#MOONCAKE YOURE SOS GOOD A DRAWING

[kandidandi]

AWWAHH HESSO COLOURFUL AND BEAUTIFUL THANK YOU MOONCAKE!!!!!

@kandidandi I drew your lil Suncatcher Sun because he’s adorable! 💕✨

[coldhndss]

──★ ˙ ̟ Blue Lock matchup No.5 @mooncakes-and-peaches

Hello! This is my last current matchup. I’ll be writing more soon as I have 3 shorter bonus ones planned for the few people who sent in after the cut-off. I’ll be opening them up again soon once I find I have more free time! I also have some special types of matchups planned so stay tuned!

So anyways, some of the things you noted in your matchup felt really refined and sort of sophisticated, in a way? So, with that, I decided to match you to Reo Mikage!

I know you’re anime only, and so matching you to Reo might not make much sense now, but his personality really shines through in the manga, and I might write a bit over my intended limit trying to prove that to you, so hear me out!

―୨୧⋆ ˚ “I'm a huge homebody. I enjoy watching TV… drawing occasionally.. writing ideas and characters for stories…” 

“…and working out (my goal is to look fit and I’ve actually managed to get some muscle!) I like playing tennis, but I have to be in the mood and the weather has to be right.” 

If you’ve read most of my matchups so far, I’ve said this same thing a few times, but most of your description sort of gave me Reo vibes (if that makes sense). We know that canonically, Reo is/was studious in school, achieved high marks and always performed well in what he did/does. Despite this, I feel as though he’d definitely enjoy staying home after a long day of training (as anyone else probably would). Though, Reo would definitely motivate you to play more tennis; he’d probably see potential in your skills despite you having specific conditions to be in the mood to play right! He’d also bring you along when he has training at the gym, and the two of you would train together, and this way, the both of you can meet your fitness goals together. Though on those off days when the both of you aren’t in the right mood to go to the gym, you’d stay home, and binge watch a TV show together, sharing a bowl of popcorn and different types of chocolates that he picked up from a super-high-end chocolatier earlier that day. I feel like Reo, being the rich kid that he is, is probably used to super refined tastes, like 95%+ dark chocolate. I’m not sure whether you like dark chocolate or not (personally, I absolutely love it) but if you don’t he’d try to convince you to try it, and if you do, the two of you would eat the box of chocolates together.

―୨୧⋆ ˚ “I'll let things slide here and there, but I've never been a big risk-taker/have been rebellious. At the same time, and I know this is contradicting, I'm a very lazy individual, but recently I've been doing better doing what needs to be done and more.”

Seeing as Reo is kinda a textbook spoiled rich kid, he also carries a little bit of a ‘look at me, I’m following the rules’ kind of personality, but not necessarily in a bad way. Seeing as you’re someone who seems to avoid trouble, he may see you as a ‘refined’ individual and take interest in that. We know that Reo is a huge business and stocks nerd, (duh) his family says it all. So, I’d imagine that he’d constantly yap to you about those types of things, asking you if you’ve seen the stocks today, and always telling you and about the shifting economic state of whichever country is on his mind today. I may be wrong about this, but in the case that you do know about those types of things (I def do not) I can imagine the two of you talking about it for hours. In the case that you don’t really know much about business-y type things, you’d listen to him talk and talk about something he read in a book he bought earlier that day, only to end his yap session by saying: 

“Well, I don’t really care since I don’t want my dad’s company anyway. I’ve got Nagi, and together, our soccer will…”. Congratulations, yap session number 2 is about to begin! Although, you don’t really mind, because seeing Reo finally have something to call his own brings a special type of warmth to your heart. His newfound motivation towards wanting to be good at something that he grew from nothing himself definitely makes you feel like you can motivate yourself to build your own skill at things that you already enjoy doing. 

I’d imagine that Reo would obviously bring you to meet Nagi. He’d take you along to watch him practice one time and introduce you to his closest friends (literally only Nagi, maybe Chigiri? – but I won’t spoil anything for you). Seeing as you didn’t mention soccer as one of your interests he might suggest that the three of you play a sport together one day, and you’d suggest tennis. With Nagi being the talented freak he is, his general skill in almost anything he does may physically exhaust you, with you opting to watch him and Reo go against each other in a match while you keep the scores. That’s not to say that you’re bad at playing tennis, of course. Nagi is (was) known to make these types of underhanded comments at another person who isn’t up to his skill level (😭). 

―୨୧⋆ ˚  “I don't have an aesthetic, I just like to wear whatever is comfy and don't really stray from my regular stuff (another thing I need to work on).”

Given his riches, Reo would obviously have expensive taste. If I’m not wrong, he wears designer clothes and all that jazz. So, seeing as you also have a super self-improving orientated mindset, (in my opinion) he’d always motivate you to do new things and open your avenues up a little. That’s why I think he’d pamper you with new clothes, or randomly take you ‘shopping’ where in reality he takes you to get one of those colour analyses, where the person would help you figure out what colour ‘looks best’ on you. He’d pay extra attention to it and buy you things based on what the analyst says. Of course, he takes it with a grain of salt, and lets his personal opinion seep through when buying you gifts. As for you, you’d give him a little ‘fashion show’ where you try on the clothes he bought you so as to not disappoint him, even if they’re not really your style. In the end, you’d pick out a couple pieces that you ended up liking a lot and scold him for splurging (just because he has tons of money, doesn’t mean he should spend it all!). He’d also take note of the types of things you ended up keeping and use it as reference for his next shopping haul for you. From personal experience, he knows that money isn’t the only thing that can keep a person happy, so he definitely tries to not overwhelm you with all his gifts and stuff. Seeing you smile and be content is one of the most important things to him, and he’d be absolutely torn if he was the reason for you to feel any sort of sadness.

[divingtheobscure]

The Library Chapter 1

Morning shines through Cloud Cliff mountains again. A lush land of tower mountains, where residents live at the top of their own little mountain, each one has a house of their own. Yet you wouldn’t call them neighbors, the distance is so far away from your house and other houses that it’s impossible to see each other. All they would see is a little dot house. That’s what you always see, and that’s what made living in Cloud Cliff Mountain quite lonely at times. Even though you know you’re not really alone in this land. The lights you can see in the houses at night says otherwise. Along with the smoke coming out of their indoor furnace. Still, you never really got to know any of the residents of Cloud Cliff Mountain, you’re always too busy organizing your library, tending to the garden, and reading a book that caught your interest, or maybe even a book you want to read all over again thanks to how compelling it is.

An example of this is the book you hold in your hands right now, called ‘The paper Menagerie’.

That will have to wait until tomorrow though, as clearing out the dust is a must. There’s also the fact that you must tend to the peonies in your garden. And after all of your chores are done, you finally have a chance to enjoy the serenity Cloud Cliff Mountain has to offer.

At least, that was the plan.

“Done!” You heaved out a satisfied sigh at your work, the gazebo is looking good as new! Now that the dust and dried dead leaves are gone, you can set out and enjoy a nice relaxing afternoon with some tea and mooncakes. Choosing a book to read is not even a challenge, as there’s only one book in mind that you want to read. That’s right, the paper menagerie. You already have the book in hand, all you need to do is make the tea. Luckily you stored some already dried crush tea leaves from yesterday. All you needed to do was get the water boiling. While the water boils on the kettle you placed over the stove, you take your time trying to plan out your next schedule for tomorrow. Since you haven’t had so much free time lately, it’s almost hard to think of what to do outside of reading books.

You could try new hobbies.

“Drawing? Calligraphy? Hm, what else?” There’s got to be more than that.

You made lists of hobbies you could try, using the characters in your books as a reference to what you should do. And out of all of them the first two you mentioned to yourself caught your attention the most.

Knock Knock Knock

. . .

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“You’re in the wrong house!” You yelled out to the window, you felt bad for the messenger birds the fellow residents have. They always come to your house by mistake, you guys made a routine though, three knocks mean they’re there to send a message, and five knocks mean they want to stop by and rest, and that’s when you would bring them water too. But as you looked at the window where the birds usually show themselves, you found no birds. Not even the usual hawk from the resident with the red roof.

“How very odd.” You commented, flinching a bit when you heard the loud knocking again. This time, it’s coming from your front door. . .

You stood up and walked over to the door. Debating in your head if you should open it or not. It can’t be a friend, for you have none. It also couldn’t be one of the residents either, the only way they could come here is to take one of the bridges. Something no one in the village has ever done, they always use messenger birds to get around communicating in this place. Oh! You wish there was a small window on your door so you could see who it was. But it’s also rude not to let anyone in, this could just be a small mistake and you can just tell them they’re in the wrong house.

“Hello! Is anyone home? I’m kinda looking for someone named (Y/n)?”

Shoot looks like there’s no getting out of this. The voice was that of a man, they seem to pose no threat judging by the sound of it. Oh, what the heck, you reached your hand out, and you opened the door. Expecting to see the sight of one of the residents, you weren’t expecting much, just a normal man who dressed like, a farmer, a scholar, or any other normal clothing. Except, none of those expectations were met. Standing before you is someone who wore golden armor that could only have been granted by the gods, so prestige and so glorious. And standing before you, is not a man, but a monkey with golden eyes standing in his two feet.

“Ah hey! You finally answered! Do you happen to know—”

SLAM!

You didn’t even give the monkey a chance to finish before you slammed the door in his face. You rubbed your eyes, trying to think and process what you had just seen. You gotta be hallucinating, you just gotta. There’s no way something like that would exist. Let alone be physically possible! The monkey is taller than you! No monkey like that could ever exist! There was knocking again, and out of instinct you opened the door again and were met with the same sight.

“Hey! That was kinda rude there. Is that really how you would greet the legendary monkey king?” While the monkey. . . king? Poses in the most epic way he can, you just stood there. Confused out of your mind.

“Monkey. . . King?” After you made your confusion known, that’s when the monkey had a look of realization wash over his face.

“Wait, are you serious? Dang Guanyin wasn’t kidding when she said no one in this village knows me.” The monkey whispers the last part, but you heard it very clearly.

You froze when you heard her name, Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion. And the only one outside of Cloud Cliff Mountain who knew of this place “I’m sorry, but who are you?”

You finally asked, thinking about it you should’ve asked it first.

“Oh Right.” The monkey cleared his throat before bowing.

“I am Sun Wukong, the Monkey king. And I am here to ask for your help.”

[thesquishiee]

Let's start a new ask game. Name your 5 top ships for the show you are currently obsessed with and send this message to 10 last people that interacted with your posts. Hope you have a good day! ^^

NO IDEAR WHAT AN ASK GAME IS but let’s play

I barely watch shows on TV I’m a YouTube girlie LMAO I wouldn’t have many ships going off of shows so I’ll do my top 5 League ships if that’s ok ^^ ( prepare for the yapping )

1: Nami/ Yasuo ( SB universe ) || my drawings of them say it all, she thinks ‘I can fix him’ and he’s like ‘holy shit she can fix me’. Then they fix each other because they can find good in one another and live a happy domestic life because SQuishie one draws good endings

2: Aphelios/ Sett || I’m sorry I just think they’re cute. Big buff man gets soft for cute moon boy. I think the pair is cute in every AU but especially in SB. Mooncake 🥮💙

3: Jhin/ Hwei || IM BASIC IK but I just. Like them. A lot. I think they’d hold hands and stuff and draw and maybe accidentally kinda sorta murder a lil bit….

4: Thresh/ Yone ( SB universe ) || Hot men. That is all.

5: Kayn/ Myself || I’m not sorry. He’s mine. SQuishie’s brain says pretty pixels on the screen :3

Hope this was good enough for youuuuu

ALSO HOW DO I SEND THIS TO PEOPLE TO MAKE IT GAME

[duckwithablog]

-🍑 anon

GahHh my heart! 🥹 I just finished reading the backstory of your account.

I too have had online friends that disappear, and got busy with life. I can totally relate to that. It’s sad to see their accounts get seemingly abandoned. I hope they are doing well too.

Furthermore, I can tell you were a wonderful friend to them! It warmed my heart to see how much you care about them. 🤧 gah! I need to find myself friends like you.

I also read fics on every platform possible XD. I started out on wattpad in 2017, and I’ve been reading fics for 6 years now. I actually had written fics on wattpad and tumblr myself. Not for LMK though- for another fandom I’m in. I mostly spend my time drawing and reading, but perhaps I’ll get back into writing again. Who knows 👀.

Ps: You have to try peaches! The monkey man has good taste- Trust the monkey! Well, then again, I grew up canning peaches with my late mother, so perhaps I’m biased 😅. Also, ‘Mooncakes’ as a ship name is adorable, especially for Macaque.

Yeah real life do be like that sometimes,, all we can do is just manifest that everything good happens to them, because thats what they deserve!!

And thank u!! And erm,, we can be friends,, if u want,, looks at u intently

also ayo 6 years?? I forgot how long I've been reading fics, but I think it's somewhere around your count as well. OUGH THAT MAKES ME FEEL A BIT OLD... Oh well. And eyy!! Another (potential) writing buddy!! If you ever want someone to hear abt a premise/concept for a story you got in mind, I'm always free to listen!!

Alr gonna trust the monkey on this one..... Only bcs peaches look SO scrumptious like, zamn- even if I dont end up liking it, itd look so aesthetic that I wont even be mad. Ur mom's pretty based for doing that w u btw, peaches look cool as hell.

AND YEAH I WAS SO PROUD OF THAT NAME WHEN I CAME UP WITH IT HAHSCHF it was like i was struck with knowledge from the gods above, and i used it to create a Macaque x Y/n ship name for my friends fic. The knowledge was put to good use, imo.

[bakery-cake]

Bakery

Bakeries have been a staple of communities around the world for centuries, providing fresh bread, pastries, cakes, and other baked goods to locals. From small family-run businesses to large commercial operations, bakeries are an integral part of many cultures and are often associated with warm memories and comforting aromas.

The history of baking can be traced back to ancient civilizations, where people would cook dough over hot stones or in earthen ovens. As time passed, bakers began experimenting with different ingredients and techniques, leading to the development of a wide range of baked goods. Today, bakeries offer an array of products, from traditional sourdough bread to creative and complex desserts.

One of the main draws of a bakery is the freshness and quality of their products. Many bakeries pride themselves on using high-quality ingredients and taking the time to prepare each item from scratch. Whether you are looking for a flaky croissant, a gooey cinnamon roll, or a hearty loaf of bread, a good bakery will have something to satisfy your cravings.

In addition to the delicious baked goods themselves, bakeries also offer a unique atmosphere that can be both cozy and inviting. The smell of freshly baked bread and pastries can be incredibly comforting and can transport customers back to childhood memories or happy moments. Some bakeries even offer seating areas where customers can enjoy their treats while sipping on a cup of coffee or tea.

Bakeries also play an important role in many cultural traditions and celebrations. From birthday cakes to wedding desserts, bakeries are often called upon to create special and unique treats for customers. In some cultures, certain baked goods are associated with specific holidays or religious events, such as hot cross buns during Easter or mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Finally, bakeries have adapted to changing times and tastes by offering a wider range of options. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for gluten-free, vegan, and other specialty baked goods, and many bakeries have risen to the challenge by creating products that cater to these dietary restrictions.

In conclusion, bakeries are more than just places to buy bread and pastries. They are integral parts of many communities, offering delicious and comforting treats, unique atmospheres, and cultural connections. So next time you pass by a bakery, why not step inside and treat yourself to something sweet?

for more details visit www.thesweetsin.com

[deutoplasmic]

riGHT LIKE FREE HIM HE DID NOTHING WRONG hes just the best feminist lgbt ally pro-palestine boy ever i love him

i think the terrible audio adds to the charm LMAO fighting for your life to hear what people are saying just like god intended /j

sometimes my mom makes cookies!! i dont do much baking other than the mooncakes nowadays but i used to help out a lot as a kid

RIGHT LIKE UNTIL KNOW IM STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THEY WERE JOKING OR NOT,,, like ik masaya’s academic score was low,,, but like,,, hes not. stupid. is he? Is He-

yea short program is like. a bunch of oneshots lmao they each have their own storyline and tbh its adorable (except rukis i dont like rukis story tbh 😭 but its ok i can just stare lovingly at his face. and the actress’s face too bc all the actresses are really pretty) i recommend watching it!! i have the 🏴‍☠️ site if you need it 😶

and yes i draw too!! >< i mostly do portraits and some animations!! i lowkey gave up on traditional art because the cleanup process makes me lazy 😭 i do knit and crochet though!! and i wanna get into 3D soon 👀

YEA THATS WHEN HE NEVER UPLOADED THEM LMAO 😭 he was GROVELING i found it cute ngl i like pathetic losers 😩

ill compile some song recommendations rn btw! about to expose my stan list lowkey lmao

FACTS!!!!!!!! love him so much for that like come on. a man like that???? from CHINA, notorious for being homophobic no less?????? he is such a guy

OK OK i can understand that. sometimes you need the shit ass audio for the best experience 🙏 usually i just read subtitles but i read too slow in chinese to keep up so it's just english for me lmfao 😔

omg cookies are sooooooo sooooooooooooo good idk i think i mentioned loving subway cookies at some point. favourite kind of cookies are the soft chewy but kind of firm around the edges ones. oh my god. what cookies do you like!!!!!

i wouldn't be surprised if they were being fr..... like surely not but in my heart i know it's prolly real 😰 omfg all my ini faves except yudai were at the DEAD BOTTOM OF THE TEST. truly a wake up call. thank god my tentative dxteen bias did well on his, but still. jumpscare

wait omg that sounds like a bunch of fun! true problem solving is just staring at cute people LOOOOOL and god i love participating in a bit of yo ho ho behaviour i would greatly appreciate the link!!!! i'll prolly get to it when it's holidays so uh. uh

omg portraits!!!!!! and animations you have so much patience. how do you get the multiple drawings of the same thing in mildly different poses to look the same. you are so cool. and ok yeah working with paints is so much effort........ but WHAT you knit!!!!! and crochet!!!!!!!! that is so cool knitting is crazy omg... i can crochet but it is so much effort just to do smth so the dedication is so cool

OK YEAH THAT WAS HILARIOUS i don't think i've ever heard him so ruined. also yeah . ok . we are on the same boat . losers are so very !!!!!!!!!

omg don't worry my kpop list is so biased towards infinite oh i love them so much.... who do you like??

[notoriouslydevious]

Twitter is fucking weird. IT’S FAN ART.

Haven’t posted my personal thoughts on tumblr in a LONG time and after seeing what I saw on my TL, I just wanted to get everything off my chest. I’ve been posting more settphel fan art on here, but as I’ve stated before, I’m not really a fan of the ship; however, I can appreciate the artists work who draw the ship. Something people on twitter can’t do. 

Apparently someone drew SB Sett & Aphelios with their own OC and it made Settphel-GayLeaguetwt explode? Of course, Bitches- I mean, Witches, is at the forefront (are we even surprised?). Here’s the art in question: 

Sett and Aphelios with Ace’s friend’s OC in the middle. Their oc is absolutely adorable, just vibin’ in the middle of Sett and Aphelios. 

Tweet that started it all:

a mutual of witches said they thought the artist’s oc was cute. This was their response:

Peak intelligence. Destroyed them with facts and knowledge. I don’t know if they’ll ever be able to recover. Even more quote retweets:

“Can we have anything?” How does this take away anything from you? A single piece of fan art in the PLETHORA of Settphel fan art. As someone else mentioned; GravesTF was confirmed this year, Ezko in pulsefire, Lee Sin & Udyr, Aphelios in Sett’s Firecracker splash and now Settpehl in SB? I guess all of these dont count anymore because someone drew fan art of Sett & Aphelios with someone in between them.

People calling the pic “homophobic” even though Sett was hinted to be Bisexual by his narrative writer for the skin line. While people HEADCANON that Aphelios is mlm or ace, he hasn’t been confirmed by Riot as either. So, no, not homophobic. This commenter biphobic? most likely. 

“I hate women making mlm relationships be about them”  “How dare someone draw these characters, that I don’t own, the way they want! They’re so selfish!” 

This was the comment that pushed me to making a post:

“Seems disrespectful” to who? Random people on twitter.com, who ship two fictional characters? How is this fan art ‘disrespectful’? Better, why do you feel disrespected by it? The fan art wasn’t made for YOU, so if you feel disrespected, that sounds like a you problem. Also implied (where?) =/= canon. No where in lore or voice lines, (as of right now) has stated that Aphelios is mlm. I would say that it’s headcanoned by a majority of the Settphel community, but remember, your head canon =/= canon.

They have since deleted their original thread but they’re still quote retweeting:

Again, how does this one piece of fan art erase your representation? This artist’s fan art isn’t canon. Riot themselves didn’t make official promo art of Sett with Soraka or changed his voice lines so he doesn’t call Aphelios mooncake. Settphel is still “canon” whether artists draw them with other characters or not. (also the “I was bi for half my life,” good for you? Dont know what that has to do with fictional characters and a piece of fan art = erasure. It’s giving “I have a black friend” energy.) Also, “people with too much free time,” yet you made a whole ass thread about how “disrespected” you felt about a piece of fan art and continued to talk about it in quote retweets AND in dms after you deleted said thread so...  

Doesn’t matter if it’s canon or not, stop trying to police what artists can and cannot draw. Fan art DOESN’T HAVE TO BE CANON, IT CAN BE WHATEVER THE FUCK PEOPLE WANT IT TO BE BECAUSE IT’S *THEIR* FAN ART. I cant believe that has to be said. There are HUNDREDS of other artists on twitter actually drawing Sett and Aphelios together. I’ve only seen a couple of people draw Settraka and other art like this because psychos dogpile and harass these artists into either deleting the artwork or privating/deleting their account. Yummy, bullying people over fucking fan art. Someone pointed out, “people bully settphel artists too because they don’t like settphel” to which I say, don’t ever bully ANYONE. PERIOD. You don’t like what the artist drew? Block & mute, baby. Leave them alone, let them and mutuals enjoy their art/ship in peace. No one gives a fuck and needs to hear you announce that you don’t like it.  I’ll personally say on my own tumblr blog, “I’m not really a fan of [insert ship here]” but if I ever do make that comment, it’s usually followed by, “but I definitely can appreciate the artist’s work and I like the artist’s style.” Again, I’d never comment that under the artist’s post; I’ll say it in my own personal space. I’ll just give them a like, maybe a retweet and keep on scrolling. They don’t need to know that I’m not into that ship. They probably also dont care and have enough people already telling them that anyways. They didn’t draw it for me, they drew it because they liked it.  “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I’ve been being a lot better about typing up something to someone else and just thinking to myself, “its not worth it” and deleting the whole thing. I’m not gonna change their mind and they aren’t going to change mine so why bother, you know? Here is my own personal ranting space so it’s a bit different.

And yes, before you point out how this isn’t the only fandom that’s toxic and how toxic other fandoms are, like the genshin fandom, almost everyone pictured here is also part of the genshin fandom. Coincidence? No. Toxic individuals of a feather are gonna flock together lol. 

A cherry on top: 

“I’m going to need to take a break from the community because someone drew fan art of two characters, that I don’t own, with their own oc, and it made that me upset.” Bruh.💀 Fucking toddlers, man. Alright everyone, lesson of the day is: you’re not allowed to draw anyone with anyone else except their canon significant other or the most popular head canon. Yes, I’m going to police what you draw and if you draw what I dont like, it’s erasure and it hurts my feelings. :’c Y’all can only draw what I like, okay? Okay.  But seriously like... bruh. Over ONE. SINGLE. PIECE. of fan art. In the OCEAN of Settphel fan art that’s all over twitter, some settphel fans felt so attacked and butthurt that this person drew one picture of Sett and Aphelios with their OC.

The artist didn’t give a shit about their feelings and drew this in response. All I gotta say is power to ‘em.  

It’s giving:

You’ll always hear me say, as long as it’s not illegal, gore, incest, etc, ship what you want to ship. I’m also going to add to that, let other people ship what they want to ship. Someone drawing the two characters you like not together and with someone isn’t erasure or a personal attack. Sett and Aphelios aren’t your OCs, and artists can draw them doing whatever they want. 

[difx-writes]

Wildest Dreams - In the Death of the Night

Masterlist

After turning 10 and losing her soulmate, Marinette would imagine how Damian Wayne would be.

Would he be tall or short? Did he have blond hair or brown or did he dyed it? Would he be shy or have a bold personality? Perhaps he was an artistic soul, a poet, a writer? Or would he be a baker like her parents? Why did his last name change?

The wonders and questions took over her mind for days with no end.

On good days, she imagined how he would interact with her friends, how her parents would take him in as their own son, how he would fit into her life.

She liked to talk to him, pretending there, alive, with her. She asked his opinion on what to wear, how she should do her hair, what colors with go well with the design. He was her voice of reason. Talking to "Damian" brought a smile to her face, even when she knew she was deluding herself.

On bad days, she pretended he was right there with her, comforting her, encouraging her, whispering that everything would be alright... Sometimes it worked and she felt better the next days but most times she felt bitter, she felt robbed of a future where he was in her life.

The realization that the person she was supposed to share her soul with was no longer alive, that his death was painful, gruesome, and... lonely... It always ended with her taking a few days to prevent a breakdown...

When she turned 13, Hawkmoth appeared and Marinette became Ladybug, the hero of Paris.

Soon after, Marinette stopped talking with "Damian", she couldn't afford to wonder about him anymore. She couldn't afford the bliss of her own delusions. She couldn't afford to let herself grief and fall pray to Hawkmoth's manipulation.

As she couldn't fail Paris and its citizens, Damian Wayne mostly disappeared from her life.

But there were days when her “friends” demanded a lot from her, akumas were too violent and draining and everything was just too much, those the godawful days.

On godawful days she wished Damian was there to take her away to a place she could feel she belonged. Away from everything to a place she could call a home.

_______

Most nights Damian recalls a voice talking to him during the time he was dead.

His soulmate, he supposed, talked to him regularly, she started her day asking his opinion on her outfit for the day, when at home she would tell him how her day went, what she did with her friends, what she learned in class, etc...

At first, Damian was pretty much annoyed that he couldn't "rest in peace" with all the noise pollution but after a few weeks, he slowly started to tolerate her talking to him.

Unfortunately, he couldn't talk to her nor see her very clearly so it was a pleasant surprise when Marinette would ask his opinion to make a decision, she always picked what he chooses.

Perhaps it was their bond that allowed her to know what he was thinking without actually hearing each other's thoughts. Or maybe they were more in sync with one another. Most likely it was pure luck on her part. (Him being dead is enough proof of how bad his luck was.)

In the months he was dead, Damian learned a grand lot Marinette. He liked how she made him feel he wasn't alone, like how her voice calmed him when he remembered the family he left behind in his death. Marinette was his only lighthouse in the vast void of the afterlife

_______

Impotent, despair, and hopeless.

That's how Damian felt every time Marinette had to relive his death. He hated it so much. She didn't deserve that and it broke his heart every damn time.

Why did he have to die? Why did it have to be in such a painful way? Why did she have to feel it on repeat over and over and over again? Was it a twisted way the universe tried to make them reunited? If they can't find each other in life, then they can be together in death? That isn't right!

But it always hurts more when she wakes up and talks to him. Wondering if he was happy and in peace, in wherever place he ended up.

He was there but she didn't know.

He felt sick.

After being revived, Damian felt an immense sense of loss. Sure, he was kinda happy to reunite with his family and grateful for being alive again, but he missed her.

It was difficult to readjust to being alive again, it was crystal clear that Damian Wayne wasn't okay. What hurts him the most was how her name turned into a scar on his wrist.

During the day paranoia settled in making him always on high alert, lashing out when it got too much for him.

In the night, he couldn't sleep properly as a feeling of unease latched onto his every nerve and when he did sleep, nightmares plagued him.

Damian tried to calm down in various ways, but ultimately it was Marinette's voice that soothed him and lulled him to sleep.

It quickly became a habit to replay their one-sided conversations as he tries to fall asleep.

He went over what Marinette Dupain-Cheng spoke to him time and time again as to engrave her voice in his mind. Unfortunately, her voice was fading away, every time he recalled it, he hear his own voice.

At least some memories remained, which was relieving for Damian, even when important ones like what language she spoke or the name of her school were completely wiped out.

He never told his family his experience while he was dead, he guesses Jason was the most likely to know about it but he never brought it up to anyone, so Damian did the same.

Now he was lying in bed, remembering about the time Marinette tried embroidery for the first time.

She started by searching up what she wanted it to be and after much talking, she chose a Robin, Damian smile at the eagerness he felt for her to chose it. It was a fun day, with her making comments here and there about the work, he wishes he could see it.

A knock woke him up of his thoughts, Alfred emerging from the door.

"Master Damian, I'm here to inform you a guest will be joining us for tomorrow's dinner."

"Whose guest?" He didn't really feel like dealing with new people.

"It's Master Jason's guest."

Damian groans, perhaps he could go visit Kent.

"It would be in your best interest to participate, Master Damian." Alfred gave him a look.

He sighed, definitely can't miss tomorrow or he'll have to face Pennyworth.

So, I've written another chapter while listening to a sad song on repeat :') I know it doesn’t really connect to the last chapter but I wasn’t feeling okay and didn’t know how to continue from where I left off.

I hope y’all enjoyed this and have a nice day!

P.S.: The taglist is temporarily closed as some tags aren't working. Again, I'm very sorry if I missed anyone. If you no longer want to be tagged please hit me up.

Taglist:

@thestressmademedoit @moonlightstar64 @dast218 @moonystars14 @buticaaba @urbanpineapplefarmer @thedragonbug  @little-lady-bird @an-actual-changeling @ladybug-182 @ash-amg @g-arya @nnon-it-up @hateswifi @maribat-is-lifeblood @kikooaaaaaa @jessigurl-design @vixen-uchiha @acoursedprophetwithasmothie @snow-leopard-777 @theatreandcomicfreak @zalladane @fusser90 @finallyaniguana @danielslilangel @dreamykitty25 @corabeth11 @ellymae21 @books-and-left-behind-journals @hetalia-lover-is-here @dorkus-minimus @magic-miraculous @waywardpeachgardenshark @darkthunder1589 @jaggedheart11 @daminettes @todaylillypads @schrodingers25 @pheonixashtree @mikantsume @eliza-bich @miraculous-simmer7 @goblinwhoships @fidget-eep @rosalineandrosemary @lunarwolfspn @more-or-less-human-i-guess @aestheticnpoetic @amayakans @abrx2002 @karategirl119 @agentofscifi @flower-and-drawing @itsmeevie01 @suddenly-i-kin-oikawa @ii-fox-demon @thatonecroc @dawnwave16 @bigpicklebananatree @violentbisexualprophecywriter @scribblinggraveyard @heaven428 @toodaloo-kangaroo @ravennightingaleandavatempus @chylou34 @silvergold-swirl @magictragic-world @snowstar1016 @heldtogetherbysafetypins @awkwardoneout @novicevoice @thenillabean @bookishdork13 @laurcad123 @thezestywalru @k-poplunardreams @coloursforyourportrait @fandomsaremylifeline @goddessofthewestwind @captainmac6 @chocolatecatstheron @princessanimeangel11 @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @ur-beautiful-when-u-smile @batlover1303 @softlysobbingpostendgame @justconfusedperiod @clumsy-owl-4178 @bluesimani @iwritelikeimrunningoutoftime @kokotaru @totalyasexual @professionalfangirl1738 @nitholites @zestyzealot @pawsitivelymiraculous @autiegirlshit @raz-b-rose @thanks-captain-obvious @emilytopaz @nightstarblue @2confused-2doanything @niknak-3 @blackroserelina @fortunatelyoptimisticdeer @ira-sairain @pepelachanel @naimena @iloveitwhen @disneyfoxuniverse @ur-average-reader @lylshyt @jerusalemandolives @anonymously-odd @southamericanghotamite @a-star-with-a-human-name @we-want-mini-mini @literallytryingmybestbutok @alenee13 @animegirlweeb @our-preciousss @prudencerika @byronsacademics @ivymala07 @shamefullove @susiej1118 @technicallyburninggarden @sentimentalcrap @ertyzeta @tomanyfandomsonmymind @starmist19 @synnesstra @nokia75 @swiftie-miraculer13 @solideogloria172 @a-door-into-my-mind @road-work-ahead123 @madking-warqueen @caseoftheblues @buginetye @ihavehomeworkbutistillhere @i-wanna-go-to-outerspace @insane-fangirl-of-everything @ultimatetornshipper @chaoticstarworld @adrestar @wolf-for-life @blacktea-ba @pinkk-sheep @autiegirlshit @chocolateherringtacofan @blackroserelina @samopotahto @blur-of-colours @stainedglassm @redbullgivescaswings @khneltea @amigotasbien @sdg-demachera @alyssadeliv @greatcatblaze @raesofmoonlight @galla02006 @sunflowers-and-mooncakes @novaloptr @qualitypeacepainter @solangelo252 @unnamed2357 @thespianlesb @mildlydeadly @yuriyuhitsu @hewantedbeefintheparkinglot @literaryhiraeth @luna025 @henie04 @trashesa @castle-bookworms-world

[deviant3lover]

💥🌙 🔮❤️ for your step? perhaps?

Heya Lovelies! Of course! I love talking about Markus!!

💥 Are there any emotions your OC doesn’t know how to deal with, doesn’t understand or hates having to feel? Any reason behind this?

Markus despises his own vulnerability and hurt. He has been betrayed, abandoned, sold out- used. Played for a fool by people he loved. He has his masks and facades to cover up his wounds by default, but on the inside, he has no shortage of self-hatred for his perceived weaknesses. 

He doesn’t know how to deal with people who genuinely loving him for who he is. Even back as Sidestep, there were a lot of crucial key info that he kept hidden for good reasons. Someone like Chen knowing who he is, and liking him- trusting him even, has him believing he unconsciously used his telepathy on Chen to get that result.

Even in the best case scenario where his loved ones know he’s a Re-Gene and a reformed villain, the fact that they know about sensitive info on him has him alert and uncomfortably aware of this. Like knowing your lover is scrolling and exploring your phone with your consent. You may have allowed them to do so, but you’re still very aware of what they’re doing, and how things had lead up to that moment.

I think that unless he goes to therapy to address this, Markus will always unconsciously dismiss the feelings his loved ones have for him. Years of hiding your complete authentic self away leaves its own wounds, and Markus finds it easier to emotionally distance himself in his relationships until they look like the ones that he’s had before as Sidestep: being a confidant to many, but not trusting anyone else the same way with his own scars and vulnerabilities.

🌙 What are some of your OC’s favourites? Favourite food, colour, season, stuff like that! Give some general simple facts that tend to get overlooked!

Markus LOVES monochromatic scales, especially black. The colours are neutral, and can be paired with almost any other colour, or be just as good by themselves.

He loves loves LOVES sweets! But he is especially partial to those that have an equal icing-to-cake ratio. He can enjoy and appreciate sweets that don’t fall under this rule, but he wouldn’t personally go for them. (E.g. Mooncakes, cheesecakes, cupcakes, etc.)

Outside of that, he’s pretty partial to seafood. Especially eel and octopus. Fish is a staple, and a cheaper favourite of his as well.

He has a pretty sweet love for winter as a season. The delicious seasonal treats aside, the season holds many fond memories for him. Christmas is one of the few times that Markus would let himself get sentimental and softer for. Many Christmas parties were had among friends, and it was most likely one of the few ways people could actually draw him out to socialise for once. It’s a special occasion with lots of food, so he lets himself go for that if nothing else. 

He loves the night. He loves the full moon. The latter was the first real beautiful thing he had seen after living a deceptive life as a spy, surrounded by people whose lives were dominated by artifice and manipulation. 

It was under the full moon that he christened himself his new name. He had his own private ceremony for it.

As Sidestep, his mindscape was a deep blue night, stars in the sky with the full moon a glowing celestial body in the sky. As Knight, the sky is fractured like the shards of a broken mirror.

And the moon is nowhere to be seen.

🔮 What does your OC think is their best trait. What is actually their best trait? What about their flaws? Are they one to admit these flaws or do they like to pretend they’re perfect?

Markus would think his best trait is diligence. In truth, his best trait is tenacity.

Whether it’s Sidestep or Knight, Markus is relentless. He was a workaholic as Sidestep, one that never gave up. He never stopped working on himself, his skills, his missions- and he brought up people with him. Sidestep was a confidant for Anathema, Ashfall, and Ortega. He gave them advice on how to be better, acted as their anchor when they started to doubt. 

He was completely devoted to what he was doing- and reused his skills as a spy- and his new skills as a hero- to hunt and destroy villainous groups and organisations by himself. 

That same trait still holds true even as he became a villain. He was tortured for years, and in his eyes, was abandoned to die by his friends through their failure to come look for him. Save him even. Between them having ‘forgotten’ and abandoned him, the Farm always hunting for him- shadowed faces hidden in the woodwork where he’d never find them all, and his fate as a Re-Gene to never be safe or free, 

Markus could’ve killed himself right then and there.

The only reason why he didn’t is because of his rage. The determination to at least kill his tormentors for what they’ve done- before he kills himself.

This has been his greatest virtue ever since he was born.

Markus had always lived with the odds constantly stacked against him: when you’re born weak, born with nothing, born with issues that give you every reason to give up- it’s only through sheer determination that makes you survive and even thrive from all the problems life as thrown at you.

It may not have been created from a devotion to himself (rather, out of love for a mother who never loved him), but it stayed with him for the rest of his life. 

In the same vein, Markus would say his greatest flaw is paranoia. His actual greatest flaw is his wrath. 

It’s true his paranoia is a pretty big flaw, but the difference is that he could exploit it to become something good. Making plans, contingencies, double checking- trusting his gut and preparing for the worst. Using it to protect the things and people he values, to destroy his enemies.

His wrath only serves to blind him.

It’s not a surprise. Markus has never lived a happy life. One of the closest he’s ever got was a life before Sidestep- and even that is gone because he had to leave. The life he’d built, the people he’d love back then: they weren’t safe with him around.

Another was his life as Sidestep. But even then, it was rife with lies and secrets. 

He forced himself to calm down when confronting Argent, reminding himself of the situation she’s in. He’s argumentative with Steel. He punched Herald and forced himself to calm down- again- by reminding himself that he didn’t mean any harm.

He wanted to kill Ortega on that hospital bed. He bitterly cut things off at the beach, too sick with rage and nausea at Ricardo to think straight if he even heard his name, let alone be around him. 

Markus is far more aggressive than who he used to be as Sidestep. There’s a part of him that genuinely enjoys hurting people: one that he pointedly ignores and pushes down because it’s detrimental to the mission. He laughs over Chen’s genuine desire and offer to help him, because the Marshal had nearly gotten assassinated just for trying to investigate what happened. Part of him is pissed off that Chen would try to offer when he can barely keep himself and his team together: even when he knows the truth of who he is. Part of him lashes out because of how hurt he feels over Chen apparently trying to romance him when he still has Ricardo in his mind. 

His aggression makes him more reckless. More brutal. Not necessarily in fights, but what he does. He doesn’t see anything wrong with taking a comatose body and using it as a puppet. He has silent grudges born from years of resentment. He wants to hurt, wants to be hurt.  In his darkest days, he dreams of living a life rife with violence and fear. He reaches a boiling point in his rage when people genuinely love him and expresses it. His flaw is driving him to become more ruthless and manipulative. His flaw is enabling him to abandon all the good things that makes Markus a person of his own merits outside of being a hero/villain. 

His flaw is stopping him from accepting help.

(He hasn’t written in a long time. He doesn’t sing anymore. He only really visits the bakery for convenient top-ups when he’s in the area, getting the rest of his sweets from stores to be bought in bulk for his telepathy, eaten with the same enthusiasm as he would for pills. He only does tech work for his mission. He’s getting to the point where even Tia Elena wouldn’t be able to emotionally reach him: the same woman who saw him as family, something that he also reciprocated. In time, his own love and enthusiasm for sweets will vanish.)

And if certain truths come to light, things will get more volatile in the face of his most sensitive info being known…

He hates everyone. He hates himself. 

His body. (He can’t get surgery. How ugly he is.) His actions. (He was a stupid kid, and his trust in someone nearly killed him.) His trust. (He should’ve never forgotten. Everyone is subject to change, failure, and betrayal- but not him. Not to himself.)

There isn’t anything that Markus doesn’t hate about himself. Even his virtues are dismissed- only accepted if they’re useful as a villain.

(In one of my previous posts, he wants Chen to abuse and rape him. There are reasons for this, talked about with @allens-chocolate-dreams in chat, so maybe I’ll share one day if they’re cool with me sharing screenshots of our conversation.)

His morality- his identity, is slowly but surely decaying with the influence of his flaw. He gets more violent and brutal as time elapses and there isn’t anything to interrupt the process to test his conscience. 

(Marconi’s place convinced Steel that there’s some part of Markus that can still be saved. Markus on the other hand, is seething with frustration over his slip up. No more hero.)

He’ll become more beast than man one day if he keeps going like this, and he won’t have the shame to recognise what’s happened. To mourn who he used to be. 

❤️ What inspired you to make this OC? How long have you had them? How have they changed in the time you’ve been developing them?

The first ever drafts of Markus was initially made as a character for a Choices story named ‘Hero.’ He initially went by the name Leonard Wolfric! This was around the time the new story came out, so 2017. 

I wanted to create an OC inspired by the story, especially as it branched out into its sequel, but it never came. And I lost interest.

Some couple of years and several months later I discovered FHR. I imported that same character into the game but he didn’t quite fit. So I made augmentations here and there. Sidestep was the perfect base for creating a whole new character, and the fundamentals of the character (escaped slave/fugitive, trauma, paranoia, mistrust) had solidified the character you now see as Markus today!

Initially, he just started out as a competent, serious, and diligent hero as Leonard. Fighting the good fight, determined to be one of the best. But as he became Markus, he gradually became more cynical, mistrusting, and haunted. Paired with the events in FHR from Rebirth to Retribution, he adopted some serious anger issues and became far more stand-offish, intimidating, and sometimes even outright hostile. 

This let me play with his morality a little bit- until he finally became a man who straddles the line between hero and villain. He’s done and thought too much bad to be the former, and similarly done and thought too much good to be completely the latter. Normally I’d settle a character neatly into ‘more x than y’ but with Markus, I’m not sure. 

I’m genuinely not sure if he’s going to become a villain or a hero at the end of his journey. 

I don’t even know if he’d even be alive at the end. If he’d even be ‘Markus’ anymore. What he’ll turn into.

Markus is like poison. A deadly weapon, or a much needed medicine. It all depends on which side of the spectrum he tips himself to, and what for.

[justaboutsnapped]

East Asian! Joly & Ferre headcanons (From an actual East Asian)

As I am frustrated by the lack of authentic representation in les mis fics featuring East Asian amis (they’re either stereotypically Asian™ or really westernized ), I decided to compile some stuff that... idk... les mis writers could draw from maybe There’s Joly because he’s the one most commonly depicted as East Asian, and also Ferre because that’s my personal headcanon lol, if I ever do a part 2 in the future I’ll throw in some other characters

Note: I am a first gen Chinese immigrant living in Canada, so these headcanons are highly influenced by my specific experience. I’m obviously not speaking for every East Asian ever. 

Everything is under the cut because it got absurdly long, I was having too much fun with this lol (also things got increasingly random and specific sorry not sorry)... 

First gen Joly/Ferre. Dammit, I just want one fic where Joly/Ferre is an immigrant. It would be so interesting, and it definitely brings a new perspective to the amis. I wanna see them struggling to overcome the cultural barrier.

Related to the first gen thing, at least in my experience a lot of schools, when teaching English, will try to teach the students to speak in RP??? Imagine if they’re in the US and they’re just speaking RP lol, idk if my humour is wack but hhhhh this is funny

Another first-gen thing: international schools are totes a thing in Asia, and you don’t necessarily have to be a foreigner to go. This means that immigrants can be actually insanely good at English.

 ✨academic anxiety✨(lmao I’m projecting so much onto this) If y’all are gonna write them as the Smart Asian™ you might as well sprinkle some school/grades-related anxiety in there, cos they pretty much come hand in hand. 

Absolutely NO SHOES are to be worn inside their apartments. I feel like this one is a given.

Emoticons - Emoticons are much more widely used in East Asia than the west. Cue Joly using orz at the end of a text to Bossuet, and have to explain to a confused Bossuet what it means (orz looks like a person on their hands and knees, and is used to convey fatigue, frustration, etc.)

Other texting conventions - Not gonna list them all because it’ll take ages, but in Chinese a popular way to convey laughter is 233333, meanwhile in Korean it’s kkkkk, etc. They probably accidentally text it to the rest of the amis often and eventually they know what they mean too. 

Water - You bet your ass that they boil their water. I can see Joly being very into drinking hot water with gouji berries in them (cos it’s supposedly healthy), and carrying a thermos of the stuff with him all the time. I feel like Ferre likes to drink cold water though (it still would be boiled).

 This one might seem obvious but they’d celebrate traditional festivals??? Maybe I’m reading the wrong fics but I’ve yet to see one where they actuall do that- It’d be so cute if they make dumplings for the amis on Lunar New year or bring mooncakes for the Amis to try on Mid-Autumn Festival. Maybe they’ll wear their traditional clothing on those special days too. (Head empty no thoughts just long-haired Ferre wearing hanfu)

This is very random but I find it hilarious soooo: Marius mentioning General Tso’s Chicken is his favourite Chinese dish and Joly has to restrain Ferre from murdering him. For context: General Tso’s Chicken is a famous Chinese fast food dish, but it’s not an actual Chinese dish. I, personally, have never eaten it until I moved to Canada. Idk Ferre just seems like he’d be interested in traditional calligraphy, he’d be amazing at it.

Joly studies western medicine but his parents raised him on traditional medicine so some of their teachings still stick. Like Joly would tell the amis to not eat too much fried food because it makes them shanghuo. He once translated shanghuo straight and said “on fire” and it caused panic until he clarified what it actually means.

Joly makes Combeferre watch soppy k-dramas with him. Ferre complains but secretly enjoys them (he’d never admit it though). 

If they’re from the same country they’d gossip about the amis in [insert language] for sure. Also would be interesting if they both speak dialect, and find each other’s dialect very difficult to understand. Some amusing misunderstandings could occur

They. Love. Instant. Ramen. Idk I just personally really love it lol and I feel like East Asians love it wayyy more than westerners so they’d probably love it.

Snacks. They’d have all these amazing snacks from Asian supermarkets. Joly may have gotten all the amis hooked on the White Rabbit candy (it’s a chinese staple). They also both have a disdain for Wagon Wheels because Lotte Choco Pie is clearly superior.

[soramei]

Intentional - Part 4

Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader (she/her)

Summary: Landing your first real job at JYPE was something short of a miracle. You were prepared to face the new struggles of this elusive career whilst moving to a new country, however, nothing could have prepared you for him. Will stolen glances, secret touches, and hushed nights spent in the recording room ever be enough for the both of you?

Genre: idol!bang chan au, forbidden relationship, coworkers to eventual lovers, slow burn

Warnings: none right now, eventual smut

Word Count: 3.4k

Masterlist

A/N: DOUBLE UPLOAD! So i decided to split this part in two since i didn't want it to drag on for too long... next part will be uploaded tomorrow!

Taglist (reply to be tagged!): @planetdemon​ @hvunvely​ @fluffybitch0325​ @fashi0nablee @juststop88

You picked up the lanyard, looking between your burnt jacket in one hand and the vandalized piece of plastic in the other. The burnt polyester felt rough against your fingers. It was littered with black holes, almost to the point where it was unrecognizable as your jacket.

The lanyard, on the other hand, was almost untouched — save for the black marker that was sketched on the plastic. In the picture, on the part where your upper body was showing, there was only the black marker. The black blob stretched across your torso, the shape depicting a hoodie. Your eyes landed on the eyes in your picture. Thick lines drawn in the shape of an X covered both of them.

You quickly entered your apartment, hoping nobody saw you. You then stood completely still, listening to the silence, trying to find if anybody had broken into your home. After a minute, when it seemed as if you were the only person in there, you decided to lay the two vandalized items on your desk to further analyze them.

Your brain immediately tried to play this down by assuming that these were just kids who did this to your stuff, after all, it was something very immature. Children were the only people who had the time to play with fire and draw on other people’s pictures.

However, your gut told you something different. Why was your jacket along with your lanyard placed right in front of your apartment? Why was the marker outline specifically in the shape of a hoodie? Who could have known you were in the parking lot at that time of day?

Your mind drifted to one specific person. Manager Kim. He not only saw that you were in the parking lot that day with that jacket on, but also he knew your face from the lanyard. But why would he do something this childish? And how did he know where you lived?

The parking lot security guard had also been there when you wore that jacket, but he didn’t even look at you. And he would have no motive to do this sort of thing.

You rubbed your chin in thought, still not understanding everything. Was there somebody else that knew you were there?

Still feeling anxious, you began to prepare a cup of tea. You were reminded of Bang Chan. The tea. The smell of his hoodie.

His hoodie. The black hoodie.

Realization hit you like a truck as your eyes widened in disbelief. Was it maybe… Bang Chan?

Your heart was beating out of your chest. Hands shaking, you picked up your phone to call him, silently begging for the mysterious person to not be him.

He picked up.

“Hello? Y/n?”

You stayed silent.

“Is there something wrong?” He asked.

“I… I lost my jacket and it had my lanyard in it,” you tried to be careful with your words, not wanting to rouse suspicion from him, “have you seen it anywhere?”

“No,” you could almost see Bang Chan furrowing his eyebrows, “I’m still in the building though. I could look for it?”

“That’s alright,” you sighed in relief. He genuinely sounded confused, and plus, he was always so nice — there was no way he would ever do this kind of thing to you. You felt guilty for even suspecting him. “Thanks for offering though.”

“Y/n.”

“Hmm?”

“I know I said this before, but,” he paused, “if you need help with anything I’ll be there. I mean it.”

A chill ran down your spine at the seriousness of his voice. “I know. Thanks.”

You hung up, uneasy. The problem was unsolved, and to be honest, you were a little scared. There was somebody that knew who you were and where you lived. It was probably a good idea to change the passcode to your lock.

The kettle started to whistle. You turned off the flame of your stove and poured yourself a cup of tea, hoping that it would calm you down. Although it did a little, you still felt apprehensive about the whole thing. Your mood stayed the same the whole night, even when you tried to scroll through your phone or go to sleep.

The next day, you woke up with your mind cleared. No longer were you still feeling the aftershocks of the creepy jacket burner, and with your mood lifted more, you felt like you could think more objectively.

And that’s exactly what you did.

Throughout your whole week, this incident stuck in the back of your mind. Although your memory was getting fuzzier and fuzzier with the passing days, you still tried to work out who the culprit was in your free time.

Your mind was also filled with something else. Or was it someone else?

It seemed like, during the whole week, you couldn’t stop thinking of Bang Chan. You had to put part of the blame on him, though. Everytime he had a free moment in his busy schedule — granted it was rare that he did — he wanted to see you.

From secretly bringing you snacks from the vending machine to summoning you to his recording room in order to show his newest creation, he always seemed to stay busy even in his free time. You weren’t complaining, though. It was nice to have a friend who was so different from what you were used to.

You also spent a lot of time with Na-eun too. However, the time you spent with her felt different. Not in any good or bad way, just different. With her, it was mainly in the cafeteria, raving over the food after finally finding a free table. It was also trying to talk over everybody in the crowded streets as you two went shopping after work.

You liked it, sure. But with Bang Chan, every moment felt more intimate. Every smile, every laugh or brush of the hand. Was this what becoming friends felt like?

Other than these intrusive thoughts, the rest of your time was taken up by work. Although you were starting to get the hang of your tasks, there were still many mistakes made. Mistakes in which you had to profusely apologize to Manager Chen for, that you had to stay late nights to fix, mistakes which made you almost lose your mind. You hoped that Manager Chen could see your dedication to not only this project, but your job as a whole.

In the duration of this week, you managed to check in with every department involved with the project and partake in the finalization of the Mid-Autumn Festival content idea. It was decided that the group would do three activities: make lanterns, bake mooncakes, and share a fire while watching the moon. All while in the mountains.

You were surprised when Manager Chen asked you to come along to the shooting despite your inexperience. However, it wasn’t a chance you were going to pass up.

The week was hectic. So hectic, that you didn’t even realize it was almost over until Na-eun brought it up.

“Ugh, I wish I could just steal a whole tray of this food home,” you rolled your eyes. The two of you were raving once again at the cafeteria food. You wished you actually knew how to cook.

“Can you not cook?” She asked.

“I can fry an egg,” you said, stuffing more rice in your mouth.

“My six year old niece can do that,” she laughed. Her eyes widened. “What if I come over tonight and teach you? We’ll make fried rice, even you can’t screw that up.”

“Ha,” you said dryly. “I would, but I have literally nothing in my fridge.”

Na-eun gave you a deadpan look.

“How were you able to stay alive for the past couple weeks? At least you got skinner.” She sneered. “We’ll stop by the grocery store after work, I’ll teach you the bare minimum of living alone.”

And that was exactly what the two of you did. Right after you clocked out of work, you met up with Na-eun to go shopping. You decided to take out some cash to pay for your groceries, an action that Na-eun found hilarious. She was almost crying as she explained that a few groceries didn’t cost as much as you thought.

Your trip was successful. The two of you made it all the way back to your apartment and didn’t waste a second to get started. Halfway through setting things up, Na-eun got a text.

“Hey, is it okay if Yoojin comes? I guess she got jealous that I was here with you and she wasn’t.” She chuckled.

“Of course,” you eagerly nodded. “But, wouldn’t it be hard to get here with her injury?”

“What injury?”

“You know,” you continued, “her ankle.”

“She seemed fine to me.” Na-eun said as she started on the rice.

“Maybe she healed fast.” You shrugged.

“Maybe,” she shrugged back and returned to her task.

You texted Yoojin your address, and it wasn’t long before she was knocking at your door. You opened your door, and she immediately leaped at you for a hug.

“Oh, Y/n! I’m still so sorry for that day, I honestly feel horrible.” She pouted, her big eyes staring at you for a response.

“It’s really nothing, Yoojin.” You tried to sound casual. You let her in your apartment. “But, doesn’t your ankle hurt? There’s a lot of stairs coming up.”

“Oh, uhm, the doctor said it was only a minor injury.” She paused. “And I heal fast.”

“That’s good,” you smiled, patting her shoulder.

“But I still feel so bad, Y/n.” She whined. “Lemme make it up to you. I’ll set you up with this really hot guy I know. He’s a law student. You don’t have a boyfriend, do you?”

“Kim Yoojin!” Na-eun yelled.

“How about it? You’re free tomorrow, right?” Yoojin looked at you, ignoring Na-eun.

“I guess so,” you hesitantly agreed, “since it’s the weekend tomorrow.”

“Great!” Yoojin wrapped her arms around you, jumping up and down. “I’ll text you everything tonight.”

Yoojin kept up with her promise. After the three of you stuffed yourselves with good food, your two friends decided to leave before it got too dark. It was just a bit later when Yoojin’s text came through. You were to have dinner with this man called Kang Taehyun at an Italian restaurant tomorrow. Although you weren’t too thrilled with the idea of eating pasta, you figured you could withstand it for one night on the basis of trying something new.

You didn’t know how you felt about going on this date. Although you were excited to meet somebody new, something just felt off. Plus, you’ve never been on a blind date before. Who knows how good Yoojin’s judge of character was, or if this guy was like anything that Yoojin described.

You sighed, putting those thoughts aside. It was just a one time thing anyways, and who knows? Maybe this could lead to something. You looked over at Bang Chan’s hoodie. His warm hoodie that smelled so much like him. You should return it soon.

It was almost like he read your mind. As soon as you looked away, your phone rang with a call from Bang Chan.

“Hello?” You picked up.

“Hey, did you find your jacket?” He asked. You were surprised he still remembered.

“No… not yet.” You drifted off.

“Oh. We’ll keep looking for it, yeah? I’ll just buy you a new one if you can’t find it.”

You giggled. A couple seconds of silence passed.

“My shoot ends at six tomorrow. Wanna go to that barbecue place I was talking about?” He asked.

That’s right. Bang Chan couldn’t stop raving about that barbecue restaurant the whole week. He was really excited as his diet would end when he was done with his photoshoot, and he was apparently craving meat the whole time. All his praise made you very eager to see what the hype was all about.

You were about to eagerly accept, but then you remembered the date you had just planned not even a moment earlier. “Can we go another time? I… kinda have a blind date tomorrow.”

A few more seconds passed before you heard Bang Chan’s voice again.

“Blind date?”

“Yeah, my friend set it up. We’re going to this Italian place. Apparently he’s a really nice and handsome guy. He’s a law student, too.”

“Wha- law student? Y/n, are you sure you should be going on a blind date now? I mean, you just got here. You don’t know the city that well and you don’t even like pasta. What if he’s dangerous?” Bang Chan scoffed, his words got faster with each sentence.

“Chan, it’s okay. You don’t need to worry, I’ll be safe. Plus, I trust my friend.”

“You mean your friend you only just met?”

Silence.

“I only just met you as well.” You spat, slightly insulted that he would speak like that about Yoojin.

There was more silence that lingered.

“Whatever. Have fun on your date.” Bang Chan spat back, his harsh tone matching yours. Right after he said that, he hung up.

You looked angrily at your phone. Frowning, you threw your phone on your bed. Who was he to get angry at you for having a blind date? You recognized the dangers of meeting somebody new, but you trusted Yoojin. You were confident that Yoojin was honest about Taehyun.

A boyfriend would be nice too. Ever since your last relationship early in your university career, you haven’t had the best luck with men. It could have been because of how closed off your old friend group was. Your friends stayed consistent ever since you were young, and it was way too awkward to date a friend. You also found yourself way too closed off to go out and meet any new people.

Yes, tomorrow would be a good experience, you told yourself.

The next day, the hours leading up to your date felt like they had passed way too fast. The call with Bang Chan from last night still lingered on your tongue like sour candy, but you were determined to push past that in order to get ready on your date. After all, you didn’t want any frown lines to show.

You were excited to get ready. The amount of time it took to do both your hair and makeup was embarrassingly long, as you wanted everything to look just right for tonight. You didn’t want a hair to be out of place. You also took your sweet time to pick an outfit. Although the skirt you picked out probably wasn’t fit for the fall weather, you stuck with it anyways, choosing to layer a jacket over your outfit. One of your non-burnt jackets.

Double checking yourself in the mirror one last time, you locked the door and headed out. The streets were busy tonight. They were filled with people of all ages trying to relax from their tiring week.

Finding the restaurant wasn’t a hassle as the place was conveniently located at one of the busiest streets for weekend night-life. Dim yellow lights illuminated the tall glass windows just enough for you to see just the shadows of people enjoying their Saturday night. Green vines wrapped around the building, twirling and twisting their way around every crevice available. You tried not to fiddle with your thumbs as you nervously entered the lavish looking Italian restaurant.

“Hello, table for Kang Taehyun?” You asked the hostess. She showed you to a little table right beside a window. It was illuminated by a single candle, and already had two glasses of wine placed on it. And sitting at the table, hands crossed in front of him, was a hideously gorgeous man.

He looked like something out of a drama, really. With his tall nose and his sharp jaw, you struggled to convince yourself that this was a real man. His hands looked twice the size of yours.

“Hi, Y/n?” He asked. “I’m Kang Taehyun.”

He smiled and gestured for you to sit in the empty chair in front of him. You politely greeted him back and sat down. The two of you made some small talk before ordering. He made some suggestions on what to order, but you didn’t really care. You knew you wouldn’t like any of the pastas anyway. Plus, you swore to yourself you wouldn’t be drinking alcohol in front of strangers again.

“I’m surprised you agreed to this date.” You said, awkwardly laughing. “Isn’t a law student supposed to be really busy, especially around this time?”

“Well, I’m mainly doing this as a favour for Yoojin. She helped me with one of my classes.” He took a swig of his wine. “That girl is crazy smart. Or should I say crazy, but smart?”

“Oh?” You didn't want to admit that you were a bit disappointed he only agreed because of a favour. But he was being honest, so that was fair. What he said about Yoojin, though, took you by surprise.

“I’ve only heard rumors,” he tilted his head, “but some say that once in first year she went crazy over a guy. Started stalking him and everything. Apparently she even burned all his textbooks just because he started talking to another girl. They weren’t even dating.”

Your eyes widened at the allegations. There was no way any of that was true. You couldn’t imagine Yoojin — sweet, sweet Yoojin — to be capable of anything like that. There was no way her big puppy dog eyes and her fluffy hair could hurt a soul.

“Are you sure that’s what happened?” You asked.

“I mean, the guy was put into a mental hospital shortly after everything happened,” he shrugged, “so who knows? Maybe he made everything up in his head.”

“Yeah, maybe.” You nodded your head in agreement. Some of your hair fell on your pasta. You blushed, quickly trying to dab the sauce away using a napkin.

“You know Y/n,” Taehyun chuckled, “you’re cute. You’re not my type. I mean, I’ve only ever dated models before, but maybe it’s time to start settling down since I’ll be working at the firm soon.”

Thanks, I guess? You thought. You honestly didn’t know if that was a compliment or a jab, but either way you felt slightly insulted. You didn’t know how to reply to that, but it didn’t take long before Taehyun started again.

“I mean, look at my ex,” he said as he pulled up a picture of his ex-girlfriend on Instagram. She looked flawless in her bikini. “There’s no way I could actually marry somebody like that, right?”

If he says ‘I mean’ one more time… You thought to yourself. This date was turning south fast. This man was extremely handsome — almost god-like — but every word that left his mouth was poison infused arrogance. You didn’t know which was worse: listening to the man in front of you talk about his ex, or eating the pasta that was ordered by him.

You tried your best to stay polite with him for the rest of the evening. It was hard, though, as his cocky personality kept poking you down the whole time. It wasn’t until you finally separated that you had space to breathe. Great, you were left both hungry and annoyed.

Turning the lights on in your home, you sat at the kitchen table, still annoyed over your bad night. You took out your phone, wanting to scroll through the food delivery apps to find something to eat. Your thumbs began drifting.

No, stop. You silently begged yourself. Please, not tonight.

Your body didn’t seem to listen to your mind, however, as your thumb stayed hovering over Bang Chan’s contact. You pleaded to yourself to not press it, but your fingers seemed to have an agenda of their own. You pressed his contact. The phone call started.

One ring. Two rings.

“Hello, Y/n?”

You were shocked. He wasn’t supposed to pick up. Not after how poorly your last conversation went. You didn’t know what to say.

“Chan, how was the photoshoot?” You didn’t know what to say. You didn’t expect him to even pick up.

“It went great — feels good that it’s over, though.” He chuckled.

You wanted to tell him about your date: how arrogant Taehyun was, how fancy the restaurant was, how nasty the pasta was. You wanted to say all that, but tonight it seemed like your body just wouldn’t cooperate with your mind. And sure enough, you caught your mouth running before your mind. But this time, you couldn’t stop yourself.

“Chan,” you took a deep breath, “wanna come over?”

[twi-liight]

Headcanons for Riddle with an s/o (they/them) that likes doting on him? Let him have nice things!!!

Since this is my first post ever for Twisted Wonderland, I decided to make it into a short fic instead. Hope that’s okay!

❥❥ 

❥❥

“Seriously,” Ace grumbles, leaning forward to rest his chin on the top of his folded arms, “I get he’s your boyfriend and all, but you need to stop spoiling him.”

Ace has been at this for about an hour. They almost want to quip that this ‘break’ the two of them agreed upon feels more like a scolding than what it should be. So far, the jasmine tea and the assortment of treats (leftovers from Trey-senpai’s mini luncheon with the Hearts students yesterday, which Ace, Deuce and [F/N] missed because Mr.Trein caught them sleeping in class) have been untouched. Every time they try to take a small nibble of the sugared beignet, Ace opens his big fat mouth to complain about Riddle. In the back of their mind, they are aware that their next class is in about half an hour, and time flies with Ace.

They point a finger at him, as if to physically counteract his claim. This makes Ace scowl at the appendage, and the Prefect of the Ramshackle dorm merely smiles in amusement. “Spoiling him insinuates I buy him a lot of materialistic goods. Which I don’t-”

“That’s bullshit and you know it!” Ace sits up to point his finger at them now, irritation written all over his scrunched up expression. “Clover-senpai has fawned over Riddle-senpai enough and now you’re in it too? I heard from Deuce that you bought him an expensive, limited edition tea set just out of the blue. What the hell is that?”

“It’s cute!”

“It’s annoying! Every time I look at the strawberries painted on the china, I get pissed off!”

They pout at him. Their fingers reach towards the beignet again when he’s silenced.

“... Look.”

Damn it.

Ace sighs in resignation and leans back against his chair, aptly crossing his arms. “I’m not saying you can’t buy stuff for him or whatever. I just think you should lay off on the overindulging with him... Riddle-senpai has made a lot of progress after he over-blotted, and change takes progress to really settle in...”

Well, that much is true, they think. Riddle has progressed forward. His downward spiral into madness was hard to watch. The tyrannical grip he held on his subjects was out of displacement, and what he went through was nothing to bat an eye at, so Ace is right. His life was about his choices being taken from him, now he can live the rest of it making choices for himself. That includes self-growth. But still...

“I know tough love is your thing, Acey,” they say, as they twirl their index finger around before poking him on the nose, “and you’re doing it because you care about him-”

“-Ha! As if-”

“-but I just think he deserves to have nice things, you know?”

Something gives in Ace’s red eyes. They can tell he’s trying to be stubborn about it, but like them, he knows. Riddle’s childhood wasn’t his, not really. Love was mistaken for obedience. Is it so bad that they want to give him happiness in any way that they can?

Ace relaxes, huffs, and nods once.

“I’m not gonna go that easy on him,” Ace says, after a moment. He leans his cheek in his palm and gazes out towards the garden. Calmness settles over his expression. “Geez. What I’d give to have a girlfriend or boyfriend who would buy me random things. You know, I saw these limited edition mooncakes they were selling at Riddle-senpai’s favorite bakery? I really wanted them, but they were sold out when I came back…”

[F/N] smiles, content, and nods simply as if they were listening. Their hand reaches over towards the beignet. Oh, this was going to be delicious… Trey-senpai said it has chocolate cardamom filling and it’s especially tasty if one dips it in vanilla. Where’s the vanilla? Oh, there it is--

“Dorm Leader Rosehearts?!”

Damn it.

Their hand hovers over the sauciere, faltering at Ace’s exclamation. Following his gaze, there they see Riddle striding towards the two of them. He’s in his whites and reds, out of the typical Night Raven College uniform. In his expression, he seems to be scrutinizing over the fact that they and Ace are lounging about near the garden with an assortment of untouched goods.

As he draws near, they hear Ace curse under his breath. Completely opposite of the spectrum, they giggle and smile at Riddle.

He stands before them for a moment. Riddle’s gray eyes trail over their goods, before he huffs and crosses his arms. “Law of the Queen of Hearts, no. 271: One should eat lunch and leave their seat within fifteen minutes. You two should be in class right now.”

“Give me a break,” Ace groans, leaning back. “Who the heck is in class twenty minutes early?”

Riddle fixes Ace with an icy stare. Ace shuts up.

“Besides, we were waiting for you,” they chime in with a smile. Ace passes them a look that says, We were?! They promptly ignore it as Riddle’s eyes widen in slight surprise. “I wanted to give you something.”

“Bribing me, are you?” There’s wryness in his tone as Riddle smiles, obviously pleased. He pulls out the extra chair and takes a seat. “Very well.”

Ace’s entire existence has been blocked out from Riddle. They know he tries not to play favorites too much; everyone under his rule is to be treated equally, and he cannot have biases. But he’s in love with [F/N]... And like almost every law of sciences, aren’t there always exceptions to every rule? There are three exceptions to the law of demand. He’s allowed one, isn’t he?

Riddle’s body language leans towards them, ever so curious when they pull out a small white box. It’s tied sweetly with a red ribbon, the bow perfect and cute. His brows raise and Riddle looks at them.

“What’s this?” He asks, gingerly taking the box in his hands as Ace groans in the back.

“You were saying you were craving something new, since you didn’t want your palette to be tired of strawberries,” they explain as Riddle unties the bow. “I thought, what a predicament.”

“I can sense your sarcasm, you menace,” says Riddle with a smile.

“Hey, I mean it from the bottom of my heart! I felt for you! I can’t imagine what it would be like if I ever got tired of strawberries. I might break down and weep, or something.”

“Very funny. You are the epitome of comedy.”

They giggle again, and then they nod at him, signifying he should open it. Riddle smiles warmly and pops the box open…

“Oh,” Riddle gasps. “How ornate… It’s beautiful. These are-” His gray eyes widen further, recognition filling them. Riddle stares at [F/N] for a moment, mouth slightly agape. “How on earth did you get your hands on these?”

“Oh, I dunno. I sweet talk the baker. Do you like them?”

“When I saw these mooncakes, I knew I wanted to give them a try. I hear these are gifts you give to your loved ones during a full moon, which.. There will be one tonight, [F/N], I… Thank you. This is lovely. Shall we share them later tonight? I hear they are good with tea.”

They smile adoringly at him, sighing in content at the fond expression in his eyes. They lean their cheek on their palm and think, I could watch my boyfriend look like this forever…

Their eyes flit to Ace’s exasperated expression.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Ace shouts, breaking their sweet moment.

Riddle turns and narrows his eyes at him. “What have I told you about your sudden exclamations? Be quiet. Don’t you dare sully this present my precious [F/N] has given me.”

“Yeah, Ace,” they frown. “Riddle’s ears are sensitive.”

“I-- WHAT-- YOU’RE BOTH UNBELIEVABLE! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO TOOK THE LAST MOONCAKES? AT LEAST SHARE!”

[duckiereads]

#Miraculous May Round Up Week 1

I saw that @booksandrandomfandoms was hosting a Miraculous May Book Photo Challenge and I thought this would be a really easy way for me to do my weekly posts while I have some personal stuff on top of my thesis. I'm doing weekly round-ups of photos because I can't be trusted to do daily anything. :')

Summaries for Single Books are from Publisher/Author sites. I didn't include summaries for the group photos to keep the post from getting longer than it already was.

If any of these interest you and if you are able, please support your favorite independent bookstores when purchasing these and other books!

05/01: SPOTS ON! - TBR

Books Pictured (From Left to Right):

Comics and Sequential Art - Will Eisner

Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo

Chasing Shadows - Swati Avasthi

On Beauty - Zadie Smith

The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern

The Black Veins - Ashia Monet

Mooncakes - Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker

The Good Luck Girls - Charlotte Nicole Davis

Drawing Words and Writing Pictures by

Odd One Out - Nic Stone

On Bottom Shelf:

Isiah Dunn is My Hero - Kelly Baptist

His Hideous Heart - Edited: Dahlia Adler

05/02: Tikki - Bug on the Cover

The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren

Note: the current paperback edition does NOT use this cover

Miriam lives in New Jerusalem, a haven in the desert far away from the sins and depravity of the outside world. Within the gates of New Jerusalem, and under the eye of its founder and leader, Daniel, Miriam knows she is safe. Cared for. Even if she’s forced, as a girl, to quiet her tongue when she has thoughts she wants to share, Miriam knows that New Jerusalem is a far better life than any alternative. So when God calls for a Matrimony, she’s thrilled; she knows that Caleb, the boy she loves, will choose her to be his wife and they can finally start their life together. But when the ceremony goes wrong and Miriam winds up with someone else, she can no longer keep quiet. For the first time, Miriam begins to question not only the rules that Daniel has set in place, but also what it is she believes in, and where she truly belongs. Alongside unexpected allies, Miriam fights to learn–and challenge–the truth behind the only way of life she’s ever known, even if it means straying from the path of Righteousness.

05/04: Plagg - Sly Characters

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Friends for life. Or death. Spring break. Aruba. Swimming, sunshine, and golden beaches. It was supposed to be the best time of Anna’s life. Paradise. But then the unthinkable happens. Anna’s best friend is found brutally murdered. And when the local police begin to investigate the gruesome crime, suspicion falls on one person—Anna. They think she’s dangerous, and they’re determined to prove her guilt. With the police and media sparking a witch-hunt against her, Anna is running out of time to prove her innocence. But as she digs deeper into her friend’s final moments, she finds a tangled web of secrets, lies and betrayal. Will she clear her name in time?

Note: This book is now published as "I'll Never Tell."

05/04: Sass - Do Over

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Note: When I got this book signed, Lauren Oliver looked at me and asked: Have you read this book? And I told her yes. She let out a relieved sigh. "Okay," she said, "cause if you hadn't, I usually give a warning that Sam starts out as a major bitch and sometimes people don't like her because of that and I wanted to make sure you were prepared." Reader, this is your warning. :'D

05/05: Daizzi - Pink Books

Books Pictured (From Top to Bottom):

The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot

The Merciless - Danielle Vega

Queens of Geek - Jenn Wilde

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Everything Leads to You - Nina LaCour

Pride - Ibi Zoboi

Only to Good Spy Young - Ally Carter

I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl - Gretchen McNeil

05/06: Trixx - Shape Shifters

Red Hood - Elana K Arnold

You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked. And the wolf is angry. Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou’s past and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.

05/07: Akuma - Plot Twist

Plot twist or expert reveal, I don't care. My jaw was on the ground when I finished this one.

Warcross - Marie Lu

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game���it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation. Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

05/08: Fluff - Time Travel

The Girl from Everywhere - Heidi Heilig

Nix’s life began in Honolulu in 1868. Since then she has traveled to mythic Scandinavia, a land from the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, modern-day New York City, and many more places both real and imagined. As long as he has a map, Nix’s father can sail his ship, The Temptation, to any place, any time. But now he’s uncovered the one map he’s always sought—1868 Honolulu, before Nix’s mother died in childbirth. Nix’s life—her entire existence—is at stake. No one knows what will happen if her father changes the past. It could erase Nix’s future, her dreams, her adventures . . . her connection with the charming Persian thief, Kash, who’s been part of their crew for two years. If Nix helps her father reunite with the love of his life, it will cost her her own.

05/09: Xuppu - Yellow Books

Books Listed from (Top to Bottom)

Mirage - Somaiya Daud

Permanent Record - Mary H.K. Choi

The Deadly Sister - Eliot Schrefer

Star Wars: Queen's Shadow - E. K. Johnston

05/10: Pollen - Books and Nature

The Tea Dragon Society - Katie O'Neill

From K. O'Neill, the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY, the beloved and charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons. After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.

And that's a wrap on this week's post! I forgot how fun it was to take book photos! I may even go put these on instagram! <3

[typical-simplelove]

Part Two: Dragon Boats (T. Jost)

Part Two to Red Envelopes, Dragon Boats, and Mooncakes; a Tyson Jost fic.

Series Masterlist (please read the small note at the beginning of the Masterlist if you haven’t already)

Pinterest Link

Summary: Tyson and Kayla spend the offseason in St. Albert when the Dragon Boat Festival occurs. The couple spend the day with Tyson’s family following Kayla’s family traditions. 

Author’s Note: Similar author’s note to the first part. You don’t have to read part one to understand part two, just an fyi! Again, I have linked pictures and websites about some of the things that are mentioned here. The Pinterest board linked above also has more photos about the holiday. Anyways, here’s part two! I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you thought!

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: Again, no climax, really. However, warnings are scissors, being Chinese, Chinese holidays, eating meat, mentions of death.

Before the Dragon Boat Festival

During the Dragon Boat Festival, Kayla and Tyson would be back in St. Albert for the offseason. Because of this, Kayla would not be able to spend the cultural holiday with her parents. Knowing that Kayla was a bit bummed about this, Tyson took it upon himself to try to make this holiday similar to ones in the past. 

Tyson began researching about the holiday. While researching, he learned that people watch or participate in Dragon Boat racing and eat something called Sticky Rice. The symbolism of this holiday is to ward off evil spirits, any lurking diseases, and release any negativity. Tyson had no idea how to celebrate this holiday with Kayla and had no idea how her family celebrated. He decided to just ask Kayla and help her plan. 

“Hey Kayla,” Tyson asks during breakfast a few days before the Dragon Boat Festival. “How do you celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival? I know that’s the next holiday that is coming up that your family celebrates.”

Kayla was shocked that Tyson knew about this. “My family doesn’t do much for this holiday. We don’t watch dragon boat racing but my sister and I always used to make our own mini dragon boats out of construction paper. My mom, sister, and I also used to make sticky rice with my grandfather before he died.”

“What if we did that? What if you, me, Kacey, my mom, and grandparents all made sticky rice? You can teach us! It may not be the holiday you’re used to because you aren’t in Denver with family but you can celebrate with us!”

“If you want, yeah sure! I’ll ask my mom for the recipe and we can make them.”

“Great, I’m excited, babe.”

Despite Tyson only telling Kayla about the sticky rice, he thought he would surprise her with the materials to make dragon boats. Tyson was bouncing in his seat, super excited that he got to spend another holiday with you.

龍舟節 (long zhou jie) - Dragon Boat Festival - June 14, 2021

“Kacey, my mom, and grandparents are set to come at three. Will that be good?” Tyson asks with an amount of energy that no one should have at eight in the morning. 

“Yes, Tyson, don't worry. Everything will be fine.” Kayla responds barely awake.

“Is there anything you need to do to prep before they come?”

“All I need to do is soak the rice. And I marinated the chicken last night so we’re good.”

“Do you need to watch the rice soak?”

Kayla laughs. “No, all I have to do is put the rice in a bowl and then leave it there. I’ll probably do that at 2:45, that way we can be ready to start right away when they arrive.”

“So, then, if I bought something, we can do it before they come?”

“Sure! What is it?”

“I bought materials to make Dragon Boats. I didn’t know what to buy so I went on pinterest and found a site. I asked your sister and she said that the materials they suggested were good. I had to buy green, at least, I thought it was green. I, you know colorblind, so not sure if --”

Tyson is cut off when Kayla kisses him firmly on the lips. “Thank you so much, Tys. You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you!.”

“Anything for you Kayla. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Tys.”

. . .

After Kayla and Tyson were both mostly awake (more like Kayla because Tyson was bouncing off the walls at 8), they got started on the dragon boats. 

“So, teach me. What do I do?”

“First, you have to make the green construction paper into a box to make it look like a box.”

Tyson just stares at Kayla, wishing that he didn’t take the plastic covering off of the paper so he could read the labels and know which was green. However, Kayla, knowing Tyson, handed the green paper to him so that Tyson wasn’t completely lost. Tyson was about to start but unsure how to put the paper into a box format. So, he decided to watch Kayla construct hers first. Once Kayla finished, she held it up and said a soft ‘ta da!’

Tyson was still ever confused. When Kayla went to grab a second piece of green paper, Tyson decided he would mimic her actions in real time. However, instead of Tyson’s looking like Kayla’s once finished, Tyson’s was all jagged and didn’t look anything like a boat.

When Kayla was about to start a third boat, Tyson said, “Wait! Before you start, can you do it slowly and explain each step very carefully and clearly so I can make one that looks like yours?”

Kayla chuckles and says, “Of course. All you had to do was ask.”

“Ready, Tys?” Tyson nods in response.

“First, fold one of the short sides about two and half inches in. Try to fold it into a straight line. Yeah, like that. Now, do it to the opposite side.” Kayla pauses, waiting for Tyson to give her a nod that she can continue.

“Now, you take the long sides and fold it in about two and a half inches so it looks something like this. Next step is cut along these lines and fold them in. Nope, like this. Yeah that. Tape the sides so that it doesn’t fall apart. Yeah, good. You now take your scissors and kind of cut in a curved line, like a half circle but only the outer line, to make the curves of a boat. After, we take the long ends and fold them against each other so that they are pointy.”

Kayla pauses allowing Tyson to catch up. She smiles softly when Tyson has his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth in fierce concentration as he normally does. 

“Like this?” Tyson asks when finished.

“Yeah!” Kayla responds enthusiastically. “That’s it! And now, we use the gold sharpie and draw scales on the boat. It’s basically is just circles but not closing them. Stopping about seventy five percent of the way.”

Kayla and Tyson draw the scales in silence not wanting to distract the other. 

“What comes next?” Tyson asks, once he has finished his one and Kayla all three of hers.

“We add the dragon!”

“We have to make a dragon?” 

“No, normally my sister and I would print out pictures and we’d color them. In past years, Elizabeth would color in while Charlotte and I made the boats. I just printed out dragon heads that would match. Here they are. We can just glue them on.”

“Thank goodness. I don’t think that I would have been able to draw a dragon. Ever. At all. So, don’t ask me to.”

“Don’t worry, Tys. I know your artistic abilities. After we glue on the dragon head, we can make the oars with red construction paper and glue them one. Then, we’ll be done!”

Tyson finished putting his head and oars on the boat before Kayla because she made three and Tyson had one good functioning boat. 

“What do we do after we finish making the boats?”

“Normally, my sister and I would make a small pond or lake and tape the boats on there. I bought a blue poster board so we can use that.” 

Kayla and Tyson worked on their pond for the dragon boats and didn’t leave out a single detail. They made sure to add areas on the grass next to the pond for the spectators to watch the races. They used old wine corks and painted them red and orange to mimic the traditional drums.The couple worked long into the afternoon and only realized the time when Kayla’s alarm went off reminding her to soak the rice. 

Once Kayla returned to the table where the poster board sat, Tyson had added little goldfish into the pond.

“You know, Tys, I think that if there were goldfish in the pond, then they would be far away from the boats. Also, probably not visible to the human eye.”

“Whatever, Ms. Smarty-Pants Kayla. I like the goldfish. I vote to keep the goldfish in the pond.”

“Fine, but then, one of my boats gets to be in the lead when we glue them down.”

“You throw a hard bargain but fine, I agree.” Tyson says with a mischievous grin. Kayla knows that grin. She knows that Tyson is going to begin tickling her until she is begging for mercy. Tyson instantly gets up and begins tickling Kayla. This continues on and the only chance at a reprieve is when the doorbell rings signalling that Tyson’s family has arrived.

“I guess I have to stop tickling you, Kayla.”

“I guess so.” He doesn’t 

Tyson’s family decide to let themselves in and are shocked at what they see sitting on the kitchen counter. 

“What in the world is this?” Kacey asks.

“Kayla spends her Dragon Boat Festival holiday making sticky rice and dragon boats. So, that’s what we did.” Tyson responds.

“Let me guess, this subpar looking boat was Tyson’s?” Kacey asks. Tyson just sticks his tongue out at her and Tyson does the same. 

“Ok, you two, cut it out. We have some sticky rice to make, yeah?” Laura cuts in with a chuckle.

Kayla and Tyson move the pond onto the coffee table and clear all of the craft stuff away and put it into a closet to deal with later. 

“I already have the rice soaking so we can start with that. Before we mix everything, we have to cut the Chinese sausage, mushrooms, shallots, and garlic. We have to also saute the shallots, too. Let’s start with that and then we’ll go from there.” Kayla explains. 

Once the directions were clear, everyone was assigned with a task. Laura is going to cut the shallots and saute them. Kacey and Kayla are going to wash the mushrooms and cut the mushrooms and garlic. Tyson and his grandparents are going to cut the Chinese sausage. 

“So, Kayla, tell me. How long have you been making sticky rice?” Tyson’s grandmother asked.

“I grew up watching my mom, grandfather, and aunties make the rice. This holiday used to be my grandfather’s favorite. When I turned twelve, my mother finally allowed me and my sister, Charlotte, to help make it. We normally would be assigned with washing the mushrooms and cutting them. Sometimes we’d be allowed to help construct the rice into the lotus leaf. That only happened later into my teenage years.”

“Do you do this with your family often?” Laura asks.

“Yeah, we would do this every year. This holiday is the one where my grandfather would be in control of the kitchen. My grandmother, aunties, and parents would all be sitting working on wrapping these and my sister and I would huddle around my grandfather for just a peak. He would always tell us about the same stories each year from when he was a child. When I was in high school, my grandfather passed away and my grandmother became the head sticky rice maker in our family. When I was in college, my grandmother was diagnosed with Arthritis making it hard for her to do any of the cooking so my sister and I took on a bigger role of making the sticky rice with my mom and aunties while my grandmother watched.”

“Is this your first year not making this with them?” Kacey asks.

“It is, actually, yes.” Kayla responds glumly.

“Do you miss them?” Tyson asks, wishing he asked if you wanted to go home.

“I was at first but then you prompted me with the idea of making the sticky rice with all of you so I’m not anymore! My grandfather always used to tell me that sharing our traditions keeps them alive. So, I am doing what he always wanted me to do.” Kayla replies with a bit of pep in her voice.

“Care to share any of those stories, Kayla?” Laura asks. Kayla looks over at Tyson to get confirmation that she should share. Tyson nods prompting Kayla to continue.

“Sure! I can’t remember all of them but one of them that I remember him telling us was when my grandfather was five. This was the first year that he was allowed in the kitchen to observe the cooking with the elders. While he was watching, my grandfather watched one of his uncles put salt on the lotus leaves. Putting salt on the lotus leaves allows for a richer taste for the rice. I’ll get to why we don’t do that in a minute. My grandfather decided that the pinch of salt on the lotus leaves was not enough and he took it upon himself to add more salt. No one noticed. When the sticky rice was ready to eat, the rice was so salty that it was fed to the farm animals. My grandfather felt so bad that he confessed to putting more salt on the lotus leaves. His punishment was to have to clean the chicken pen. Every year after that, no one put salt on the lotus leaves and my grandfather never used salt for his sticky rice ever again. I actually don’t think he ever used salt again after that.” 

The story gains a laugh out of everyone. 

The rest of the prepping continues on with smaller conversations. Once finished and the rice is drained, everyone watches Kayla mix the rice and all the ingredients together.

“I am going to mix the shallots, mushrooms, sausage, and chicken with rice. I am also going to add oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Once I’ve done that, we can begin wrapping the rice in the lotus leaf.”

Once the rice is mixed, Kayla demonstrates to everyone how to wrap the lotus leaf around the rice.

“You put the leaf on the counter and take one cup of rice and put it in the middle. You just fold it so that the rice won’t come out and tie it with a piece of string. There isn’t any pattern to fold it. Once folded, it should look like this and then we’ll steam them and will have sticky rice!”  

“I remember when I was ten and my grandfather was teaching me how to do this.” Kayla begins. “He told me and my sister about the first time he wrapped rice in a lotus leaf. He always told the story and made sure to say that he watched this being made for almost eight years prior to being allowed to wrap them and doesn’t know why he did it. He would tell us that he took the kitchen scissors and began to cup up the leaf. He cut a circle so that the rice could sit on something. He then trimmed the lotus leaf into mini looking pieces of leaf and placed them on the pile of rice. He always compared it to someone making a scrapbook and gluing small pieces of ribbon onto the paper. Every year, he would make one of these. This was what the young cousins would do. They would place the cut up pieces on the lotus leaf. I probably have pictures somewhere of me and my sister making those when we were really young.”

“Did you want to make one?” Tyson asks.

“Yeah? Sure!” Kayla replies with enthusiasm. She goes into the drawer and pulls out a pair of kitchen scissors. Kayla and Tyson begin cutting up a piece of lotus leaf. Once the rice is placed on a circular piece of lotus paper, Tyson and Kayla begin adding the small miniature pieces. Their giggles and laughter can be heard throughout the kitchen, putting smiles on everyone’s face in the kitchen.

For the next hour, Tyson, Kayla, Kacey, Laura, and Tyson’s grandparents folded the sticky rice and lotus leaf to be ready to be steamed. Conversation flowed easily and Kayla couldn’t help but smile. She was able to share her culture and her upbringing with the man she loves and his family she absolutely adored. It couldn't be any better. 

After there was no more rice to be folded into the lotus leaf, Kayla put the rice wrapped in lotus leaf into the pot to steam for an hour and half. 

“What do you do while the sticky rice is steaming?” Tyson asks.

“Not much, normally my mom or grandmother would begin making the other parts for dinner but I just bought those frozen because I didn’t want to screw up making them for the first time. We can watch a movie or play a game, maybe?” Kayla responds. 

After a small debate, everyone decides to play a card game as Kayla will have to get up and check the water every twenty minutes to make sure that no lotus leaves came undone.

… 

After an hour and half and steaming the rest of dinner, everyone was able to sit down and eat. 

“This is the typical dim sum. Normally dim sum is eaten for lunch but on the Dragon Boat festival, my family eats dim sum at dinner. We have Ha Gow, Siu Mai, Cheong Fan, Lo Ba Go, Cha Siu Bao, and Chao Mian. Which are shrimp dumplings, open faced shrimp dumplings, beef wrapped in rice noodles, fried radish cake, steamed pork bun, and fried noodles, respectively. And, obviously the sticky rice we all labored to make!”

Kayla’s explanation was met with hungry looks and nods of approval of how tasty everything looked. 

“How did you eat the one with the cut up lotus leaf?” Tyson asks, confused.

“Normally, we would put that one aside and eat it the next day. When it’s cold, it is easier to pick the lotus leaf pieces off.” Kayla explains. 

When Kayla sat down, she was so happy that she was able to celebrate this holiday with loved ones, even if they were her boyfriend’s family. If things went according to plan, Kayla hoped that maybe they could make a tradition out of this.

Part Three will be posted on February 26, 2021

[cadence-talle]

mutual appreciation 2k20!

anyway while i procrastinate the monthly roundup i’d like to give all my friends a shout-out... i love y’all so much 

WARNING: exceedingly sappy messages under the cut! 

@alabestrine: your writing is literally SO amazing omg and i smile whenever you reblog any of my posts 

@a-lonely-tatertot​: both your art and your writing is so amazing and you’re such a wonderful person too.. ily a lot 

@an-absolute-travesty: OSCAR i love you so much... you’re incredibly talented and funny and sweet and i cannot believe we’re mutuals 

@bookwyrminspiration: Quil i was actually stunned when you followed me your art and writing is all so great and you have the BEST character analyses 

@brilliantblindinglights: HON. your writing is so amazingly poetic and i just want to read it over and over (also you’re just. like. a really cool person) 

@bronte-deserves-better: we don’t talk much but your writing is top tier and i love the way you write Bronte 

@carmenisbiana​: grace,,, your writing is top tier and i may not know much about the lesbian thief with the big red hat but i do know i love you 

@clearlyvacksen​: lc you’re so incredibly funny and sweet and whenever you make a post i immediately know it’s going to be the best thing ever

@eating-mooncakes​: Cath!! we exist in totally different circles of tumblr but that’s okay bc you’re amazing and sweet anyway and ily a lot

@everyonehasthoughts​: Cas... you’re such a wonderful amazing spectacular person and i reread your fics like every day 

@gay-otlc​: you’re actually the one who got me to start writing KOTLC fanfic, way back on ff.net, and i’m so grateful for that. also your writing is just >>>>

@girlofmanyfandoms​: you’re SO good at EVERYTHING omg... like your art? your writing? i love you so so much 

@imaramennoodle​: ivy, your art is amazing and it’s been so much fun to see you improve... also you’re just. like. the sweetest. and i would die for you 

@i-love-side-characters​: Akki!! you’re a fantastic writer and an amazing person and i’m so glad we met. good luck with Banana Noir! 

@keeper-of-the-lost-queers​: kai, thank you for getting me into Brony and for being so nice all the time. also, your writing is top tier! 

@lemontarto​: mellie. MELLIE. your art is SO PRETTY and every time you draw something for one of my fics i actually scream. i love you so so much 

@linhamon-roll​: you’re an amazing writer (even if you break my heart all the time) and i’m still so stunned we’re mutuals. ilysm! 

@loverofallthingssmart​: eee!! you’re always SO supportive and sweet and your writing and ideas are all just ICONIC i love you so so much 

@magnateleto​: HON your art is always BEAUTIFUL and you’re SO FUNNY too... i look at the fanart you’ve done for my writing like every day 

@queersofthelostcities​: MAYA!! you’re so good at both art AND writing (and podfics apparently?? this is unfair) and you’re always so nice! i love you sm 

@ultralazycreatorfan​: we don’t talk much but your art is AMAZING and i especially love the way you draw Tam,,, like TALENT omg 

@yeetersofthelostcities​: fox, you’re always the SWEETEST... i get excited whenever i post writing because i know you’ll say the nicest things about it 

@ all my followers and mutuals (since i’m sure i’ve forgotten too many and will probably have to make another post for them) you’re all SO amazing and i love you so much... thank you all for making this year happy and full of light. 

See y’all in 2021!

-- Lynn 💛💛💛