t talking so quietly. 

“Why does she teach defense?” 

“Pardon?” 

“Why would Merrythought teach defense against the Dark Arts?” She stressed, her voice having more clarity than it did before as it bounced off the nearby walls. “She was the one who encouraged me to learn about the Dark Arts, not how to defend myself from it; it makes no sense.” 

Saoirse watched as the tall boy stared at her. She could practically hear the cogs turning in his head as he carefully bit the inside of his cheek in thought, thinking of a response. Growing impatient, she sighed, “If you do not know the answer, it’s fine. I will just ask her whenever I can.” 

“Why would Merrythought ever encourage the practice of Dark Arts? Out of all of the staff here, she opposes the use of it the most.” 

“She says I excel at it.” 

“You've dabbled in Dark Magic before?” Tom asked, a slight interest manifesting itself as the topic of conversation became familiar to him. It was almost welcoming. 

“I have,” she said lightly, an airy tone present as she let her eyes wander around the striking features that Hogwarts held. “It’s why I’m here, after all.” 

A painting that stood out from the rest hung high above the wall down the hallway. It was bright, unlike most of the art that were almost all portraits of notable people within the English Wizarding Community. Saoirse was quick to leave Tom to his lonesome, irking him to no end as she strided down the hallway, entranced by the slight movements in the painting that she could see. As she got closer, Saoirse saw that the painting was moving more violently than she originally thought. It was a painting of a fire; it danced and twirled around in the engulfing darkness. 

Tom clenched his hands into fists as he followed the imprudent girl down the hall. “Do not wander off aimlessly,” he sighed. “You could get lost.” 

Not taking her eyes off of the painting, Saoirse replied, “Sure thing, Mr. Wiggle.” 

“My name is Tom Riddle,” He corrected. 

“That’s what I said, didn’t I?”

“No.”

“I don’t think you know what you are talking about, Mr. Tinkle.” 

“Will you stop being so childish, the tour is almost over and classes start in only a couple of hours; this should have not taken us this long if it weren’t for your foolish attempts to wander off.” With a quick Tempus Saoirse hummed as the numbers 4:58 appeared in front of her. “Breakfast starts at seven-thirty on the weekdays, and eight o’clock on the weekends. Your Head of House will hand you your schedule during that time; be quick to memorize it.” 

And with pivoting his feet, Tom walked down the left wing, not caring if the girl decided to follow him as she wasted his time doing absolutely nothing. 

As Saoirse turned to run for the boy, a figure caught her eyes. She turned her head, staring at the painting once more. Within the abyss of black on the canvas, the flickering fire lit up the atmosphere, causing the girl to see the countless mangled bodies hanging and thrown across the thin birch trees that hid in the background.

Credit(s): Dividing banner (^^^) by Chen Lu (1436-1449) - "Plum Blossoms in Moonlight" scroll painting; sourced through Pinterest

[sommerflue-22]

Baby Delivery — Jean Kirschtein Headcanons

Featuring: Connie Springer, Sasha Braus

Content Warning: f!reader, modern setting, hospital setting, baby delivery, epidural anesthesia, mention of blood

Word Count: 0.5k

A/n: The research I did for this headcanons? Plenty. I hope you enjoy this because I had a lot of fun writing this >.<

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Jean accompanying you in the hospital room just a few hours before you're in labor. He called Connie and Sasha over for supports. Everything was fine when you're still in the early stage of labor, but when the pain kicks in, boy were they panicking

Connie froze as he saw the anesthesiologist prepared the needle for epidural, gripping Sasha's arm for his dear life. He fainted when they injected it into your back.

When it was time for you to start pushing, they rolled you to the delivery room. Jean followed you, leaving Sasha in your room with Connie who was still unconscious.

Jean squeezed your hand tightly as you started pushing, helping you breathe as well. Boy, he wasn't prepared for what's coming. You squeezed Jean's hand so hard when it gets even more painful, which made him yelped.

"Damn, (y/n), where did that strength go whenever you're opening a bottle cap?!" "SHUT UP!" "Sorry, sorry! You're doing amazing, honey! Here, squeeze my hand, I don't care if you break it... but please don't."

Jean gave unnecessary yet harmless comments here and there. You yelled at him because of the pain, but you also appreciate what he's doing. He even made the staffs in the delivery room chuckle a few times.

He stayed with you throughout the whole labor process.

When you finally gave birth to your child, your heart was filled with joy. The nurse let you hold your newborn, Jean could only watch from the side. You knew he wanted to hold the baby, but he was afraid of the blood.

"I'm about to cry..." "You can cry, Jean." "...Yeah, I think I'll do that." He cried a little.

Jean also stayed by your side when you pushed the placenta out. He took a glance at it once and the color drained from his face.

"I think I need to go to the bathroom." He went out of the delivery room. He vomited.

After the whole process of cleaning you up, they rolled you back to the room where Jean, Connie, and Sasha were waiting. You're so used to seeing them being silly and cracking jokes, so it was definitely a new experience. They stood around your bed, asking you how you feel. You're really tired but you answered them. You're so grateful to have a husband and two friends like them.

When it's time for you to breastfeed your baby, Sasha won't left your side. She adored your little one and smiled as you held your baby in your arms.

"I hope you grow up quickly so I can take you out to get ice cream." Sasha said with the softest voice. You could tell that she's going to be your child's favorite aunt.

Jean, Connie, and Sasha took turn in accompanying you in the hospital during your stay there. They got really excited when the nurse brought your baby in. Connie took a lot of videos to send to your other friends. Sasha talked to the baby a lot, promising him/her that she would take them to lots of restaurants and other places.

Jean? Jean was always next to you, holding your hand and kissing your forehead, telling you how proud he was of you.

Overall a great experience. They loved you so much and they couldn't wait to watch your baby grow.

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[myrtles-and-blood]

Me again (sorry) but your page is awesome???

do you have any general tips while I'm starting out? Anything would be appreciated. Especially anything around meditation idk

thankiesss

Thank you so much, that means a lot, you made my day. ♥︎

Let me tell you about my experience:

(this is gonna be a long post talking about me fucking up a lot)

I started a couple years ago learning about deities, witchcraft, paganism, etc. I talked to MANY deities and I never got the hang of it. I was busy but then I wasn't okay enough to keep up, and then I had various faith crises, and then I was scared of them. This has to do with other things, but you get how messy I was.

Then I talked to Lucifer once and he scared the shit out of me. Like, a lot. He was scary as fuck. I had never gotten so interested in something in my life, and I found myself thinking about him every day, every moment, and even reading the bible trying to see where he appeared and to learn about him. Yes, I know this is one of the worst methods, but leave me alone I didn't know anything about demons.

So one day I was like "okay enough of this Lord Lucifer come here we're gonna talk" and I told him I wanted to work with him on that, specifically: not being constant and having lots of trouble with my life, in general. Do you know what this guy told me? "Oh, I don't think you're gonna last a week, but if you want I'm not gonna stop you"

😦

So I'm still here out of spite, mostly.

Being serious, he was direct with me. He told me I had a problem, a big problem, and he was not gonna fix me, I was gonna fix myself. That's what got me started and what made me keep up. I'm still having lots of trouble but we're getting there, trust.

What I'm trying to say is that it gave me a purpose, and I think everyone needs a purpose to get started here. What is it that you want to get out of this? What is what moves you inside the craft? Because if you're just doing this to not get anything from it, you're doing it wrong. Do spells, work with deities, just worshipping deities, bettering yourself, looking out for nature, or it just makes you really happy to do one really specific thing, but if it doesn't bring you anything that enriches your life you're not doing it correctly imo.

What do you do when you find something you like? Look into it, make mistakes, try everything, have accidents, believe things that are not true, fuck up again, change your beliefs, change your whole craft all over again... You know, live your craft. It's like everything.

When I started doing cross stitch I had two bloody fingers, the wrong kind of thread and they were the wrong color, but now I'm doing gifts for friends and framing some of my works. It was hard and I'm never escaping the bloody fingers and not having enough colors, but it won't happen as frequently. You know what I mean?

And after all of this, I gotta tell you meditation is something that I'm just starting to work on. The first time I tried to meditate with Lucifer he forced me to go to sleep instantly because it was pretty late at night (I'm still a bit mad at him for that)

What I can say is that guided meditations worked for me wonders, and I think it's a really good place to start! There's plenty and you just sit there listening to instructions, which I love very much.

I hope this helped in some way, or at least I hope I made you laugh at my mistakes lol.

[sovonight]

Thoughts on vanilla BG2 companions?

these are pretty surface level, but thoughts nonetheless!

edwin: i've never actually traveled with edwin, i can never really justify taking 2 dedicated wizards and my limit is one mean person per party (that slot is usually taken by viconia). i can see his selling point though so i've been meaning to take him along

imoen: i feel the need to bring her along for story reasons but if i'm honest i don't see the need for a thief/mage, especially if i have aerie :'I also the way that they established a canon dynamic for imoen & charname in the bg2 intro always rubbed me the wrong way. in my head imoen regularly skipped class and still got top marks, and radri attended class dutifully and just isn't as good sefjkfsen. like--imoen's a scamp! she's a trickster! what do you mean she was content to sit in lessons listening to stuffy tutors all day?? she always struck me as someone who's kind of effortlessly, deceptively smart and learns on her own schedule

jaheira: i also feel the need to bring her along for story reasons loL but unlike imoen i genuinely like having her. she's obviously dealing with a lot in bg2 but i find her attitude refreshing & am touched that she'll defend charname against the harpers :')

minsc: he's always on thin ice with me, he's just too loud lmAO but i keep him anyway until someone better comes along. when the missing boo quest started (the one added by unfinished business, i think?) i very nearly sighed and ejected him because i didn't want to use my brain on the clues, but at the last minute i found a walkthrough that spelled it all out for me, so. he's still in the party. sigh.

viconia: i don't know what it is about her but i like her T_T i also think radri sees kind of a connection with her & gives her plenty of chances because of it, even though radri barely survives talking to her. i don't think anyone else actively likes her in the party configurations i choose though so i do feel a bit bad whenever i bring her along

aerie: i was a little over her at the beginning but now i think she's cute! seeing her make all those missteps around jaheira really made me feel for her. i like viconia and anomen equally as much as her though, so i've never dedicated myself to traveling with her for extended periods of time

anomen: if xan didn't exist i'd be interested to delve into what his whole deal is. i think he has an interesting personal quest with interesting outcomes, though i think the decision making on the player's side could've been more subtle

cernd: i… never spent time on him… in my current paused playthrough i didn't even take him temporarily to do that whole animal trouble quest, purely because it's just a hassle to move equipment around to dismiss people. and maybe i've just let my dao experience color my impressions but i've always been a little underwhelmed by shapeshifting

haer'dalis: i don't remember anything about this guy either lmAO i'm sorry but i'm immune to tieflings and bards and i'm not into theater

jan jansen: i can see why people like to bring him along, but i'm already playing a thief, imoen is already a thief/mage, i can't justify the thief oversaturation. pass. also his other thing is he's talkative, right? i unfortunately already have a guy dedicated to talking my ear off

keldorn: i always recruit this guy, and i'm always sad when i have to let him go to reconnect with his family ;_; but it's the right thing to do

korgan: i'm sorryyyy i can't tolerate chaotic evil in my party. pass

mazzy: i've never taken her, but i should! honestly i should swap minsc out for her

nalia: i've never been interested in taking her because, once again, thief/mage. oversaturated. pass

valygar: the last time i traveled with this guy was back in 2014, and i remember nothing about him?? i should bring him along again

yoshimo: thief, oversaturated, pass. i would say something about his "betrayal" but i'm not there yet in my current playthrough and don't remember anything about it from 2014. i'm sorry yoshimo... i must've found you so inconsequential

bonus, sarevok: ok i said no chaotic evil but he's the exception. i can fix him

[asecretvice]

I was living my life normally and unSupernaturally until yesterday when my mother, soon turning 60, admitted a previously untold dream of visiting New England in the fall before she’s too old. Suddenly I was dropped into a Ratatouille-esque flashback with the words Summer always made Dean restless echoing in my head.

In short, do you have recommendations on where to visit? Is Maple Hills based on a real town? Before relying on influencer guides to plan, I remembered how well you conveyed the ‘vibes’ and wondering if you had any advice. Appreciate this is a very random ask, so no worries if not!

Ahahahahahaha! Sorry-not-sorry for ending your streak of living normally and unSupernaturally ^_^

Well obviously, as I'm sure is already a factor in your mother's untold dream, if you're going to New England in the fall you must see the TREES. They will call you leafers! How spectacular the colors are depends on the weather during late summer and early fall, in my experience. Also it's been several years since I've been out there, and I'm sure climate change has altered the calendar, so to speak. There are maps that indicate when they expect "peak colors" to occur in different latitudes. Those won't come out until closer to time, so keep this in mind.

As for the rest of it...yes, Maple Hills is based on a real town, but as I think it would reveal to much about my brickspace life I hope you understand why I won't say which. However, lovely small towns are dotted all over the place, so you won't be left wanting.

And ye great and terrible gods, PLEASE do not rely on influencers to plan your trip!!! Instead please accept both my regional and basic trip-planning advice.

Also, disclaimer. Although not considered New England, upstate NY is also an option [matt lucas controversial!!! dot gif]. I will therefore mention it from time to time.

STEP ONE: WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS?

It is important to prioritize things that appeal to you. Should you use travel to try new things? 100%. But you don't want to overextend yourself either.

Do you like...NATURE and THE OUTDOORS? Congrats, there's lots to see! From the aforementioned gorgeous woodland, to various mountain ranges, picturesque farms and vineyards, and of course the incredible coast, you're bound to find a piece of nature that speaks to you!

Just in it for the visuals? For mountains, the great Appalachians go all the way up to Maine with some subranges and ranges that might not be subranges but I'm not a geologist so bear with me. Look up vistas of the Adirondacks, the Catskills, the Greens, the Whites.

For water, look up the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. There's also beautiful Lake Champlain shared between New York, Vermont, and Quebec.

I'll be real. You want to drive along windy hills and find a cute little dairy farm with their happy (not so) little free range dairy cows around every corner? Vermont.

The woods? Mostly the northern states: NY, VT, NH, ME. In the latter's Acadia National Park, you can take a trolley through and get immersed in its beauty...and incidentally see where incredibly rich people live deep within or near it, like Stephen King (who is of course always inspired by the area).

Want to actually get all up in it? For a region that's known for its skiing in the winter, you bet it's well known for its hiking opportunities as well. The Appalachian Trial is all over the place, but of course there are plenty of popular day hikes or expert level shit, like Maine's 100 Mile Wilderness. New Hampshire's Mount Washington--I have double-checked this--is indeed the highest peak in the region. If hiking is not your thing but you still want the views, it's a popular tourist destination that provides a train up to the top and things to do and such.

For boating, sailing, what have you, you're definitely gonna find it all up and down the coast, and Lake Champlain, and the Finger Lakes in NY, and--depending on where you're going to fly in and how far you're willing to drive--there's also Niagara Falls, though that is of course stretching the New England mandate (if you're not familiar with the area, it's basically Buffalo, NY, in the western part of the state and abutting Ontario). You can in fact take a ferry service in it called the Maid of the Mist.

As for beaches, you can find all sorts. Sand, rocky, city piers and such. Go Maine if you want fewer people around.

And don't forget that most important of coastal structures, LIGHTHOUSES. Incredibly famous and lovely lighthouses all up and down the coast! Don't neglect them!

What about animals?? Sadly I think you will be too late to go on a boat ride to see our lovely puffin friends, but of course where there's North American woods there are various birds, bears, deer, and butterflies to be seen and admired, so look up what's in the region for your animal of choice. (Seriously, Vladimir Nabokov was studying butterflies all over the place in the area.)

Do you like...FOOD AND WINE? As with every region of this glorious world, you are in for treats!

Are you all about that dairy? My friend, my friend, my friend, verily you cannot skip Vermont. Your local stores and restaurants will have the good shit, but why not go out and find a nice dairy to tour (Vermont cheddar! My kingdom for Vermont cheddar!) or treat yourself by going to the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, VT.

What about maple syrup? Vermont takes tops in my opinion for this as well, but upstate NY will also have great places you can go if you'd like to try tapping trees yourself, or see how it's made, or simply sample their delicious wares.

Don't forget about fruit! Fall season is orchard season, baby!!! Especially find those apple orchards and enjoy picking your own apples, drinking their apple cider, or eating those delicious fucking cider donuts. Man.

Like some wine? Finger Lakes region of NY is well known for its excellent quality vineyards and wineries.

What about beer? I'll be real. Boston. Boston has flavors of Sam Adams the rest of us can only dream of.

Seafood? Your coastal states again. Maine of course is well known for its lobster. The region for its clams...I'm sure there are many individual states, towns, or stretches of coast that lay claim to the best lobster rolls or clam bakes or clam chowders or how it best prepares their quahogs or other seafood...I am not a seafood person myself so I don't have a particular opinion, but those are some of the dishes to look into if you are!

What about farm fresh in general? You could probably find that most places.

Do you like...CITIES? While Boston is a must-see city, you've also got Providence and Newport RI, Burlington VT, Concord NH, and Portland ME. And yo, don't forget Montreal QC!

They all have a variety of vibes that might suit you, from fancy restaurants to university campuses to lake or ocean coastline. As with any part of New England, layers of North American/United States history abound. Boston especially, though, is expensive. But let's talk about some perks!

In Maine, your biggest city is Portland. Some quirky and local Maine color, like if you're an outdoorsy person maybe you appreciate LL Bean gear; they've got the flagship store there. But it's got great amenities and sits right on the ocean. If you want to be on the Maine coast with maybe fewer people, well, a lot of rich folks have felt the same way. If you want to see some cute towns along with eye-popping mansions, consider Kennebunkport (famous summer home area of the Bush family) or Cape Elizabeth, neither of which are too far from Portland. If you'd like to venture further north, I recommend Bar Harbor; that's the place to go to see Acadia National Park, take a boat out to puffins at certain times of year, go whale watching, a cute small town with (at the time of my having been there) less of the old money contingent.

In New Hampshire, I've mostly driven through but I have seen Concord (its capital), which had some great buildings and some good food. It was fun to walk around and not a bad place to center yourself if you're looking to take trips to various areas, from the ocean to the mountains.

In Vermont, Burlington is right on Lake Champlain, so right away you've got those great water views and activities. It's also fun to walk around Church Street Marketplace, that multi-block pedestrian area rare to find in the US. Also, it's a less than two-hour drive up to Montreal, which is one of the jewels of Canada! (Alas, I have not been myself; I have however discovered that the further north you go, the more likely you are to walk into a place and they'll casually be speaking French. Très cool.)

Connecticut I can't really speak to at all, as I've never been there, but they've got a lot of major college/university areas like Wesleyan, Trinity, and of course Yale.

I haven't been to Rhode Island either, but I hear much more tell from those who have. Providence is said to be great, and between Brown and RISD you're bound to find great museums and fun things to do. Newport is where you want to go for a seaside vacation, the type of place with a lot of history, pretty buildings, and incredible piers for the boating types. It's also an area for the old rich, like the Kennedys. Food scene's supposed to be good, too.

BOSTON. I mean...it's expensive but it's great! I loved walking along the river. But my favorite thing was walking the Freedom Trail! If you're unfamiliar, it's a path marked throughout the city that stops at historically significant places, like the site of the Boston massacre, Paul Revere's house, Old Ironsides, and some graveyards with very, very old dates (relative to the country's founding). But I won't lie, one of my favorite parts was that, walking through one of the neighborhoods it takes you through, it was the only time I heard someone speak with a true Boston accent. Utter delight. Be still, my heart!

Anyway, if you're into the things that colleges and universities can offer you, Harvard and MIT and whatnot will have you more than covered. Plenty of others in the area, like Tufts, Boston College, and so on.

Boston is also home to wonderful museums! Not only the Fine Arts Museum, but the Gardner Museum that was subject to an infamous art theft, the Museum of Science, and all the college museums, etc.

And finally, sports! If you like pro sports, Boston hosts many of the local and New England teams with their own rich histories. The Red Sox, the Patriots, the Celtics, the Bruins.

Elsewhere in Massachusetts, for your obligatory rich person hangout because it's breathtakingly gorgeous: Cape Cod, including the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, is your area.

Do you like...TOWNS? There are so many.

Massachusetts and New England in general have a wealth of higher learning institutions, many of which are situated in towns of various sizes. In MA alone, you've got Williamstown (Williams College), Amherst (Amherst, Hampshire, UMass), South Hadley (Mount Holyoke), and Northampton (Smith). Vermont's got Middlebury (Middlebury College), Maine's got Brunswick (Bowdoin), New York has Poughkeepsie (Vassar) and Ithaca (Ithaca College and Cornell). And that's just off the top of my head!!! These places are smaller but have to host kids and their families, and they're old, so you get beautiful campuses, quirky eats, and lots of brochures telling you what entertainment is to be had. And because many of these places and some I'm sure I haven't named belong to the colonial colleges, the ivy league, or the seven sisters, they will be thrilled to tell you all about the famous people who graced their halls.

If you want to chill in the Adirondacks in upstate NY, and you want tiny towns, I have a friend who often travels to the Keene area. The pictures she sends me are exquisite. Otherwise I would maybe just find places close to where you're going to headquarter yourself for the trip.

Do you like...HISTORY and HISTORICAL FIGURES? New England! Is! North American and United States history! And more!

First, acknowledge and seek out the First Nations and their tribes. You've got a lot to choose from, such as the Wampanoag, who have their own version of the Thanksgiving story to tell. Off the top of my head, some more are Mohawk, Oneida, Mohican...not sure how far east the Iroquois Confederacy stretched.

This naturally leads into early European colonization, mostly Puritans from England and the Dutch in the early days. This will lead you to the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and so on. I won't exhaust the list of what you can see, but if you have any interest in those periods of history, look up what battles or other places intrigue you, and figure out what is on offer in the modern day.

Past the colonial era and more into the later waves of immigration, there are old and famous enclaves of Irish, Italian, French, and Portuguese immigrants. If their cuisine or history are relevant to you, do some research (I've a friend who grew up bilingual with an old dialect of French still spoken in RI). Of more modern waves of immigration I know little.

What about specific figures? I've already mentioned a couple presidential families, but you'll also find a ton of artists and writers from New England, or who made NE their home.

Once again, off the top of my head: Washington Irving ("The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" "Rip Van Winkle"), Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Louisa May Alcott, Elizabeth Bishop, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, James Fenimore Cooper, Phillis Wheatley, Anne Bradstreet. Lol, those are just writers. Who else...shit, of course, all the civil rights stuff! Frederick Douglass did a lot of his work in New England; consider also the big names in women's suffrage, like Susan B Anthony. Utica is a good city to think of if you're into the conferences where activists like Douglass were active for both abolition and suffrage; it was also a stop on the Underground Railroad.

I think we've covered all the major categories of interest, so let's move on to step two.

STEP TWO: NARROW IT DOWN

I hope as you read the first section you were writing down ideas, and have since discussed them with your mother. Now you have to consider

--How much time can you take off for the trip? --How much money are you willing to spend? --How much, and how, are you willing to travel during the trip?

For example, maybe you're the type of travelers who are happy to spend one day in a place and move onto the next. Or maybe you find that exhausting, and want to stay in one small area. Or maybe you like to split the difference, pick a headquarters, and go on some day trips.

How far away from New England do you live? If you have to fly, the cheapest flights are likely going to be into a big city; in my experience even flying somewhere like Burlington will cost you a lot extra (again, depending on what airlines you have available and how close you are). The area is served well by trains. Because there are lots of towns and big cities to travel to, you can often find shuttles from the towns (especially college towns) to and from the big cities. Obviously it's the US, so cars work well.

Rank interests. If the leaves in fall rank number one, you should probably cross off the southerly states now. But consider if you also might want lakes, oceans, what type of mountains. What other outdoor activities you might like to do, etc. See if there are more historical places you're interested in connected to one town over another. Get what I mean? If you're only going to be gone for a week, I wouldn't suggest staying at more than two places if you really want to dig your toes in.

Also, between the two of you...or your mom and whomever she's going with, make sure the compromises are good. Each person should have a highly ranked item accessible to them wherever you go.

Now, it's time to get into the real research.

STEP THREE: THE REAL RESEARCH

I kid you not, the first website I go to whenever I'm going somewhere completely new is wikivoyage. If you're unfamiliar, it's the travel subsidiary of wikipedia. It's absolutely fantastic, because it gives you overviews of everything and has current and correct links to associated websites. Like if you've never been to Boston, maybe you don't know the pros and cons of getting there. It'll talk to you about how to get there by car, by plane, by train, by bus, by boat. It'll talk about the different neighborhoods, list local foods you have to try, all the museums and places of interest, etc. It will link you to the appropriate websites for public transportation, and in Boston's case, tips for riding the T. Let's be real, it also discusses areas where it's safest for tourists to be. And it does this for everywhere. Here's the link for the New England wikivoyage page.

This is an excellent first stop because it links to real resources, and gives you a good overview of any of the places you're interested in. Jump straight into that rabbit hole!

That way, if you know you have to fly in, you can look at all the main airports of the region and start working from there.

Also consider where to stay. Wikivoyage will give you an overview of that, but consider associations and things that will help you make sure you're staying at a good place. I know airbnb is the rage, but consider, if you're able, a) inns and such are subject to more laws and regulations meant to protect you and b) they can be so quaint or so grand! Peruse the Historical Hotels of America, or New England Inns and Resorts, both organizations meant to help and support such places, many of which are locally owned and operated.

Also, wikivoyage will give you overviews of the weather of where you're going and at what time of year. Consider accordingly.

STEP FOUR: ONLY PLAN 50% OF YOUR TIME

So. You've decided where you're going to stay and how you're going to get there. Now it's time to narrow down your activities.

Only plan 50% of your time. I am so serious. This will create so much less stress and conflict. Only plan half of each day. Or if there's an activity that is a full day, don't plan anything for the next day if possible. That way there's room to, you know, be late to things because life is as life does, or if something gets canceled you can try the next day, AND it leaves space for things that you won't know you'll want to do until you get there. Like maybe you've never been to the Atlantic before, and once you see it all you'll want to do is sit and stare at it. Which is LEGIT. So leave yourself time to do things like that, hey?

STEP FIVE: FIND A REAL MAP. PLEASE.

Friend, I hear you already. "But I've got gps on my phone/in my car!" Well, I don't care!!!! I know this tech has come a long way since then, but I swear to you when I was in Maine several years ago, we had to rely on my map reading skills for half the trip, on a real map. Accurate, current real maps are getting so much harder to find now, especially if you're not in the target region, but please take the time to source one. You really never know...and ALWAYS use common sense before blindly following gps. Literally have known people who drove straight into lakes in Vermont -_-

Also expect cell service to be spotty in less populated places. Again, having a real map on hand will be peace of mind.

If you are taking any driving trips, plan out your route beforehand. Look up pictures of your destination online, especially streetview, so you know what to look for. Also, popular destinations will have good directions on their own websites.

In my fic when I say there are no roadsides in much of New England? I meant it.

STEP FIVE: PACK LIGHT AND PACK RIGHT

I swear you don't need all that. You pack it, you carry it.

Again, look at the general weather, and then closer to time don't neglect the actual forecast.

If you're going hiking or out on the water, look up the typical weather patterns for that trail or coast. They're often fickle.

Leave room for new books ^_^

STEP SIX: ENJOY

The hard part's already over. Relax and have fun! And then, if you're going along anon, come back a few months hence and tell me all about it!

I hope this has been helpful. Feel free to ask whatever else.

Bon voyage!

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 3: Magic Time

Narrated by Yexiao.

~Content Warning: mild transphobia~

Narrator: Time flies by quickly. The day's training is about to end.

Director: Well done, all. Let's take some time to just relax. Please sit down, everyone. Let's chat.

Director: Please share the strangest thing you have ever done with the group.

Narrator: The strangest thing?

Qi: I'll go first! I like to cook, but my friends refuse to taste my creations... Because I tend to invent weird dishes, such as stir-fried fruit.

Everyone: Hahaha! Sir-fried fruit? Is that even edible?

Narrator: Definitely. I made fried pork with pineapple once...

Xinxin: I confuse my dreams with reality, so when I wake up, I often think that my dreams are real.

Xinxin: For example, I'd dream that my friends got married and congratulate them the next day. They were very confused.

Everyone: Hahaha! That really is weird!

Yexiao: I once raised a huge monster in a laboratory. It ended up attacking someone.

Narrator: The candidates, who were laughing and chattering with each other, suddenly go silent.

Qi: Ha... hahaha! Yexiao, you're kidding, right?

Xinxin: Y-yeah. What a hilarious joke!

Narrator: Everyone quickly chimes in, as if they had just come back to their senses.

Everyone: That was a good one! Way to go! Hahaha...

Narrator: Was it really that funny? I suppose they really found what I said weird.

Mingming: I'm sorry... I-I can't think of anything weird I've done, but actually... actually...

Everyone: Actually what?

Mingming: I really want to play the Candy Witch, but... to be honest... I'm a man...

Narrator: The rehearsal room goes quiet again, save for the loud breathing from the candidates. We've all become good at breathing after today's breathing exercise.

Director: Okay, thank you all.

Narrator: The training does not last too long because the director finds the most suitable candidate quite soon.

Yexiao: Why me?

Director: The Candy Witch is a bit eccentric. She does strange things with magic, such as experimenting with monsters in a laboratory.

Yexiao: But I have no experience in acting.

Director: You not only suit the role, but also have strong focus. I believe you will perform well.

Narrator: Even with the director's encouragement, I am unsure.

Director: No worries, there is still plenty of time. You'll be in charge of designing the witch's costume, too. You may as well start getting to know the character from the costume.

Narrator: I'm pretty good at designing, at least. This assignment is not too difficult.

Yexiao: If it's for a witch... the costume should come with a big hat with a pointy top and wide brim.

Narrator: An ordinary magic wand isn't special enough for my character. Her wand should be shaped like a huge lollipop.

Narrator: I take out some light pink mesh from the fabric chest.

Narrator: This type of pink should be suitable for a fairy tale setting.

Narrator: I take out scissors and start cutting... but no, it seems like something is still missing.

Narrator: I turn and see the candy wrapper on the table.

Narrator: Candy Witch. The essential feature should be candy.

Narrator: I go to a shop and buy a bunch of big, colorful candy balls to decorate the dress and shoes.

Narrator: The candy not only adds color to the outfit but also brings a hint of sweetness.

Narrator: A few days later, I try on the Candy Witch costume in front of the mirror.

Narrator: The person in the mirror looks unfamiliar to me. She may look like a Candy Witch, but I still don't know how to act out her story in front of the audience.

Narrator: If only performing were as easy as designing clothes.

Narrator: Can I really play this role well? I approach the director again, but he just laughs heartily.

Director: We spent so much energy on casting so that we could find the most suitable person, which is you. To me, you're the most perfect Candy Witch.

Yexiao: But I'm not that great at memorizing lines. What should I do?

Director: If you forget the lines, just say what you would have said in the context.

Yexiao: Wouldn't that seem strange?

Director: It's fine. The Candy Witch is eccentric, after all.

Director: So, as long as you are familiar with the story and the characters, you can just be yourself. The most convincing performance can be achieved by not acting at all.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

[rosesoflilac]

WELCOME TO THE ERAS TOUR!

summary: the eras tour comes to the devildom! how excited are they for the hottest show in town? pairing: demon brothers (excluding belphie and beel) x gn!reader, suggestive (asmo) a/n: hi my name is rose and ill be your host this evening :p this has been a long time coming.. :0 sorry for the puns. i will take any chance to relive the best night of my life. hope you enjoy I had a lot of fun thinking about the bros going to the eras tour bc they r just so silly. apologies for not including belphie and beel, i love them but not enough to write them </3

LUCIFER - evermore (ivy, marjorie, happiness).

-> Lucifer does not understand the hype around the eras tour. Loud and large events arent really his scene, but he goes to have this shared experience with you. He values its importance because you are so excited and he would do anything to keep you smiling at him like that.

-> Leading up to the concert, to get him excited you gift him some of her albums on vinyl that you'd think he enjoy. I think he would really love folklore and evermore because of their instrumentals. I also see him enjoying Lover songs. If he is less perceptive to listening to her albums, start playing piano-only versions of her music to lure him into discovering other parts of her discography.

-> As I mentioned before, Lucifer would prefer piano instrumentals, impressed that the meaning of the song is still conveyed without knowing the words. 

-> To make him less grumpy take him on a Taylor Swift mjuseum tour!! I think he would appreciate learning more about Taylor's life before connecting to her music. He also just loves a good tour.

MAMMON - reputation (i did something bad, dress, new years day).

-> Girl the amount of debt he owes to witches triples when he learns that you like taylor swift. prepared to be spoiled with taylor merch and lots of it. (he definitely has bets on what surprise songs she might play).

-> Mammon is more of an r&b kind of demon but I think he can still appreciates the different genres taylor has explored. 

->i can see him resonating a lot with fearless (golden color -> grimm/how it feels when you look at him), reputation bc what if one day he leans into the scumbag roll his brothers assigned him? it's also the love album of taylor swift albums.

->He'll “never” let you know his true feelings about Taylor but it's obvious he likes her because you do. Days leading up to the concert you hear him humming melodies of her songs- of course he'd learn the setlist for ya, he wouldn't embarrass you- himself by not knowin’ the words!

LEVIATHAN - 1989 (TV) (new romantics, how you get the girl, wildest dreams).

-> Let's be real, Levi bought you the tickets because he understands the hype and needing to see your favorite artist in person. Plus, you would do the same for him. However, he is super nervous about being in such a giant crowd. He goes back and forth about wanting to go- surely you’ll have a better time with someone else right? Give him plenty of reassurance that he is the one you want and all will be well!

-> Goes all out for the costumes. He makes the perfect couples costumes for you two to wear and you guys slay! It’s more song themed than you guys trying to look hot (think evermore tree)  At the show everyone is complimenting your fits- Levi gets embarrassed when you give him credit for the costume work.

-> Omg all his karaoke sessions instead of anime songs it's Taylor songs now. I see him being a 1989 girlie because of its high energy. Similar to Lucifer, I think if there are any anime rendition covers of her songs or any video games Taylor related he will love it lol. I'm picturing like Taylor Swift meets Hatsune Miku Colorful Stage.

-> Overall is so happy he went, is super impressed with the choreography and stages Taylor set up for her different eras. Congrats Taylor! A new swiftie has been obtained.

-> Omg side note- he definitely is able to get the rare merch (like the cardigans) and will wait all day for any contests/enter so many giveaways just for you.

SATAN - red (TV) (state of grace, better man, run)

-> I think Satan finds out about Taylor Swift before the Eras Tour was even a thing because of some cat themed merchandise of hers that you were wearing. Learning of her love for her cats gets an easy Satan stamp of approval.

-> Satan learns about her history and delves deep into her lore and how the entertainment industry works in the human world. He finds it fascinating that there are a lot of hollywood/entertainment industry mysteries. I can see him taking a particular interest in old Hollywood unsolved murder cases. 

-> As for his favorite album, I see Satan loving Red, the songs on that album have that fall study vibe and delve into more angstier emotions. I see him appreciating evermore and folklore as well for their storytelling ability.

-> At the concert, he is there to vibe with you but is on the chiller side. Will only consider dressing up if you really want him to do (and its cat related (see: the person who dressed up as Taylor’s character from cats))

ASMODEUS - midnights (maroon, bejeweled, vigilante shit)

-> Asmo is def going with you to spend time with you and for the vibes, he can’t turn down a good party! He feels a bit jealous with how excited you are, like he could do the Eras Tour right at home for you <3 Only during and after the show he understands your excitement; Taylor is gorgeous and ate her performance. His favorite sections were Lover and Vigilante Shit <3

-> Another incentive for Asmo to go is the promise that he can dress you up! Similar to Levi, he loves a good costume moment. However, he goes for the looks to kill approach instead of cosplaying different things in her songs or her previous outfits.

-> Asmo will learn most of her music but doesn’t really care about that- he’s there to see you look adorable and record you having the time of your life. He swears there isn’t anything more enchanting than when your favorite era begins. 

P.S. - the friendship bracelets with the brothers go hard. you make their own individual ones with their name and signature color

[bbbearwin]

Almos? 🌟. [Bryer's view of his hue flickers after a moment] Blame Duona. - D.L.

🌟 - what do they think about when they look at the night sky? is there someone they want to star gaze with?

[one of his eyebrows quirk at him, eyes a curious collage of colors as his mouth curls into some odd mix between a smirk and a smile] What a curious inquiry from you.... I'm a little surprised and honored you find my thoughts on the matter something worth wondering about.

Well..... There's alot to think about really, alot to wonder. You know how I tend to run myself into the ground without stopping but there's so much to wonder. The stars we reach towards in this galaxy. So much is out there we've seen, so much to experience and learn and perceive because every planet is so alike and different all at once. Every little factor, influence, environment, piece of history pushing and pulling that culminates into the unique, incomparable existence or instance of a planet. When you scale it to the solar systems, the galaxy, the grander universe..... It's so big, so..... unfathomable. I think it's quite wonderful really. [unbeknownst to him, his tail is thumping now as he rambles] Someone could live for thousands upon thousands of years and there'd still be new surprises, new discoveries for them to unveil for themselves. Even now, there are indisputably patches of our galaxy that have yet to be uncovered or seen. We haven't even penetrated the sixth arm- who knows what wonders lie in there. Tick was a mere sample, a glimpse really, and I doubt there's much else spillover. Will we ever even make contact with a galaxy near our own? We've traversed dimensions but we've yet to hear anything from our neighbors. Isn't that insane? Surely it's not just us, and yet......

I know there's concerns about "intergalactic conquest" or "incursions". But honestly? I don't think it'll ever truly be possible. The grand majority of us are too small, too weak, it doesn't matter how concentrated or "great" it is. It's a juvenile, childish ambition that simply cannot be fulfilled unless it's reached for for centuries And even then there will always be someone or something that escapes their gaze. Whether it stays obscured in secrecy or fights back is a whole other conversation but..... Well. The cycle is ever-present. You cannot will everyone into submission with an iron fist. There will always be pushback.

But that's beside the point. I personally ponder the cycle of the universe and stars, of creation, destruction, infinity, something I'm certain I won't come close to understanding, but I can hope and try. Where's that sound..... [his eyes trace to his excited tail and it stops moving all-together, voice squeaking.] Ah-

[he looks a little flushed as he laughs at himself, tail now slowly reaching toward his chin to scratch it before resting there] Sorry. I don't think this hard all the time. But I usually do. Sometimes. I just like to think about home. The people we've met and connected to. And what awaits us in the future. And sometimes I just like to admire the stars. And sometimes I'm just wondering what the hell am I gonna make for dinner tonight for everyone because you would not believe how picky some people are? I could really be thinking of anything. On this ship, we have plenty of opportunities to stare out into the void of celestial bodies. [he goes silent.]

That was alot. Sorry. Erm. If I had to choose someone to stargaze with. There are a few ideas. Raine and Naveen would never entertain the idea of idling about, Celeste and Aurelia might be intimidated by my thoughts, I think Neve could keep up with me but she's much more focused on what's right in front of her..... Mhm..... [he grumbles] Maybe, maybe you? [his sclera flare for a moment as he glances up a little aways from him, suddenly more interested in the room as he idly shifts a little from side to side] I know it's strange. But I think I could probably do it in earnest with you and no one else I'm moderately close to on this spacecraft.

-🌲Bryer

[knchins]

Three's a Crowd - Draken & Inui

Summary:  You get a job working at D&D Motors with Draken and Inupi. One drunken night of celebration leads to a compromising position between bosses...literally.

Pairing: Draken x Reader x Inupi

Reader Type: AFAB - Gender Neutral (they/them used once)

Rating: E+

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: v minor manga spoilers, unrequited love (or is it?), love triangle, some possessive behavior, accidental voyeurism/exhibitionism, vaginal sex, oral sex (M receiving), creampies, multiple orgasms, unsafe sex, begging, overstimulation, dacryphilia, jealous behavior, alcohol consumption. spit-roasting, insecure Inupi, a lil cockwarming at the end

Notes: This was a breather piece for me between projects and was written in...three days??? probably could have finished it in two but w/e. I'm very much on my TR bullshit late. Draken is probably a bit OOC so sorry about that.

The day you walked into D&D Motorcycle Shop looking for a job, Inui Seishu knew he was in love. You were the embodiment of perfection to him, beautiful beyond his imagination, and had the voice of an angel that had him struggling to pay attention to your words. They hadn’t actually needed much help around the shop, but how he could possibly say no to your sweet face? Especially with how eager you were to get a job there for whatever reason it was. You hadn’t gone into specifics and Inui probably wouldn’t have followed if you had.

He surprised even himself when he told you that you were hired. That they needed help with cleaning up around the shop and taking inventory. It would be menial work but you didn’t seem to mind. Desperate for anyone to give you a chance, you happily agreed to do anything.

His heart almost broke when you laid eyes on your other new boss, Ryuuguji Ken or Draken as he had been introduced. The way your eyes lit up and your fingers fidgeted with themselves nervously. It was clear you were smitten by his tall frame and good looks, eyes roving over the black dragon tattoo on the side of his head.

Inui would be lying if he said he didn’t want you to look at him that way. He was used to people finding him unattractive because of his scar. He was actually surprised you didn’t flinch away when you saw it. That was one thing that drew him to you, you hadn’t seemed disturbed at all by the different colored flesh that surrounded his left eye. Maybe through working in close proximity to you, you’d learn to like him more than his business partner. That he was just as good if not better of a lover.

Weeks went by with plenty of casual flirting. Draken had been surprised at first that Inui had hired you on the spot, especially since you didn’t have any experience in working in a bike shop. Still, he couldn’t deny that you were pretty and that you were a great worker. You did anything that was asked of you to the best of your ability and continuously went above and beyond. Even customers were stating how much nicer the place looked. They would hit on you any chance they got, which irked both the mechanics but they would never say so out loud.

Your heart seemed to develop a spot for each man. They were both unique in their own ways and you found yourself unsure of whose attention you craved more. Draken was clearly more of a leader while Inupi was quieter, more withdrawn. While Inui seemed shy at first, he had slowly come out of his shell around you.

You could tell he was absolutely head over heels for you. It was clear the way his pale cheeks flushed whenever you complimented him or laughed at a joke he made. His eyes would swell with adoration any time you walked into the same room as him. It was flattering and you wondered if maybe you should give him a chance instead of going with your first instinct which was definitely Draken.

Inui was strong but Ken was stronger. He could even lift you up and carry you which he did whenever you were in the way by accident. The lazy smirk he’d flash you whenever he saw you and the way you knew he watched your ass when you walked away from him had you clenching your thighs whenever you were around him. The sheer sexual tension between you and him was palpable.

Even customers would comment on occasion, asking Draken how good you were in bed. When he would respond with a look that could kill, they always immediately backed off. It wasn’t a secret that he and Inui had been in a biker gang when they were teenagers. Draken even still did weight training in his time off as a hobby, so he was prepared for a fight no matter what.

One night, Ken sent Inui to go for a beer run even though the three of you had already drunk a gratuitous amount of alcohol. He had protested at first but eventually gave in to both of your demands to grab more. You had been celebrating the tenth anniversary of the bike shop being open and along with an absurd amount of takeout food there had been a well-stocked fridge of beer and liquor.

You had thrown your inhibitions to the wind, deciding to get incredibly drunk with the two boys. You were still coherent, of course, but you were up to doing things you most certainly wouldn’t have normally done. For instance, when Draken moved over to sit next to you and place a large hand on your thigh, you giggled and leaned into him instead of pulling away. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea to give in to your boss’s advances, especially when the other one was so in love with you.

“Ken?” You asked, eyelashes fluttering as he leaned down for a brief kiss. It was soft, almost sweet until you kissed him back. It quickly turned heated, Draken pushing you back on the couch and climbing on top of you as his tongue slid into your mouth. Your skirt rode up, exposing your thighs and the undeniable wet spot on your underwear between your legs.

His hand moved up your shirt, resting on your stomach until you whined for him to touch you. That same smirk you saw every day was now shining down at you, his eyes dark with lust as you quickly took off your shirt. “Kenny,” You urged as he unclasped your bra and slid it off your arms so he could look at your bare breasts with the same wonder a teenage boy might.

A giggle left you, quickly turning into a moan as he took your nipple into his mouth to roll between his teeth. His knee pressed against your cunt, your hips moving to grind against it in desperation. Lingering thoughts about Inui being back soon crossed your mind but quickly flitted away when he started to suck on your breast, his hand pinching the untouched nipple so that you were squirming beneath him.

Your hips rolled, dragging your pussy along his thigh as tiny shocks of pleasure pulsated through your clit. His name was caught in your throat as you urged yourself towards your first orgasm, pressing down hard on him as your panties became even wetter.

Draken’s cock was painfully hard. He pulled away from you, earning a whine of displeasure as he quickly took off the jumpsuit he was wearing so that he was in nothing but a white undershirt and boxers. His eyes roved over the sight on the couch, your chest heaving in big breaths as your thighs pressed together to feel some sort of friction again. Alcohol made the room spin but somehow that only added to the giddy sensation you were feeling inside.

He had a smug look on his face as he pulled his shirt over his head to reveal a set of perfectly chiseled abs. You knew he was strong but had never actually noticed just how muscular he was. You couldn’t stop staring as you bit onto your lip, butterflies in your stomach at the idea of fucking your boss.

Draken held out his hand and you took it with a confused look on your face. He pulled you to your feet effortlessly. “Bend over the couch, sweetness.” He ordered and you turned to lean over the arm of the couch, hands on the cushions as you stuck your ass in the air for him.

His breath hitched in his throat at the sight. Sure he’d dreamt of fucking you plenty of times, but finally being able to do it? He was going to thoroughly enjoy himself tonight, with or without his partner.

You wiggled your hips impatiently, causing him to chuckle as he pulled down your underwear to see just how wet you were. For a moment he stared in awe at how beautiful it was, his cock twitching in his boxers with the need to be hip deep in you as soon as possible.

He stepped out of his underwear, standing fully naked as he grabbed your hips and pulled them to where your ass was flush against him, his penis moving between your thighs. He let out a groan at your soft thighs tightening around him and he rutted against you as you let out a frustrated whine.

“This not good enough for you?” He teased, knowing the answer already. “It’s good enough for me,” He lied.

“Ken, please.” You begged, almost not recognizing the sound of your voice. Never had you sounded so desperate before.

“Please what?” He taunted.

“Just fuck me!” You snapped back and he pulled away only to quickly align himself up with your hole and plunge in. You cried out for him, going down onto your elbows to take pressure off your wrists as you rocked forward from the strength of his thrust.

Draken groaned at how tight you were, the only thing allowing him to move in and out at the fast pace he was moving at was the slickness of your walls. Any time he pulled out you seemed to suck him right back in, so much that he was definitely sure this was the best pussy he’d ever had.

You pressed back against him to meet his hips to make the impact harder. The thick vein underneath his shaft rubbed against your g-spot in a way that had you singing high-pitched praises in the form of moans.

Meanwhile, Inui was coming back from his run to the store. He heard the sounds of skin slapping and loud moans before he even finished stepping through the door. He dropped the beer he was carrying before running into the backroom to see the betrayal before him. Ken was fucking you at a pace he only wished he could achieve as you, drunk on alcohol and endorphins, looked up at him with a pathetic whine.

Draken hardly cared that you had been caught. He did, however, enjoy the way you squeezed around him even more at the sight of his friend. “Why don’t you take her mouth, Inupi.” Draken said in a sarcastic tone, “I’m sure they won’t mind.”

His fists clenched by his sides, wanting nothing more than to rip Draken away from you and replace him. He was about to say something particularly nasty when you reached out for him, beckoning him forward.

Inui reluctantly came forward, close enough for you to grab him by the belt loop and pull him closer. “Take it off.” You demanded and his eyes widened in surprise before quickly taking off his jumpsuit and positioning himself in front of you. All the while Draken didn’t stop moving.

You tugged his boxers down with one hand before your eyes rolled back a particularly well-timed thrust. Inui helped you, stroking his hardening dick as you opened your mouth for him, your tongue lulling out like a red carpet might for a celebrity.

Inui wasted no time in stuffing your mouth with his cock. His head tilted back as he let out a low moan when you began to suck. Your tongue moved around him in swift circles, eyes looking up to meet his. You felt him grow even harder in your mouth at the sight, balls slapping against your chin.

He grabbed you by the back of the head, forcing you to deep throat him as a punishment for fucking Draken instead of himself. He deserved that pussy more than Ken did, no doubt about it. He was bound to make you pay by crying for mercy.

You gagged as you tried to slacken your jaw even more as he thrust into your throat. The two men found a rhythm that seemed to suit all three of you at the same time. You felt yourself close to cumming finally, hand reaching up to cup Inui’s balls as tears lined your lower eyelids.

Your scream was muffled from your mouth being full, drool spilling out around his dick and onto the couch below. Your entire body shook with your orgasm, nearly falling down completely to the point where the two boys had to hold you up in order to continue.

Draken came with a grunt and a praise, filling up your hole with his semen. They both pulled out of you at the same time, Inui quickly sitting down on the couch and pulling you into his lap. Your back was towards him as he stuffed his cock into your cum filled pussy, turning so Draken could watch the fucked out look on your face as he thrust into you wildly.

Draken watched curiously, almost getting hard again as you sobbed from the overstimulation. Inui reached around to furiously rub your clit until you were cumming again, begging for him to slow down before you completely lost your mind.

Inui came with a rough jerk of his hips, his white seed intermingling with that of his business partner’s. You laid back against his chest, taking deep breaths as he absent-mindedly fondled your tits. His heartbreak no longer seemed to matter post-coitus. His dick was going limp inside of you but he dared not move.

Draken pulled his underwear back up and his jumpsuit, tying the arms around his waist to leave his chest exposed. “Happy anniversary, Inupi.” He said in a teasing tone as his friend flipped him off while you turned your head to kiss his neck tenderly. Inui stiffened at the affection, face darkening with a pink blush.

“Happy anniversary, asshole.” He muttered back before burying his face into your shoulder, his arms wrapped around your waist firmly. He never wanted to let you go, never wanted to pull out. He’d stay in this position forever if it meant that Draken could never have you again.

Want more TR content? Requests are currently open for drabbles and oneshots!

[canonicallyanxious]

hi! saw your last anon and sorry if this is annoying, but just wanted to ask u a question. i don’t know anything about d20 (assuming it’s like a d&d game) but i did watch all the free game changer episodes on yt and i’m lowkey obsessed and want more. is d20 the same kind of vibe, assuming it’s the same people? for someone who isn’t and has never played d&d would you reccommend starting d20? i kinda don’t want to pay for dropout, so maybe i’ll start with that :) have a nice day!

not an annoying question don't worry!! in fact i feel like i have to apologize in turn because i already know i'm going to be incapable of being normal about answering this question lol but me being verbose as hell on main, what else is new, etc. etc.

Re: whether d20 has a similar vibe to game changer -

so i'd say you're right in that d20 involves many of the people that are featured on game changer since they're both produced by collegehumor/dropout. as you might know Brennan Lee Mulligan who appears pretty often on game changer is the main DM for d20, and since d20 is an anthology show the casts rotate out every season but one of the most frequently recurring casts incudes Zac Oyama, Ally Beardsley, and Lou Wilson who are also pretty frequent guests of game changer [the others were also involved with Collegehumor at some point, can't remember if they've been on gc tho]. collegehumor folks sometimes appear in other seasons as well - for example rekha shenkar and lily du have been in multiple d20 seasons, jess ross and mike trapp have also featured, and there's even one season that's oops all collegehumor folks called Mice and Murder which is basically holmesian style turn of the century murder mystery but everyone is an anthropomorphized animal [dropout exclusive but the first ep is on the d20 yt channel]. so if you vibe with the humor and the personalities of the people who feature a lot on game changer, it's likely you will vibe with the humor and tone of d20 too!

that said, given that game changer is styled after a traditional competitive game show and d20 is an actual play show where people play tabletop rpgs together they are very different in the sense of genre. d20, while largely improvised [which believe me is a fact that will probably be hard to believe when watching it but is entirely true], is very much a collaborative storytelling effort between the people involved and makes very concerted efforts to present a tight and cohesive narrative through their seasons. so d20 is great if you like fictional narratives and fun and colorful characters, but if you want more traditionally unscripted content like gamechanger i recommend checking out:

dirty laundry [which is actually a spin-off of a gamechanger episode; hosted by Lily Du, first ep available on the CH yt channel]

make some noise [unfortunately i think right now all the make some noise eps are also dropout exclusive, here i have linked to the trailer, but it is another spinoff based on this honestly iconic game changer ep wherein Josh Ruben, Brennan Lee Mulligan, and Zac Oyama make weird sounds at each other and it's the funniest thing in the world]

Um, Actually [nerdy trivia game show hosted by Mike Trapp]

Rank Room [fyi it's an older show and they don't make it anymore but i still think it's a fun watch; hosted by Katie Marovich]

[do u see what i mean. i thought this first question would be a short answer skdfjnsdkjfnsdns so uh deep apologies for what will come after this bc i have THOUGHTS about your second question]

Re: would i recommend d20 for someone who has no experience with d&d -

short answer: yes absolutely 100%.

long answer: why do i so enthusiastically recommend d20 for people who have never played dnd? because i am a people who has never played dnd and d20 is one of my favorite shows ever! tbh i do think i am kind of biased as d20 is really the only actual play show i've ever been able to get into and i'm sure there are plenty of other shows out there that work for other people [if you're a podcast person for example you have tons of good options, i however am Not] but there are a number of reasons why I personally enjoy d20 as an actual play show:

I often struggle with other actual play shows because of how long and meandering they are. I think this is more of a personal preference thing because even when reading/watching more traditional forms of media i always tend to prefer tighter narratives with a clear ending in mind [e.g a 3 season show with a good finale is more compelling to me than an ongoing 10 season show with no ending in sight] but because d20 is an anthology show and each season is more or less a self-contained story aside from the few sequels i find it much easier to keep my attention on the episodes. to be sure the eps are still quite long, most ranging from 1.5-2 hours, but brennan + the other dms they feature on d20 do a really good job of keeping the pace moving while still giving the players freedom to explore the world and make their own narrative choices [which i think is one big appeal actual play shows has over other forms of media, the improvised and collaborative nature of the storytelling versus something that's already been fully scripted beforehand].

another thing i struggle with is how cumbersome dnd combat can be, personally i don't think it's the most accessible especially for people who have no ttrpg experience but d20's combat actually works pretty well for me because 1. they plan their combats before the season starts and especially in the earlier seasons of d20 they stuck pretty strictly to alternating between roleplay versus combat episodes so it's easier for me when i know kind of what to expect and 2. because they plan their combats in advance they are able to build INCREDIBLE custom battle sets with custom minis [shout out to Rick Perry!] and for me the visuals really help me keep my attention on the combat versus when combat is more theater of the mind [which to be clear does sometimes still happen in d20]. Tbh i still think combat can be a little clunky especially in the earlier seasons of d20 but i think the show has always gone to a lot of effort to create really creative and engaging combats for both the players and the audience and as it's gone on they've only gotten better at achieving this

in that vein i think the fact that d20 is 1. entirely filmed and 2. edited very well is VERY helpful for someone like me who has traditionally struggled with podcasts because the lack of visual context makes it hard to stay focused. as far as the editing goes i know some people prefer more of a livestream feel but just for me personally having the editing and the different camera angles and the sound cues and the music [d20 is really good at picking royalty free music for their soundtracks btw may i just say] gives me something more concrete to focus on and keeps it more visually interesting. and i do feel that they still make an effort to preserve the more natural/organic feel of ttrpgs by limiting their cuts story wise and focusing a lot on player reactions in the moment so for me it kind of hits the best of both worlds!

personally i think the choice for d20 to cast a lot of talented improv comedians is fucking inspired, especially when the show is so comedy-oriented. improv comedians are good at making bold choices on their feet, crafting rich characters while improvising their dialogue on the spot, and collaborating with each other, which are all skills that are very helpful for an actual play show context and everyone they cast on d20 is SO talented at all of these things. there are some players on d20 who also have little to no experience with dnd [notably Ally Beardsley has only ever officially played dnd on camera for d20; Rekha Shenkar and Mike Trapp in Escape From the Bloodkeep were also very new to dnd at the time] which on the one hand i think helps audience members like me who are inexperienced with dnd knowing some of the players are in the same boat but also they tend to make some of the wildest most out of the box choices as a result of being new to the game. so i think ultimately it's just a really fun combination and it's so much fun to watch in action!

and just a few more reasons why I consider d20 a favorite in a more general sense:

I mean Brennan Lee Mulligan as d20's main DM is a HUGE draw of d20 in my opinion. like if you were already a fan of him from game changer or other college humor content i think you will especially appreciate him in d20 because he is absolutely in his element here. actually last year i made a ppt for my friends about why i like d20 so much so here is a relevant excerpt:

i want to emphasize that d20 is a comedy-oriented show so tonally comedy is what it will prioritize. however i also want to emphasize that this does not mean it pulls any punches with the emotional depths it's able to reach. the themes and the worlds and the characters are SO rich and complex and compelling and I think i have experienced basically every human emotion and then some while watching this show. i also think it's incredibly character driven and does an amazing job of prioritizing character and relationship development and player agency, which is one of my favorite things to see in any kind of show!

and conceptually i just think it's so much fucking fun! it being an anthology show means there is something in here for everyone but i have enjoyed every season i have watched immensely [which is all of them except for one!] and have found it remarkably easy to become invested in every single one. you want to know what it would be like if dnd took place in a john hughes style teenage coming of age movie? or what if lord of the rings was about the bad guys but also it’s a workplace comedy? or how about an urban fantasy story set in modern day new york with a secret sixth borough hidden away in the world of dreams? you can have it all and more from d20! and this is just the seasons that are available on yt for FREE there are so many other cool and fun stories and worlds and dms to engage with!!!

tl;dr it's a good show and i like it very very much thank you for coming to my ted talk

[runningdownthatroad]

I just have to get this off my chest after seeing some very disturbing posts about 9/11 floating around on my dash as well as some truly crude commentary. A lot probably won't agree with my sentiments but I feel like this needs to be said.

I've seen a lot of things on Tumblr in the past that maybe I consider to be in poor taste or don't agree with but I usually just scroll past, sometimes block for curating sake, but today is the first time I truly was shell-shocked. To see the memes and blasé jokes people are making about this day are just absolutely horrific and appalling.

I get that a lot of people on this site now may not remember what happened that day and only learned second hand through school or media or other people telling them. I get that a lot occurred after this that wasn't right which we definitely should be learning from. I also get that there is a lot of anti-American and anti-white sentiments going around currently, especially on this site.

But here's the thing:

Not only Americans died that day. Not only white people died that day. That's the thing about terrorists and what these hijackers did: they don't care about your skin color, your culture, your religious preference, your sexual orientation, your gender orientation, your age, your economic status, your personality, whether you support them or not, your political persuasion, your job, or any of it. Everyone is fair game to them. For crying out loud, look at what the Afghani people are currently going through and how the Taliban are treating their own country's people, women especially. If you think this is bad (which it truly is), have you seen how things went under their rule before 9/11 even happened? Do you know their terrifyingly violent and brutal history? Women had acid thrown in their faces if they didn't wear a full hijab. People were mutilated or executed if they didn't fall in line with the law of the Taliban. And this doesn't even begin to go into Al-Qaeda or Isis. But I'm not here to talk about that or delve into that topic too much.

My point in mentioning all of this is that white Americans weren't the only ones that were killed that day. People of all faiths, of all colors, of different countries, died that day, too. And the unity that is consistently discussed every 9/11 anniversary is in regards to us being aware of that fact, us mourning all of their losses together, and the collective desire to come together and help once the planes hit and after the towers collapsed.

So when people say "why am I supposed to cry over white Americans getting killed that day" think about that. Not only white Americans died that day. And regardless of their color, their nationality, their culture, their religion, etc. anyone dying is always sad. Whether it be a jetliner being used as a weapon that crashed into their floor or someone dying of cancer or someone being killed in a mudslide or someone dying in a car accident -- it is always sad. And empathy should always be shown in response, even if it doesn't impact you personally. Let's not forget these people have loved ones that got left behind, that are still here.

So when people say "if something knocks into a cow and knocks it over, I'm not expected to care, but if something knocks into a building and knocks it over, suddenly I'm supposed to care?" think about that. People aren't grieving two large pieces of steel architecture. People aren't saying "always remember those two towers". The WTC Towers were a symbol (yes, for American wealth, I get it) but became so much more of a multi-faceted powerful symbol after 9/11. The towers represent a way of life before 9/11 happened, but more importantly they represent the people lost that day, who were in the towers when they collapsed. For all of the first responders who were stuck on those floors still trying to help evacuate people to safety when the buildings finally gave. The two footprints and two blue lights aren't a symbol of American wealth or a naivete and simpler way of life pre-9/11 - they are a symbol of memorialization for that day. The Freedom Tower was erected to show that despite the loss of that day, we stood united (even if there seems to be more and more division these days). It's a message to the world that yes, destruction and death happened that day in NYC, but so did rebuilding and life carrying on. It's a symbol of strength, resilience, and unity - something that was everywhere you looked days after this event occurred. The two towers (aka NYC) may have gotten knocked down but the city got back up. They weren't kept down - that's the point of the Freedom Tower.

When people say "I don't understand, what is it that I shouldn't be forgetting since I can't remember it anyway" here is what we all should be remembering despite our age or our connection (or lack thereof) with this event:

2,997 innocent civilians died that day. Among them were 343 firefighters, 37 police officers, 23 Port Authority police officers, 8 EMS workers, and 4 other first responders. Also among them were 246 people on the four planes that crashed.

The passengers of United Flight 93 made a choice to fight back against the hijackers and saved lives that day by sacrificing their own.

Many children lost parents. Many parents lost children. Many brothers lost sisters, and many sisters lost brothers. Many spouses lost their significant others. Many lost friends, family, and loved ones.

For those who want a better connection to this day who didn't experience it and/or don't remember it, and for those others who are seriously lacking in empathy: yes, it was a highly publicized event due to the hundreds of cameras (including media outlets) watching that day, but if the horrific images aren't enough to garner some of your empathy, then there are plenty of other resources at your disposal. Documentaries like 9/11 by James Hanlon and the Naudet brothers, 102 Minutes That Changed America (which shows you not only all of the first-hand eyewitness accounts that day but also lets you hear 911 calls, radio transmissions between firefighters, and people's reactions to the event and each other who were there), 9/11 Firefighters (on Discovery Plus) and even more recently, 9/11: The Turning Point (on Netflix) which provides a 360 degree view of the events that led up to 9/11, 9/11 itself, and what came after, displaying all different viewpoints. You can read the 9/11 Commission Report or there are several books and memoirs out there like Wake-Up Call by Kristen Breitweiser, or even historical accounts in books, newspaper articles, and online. But most importantly, listen to people's stories. The ones who were there, the ones who saw it happen, the ones who ran in to help, the ones who lost loved ones. That is the most important part and the most powerful. On Hulu, ABC News ran segments of 9/11 Twenty Years Later, "Women Of Resilience" being especially powerful. It's hard not to feel a human connection to these stories or any kind of empathy.

For those who are making these jokes and memes, if you like shows like 9-1-1 and Chicago Fire, etc, imagine those first responder characters rushing into those buildings to save lives and losing theirs in the process. If you don't remember 9/11 or feel any connection or empathy, imagine hundreds of Bucks or Eddies or Bobbys or Hens or Chimneys dying that day as they worked to save so many. Sorry to be so blunt because I love those characters too, but do you get a little bit of the connection now? Do you feel any empathy? I'm not trying to equate real life heroes and sheroes with fictional characters of course, but if it helps you to understand a little better in some way, well...I'm throwing it out there.

I myself lived in the Tri-State area at the time of the attacks. I remember seeing the second plane seconds before it crashed into the second building. I remember the devastation I felt watching the first tower collapse knowing that a loved one was most likely inside and how hard I cried thinking he was dead. (thankfully, he had been late to work that day and he got out of the area before the towers came down) I remember the relief and gratefulness we all felt hearing from him to assure us that he was alive when he finally was able to get to a phone, stating he was covered in dust and ash from the buildings. I remember the panic and fear we all felt, thinking the world was ending and we were all going to die, that this was it, this was World War III, after it was confirmed that the Pentagon had also been hit and there was also a downed plane in Pennsylvania. I remember the grief another loved one suffered because she lost her entire floor (she had been out sick that day) and every single one of her co-workers. I remember the race to pick up children from school and get them home as soon as possible. I remember the rage that coursed through us seeing the footage of some people in certain countries celebrating the attacks in the streets, enjoying the deaths of so many Americans, a couple of these countries who lost citizens themselves in these attacks. I remember the camping out in front of the televisions night after night for a week straight afterwards, watching the news 24/7, worrying that there might be more attacks. I remember the feeling of sheer terror anytime a plane was heard overhead or seen appearing low enough in the sky that you could practically make out which airline it was for months afterwards. I remember seeing the lights the first time they were lit from our home. I remember feeling pure fear not only for what happened that day but also what came afterwards (not yet understanding that these weren't practitioners of Islam that did this but radical extremists who had literally hijacked the religion). I remember seeing the devastation at Ground Zero through a tear in the fabric over a fence as we walked through the city months afterwards. I remember not wanting to fly for years. I remember the anger I felt that our government had failed us due to political bs between agencies and countless others (which we found out especially when the 9/11 Commission Report came out) and that because of this horrific and absurd failure, thousands of innocent people had died. I remember seeing the crushed ladder truck, and the toy of the little girl who was on one of the planes at the 9/11 Memorial Museum and all of the pictures in that room that just floored me. (I also remember being pissed off that many were treating it as a selfie op where they were allowed to take pictures, completely missing the point of the museum's existence) But most of all, I remember feeling that life would never be the same for any of us ever again, and that the feeling of safety we had naively enjoyed on September 10, 2001 would never return.

But I also remember the compassion and unity we saw rising in the country after those attacks. I remember the gratitude for all of our first responders, those we lost that day and those who were still with us, actively working to recover those lost and to clear Ground Zero. I remember the feeling of collectiveness, that we all shared grief and showed support to one another in those days afterwards. I remember the fallen heroes and sheroes who ran into those buildings, who were off duty but raced from wherever they were that day to come and help. I remember The Man In the Red Bandana aka Welles Crowther (and many like him who worked to save others) who has become another important symbol of that day. I remember hearing all of the stories of people helping one another before and after the towers collapsed. I remember the good that this day represents. That while we may have seen some of the worst of humanity that day in the form of violence, death, weaponized airplanes, and devastation, we also saw the very best of humanity in the form of our first responders and people helping one another.

Look, did Islamophobia happen? Yes. Was it right? No, absolutely not. As I stated above, I myself feared the idea of the religion until I was educated by a friend of mine about the difference between the religion and extremism. This form of hijacking ideology can be seen in examples like the Westboro Baptist Church or even Hitler. Terrorists do not represent the true spirit of Islam no matter what the former tries to force people to believe. Just as the WBC is not the true spirit of Christianity, and so on and so forth. But even during the time I had feared the religion before gaining understanding and clarity, I never confronted or mistreated any practicing Muslim or Arab-American. Ever. I never posted hate or spewed vitriol against them. Just like with the current pandemic, I still cannot believe there are people out there attack Asian-Americans as if this whole thing is their fault. That's still mind boggling to me and it is absolutely 100% WRONG. It should not be happening. Same with Islamophobia. And it breaks my heart to read that many Arab-Americans and practicing Muslims still worry when this anniversary comes around that they may be attacked. It might not mean much, but I just want to say I am truly sorry for that and you have my full support. Always.

Did we go to war and was it just? Yes we did go to war. Was it just? Afghanistan? I need more information in order to have a fully-formed opinion but there are plenty who say yes and plenty who say no. Plenty who say we made things better over there (before we exited and the Taliban advanced) and plenty who say we didn't and only made it worse. I truly cannot say which assertion is correct and I think it would be narrow-minded and completely moronic (and possibly arrogant and presumptuous?) of me to speak on a subject I know so little about, one way or the other. Iraq? No, I don't think it was just and I honestly wish we could go back and do things differently.

But coming back to 9/11 and what this day means for so many, the people who died, the people who rushed headfirst into danger, the people who lost their loved ones. We saw incredible bravery, selflessness, and compassion for your fellow human that day despite what happened. We saw the strength within ourselves despite the fear and anger. We saw resilience. That is what the anniversary is meant to be a reminder of. The sacrifices, the loss, the courage, and the strength. Black, White, Gay, Straight, Christian, Muslim, Man, Woman, Young, Old -- it didn't matter. We all came together.

So regardless of whether it's the cool thing to do right now on this site (or elsewhere) to hate on America or 9/11 or white Americans or the anniversary itself on the very anniversary of these attacks, I ask that you please consider when posting these hurtful (and frankly harmful) words of hatred and vitriol such as referenced above that there are people out there who lost their loved ones on 9/11, that yes some of them may be on this very site and going through the 9/11 tag, and that some of them may have even lost a loved one in either war and are again on this site reading your words. Regardless of what you think or feel, please consider them and tag appropriately if you're going to post. Please consider that some of these people are currently losing their loved ones due to 9/11-related illnesses because of the cleanup at Ground Zero. Please consider that there are children who lost a parent or loved one, or who were orphaned that day (yes, they exist, we had some in our school district) who are also on this site reading your words. Basically, please just consider and be considerate. Please stop spreading hatred on a day that happened due to hatred; please stop perpetuating that cycle.

Like Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

TLDR: Love and light, my friends. Love and light. ✌️❤️

[tittyinfinity]

Tw: prejudice amd misinformation against American Indigenous people

The American school system directly causes further oppression of Native Americans.

I am not speaking from the experience of Indigenous people, but from the experience of a white girl raised in the midwest, where the rampant misinformation in schools has caused many people I grew up with to have a skewed perception about Native Americans.

Unlearning my own prejudices has made me realized just how ingrained it is in public schools. And now my own son is being taught misinformation that I have to correct.

In every school I went to, this is what we were taught about Native americans (tw for misinformation about indigenous people):

Christopher Columbus was a hero that founded America and paved the way for Europeans to leave their corrupt countries

Colonials simply asked the native population to move somewhere and didn't hurt them

The "savages" (they really used that word) that already lived there were "evil" and tried to murder all colonials, so murders from the colonials were "self defense"

All the tribes were exactly the same and they all knew each other

There are no actual native people left

And here's the worst one:

When I was in Elementary school, every year, right before Thanksgiving, we had an "I*di*n Day". We would make "I****n clothes" out of brown paper, cutting fringes on makeshift shirts, vests, and dresses, gluing on beads to our outfits, making headdresses out of fake dyed feathers of all rainbow colors.

Then we would have a "powwow" in the gym. We would gather in a circle in our "i*di*n clothes". We had fake bows and arrows we made, and some drums from our music class.

An old, white lady teacher stood in the middle and would have us "reenact" native culture. Mind you, they think this is all native culture in general, not specific to any tribe.

She would say "okay kids, we're gonna pretend we're the chief! We're gonna go hunting for the tribe! Everyone pull out your bows and arrows!" Going into more RP, like....."look, there's a deer! Let's shoot it! Oh no, it's a baby deer. We'll let that one go. Oh no! There's a wolf coming after us! Run run run!" (around in a circle)

"Now it's time for the powwow!" *some people pull out drums "Now we will to Ind*an dances!!" *makes us hop around ridiculously while wailing "LOOODLOODLOOODLOODLLIOO" noises*

At 5-8 years old, we thought this was SO much fun. We had no idea just how horrible it was. That's how sinister these adults are, making sure people know from the time that they're kids not to respect Indigenous people.

"It's a good thing Columbus discovered these people so we know their culture now!!!!"

American public schools actively indoctrinate kids into having prejudices and relying on them to shape their knowledge of history.

And don't even get me started on what they do with black and LGBT history. But out of all the horrible things we were taught, this one is the worst when it comes to misinformation. They completely erased Native Americam history. I DIDN'T KNOW FULL BLOODED NATIVE PEOPLE WERE STILL IN AMERICA UNTIL I WAS A TEENAGER.

As young children, from the age of 5, this is what we were taught. In middle and high school, we had to write essays on these things they taught us. They taught us the same thing about *all* native Americans from kindergarten to graduating high school. And there are almost no fully Native people where I live, so people just trust what they learned. It's disappointing.

I'm so sorry for the horrible perception I had before I started doing my own research and listening to actual Native voices.

This post is in NO WAY trying to excuse the prejudices that white people still have towards Native Americans. The internet exists and adults have plenty of time to read the experiences and the correct history explained by Natives.

I just REALLY want to bring up how much of an issue this is in schools. We need to learn about Native history from ACTUAL indigenous people, not old white people who were taught even WORSE things when they went to school. And even then, it's not Indigenous peoples' responsibility to re-educate the white population. We need books in our schools written by Native Americans. We need to burn all the history books with misinformation. We need to show videos of Native Americans sharing their experience instead of little cartoons about Columbus "discovering" America.

American schools need to fix this. Immediately.

[potscenarios]

Hello! I'm so happy to see you/this blog active again! <3 Can I request headcanons on Tezuka, Atobe and Sanada having a date with their s/o on a romantic place? :D Thanks a lot!

Hi there! Um, I'd like to clarify something since I noticed people have been 'welcoming back' me / the blog: this blog is completely new! I used to have scenarios blogs last time but I've never written for POT fandom before! So if you used to visit a blog with this same name, I just want to inform you that I'm not the same person with whoever used to run the scenarios blog under this name until it was deleted. Sorry for any confusion!

Anyway, here you go, I hope this is ok ♡ 

Tezuka

Hiking and camping (especially on the mountains) are his favorite dates and he thinks it's plenty romantic because 1) a lot of opportunities to just sit down and have long, deep conversations, and 2) when night comes, the air typically becomes colder so you always end up asking to snuggle with him (and he secretly loves it) and lastly 3) he loves to just stargaze under the bright stars, with you laying beside him and pointing at the constellations while telling each other stories from your childhoods.

If you have interest in fishing, he'll gladly invite you to a fishing trip! It won't necessarily be a romantic date, but just indulge him, ok? If you're new in the whole fishing as a hobby, he'll patiently teach you all you need to know about it, starting from the beginning. With time, as you get better, he would secretly get a little competitive about who can catch the bigger fish.

Stay-in dates with Tezuka usually consists of silently reading books together, watching some movies, cooking for dinner and having dinner together, doing light stretching exercises together - just some simple spending time together. He might do something special for you from time to time, or whenever there's a special occasion for celebration. In those cases, he wouldn't mind splurging a bit by taking you out to a fancy restaurant or booking a skiing trip for the two of you.

"I don't say this enough, but... Being able to spend time with you like this, it feels like a dream. Thank you for being here. I'm grateful to have you on my side."

Atobe

Oh boy. Romantic dates are his specialty. He knows how to set the mood and he knows the right words to say to make you swoon. The moment you exit your front door, he's the perfect escort to wherever you're going. He compliments your attire (even if you're just wearing a simple hoodie), places a kiss on your hand, and throughout the date he'll make you feel like you're a descendant of some sort of royalty.

He prefers to be out and about, surrounded by people who can cater to your needs and makes sure your date is flawless. Candle-lit dinners. Amusement parks. Boating. Going to watch musicals or operas. Overseas or domestic travelling. It'll be up to you to suggest simpler dates like staying in to watch movies (instead of him renting out a whole theatre) or having a picnic for just the two of you and a homemade meal (instead of having butlers and maids waiting on you while you're eating finger food made by Michelin starred chefs).

Stay-in dates with Atobe aren't exactly normal, in the sense that he prefers to spend it at his mansion, which is full of butlers and maids catering to your every needs anyway. Still, he wouldn't say no if you invite him to your abode. He won't complain too much, since it's a new experience for him and he's discovering some new things in exchange - like how unexpectedly pleasant it feels when you're drying his hair with your mid priced hairdryer (it makes the drying time longer than he's used to, but your shampoo smells so good and your fingers feels heavenly while they’re combing through his hair).

"What kind of date should we do next? How about renting a cruise ship on our summer break? Ah, but that's too far ahead, huh? That reminds me, there's a private charity gala coming up and I think you'll be interested in the cause - should we attend it?"

Sanada

When it comes him, it's quite rare for you two to have a typical 'romantic' date, because Sanada himself isn't a consciously romantic person in general. His style of romancing you is by being traditionally chivalrous: opening doors, making sure you're not walking on the side of the road, making sure you're comfortable before anything, etc. But this is his original self; he doesn't try to be chivalrous, it's just his upbringing and personality.

For him, romantic dates = dates where you're spending quality time with each other, preferably in private. He isn't much of a talker so it could be hard to start conversations, but I feel like Sanada could be talkative when he's already way more comfortable with you and when it comes to things he truly cares about. You'll find yourself falling into deep conversations with him, especially regarding things like your personal beliefs, your values, and what you stand (or doesn't) stand for. He can go from "So... What's... Your favorite color?" to "At a glance, some traditions look meaningless to us who are living in this century, however I personally think there is an interesting lore behind every tradition that could become a learning experience for us, much like history - but what do you think?"

Stay-in dates with Sanada wouldn't happen unless you're some way later in your relationship, but it's going to be an interesting adventure for you if you've never lived in traditional Japanese houses! He especially loves it when it's after dinner on a cool summer night, and you both sit out on the engawa facing the inner garden, just enjoying each other's company while listening to the sound of the cicadas. There’s also just something about seeing you in the morning, dressed in a yukata and smiling sleepily at him at the breakfast table, that makes him feel all warm and content.

"Did you enjoy today's date? I didn't think going to an amusement parks would be such an enjoyable experience, but seeing you having so much fun was pleasant to witness."