#and earlier this week i watched Spy x Family

[personinthepalace]

if I had a nickel for every time I watched something and then became obsessed with the musical adaptation during thanksgiving week then I would have two nickels

(the musicals are legally blonde and spy x family btw haha)

[togrowoldinv]

Meteors

Natasha Romanoff x Female Reader

When you start working on the Barton’s farm, you meet Natasha

Note: It’s been wayyy too long since I’ve been able to make time to write. Hope y’all enjoy this Nat fluff!

Natasha Masterlist 1, Natasha Masterlist 2, Natasha Masterlist 3, Main Masterlist

Natasha watches from the front porch as a truck she’s unfamiliar with pulls up in the driveway. Just when she’s about to go ask Laura if she had any idea who was arriving, the woman steps out onto the porch.

“Right on time,” Laura comments mostly to herself.

“Who’s this?” Natasha asks, her attention is piqued.

“The new farmhand,” Laura explains. “She’s been working here every week for about a month now. Clint didn’t tell you?”

Nat shakes her head.

“Well, she’s pretty great at it,” the older woman continues. “Come meet her.”

Natasha follows Laura down the steps and to the truck. You are unloading a bale of hay from the bed of the truck when they walk up.

“Hello!” Laura greets you. She’s always so kind. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well,” you reply before turning around to actually see her. “How are you?”

You drop the bale onto the group and turn to see more than one person standing there.

“Oh hi,” you say to the new person. She politely lifts the corners of her lips, but doesn’t quite smile at you.

“This is Nat,” Laura says. “Nat, this is y/n.”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” you say, holding your hand out for her shake. She takes it in hers and the eye contact you make lingers.

“Oh, I forgot I have cookies in the oven,” Laura says. “I’ll be back. Nat why don’t you get to know y/n a bit.”

With that, Laura leaves you there with this beautiful stranger. God, she really is beautiful. You both stand there a little awkwardly before you make a move to talk to her more.

“So, how do you know the Bartons?” You ask.

“I work with Clint,” Nat says. You try not to let yourself go weak in the knees at hearing her voice for the first time. “You’re probably familiar with what we do.”

“Partially,” you say with a soft laugh. “I better get started for the day. I’ll see you around?”

Nat nods and walks back towards the house. You work the rest of the day with Natasha on your mind. She had uttered barely ten words to you, and yet you can’t get her out of your head.

A few days go by before you see her again. It’s early in the morning when you arrive. Natasha is sitting in a rocking chair with baby Nate in her arms. You walk to the porch to say hello.

“Good morning,” you greet her.

“Good morning, y/n,” she says. You try memorize the way your name sounds coming from her lips.

“He’s up early,” you comment.

“Yeah, a little too early. I offered to hang out with him while Clint and Laura sleep in,” Nat replies.

You smile at that.

“You’re here earlier today,” Nat says. You try not to overanalyze why she knows your schedule so well. It’s probably just the spy in her, you think.

“I am indeed. The cows need some extra work today, so I got here early,” you explain. “Come on out to pasture if you get bored. I’ll be there all day.”

“I just might do that,” Natasha replies.

You get a boost of confidence from her words. After you bid her a farewell for now, you drive out to the cattle field.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Barton family wakes up. The kids eat breakfast and start chores. Clint asks Nat to help him with some outside work.

A few hours go by and Laura calls everyone in for lunch. Natasha looks around the kitchen for you, but she doesn’t see you.

“Is y/n eating with us?” She asks.

“She likes to stay out there and work, so I usually take her some food after we eat,” Laura explains. She tries to read Nat’s expression. “You could take it to her today if you want.”

“Oh, sure. Yeah I can do that,” Nat says.

Laura smiles knowingly. The family eats and then Natasha makes her way to you.

At the sight of you wrangling cows, she can’t help but smile. You’ve shed the light jacket you were wearing this morning and she can see how strong you are.

“Oh hey, Natasha!” You say once you see her.

“Hey,” she replies, her head cocked to the side a little to examine your current position. “Do I even want to know what you’re doing?”

“Probably not,” you reply. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Lunch,” Nat says. “Laura’s famous grilled cheese.”

You walk away from the cows and towards Natasha. She stands by the truck, so you open the tailgate and sit on it. You pat the area next to you as a way to ask her to sit.

She hands you the lunch bag and lightly blushes when your hand touches hers.

“Thank you, Nat,” you say. “Wait, do you prefer Nat or Natasha?”

“Either one,” she says, shrugging. “Technically my name isn’t Natasha, but I’ve always gone by that.”

“That is a fun fact,” you say. Nat laughs. You try to memorize the sound. “I like Natasha.”

“Then call me Natasha,” she says.

There’s a silence, but it’s not awkward. You eat your sandwich and watch the animals move around the farm. You wonder what Natasha is thinking about as she swings her legs and sits next to you.

“It’s so peaceful out here,” the redhead breaks the silence. “I feel like I can actually think and be free.”

“Yeah, I love it. Being out on a farm is my comfort place. So far, this one is my favorite,” you say.

“Why’s that?”

“The people. Clint, Laura, the kids,” you say. “And you.”

“I’m already a reason?”

“You were a reason I love this place the second I met you,” you say. You didn’t mean for it to come across so cheesily, but Nat doesn’t seem to mind. “Hey, how long are you staying here for?”

“A few more weeks maybe,” Natasha says. “Why?”

“In two weeks there’s supposed to be a meteor shower. Maybe we could come out in the field and watch it together?”

“Sounds fun,” Nat says, trying to act casual.

“I better get back to helping Clint. He’ll be pissed I let him stack bricks alone.”

You chuckle at her words. You want to ask her to stay, but at least you know you’ll be seeing her around.

And from that point on, Natasha brings you lunch every day. Laura doesn’t even have to ask her to do it. Nat wants to. She seems to sit with you longer and longer each day.

It all leads up to the night of the meteor shower. You wear a nice shirt and jeans and drive over to the farm.

When you knock on the door, Lila answers. You greet the family and have dinner with them. Natasha is in her element here. You can see how she lights up around the kids. And she loves watching you interact with them too.

Once dinner is over, you and Natasha sneak outside. You drive out to the field and lay a blanket down in the bed of the truck.

“Very fancy,” Nat comments.

“Only the best for you, Natasha,” you joke. “Laying down is the best way to see it.”

You both lie down a respectable distance from each other, but close enough that you both have butterflies.

“You know when I was a kid, I loved anything that glowed in the sky,” Nat opens up. “Stars, planets, and things that didn’t even really have to do with the sky. Like fireflies.”

“That’s really sweet, Natasha. I love those too,” you say. “There’s so many out here in the summer.”

“I wish I saw them more.”

“You’ve gotta move out here I guess,” you say. “Oh look!”

You point to the first meteor falling. Nat watches with bright eyes. You can’t drag your eyes away from the way she glows in the night light. Her green eyes are illuminated by the scene happening in the sky.

Natasha turns her head to the side and catches you staring.

“I’m sorry,” you mumble, looking away a bit.

“Don’t be,” Nat says. “But you are missing the show up there.”

“It’s fun to watch you watch it,” you say. “You’re beautiful, you know?”

Natasha definitely blushes at that. Her hand finds yours between the two of you. You’re it sure who leans in first, but you end up just centimeters from her lips.

“Can I kiss you?” Natasha asks.

“Please,” you reply.

The distance is shattered between the two of you. Natasha’s kiss is soft, but firm. Her intentions are clear as she moves her perfect lips over yours.

“Now we’re both missing the show up there,” Natasha jokes when she pulls away.

“So worth it,” you say.

You kiss Natasha again. And again. And a few more times before you decide to go back to the house.

“I’ll see you in the morning?” You ask her once you’ve walked up to the front door together.

“Yes,” Natasha says. “Thanks for tonight, y/n. I haven’t enjoyed myself this much in a long time.”

“Anytime, Natasha. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she says.

You hug her for the first time and love the way she feels in your arms. It’s like she is perfectly shaped to be in your grasp.

You share a brief kiss before you let her go inside. As you walk back to the truck, you can’t help but do a little happy dance. Natasha watches through the window and laughs.

This is the start of something amazing. You can feel it.

You’re falling for her faster than the meteors fell in the sky. Little do you know, she’s falling for you in the exact same way.

[lyssasdrafts]

★ 𓈒 ݁ STAR—CROSSED (rhysand x reader) ⊹

chapter six: (written) ✧

𓈒 ݁ ✫ masterlist previous next

“guess who!”

morrigan’s voice wakes you, causing you to jolt up from your table at the library. you had come here in the afternoon and it was already evening, meaning the sunlight from the library’s large windows had faded and it was starting to become dimly lit. the bright light from your laptop screen only further causes your eyes to strain.

“what are you doing here?” you say after letting out a yawn and stretching out your arms. you move slightly, patting down a seat for mor.

“just wanted to check up on you,” she shrugs. her attention shifts to the papers scattered around the desk, confirming that you had been reviewing your notes all afternoon. mor frowns when she notices the dark circles under your eyes and quietly fixes your hair while you talk about what you were studying for.

your laptop, however, was for a different task. you had been touching up some of the photos you took at rhysand’s photoshoot on your editing software, meaning his face was plastered across your screen. you cringe at the image and at the sight of the man who caused you so much irritation, no matter how good the photoshoot had turned out.

“are you making a fan edit of me now?” rhysand peers over your shoulder.

once again, you’re taken by suprise, almost jumping out of your seat when he appears next to you. perhaps it runs in their family.

“where did you come from?” morrigan almost yells at him. rhysand had been standing behind the both of you, hands in his pockets as he leans over to look at your screen.

“don’t get the wrong idea,” you retort. “i’m editing your photos from our photoshoot.” rhysand gives you a satisfied smile. perhaps it was even genuine.

“i came here to study,” he says, pulling up a chair and moving to sit across from you. “mind if i sit here?”

“actually, yes,” mor says irreverently. her cousin gives her an annoyed look and she crosses her arms. “no wonder my roommate can’t stand you.”

“i can definitely confirm he’s difficult to work with,” you give her a smirk while the both of you hold in your laugh at rhysand’s dismay.

“i will admit, the photoshoot did look good though,” you say hesitantly. “and thank you for crediting me,” you add, “it really helped me as a photographer.”

rhysand feigns shock, “is y/n being genuine for once?”

you immediately take back your words, “i liked you better when you were picking an argument with me.” you could recall the moments since that photoshoot where rhysand had acted normal in class despite knowing about your passion: when you got your exams back, or last week when you scored one point higher than him, or today in class when you started a debate about the formation of the universe. the entire class had witnessed your argument and you could’ve sworn your teacher sighed that you two were bickering again.

“you know that i was right today,” rhysand says, “as i typically am.”

you try not to roll your eyes at him, instead sorting through your notebooks and papers to find the reading you did earlier. “i know i’m right because i actually study the material. it says here that—”

morrigan had already mentally tuned out of your conversation with rhysand, rolling her eyes when you start shoving notes into her cousin’s face. “can the two of you please argue another time?” she almost yawns.

in the corner of your eye, you can see that familiar golden-brown hair peeking out from behind a bookshelf. you want to roll your eyes as you realize she’s watching how rhysand acts with you. nesta would definitely be teasing you about this later. you notice a second person’s hand covering her face as she giggles, spotting her brighter hair between the gaps in the books, and realize elain was spying on you too.

maybe going to the library was a bad idea today.

rhysand, the oblivious fool that he was, did not see the sisters behind him watching you. you wondered if he was even aware people did this to him, considering how your friends were definitely not the only people on campus to be interested in him like this. you nearly cringed as he continued rambling about how his argument was right, never dropping that satisfied look on his face. he hadn’t realized that you weren’t focused on the conversation anymore.

“do you always have to challenge me, rhysand?” you finally ask.

“do you always have to be right, y/n?” he quickly counters, further proving your point.

“well maybe, it’s because—”

you’re interrupted by the sound of loud footsteps and two large figures walking up to you, causing a few heads to turn in the library, including nesta and elain. you don’t recognize cassian and azriel, who you only knew as rhysand’s friends, until they come up behind rhysand and cassian starts to talk.

azriel pulls up a chair to sit with the both of you while cassian stands behind rhysand, hugging his friend from the back. rhysand seems amused, exchanging greetings with his friends before they finally noticed your presence.

“sorry, y/n, i hope you don’t mind us stealing away your boyfriend for a minute,” cassian gives you a smug look. “we just need rhys for a moment.”

you stare blankly at cassian, blinking. is that what they’ve been thinking? maybe rhysand had become more tolerable to you, but you still had every right to be annoyed with his friends. cassian looked like he was about to start laughing at rhysand before you look him straight in the eyes.

you lean back into your chair, crossing your arms and glaring at cassian, “he’s not my boyfriend.”

“he talks about you all the time,” azriel chimes in. this was perhaps your first time hearing his voice properly. in the few classes you had with him, azriel rarely spoke and brushed off anyone who tried to start a conversation with him. even a few more heads turned towards him when he spoke in front of you.

a look of panic flashed in rhysand’s eyes and he gave azriel a nudge with his arm, causing the dark haired boy to chuckle. morrigan makes a disgusted face, giving cassian and azriel a look that would’ve made you shut up instantly. but instead, they both continued.

“well then, i can’t really blame you for not wanting to date rhysand,” cassian is now standing over your table, placing his hands in his pockets as he leans down towards you. “he’s insufferable.”

“he is,” the cold tone remains in your voice, though an amused smile begins to tug on your lips.

“don’t say that, y/n. he’ll be so heartbroken later,” azriel speaks, a similar reluctant smirk appearing on his face too.

“that’s enough!” rhysand snaps, “stop embarassing me.”

you’re about to burst out laughing with cassian when rhysand suddenly slams his hands on the table, insisting that his friends leave with him. you don’t object to rhysand cutting his visit to the library short, watching how mor chuckles as rhysand drags azriel away and bids cassian to follow behind them. it’s like the four of them have a secret that you’re not in on. cassian gives you a playful wave goodbye that you hesitantly return before the three of them quickly disappear from your peripheral vision.

“that was… interesting,” you say to morrigan, only moments before nesta and elain confront you. you were still trying to process the fact that cassian and azriel had even looked in your direction, let alone without any disgust. some of the rudest people you knew on campus had just started a conversation with you, all because you happened to know rhysand.

nesta pretends to dust off the books on the shelves as she walks towards you, tracing the patterns on your wooden desk once she reaches you, her eyes almost bulging when she glances at all your papers. “y/n,” she says in a sing-song voice, it’s the first time you’ve ever seen her smile like that, “what was that about?”

elain doesn’t even bother to be discrete, simply trailing behind nesta and appearing behind her. although she obviously isn’t as curious, her eyes are also widened like she has questions about that interaction too.

morrigan nearly scoffs, “you mean rhysand?”

“i already know about him,” nesta’s smile almost drops completly as her face twists, “who was that big, strong friend he brought?”

“you mean cassian?” you say, mor nearly starts laughing again.

“he seems cute,” nesta shrugs, then continues teasing you. “does our y/n now have men fawning over you?” she gives you a look with a smirk.

“absolutely not.”

elain suddenly joins, her voice remains quiet and hesitant when she asks, “what about the taller one?”

she receives a look from both you and nesta, and you’re suddenly reminded of just how coldly azriel treats people. perhaps nesta would get along with him, but your other friends would definitely dislike him if they saw him in class the way you did.

“he seems kind,” elain softly says.

“something tells me you’ll be seeing a lot more from the three of them,” morrigan playfully hits your arm, your three friends officially ganging up on you to your dismay.

— NOTES

cassian and azriel teasing rhysand 🤭

almost got the whole gang in one place 🫶 cassian and azriel finally make their first appearance

nesta noticing cassian 👀 my nessian self just had to add it

— TAGLIST

@thelov3lybookworm @starsand @lilah-asteria @therealmoonstone @just-a-social-casualty-1 @ashjade19 @girlontheblock @cherry-cin @daughterofthemoons-stuff @starswholistenanddreamsanswered @sweet-chai-amore @kierramofficial @noelli-smv @c-dizzle99 @littlestw01f @marina468 @dragneel-brothers

[hypegirl1]

In my dreams(Rodrick Heffley X Fem!reader)

AN:WASSUP Y´ALL?I had no inspiration to write these last months,I´m sorry,but I finally got it back lmfao I basically had a breakdown while listening to In my Dreams by RV and ended up having inspiration,damn...(This is proof read so dw,also I have no idea why tf this is so long) Summary:You´ve been in town for a few weeks since you moved,however,Rodrick doesn´t notice until one day,when he sees you on the school hallway Word count:1786 Warnings:Language(Ig?) Genre:Fluff(Ig)

"Nah dude,last week was amazing,what do you mean?"

"I know dude,but like,what about the girls?We don´t get bitches"

That´s the conversation Rodrick was having with his friends at the school´s entrance,the infamous Rodrick Heffley.It hasn´t even been a month since you arrived and you already knew pretty much everything about him:he had 2 little brothers,was the drummer of a band he made,was never that smart and he loved messing around with people,well,pretty much an average teenager,right? He lived in front of your house,and you always saw him at school(when he went),never talked at all,not even a "hi,who are you?never saw you around". It looked like he never realized you were there,but at the end,you didn´t cared,until now.

"Bro,I´m telling you,when we become famous,we will get A LOOOT of bitches"

"Yeaah"

That´s the last thing they said before Rodrick bumped into someone for not looking.

"Hey!Watch your-step"

"Sorry,I was rushing and didn´t saw you,are you okay?"

That´s when Rodrick realized that the girl that bumped into him,was one that he never saw around before,was he dreaming?

"Yeah yeah,sorry,I was in the way"

Damn,is it hot in here?

"I´m glad,I have to go,see you around Rodrick!"

"Bye..."

Rodrick was just standing there like a lamp post,what just happened?

"Dude,you good?"

"Yeah yeah,it´s just...who´s that girl?I never saw her around"

"Y/N?She moved into your neighbourhood a few weeks ago,you didn´t realized?"

"What?She´s been living next to my house and I didn´t realized?"

"Dude chill,just say hi to her"

"As if it was that easy..."

The bell rang,that meant that the day was over,everyone started filling the hallways,Rodrick got in his van and headed home as quickly as possible,they were right,the house in front of the Heffley´s now belonged to your family,how come he didn´t realized?

"Uhh mum,who are our neigbhors?"

"You mean the Y/L/N´s?"(your last name)

"Yeah,them"

"Oh,they have 2 daughters I think,Y/N and Kelsey are their names,If I´m not wrong Y/N is your same age and Kelsey is about Greg´s age,why the question?"

"Just asking"

Damn,your house was literally in front of Rodrick´s,how come he didn´t realized?is it because he nevers pay attention to the stuff that he doesn´t care about?Oh but he did cared now,what should he do?Go over to your house to just say hi?Invite you to have dinner with his family?No way,you had been in town for a few weeks now,and it was too soon to get you to meet his disaster family...He had been thinking in his room about what to do for the last 10 minutes,until he realized that he left his bedroom door open,and saw that Greg was there spying on him.

"What the fuck do you think you´re doing here?!"

Greg panicked and started running towards his room,but Rodrick had already started to chase him,he was lucky that he locked his door just in time.

"Where you spying me?!"

"Maybe-I mean no!"

"You better open this door if you want to live Greggy"

"I saw you earlier talking with mom about the new neighbours and got curious that´s it!"

Wait,hold on,maybe Greg new something that he didn´t?

"Do you know them?"

"Yes,Kelsey is in the same class as me,she´s nice,I could say she´s my friend now"

"And do you know something about her sister?"

"Why should I tell you that?"

"Greg I swear to god that if you don´t tell me I´m breaking down your door"

"Okay okay!But don´t do that please.I always see her sister after school,she picks Kelsey up because her parents don´t get home til night,as far as I know,she´s super nice,she always offers to take us and Rowley home"

"And?"

"That´s all I know!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I promise!"

"Fine,tomorrow I´ll go pick you up and your other guy friend from school"

"What?no way,I´ll preffer to go by feet"

"I said that you´re coming with me"

Greg knew that his older brother had something going on in his mind,but it probably was worse if he said a word.Good,he had some basic info about you,but what else?The plan was that tomorrow,he would show up to pick up his little loved brother,he had to give you good vibes and not the type of guy that is 24/7 bickering with his brother,wait,maybe it was too late?I mean,you already knew a lot about him,how would you react if you suddenlt saw him as a perfect man instead of the angsty boy he is?Meh,It doesn´t matter,people change all the time.Of course,he could talk to you at school,but you weren´t in the same class as him,and let´s say that he wasn´t that brave enough to talk to you at school.

The rest of the day went by as usual,except for the fact that Rodrick looked super distracted in today´s rehearsal for Löded Diper,he was barely able to start the song,his friends were worried,this wasn´t usual in him,and all just because he couldn´t get your pretty image off of his head,your figure,your hair,your eyes,your lips,he remembered everything as if it depended on his life.

But it just got worse when he saw you there,you where at the entrance of your school,sitting on the stairs,writing on your notebook,you looked so dreamy,the day was sunny and clear as glass,your hair flowing with the little wind that was coming,the way your top and shorts hugged your figure,so unbothered by the rest of the people around you,on your own little world,you looked so unreal...

You felt that someone was watching you,and as you turned back you saw him.

"Rod!What are you doing there?Come sit with me!"

You gave him what was probably the sweetest smile he ever saw,he could melt any moment.

"What?Oh sorry"

He sat next to you,he was nervous,why were you being so nice to him?

"Are you okay?You look nervous,is something bothering you?"

"No no it´s just that...you´re so pretty Y/N,I could stare at you for hours and not get bored"

"Aww you´re so sweet,since when are you so romantic?You didn´t told me those things when we started dating,I love this side of yours"

Wait,dating?No way,since when does the school loser date a pretty girl like you?Did he had amnesia or something?

"Wait,dating?"

"What?Rod are you okay?Yes,for a month now,are you sure you´re fine?"

He couldn´t believe your words,this was so unreal,when did this happened?

"I swear I´m fine,it´s just that- sometimes it´s unbelievable for me to know that I have the most perfect girl in my life"

Now he had no idea what he was talking about or since when he speaks like this,this situation was kinda weird,but it all changed when he heard someone from a distance calling his name.

"Rodrick?Rodrick,come on,Rodrick!"

Suddenly he was at his room,and that´s when reality hit him,he was just dreaming about you...

"Rodrick you´re gonna be late for school come on,get up"

His dad left the room,leaving a sad yet happy Rodrick,he was happy in that dream,but after waking up,damn,he missed that...

This was probably the first time ever that Rodrick got dressed in a nice way only to go to school,he tried really hard,he had to give you a good impression about him,but let´s say that his parents and his younger brother Greg were kinda concerned when they saw him like that...

At school,he only saw you at the time between classes,but you did say hi to him everytime you saw him at the hallways,he was too stunned to say hi back,damn...

And as the day ended,you got on your car on the way to your sister´s school to pick her up as usual,when you got there,she was talking with her friends.

You parked and got off the car and walked to Kelsey,she was laughing with her friends.

"Kelsey,come on let´s go home,give me your backpack"

"Y/N!"

She hugged you as strong as she could,since she was born she always saw you as her idol,she thought you were perfect,even though you didn´t saw yourself like that,you wished that puberty didn´t made your little sister hate you,but as things looked like,that wasn´t going to happen.

"Do you guys need me to take you home?It´s kinda hot today"

"No need Y/N,but thanks,my brother will pick us up"

"Are you sure?If you guys don´t want to wait here I could take you home real quick"

"No need thanks,here he comes"

And he did,as Greg finished talking,a white van parked next to the school,black letters on one side that said "Löded Diper",Rodrick´s van

"Greggy!My dear brother,how are you doing?"

Rodrick petted Greg´s head,leaving him with his hair like a bird´s nest

"I´m-fine I guess"

"It´s the first time I see you pick up your little brother from school"

"Y/N?What a surprise!"

You could tell that something was off,he seemed nervous,uncomfortable.

"Hey!I wasn´t expecting to see you here,you know Greg always walks home"

"Oh well It´s because-I´m always in a rush you know?"

"Yeah,next time,don´t be scared to say hi to me in the hallways,I don´t bite you know?"

Oh god,you realized that he never said hi back,of course you realized,you´re not dumb,what has he thinking?

"Uhm,Greg you can get in the car,I´m going to talk with Y/N for a moment"

"Okay?-"

"You go Kelsey,I´ll be there now,so,what did you wanted to tell me?"

"Uhm well,you have been in town for a few weeks now,and I never introduced myself properly"

"Neither I did,don´t worry,I should have introduced me first before saying hi to you without you knowing who I am"

"Oh,fine then haha"

"Should we start over?I´m Y/N,your neighbor,I like shopping and going outside,how about you?"

"I´m Rodrick,your new neighbor"

Suddenly,there was a very awkward silence,usually you knew how to get out of these,but there was something that didn´t let you speak or say something.

"Uhm...yeah that´s it"

"Yeah!cool cool..."

Silence...just silence...oh god why was this happening?

"Well...I have to leave,I gotta take Kelsey home,see you tomorrow!"

"Sure!"

You started walking towards your car,and before opening the door you heard Rodrick´s voice calling as he ran towards you.

"Y/N wait!"

"Yeah?"

"I...gotta tell you something else"

"Well tell me"

"I-i like you"

"Wha-what?"

"Don´t take this weird!But,I didn´t knew who you were til yesterday when we bumped into each other,it was love at first sight,I´m not looking for an answer or something,you can act as if this never happened,but I just want to tell you that in my dreams,you loved me back"

That was...weird?no,it was romantic,no,weird,so many emotions started to cross your mind,he dreamed about having you?

"Rodrick I-"

"No,I´ll just leave"

He started to walk away,leaving a confused you behind him.You knew why you said hi to him at school,you wanted to know him better,there was a spark in him that you never saw before.

"Rodrick wait!"

He turned around,looking at you.

"I didn´t answered.Meet me today at 4pm at the park,maybe...we can get your dream to come true"

[minkkumaz]

FROM WINDOW TO WINDOW

it took three days for you and your family to fully move into your house. it took you three hours to finally set up your room. but it took three minutes for woonhak to see you from his bedroom window and fall in love with you. THE DAY I MET YOU series

PAIRING kim woonhak x fem!reader WC 3.2k TAGS adults dni. fluff, fluff, oh look! more fluff! cussing. woonhak is in puppy love. mutual pining. OMI NOTE i have the biggest smile on my face rn hehe.

the past few weeks had felt like what you could only describe as hell. at first it was long and tedious days of shopping for homes. then, it was doing lots of construction work inside the house. and finally, after not having a proper place to live that wasn’t a shitty hotel, your family began the moving process.

it went a lot faster than you had initially expected, but you were happy. the calm presence in the neighborhood made up for the lack of people in the area. 

there was boxes on top of boxes in your arms, in which held almost your entire life. you had to lean back to maintain the weight, blowing wispies of hair out of your face so you could properly see where you were walking. part of you was too stubborn to make more than two trips, so you trudged along to your upstairs bedroom.

after dropping your things to the ground, you analyzed the surroundings properly; since you have not been able to explore much due to earlier construction. the ceilings weren’t very high since it was the second floor, but you didn’t care much at all. there were pretty hardwood floors, glazed with a matte finish, and the lighting was wonderful.

you noticed one large window on the side of your wall, mirroring exactly to the house next to you. the dark blue curtains were barely peaked open, so you paid no mind as you sat on the sill to go through one of your multiple boxes.

though as time passed, you failed to notice the sudden presence of the boy next door opening his window for fresh air. however in the middle of this, he saw you. 

your figure sat idly, furrowing your eyebrows as you rummaged through your things. if looks could kill, there would be burn holes in your face from how intensely he stared at you. you were cute. really, really, cute. because of this, he was determined to get to know you.

when you felt a gaze in your direction you looked over to see the boy staring at you. he jumped at the sudden attention, making you smile. you waved kindly, opening your window to see if he needed anything.

“hi! this is a sort of random first interaction!” you huff from pushing your heavy window up.

“oh shit– i’m sorry i wasn’t trying to spy on you or anything! i just noticed you and that bedroom is usually empty you know?” he spoke very quickly, but he was quite charming. “and then woah! there’s a person in there haha…”

“no worries! i didn’t think anything negative. i’m y/n!” you smiled at him again, leaning a little more out the window.

“nice to meet you y/n, i’m woonhak.” he almost melted right there seeing you smile prettily.

“woonhak.. it has a nice ring to it. maybe we shall meet again at our windows, woonhak?” you tell him, pulling yourself back into your room.

“yes– hopefully!” he stuttered out, watching you close your window and resume your unpacking.

when you disappeared into the rest of your room, woonhak doesn’t think he’s ever bolted to his phone quicker. immediately he went to unlock his phone and pull up the groupchat with all of his friends. how could he not boast about the stunning girl next door?

all he could do was pace around his room. the sound of ringing for a couple seconds made him feel impatient, but he saw jaehyuns profile join the group call.

“holy shit jaehyun tell everyone they need to join the call right now.” the rest of the boys quickly popped in before he could say anything more.

“what do you need, woonhak?” taesan asked, sounding obviously sleepy.

“all of you guys need to come over to my house right now, but like don’t be suspicious when you pull up because i don’t want the girl next door to see.” woonhak begged.

“girl next door? wasn’t that house empty?” riwoo thought.

“yes but someone moved in, this is about her!” “our cute little maknae has a crush?!” sungho exclaimed, clearly excited for the boy.

“that’s so sweet it makes me want to vomit.” leehan made fake gagging noises, causing jaehyun to laugh.

“okay whatever but she’s actually gorgeous and i swear all of you better be on your way.” woonhak whined.

“the bikes are locked and loaded as we speak.” there was some rustling sounds from each of the boys on the other line.

“hurry!” woonhak hung up the call, quickly peeking outside to see if you were still there. your silhouette was a little blurry from the dirty windows, but you were going around hanging stuff on your walls and organizing items on your desk.

it didn’t take forever for the remainder of the boys to arrive at his house. they only lived down the street, so the bike ride wasn’t long. after parking their vehicles (as jaehyun calls it), at the side of woonhak’s house, they followed him inside.

“okay okay tell us everything!” jaehyun jumped onto the bed, kicking his feet behind him. everyone else made themselves comfortable around the room, ready to listen.

“so basically i was eating lunch downstairs right?” woonhak leaned back into his desk chair, “then when i came back up to my room, i saw someone moving in the window across the way. at first i was confused as hell because i thought it was a construction worker but it was a girl!”

“what happened next? you didn’t imagine things right?” taesan asked, suddenly intrigued.

“i’m not crazy like you are taesan– but anyways. i was honestly kind of staring at her and then she looked over at me. at first i fucking jumped i was ready to get out of there, but then she smiled at me. i swear, how could she be so pretty? it was insane.” he went on, “and get this, she opened her window and we started talking!” “i think she wants you at this point dude.” jaehyun clapped his hands together, making leehan nod his head with a grin.

“she literally introduced herself and everything, then told me that maybe we’ll meet again at our windows.”

“are you going to ask her to hang out, because you definitely should!” sungho looked out behind him, “is that her?”

everyone stood up to go look, but woonhak scrambled to get them all sitting back down and close his curtains.

“holy shit i know you guys aren’t about to all try to see her?” woonhak panicked, “what if she saw you that’s so creepy!”

“maybe she’ll find it charming that you brought all your friends over to talk about your one minute interaction.” riwoo joked.

“okay if you guys wanna see her you have to be more discreet about it.” woon cracked open the curtains a tiny bit, signaling for them to come over and see. you remained doing the same tasks you were doing since he met you, and apparently almost done.

“she is really pretty not gonna lie.” taesan mumbled, earning a shove from the lovesick boy.

“dude!”

“my bad my bad!” he chuckled, going back to his previous seat.

“so what’s the game - plan woon?” leehan looked over to him, who was now the only one standing amongst them.

“i don’t know, maybe she’ll miraculously show up at my door and confess her love to me?”

“wait! invite her to that party we’re hitting up tonight. maybe she’ll want to come with us? she can ride on the back of your bike.” jaehyun suggested.

“that could work actually, i could introduce her to the neighborhood too..” woonhak pondered, “okay but how do i ask her? i’m sure i can’t just go to her front door.”

“throw an eraser at her window to get her attention?” sungho said before picking up one of the many erasers on woon’s desk.

“i guess that could work, but all of you guys hide! that’s so awkward if she saw all of you guys staring behind me.” after giving in, he grabbed the eraser from sungho’s hand and opened his window. 

the rest of the boys squatted underneath, giggling like school girls watching their friend try to talk to the girl he likes. of course they were supportive, and would stay that way to their graves, but teasing him was very amusing. it was safe to say that woonhak’s fidgeting hand pulled all of their hair to shut them up.

from what he could see, you were just on your phone scrolling mindlessly so he was hoping not to bother you. after contemplating for a solid few seconds, he chucked the object at your window. the sudden noise made you jump up slightly before opening your window and putting your head out.

“hello to you too?” you laugh, “did you need me or something?”

“sort of? i was um actually wondering if you’d want to go to a party down the street with me and my friends tonight? it can be like a welcome to the neighborhood kind of thing… only if you want to!” he took a deep breath after speaking.

“smooth.” riwoo whispered.

“that sounds fun actually! i don’t know how my dad would feel about it though.” you chew your bottom lip, thinking a bit.

“then sneak out with us? assuming your parents have been unpacking all day they’ll probably be tired and pass out! i don’t mean to be a bad influence or anything but it’d be really fun.” 

“hmmm, i’d say you’re quite persuasive. what time?” you press against the sill and rest your cheek on your fist.

“at nine pm. so about four hours from now? we’re riding our bikes there but you can go on the back of mine?”

“then it’s a date, woon. i’ll see you then.” you waved at him before closing your own curtains.

you were unsure what to think as the cute boy next door asked you to hang out. especially after meeting you less than three hours ago; specifically from your bedroom window. it was an odd way to get to know your neighbor, but for some reason it was quite endearing. 

was he staring or were you just a little delusional? maybe so, but that wasn’t relevant. 

three and a half hours flew by, and you were anxiously getting ready. woonhak was right when he said your parents would fall asleep quickly, you could hear the snoring from across the hall. 

you put together a presentable outfit, fixing up your hair as you usually do. the whole party scene wasn’t always your thing, but you wanted to make a good impression. part of you was also trying to impress him, as he technically knew nothing about you. you could put up a completely different front and he wouldn’t tell the difference.

it was important that he liked you, because being his nextdoor neighbor and also enemies didn’t sound too good.

as soon as you finished getting ready, you shoved a couple pillows underneath your blankets and opened up your window. the drop down could probably break your legs, so you sighed in defeat before pulling an extremely shaven down pencil from your desk and heaving it at woonhak’s window.

there was a little bit of silence before the curtains opened and revealed the boy you were trying to look pretty for (and his entire gang of friends behind him).

“hey! i’m ready but i kind of have a problem?” you say embarrassed.

he had to pause for a second, gawking at you like crazy. you wore a dress that hugged you perfectly, with a thin jacket draping over your shoulders. it wasn’t anything crazy fancy, but still cute for the event.

“oh– um yes! yeah hi what’s up.” woonhak blushed, scratching the back of his neck.

“i have no idea how to get out of my window… sneaking out of the front door is risky right now. my parents only went to sleep an hour ago.” you pout out your bottom lip disappointed.

“i can come down and catch you maybe? i don’t know, only if you’re okay with that!” he recommended shyly.

“yeah, yeah. that could work! just don’t drop me please.”

“only a fool would drop a girl like you.” he smirked, taking you aback slightly. the rest of his friends were reacting boyishly behind him before they all filed out to come get you. this was the moment you truly felt like a princess in need of saving. way to go feminism.

when he appeared below you his lips pulled into a wide smile, holding his arms out, “ready?”

“i’m kind of scared.”

“i promise you’ll be fine.” he plants his feet down hard, ready to catch you. “but you are wearing shorts right?”

“yes of course i am you pervert.” you roll your eyes playfully, making him blush.

swinging your leg out the window, you carefully try to step against the texture of the wall and grab against the edge. you’re able to lean yourself far enough to where you’re at a comfortable distance and let go. 

you land against woonhak, feeling his tight grasp first - hand. though you stumble slightly, he’s able to hold you still against him.

“see? i caught you.” he tells you, wiping the hair from in front of your face.

“yeah you did.” a pink tint grazes over your cheeks, causing you to look away and avoid eye contact.

“you guys can stare at eachother all you want at the party, lets go!” jaehyun groans, pushing his kickstand with his foot

the others began on their bikes while you followed behind woonhak to his own.

“i’m sorry if this is a little awkward for you.” he apologized, sitting down. “but it would probably be a little safer if you held on to me.. i’ve never really rode a bike with another person behind me.”

“no– i understand! i don’t feel awkward at all woon.” you sit behind him, letting your hands snake around his waist and grabbing firmly. the sudden touch made his stomach swarm with butterflies.

as soon as you were situated, he began pedaling down the street. you were pressed against his back, letting the comfort of the night consume you. a breeze sent shivers down your spine, making you almost nuzzle your head into woonhak.

“getting comfy?” he pointed out to cover up how giddy you made him feel.

“mm, just chilly. but it’s just the wind.” you sigh against his cardigan.

“we’re almost there, it’s not too far.” 

when you arrived at the party, it was a lot louder than when you barely heard it down the street. music made the walls vibrate with the bass, and there seemed to be a lot of people there. if not the whole neighborhood, most of it. 

“this is the most popular house on the street for parties. there’s one almost every week during the summer.” woonhak yelled loud enough so you could hear.

“do you come to every one?” you responded with the same energy.

“not really, this is my third one this summer.” he replied. “let’s go get a drink from the kitchen, it’s loud in here.”

you accompanied him to the kitchen where it was a little quieter. there were cups spread out everywhere and lots of snacks. a few people here and there, but they were mainly in the living area.

“sooo, is this your first party?” woonhak mentioned to break the silence.

“it isn’t my first party but definitely the loudest.” 

“i get that, it can get pretty deafening in here. just wait until jaehyun starts breaking out in the dance circle. i might just have to hype him up louder than the crowd.” he laughs, handing you a cup of fruit punch.

“i take it you’re very extroverted?” you take a sip from your drink.

“you could say so, i just enjoy being with my friends. but i’m nervous around certain people.” 

“like who?”

“nobody specific– don’t worry about it.” he played it off, making you giggle

the rest of the night you and woonhak barely left the kitchen. he was easy to talk you, like you instantly clicked. there was something about his demeanor that switched the longer you had a conversation with him. he even skipped out on hyping jaehyun to continue speaking to you and making sure you wouldn’t be left on your own.

it was comforting to know that he wasn’t letting his eyes off of you in such a crowded space. but you could barely realize that he couldn’t look away even if he wanted to. you looked so perfect in the multicolor lights that flashed nearby.

you quickly lost track of the time, so entranced by him, that you didn’t notice the slow pile out of people. sungho and leehan came tumbling into the kitchen, completely exhausted.

“hey i’ve been looking everywhere for you guys! we’re leaving right now because jaehyun accidentally slipped and ate shit… it was getting late anyways.” sungho grunted.

“we stuffed his nose bleed with some toilet paper and he’s waiting outside.” leehan perked up from behind sungho.

“ah alright we’re right behind you.” woonhak stood up, tossing his empty solo cup to the trash before leaning out a hand to you.

you held onto the offer graciously, pulling yourself up. but when you were up on your feet, he didn’t let go, leading you outside hand in hand.

“are you cold?” he questioned as the air outside made you shiver.

“just a little, this thin sweater isn’t doing me much justice.” 

a sudden warmth overflowed you as the cardigan woon was wearing made its way over your shoulders. the smell of his cologne immediately englufing you. 

“there, that’s better right?” 

you nod sheepishly, situating yourself on the back of his bike once again. 

once your house came into view, you felt a little sad. the rest of woonhak’s friends filtered out to their houses on the ride back.

 it was maybe one in the morning, but those hours you spent with woonhak would be engraved in your mind forever. you felt stupid getting so attached to him in the span of a day, but how could you not?

“so, this is your stop.” he parked his bike in the grass spot in between your houses, walking you up to your porch

“yeah haha..” you mumble, “thank you a lot for tonight, woon. it was really nice talking and getting to know you.

“it was really nice getting to know you too y/n. and um– you looked really really pretty tonight.” he looked everywhere but at you, still you know he meant it.

“thank you…” you felt very bashful, and didn’t know what to do. so you tried what felt right.

walking closer to him, you took his face in your hands and planted a kiss on his cheek. it was quick, but it sent off fireworks in his stomach.

“was that okay?” you stammer.

“that– that was more than okay.” he places one of his hands on his cheek, his fingers ghosting over where your lips were.

“i’m glad then. goodnight, woon.”

“goodnight, y/n.” 

he watched as you entered your home quietly, not to wake your parents. but as soon as you were out of his view, he was grinning ear to ear, running back to his house and kicking off his shoes. 

as soon as he reached his bedroom, he immediately went up to the window to see you coming into yours. you smiled at him tenderly before shutting your curtains.

that night you slept peacefully thinking about the boy next door, and you knew he did the exact same.

© 2023 minkkumaz, all rights reserved support your writers by reblogging + giving feedback! it is greatly encouraged and appreciated. thank you! → why feedback + reblogging is so important. ~ (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ if you'd like, donate to minkkumaz !

THE DAY I MET YOU series

[notsorryiml8]

Kinda sad that I wasn’t around for Naruto in it’s heyday. I see the artwork, read the stories, read the old posts and feel the energy and see how vibrant and lively the fandom was and get all the feels. I look at artwork or read fics from 10 years ago and am like, “wow, 25,694 people liked that?! I’m happy to get a couple hundred on a good day, a couple dozen on a normal, lol. Was the base THAT big??” I feel like everybody’s family and I’m peeking in the window after the party’s over. I can’t think of any other word than sad or melancholic to think that I can never be part of that community because I can’t change the past.

However, I also appreciate it because the show was so iconic and has left such an amazingly large imprint on society. I can’t go to the mall, a bookstore, a comic shop, arcade, department store, etc…without seeing Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, or Sakura (I could have just said Team 7) or Itachi or that darn Akatsuki cloud, or Obito’s iconic orange swirl mask on some merchandise or clothing or artwork. Or a cardboard standup. Or see a whole section devoted to them in Lunchbox or Hot Topic. Or can’t help but seeing at least half a dozen kids with a t-shirt, backpack, baseball cap, pin, etc… on any given day (I work in schools). Or even at the shoe store - went to Footlocker and they had all of the Naruto crocs and I was blissfully content for at least five seconds. Or even in general public, walking down the busy street or seeing people in my office, at least one person a day has something Naruto. Talk about a legacy.

I remember talking to a kid one day at work, he was maybe 15-16, and he saw my keychain and was like, “hey isn’t that Pakkun, the Naruto dog??” (Don’t judge - my key ring consists of Pakkun, Yor Forger (Spy x Family), a turtle, Naruto, and my poor little one-legged Kakashi, which to this day I still have no idea how his leg came off, but gosh darn it, they don’t make him anymore so I refuse to take him off that key chain). So, when I think about it most of the kids today that I interact with and watch the show weren’t around either, like my niece and nephew. But I still feel like I missed so much. I think I’m still stuck in 25th anniversary mode and am still kind of in awe. So, bear with me. That’s why I’m grateful for the interwebs. But what I wouldn’t give to be able to sit down and have a conversation about the latest episode. To feel that excitement and longing for the next and having to wait a week, instead of just hitting “next episode,” which I do appreciate, don’t get me wrong.” It’s just I don’t know…different. I’ve been watching anime and reading manga for years and still watch various ones, and still nothing has hit me like Naruto. Like my u/n says I’m not sorry I’m late, I just wish I could have been there a little earlier, but I am grateful that I get to enjoy the present and have this little corner of the web.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesdaypost year in review

this year brought to you by viewers like you. thank you! i still do not know how to thank everyone for their incredible generosity during the Late July/Early August Moving Catastrophe Badtimes and im still feelin some kinda way about it. thank you.

took eight weeks completely off, more than any other year so far

overnight traveled for work for the first time

moved cross country with Mack to face dangers untold and hardships unnumbered

bought an actual for-real couch and not a futon

got Phil

(unrelated to Phil) i got spayed after almost ten years of begging and pleading various medical professionals, (also unrelated) got covid and RSV back to back

listening

fallow weeks: 8. i almost always have a tuesdaysong bc i am almost always listening to something. all of the tuesdaysongs are here:

particular favorites were Peel Me A Grape (Anita O’Day), top spotify song of the year Yeah Yeah Yeah (Blood Orchid), Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Wolf remixed by Sextile, Father Finlee (Spence Hood), A Minha Menina (Os Mutantes).

the very last tuesdaysong of the year is Sugar Rum Cherry by Duke Ellington, one of the few christmas songs i tolerate.

special shoutout to the austin underscore walker universe of podcasts, bc i mainlined A More Civilized Age (clone wars/star wars rewatch) while packing, and devoured P/alisade (the newest scifi season of F/riends at the Table) this month.

-

reading

fallow weeks: 11. pleased that i am killing the invisible rules in my head and including more articles instead of feeling guilty about Not Reading A Real Book!!! every week when i sit down to write the tuesdaypost. read a fuckton earlier this year bc i was procrastinating moving prep, have not read much since i moved.

article sources:

inoreader (the best free RSS feed/app imo)

The Markup (gold standard usage of data to show how various technologies are being used to harm the public good: you may have heard of the recent American bills to equalize internet service and fix organ donation grift. that was them)

Web 3 Is Going Just Great (crypto disasters)

404 Media (technology reporting, internet culture, also break a lot of data/legal/privacy scandals)

Remap (formerly Vice's video games division Waypoint, more active on podcasts and twitch but do have great personal essays about gaming longreads)

Retraction Watch (an important academic service but platformed a particularly virulent transphobe and let the comments devolve into a free for all. yes im still mad about this)

Krebs on Security (~once a month extremely long and thoughtful infosec writeups)

Data Colada (cover academic data whoopsies, currently being sued for their journalism)

the two authors i spent the most time with this year were Alexis Hall (romance novels and novellas) and Raymond Chandler's noir detective novels. i read 90% of Raymond Chandler's work in march and went insane about yet another sad bisexual man. Philip Marlowe the cat is named after his pet detective, the human Philip Marlowe.

march was kind of a banger for this category bc in one of what i consider the best tuesdayposts this year, i tried to break down why i fucking hated Frank Miller's Sin City comics so much.

other comics, but ones i loved: Spy X Family, Berserk, weird noir DC miniseries The Human Target.

-

watching

fallow weeks: 10

notable stuff i watched for the first time (according to letterboxd) that will stick in my head for a bit. some (The Night of the Hunter) i am so glad i watched once but do not feel the need to revist. some (Slipstream) fascinate me with how good they could have been. some (Twilight. all of them) were fun bc of the people i watched them with. the two i went particularly deranged over are The Big Sleep and Day of Anger. still feel very normal about them.

very heavy on crime and courtroom films this year!

television: very excited for s2 of Blue Eye Samurai, Interview With The Vampire, Spy X Family.

i should loop back and finish Black Lagoon, Adventure Time (completely forgot i rewatched most of that this spring), and The Big O. that last one is throwing me a little bc (since i last checked) there is no freely available version with subtitles (i cannot find subtitles Period) and i'll be damned if i have to import a dvd. i can find the dub with subtitles but! i want to hear spike spiegel as mecha-batman :(

sort of lukewarm eh-i'll-get-around-to-it about s/tar wars shows. i have not watched a/hsoka At All or wrapped up the animated Resistance show. i'll pay attention when ando/r is airing again.

-

playing

fallow weeks: 10. way fewer than i would have guessed!

the trouble with this category is that it is exceptionally hard to find new good games (either ones i already own or ones that are free). it is almost completely prohibitively exhausting to trawl through the free category on steam. there's simply a lot of cruft out there. a very good thing (but also incredibly timeconsuming thing) i started this year was throwing games into various folders so the eight bajillion libraries i have are less overwhelming. i can safely ignore 80% of my epic games library, for example. the itch.io library is a whole separate weekend project i think.

got back into genshin for good or for ill, which took up most of the back half of the year.

go play ABZU. i am no longer asking.

i would like to go back and finish the RPG Gamedec, un-softblock myself in the RPG Weird West, and finish the visual novel Dead Man's Rest. i think i stalled out in Call of Juarez: Gunslinger bc there was a mexican standoff that my reflexes are simply not fast enough for/too much to pay attention to. i am excited to pick up that spooky fishing simulator DREDGE when i have fun money again.

completely forgot i spent most of jan/feb/march being annoyed at fallou/t 4 but having some fun in Far Harbor, also forgot i spent an entire month playing through Wolfenstein: The New Order but i am not compelled to play through it again. it was fun! but like many games after one playthrough my time with it is done!

-

making

fallow weeks: 17 (unsurprising, pretty low energy year as a whole as i recovered from covid rounds 1 and 2 and the frankly insane stress of moving).

wrote exactly one fic: some matters at the heart of cowboy western snap shirts: why they are so and some of the implications of their being so, i would like to write more next year but i don't really have the brainpower. i hope this changes soon.

the baby blanket i started last year is still not done but the baby is still under a year so i have a very narrow window of time.

dyed some couch covers im still very pleased with

wrote an extremely long but very well received gallery wall guide

recipes: 12. sort of shocked by this? i am becoming an incrementally better cook and slowly finding recipes i both like and can successfully execute. found the fortitude to caramelize onions, for example. quick pickled red onions, for another thing. big year for protein or greens on top of beans and rice. faves included: cuban-style pork shoulder, hellofresh peruvian chicken, red lentil soup, white bean/kale/rice bowls

i would like to be less terrified about cooking fish. i would like to eat more fish.

and of course, the biggest project of all, acquired Phil. here is my very favorite photo ive ever taken of a cat

[precuredaily]

Precure Daily's Sixth Anniversary

On April 10, 2018, I posted the first review in the project that became Precure Daily. It wasn't actually on tumblr at that time, but on Facebook. The plan was to watch an episode every day and just post some thoughts, but it evolved into reviews and screenshots and that necessitated a whole blog, and here we are. That was six years ago today!

Six years. It's hard to believe. I honestly, truly didn't think I'd still be doing this. Whether I petered out before the end, or managed to get it all done in the 2-3 years I anticipated, I figured I'd have stopped by now. But somehow I haven't given up yet! I'm still watching, still writing, and still getting new fans to share with, and that makes it all worth it.

The past year was slow, I will readily acknowledge it. I only got about 7 reviews out in that time, including the one that just went up earlier today, but one of those was the Go Go movie. That was a whole undertaking, it took me nine months to get out. Granted, for about 6 of those 9 months it was just sitting there unchanged. I'd open it occasionally to poke at it but then not end up getting much done. Maybe it still wasn't the best it could have been but I'm proud of it nonetheless. It was a good review for a good movie. Also, I got to review the very first All Stars, even if it was a short film. Having recently wached the most recent All Stars brings that experience full circle and it's real nice.

One small hiccup is that, at the time of writing, I haven't yet gotten out the traditional Honoka birthday post. I just haven't had time to sit down and gather artwork for it. Hopefully that'll come out in the next day or two!

Outside of the blog, let's look at the wider world of the Precure series over the last year

I said last year that I hadn't finished Delicious Party, and that's still true. When it was on air, I was watching it with a friend and she was really into it; we are going to resume watching together to finally push through it.

HIrogaru Sky's second half was good, it lacked a little bit of the driving power of the first half and the villain plot never properly came together in my opionion. I still love the characters, I think they're my favorite cast in a good while.

I did not watch Otona Precure. Although I've watched Go Go before, I want to finish this current watchthrough for the blog before I jump into it. Maybe I'll even review it as I go, that remains to be seen. I've heard mixed things about it and I'm not very big on the idea that the girls just go back to teenagers when they transform, but I'll reserve judgment.

Wonderful Precure did not appeal to me when information started coming out, and I fell off it for a few weeks when the first couple eps didn't impress me, but I decided to keep going and it's thoroughly enjoyable. I don't think it's going to crack my top 10 but it should be a solid middle of the road series.

I watched the Delicious Party Precure movie and Precure All Stars F with friends in fairly close proximity, and wow do those movies exist on opposite ends of the spectrum. DeliPa's film was one of the weakest Precure movies I've seen, while All Star F was phenomenal. I need to rewatch it.

I did say last year that the blog would look different when I finish Go Go. That is still true. I should be able to wrap that up in a few months, then comes the next phase of things. Deets when it happens.

And also just because I can, here's some recommendations for shows outside of Precure you should watch that came out in the last year-ish:

Oshi no Ko

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (featuring Wonderful Precure's Tanezaki Atsumi as a monotone elf)

SPY x FAMILY (featuring Wonderful Precure's Tanezaki Atsumi as a psychic toddler)

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger

The Last of Us

And I think that's it for this year's update! Here's to another year of watching and writing about Precure! Thanks as always to my loyal friends and fans for making this project a success: @sailorzombiestar, @vertixscribe, PaintedOutlaw, @hanasaki-tsubomi, yugimon135 (can't tag you for some reason), and my newest fan @nono-bunny.

Here's all my previous sappy anniversary posts if you want to go back and read them.

First Anniversary

Second Aniversary

Third Anniversary

Fourth Anniversary

Fifth Anniversary

[tessa-liam]

Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke and Mirrors 

-6- You Are the Reason 

Book: The Royal Romance Finale +, Alternate Universe 

Series Premise: Hidden in the shadows, poised to challenge the status quo are enemies of the state. The loyalties and honesty of family and of friends will be tested. ‘Keep your friends close, your enemies closer.’ 

•Catch up: Smoke and Mirrors Masterlist 

•Main Pairing: Liam Rys x F!MC Riley Brooks-Rys, OTP ‘LiRi’ 

   2nd Pairings: Leo Rys x Amalas 

                         Drake Walker x F!OC Delaney Leigh  

All characters belong to Pixelberry except Delaney Leigh, Officer Alex Cossoy, Geoffrey Bessler (Amalas’ head guard) 

•Rating: M🔞*Series Warnings: NSFW material, sexual innuendo, adult language/swearing/drinking, gun violence. 

•Category: Alternate Universe/on-going series/angst/fluff 

•Words: 1774, Read: 9 minutes 

Chapter 6: You Are the Reason 

Insert picture*** 

Chapter Summary: Arriving back at the Monterissan palace, discoveries are uncovered, and fears are realized. 

Music Inspiration: Need You Now – Lady Antebellum 

                                 You Are the Reason – Calum Scott 

A/N1: My submission for @choicesflashfics Week #27, Prompt #3 - “I don’t know if I want to know the answer, but what are you doing?” 

***insert picture 

Monterisso Royal Palace - Seaside Balcony 

It had just turned 10 p.m. and the sun was setting over the Mediterranean Sea. The cool pool water was refreshing as Riley leaned back to submerge under the surface. Even though it was late evening, the temperature in the Capital was still 43 degrees C. 

Amalas slowly lifted her gaze up when she noticed Geoffrey, her head royal guard, step onto the terrace beside the jacuzzi. 

“Your Majesty, please excuse my interruption.” 

“Yes, Geoffrey?” 

“King Liam’s Royal motorcade has arrived at the palace.” 

“Thank you.” Amalas sat up and reached for a towel. 

Noticing Riley was getting out of the pool, “Hey, Ri? Is the pool is too cool for you?” 

Riley laughed, “oh no, the water is amazing. I totally forgot how hot it was out here tonight.” 

“Where are you off to? Would you like another iced tea?” 

“I would love that, thanks. Let me just check on the girls quickly; I will be right back.” 

“I wonder why Liam is coming back tonight?” 

“I am not sure; Leo messaged me earlier and said that they had hit a dead end,” 

Completely unaware that Liam and Leo had just walked out onto the terrace behind her, Riley slipped into her sandals. Liam lifted his finger to his lips to signal to Amalas not to alert her. 

Amalas chuckled as she watched her surprised friend turn and then ‘yelp’ when she was lovingly encased in the arms of her husband from behind, as Liam caught her off guard. 

“My love, maybe it would be better if you join me in the jacuzzi instead of roaming around the palace in your towel?” Liam whispers in his smooth, deep baritone into her ear. 

Smirking, Liam grins as Riley shakes her head. 

“Well, I’m delighted you came home early,” Riley coos. 

Turning and slipping her hands up Liam’s chest, she reaches up to kiss him ‘hello’.  

“Hey, Ri, how is the water?” Leo interrupts. 

Sauntering up to Leo, Amalas quips, “well, there is another way to find out.” 

Leo leans down to kiss her cheek. “Is that so? Care to take a swim with me?” 

Amalas coyly smiles, “follow me.” 

*** 

“So, tell me, Liam, what happened today? What changed?” 

Liam looked at the ceiling, “I overheard that the Interpol intelligence reports showed that this palace would likely be the location of where my ‘supposed’ sister would be.” 

“Liam, who did you overhear?” 

“Alex Cossoy. He was confiding that to Olivia.” 

“Oh my God, here?” Riley gasped. 

“He told Olivia that his gut feeling was that this woman has a connection to the royal guard here in the palace through Bastien.” 

“Bastien? Bastien again! It seems like there is a covert underground spy network between our countries.” 

“Well, I am delegating this investigation to my brother. Leo has agreed to head the investigation with the assistance of Interpol here in Monterisso.  

Since Officer Cossoy is assigned to Cordonia, he will lead the investigation from our palace. Olivia has already offered her assistance to Interpol. 

Liam stopped, turning to Riley, “I need to get you and Ellie out of Monterisso now. It's not safe here; we are going home.” 

Spotting the King and Queen walking towards her, Mara, who was standing guard outside the princess’ room, bows. 

“Your Majesties.” 

Riley nods and walks inside of her daughter’s room. 

“Hello Mara, any issues to report?” Liam asks, noticing the guard’s attention was focused behind his right shoulder. “Your Majesty, I need to report a concerning incident that I witnessed earlier this evening.” 

Officer Cossoy, responding to Mara’s request stepped alongside Liam. 

*** 

Mediterranean Sea, Monterisso 

“Never have I ever, ever thought I would someday be swimming in the Mediterranean,” Delaney smiled widely. 

Drake answered back, “never have I ever thought I would be skinny dipping with a hot blond in the Mediterranean." He raised his eyebrows and grinned. “...but, here we are!” 

Wanting to get closer, he stepped forward. admiring her curves underneath her bikini top. 

“Well, not yet, anyway.” Drake chuckled reaching for the tie of her top. 

“I don’t know if I want to know the answer, but what are you doing?” Delaney asked curiously. 

“I think it’s time to teach you how to swim.” 

Delaney gasped and started to walk backwards away from him. 

“Tonight? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” 

“Not in a lake, not in a pool, but in open water,” he told her confidently. 

She stared at him, “you mean like, here in the ocean?” 

Delaney had told Drake her fear of deep water. Drake had made a promise of teaching her to swim so that her fears would diminish. 

He nodded, “I know you can do this.” Walking towards her, Delaney stared at his broad, ripped chest. 

Delaney thought about it, “Why are you so sure I can do it?” 

Drake smiled, “Because you’re smart and beautiful, and you can do anything you put your mind to. 

Come on, get your suit off and come here,” waggling his brows he closed the distance, drawing her close. 

“And there it is!” Delaney giggled. 

*** 

Eleanor’s Chamber 

The nightlight glowed soft blue as Riley entered the room. Ellie was wide awake, sitting on the bed, holding her lovey tightly. 

“Mommy!” Her bottom lip quivering as she raised her arms for a hug. 

“Sweetheart, what is it?” Riley rushed to her bedside and enveloped her daughter in her arms as Ellie started to cry. 

“I’m scared. I want to go home.” 

Riley knelt down beside her. 

“It is late. I am sorry you are afraid. Tell me about your bad dream.” 

“Mommy, I didn’t have a dream.” 

“If you cannot sleep, I will sit with you.” 

“I don’t like that lady.” 

Puzzled, Riley asks, “What lady, sweetie?” 

“The lady who was reading a story to me and Mikky. The one who looks like Daddy.” 

Shocked, Riley gasped, finding it hard to breathe. It took every strength to hold it together and to remain calm in front of her daughter. 

“Li..Li..Liaaammm” Riley cried out.   

*** 

Walking along the shore, hand in hand, Delaney and Drake were close to the palace as Drake started to slow. Looking sheepish, he turned, and paused scanning the outside perimeter of palace terrace. 

“Drake? Where did our backpacks go; I don’t see them anywhere.” 

“Stay here, I will run up and take a closer look.” 

Close to the exterior wall of the palace, he spotted a tall figure looking up to the terrace with binoculars. 

Slowing his movements, he called out, “excuse me, have you....” 

“Freeze!” 

Before his eyes, Drake watched as two men pointed their firearms at the figure in the shadows. 

‘Shit, what the hell?’ 

He stood motionless as the lone figure turned and started to run. 

A gunshot rang out as one of the men fired a warning shot into the air. 

His next thought was, ‘Delaney!’ as someone pulled Drake down to the ground from behind. 

“Who the fuck...”, Drake jostled hands off his shoulders. He stopped and turned as Olivia lifted her eyebrow. 

“Just say ‘thanks’, Walker.  

Drake felt relief when he spotted Delaney standing at a safe distance at the seashore. 

Olivia and Drake turned and noticed the lone figure being arrested; cuffed and led away, Lena was silent. 

*** 

Leo and Amalas heard the sound of a gunshot, as they were talking and lounging inside the jacuzzi. 

“What the hell!” Leo jumped up looking toward the barrier wall of the terrace. 

“Your highness, get down.” Geoffey shouted as members of the Monterissian Royal guard surrounded their queen. 

*** 

Liam pushed Mara aside as he bolted into Eleanor’s room. 

Noticing Riley’s fear stricken look and his daughter crying in her arms, he knelt down beside them and enveloped them protectively. 

Officer Cossoy entered next, with his gun drawn. Mara locked and secured the door behind her as she noticed royal guards standing at attention in the hall outside. 

“Your Majesties, there is a situation developing outside and the palace is in lockdown.” 

*** 

The sound of the engines could be heard from outside the SUV as it moved closer to the Royal jet on the tarmac. 

Riley watched Drake help Delaney out of the lead SUV already stopped up ahead. 

“Are you ready, my love?” Liam asked Riley, as he lifted Ellie, fast asleep, from her car seat. 

“I am.” 

He smiled, “Then let us go home.” 

Taking her hand, he led her to the door of the jet. 

“Your majesty,” Mara greeted as the nanny lifted the sleeping princess from Liam’s arms. 

As the jet took off, the sun was rising on the horizon. 

[morganadpl]

Another heir - Chapter 4

« Are you spying on me ? »

Draco Malfoy story

Draco Malfoy x Ravenclaw

Warnings : Spoilers Harry Potter saga

—————————

Helena shifted her weight, feeling the cool night breeze against her skin. She turned to Draco, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "So, what's on your mind? What's keeping you up at night?"

Draco hesitated before replying, his voice quiet. "My father."

Helena nodded, understanding that he wouldn't say more. She decided to share a piece of her own story instead. "I lost my father two years ago. He was very sick. Ever since then, I've had a hard time sleeping, but walking around at night helps me clear my head."

Draco glanced at her, his expression hardening slightly. "I suppose you're happy my father's in prison. After all, he was at the Ministry at the end of last year."

Helena shook her head slowly. "I'm not happy, Draco. I understand that it's not easy for you. But I know that just because your father is where he is, it doesn't mean you're the same person. We are not carbon copies of our parents. You are your own person, Draco. I understand that you miss him, but you shouldn't let others—or yourself—define you by his actions."

Draco looked at her, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He seemed to be processing her words, the tension in his shoulders easing just a little. "You really believe that?"

"Yes, I do," Helena said softly. "We all have our own paths to walk. You can choose to be different."

For a moment, the two stood in silence, the only sound the rustling of leaves in the wind. Helena could feel a shift in the air, a tentative bridge forming between them.

"Thanks," Draco finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'll keep that in mind."

Helena smiled gently. "Anytime, Draco."

They stood together, gazing at the stars, finding a shared solace in the quiet of the night.

And so these late-night meetings became a ritual. Each evening, they found solace in the Astronomy Tower, gazing at the stars and engaging in quiet conversations. Draco remained distant in his responses, but he couldn't deny that he appreciated Helena for not judging him as the selfish, arrogant son of a Death Eater. He valued her presence, even if he couldn't fully express it.

Draco found himself questioning many things. Helena's acceptance and understanding were a stark contrast to the expectations placed upon him. Yet, he couldn't forget the mission he had been given. The internal battle of his emotions was intense, tearing him between loyalty to his family and the glimmer of a different path.

For Helena, these nightly talks were a rare opportunity to open up about her own struggles, especially about her father. Draco, in his own reserved way, understood her pain without showing pity, which made her feel less alone. His empathy was subtle, but it was there, and it meant the world to her.

As weeks went by, their connection grew stronger. They exchanged discreet smiles in the corridors and at the dining tables, a silent acknowledgment of their shared secret. Their friendship, if it could be called that, remained hidden from prying eyes. Helena appreciated these moments of vulnerability and camaraderie, and Draco found a small respite from his burdens.

Their bond was a delicate balance of unspoken understanding and mutual respect, blossoming quietly in the shadows of their nightly rendezvous.

One evening, Helena arrived at the Astronomy Tower earlier than usual. She needed a moment alone. The previous night, she had been haunted by a dream of her father, watching him take his last breath while her mother pleaded with him to fight and stay. Helena stood powerless at the foot of the bed, the scene replaying over and over in her mind. She had woken up with a start, disoriented and sorrowful. The day had seemed interminable.

Desperate to distract herself, Helena attempted to work on her astronomy homework, but she couldn't focus. She was trying to locate the Gemini constellation when she heard footsteps behind her. Draco had arrived.

He quietly sat down beside her, observing her for a moment before asking, "What are you reading?"

Helena sighed, a hint of frustration in her voice. "I'm trying to do this stupid assignment, but I just can't focus."

Draco took her assignment from her hands, glancing at it. "You're already looking at the best constellation."

Helena looked at him curiously. "Why do you say that?"

Draco smirked slightly. "Because it's my sign."

Helena laughed, the tension easing a bit. "Mine too."

Draco's smirk softened into a genuine smile. "Well, let's see if we can make some sense of it together." He started pointing out different constellations in the night sky, using the telescope and charts from the tower. He explained the positioning of the constellations in relation to one another, his voice calm and steady.

"Look, here's Gemini," Draco said, adjusting the telescope for her. "And if you move just a bit to the left, you can see Taurus."

Helena leaned in, following his directions. "Wow, I see it. That's incredible."

Draco nodded, then pointed towards another part of the sky. "And over there, that's Orion. It's one of the easiest to find because of the belt stars."

As they continued, Draco's knowledge and passion for astronomy became apparent. Helena found herself not just learning, but genuinely enjoying the process.

At the end of their impromptu lesson, Helena looked at Draco with newfound appreciation. "I didn't know you were so good at astronomy."

Draco shrugged modestly. "My mother taught me a lot when I was younger. It's always been something I enjoy."

Helena hesitated for a moment before asking, "Did your mother choose your name because of a constellation?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, she did. She always loved the stars and the stories behind them."

Helena's curiosity piqued. "Can you show me where it is?"

Draco smiled, pleased by her interest. "Of course." He adjusted the telescope and pointed it towards a specific part of the sky. "There it is, Draco. It's part of the constellation of the dragon, Draco."

Helena peered through the telescope, marveling at the sight. "It's beautiful," she whispered. "I can see why your mother chose it."

Draco nodded, a hint of pride in his voice. "She always said it was a strong name, fitting for a Malfoy."

Helena looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the starlight. "It suits you," she said softly. "You're strong, Draco. Even if you don't always feel it."

Draco looked back at her, his usual guarded expression softening. "Thank you, Helena. That means a lot."

Draco, sensing that they were on a night where the conversation could be deeper, asked, "Helena, why couldn't you concentrate earlier? You excel in all your subjects."

Helena looked at the sky before responding. "I had a nightmare about my father, about his last day. I've never told anyone the reasons for his illness. It's something that gives me a feeling of sadness and also of revenge."

"Revenge? Why?" Draco asked, genuinely curious.

Helena looked at him and, after a few moments, decided that Draco might be one of the few who could understand, even if what she was about to say might make him feel bad about his family. She took a deep breath and began to explain.

"During the first war against Voldemort, my parents were part of the Order of the Phoenix. One night, during a battle against two Death Eaters, one of them, Evan Rosier, cast a curse at my father that he couldn't dodge. It was an infection that grew slowly. At first, everything seemed fine, but no treatment was found. About three years ago, my father was admitted to the hospital. He stayed there for a year, but no cure was found. My nightmare was about the day the infection finally took over."

Draco listened intently, his expression serious. He could sense the weight of her words and the pain behind them. "I'm sorry, Helena," he said softly, genuinely feeling her pain.

Helena nodded, appreciating his sympathy. "It's been hard. I guess that's why I find comfort in the stars. They remind me of him, of the times we spent together before everything changed."

Draco looked up at the night sky, his thoughts conflicted. He understood the burden of legacy and the pain of losing a parent, even if their circumstances were different. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it can't be easy."

Helena gave a small, sad smile. "Thank you for listening. It's been a long time since I talked about it."

Draco and Helena said their goodbyes, sensing that their conversation had reached a natural pause. Helena knew she needed rest; tomorrow would be her first class with her ancestor.

Returning to the Ravenclaw Tower, she paused before the imposing door that led to the common room. The bronze eagle knocker seemed almost to watch her as she approached. It posed its riddle, and Helena, accustomed to the practice, quickly solved it, allowing her entry.

The Ravenclaw common room was a circular, airy space filled with the soft glow of enchanted lanterns. The walls were lined with tall, arched windows that offered a breathtaking view of the night sky and the surrounding grounds of Hogwarts. Bookshelves brimming with ancient tomes and modern texts alike stood against the walls, while cozy armchairs and elegant tables were scattered about, inviting students to study or converse.

In the center of the room stood a grand marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, her serene gaze and regal bearing inspiring wisdom and calm. Helena walked over to the statue and gazed up at it, feeling a familiar pang of longing and pride. Her father's words echoed in her mind: "You are the rightful heir of a proud family legacy. Your strength comes from your family and your convictions. Always fight for what you believe is right."

Helena took a deep breath, drawing strength from the statue's presence and her father's encouragement. The weight of her heritage felt lighter, more manageable. With a renewed sense of purpose, she turned away from the statue and made her way up the spiral staircase to the girls' dormitory.

Entering the dormitory, she found the room quiet and peaceful, her fellow Ravenclaws already asleep or quietly reading in their beds. She slipped into her own bed, pulling the curtains closed around her. The soft, familiar surroundings of her dormitory brought a sense of comfort, and she allowed herself to relax.

As she settled under the covers, her thoughts drifted back to her upcoming meeting with her ancestor. She knew it would be challenging, but she felt ready to face it. With a final glance at the night sky through the window, she closed her eyes and let sleep claim her, the words of her father lingering in her mind like a protective charm.

The next morning unfolded normally. Helena arrived at the breakfast hall with a smile, accompanied by her best friend Lena. She nodded to her friends from Gryffindor and offered a barely noticeable smile to a certain Slytherin.

At noon, as she was about to enter the Great Hall for lunch, Harry stopped her. "Can we talk outside, just the two of us?" he asked quietly.

Helena raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Sure, Harry. What's on your mind?"

Harry took her by the arm and led them both outside the main entrance, making sure that nobody was in sight. They sat down on a bench near the side of the Great Hall's walls. From there, they had a beautiful view of the mountains, the Black Lake, and, of course, the boathouse—the place where every first-year student first discovers the castle.

After they sat down, Helena turned to Harry, encouraging him to continue with his questions.

Harry glanced around before replying, "How's the start of the year been for you?"

Helena shrugged, trying to keep the conversation light. "Everything's fine. Classes are going well, and it's good to be back." Helena stopped, and looked at Harry who had a strange look on his face, so she continued "But I feel like there's something else you want to ask."

Harry hesitated, then took a deep breath. "I've seen you on the Marauder's Map a few times in the evenings, wandering around the castle. It got me a bit worried."

Helena's heart skipped a beat, but she kept her expression neutral. "Are you spying on me, Harry?"

[wordwings]

Fun Facts About Me (tag game)

Tagged by @surroundedbypearls over here! Thank you!

A scent you love

Lavender, rose and rosemary.

What’s something you’re looking forward to this week?

Tomorrow we’re finally playing DnD again after not having been able to get together for months! Excited to return to the story and my character, a deep gnome ranger-warlock called Eli (among many other names).

What’s a book you’re currently reading?

I’m borrowing my brother’s Spy x Family manga volumes, just finished volume 4! I’m also listening to the audiobooks of Juniper & Thorn (almost finished and it’s so good) and Chameleon Moon (reread of a favourite).

What’s a game you’re currently playing?

I haven’t been gaming a lot lately but I was playing Civilization VI with my brothers earlier. I don’t have the attention span to have a proper strategy so I’m just doing whatever and hope they fight each other and leave me alone 😂

What’s the most recent movie you watched?

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves! I had seen it in the cinema already but I watched it again with my mum this week. It’s so much fun, and definitely a comfort movie for me.

Are you watching anything on TV or listening to any shows?

Yes, my partner and I watch a lot of shows together that we switch between (yes we’re an ADHD household). Currently we’re mostly watching Elementary and For All Mankind. We also listen to podcasts like My Brother My Brother and Me, You’re Wrong About, If Books Could Kill, and Maintenance Phase. And I personally listen to The Adventure Zone and Welcome to Night Vale!

Favourite season?

Autumn!

What’s something you’ve learned recently?

That I can write sustainably if I actually listen to my body and don’t push through my fatigue! It seems simple but it took 10+ years, many health professionals saying otherwise and consistently worsening symptoms to get there.

Have you had any water lately?

I’m constantly drinking water, so yes.

Tagging: @anoelleart, @likegemstone, @olive-riggzey, @winterandwords ✨

[ashipwithoutaname]

I broke my leg a couple weeks ago and I’m running out of ideas of things to watch! Any recommendations?

I’ve watched all of fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood and I just started spy x family. I watched trigun stampede earlier this year too

[cresneta-studies-japanese]

I'm Cresneta and I'm very slowly learning Japanese on my own. While I did study some Japanese in college, that was long enough ago that げんき(Genki) was on its first edition and it seems I forgot a lot of it. I'm now at a point in my life where I can afford to take a trip to Japan sometime so I started studying it again earlier this year. Going to Japan will probably be what I reward myself with once I finish げんき I. I also picked up the third edition of げんき I because I noticed that the first edition was missing things like the word for smartphone (スマホ). I'm hoping that blogging about it will help me to keep studying as well as keep loose tabs on my progress.

At the time of this writing, I have just finished reading through the grammar section of chapter 5 and will likely start on the practice sections tomorrow. This is still in the part of the book that was covered in my college class, but it seems I completely forgot how to conjugate adjectives along with a good chunk of the vocabulary for this chapter.

Currently, I do most of my studying on the weekends but try to review vocabulary at least throughout the week. Wow I'm mostly using げんき to study Japanese, I'm also supplementing it with random YouTube videos and articles that I find when I have a question that doesn't seem to be covered by the book or at least not covered yet (e.g. the difference between やる and する). I also find that writing things down helps me to remember them.

While they're a bit beyond me currently, I have also picked up some manga in Japanese, namely Doreabase and Spy x Family, so those are waiting for me when I get better or just feel like muddling my way through. I'm a pretty big SxF fan and also have that manga in English, so that helps a bit. I also sometimes try watching Bluey in Japanese without subtitles, but I don't understand a ton of it and I've never watched it before so I'm probably going to try watching it in Japanese again in a couple of chapters.

As you may have guessed if you actually made it this far, I'm a bit if a nerd. I grew up watching Sailor Moon and have been watching anime and playing games that were made in Japan on and off ever since. I'm a fan of Spy x Family (which kinda took over my main blog), Fire Emblem, Sailor Moon, Kingdom Hearts, Madoka, Animal Crossing (I've heard this series can be good to play in Japanese as you're learning it), otome games, Persona, etc.

Part of the reason why I want to visit Japan is because I want to eat at a cafe that's doing a collab with a series that I live sometime. I'd also like to see some of the places that have shown up in the anime and games I've enjoyed over the years along with the more standard tourist fare. There's certainly food I'd like to try there as well - have you seen those videos about McDonalds and コンビニthere? I got to check them out!

どおぞよろしく

[choking-on-roses]

I am FINALLY going to properly watch BNHA because Netflix Japan FINALLY has English subtitles

[sasuhinasno1fan]

The wish for a different life - Adrien AUGreste Day 1+2

My night was crappy but this was inspired by the stories I’ve seen where Lila wins and wishes for Adrien’s life. In those stories, their moms stay the same but this time I thought, but what if they didn’t? Apologies if the Lila salt was heavy, it was hard to make her lies be noticed now without slandering her a little. I don’t know, I just worked hard on this and wanted to make sure it was posted. The first part was pulled from Lila’s Lament by BroadwayCutie16 on AO3. @adrienaugust

Who Am I?

"I Wish to have everything Adrien Agreste has!"

And the world...

...went...

...b l a c k...

.......................

Seconds later, reality twisted and warped itself to rewrite fate itself.

To adjust the world to the Wisher's demands.

The universe, the director of the world, snapped his fingers to alter his script.

He moved actors around and rearranged their roles.

He rewound the show to the beginning.

He pressed "play".

And Lila woke up in a strange new room.

                                           _____________

“Adrien, piccolino, time to wake up. We need to meet the headmaster before I go off to work.”

Adrien groaned, rolling his face into the pillow even more, hoping to go back to sleep. He ignored the footsteps and the sound of his door opening and the sound of the lights turning on. He felt a hand ruffling his hair before hearing the sound of his blinds being pulled open. He finally pulled his head away from the pillow and blearily looked at the woman inside his room.

“Come on caro. I told you to go to sleep earlier.”

“But new episode.” He whined, sounding as exhausted as he felt.

The woman shook her head, her loose brown hair shifting on her shoulders. “I’m sure it could have waited.” She approached the bed again, running a hand through Adrien’s blonde hair. “Come on, go get showered and if we have enough time, we can go out for breakfast. I hear croissants are to die for.”

“Ok, mama.”

He watched with green eyes as she walked around the suitcases and boxes in his room, gathering her brown hair into a ponytail. He got up, stumbling himself as he reached the window and looked at the view he had of the park. It was mostly runners or a person feeding the pigeons, but it was pretty. The whole of France was from what he could see. They’d arrive pretty late the night before and had struggled to get their things upstairs as their apartment didn’t have an elevator but thankfully it was only the third floor. After things were moved in and they showered, his mom went straight to bed while he did what his mom warned him not to do and watched the newest episode of Spy X Family.

“I don’t hear movement!”

“I’m coming.”

He showered and changed, pulling on his ripped jeans and stuffing his feet in his boots. His oversized cropped sweater barely brushed the end of his jeans, allowing his formfitting tank underneath to be seen. He didn’t bother brushing his hair, ruffing his fingers through it before sticking a beanie on his head. He picked up his bag, looking at the clear front. His pins on his ita bag hadn’t moved around and the charms were mostly still in place. He looked inside at the old notebooks that had been used almost a week ago at his old school in Italy. He missed it already, only having been back for a few weeks before being sent here, but he only called it a good thing that he hadn’t made many new friends before he left. He hoped he could make friends here. According to his mom, this assignment was going to be for at least 2 years.

He met his mom in what was their attached kitchen. Like most diplomatic placings, the living area was huge, the set furniture home to a few boxes and bags. His mother was flipping through things in a small carry on, putting the documents into one of her clear folders, one Adrien had ordered from Japan as a gift for doing well on an exam he had 2 days to study for.

“The school should have most of this paperwork already, but just to be safe. Maybe we can finally move these things out of this suitcase and into a safer place. I thought you got rid of those boots.”

“I did. And I got new ones.” His mother scowled at him. “These shoes are in at least 3 different outfits.”

Getting out of the house didn’t take long but figuring out the way to school was a bit harder. They only had enough time to stop and pick up croissants before they finally pulled up to school. Another town car was pulling up and letting out a student as he and his mother got out of the car. He glanced at the girl in designer clothes heavily featuring a butterfly and long brown hair, who seemed stunned to see him.

“Oh, caro, finish that quickly so we can go meet the principal.” His mother said, wiping some of the crumbs off the side of his mouth. He noticed the girl seemed upset but she quickly covered it and stormed off. He’d seen other teens at the schools he went to do the same, unwilling to show their emotions. To be honest, he hated it. The idea of not showing who you were, letting people see you at your worst and best? Sure, there were times where it was good to hide it but forever hiding it? No thank you.

                                        ____________________

Lila watched Adrien enter the classroom behind Mml. Bustier. She couldn’t believe how the once model was dressed, in cropped shirts and boots, his bag displaying pins and charms, but it didn’t matter. She had his life and she knew how this would go.

Waking up in Adrien’s life was a surprise, but it was proof she got what she wanted. The room, the clothes, the house…the absence of the father. She still couldn’t believe how Gabriel was treating his own child. The breakfast of chicken breast and celery, the massively long schedule that was recited for her, needing to book time to see her own father? But it was fine, she’d been Gabriel’s muse before and she managed to yank him in any direction she pleased so it was only a matter of time. Her classmates were acting odd around her. Adrien used to be greeted with welcomes when he walked into the classroom, smiles and general good cheer. Her appearance hadn’t gotten that. A few replies, but most was stares that seemed to go right through her.

She was Lila Agreste. They should be rushing to greet her.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet your new classmate. Adrien, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“Hi, I’m Adrien Rossi. I was born and raised in Italy but I move around a lot. Both my parents are diplomates, which makes this my third school of the year? I like anime, cosplay and hanging out with my mom. I hope we can be friends.”

The whole class kindly welcomed him, which made her clench her fists. But it was ok, she’d get her way.

“Mml. Bustier, I’d be happy to give our new student a tour.” She said, standing up.

She felt everyone staring at her, but it wasn’t the good kind that made her stand up taller. It was the same feeling she got when she thought Marinette might actually win in calling her out. But that was crazy.

Mml. Bustier didn’t seem to think so as she stared up at her, much like Mml. Mendeleiev would do to most students. “I don’t think so. Your free period is being spent with Max for studying remember? Your last quiz has your father very disappointed. Nino, would you please show him around?”

“Sure.”

Class was swiftly swept up and started and everything felt wrong. This wasn’t how people treated Adrien, so why were they treating her this way? But it was ok, if she had his life, Adrien had hers, which meant he’d lie. She could call him out and win affection. It was easy.

She had a chance when Literature ended a few minutes early and everyone swarmed Adrien, trying to get to know him.

“Have you been to really amazing places?”

“I mean, I call them amazing, but some wouldn’t think London for 2 weeks is amazing and the month in Scotland after that. But I enjoyed every minute of it.”

“What was your favourite part about it?”

“Food and cosplay locations. Some of my best pictures were in random places I found, though I do love a lot of the ones in Italy when we were back or visiting family.”

“You must have a really popular Instagram then. I mean, you must have access to meeting so many celebrities.”

“Not really. I’ve only met a few C list celebs, who came to benefits. But that was just in passing mostly. My mom doesn’t want me taking ad deals and such while I’m still in school and I agree. My life is pretty quiet, minus the moving. It’s only gotten more hectic recently but it’s never been anywhere extravagant. I guess I rubbed elbows with a few elite kids, but they didn’t want anything to do with me, so it didn’t matter.”

Wait, what? Where were the embellished tales? Talks of fabulous places to live, people who wanted to be near, perfect life?

“I’ve never seen you at a benefit. Must not be to high up on the ladder.” The words came out her mouth without thinking.

“What benefit would you have gone to? You never left your house until last year.” Alya stated, staring her down.

“My father stopped inviting yours after all those rejects.” Chloe, who was still sitting in her seat, spoke.

“Just watch, another lie for the media to rip into.” She heard Kim whisper.

Media? what did...She was in the media. A media who chased and exposed Adrien’s location. A media that posted his every word. Marinette might of used the media to try and pull apart her lies but no one higher ever called her out about it. But if she was in the media all the time like she’d be now, her every word, her every lie would be scrutinized.

“Well, your mother doesn’t love you!”

The class exploded, all yelling at her before Adrien stood up, glaring at her. He looked at her like that once, but this felt worse.

“I don’t know who the hell you are, nor do I care but watch your mouth about my mother. My mom happily spends time with me and makes sure I know how much she cares. Just because you’re so clearly starved for love, doesn’t mean you get to take it out on me. Grow the fuck up.” He turned to Nino. “Why don’t you show me around now?”

“Gladly!”

                                         ____________________

Adrien wasn’t one to just yell at a person, but this random girl told him his mother didn’t love him. Who did she think she was?

“What is her deal?”

“That was Lila Agreste.”

“Agreste? Like Gabriel Agretse, the fashion designer?”

Nino nodded. “You’ve heard about how he’s a recluse right? Well, Lila started school for the first time last year. We got pretty star struck when we met her for the first time. Should have realised something was up when Chloe, daughter of the mayor and never lets anyone forget it, didn’t like her. Lila kept telling us all these things, making all these promises to us but thing is, when we started talking about it to other people, word got around and the truth started coming out. She’s really good at lying and manipulating people. Once we realised what she does, we stopped believing what she said. Marinette, the Asian girl sitting behind you? she tried welcoming Lila, but she was just beyond help. Ignore anything she says. It’s a miracle she hasn’t been pulled from school with all the scandals she’s caused.”

“Well, she doesn’t matter. So, my mom works a lot. It sucks yeah, but she still checks in with me and I know she loves me.”

“Well, her mom did disappear 2 years ago.”

“And that’s sad, truly it is, but that doesn’t give her the right to act like that. My parents are divorced and you don’t see me attacking people with married parents.”

Adrien decided to put Lila out of his mind. She just seemed to be a spoiled rich girl and he had practise with those.

“Hey, any chance you know of the best Italian places to eat?”

“You want to Italian for lunch?” Nino asked, looking a bit confused.

“No, my mom and I have this tradition that whenever we move to a new place, we find the best Italian place. We judge it on how good the pizza and cannolis are.” Adrien said, nearly bouncing as they went down the steps.

“Well, I’m usually fine with whatever, but if you want a real expert opinion, we can ask Alya. Her mom is a chef at the most premier hotel in France. But first, the tour!”

By the time the tour was over, lunch had started so Nino dragged him to cafeteria, bringing him over to sit with Alya and Marinette. He waved to his other classmates and watched Lila storming into the cafeteria, Max following after looking annoyed and exhausted. He guessed the tutoring session didn’t go well.

“Hey Alya, does your mom have suggestions for Italian places? Adrien and his mom wanted to know.” Nino asked, while Adrien pulled his sweater off, pulling his beanie back down, seeming to not see the blush on Marinette’s face.

“I can ask her. You know, Marinette had a question about your cosplays. She’s a designer.”

“Oh really? That’s amazing. My skills are pretty basic. I’ve been tempted to do Hawks from Boku no Hero Academia, but trying to figure out how to do wings seems nearly impossible.”

“Oh, I’ve never gotten to do anything like that. But I’d be happy to help. Do you have pictures?” Marinette asked.

Adrien pulled up his cosplay Instagram, handing his phone over, not questioning when Alya switched between his food and personal Instagram as well.

“I know you say your life is pretty normal, but these look amazing.” Alya said, swiping through the pictures of food, landscapes and Adrien in both elaborate and simple costumes.

“I just look for the positives, I guess. You guys will have to show me your favourite spots.”

“How about in exchange for 3 of the best Italian places, as suggested to by my mom, you let me do an interview on my blog? It’s mostly focused on the heroes but after meeting Lila, surprisingly, I’ve realised it does a reporter good to have a broader reach.” Alya stated.

“Right, who are the heroes? My mom is here mostly because of this ‘supervillain’ that’s appeared, mostly to off assistance and advice but I’m a bit vague on the details.”

Alya brightened up, using Adrien’s phone to bring up her blog and handed it to him, leaning over the table so she could scroll for him.

“Scarlet Bug and Catseye, two themed heroes who appeared out of nowhere, just around the same time akumas did.”

“Demons?” seeing the confused look, Adrien explained, “Akuma is a Japanese spirit, also known as a demon. They show up a fair amount in anime, usually fantasy or magical.”

“I’m gonna ask you more on that later, but these akumas are purple butterflies. In fact, Ivan had been the first victim. They go for people experiencing high negative emotions. We don’t know how Hawkmoth, the guy controlling them, chooses the person, just that it can happen at any time. Scarlet Bug and Catseye showed up at the same time and where able to both defeat Ivan and help him turn back but also cleansed the akuma so it was just a normal butterfly.”

“Most of our class has been akumatized already.” Nino reminded. “we’ve been called the Miracuclass, since the items the heroes turn with is called the Miraculous. Hawkmoth wants them for some reason. That’s always what the akumas ask for when fighting them.”

“You know, Lila pretended that she knew the two of them, but they went on record saying they didn’t, saying the couldn’t been seen as familiar friends with civilians, even famous ones.”

Adrien leaned over, looking past Alya to where Lila was sitting, alone. He felt sorry for her, but seeing what she’d been doing and hearing what she’d been saying, it didn’t stay that way for long.

“Are they at least cool?”

“The coolest! I have this theory that they might be related to each other just because of how they act towards each other. Reminds me of me and my siblings.”

“Alya is still learning to not go running into fights for footage. She’s gotten scolded but has yet to listen.” Marinette said.

“Will you shush? Trust me, if your mom ever meets them, she’ll know they’re a major help to France.”

“I’ll make sure to mention it to her. And I’ll ask about the interview, mom is pretty insistent I don’t get into any sort of ads or media she doesn’t agree with. She only agreed to the Instagram since I don’t show my face in the food one and I’m in costume on my cosplay one.”

“Fair enough, now about those food suggestions.”

[beyondspaceandstars]

Dog Days

Relationship: Natasha Romanoff x Reader Warnings: N/A, just fluffy! Summary: You agree to accompany Yelena to the pet shelter so she can look for a dog. While there, though, you lock eyes with the sweetest golden retriever... Natasha ends up coming home to quite the surprise. A/N: Bad title, even worse summary! but what’s new.

Masterlist

When you woke up that morning, you hadn’t expected that by the afternoon you’d be standing in what felt like a sea of dogs. In fact, you knew for a cold hard fact you weren’t supposed to be in this position.

Earlier in the week, Yelena had finally announced she was committing to getting a dog, a task she had been hemming and hawing about for months. Naturally, you and Natasha were pretty excited for her. It felt like you two were becoming aunts in some sort of way. Natasha then offered to go to the shelter with Yelena and the plans had been made.

But come the morning of and Natasha was whisked away to a meeting or something. You didn’t know, you weren’t an Avenger — you only dated one.

You broke the news to Yelena that morning when she came to pick up Natasha. There was a tinge of disappointment written on her face but she did her best to keep up that unbothered persona. It never worked on you when your girlfriend did it and it certainly wasn’t working now with her sister. After a short debate with yourself, you had impulsively grabbed your purse and told Yelena you’d go with her. She didn’t fight you on it.

And that was how you ended up being pestered by dog after dog after dog. They seemed to be never-ending as you two walked up and down the aisles of the local shelter. There were big ones, small ones. Loud ones, shy ones. Puppies and seniors. Each and every one of them looked up at you with the sweetest eyes. It was starting to become concerning how much your heart ached for these little guys. But you weren’t here for yourself — no way, that was never the plan — and instead directed your attention to pointing out potential adoptees for Yelena.

She was quick to shut down your chihuahua suggestion which, well, was sort of reasonable. Yelena didn’t come off as the type. Then you passed some cages of great danes but those were a little on the too big side. Another fair point, they could be tough to corral.

Then you two stumbled upon the German shepherds. You don’t think you’d ever seen Yelena’s eyes light up so much. If falling in love at first sight was a thing with dogs, it happened at that moment you observed. While Yelena approached the cage to introduce herself to the dog, you stepped around looking at the others in the area.

That was when you had your own love at first sight moment. There, in the cage right next to the dog Yelena was looking at, was the sweetest, happiest golden retriever you had ever seen. He perked up immediately as you stepped towards the cage, tail wagging happily, mouth opened to what looked like to be a smile. As weird as that fact sounded, it felt true. This dog certainly looked happy to see you. The feeling was mutual.

Carefully, you stuck your hand between the cage bars and the dog sniffed you out. Within seconds he was licking you, a silent greeting and acceptance. It was over for you then and Yelena apparently had picked up on it.

"Natasha is going to have quite the surprise for her once she gets home," she laughed, watching you pet the dog as well as you could between the bars.

You bit your lip, holding back your own laugh. "It’s not like I can just walk away."

"Of course not."

"That’d be cruel."

"I agree."

You playfully rolled your eyes. "You just want me in trouble."

Yelena shrugged. "I do think it can be amusing hearing you and my sister bicker."

"Oh, just worry about your own dog," you shooed her away. She turned back to the German shepherd, letting out another laugh. The shepherd barked.

When Yelena found a volunteer to begin the adoption process, you followed as well. Like your feet had a mind of their own. Or maybe it was your heart. Whatever it was, you just knew you hadn’t expected your day to go as such.

***

It was very clear that Natasha also hadn’t expected the day to go the way it did.

It was close to midnight when the apartment door opened. You and the new dog, which you had found was named Sparky, were still up playing with the variety of new toys you had purchased for him. After adopting the golden retriever, you realized, well, you had nothing for him. He wasn’t technically supposed to be in the back of the car, looking around all excitedly, if today had gone the way it was meant to.

You stopped by a pet store on the way back which Sparky was very, very excited about. You found he was very kind with other dogs and got overly excited about anything flavored with bacon. You even let him pick out his own toys which led to quite the array of items.

You had just bounced a ball for Sparky to chase when you noticed a presence in the entryway of the living room. You nearly jumped out of your skin, still not used to the way your assassin girlfriend could be so stealthy.

"Nat, hello!" You exclaimed as if everything was normal and this was a very typical night. She didn’t look impressed standing with her arms crossed, eyes darting every now and then to the golden retriever who was now prancing back to you with the ball.

"What’s going on here?" She asked slowly, curiously. Sparky finally noticed Natasha and trotted over, trying to say hello. Your girlfriend looked a bit unsure, to say the least.

"Um, that’s Sparky the Golden Retriever," you explained, motioning to the dog still waiting for Natasha to pet him. She patted his head gently.

"I see that," she nodded. "I guess I’m asking… What’s he doing in our apartment?"

You stood from the floor and took a few steps towards your girlfriend. You discarded the toy in your hand, trying to figure out how to really explain everything now. "Well, you see, after you went to that meeting this morning, I told Yelena I’d go with her to the shelter."

Natasha nodded, encouraging you to go on.

You sighed. "I-I didn’t plan on it, obviously, but I saw Sparky in the cage and I just… Oh, Nat. You should’ve seen the way he looked at me. He’s so sweet. We got along right away and he seemed so excited to meet me… I couldn’t just leave him there!"

Natasha let out a light laugh, completely abandoning her angry girlfriend persona to finally kneel to the golden retriever’s height. She scratched behind his ears which earned a happy sigh from the dog. "Of course you couldn’t leave a face like this."

You let out your own sigh of relief and kneeled down as well. Hesitantly, you asked, "You’re not upset?"

Natasha shrugged. "I was certainly surprised," she admitted, "but I think I should’ve known this would happen."

"Excuse me?" You let out a faux surprise gasp. Natasha chuckled.

"Well, when I knew I couldn’t go I figured you’d step in," she explained. "You are absolutely hopeless when it comes to resisting animals. It was just a matter of time until I came home to this."

You smiled at her analysis of you. Ever the spy, can never turn it off. "Yelena was no help either in the situation. She definitely persuaded me but she was just banking on us arguing over it."

That made Natasha let out the most joyous laugh. You couldn’t help your smile getting bigger at her finding the situation amusing. "I expect nothing less from her," Natasha said.

You nodded in agreement. "Thank gosh it worked out," you said and began petting Sparky’s back. He was stuck between a shower of love and was taking in every second of it, tongue hanging out in happiness, eyes shut in content. "I was worried you’d make me return him."

Your girlfriend shook her head. "That’d be impossible." She sighed, "I can’t believe I’m now a… What do they call that? A dog mom?"

You gasped, a lightbulb going off in your head. "We could get little dog mom shirts made. Sparky could even get his own bandana. We’d have matching family outfits."

Natasha raised her hand, wordlessly asking you to slow down. "Please don’t push it, dear."

You playfully rolled your eyes. "Fine," you shrugged, "but you can’t control what I get you for Christmas."

As if he understood, Sparky let out a bark in agreement.

Natasha sighed. "I’m outnumbered now, aren’t I?"

Sparky turned towards you, giving your cheek what felt like a million licks. Through your laughter, you confirmed your girlfriend’s suspicion.