#a fact is that i wrote this in bus when i'm going home

[castlephantom]

A small headcanon that I had in my mind is that that the current generation of Belmonts nationality are romanian (because my brain wouldn't leave me alone as latin version of Julius' name is Iulius). I also want to believe that Julius knows romanian and he talked with Alucard in that language before his amnesia.

[wooahaes]

skz - forgetting to kiss them

pairing: non-idol!skz x gn!reader

prompt: u forget to kiss them hello when u come home

genre: fluff!! just silly fluff

warnings: food mentions :3 + intentional lowercase & no proofreading.

daisy's notes: couldnt b me. id never stop greeting them w kisses. no one look at how long jisung's is i was particularly delulu when i wrote it

bang chan

chris noticed... almost immediately that was off about you. the embarrassing part was that it was partially due to the fact you didn't greet him with your usual "hi, i'm home" kiss.

it wasn't that chris looked forward to that kiss (he did, but that wasn't the point). he liked to think he was just... attuned to you. that he could feel the general vibe you had whenever you entered a room. he wasn't missing your "i'm home" kiss--he was merely noticing that you weren't feeling great. that something was weighing on your mind. so he called out as he heard you go back to the kitchen to get something to drink, asking about your day.

immediately, he heard you let out a long sigh. "work was awful and then i missed my bus so i had to take a cab."

chris nodded. "ah. gotcha."

you made your way over, sitting down next to him. "... did i do something?" you looked over toward the door, trying to retrace your steps. you hadn't slammed the door, and you hadn't been too late coming home...

"nah!" he looked over, "i mean, you kinda didn't give me a kiss when you came home. figured something was wrong."

you stared at him for a moment. did you really always give him a kiss when you came home? you liked to, because it was your own little way of saying "hi, i missed you," to him with just a quick peck. after a moment, you leaned in, pressing a quick peck against the corner of his lips before planting another on his lips proper.

"there," you giggled. "is that better?"

judging by the way chris giggled back, pulling you in for a third... maybe not. (but it wasn't as if you were going to complain.)

lee minho

usually, minho didn't mind whether you kissed him or not. he'd always enjoy your kisses, and found it endearing that you pressed a quick kiss against his lips whenever you came home, but he never asked nor would he ever force you to do it. sometimes he'd kiss you as a greeting, though, just because he liked to see your smile.

other times, when he was feeling a little more devious... he'd call out to you, just like he did tonight. "you forgot something!"

you came back into the room, shirt half-unbuttoned as you'd been in the middle of changing. you furrowed your brow, pouting a little as you tried to figure out what was wrong.

he just smiled at you. "you did."

a moment later, it hit you. you snorted, and made your way over, pulling him in for a kiss that lasted a few seconds longer than the usual one you usually gave him. your hands fell to his shoulders, and you drew back. "there. is that better?"

"i missed you," he giggled. "is that so wrong?"

you rolled your eyes, and gave him another peck on the tip of his nose. "love you, too, you dork," you said, pulling away from him to go change.

(and the sound of your laugh as you continued away despite the way he lunged to grab at you, just barely missing your ass... all minho could do was smile to himself.)

seo changbin

changbin was a reasonable guy. he waited a reasonable amount of time (ten minutes: you said you weren't going to shower or anything yet) before approaching you in the kitchen. "are you mad?"

you looked up from where you were working on dinner. he was so genuine about the question, and it threw you for a loop. had you done something to imply that you were...? all you did was get started on dinner because it was your night to cook. "what?"

"we always talk about these things," he said with a sigh. he crossed his arms, leaning against the counter, eyes bearing into your own, "did i do something? you can tell me if i did. it's okay."

"binnie, honey, i have no idea what you're talking about."

"really?" he frowned, and gave you this look of disbelief. "you always give me a kiss when you come home, and today, you didn't. do i need to run to the store? did i forget something--"

oh! you almost laughed at how adorable he could be sometimes. "nope," you said, reaching forward to pull him in. "just got distracted when i got home." ever so casually, you kissed him, and planted an extra on the corner of his mouth. "good to know you'd miss my kisses, though."

changbin just pulled you in again with a giggle, content to steal a few more from you before he let you go... for now.

hwang hyunjin

hyunjin didn't notice at first. he'd been curled up on the couch with a book when you came home, carrying a few bags of groceries that you insisted on handling yourself since they were for tonight's dinner. it was your night to cook after all, and--after asking to make sure you didn't want help--he settled back into his spot.

and then it hit him eventually: you... didn't kiss him when you came home. why didn't you kiss him? you always went out of your way to do it, after all. he leaned up, looking over to where he could see you deeply concentrating on the recipe you were reading. then again, you had set down the groceries and lounged around for a little bit first--the two of you had even talked during that. maybe you were mad at him? he knew he'd been petty about things before and denied you kisses as a result. maybe he was the one who was supposed buy groceries...? but you didn't give him a list or text him anything...

"honey?" he called out.

immediately, it caught you attention. 'honey' wasn't really his usual term of endearment for some reason: you were always his love, his baby. "what's wrong?"

his face grew warmer--was it really that concerning? "nothing--" he started, but realized that you only grew more concerned. "you didn't kiss me when you came home."

"oh."

he decided to keep going, "did i do something--"

"if you want it," you cut him off, "then come get it."

he just stared at you. "... what?"

"i was thinking about dinner," you said, turning back to what you were cooking. "but if you want that kiss, you'll have to come get it."

hyunjin found himself smiling, pushing aside his blanket and the book to get up and make his way over to you. he kissed you, smiling into it as well, as his hands fell to rest on your waist.

all better.

han jisung

jisung was not afraid to admit that he was deeply in love with you. and sometimes... that meant he'd overthink the little things. his heart was so full of devotion to you that sometimes he'd get too deep in his own head, trying not to do anything to wrong you. of course, he knew you, and he knew that you'd always accommodate him by telling him things outright. if he hurt you, you pointed it out and asked for space so that the two of you talk things out properly when both of you were ready for it. but today you were sitting at the other end of the couch, a pillow hugged against your chest as the two of you watched TV. or, well, you watched TV. jisung was watching you.

"hey." his foot bumped against your leg. "did something happen today?"

you tore your gaze away from the screen, brows drawing together. "no?" yet you continued to watch him for a moment, eyes scanning his face for anything that would give him away. "are you okay?"

he nodded. even that confused 'no?' was enough to soothe his thoughts. you would be honest with him, after all: that was what the two of you did. he settled into the couch. "i'm fine," he said, hoping it sounded casual enough.

yet you tilted your head, as if trying to get a better look at him. "baby?" you set the pillow onto the floor, moving a little closer. "did i forget something?"

he grew flustered immediately. "it's okay--it's not a big deal--"

"ohh," you lit up, smiling as you already knew. he liked the twinkle in your eyes whenever you knew something. "i know what it was." you crawled over to him, teasing him a little, "my jisungie didn't get his kiss today--"

he found himself unable to fight back a smile. "it's not a big deal, honey--"

"nope!" you giggled, and practically launched yourself at him. he'd end up pinned against the couch, "gotta make up for it with extra kisses for worrying my jisungie."

god, he loved you. you peppered kisses all over his face despite his laughter, slightly pushing back against where your hands were at his wrists to try and re-ground himself better against the couch, yet you didn't let go. sure, maybe you were hamming it up and acting extra cute for him... but he knew what this was. it was a message, loud and clear, that you cared about him wholeheartedly. you knew he could get anxious sometimes, especially when it came to potentially accidentally upsetting you. 'i want to make you happy' was what you told him once. he hoped you could feel the way he smiled into the soft kiss you pressed against his lips. when you drew back, you just stayed there, hovering over him and admiring how the glow of happiness looked on him.

"i'm home," you said.

jisung just brushed a stray strand of hair away. yeah... you are his home.

lee felix

as much as felix wanted to whine at you playfully for forgetting to kiss him when you came home (a staple of your relationship, he'd joke)... he couldn't help but worry. he continued to work at dinner, mentally going over your interactions today. he knew you well enough to know that he hadn't done anything to upset you unless you were having an off day where everything annoyed you (no shame in it, he thought; he had those days, too). it wasn't until after he finished making dinner that he called out to you.

"did something happen today?"

you looked up, brows drawn together, but he could see the fatigue on your face from stressing about something. "no?"

he set aside what he was doing, making his way over to where you were sitting, laptop open in front of you. you changed tabs immediately away from whatever you were doing for work right as felix began to knead at your shoulders.

"this is cheating," you whined, head dipping back so you could see his face.

"and i'd do it again," he said, dipping down to plant a quick peck against your forehead. "you can talk if you need to. i don't mind listening."

with a sigh, you shut your eyes while felix continued to massage your shoulders. sure enough, there was someone you had to deal with at work that had annoyed you enough that you were still running through the conversations hours later. he just stood there, listening and nodding along as he continued to work his magic on your tense muscles.

when you finished, he leaned down to press another quick kiss against your lips. "feeling better?"

"a lot, actually," you sat straighter in your chair, reaching forward to close your laptop. "thank you, lixie."

kim seungmin

seungmin had sat on the couch for too damn long, pretending that everything was fine. yes, you didn't kiss him when you came home, but that didn't mean anything. clearly, it didn't mean anything. except maybe you were mad at him, and you were withholding a stupid kiss because of it instead of talking it out like adults. that was what the two of you agreed on: no going to bed mad. to say that you were mad and needed space. not... whatever this is.

"seungmin?" you had sat down at the other end of the couch. "what's eating you?"

his eyes were a little too sharp when he looked at you, frustration all too evident on his face when he was supposed to be hiding it. "that's what i should be asking you."

and then... genuine, unfiltered confusion. your brows drew together as you watched him, smile falling. oh.

fuck. you weren't mad at him.

"never mind," he says quickly, "it's stupid--"

you moved over so that you could reach out and take one of his hands in your own, "seungminnie, it's not stupid if it's bothering you!"

ah. using cuteness to get what you wanted. unfair. "you didn't kiss me when you came home like you always do, so i thought you were mad. so then i got made because we agreed to always talk things out."

immediately, you giggled. "aw, seungmin... you really like my kisses that much?"

when you leaned forward to kiss him, he immediately shrank away, trying to block your mouth from his own. "no! not now! it's not the same now!"

yet your laugh was enough to make him drop the act. your lips pressed against his, and he smiled into the kiss, happy to have your arms around him... even if you'd never let him live this down.

yang jeongin

jeongin considered himself one of the more mature people in his friend group. sure, he could be silly and goof off sometimes, but he'd heard his other friends with partners complain about the tiniest things that turned out to be nothing. so with you, he felt a little comfortable in assuming that your "i'm home" kiss just slipped your mind. you'd texted him your bus was running late, so he'd decided to make you a cup of tea for when you came in. and when you threw yourself onto the couch, saying nothing to him for a while...

well, jeongin had a pretty strong feeling that you needed someone to listen to you instead. he'd sat down next to you, passing you the mug as he leaned in to press a quick peck against your lips. his own little "welcome home" kiss that he'd try to greet you with sometimes, if given the chance.

"do you want to talk about it?"

he watched as you took a long sip of tea, letting out a sigh once you'd set the mug down. "work sucked."

jeongin nodded. "and your bus was late..."

another heavy sigh. you turned your face to look at him, reaching for his hand. he gave it to you without any teasing, and watched as you pressed a kiss against his knuckles.

"are you sure it's fine for me to unload all of this on you?"

"that's what i'm here for," he hummed, sliding in a little closer so that he could draw you closer. "you listen to me, right?"

the hint of a smile ghosted over your lips, and jeongin watched as you settled in, head resting on his shoulder. "right..."

he just pressed another kiss into your hair as you launched into telling him about your day. no need for you to worry about giving him any 'i'm home' kisses: jeongin would supply you with as many 'welcome home' kisses as you needed to make you smile again.

taglist: @twancingyunhao @weird-bookworm @bangchansbae @jinnie-ret @cheesemonky

[nogenderbee]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ anon request: Could I request Kaeya, Neuvillette, Ayato, and Wriothesley with a dragon s/o?

Also, how are you?

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Yeah!! I kinda sillies in Kaeya's part but I hope it's not a problem- Either way, I'm good! Snd you~? ^^

Hope you like what I wrote hehe

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff

✧ Kaeya noticed dragon-like looking person when he was walking back home from Angel's Share, so naturally, he thoughts it's alcohol doing...

✧ but who is he to decline his fate? He came up and complimented your features anyway, sure tomorrow he'll see you as normal citizen

✧ from your end, you noticed the man was obviously under influence of alcohol but he wasn't harmful... so you let the conversation go the way you wanted~

✧ and when on next day he discovers it wasn't him tripping... well.. he's glad to have such an interesting friend! Because unless you push him away, he's not gonna back away from this friendship!

"My my~ It's rare to see someone so pretty! That tail must be really heavy, huh? Want me to hold it for you?"

✧ but if you two are lovers and he sees your real form by mistake... he'll be freezed for a second... hehe get it? Because in his ult he- ehem.. sorry..

✧ but when he sees you panicking, he immidietly chuckles and assures you while caressing your cheek with his hand gently and maybe flirt while he's at it as well~

"Why would I ever think you're a monster when you're as stunning as always, my darling? Maybe even more~ This "scary look" definitely makes you look even more lovable~"

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@bleachtheidiot @toyaswif3y - come get your cavalry capitan~

✧ Ayato, being head of Kamisato Clan, is always trying to be as respectful as possible, be it if you come from different region or aren't human... as long as you're friendly and give him respect back, he'd be happy to chat

✧ but dragons in Inazuma are still rarely seen... so when he noticed you on his walk, he tried approaching you with a soft look

✧ he honestly just wishes to get to know you and maybe realize the difference between human and dragons behavior... and who knows? Maybe he'll get to know even more if he plays his cards right?

"Good evening. I'm sorry it I started you, I just noticed your... rare beauty and wondered if you'd be interested in a little chat?"

✧ tho if you're already partners and you happened to hide your real form well... he'll be even more interested...

✧ how did you manage to hide it from him for so long? He's curious to me know this and many more about you

✧ but if he sees you're stressing yourself over the fact he found out, he'll be quick to calm you down, assuring you he still loves you the same

"Please calm down... I don't see why you hid it in the first place... Did you really thought I wouldn't love you just because you have tail? If anything, I say you only expanded my interest in you~"

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@bleachtheidiot - come get your boba lover!

✧ and so is Neuvillette~ he just has a bit of a better disguise while you're... walking proudly in your form... and that's alright!

✧ if you can be easily found on streets, he'll be happy to see another dragon friend and will probably even approach you himself

✧ Charlotte definitely saw you two interacting at some point, especially since Neuvillette is a big person, but of course she asked first before publishing anything and it's up to you if you were in the news or not!

✧ but if you prefer hiding in quieter places, there's still a chance he found you and yob two chatted either way

✧ he'd probably come off as calm but in reality, he's pretty excited to finally meet another dragon with such a pleasent personality

"I find it quite surprising we haven't met untill today... I'd like to get to know you more if you don't mind."

✧ and if it happens you both are already dating when you spoil your secret identity~ believe me, he won't mind one single bit!

✧ he literally can't understand why you even tried hiding it from him when he already told you he's the same

✧ but don't worry, he's not mad, if anything he's gentle and tries his best to be reassuring

"Why were you afraid? Haven't I already revelead I'm the same? My love for you can't be broken, no matter who you turn out to be."

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@bleachtheidiot @toyaswif3y - come get your otter judge~

✧ Wriothesley is already friends with Neuvillette and has pretty sharp eye and ear, there's no way he didn't know his friend is a dragon

✧ so when he got our of Fortress of Meropide to get some work done and saw a dragon, of course he was surprised since seeing one is rare, but he also didn't care to make a scene

✧ he probably ignored you letting you live your life since there was no reason for him to interrupt anything, unless... you're wandering around terrains, the he may

"Excuse me, you may want to keep away from these terrains. You may be taken as a prisoner running away by mistake."

✧ and if you already were his partner, I feel like he'd hear some stories from his dragon friend already... so he'd joke that you act like some dragons in the stories, turning out to be... half joke...

✧ but when you finally reveal the truth to him, he doesn't mind at all! The only thing that changed is the way he may tease you from time to time but that's it

"Walking around in your true form for once? Glad you're comfy. But watch out for your tail or it'll knock down something."

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@bleachtheidiot @toyaswif3y - come get your teddybear duke~

[dramadramallama]

not really analyzing much, just making a few notes of the things that stood out to me in the first 4 eps of light shop. i haven't read the webtoon so it's more like i'm blindly pointing at things like a child hahaha

NAMES

All (?) the names called out when the teacher does attendance in the first episode have a (direct) translation (to something positive.) I noticed because 1. some of them are really unusual, and 2. they ALL are words, like no one's just named Ji-soo or something in this class lol:

Ip-sae (입새) - entrance/beginning

Nu-ri (누리) - (old fashioned) world/universe

Ha-neul (하늘) - sky/heaven

Gi-ppeum (기쁨) - joy

Eu-tteum (으뜸) - fundamental/basic (possibly: "the first")

Ga-eul (가을) - fall/autumn

Chuk-bok (축복) - wishing happiness/blessed

Bo-bae (보배) - treasure/priceless

Mi-rae (미래) - future

Do-dam (도담) - (possibly from 도담하다) be bold/stand out/accomplished (?)

Haet-sal (햇살) - sunlight

Now you're gonna say, well Hyun-ju (who keeps going to the light shop as an errand for her mom) is also in that class! She's seemingly the only one with a "normal" sounding name. Out of curiosity I did search hers, and interestingly, I found a few meanings too: 1. address of residence, 2. water used in ancestral rites (!) 3. stay in the present, live life (!!)

Side note: Haet-sal is also the name of the Detective's (unborn?) child. He chooses the name himself out of the ones his wife wrote down. It could be a coincidence, except most of the first names she pre-selected are the exact names of the students in that class.

I can't read all of them, but there are a few I recognize: Gi-ppeum, Ha-neul, Chuk-bok, Eu-tteum, Bo-bae... (there's also Sa-rang "love", or Haeng-bok "happiness" in the list)

HYUN-JU AND HER MOM

We're not shown Hyun-ju unconscious in the hospital, like all the other main players who are trying/failing to find a way out (the will to live/the will to move on)... But she clearly also is at the threshold between life and death. Maybe she is living, but able to unknowingly go between worlds?

The light shop seems to be the doorway to "home" or maybe "heaven" (as evidenced by Mr Twisty Legs, who keeps trying to "reach" the shop, and when he does get there, he doesn't cross the threshold and loops back to his solitary karaoke session in the dark rainy alleyway.

Dead or alive, Hyun-ju is basically invisible. She hangs out with her friends but she is not interacted with. It's really fun, if you go back and watch the scenes, no one directly talks to her, looks at her, or touches her. When she speaks, she's not acknowledged by the three friends. It's really clever: something's off, but it can be attributed to the girls being chaotic, not purposefully ignoring her. Eu-tteum is the only one who, barely awake, at the frontier between dream and reality, finally "sees" her. It's directly after that event that she sees the other ghost/spirit, whose body is missing (and whom the Detective is still looking for)

Hyun-ju's mom is revealed to be the body being embalmed. Her spirit (soul?) has a conversation with the Funeral Director and when she asks, "am I alone?" she surprisingly sounds relieved when he replies that she is. Is she relieved her daughter is not with her (meaning not dead yet?) She also cries and is worried about being left in the dark, which parallels painfully with the fact that she keeps seeking light, apparently asking her daughter to get her light bulbs over and over. The Funeral Director reassures her that she'll go to a place where it's very bright (=the Light Shop being very allegorical here)

Hyun-ju and her mom also live on the 8th floor of that apartment building, while the Intensive Care Unit is also on the 8th floor at the hospital. Bus Stop Guy also lives on the 8th floor of Hyun-ju's apartment building.

BUT... maybe Hyun-ju is the one keeping her mom from passing on, stubbornly buying her light bulbs that bring no light, and inevitably end up in the trash. Or is she helping...? Has she been dead ever since she was little (she still has that necklace she had as a kid, with her info on it in case she gets lost) and has been waiting for her mom all this time? The Shop Keeper even emphasizes that he sees her as a small child, unwrapping the candy for her.

When offered, Hyun-ju always picks the yellow (=light/sun) candies. The whole show feels like a giant allegory about Light and Dark, Life and Death.

SYMBOLISM/FOLKLORE

I don't know much, but I do remember that a common horror trope in Asian legends/stories is that ghosts can be recognized because they "clap with the back of their hands". I immediately thought of that when they show the Lady in White's weird hands (the inside of her hands is actually the back of it. The nails are all wrong, I FLINCHED) She's strangely interested in whether people are "alone" or "together", and who "knows" each other. She also needs to be invited inside explicitly to step into Bus Stop Guy's house, like creatures in a lot of folk tales.

The Shop Keeper never welcomes his customers inside... but greets them by asking a question: "how did you get there/what brings you here/how can I help?" The lights in his shop are not to be touched.

The Detective has a defective lamp on his desk, and cannot seem to light up his lighter anymore. He also sees people/things he shouldn't. The Nurse says "if you see people who are on the border of life and death, doesn't that mean you are too?" which obviously, he is now, since we see him in a hospital bed in the ICU. Maybe his wife and child are waiting for him to wake up...?

Lots of imagery with mirrors, which are common symbols for doorways, a limit between two worlds.

I know it's not, but New Tenant's outfit is also very reminiscent of a hospital gown (first image). When she settles in the new house, she puts away her shoes and does not seem to notice the bright red heels (the same ones the Very Tall Extremely Scary Woman wears, indicating she is inside the house with her).

The song my guy Mr Twisted Legs sings (badly) to give himself courage is the same one the Nurse makes her patients listen to (and the same one she was listening to when she was in a coma herself, "wandering aimlessly," "almost giving up" before she found her way back to the living). The characters on life support can all interact with each other in the alleyway, but are also completely isolated from each other: New Tenant does not hear Twisted Legs' cries over her own, and vice versa, even when they cry out for the same thing, "to get out of there."

They all share the same space in the ICU, but are locked in their own world. Do their collective consciousness populate that "other" world, mixing up elements of their life and memories?

Clearly, the theme of the deceased, unable pass on peacefully, who remain behind (due to something unresolved?) is prevalent. Does it create--not ghosts exactly--but an energy, an entity embodying the "regret," the "mourning [of] something they lost"?

Now, what I find interesting is: what does "I want to leave, I want to go home" mean for each of them? To peacefully pass on, accept death, move on, and forget? Or does it mean to fight, to find the will to live, thanks to those who wish us well? Is the Light (shop) the way back to life, or the way to the after-life? Or both?

[aedislumen]

Lazare Carnot ou le glaive de la Révolution (1978),

A documentary film directed by Jean-François Delassus.

Last Monday with @mathildeaquisexta, I had the great opportunity to finally watch this movie, which was believed to be a lost media for a long time. Indeed, it is not: if you are in France and live close to an archive or library that provides access to INA's stored material, you can see it too on the spot.

The film structure is rather straightforward and nothing new when it comes to this kind of media: there's a narrator, Michel Debré in this case, who describes Carnot's political and military career from his election to the Committee of Public Safety until the coup of 18 Fructidor. His vicissitudes through the Consulate and the Empire are only quickly listed in a couple of minutes at the end - as they are not the focus of the movie - to leave eventually space for M. Debré to draw some conclusions on Carnot's deeds and views on how a democratic state should work.

Considering that it hasn't been uploaded anywhere online yet and that the series, which the movie is part of, Les samedis de l'histoire, was broadcast only once - it didn't have much success apparently - my friend and I didn't have very high expectations, but with our surprise, the film revealed itself to be rather decent and entertaining, with very few serious historical inaccuracies.

I'm no historian and even less a film critic, so, instead of attempting to make - and consequently fail since I'm not trained for such things - a real review, I'll simply write down my personal opinions and impressions, starting with what I didn't appreciate, to proceed with its strong points. At the end of this post, if Tumblr allows it, I uploads some pictures I took with my phone and some others I found online. They aren't of very high quality; nonetheless, I did my best to edit them so that they look decent. Unfortunately, in some instances, removing the glare and other unwanted effects was impossible with the means available. Better than nothing though, since INA hasn't agreed on giving copies of the movie upon request yet.

With that being said, let's begin!

The Bad (historical inaccuracies/bizarre filming choices/general things I didn't like)

The film opens with Barère updating his colleagues at the Committe of Public Safety on the disastrous situation France is in as far as the conflict against the First Coalition is concerned. Someone who's specialised in warfare is thus needed and Carnot's name gets mentioned. Robespierre shakes his head, asking Prieur de la Cote-d'Or why he can't do that instead, given his experience as officier du génie. Here comes the first inaccuracy: in real history, Prieur and Carnot joined the Committee together on the same day and, in particular, it was thanks to the former that Carnot was taken into consideration, because in the beginning Barère turned to Prieur only (I wrote a brief post about that here). So, it wouldn't make sense for the latter to already be a CSP member; not to mention the fact that he's played by an old, overweight, non-disabled actor, so somebody who couldn't be more different that the real Prieur. Usually I'm not picky when it comes to actors' physical appearance, but this one in particular left me quite perplexed, especially if one looks at the rest of the cast, which is on point for the most part, sole exception being Carnot's younger brother who in '93-'94 was 38-39 years old and in the film he looks like he's 20.

The final assault in the battle of Wattignies - that one with Carnot leading the troops - is extremely poorly made. I understand that the budget was low, but come on... A bunch of soldiers running chaotically, like high schoolers trying to get the bus to go home, isn't the most flattering way to depict one of the most beautiful battles of the Revolution - to quote Napoléon.

There's no mention of Carnot's involvement in the arrest and consequential execution of Robespierre and associates. The events of 8, 9 and 10 Thermidor just include a clip of Hoche being sad in prison, while the narrator limits himself to mention that Robespierre, Saint-Just etc have been proclaimed outlaws; after their death is announced, the spectator witnesses the release of the young general. All in all, such a missed opportunity to show all the possible reasons - and there are! - why Carnot turned against his former colleagues, something that could have enriched the depiction of his character even more.

The interactions between Carnot and Barras. There's quite a number of testimonies, stating that the two often fought and didn't like each other at all; yet in the movie, not only they walk arm in arm, but they converse in a very friendly way. This is kind of inaccurate; for example: the real Carnot would have never revealed the whole delicate matter concerning his former girlfriend to somebody like Barras, but here in the movie he does.

The good (what I appreciated and thought brilliant)

Apart from the two unfortunate cases presented above, I appreciated each of the casing choices, particularly the actors playing Carnot, Robespierre, Saint-Just and Hoche. Alain Mottet simply is Carnot. Not only his appearance matches fairly well that of the mathematician during the Revolution, but also his way of acting is rather accurate, considering all we know about him from historical accounts, which portrays him as a polite, good-mannered, hard-working person, who acts as a sort of patron for young promising military men. If my still limited knowledge on his life can serve anything, I'd say Mottet's performance comes the closest to the real Lazare Carnot. Something similar can be said for Robespierre and Saint-Just, played by actors who represent them well both in looks and attitude. They aren't depicted as bloodthirsty dictators, not even as Carnot's sworn enemies, but as people of great talent and intellect with whom the former can interact without much issue. As for Hoche... You're going to understand very soon what I liked about his actor.

I found the choice of adding Feulint - Carnot's younger brother - showing his influence and support in the life of Lazare's life brilliant. He gets often - almost all the time, to be fair - forgotten or treated as a marginal character with little importance.

The relationship between Carnot and Saint-Just. Oh, this is gonna be long. Since both @saintjustitude and I have started studying Carnot's life we wondered what exactly the two thought of each other and if their interactions were truly tumultuous as it's always portrayed in French Revolution related media and described in Hippolyte Carnot's memoirs on his father. By checking some CSP decrees and letters, it seems like it wasn't the case at all, at least in the beginning, and that their relationship only started to deteriorate a couple of months prior to the events of Thermidor. Nothing confirms said theory better than this movie: Carnot and Saint-Just interact a lot; the former, in particular, gives the idea of genuinely caring about the latter: he takes time to salutes Saint-Just exclusively before leaving for Northern Austrian border; once Saint-Just and Hoche come back from Alsace, Carnot says enthusiastically how much he's proud of them for what they have achieved military-wise at such a young age. There's also a scene hinting to a certain intimacy between the two, in which Carnot goes to whisper something in his younger colleague's ear, who feels relieved afterwards. Last, but in no way least, when Carnot gets interrogated by Courtois after Thermidor and talks about Saint-Just, he does that smiling in a melancholic way, as if he regretted the death of Louis-Antoine.

There are various CSP-related scenes, but fundamentally they are of two kinds: those told by the narrator happening prior to Thermidor and those by Carnot himself after Thermidor. What's the difference between them? The former show a rather calm interactions among all the CSP members: despite their diverging opinions on certain matters, they always manage to come to an agreement in a civil way; this applies to the Carnot-Robespierre-Saint-Just trio too, of course. When the main character is interrogated by Courtois though, a complete different version of the events get revealed: here Saint-Just and Robespierre are constantly at odds with him, they are suspicious of him to the point of wanting to get rid of him; in return Carnot calls them ridiculous dictator. To sum up, what he says to Courtois is nothing different from what's reported in Hippolyte's memoirs on the various altercations occurring in the CSP in the last months right before Thermidor. The way it's all presented makes the spectator wonder whether Carnot is actually telling the truth or a skewed, exaggerated version of the events in order to save himself from the reaction that after hitting his former colleagues - Collot, Billaud, Barère - is coming for him too, something that the movie puts a lot of emphasis on. I want also to point out that none of the scenes narrated by Carnot during the interrogatory is shown in the first part of the movie, so one never knows whether they truly happened, or whether they are fabricated by the latter. I found it brilliant, because it shows in a clever way how memories and written mémoires can be biased and unreliable.

It's given importance to Carnot's role in the Napoléon's climb through military ranks, something which Barras usually gets an unfair amount of credit for.

I appreciated the final comments by Debré on the fact that, according to Carnot, a real democracy in which citizens are truly free can only be achieved through a strong central government and not a weak one as it's commonly believed at the time the historian is talking.

Despite the movie being favourable to Carnot, it doesn't exaggeratedly praise him; in fact, it shows that he too committed mistakes as anybody else at the time and that also whatever he said about his former colleagues who got executed in Thermidor - notably Robespierre and Saint-Just - might not be the whole story.

Some pictures (those for which there's no external link are mine)

Carnot (Alain Mottet)

Sources for the first two pictures: 1, 2 (from this one I removed the watermark)

Robespierre (Michel Favory)

Saint-Just (Maxence Mailfort)

These two above are from antoine-saint-just.fr

Bonaparte (Daniel Mesguich)

Saint-Just, Robspierre and Couthon (Michel Modo)

Prieur (Igor Tyczka), Lindet (Roland Monod) and Carnot

Hoche (Manuel Bonnet)

Bonus: Hoche with a merveilleuse (Christine Locquin), who later in the movie will present herself to him dressed as hussar for some reasons:

Yes, I took an embarrassing amount of pictures featuring him.

Collot (Christian Bouillette) and Billaud (Bernard Salvage)

I'll add some more in a reblog since Tumblr doesn't allow more than 30 pictures per post.

[holdmytesseract]

Time To Get A Grip [EoH]

Daryl Dixon x fem!Reader

Summary: After returning home from a nightshift and finding your boyfriend stoned on the sofa, you lose it. Given the fact that he becomes a father soon, it's time for him to finally get a grip.

Warnings: Major trigger warning here! swear words, mentions of alcohol, drugs and smoking, drug consumption, pregnancy things, drama, a fight, angst, bit of blood, fluff, age gap

Gotta rate this story 18+, just in case!

Pre-Apocalypse Era!

Word Count: 3,2k

a/n: You chose and I am here to deliver! 😁 Well... I had this idea - and wrote it. It fitted perfectly into Daryl's, Y/N's and Teddy's story, so... But it's also quite a bit heavy. I never wrote something like this before.

Special thanks to @fictive-sl0th for encouraging me and loving my Daryl fics! Love ya, friend! 💕

Also, I apologise to all the Merle fans. Sorry, guys! 🙈

Tagging: @km-ffluv @stitchintimefan @sweetpeapod @loz-3 @peaches1958 @fictive-sl0th @lou12346789 @fuseburner @hotgirlsshareaccounts @in-this-minute @eddiemunsonsupremecy @mrbrownstne

Daryl Masterlist °☆• Masterlist

Releasing a big yawn; you closed the locker with the number thirteen painted on, and slipped the key - which was attached to a key ring, inside the pocket of your jeans. With a sigh you grabbed your bag and made your way towards the exit of the changing room. "By girls, see you on Monday!" You said goodbye to your coworkers; smiling. They bid their goodbyes as well; waving and smiling.

Taking a deep breath, you left the room and the big building behind yourself and stepped out on the streets of Gainesville; the bright morning sun almost blinding you.

Working as a nurse in a hospital wasn't always easy. Especially the night shift. But working as a nurse in a hospital at night, being almost eighteen weeks pregnant was even less easy - and so very exhausting. As soon as I'm five months in, I'm quitting this shit, you told yourself. Only day shifts from then on. The thing was, you told yourself that already from the start. From the very day you found out you were pregnant. It was a lie which repeated itself month after month. You knew that it wasn't good to work night shift after night shift. Not for you, nor for the baby. But you practically had no other chance. Being alive was expensive. Food was expensive. Having a roof over your head was expensive. Even if it was just a small apartment in one of the endless, old and quite ragged apartment blocks in downtown Gainesville. It was even more expensive, when you are the only one earning the needed money. And soon, you were going to have not only two mouths to feed, but three. Every day you hoped for a change to come - but it wasn't easy. Oh no.

You shook your head slightly and took another deep breath, in order to get yourself out of your thoughts and your sleepy brain to focus.

After you checked your surroundings, you crossed the front yard of the hospital and made your way to the bus station. All you wanted to do now was going home, crash on your bed and sleep at least until late afternoon. Your body wanted that as well. You knew that, of course. Hence, you had almost slept in on the bus and missed your stop! Luckily, your hazy brain reminded you to stand up in the last second.

Waiting until the bus rolled past you, you crossed the street and walked the last meters to the building in which your apartment was. It was just a few blocks down the road. At least the weather is nice today, you thought; looking up into the sky.

You unlocked the old main door, which led into the big staircase and started to climb the steps, leading up to the third floor. On your way, you met a familiar face - unfortunately. "Oh, good morning, Mrs. Jefferson."

Elsie Jefferson. The typical, critical bitter old lady next door, who everybody knew. Husband long dead and owner of at least ten cats. She was utterly nosy and curious about anything and everything. You couldn't stand her since the day she decided to interfere in your affairs. It was your life, not hers - but Mrs. Jefferson didn't care of course. And sometimes, you had the feeling that she did this all on purpose, because she liked you just as little.

"Ah, good morning, Y/N." She had just left her apartment; wearing those old slippers she always wore. A trash bag was in her hand. Apparently, she was just on her way to take out the trash - and you had the perfect timing to run straight into her. Great.

"Coming home from a night shift?" "Mhm, yep." You had absolutely no intention to talk to her, but you also couldn't be so rude to just walk away. The older woman shook her head. "Young lady, young lady... You should stop doing that. Now that you are pregnant." Not that again. "I know, but it's my decision. I'm okay with it. I'm used to it." Mrs. Jefferson shook her head again; rebukingly. You already wanted to walk past her; thinking that the conversation was over - but for her, it wasn't. You should've known. "Does your chaotic mess of a boyfriend still has no job?" You clenched your jaw. You hated it - absolutely hated it, when she brought Daryl up in those stupid conversations. All she wanted was to sting you and throw mud at him - just because he was how he was.

Gritting your jaw, you tried to smile at her. "He's at it." You didn't reveal more. While should you? "So no." She concluded, before stepping closer to you. "Chit... You should get rid of him." "I don't think so, ma'am. He's the father of my child." You tried to argue, but Mrs. Jefferson didn't even listen to you, just continued to speak ill of Daryl. "That man is not good for you and brings nothing but trouble. Just look at his messed-up family! His abusive, alcoholic father! His mother, who was a chain-smoker! And don't get me even started on his brother! Violence, alcohol, drugs... Wasn't he even in the prison only a few years back?" She exclaimed. "Daryl Dixon is toxic, Y/N - and way too old for you... Do you really think he's better than the rest of his family? Do you really think he can change? Turn into a better person?"

Hearing all those foul and judgemental words leaving the older lady's mouth, caused anger and sadness to flow your veins. How dare she? How dare? You had a hard time to keep yourself calm and not snap at her. The raging pregnancy hormones within your body didn't quite help the situation. Closing your eyes for a moment, you took a deep breath. "Yes, I believe exactly that. I love this man - and that's all that matters. Have a nice day, Mrs. Jefferson." With those words you walked past her; continuing to climb the stairs. But of course, she had one more bombshell to drop on you... "You should've never let him get yourself pregnant. Dixon isn't made to be a father." You ignored her and moved on; mumbling under your breath: "That's what mum said as well..."

You tried to calm yourself down on the rest of the way and erase what just happened from your memories. You didn't have the nerves to deal with that woman. Not today. Not after an exhausting night shift and three times of throwing up in the staff toilets - no.

You climbed the last few steps and headed straight for the quite rickety door, which led into yours - and somehow Daryl's apartment.

Relieved, you closed the door behind yourself. Finally at home. Thank god. Throwing your keys on the small shelf beside the main door, you took off your shoes and jacket. You didn't anticipated Daryl to be home. Not after he had told you Wednesday morning, that he'd go out with his brother. You knew exactly what 'go out' meant. But who were you to stop him? God knows you had tried. Several times. But well... Blood is thicker than water.

Given that fact, you were quite surprised, when you found him in the living room; passed out onto the couch. A smile crossed your face; knowing that he was here - but it faded quickly, when you noticed the condition he was in. Daryl was laying on his stomach; one arm dangling over the edge of the sofa. One sleeve of his yellow-black checkered shirt was ripped off, while the other was still intact. When you squatted down beside him, a wave of cold smoke hit you; coming undoubtedly from his clothes. Daryl's breathing was heavy; sweat dotted his face and presumably his whole body as you noticed further. Some dried, crusty blood was smeared across the skin underneath his nose - and you knew. You knew. You weren't blind. And a nurse. You could tell when somebody was stoned - or well, had been stoned.

It didn't happen often - luckily. It was already enough that Merle made him to consume alcohol way too often. Making him to take drugs was an entirely different story. And you hated Merle for it. Yes, he was strictly spoken family, but the impact he had on his little brother was way too big. The worst part of it was, that Daryl didn't even defend himself.

Seeing your boyfriend in this condition caused the anger, sadness and frustration you had just swallowed down to come up again. Twice as hard. You stood up and crossed your arms; looking down on him.

"Daryl. Wake up." No reaction. "Daryl." You nudged him softly with your knee, earning a low growl. Like already said... You didn't have the nerves to deal with shit like that today. "Daryl fucking Dixon!" You yelled then, causing the man to flinch and immediately wake up. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, huh?!" He groaned again and moved to sit up; pinching the bridge of his nose. His sweat soaked shirt on full display; short blonde-brown hair as messed up as it could be. "What'd ya mean, hon?" He slurred; still trying to wake up properly. "Oh no no, don't pull that card, Daryl. Don't 'hon' me. You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

Your boyfriend rubbed his face and ran a hand through his hair, before reddened eyes looked up to meet your Y/E/C ones. "Merle, uh, Merle's got this new, uh, dealer and-" "Forced you to try the 'good stuff', I know." You finished his sentence. "What was it." He didn't answer, just looked at the ground. "That wasn't a question, Daryl. It was a demand. Tell me." He still didn't talk. You stepped closer and rather harshly pushed his left shoulder. "Tell me! What did you snort?!" Daryl swallowed visibly; once again avoiding eye contact. "Jus' a bit Crystal Meth."

You gasped audibly; jaw dropping. "Crystal Meth? Crystal Meth?! Fucking hell, Daryl! That's one of the most dangerous drugs!" Sure, he wasn't stoned anymore, but undoubtedly dealing with the aftermath. And the drug caused his already quite short fuse to be even shorter. He was more irritable. You noticed. Therefore, he was quickly losing it. "Goddamn, woman! Calm down! It was jus' a little bit! I won't do it again!" He snapped - and you swallowed hard; already needing to suppress the tears. The drugs influenced Daryl and the hormones influenced you.

"I don't care if it was just a tiny bit! I don't care if you say you won't do it again, because you always break this promise! You'll do it again - and we both know it! You'll drink again. You'll smoke again. You'll toke again - and you'll take drugs again. Merle is bad for you! When do you finally realise that?!" "Nah, he's family, Y/N! He's the only one I got left!" You shook your head. He didn't even listen to a word you just said, did he? "That may be true, yes! But he's so far off track - and he's dragging you right with him! You could be so much, more, Daryl... But for that, you need to finally break free!" Your boyfriend clenched his hands into fists; was visibly angered as well. "I won't jus' leave Merle! Ya can't ask me to do tha'!" You frustratingly rolled your eyes. He really didn't understand. "I am not asking you to leave your brother! I told you again and again... I'm asking you to keep a healthy distance! Separate your life and his life! Stop acting so headless!" "'M not actin' headless!" You laughed almost maniacally at his ridiculous words. "Oh hell yes, you do! And you know it! Stop this! I need you to quit acting this way, because-" The anger coursing through your veins got suddenly replaced by fear and desperation.

"'Cause wha'?! Huh?! 'Cause what?!" Daryl's already not properly thinking brain thought even less logical as he spat out that question. "I don't know if it already slipped your notice, but..." You pulled the baggy t-shirt you wore aggressively down, causing the visible outlines of your baby bump to appear. "I'm fucking pregnant, Daryl! With your kid! You're going to be a father in not even six months! Do you even know what that means?! A child comes with great responsibilities! We are talking about a human being we need to look after! A baby isn't like a dog or a cat! I can't have you hanging somewhere around, drunk or stoned! That's reckless - and I thought you were aware of that. Apparently, I was wrong."

Daryl was unfortunately way too deep in his rage to understand. All he saw was red. Literally jumping up from the couch - his symptoms of the drug consumption forgotten for a moment, he took a few threatening steps closer, until he was hovering dangerously over you. "Well... Guess ya shoulda have listened to yer parents, girl... 'N dump me when ya still had the chance to. I told ya from the very beginnin' that this wouldn't work out. Us. This relationship was meant ta fail... But now's too late. Like ya said... Already knocked ya up with that bastard child."

You and Daryl had already quite a few fights in your relationship. That was normal and common. Hurtful and ugly words were sometimes exchanged - but he had never said something like this. It really hurt you. Deep. Despite the fact, that you knew that he probably didn't mean what he had just said. You knew that he was actually happy about this baby. Scared to death, but happy. But it hurt. So freaking much.

You were exhausted. So utterly exhausted - and yet sleep didn't find you. You laid awake, hour after hour; thinking about what had happened - and the possible consequences of it. Your brain just couldn't shut up and so you spent the rest of the day and even night with just staring at the wall or ceiling and crying. Sure, you could sleep a few hours, but it was not peaceful and certainly not restful. Anyways... It was way too less sleep, given the fact that you had a night shift behind yourself and were pregnant. Needless to say, you couldn't be any happier about the fact that Sunday was your day off.

You just stared at him, while tears started to trickle down your cheeks. "Go." Your voice was merely above a whisper, but your eyes told Daryl enough to realise, what he had just done. "Y/N, I-" "Leave." "Y/N-" "I told you to go!" You yelled, pushing him away from you. "Get out of my sight, before I do something I might regret!" Daryl grunted and ripped the other sleeve of his shirt off, before he walked to the door; "Fine! If ya want me ta go, I'll go!" and slammed it shut behind himself. Mere seconds later, you broke down crying.

In the early morning hours, you heard the sound of your doorbell ringing. Cursing under your breath, you stood up and walked to the door. You had just been on the verge of dozing off again...

You already suspected that it was Mrs. Jefferson, one of your neighbours - or hence, even the postman, but you certainly didn't expect Daryl to stand in front of your door. Honestly, you expected anyone, but him. He never came back that fast after a fight. Never.

Well... Until now.

"Daryl?" You asked; totally stunned and also a bit confused. "What are you doing here?" He had both his hands stuffed into the pockets of his slightly ripped, grey jeans. A fresh tank top covered his body; not that ragged shirt anymore - and he had visibly showered. The man leaned against the door frame; biting his bottom lip nervously - a habit.

"I really fucked it up, didn't I?" "Yes. Yes, you did," you confirmed without even blinking. Daryl swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "'M sorry." You looked him in the eyes and crossed your arms over your chest. "You always say that. I always believe you. And you always fuck it up again." You paused; trying to find the right words. "I love you, Daryl - but honestly, I don't know how long I am able to play this game."  He swallowed hard; the harsh realisation of the possibility to lose you - and with that his child hitting him full force. "Y/N, I... I know. 'M an asshole. Always was. Most likely always going ta be. I don deserve you. And certainly not yer love - but please... Give me one last chance. Us." He sighed; desperately. Words weren't his strengths. "Fuck's sake, I can't live without ya. I need ya. You know that."

Now you were the one who had to swallow hard. Tears stung in your eyes; as you tried to figure out what to say. Yes, you were still angry at him for what he did - for what he said, but on the other hand... You loved this idiot so fucking much. Perhaps even too much for your own good. Not that you cared, though.

"Yes. And I need you, Daryl..." Your raging hormones caused your walls to break. "You're all I've got. I chose you above my family. I gave up my entire life for you. Please don't let this be for nothing. Please hold your promise this time." You choked out; tears staining the fabric of your sleep shirt. "Look for a job; get some distance between your life and Merle's life - and, for our child's sake, get a grip. There's not much time left for you to turn the tide." You took a shaky breath and cupped your baby bump. "I can't do this without you..."

Daryl nodded; his expression soft and full of love - and regret. "I know. I know." He stepped inside your apartment; closed the door and approached you, before he shyly - almost hesitantly placed his bigger hands on top of yours. "'M sorry. 'M so sorry. For what I did - 'n especially for what I said. I didn't mean it. I love that kid. Ya know I do. 'N I promise I'll try ta be a better man. For you and the baby."

You only nodded; unable to speak because of all the tears you shed. He leaned forward; pressed a kiss onto your forehead - and that was the moment you entirely caved. You threw your arms around his neck and hugged his body. Daryl accepted the hug, of course; placed both his hands on your hips and held you.

After a while, Daryl bent his knees and quickly swept you off your feet - much to your surprise, before he carried you into your bedroom. He set you down on the bed, quickly stripped off his top and jeans and joined you; wrapping you up in the tightest snuggle possible. It was almost like he sensed how tired and worn out you were. "Sleep, hon. 'M here. I won't go anywhere." You smiled tiredly up at him and couldn't resist the urge to kiss him. So, you did. "I love you." "I love ya, too."

[bun3333s]

Heyyy I'm taking you up on the care package idea.

I'm gonna ask for a soft yandere, a little delusional if you can work that in. I love stuffed animals, sweets, witchy stuff, earrings, arts and crafts, and gardening. Thank you so much 🥺

this was so much fun !! thank you again <33 i wrote a little blurb for it + how you got it, images of what i had in mind at the end

it's dark out by the time you get home; maybe class ran late, the bus broke down, or just any manner of life deciding to make you a tad bit miserable leaves you arriving back later than you would've liked.

but guess what? you're home now, and that's all that matters - life be damned. a faint sigh escapes you as you step in, too busy with putting your things down to notice it at first. you're going through the motions - coat, bag, keys on the table so you don't forget them again - and that's when you see it.

maybe 'it' isn't the best way to describe what lays neatly arranged on your table. the edible arrangement strikes you first, chocolate covered and skewered up to form an aesthetically pleasing treat. beside it is a bouquet, white petals fanning out in intricate spirals from the center. it's sweet. almost too sweet, the fragrance on the edge of giving you a headache after a long day.

your eyes travel down from the most imposing artifacts to what appears to be a small collection of crystals: a freestanding blue one, and two others affixed onto jewelry. the blue crystal looks like an oversized marble, swirls of white throughout the sphere. there's red crystals hanging from a pair of teardrop earrings, and the pink one is chained into a dainty necklace.

it takes you a second.

your brain seems to hum with activity, the kind of noise an old desktop well past it's prime might make when you try to start it up.

"what the fuck."

why is there all this random stuff on your table? who put it there? in fact, how did they put it there?

slowly but surely you feel the pricks of adrenaline start. you're confused, you're scared, and you're still in the entryway holding your keys when you take the first step in what feels like an eternity.

your eyes dart around the familiar room, seeing nothing else out of place. they land back on the table, and you notice the neat envelope the gems sit on.

you grab it. maybe with a bit too much force, because it sends the jewelry to the floor, but you couldn't really be asked to care right now. the envelope is torn open just as unceremoniously as you scramble to unfold the paper within.

Dearest, Happy 6-month anniversary! These past months have been the best of my life. You are my sunshine, my breath of air in the raging sea, the soft tenderness in my heart. Thank you. For everything. I hope you know just how much you mean to me. I love you. P.S. I wanted to get you those crystal pillars, but I was worried you'd get hurt somehow with them. Make sure you don't accidentally stab yourself with the skewers! Sincerely, You know who <3

it's a sweet letter. a sweet gift, one you would've been ecstatic to receive under any other circumstance.

one problem:

you, in fact, do not know who.

here's some photos of what i imagined !!

a cute little edible arrangement filled with sweets and all the cheesy romance related food you can think of

a bouquet of gardenias :))

a little blue calcite decoration !

a heart shaped rose quartz necklace

red beryl earrings !

hope you like it :DD

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What- what does Alphard think the Knight bus is? "Functionally a brothel"??? Is it?

The Man Who Would Be King by me and @therealvinelle

In the words of @therealvinelle in a comment that asked just this

It's a bus consisting of beds that nobody ever takes, the people on it are just on it for the sake of… hanging out, nothing to see here… and no one takes it apart from Harry that one time he accidentally flagged it down. Never mentioned as an option by anybody, and as Heyob wrote in their fic (as we had the same idea at the same time, I love Heyob for this) (https://archiveofourown.org/works/54186907) Ernie is paid enough to tell people not to fuck on the beds but not enough to recite that rule. In other words, that Knight Bus is just so unbelievably shady, massive opium den vibes, I'm if Harry asked Stan would have given him a blunt.

My answer is functionally the same but I can go into more detail.

Who Takes the Knight Bus

We have generally one solid general reason people would deign to take the Knight Bus: those who cannot Apparate and those who cannot use the Floo network.

Now, this might be those who could not afford Apparition lessons and or never passed their exams as well as those who are not on the Floo network in general. You could also have those who legally cannot Apparate, such as Harry when he was underage in book three. And also those who are not in a state to Apparate or Floo: in other words those who are hopelessly inebrieated.

Basically, if you can do the other two though (or portkey) you're not taking it because you can get where you're going faster, easier, cheaper (Knight Bus takes longer and while costs miniscule sickles that still more sickles than you'd pay to Apparate and you have to deal with the fucking bus).

So daytime hours you might have a small but decent commuting crowd during rush hour or what have you the same you do in most public transit.

But what happens when everything... closes...

Now you don't have the people going to and from work or to and from stores, everything's closed. When Harry rides it in third year at night, we see everything weirdly change to beds and the people riding it are just... loitering around... not leaving. They're in fact all served refreshments.

What you have then are the drunk people returning from pubs who are too sloshed to go home/don't want to go home yet and people who don't want to rent a room for however much money/be at a known establishment where people might recognize them and instead pay 3 sickles to ride the bus with the beds on it to have their fun.

Basically.

It's the shadiest fucking thing to be riding at three am and there is no universe in which it is not functionally a brothel between the hours of 12 to 5 am per the way JKR describes its operations.

[toretzka]

yesterday i was on the bus going home after work and i wrote a huge text about how i was just waiting for müller's post because i knew what was about to come. i did not publish the text but imagine how sick i felt when i woke up today and saw his post. even if i already knew that we would get those news soon.

i'm not okay. i'm not okay to see the most loyal player the club has leaving it when it was not even his desire to leave. i'm not ready to say goodbye even if i knew his contract would end by the end of this season.

the thing is, he has been my favorite player since 2010. i was only 13 at the time, so it's not easy to say goodbye to the player you've been calling your favorite for the past 15 years. and the fact that no other player will ever be as important as he is to me makes it even harder.

in the football world where we see so many toxic horrible behavior from players, müller was the right choice for me to grow up loving and admiring him.

but i blame myself because i kept thinking that i still had a few years left to plan to see him playing right in front of my eyes, not only on screen. i was naive to think the club would ever respect him when all they care about is the money in their pockets and protect problematic players.

anyway. it's not easy. i don't think my brain completely understood what's happening yet. i'm just too sad and my heart hurts.

[thewriterghost]

Lovely!!!! Would you write something about Bucky x reader/ friend who moved to another state for work? They used to be really close and talk a lot but as things go with life and distance they drifted a part a bit? But maybe from time to time she’ll think she’ll see him from behind or a side profile walking home at night and think of him and send him a “thinking of you / we should catch up! text not realizing that from time to time that who she saw was Bucky. He will check in on her and see how she’s doing in her new life

Hello!! I'm so sorry, this is so late 😭 between school and internship I hardly got any time to write. In fact, I wrote this at work lol, hopefully you like it! Let me know what you think!

Summary: You moved away from the compound because of school. It's been a lonely few months now. That's definitely the reason you think you're seeing Bucky from the corner of your eye every time you look around, right?

An autumn breeze catches you off guard, right when you are leaving your school building for the day. It was warmer during the day, you think as you walk to your bus stop. It's a lonely time of day, an orange glow of sunlight illuminates the empty bus stop.

As you make it a point to crash every red or yellow leaf you see on your way without being too obvious, out of the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of a familiar metallic glow. That same feeling you always get around him, the butterflies and the hippos come back to your stomach, making your heart beat a million times a moment. Your eyes snap towards it, but it disappears all too fast for you to spot, leaving you with disappointment and longing.

You miss him. You try not to, but it's not easy not talking to him everyday like you did before, not being able to hang out on 3 am when both of you are too stubborn to go to sleep, or not being able to just exist at the same place at the same time with various animals in your stomach (figuratively).

You grab your phone from your pocket and click on his name on your messaging app. You hand hovers over the text box for a while, until you decide to just write to him. It's not like you haven't been talking since you left, it's more like you didn't want to talk all too much because of how much you'd want to just drop everything and go to him. Still, you think, enough is enough.

"Hey, you busy?"

You wait for a moment, anxiously nibbling on your lower lip. It doesn't take him more than 60 seconds to write back.

"Nope. You?"

You write back, biting down a smile.

"Nope. Just got out of school, going home."

You can almost hear his grumble-ish answers through your phone. A message pops up.

"Isn't it late? I thought you got off at 4."

You must've told him your schedule, but your mind doesn't come up with a memory to support it. You shrug it off and type.

"Yeah, I had to make a presentation and I was the last one of the class so the professor just agreed to do it now rather than next week."

"Does that mean you're free next week?"

You can't help but smile brightly. Looks like you're not the only one missing the other.

"Does that mean you miss me?"

You can almost see his scoff. You giggle to yourself.

"Does that mean we can meet?" He answers. You jump at the opportunity almost too fast.

"Yeah, sure. When are you free?"

"Whenever you're free."

"You don't have a mission or anything?"

"I'll bail." His answer makes you laugh out loud, maybe the first sincere laugh since you've been here.

"If it's not going to be a trouble for you."

"It won't. When should I pick you up?"

You check your schedule on your mind. You would be free tomorrow afternoon.

"Tomorrow afternoon? 2-ish maybe?"

"Sounds good."

You contemplate on whether to write it or not, but then think why not and type.

"I missed you, you know." And you put the phone on your pocket, face starting to burn up.

Your phone buzz, and you get the phone out faster than light.

"I missed you too." Your eyes glance over the letters more than once, each time smiling even more, until you find yourself giggling to yourself at 6 pm on an empty bus stop.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Another text appears on your screen, leaving you happier that you've ever been since the last few months.

Next day goes too slow for your taste. You keep finding yourself shaking your knee up and down with anticipation.

You are out of the door when the clock hits 2 pm. As you arrive at the school gates you realize you haven't told him where to come. You pull out your phone to type, but stop at your tracks when you hear it.

"Hey."

Sitting on a black motorcycle, blue eyes and black jacket catches you off guard. A smile creeps on to your lips.

"Hey." You return the sentence as you find your feet and move towards him. He has a gentle smile as well, uncharacteristically for him as people would say, but not for you. You've seen him like this before. When you were up all night and baked not one, not two, but three batches of cookies together, you've seen that same smile everytime your eyes have met. Or that one time when it was raining too hard and you were too sick to go to mission, and he stayed to look after you, cuddling you since he can't get sick because of serum.

He takes your helmet from the back and after looking at you with that sweet smile of his for a moment, he puts it on for you, clipping it with delicate movements.

"Hop on." He instructs and you obey, hugging him from behind with a pair of red cheeks which thankfully can't be seen thanks to your helmet.

As he takes off, you don't bother to ask where to. After a brief 10-15 minutes, he stops in front of a small cafe near a park.

"Were you around here yesterday?" You ask, recalling the silver glimmer you saw yesterday evening.

"I was on a mission." He shrugs.

"Huh." You mumble. Seeing his puzzled look, you add. "I thought I saw you yesterday, after school. Right before I texted you, in fact."

"You must've missed me a lot." He smirks, opening the door to the cafe for you. Always a gentleman.

"Must've." You return the smile as you walk in.

As you both get your coffees and pastries, you decide to ignore the fact that he probably was here yesterday. In fact, he probably was around since you moved here. Watching out for you, worrying about you, missing you.

"What are you smiling about?" You come back to real life when he gently nudges your shoulder with his.

"Oh, nothing." You shake your head. "I was just thinking, we should meet more often. It's been too long."

"Yeah, agreed." He replies with a smile of his own. You don't realize the look in his eyes, confirming your theory.

[stark-ironman]

Mob Boss Intro

18+ No Minors!!

A/N: I know... I was supposed to post part 3 of the Firefighter AU but I have bad adhd and wrote this instead. If you have any ideas or questions or anything really, send me an ask!!

------

"Shit"

You curse to yourself as you miss the bus, again, due to the fact you had to work late. Working late isn't a problem but when you just recently wrecked your vehicle on top of not having a place to park a bike so it wouldn't get stolen, it became kind of a pain to revolve your life around a bus schedule. You start walking, sticking your hands in your jacket as the winter wind picks up.

Snow starts falling and you look up, cursing some more as you hear a car pull up beside you. "Need a ride?" The guy asks as you keep walking. "No thanks, I'm good." You say not looking back at him. "The news station is calling for a blizzard and I don't think you want to be in it whenever it hits." He tries to reason. "I'm not too far from my house so you can go on ahead." You tell him. "I give you my word I won't hurt you. You could even drive my car if it made you feel safer." The guy states and you stop.

"If I get in the car would it get you to stop pestering me." You ask as he smirks. "Maybe." He chuckles. The snow picks up and you sigh, getting in his car. "Straight to my road and that's it. I'll walk to my house after that." You state as you type the road name in and he starts driving.

"Don't trust me, huh?" He asks with a chuckle. "I don't allow people I don't know to my house." You say. "My name is Tony. Tony Stark." Tony says glancing at you. "Y/N Y/L/N." You mutter. "So see, now we're not strangers." A laugh falls from his lips after saying that. You roll your eyes and look out the window.

"I couldn't help but notice the scrubs. Are you a nurse?" He asks. "Doctor, actually." You correct. "Holy shit, really? Damn." He exclaims. "What? Are you shocked by that?" You ask. "Well shocked that I picked up a doctor on the side of the road." Tony says turning down the road. "Wrecked my vehicle a couple weeks ago so I haven't had a chance to get a new one." You say. "Well I told you what I do for a living so tell me what you do." You say.

He ponders for a bit before saying, "I own Stark Industries and a few other... business." You look over at him and debate on questioning him but decide not to. "Isn't Stark Industries a weapons company?" You ask instead. "Was. Now we manufacture a number of things ranging from science equipment for space to anti-pollution stuff and we just branched out into the medical field actually." He says.

"You must be a pretty smart guy then." You look over at him. "I don't like to brag but since you brought it up, I am." Tony says with a smile.

"Just drop me off up here." You tell him.

He nods and parks on the side of the road.

"I could always just take you home. The storm is getting worse and a doctor like yourself doesn't need to get sick." Tony tries to offer. "I'm pretty sure I can handle a little snow. Thank you for the offer though." Grabbing your stuff, you step out of the car but he stops you. "Can I at least give you my number just in case you ever need a ride again?" He asks.

"I got a feeling you will keep pestering me until I say yes." You groan. He smirks, "I'm a man who likes to take his chances when he sees them." "Fine but I'm not promising to call." You agree, handing him your phone. Tony types his number in and hands it back to you, smiling softly.

"Goodbye, Tony." You say. "Goodbye, Y/N."

You get out and start walking to your house, feeling your phone buzz when you're halfway there.

"Let me know when you make it home. I'm still parked down the road just incase. -T"

That little shit sent himself your number.

[connectionterminated13]

At approximately 12:42 pm on April 12, 2018

Hello there readers I decided to make a little Eleanor short, If you have stumbled across this and do not know the EleaLore, I suggest looking through the Eleanor tag on my Tumblr, But if you are too busy to do that the simple of it is this is my re-imagined version of Eleanor from the fazbear fright books! And this is a short story that I wrote for her. Now this was a Short finished quite quickly so I'm afraid that some of the Editing might not be up to snuff.. So forgive me if you would. And if you won't scroll past.

Please avoid all 2011, Words if you are triggered by:

#Death, slight descriptions of body horror, Religious implications And Eleanor being a silly lady

At approximately 12:42 pm on April 12, 2018 A woman boarded a bus in Oregon. If you asked three of the four other people on the bus what the woman looked like they would have described her simply. She was a pretty woman somewhere in her twenties carrying a backpack and wearing a simple purple dress and A golden heart pendant. Reddish orange hair was tied off in a simple braid. If you had asked Tommy Martins he would have had it a bit more detailed.

Tommy was the talking type, he worked overnight at a cafe downtown and was just going to his night shift when he saw her sit down next to him. And just like the others at first Tommy only really saw a beautiful woman. Yes she was interesting for the fact a lady like her was traveling so late at night but there wasn't really anything off about her until you looked a little closer. And being next to her was close and sure Tommy could have looked away after all he had a girl at home… but there had been something about the woman that had drawn his eye.

Maybe it was something about the way she held herself or the way the dress clung to her like it was stitched onto her body but the more he looked the more things felt wrong. Her skin was just a little bit too smooth and clear. Her hair was just a little bit too Silky and soft. All of the curves of her body were just a little bit too smooth. She looked almost hyperreal, like a woman in the fantasy of some young man. Like someone had airbrushed out all of her flaws, Tommy had thought with a strange shiver.

The woman said nothing, just looked him over like a lion sizing up prey and suddenly Tommy had felt like a jerk. He would have later laughed it off that it was just a trick of the bus light or the late night. He would then have told you he looked away and felt embarrassed and bad about it for the rest of the night.

If you had asked the woman how she felt about Tommy she would have told you he was a worm. After all that's how Eleanor felt about most people. She also probably would have killed you if you asked That night in particular, as she was quite mad. Which honestly didn't make much sense. 

The scam had gone perfectly, not a single hitch in the plan. Sarah was remarkably easy to trick, Eleanor could have probably told the girl she was a flying alien from space and still convinced her that she could grant wishes that she just appeared in the junkyard especially just for Sarah. Sarah was fun to rip apart,  Her flesh made perfect squelching noises and her bones broke easily. And of course it had been fun to stitch together again. 

Shoving things there, taping things here, it was all a good time!

And then being Sarah had been fun too. Sarah was a lonely girl but she got popular when Eleanor made her pretty and so Eleanor was popular and she had friends and they went to the movies and did girl things for 5 months. She let it go a month or two longer than usual because Sarah's Town had enough homeless people that Eleanor could steal Agony from but she could have probably been Sarah for oh give it to 2 years. 

But despite all that she was mad and concerned though she did not let it show on her fake face. She just sat there. Thinking about the sense. 

It was the same one she got when she ran into another of her kind. It was hard to describe in a way a human could understand. It was just an intrinsic knowledge that someone like you was near. But Eleanor had somehow known that this wasn't a close proximity, it was far away and that whatever creature she was sensing was just so big that knowledge of it passed through probably all of the other Agony creatures within the continent.

And all of this came to a point in Eleanor's head. Was this the Lord?

There was bits of evidence that pointed to it. How big in grand the sense was how it seemed to pull her towards it but on the other hand somehow it didn't feel like him. Of course Eleanor had never actually met her god in person so she wasn't completely sure what he felt like. But she knew he probably didn't feel like this.

This sense was like a dull pulsing drum beat in her head dragging her to a place somewhere in Utah. It was probably to assume that whatever this drum was it was beating in the heads of all of her contemporaries dragging them or repelling them away. How many would go like she was now to see where the music Led? How many would run away in fear like they did when she explained to them the Lord?

With a strange jerking motion her face momentarily falling into anger Eleanor thought of the others and how cowardly they all were. Tommy, who had been attempting not to look at Eleanor, found his eyes wandering back to the woman long enough to see her jolt like someone had hit her with a bolt of electricity, Her face temporarily falling into a deep dark red hot rage that later Tommy would never be able to properly describe.

Eleanor for her Parts did not care about what Tommy thought she had fallen back into her soft peaceful facade yet the thought of the Heretics who upon hearing her message head run or laughed at her made her more mad. 

Does them well they're cowards that's what they are little weasels, parasites. Those wild enough not to accept her scripture were weak after all blessed with Consciousness but scared trying to keep it up to care about much else. 

“Okay ma'am?” Tommy Said with an unintentional nervous stutter. 

“Yes, I think I am,” Eleanor said Softly. 

Tommy let out a small “oh” he didn't really know what to say to the woman. she seemed sick even but who was it his business to judge really?

So Tommy sort of shrunk back again up against the window trying not to look at the woman instead focusing on the uncomfortable bus chair with its blue carpet seat and back.

Eleanor continued to look at Tommy. He was scrawny. 40 something. He had the dark tan of a man who spent too much time in the sun. If you were to look at Eleanor you would see all the attributes Tommy had clocked as wrong but you also see the but you also see the glint of a snake in the grass staring down at a stupid little mouse who hasn't noticed the snake behind them sparkling in her eye.

It would have been so easy for Eleanor to reach forward softly and group the man's head in her hands and turn it ever so slightly. To snap those vital bones in his neck so quietly that no one would notice. 

Or if she wanted to have fun she could reach out and stick her hand through his back and out his chest. She could rummage through body and bone until she ripped out that beating black center of Agony that would form somewhere close to his heart. But she did not. 

For Eleanor held herself with the pride many of her species could never for she had a purpose; she served the Lord and what she did was for him. There was no use wasting agony when it could be given to him. That would be what she was doing if she reached over and ripped Tommy to shred. She had a full belly after all there was no need to gorge herself 

Tommy for his part could feel himself start to sweat and made the mistake of Opening up the mouth that over his 45 years of life had cost him so much.

“What's in the bag?” The words came out before Tommy could really think about it. They slipped through his mind and onto his tongue With the smoothness of water through a recently clean pipe.

Eleanor turned to him slowly, maybe she would kill him as a roadside snack after all her nerves were already thin and the man's squeaky voice piping up for a second time began to wear on them.

“Oh nothing, just some things I'm traveling with.” Eleanor unconsciously twirled her braid as Tommy scrambled for what to say next.

“Nice where are you heading? I mean… this late at night. for a lady… like you must be something really important huh?” Tommy wiped the sweat off of his brow it was just a woman and he had started the conversation he had to stop tying his mind in loops!

“But I don't really know. After all it would be a mighty big trip” Eleanor looked languidly out the window examining her fingers, Still covered in flesh at least to the human eye. 

That was the question wasn't? whether she would just go to the next scam or would she Find the center of this sense and convert it if it would listen to reason and if not..

“Well if you got a place in mind I mean you're already on the bus… why not head there! if it isn't too much trouble” The feeling that made Tommy want to squirm out of his skin was lessening. She was just a woman. yeah, sure, maybe a bit of a strange woman… but a normal woman, no less.

“You do make a point but it could be hard and it would take up an awful lot of time.” Eleanor batted her eyelashes slightly for a fact but the sniffling worm was right. Why not? It could even be the lord and her senses were wrong so why not check.

“Well the road on walked, and all that! Why not give it a try, Miss?” Tommy said with the first real and genuine smile he could produce since the woman stepped on board she wasn't that bad he had just been overreacting the night and something about the light had made him see flaws that weren't there.

Eleanor let herself smile too.

The man was right, it would be fun. He was smart for a bag of useless meat. And maybe for this bag of meat who had given her the little push she needed she would dance slightly over the line of her vows. One little snack for the road couldn't hurt.

“Can I have a hug?” Eleanor asked putting on her best puppy dog eyes And if you had seen her you would have done what Tommy did.

Tommy had hugged her gently, with the kindness of a man who thought he was hugging a strange lady with a big trip ahead of her. and after that hug Tommy had been silent until the bus driver had hollered for him to get off. It had only been after about 3 minutes of yelling the bus driver had realized Tommy had finally stopped talking for good 

No one ever asked Tommy's opinion on the night. Though if by some miracle you were able to reanimate his body for a moment he would have told you that as he felt his bones snapping the woman had whispered in his ear. But you can't. So you'll never know what he heard. None of the other men on the bus particularly cared as the woman had gotten off. 

If you had given any of those four men a million dollars to bet none of them would guess that at approximately 2:00 pm on April 12, 2018 The simple pretty woman walked off that bus with poor old Tommy's soul in her pocket and a smile on her face.

[esote-rika]

Hi Erika.

I'm afraid I'll have to block you as soon as I muster up the courage to do so. Rationally, it's what's best for me.

I was on the bus when you first posted three's a crowd. No one around me speaks english - or at least that's what I prayed for when I clicked on read more. Immediately, and I'm not joking, three paragraphs in, I had to click off the post. I was already sweating, and there wasn't even anything happening yet. Maybe it's your fault for posting it as soon as I started ovulating or maybe it's mine for reading it.

I spent the rest of my bus ride (which was thankfully short) thinking about reading it. I tried imagining what it would be like, but that only made my cheeks blush even further. I had to distract myself by chatting to the old lady next to me.

I hadn't yet eaten lunch when I got home. I was starving. I didn't care. My fingers were never as quick as they were when I opened the Tumblr app and typed "esote" on the search bar (it autofills). I don't even remember where I was when I started reading it, but all that matters is that, by the end, I was on my couch, face buried in the pillow while I screamed. It was loud. I'm home alone, but the walls are thin. If I can hear my neighbors listening to really loud music at two in the morning, I'm sure they could hear me yelling about this at two in the afternoon.

I truly have no words. I'm still sweating. It's a relatively cold day here. I don't know how I ended up without a hoodie - I was wearing one when I walked through the door. Maybe I went to some other dimension while reading that. Maybe I disassociated or blacked out. It doesn't matter. My pants are soaked through. I wouldn't be shocked if someone called the police on me.

All of this to say: three's a crowd was amazing. So amazing, in fact, that it left me damaged, I believe. I'm freaking out. I can't go on with my day after this.

So, like I said, this is not good for me. The only sensible option is to stop reading your works because otherwise, I will become a crazy horny dog. You know the small one your friend has, that humps your leg whenever you go over to her house? Yeah that's me. That's me whenever Tumblr user esote-rika posts new smut.

Yet, I cannot stop. Not yet am I brave enough to block you. If only I cared more about my well-being rather than about... whatever this is. Thankfully (?) for you, I will only block you when I have some sense of rationality in my brain. If I disappear, just know it's an attempt at becoming a bit less of a crazy horndog.

That being said, I love you and I love three's a crowd. Thank you for all that you do.

Love (& insanity), Klara.

KLARA LMFAO 😂😭 you can't see me but I have tears running down my cheeks, I'm laughing so hard I've lost the ability to breathe. Dog comparison goes crazy 😭😭😭 idk what I sorts of reactions I was expecting when I wrote and posted that, but definitely not this. Not that I'm complaining lmfaoooo this is so funny. pls don't block me though my brain is tired so I promise no smut for the foreseeable future because of uni and also I need to hear you yell about fantasy high.

[sidekickjoey]

‼️WIP Weekend‼️

I've been tagged in quite a few WIP posts this week, so I figured I'd post a few snippets here to make up for it <3 Not going to follow rules because of the fact this is making up for a lot of missed posts, and this unfortunately will not include my Steddie bang fic because that shall stay ✨secret for now✨ buuuut if you want to see some rules, here are some :)

If you tagged me in anything prior, I love you and thank you!!!

Under The Cut:

Little 'Upside Down Doesn't Exist!AU' drabble set vaguely after S2 based off of this love note Steve wrote to Nancy.

Teacher!Steve AU/meet ugly-ish where Eddie's daughter is his student he's trying (and failing) to help not be so miserable at school.

Silly little scene where Steve, after weeks of begging and pleading, finally lets Eddie drive his car.

No pressure tags: @xpaperheartso @steddieasitgoes and literally anyone else who wants to do this!! Lemme see your fics!

Love Note:

He doesn't know why Steve would do such a thing.

For the record, Eddie's seen Steve do some pretty wild, out-of-left-field things throughout the years. He's seen him put up with Tommy and Carol as if they are palatable (they're not). He's seen him try out for the basketball, baseball, and swim team all in one year (and succeed, the perfect jerk). He's even seen him drop everything to drive the strangest gaggle of kids around Hawkins with a smile on his face -- something the natural high school order of things™ dictates as a social foul of the highest degree.

None of that, though, has ever stumped Eddie as much as this.

"Eddie," the 6x8 note read, previously wedged into his locker, "I want you to know I'm not mad at you. It's okay that you winked at me in the hall last Wednesday. It's better than okay. You looked really upset with yourself when you walked away but you shouldn't be. I liked it. I like you, a lot. I hope you feel the same about me. Steve x"

Eddie has stared at it for what feels like eons.

There just is no way it can be real. In no universe would Steve 'The Hair' Harrington do and say something like this to him, Eddie Munson, lord of the freaks, very much of the male variety and by no means offering much else. Steve says these kinds of things to girls. Pretty girls. Girls like Nancy Wheeler, who have always had their act together and ooze perfect partner material with every flirty look or flourish of their hair. Steve's kindness and admiration has no business being placed in the hands of someone like him when girls like that are roaming around, desperately waiting to become his sweetheart.

So, it has to be a shitty prank.

Teacher:

Steve stood at his perch with the remaining gaggle of kids at the carport when he spotted him, approaching from the left. This man was bounding over breathless, his curly brown hair getting whipped in the wind from that day and making him stumble with each clumsy stride he took. Every nerve in his body was telling Steve the guy meant danger, that he needed to protect his kids. But then, Delilah, little quiet sulking Delilah, let out the most enthusiastic squeal and made a b-line for him. To Steve's amusement and immense confusion, the man did the same back with her and gave her a huge hug.

Leaving his kids with the first grade teacher, Steve went over to investigate.

"Hi, are you, um, Mr. Munson?"

The guy, who had picked up Delilah and tucked her against his hip, suddenly dropped his smile. Clearing his throat, he held the little girl a bit closer. "Yeah, though Eddie's alright for now. Why, uh, why do you ask?"

"I'm Mr. Harrington, Delilah's teacher," Steve said, slowly, desperately trying to figure out in his head why this man was so spooked. "Sorry to pry, but I noticed she was pretty upset all day and showed up alone. Is everything okay? You know, back at home and stuff?"

The guy -- Eddie -- somehow managed to sink further into himself. "Oh, shit. Shit, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"Her mom had her for the first time this weekend," Eddie replied, little Delilah burying her head into the crook of his neck. "It's...it's all so new, a-and she must not have realized....shit, I'm so sorry, Mr., um. Shit, what was your name again? Wait, no I got it, Harrington! Yes, Mr. Harrington, listen I swear, I'll walk Delilah in every morning that I can. You hear that, sweetheart?" Rubbing her back, Eddie nuzzled her where she still held him close. Steve's heart broke at the way she seemed to hold him even tighter back. "I'm sorry, we're gonna' make this okay."

Car Stuff:

"You gotta' be careful with her, Eds. She's real special."

"I know, Steve, I know. I won't hurt her."

"She just means a lot to me, and I wouldn't know what to do if something ever happened-"

"I'm driving your car, Steve, not handling your firstborn," Eddie bemoans as he looks to the passenger seat. Steve is sitting there a pile of nerves and, now, about as pink as a tomato from embarrassment.

"I just know how you drive, man."

"Like a bat outta' hell?"

"Yes," Steve deadpans. "With flames chasing it and stuff."

"Aw, you flatter me."

"Eddie."

Giggling with glee, Eddie waves Steve off. His hands grip the steering wheel - a perfect 10 and 2 grip - as he starts the engine, revving it just to add a little more sweat to Steve's brow. One look at the boy and his own white knuckles on the door says it works. His eyes plead to Eddie's.

"She's my only car, man."

Eddie tsks. "You think I'm gonna murder her or something. I'll have you know, I spent a whole summer learning how to fix pretty little things like her up from the point of ruin. Made $400 from the good patrons of Hawkins for my work."

"Is that supposed to comfort me?"

"Nah, just shut you up a little," Eddie teases with a wink. Steve goes pale at his side.

[mlembug]

@oceanaves Generally difficult to make a recommendation to someone you don't know very well - because at this point it's like you partially take a responsibility for the time they spend on reading the thing. This gets even worse when you make a list of works to check out and you make it public, because then people go through recommendation list and go "this sucks, you should feel bad/you should have standards" or "this work has a problematic trope <X>, why are you recommending this", and no amount of disclaimers of me saying "the recommendations are inherently subjective" and "there is no inherently 'nonproblematic' media" stops them.

I'm gonna comment on every manga listed in the other post - in the context of that list keep in mind they're all "very heavily implied trans" rather than "explicitly trans in the text", which was the problem (rightfully) pointed out at the very start.

Kare to Kanojo no Sentaku - to be honest I haven't got a good read on the main character's situation (the one who got affected by the "gender changing syndrome"). It's implied they ran away from home, which would suggest family kicked them out, but also they have this brief moments when looking in the mirror which kinda imply as if the character dislikes their current predicament. It can go in all sorts of ways but so far I like it.

Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata - I personally avoid this because this one had an entire twitter drama surrounding the official translation, and the Discord of the fan translation group who initially did it became incredibly annoying place to be back then; in addition it seems the work not only avoid admiting it, but in fact attempts to deny the trans interpretation (in a ridiculously silly way in fact). It's not a bad work I'd say, but you have to keep in mind the above.

Mahou Shoujo Bu e Youkoso!/Magical Trans! - these two are essentially the same manga. They have minor differences, but the most relevant one is that the first one was self-published, and the second one was published by ebookjapan. Ebookjapan was later bought by Yahoo Japan, and this very likely led to the author being told to wrap it up at chapter 65. It's an excellent manga to read if you like slice of life shenanigans with eggy characters, but don't expect actual plot development. (I have a theory that the reason it won't go anywhere in the gender department is the same reason for why I once wrote a gender bender story with a self-insert MC and I desperately wanted the story to not end with "and then the MC accepts being a girl")

Ikemen Joshi to Josou Danshi - To be honest this one, out of all of them, is the one I could believe the MC is actually a guy (possibly of some genderfluid variety). It's a great manga featuring a role reversal relationship. The only minor complaint I have is that it has this brief moment where MC actually does question his gender, but it is immediately dismissed, rather than actually resolved (and again, I would be just fine with them having a small character arc with them that leads to a conclusion that they are a guy... but at least address it somehow)

Shinyuu Ouji to Koshiginchaku - I read 4 chapters out of 9 that seem to be available at the moment, but I loved them all. Excellent character dynamics combined with an interesting plot.

Also check out the other list I made before.

[lucy90712]

Part 2 of the Gavin parade story please!!!

Part 1

WC: 2.4k

You: hi this is y/n you gave me your number during the parade earlier thank you for the compliment by the way

How cringe I can't believe that's the first message I sent but it's too late to do anything now I'll just have to deal with it and hope that if he replies he doesn't think I'm weird. Oh god what if he never replies and I look like an idiot for thinking that the Pablo Gavi would ever actually want to talk to me. I bet the whole team is laughing about the fact that I actually text him. I don't think I can ever step foot in the camp nou ever again. Just as I was spiralling my phone dinged so I scrambled to the other end of the sofa where I'd left it only to see that one of my best friends had text me asking about today. As I was about to put my phone back down another notification came through this time it was actually from Pablo. 

Gavi: wow I'm surprised you actually text me sorry if that was weird I just had to find a way to talk to you 

You: no it wasn't weird at all it surprised me but it was a nice surprise 

Gavi: good I assume you are a Barca fan so would you like to come to our next home game I would love to meet your properly

You: I would love that thank you so much 

~~~~~~~~~~

I always get stressed a few hours before a Barca game especially when I'm going to the game but this time I barely slept as I can't stop thinking about the fact that I'm actually going to properly meet Pablo. I'm really excited as we have been talking over text and have FaceTimed a few times just to get to know each other a bit more and he's the sweetest person but him being so nice coupled with the fact that he's so attractive has meant I've developed a slight crush on him. This is a problem as although he called me beautiful in the message he wrote I feel like he just wants to be friends I mean he has other things to focus on he doesn't need a girlfriend right now let alone one who has her own set of problems to deal with. Our friendship so far has been great and he's a lovely person to talk to so I don't want to ruin that by giving away how I feel and making him feel uncomfortable. 

Thankfully I don't have work today so I have been able to spend the day worrying about this evening without having to worry about work too. Having nothing to do has meant that I have spent far too long deciding on what to wear to the game. I couldn't decide whether to wear a Barcelona jersey or normal clothes as I want to support my team but I don't want to look like an idiot in front of Pablo. In the end I found a good compromise and put on a normal outfit and then put a jersey on over the top as that way I can change if I need to. Then I spent way too much time deciding whether I should put on some makeup and do my hair which ended up with me having a small bit of makeup on and fixing my hair slightly but not going all out. 

When it was time for me to leave I grabbed my phone and my bag and walked to the bus stop as I don't have a car. Taking the bus can be a nightmare on game days but I have worked out a goody system where I get off a few stops earlier and then walk the last part of the journey as it's often quicker due to the amount of traffic. This evening the bus was busier than usual so I had to stand but I didn't mind as I had headphones in and I could look out the window as I zoned out. There was so many people wearing Barcelona jerseys on the streets and many of them had Pablo's name on the back. Seeing all of those fans made it really sink in that in just a few hours I'm going to meet the golden boy of the city which is probably what all of those people dream of doing. Thinking about it that way somehow made me less nervous as I have the opportunity to do something that so many people will never do so I have to make the most of it and not think about how it could all go wrong. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

The game was so amazing, the last home game of the season is always special but this time it felt even more special as the team finally got the trophy. As if things couldn't get any better Pablo scored the last goal at the camp nou as we know it which is really special. With it being such a special match the team celebrated for a bit longer so I waited in the stands with all the fans until I got a text from Pablo telling me to come down to meet him along with where to go as I don't know how to find the locker rooms. As I made my way down there my hands were shaking slightly as I'm so nervous but I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down and put a smile on my face. 

I headed down the corridor and stood outside the locker room ready to text Pablo to tell him I was there but before I could he saw stood in front of me smiling. His smile was so contagious and instantly made me feel completely comfortable around him which I didn't expect. He was quick to bring me into a warm hug which had my stomach filling with butterflies and my cheeks heating up but I tried my best to hide that from Pablo. I felt so at home in his arms it was like we had known each other for years and hadn't just met a few seconds ago I can't believe anyone hates him as he's just the nicest guy. Eventually we both pulled away and he kept smiling at me as he moved to stand an acceptable distance away from me. 

"It's so nice to finally meet you honestly I still can't believe you text me after the parade" Pablo said 

"Sometimes you have to do something spontaneous in life and I'm definitely glad I did" I said 

"I'm glad you did too as now I get to see your beautiful face up close" he flirted 

"Oh um thank you" I replied stumbling over my words and blushing 

As we were talking more of the team left the locker room so he introduced me to them in between our conversations and all of them were super lovely too. Pablo and I stood in the corridor for probably close to an hour just talking to each other before someone asked us to get going so we had to leave but we still kept talking as we walked. 

"Do you have any plans for the rest of the evening?" Pablo asked 

"No I don't" I replied 

"Would you like to come back to my place then?" He asked 

"I would love to" I said 

Once I said yes Pablo got all nervous all of a sudden which made me nervous that I'd done something wrong. He was also mumbling something under his breath which I couldn't hear but I assumed he was talking to himself so I just kept following him thinking that this is something he must do quite a lot as I wouldn't know otherwise. When we made it to the door to the car park he held the door open for me and then I continued to walk with him towards his car. At some point we just stopped walking and he looked at me which really made my heart race as I had no idea what was happening.

"Are you ok?" I asked 

"Is this a date or are we just hanging out as friends?" Pablo asked 

"I um I don't know I'd like it to be a date" I said 

"Then it's a date" he said 

This time as we walked he grabbed hold of my hand which had my heart beating even faster than it was before if that was even possible. He then opened the door to his car for me before going round to get in the drivers side. Luckily by this point it was dark outside and Pablo went out the back exit so no one noticed that I was in the car with him as I was a bit worried about what would happen if we were seen together. Once we were on the road Pablo and I started talking again and this time we were flirting a bit more now that we had established that there must be some feelings there as we are calling this a date. It hasn't really sunk in until we were flirting that I was on a date with Pablo I mean that's what I was dreaming of happening and here we are. The fact that Pablo must actually like me really gave me a lot of confidence to be a bit braver than I would've been earlier. 

The drive to Pablo's place wasn't long and when we arrived he again opened my car door me and then held his front door open to allow me in first like the gentleman he is. He gave me a quick tour of his place before asking if I was allergic to anything so he could make dinner for the both of us. I felt bad that after a long match he was making dinner for me instead of getting to relax but when I tried to help he wouldn't let me so I just sat on the countertop and watched him cook. He was surprisingly good at cooking at no point did I feel like he was going to set the kitchen on fire which I think is pretty good plus he cooked everything for long enough so I wasn't going to die either. 

Once the food was ready he finally allowed me to help as he got me to dish up while he set the table. I should've realised that he was just distracting me as when I went out to the table he had set up candles and made it all romantic. Pablo is really full of surprises as I didn't see him being the type to do something like this but I'm not complaining as it's nice to be treated so well as all of my last dates have been real assholes. We ate dinner quietly but afterwards we went and sat down on the sofa together to play fifa as we both like to play. 

Pablo is a lot better than me at fifa and a lot more competitive so he won every game but I didn't mind as I was having fun and Pablo was enjoying winning. After I lost for the fifth time in a row Pablo seemed to feel bad as he definitely let me win the next game as I could see the smile on his face as he kept giving me the ball and allowing me to score. Once I had won the game he turned the game off and then came back down to sit next to me trying to subtly put his arm around my shoulder but subtlety isn't something he's good at so to make things less awkward I leant my head against his shoulder. He then started playing with my hair very gently which made me smile as I have always liked people playing with my hair. 

We sat in silence for a few minutes before we both looked at each other at the same time. There was a lot of tension between us, if anyone else were to walk in the room it would probably knock them out. Neither of us were quite brave enough to make the first move as once we do we can't go back and we haven't exactly known each other for very long so I'm definitely nervous and I can't imagine how Pablo feels. Just as I was thinking about what could happen if we kissed Pablo began to lean down towards me and pressed his lips to mine. For a few seconds I was taken aback but once my brain caught up with what was happening I kissed him right back. We both pulled away eventually but this time I was brave enough to kiss him again and this time it was much more enjoyable as I was much less nervous. 

After coming down from the excitement of what just happened Pablo turned on the tv so we could half watch some tv while telling stories from our childhood so we could get to know each other on a deeper level. I was enjoying myself but it was getting late and I have work in the morning so sadly I had to leave plus I wanted to make the last bus so I wouldn't have to walk home. 

"Thank you for tonight I've had the best time but I really should head home" I said grabbing my phone from the table 

"Wait did you drive to the stadium as I can drop you back there" he offered 

"No I got the bus but it's fine the last bus leaves soon so I can get that back home" I said 

"Thats not happening I'll drop you home I can't let you go home alone" he said 

"Thank you" I said 

Pablo grabbed his car keys and we got back in his car and I didn't even need to give him my address as he already knows where I live which made it a simple journey. When we arrived he walked up to my apartment with me where we had to say goodbye to each other. Pablo couldn't let me go without brining me in for a hug and kissing me one last time. 

"So what do you say to a second date?" He asked 

"I would love that" I said 

"Great I'll text you tomorrow" he said before leaving 

Once I was finally alone everything that happened today finally sunk in and all I could do was laugh because it just seems so ridiculous but I did actually just go on a date with the Pablo Gavi. Sometimes life is crazy and doesn’t go the way you think it will but tonight I learnt that that’s not always a bad thing.