#and part of the tradition is each movie has to be randomly rolled

[nihiltism]

ELF BOWLING????

LISTEN. LISTEN. ITS NOT TO WATCH ON MY OWN. THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN DRAGGING A FRIEND TO WATCH ELF BOWLING WITH ME AND WATCHING THE HORROR ON THEIR FACES

[patchofsunlight]

i’m reposting bc it’s not showing up in the tags and I’m mad about it lmao!! hope you like it!!

check out my 800 followers event!

warnings: cursing because uh. this is bakugou katsuki. and this is so long. i put so much more effort into this than into any of the others i can’t do anything if i’m in love with him i’m sorry

Katsuki definitely did not think he would fall in love with an extra like you. In fact, he did not think he would fall in love at all.

Yet he did. Like an idiot.

You were friends with fucking Deku, of course, and almost as annoying as him. He always saw you around with him and the Half-and-Half Bastard and he promised himself he would never give you more than a glare because you simply did not deserve to be in his thoughts, and he succeeded at that

at first.

You decided to live rent-free in his mind after the Sports Festival. That was the first time he actually payed attention to you and it was safe to say he was slightly impressed

He was sure you would’ve ended up on the final battles if you hadn’t had to fight Icyhot before you got there

even then, you gave the idiot a run for his money and Katsuki was surprised with how long you held your own, getting a bunch of good hits and losing only because Todoroki was, well, Todoroki.

He respected you a bit after that

but he did not respect the way you were always plaguing his thoughts and dreams like a fucking virus of sorts

It was irritating as fuck and he wanted to kill someone over it.

Whenever he saw you his heart sped up to ten miles per minute and it made him see red with anger. He wasn’t sure what made you so important, anyway. Yes, you were powerful and somewhat pretty but still an idiot and Deku’s friend so how good could you actually be? Certainly not much

Still, there he was, thinking about you like a fucking stupid dumbass

He hated it, despised it, it made his blood boil. This was probably caused by some secondary quirk bullshit you had that no one knew about and he was tired of losing his damn time over it.

And you were always talking to him. For some god awful reason your seat was close to his and so you would ask about his day and about what he had for lunch and about his studies and a bunch of ridiculous shit he didn’t give a fuck about

“Shut the fuck up, Y/N, I don’t wanna talk to a fucking extra like you.”

“Why so grumpy, Explosion Boy?”

“I’LL KILL YOU”

he obviously didn’t.

It was weirdly comforting to have someone interested in his life, if he was honest about it.

But not much. It’s not like he liked you or appreciated you in anyway, of course not. That would be absolute bullshit and he was not willing to deal with it.

Getting kidnapped by the League of Villains was one of the worst things to ever happen to him.

Even though he fought his way through survival and didn’t get hurt or anything, it was still pretty terrible and, well, with everything that happened with All Might later... It’s safe to say it didn’t leave him feeling exactly good about himself

Besides, damn Deku was the one to help him escape and it pissed him off.

Specially because you were there too and how much of an idiot did you have to be to get caught up in something like that?

Did you want to die or something? Fucking extra. It made him so mad.

And worried, too, because what if you had gotten hurt? What if something bad had happened and he couldn’t help? Not that he cared, of course, but the thought of you being anything but healthy and fine made his heart jump uncomfortably in his chest and he didn’t like it one bit.

After that, you suddenly decided you wanted to be his friend or some bullshit, and it was the most annoying thing he had ever had to go through.

Talking to him randomly during class wasn’t fucking enough for you? Did you really have to walk with him to the dorms and invite him to have lunch with you? God, you were really insufferable.

But he found himself appreciating your company, sometimes. It was nice to have someone by his side like that, even if he couldn’t stand you

And maybe the fluttering of his heart whenever you smiled wasn’t all that bad.

You suddenly became a part of the Bakusquad after inviting him to have lunch with you multiple times and being rejected all of them until Mina started inviting YOU to have lunch with THEM instead and he wasn’t sure how to react to it

Kaminari was always fucking babbling with you about something and it got on his nerves

It was still better than seeing you running around with fucking Deku though. Deku did not deserve your friendship.

Sometimes, when you are too invested in conversation with someone else during lunch, he can’t help but steal glances at you and bite back a smile.

You’re cute when you’re excited.

He slowly stops complaining about you walking him to his dorm

You keep playfully saying you do it in case someone tries to kidnap him on the way and he screams at you for it everytime, but something tells you he goes easy on you for some reason.

There’s this one time when you call Kirishima “cheap ass red rock candy”

You’re only joking around and Kirishima knows this, so he only rolls his eyes and lightly punches your shoulder

but, for the first time ever, Katsuki laughs. He tries to hold it back like he does with every smile you bring to his lips, but he can’t, and the way your eyes sparkle at the sound sends his stomach in a frenzy

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh before,” you tell him quietly while you walk towards the dorms later that day, curiously avoiding his glare as you blush. He furrows his brows. It’s not like you to do that, but his heart does sommersaults in his chest at your bashfulness and he hates it.

“So fucking what?” his voice is aggressive, but there’s a hint of warmth rising to his face.

“It’s a nice sound,” you smile ever so softly and he stops breathing for a moment, “you should laugh more.”

“Whatever,” he mutters, hiding away his own red cheeks from your questioning eyes and walking a bit faster.

After that, he tries less to bite back his laughter. It’s almost subconscious and no one comments on it, but Kaminari, Kirishima, Mina, and Sero exchange knowing looks while you excitedly tell him about the last movie you watched and he grunts in acknowledgement, his full attention on you even as he avoids your eyes and stares at his lunch.

There’s this one time when you go to his room because you can’t sleep and it makes him so angry because he was already absolutely knocked out

yet he can see how much you’re fidgeting and something about the fact you came to him of all people causes his stomach to flutter, so he lets you in and listens while you tell him you’ve been having nightmares lately.

That’s the first time you ever sleep in his room, but neither of you acknowledge the way you’re holding each other when you wake up

It becomes kind of a tradition for you to go see him when you can’t sleep. He always complains about it and tells you to grow the fuck up, but lets you in anyway.

He likes to hold you while you sleep. It calms down his erratic heart and it’s nice, he figures. It’s nice to have someone to wait for, specially if that someone is you.

Katsuki tries not to think too much about what the feelings he gets when he’s next to you mean. After all, you’re still some annoying extra he couldn’t care less about, right?

Right?

It happens one cold night in the dorms’s common room.

You are just hanging out with him and the Bakusquad, watching some movie about something Katsuki doesn’t care about. He’s just looking through his social medias and ignoring all conversation going around him

You’re seated on the other couch, next to Sero, and he knows there’s a spot just on your other side, and a part of him longs to occupy it and be next to you, but he knows that’s stupid, so he stays put, even when you suddenly glance at him and smile when you notice how his eyes were already on you

He rolls his eyes and scowls, feeling his face heat up, but keeps quiet.

Then fucking Deku comes around and sits beside you. He’s obviously upset about something and Katsuki wants to kick his ass for simply being in close proximity to you

Yes, he knows you’re his friend too, but still. Deku can get fucked.

Deciding just being next to you isn’t enough, Izuku leans his head on your shoulder.

Katsuki sees fucking red. He’s ready to get up and punch his nose, but that was before you lifted your hand to play with the boy’s green hair, quietly asking him if everything was alright before you engaged in a whisper-filled conversation.

If looks could kill, Deku would’ve been dead in a second.

Kirishima is the first to notice how absolutely rageful he is.

“Hey, Bakubro, are you okay?”

“Shut the fuck up, Shitty Hair.”

He follows Katsuki’s glare and widens his eyes at the sight of you and Midoriya, smirking.

“Are you worried, Bakubro? Don’t worry, they’re just friends! She only has eyes for you!”

“I’m pretty sure I told you to shut up, didn’t I?”

“Come on, Bakubro! Your crush is definitely not in love with Midoriya, okay?”

“I don’t have a fucking crush, Shitty Hair!”

all eyes turn to his fuming figure after he screams. Izuku takes his head away from your shoulder, brows furrowing in confusion. You stare at Katsuki with concern, silently asking yourself what could have brought him to this outburst.

He groans in anger before standing up and leaving the room, unable to stay around you and fucking Deku any longer.

Mina sends you a look and you’re on your feet, telling Izuku you would be right back and running after the angry blond.

He was sitting on the stairs just outside the dorms, trying to control his own fury. You sit next to him and he scowls.

“What happened back there, Katsuki?” you question softly and his first name on your lips has him on the verge of an emotional breakdown. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he groans, looking at the ground as so to avoid your sharp eyes, “I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Did I fucking stutter?”

You smile lightly at his manners, moving your head so you could watch him more attentively.

“Well, I heard you talk about having a crush. What about that, huh?”

He blushes immediately, scowling even harder and turning away from you so you can’t see his face, “I said I don’t have a crush, you idiot.”

You hum in acknowledgement, “that’s too bad.”

Katsuki moves his neck so fast it almost gives him whiplash, and he blushes harder when he notices how close to him you are.

“What do you fucking mean by that?”

“I wouldn’t mind you having a crush if it was on me.”

He melts on the spot, heartbeat speeding so much he can barely feel it beating.

You two stare at each other and he absolutely loves the cheeky grin on your face.

You look so pretty when you smile.

He kisses you before he can overthink it, chest fluttering at the feeling of your smile against his lips. He ends up smiling too, just a bit.

Katsuki definitely did not think he would fall in love with an extra like you. In fact, he did not think he would fall in love at all.

Yet he did, and he could begrudgingly admit it wasn’t actually that bad.

[janicho88]

Falling For You -Part 3

November

Pairing- Eventual Dean x Female!Reader,  

Word Count-3546

Warning- Fluff. Mention of serial killers. Still burning slow. 

A/N- I had an idea for a one shot, and giving a little backstory to Dean and the Reader meeting took on a life of its own. We should hit the one shot part around chapter 20, oops?  This story is AU, and un beta’d.  Thank you @waywardbeanie​ and @whatareyousearchingfordean​ for helping me keep these 2 characters in line and letting me bounce ideas off of you. 

 Summary- After being burned before you had sworn off finding love for now. Coming home from work one night there is a strange man pounding on your door.  Neither of you knew what this meeting would lead to.

Series Masterlist

Do you ever notice how quickly time goes once October hits?  In a blink November is over and suddenly Christmas is here and then we are ringing in the new year.   You aren’t even sure you remember much of the first two weeks of November this year. You did remember you had been out helping Dean a number of nights.  Work was finally back under control , but you needed to get a list around to start on your Holiday baking for the first weekend of December, Thanksgiving was next week. It seemed like you couldn’t figure out which direction to go in. 

Dean had gone to see a few houses and asked you to go with him for another opinion.  Both of you fell in love with the sixth house.  It was a two story single family home, you would have killed for the kitchen.  So much counter space for baking or cooking.  It only needed a few touch ups here or there, maybe some new paint in some of the rooms eventually, but it was move-in ready.  The previous owners already moved out of town and took all their belongings with them.  Dean had been working with a bank to be approved for a loan before finding the house, plus he had saved what he had when his house sold.  The closing was done by Friday the end of the second week.

While Dean was busy finalizing paperwork on his house, you were at your desk on your lunch hour looking through pinterest for new cookie or bar ideas. A familiar voice sounded behind you.  

“I’m back bitches!”  Turning around you saw the fiery redhead who was in charge of IT for the company.  Charlie used to work out of this office, but they had moved her to the new clinic that had opened an hour away for the last two months.  

“Things are running smoothly over there, two weeks without any problems, I get to come back to you guys now.”  She walked over to her familiar work area and tapped the Hermione figure sitting by her monitor and asked if she missed her.  “So what have I missed here?”  You and Monica filled her in, and introduced her to Anna when she came back.  The rest of the day passing fairly quickly. 

Making a quick dinner that night you received a phone call from your mom.  Her older sister had fallen and hurt her hip.  She wasn’t going to be able to travel down for Thanksgiving, so your parents were going up there.  This way your mom could help her around the house and with the meal.  Your cousins were a bit lazy, they weren’t going to do it.  She asked if you wanted to go with them, and after thinking about it for a moment, told her not to worry about you.  Your aunt's house wasn’t very big, and some other family was going up also.  That was going to be too much close family togetherness for you.

 Wiping down your counter you heard a tap at the door, slipping on shoes and grabbing your purse you headed out.  Jess and Dean were out in the hall waiting for you, the two of you offered to help Dean clean tonight before things were moved in tomorrow.  Sam was working a big case and stuck at work this evening.  The house was in good shape, it just needed a good pre move in clean.

“So Dean,” Jess started talking when you got in the car.  “Since you are going to have the most room, how about you host Thanksgiving next week?”

“What?”  He was a bit caught off guard by that.

“Your parents are coming up, so are mine, that’s seven of us in our apartment trying to cook a big dinner, you have a huge new kitchen and a dining room.”

“One, do you really trust me to make Thanksgiving dinner?”

“I didn’t say you had to make it all, we’ll help, you just have the space to have it at.”

Sitting at a red light Dean closed his eyes and let out a sigh, “If we can have the house usable by Tuesday, fine.”

“Good, Sam also told your parents they were staying at your house.”  Rolling his eyes Dean knew it was pointless to respond.  Jess turned in her seat to see you in the back, “What are you doing for Thanksgiving, Y/N?”

“Usually we go to my grandparents, but my mom called tonight and my aunt got hurt so they are all going up to her house.  I’m just going to hang out at home, watch the parade, and be lazy.”

“Apparently I’m hosting Thanksgiving, come join us.”  Dean offered, glancing at you in the back.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to intrude.”

“You won’t be, Sam already did that when he has people staying at my house that I’m not even living in yet, without telling me.”

“Okay, if you are sure, thanks.  Just let me know what I can bring.”

“Pie, lots of pie,”

Dean had already taken cleaning supplies over to the house and the three of you decided to divide and conquer.  You took the kitchen and dining room, Jess and Dean split up the two upstairs bathrooms and the master bedroom and one of the guest rooms. Whoever finishes first would start in the living room.  These rooms would be used for his parents' visit and Thanksgiving, the other rooms would be tackled if there was time.  Walls, windows, doors all scrubbed down, floors vacuumed and mopped, kitchen cupboards all wiped out.  It took you guys a few hours and everyone was beat when you headed back to the apartment building.  Sam and Dean were renting a uhaul in the morning to get Dean’s stuff from storage, you made plans to ride over with Jess to help unpack. 

Back in your apartment you looked to see what you could whip up to take with you for breakfast.  Normal cinnamon rolls would take too long, and you didn’t have the energy, but cinnamon biscuits were doable.  You made a double batch, and prepped the icing.  Figuring you would warm them in the morning and top them then.  

Dressed in a comfy old t-shirt and worn jeans sweatshirt sitting with the biscuits,  you were ready when Jess came to get you.  “Oh my, what is that smell?”

“I figured we would be working up an appetite today, so I brought breakfast rolls. Do you want one for the road?”

“Uh, yes please.”  Both of you laughing, she grabbed one out of the container while waiting for the elevator.

“Yep, Dean’s right.  Girl you can bake.”

The guys pulled up with the uhaul just as you were getting out of the car.  “Ready to start,” she asked.

“Not really, you?”

“I wish I was back in bed.”

“What are you two laughing at?” Sam inquired leaning down to give Jess a quick kiss.

“Just wishful dreams,” she told him.

Dean unlocked the house while Sam opened the truck.  They let you and Jess take some boxes, while they moved some of the furniture that came on this load.  Thankfully Dean had somewhat labeled the boxes as he packed so you knew where to drop what.  His labels gave you an idea on what was important to the man: kitchen crap, bathroom junk, living room stuff, bed things, other room bed things, you just didn’t know what was in each of those boxes, but clearly knew what was in the VINYLS, TOOLS, and MOVIES boxes.

Dean had kept most of the furniture from his old place, but did have a few new things coming.  Such as a master bedroom set, and new couch and dining room table. Those were going to be delivered Tuesday.  Jess told you he didn’t want things that reminded him of Lisa, so he sold anything that did when he moved.  

Cas came over to help in the early afternoon, bring some pizzas as an apology for missing the morning work.  The biscuits you made long gone.  Things were coming along nicely, Dean wasn’t super picky on where things went right now.  Dean gave you the job on organizing the kitchen, he said you would know best.  His only request being the coffee items were close to each other and easy to get too.  He would figure out where you put anything else later.  Placing his old coffee maker next to the plug between the sink and refrigerator, the glasses and mugs in the cabinet next to the sink and and coffee and filters above the machine. 

Jess was helping Sam set up the guest bedroom and washing the sheets for that room and Dean’s once his bed arrives.  Cas and Dean ran the wires for his tv and speakers for his record player.  Dean deemed those two things most important.  Everything was out of storage and into the house Saturday evening, put away was another story.  You offered to help on Sunday, but Dean said he wasn’t going to work on it then, taking one day of the weekend not to work and unwind a little.  He still had a few things at Sam and Jess’ place to get packed up at some point.

Thanksgiving week was always a nice work week since you were only open 3 days.  Monday and Tuesday evening you had helped at Dean’s and it was ready for Thanksgiving, his parents were arriving sometime Wednesday. 

When you left his place Tuesday night you headed home alone.  Dean was all moved in, he was out of the apartment across the hall.  It made you kinda sad to think about.  It’s going to be weird not running into him in the hall, or have him randomly come over when he was giving his brother some space.  

You opted for staying home Wednesday night instead of hitting the bar with Charlie and her friends, and decided to get the pies made.  You went with two traditional pumpkin, and one apple since Dean liked the last one so much.  When you were at the store you also picked up the ingredients to make a strawberry pretzel jello.   

Thursday morning you watched the parade in comfy pj’s on your couch with a glass of hot chocolate.  Unlike Dean coffee wasn’t your thing.  But with the chilly weather you liked something hot in the mornings. When it was warmer you would enjoy your weekend morning drinks on your balcony.

Dinner was supposed to be at two, but you headed over before noon to help with the preparations.  You put on leggings and a long sweater, Jess had told you it was more about comfort than fashion today. 

It was your turn to knock on Dean’s door for once, a pretty blonde woman answering the door.  She had a big smile on her face that turned to surprise when she saw you.

“Hello, can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Y/N.  Dean and Jess invited me, I came over early to help with dinner.”

“Hey Y/N!”  Dean came up behind her with a big smile on his face.  “Come on in.”

“Hi Dean, I came to help, brought pies, pumpkin, apple, and a jello”  

“You don’t have to help,” he said while ushering you inside, “you did that enough with moving this week.  Y/N this is my mom Mary, mom this is Y/N.  She actually lives in the apartment across from Sam.”

“Nice to meet you dear.  I’m sorry, I was expecting Sam at the door, I didn’t know anyone else was coming.”

Getting to the kitchen Dean opened up the pies and you saw him hide one of them in the cupboard.  Shaking your head, you look around at the food out on the counters.  

“What kind of jello is this?”  Dean asked looking at the cake pan you set down.

“It’s a pretzel strawberry jello or some people call it a salad.  I didn’t think you would be too fond of that term though.”

Dean looked at you before looking back down, “Pretzel jello?  I see the jello and strawberries, and something solid under that but it doesn’t look like pretzels.  Where’s the salad part? What are you trying to feed me sweetheart?”

Rolling your eyes and shaking your head “There isn’t actual lettuce in it Dean, this time salad is referring to a side.  The solid layer is cream cheese cool whip mix, the Pretzel is the baked crust.  It’s a combination of salty and sweet.  Just try a bite, I’m not trying to sneak anything past you.  I promise it won't hurt you as much as Sam's veggie bacon.” 

Dean's face grew serious, “I thought we agreed that we don't speak of that fraud, it's not bacon. I need actual meat.”

Laughing you pat his back, “I know, I'm sorry. Now you have your own kitchen to cook real bacon.”

“Yeah or I could come to yours and let you do the work.”  He said with a smile your way

“You are always welcome at my place.”

“Now that we are done discussing the jello, what do you need me to do?”

“Y/N, seriously you don’t have to help.”

“I want to, I like cooking almost as much as baking.”

Dean moved over to the list of food Jess had made up the other day, “Turkey is stuffed and in the oven, potatoes are boiling,  the corncake hasn’t been started yet, neither has the salad, rolls are just waiting to bake.”

“Well Sam wanted the salad so he can do that, I’ll get the corncake going and in the oven.”

Sam, Jess, and her parents arrived a short time later.  The guys all ended up in the living room watching football and left you four ladies in the kitchen.  Mary started to ask Dean where his mixer was, but he told her to talk to you since you organized the kitchen.  While working on last minute touches Mary turned and looked at you.

“How long have you and Dean been dating?”

Jess started laughing while you stuttered out an answer, “Oh, uh no we, we aren’t, we’re just friends.”

“They are both in denial about having any feelings for each other.”

“Jess!  There are no feelings to be in denial about, we’re just friends, that’s it.”

“I’ll let you know when they catch up with what the rest of us know, Mary.” You turned back to setting the table shaking your head at her.

Dinner was great, and the conversation was even better.  Dean’s dad was a little intimidating at first, but grew on you as the meal progressed.  Dean sat next to you and before he took a bite of his jello he picked up the bowl and looked it over and made you promise him he wouldn’t regret it.  He took his time chewing, bobbing his head around while you awaited the final verdict.

“It’s actually pretty good.” You just gave him a little nod, holding back your laugh at his behavior before going back to your own food.  

The guys migrated back to the television after a while, and the four of you cleaned up.  Dean came in a few times, but you sent him back out.  When the first game ended the men came back for dessert.   Jess brought out pumpkin bread and apple crisp her and her mom made and Dean carried the pies over.

“Y/N made pumpkin pie,”  Dean told the others.

Leaning over to whisper in his ear, “You keeping the apple for yourself?”

Giving you a little grin he nodded,  “You know it sweetheart.”  Laughing you didn’t notice Mary watching your exchange across the table. 

 Looking through the ads with Jess you made plans to go out with her and her mom the next morning.  Mary was watching the two of you, and you asked if she wanted to join. Jess quickly looked up and told Mary how much fun it would be if the four of you went together.

Sam tried to talk everyone into playing a new game he picked up. When he finally got everyone, even Dean to agree to join he went out to the car to retrieve it.  Coming back in empty handed swearing he put it in the car, but unable to find it.  He went looking through some of Dean’s things for the deck of cards he swore he didn’t have striking out again.  Dean told him if he wanted to play games he needed to host Thanksgiving and went back to watching the football game.  Jess was sitting beside you unusually quiet the whole time.

“Did you know he forgot the game?” You whispered to her.

“He didn’t forget it, who do you think took it out of the car?”  Quickly covering your laugh with a cough she continued. “It was a trivia game about serial killers that used a courtroom type setup.  The box said something about cross examining, objecting and redirecting.  It seriously wasn’t happening, I get enough lawyer talk at home.”   

At five am the next morning you decided Jess had too much energy.  She had you leaving the apartment building by 3:30, then picked up Mary before hitting the mall.  You drove the 40 minutes to Ann Arbor because Jess wanted to go to the bigger mall.  Luckily the temperature was in the high 30’s this morning and you didn’t have to wait outside long.  There are years you have stood outside in the snow waiting to get in a store.

You had a few things on your list, but no clue for some people.  You weren't great at coming up with gifts, especially at this hour. You walked past one store front before stopping abruptly, and Jess walked into your back.

“Sorry, I wasn't thinking.  I’m going to run in here real quick, I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute.”  The display in the window made you think of Dean and you went into get him a house warming present.

Stopping in the food court for a break later, Mary had a question for you, “Call me crazy, but didn’t you say something about apple pie yesterday when you arrived?”

You started laughing, “ I did, Dean apparently hid it when he took it to the kitchen.  He had some last time I made one and decided he didn’t want to share this one.”

Mary was talking to you more about Dean.  “He seems so much happier now than when he left.  He was in a dark place for a while, that girl hurt him bad.  I ran into her in town, and she had the nerve to talk to me like everything was fine.  I gave her a piece of my mind and John had to pull me away.”  She paused for a minute before continuing, “Dean has mentioned hanging out with a new friend a number of times I’ve talked to him.  I think that person has made a big difference in his happiness, and I hope they stick around for a long time.” 

You weren’t really sure what to say, you gave her a little smile, and told her Dean was an amazing guy who didn’t deserve to be treated like he had been. 

After running errands on Saturday you stopped over at Dean’s.  He was surprised to see you at the door and invited you into the living room where he was talking with his parents.

“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to drop something off.”

“You’re fine sweetie, you aren’t interrupting anything.  We were just chit chatting, but we should actually start to get some of our things around.  We fly out tomorrow morning.  John, we should go pick up the room, and pack what we don’t need tonight.”

“I did that earlier.’

“Well you should double check it, just in case.  You two talk, we’ll be back later.”  Pushing John out of the room they headed upstairs.

“I didn’t mean to chase them away, I just wanted to drop off your house warming gift.”

“Thank you, you really didn’t have to get me anything.  Your help was a huge present,”  Dean told you, taking the wrapped box out of your hands.

“I wanted to, just open it.”

“Oh Sweetheart, she is a beauty.”  You had gotten him a new Keurig coffee maker, this one could make a whole pot, or a single pod.  He mentioned he had been fighting with his old one, and you knew how important coffee was to him, especially in the morning.  

“This way, you can make yourself a single cup if you just can’t wait for the whole pot to finish, or if you want one later.”

“This is great, thanks Y/N.  You did well, especially for a non-coffee drinker,”  he finished with a teasing grin. 

“I should get going, let you enjoy your last night with your parents.”

“You don’t have to, Sam and Jess should be over soon, her parents left today.”

“Thanks, but I don’t want to interfere with family time.  Tell your parents it was nice meeting them, I hope they have a safe trip back.  I’ll see you around Dean.”

Part 4 

Thank you for reading!

Tags  @talesmaniac89 @katehuntington @winchest09 @flamencodiva @whatareyousearchingfordean @waywardbeanie @deanwanddamons @smol-and-grumpy @emoryhemsworth @anathewierdo @malfoysqueen14 @superfanficnatural @jensengirl83 @atc74 @sandlee44 @akshi8278  @fantasydevil2002

Falling For You tags- @halesandy @abuavnee​ @hearteyes-j2 @vicmc624 @440mxs-wife @wonder-cole  @maralisa124

[werezmastarbucks]

boston

honeymoon masterlist

word count: 2538

music: savage streets by perturbator, you’ll only be safe with me by tuff turf, dark all day by gunship

You stood on one knee, feeling Kai’s fingers under your belt as he held you. You shoved out of the window half way, and yelled,

“I’m good!”

He pushed the gas pedal into the floor, and the car roared angrily, tearing through the night mist.

The black shadows surrounded you, floating out of the metal and brick twilight of the street so suddenly fear shot through you like lightning. You held up your shotgun and aimed, trying to balance with your hip on the frame of the window. Falling out of the window would mean imminent death: zombies were everywhere. They were waiting on the corners, in the windows of the buildings, hiding in the shade, behind the smelly dumpsters and in the middle of the road. As the city lights died out, and the car raced deeper into the district, golden and silver changed into cold blue and electric, the colors of docks and warehouses.

“I got them!”

“Shoot!” Kai yelled.

You exhaled and did not inhale, because the best snipers don’t breathe when shooting. As the monster truck passed by the cluster of black silhouettes, you fired three rounds into them, scaring the gathering and hitting one of them. Then you fell back into your seat and pulled your hair away from your face. It will be a bitch to try and brush after. The car drove out into the narrow quay where black water lay like glistening dirty skin, and Kai’s face was yellow in the passing bleak lights.

“What the hell is that?” he asked, poiting at the figure on the roof on the left. He slowed down a little, and you looked back to make sure nobody’s following you. You set the shotgun on your right.

“It’s Jeepers Creepers”.

“Wha... Y/N. What is Jeepers fucking Creepers doing at our zombie apocalypse?”

“I don’t know, Kai”, you snarled, “maybe he launched it. How am I supposed to know?”

“You’re driving me crazy”.

“I am afraid of Jeepers Creepers, okay? He’s gonna be the final boss”.

“I’m gonna tear his balls off”, Kai mumbled.

“He’ll take yours. That’s what he does”, you reminded him.

Kai snored.

“Get up. There’s more. They must have circled the parking lot. Look”.

Right in the middle of the road, where yellow fog was floating in the air like phantom veil, and the asphalt glistened, sweaty after 10PM rain, the black shadows barricaded the road. Kai stopped the car, and the low grumble slowly faded into the quiet, monotnous howl of the city. Somewhere, trains were moving to and fro on the rails, colliding with each other, creating noise. The factories were working, sending black smoke into the opaque sky, clogged by unwilling cigarrette clouds. The river itself, it seemed, hummed something very low, like a deadly lullaby. This world was a hostile and lonesome place. The only warm thing in here was Kai’s body sitting next to you, radiating humanity. You jerked your shotgun. You knew he was seeing exactly the same thing as you did - a bunch of zombies swaying slowly in your direction. He turned up the music a little.

“Ready?”

“Yeah”.

“Aim better or else we’re gonna drive in circles all night”.

“Don’t tell me how to kill zombies, Kai”.

He mimicked you, starting the car.

Next night, it was his turn, and you did the same thing, racing through the night city, crashing into cardbox fortresses and blowing up the glass forts, shooting the heads off the zombies, until you both have had enough of that zombie apocalypse world. It has been some time until you got tired.

(To get into the right mood, you have occupied the Columbus Movie Theatre for like a week, rewatching zombie movies. Turned out, you can’t just walk into a movie theatre and find all the zombie films piled up neatly in the movie room - or whatever it’s called. You have argued about them again and again, Kai insisting on Evil Dead being immortal classic, but the Day of the Dead was his all-time favorite. You nearly got into a fistfight with him over the Return of the Living Dead.

“Of course”, he puffed and laughed out, condescending as hell.

“What’s that laugh?!” you demanded. Kai shrugged.

“It’s such a girly thing. Return of the Living Dead. The third part is also your favorite, isn’t it?”

And he gave you the nastiest look. You narrowed your eyes.

“You bigot. You absolute fuckface. The first one is my favorite”.

He was enjoying himself too much, obviously agitated by the topic, not entirely there.

“Okay, okay”.

“But for the record, yes, I do think that the third part is the best love story I’ve ever seen on screen. It’s incredible”.

Kai nodded, the smile never leaving his face.

“She managed to fight off her cannibalistic instinct not to hurt the person she loved. She tore herself with needles and hooks to fight the urge to kill him and actually managed to keep him safe although she was literally a flesh eating zombie. How cool is that?”

Kai sighed and looked you in the eye.

“Very cool’, he said, with the tone that screamed ‘you’re silly and I adore you’.

“What other movies came out this year?”

“Not many, it’s only May”, he replied, digging deep into the box with films.

“Is Dream Lover out yet?”

“Yep”.

“We should watch it”.

“Later”, Kai said, throwing a film across the room and allowing it to crash into pieces. You hoped to hell it wasn’t Dream Lover.

“And Freddie Krueger?”

“No, not yet”.

“Damn it”, you looked over his shoulder.

“No Freddie Krueger!” he announced, “that’s it, she draws the line at Freddie. We’re leaving now”.

You laughed.

In the dark movie room, you could choose any row, any seats. You nested against each other, honoring the sacred cinema theatre tradition to gently touch in the twilight. While the action unfolded on screen, you had to shove popcorn into Kai’s mouth because it was the only way you could make him stop talking. When you ran out of popcorn, you had to shut him up with your mouth. It was a great week.)

You looked around the street and then, at Kai. How lucky he was, to find himself in this wretched place with someone as willing to play zombies as you were. You should do it more often. Maybe you should act out Mist next, somewhere in Houston.

You pulled your backpack up, and your eyes darted towards the black tower, ominous, insidious without any light, like a gigantic grave stone. Before Parker cut all the electricity, it was the Hancock Tower, now, it was just Tower. And the path to it lay through the dangerous city filled with brain craving monsters, bloodthirsty, dumb and ferocious, and you were running out of bullets. Besides, earlier on, you fell through one of the cardboard box forteresses and bruised your knee so badly, together with your left hand which you landed on. This adventure would be the death of you.

Kai twitched.

“I hear something”, he said, cocking his gun. You stood behind him, one-handed, unable to shoot. You closed your eyes. Lo, if they attack from all directions, you won’t be any help. A wounded companion is worse than an enemy in this world. You wondered if Kai would leave you alone to be eaten and stall them, or whether he’d shoot you in the head first, to spare you.

He walked on a little, entering a small square, and the black outlines of hairless, clotheless humans frightened you like you weren’t the one who had put them there ten hours earlier. They spooked you every time.

Kai shot three times, hitting each mannequin with one bullet.

“On the roof!” you pointed, turning back. You bowed as he threw up his shotgun, and fired. Heavy plastic body hopped and rolled down, falling on the ground. Kai could see in the dark so well you had to remind yourself he was human. Sometimes you would forget that fact completely. He was so different from everybody else.

He led you towards the tower where you stabbed one of the zombies in the throat. He was good at shooting, but you were very gifted with stabbing. You never missed.

“God damn”, Kai panted, as the mannequin swayed and collapsed on the asphalt just next to the glass door he was holding for you, “you saved my life”.

He took you in the movie gesture, pulling you into a long kiss. Your wrist started swelling and you had to take off your electronic watch temporarily. In the bleak room, it shone with green thin neon light from the bedside table while you had sex on the matrass.

In the middle of the night something fell off the roof, and scared the hell out of you - for real this time. You did not put anything on the top of the Tower since it was your fort. In the morning you came up on the top, while Kai went down and examined the object. Turned out, on the tenth of May, 1994, one single bag filled with files and staplers fell off the roof of the Hancock Tower. There was no way of knowing why.

“Wake up”.

You opened your eyes and rubbed your neck, aching from sleeping on the single mattrass on the floor. You looked out of the window. It has just stopped raining, which meant it was already close to midnight. In the dystopian Boston, you have switched to night regime of living completely because in the daylight, mannequins randomly standing in the streets looked simply stupid.

“The Titans”, he said. Kai’s face was so close to yours, you could feel the words on your skin. His eyes shone nervously.

“What Titans? It’s zombie apocalypse, Kai”.

He frowned.

“And what was Jeepers Creepers doing there then?”

“Oh my god”, you groaned, “let go of it already! You killed him like a week ago”.

“Come on, see for yourself”, he pulled you up, and you walked to the window, and gasped, instantly feeling for Kai’s hand. It couldn’t be happening.

That’s it! This madness finally drove you... mad.

There was an actual silhouette, the one you didn’t put there, and possibly couldn’t. The one that could not be put there for the life of you. The one of proportions too great for anyone to put it in the middle of the city, one foot on the right side of the river, and the other, on the left.

“What the fuck!” you yelled, your fright real as ever. Kai grinned happily, but then his face changed back to the philosophical expression of impending doom.

“This is it, Y/N. The zombies... and that dude... were just omens, but that’s it. The sky people have come to destroy us. It’s the end“.

“Seriously, Kai, how did you put it up... there?”

The sky was blackish-bordeaux, like usual. The river was seen just fine from here, from the top floor of the Tower. You had a pretty good look on the gloomy city and all its post-war industrial charm. The figure was so big it stood almost above the Tower itself; he reminded you of the Colossus of Rhodos, the Bronze Man, or one of the mythical golden gods of ancient times. You could actually feel your heart trying to break the hell out of your ribcage in a desperate attempt to kill itself. You couldn’t breathe for a second, mortified by the size of that thing. It was one of the deepest nightmares of your childhood, one of the visions haunting you from when you were little and kept dreaming about the end of the world.

You told Kai about those, and he now used them against you, but you appreciated the performance. It was all almost like art. It was horrifying and great, but you hated it.

“He came down from the clouds”, Kai said quietly, like a dispassionate narrator. Who already knows what’s coming, and doesn’t give a shit, because he’s already dead.

“To press the earth into the core of the planet, and make all life perish. He shall walk the land... waging his wrath on all that breathes. Including you and me”.

You made an effort to turn away, mesmerized by the statue, and looked at Kai.

“How much magic have you wasted on it?”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t break the character, it takes me a lot of concentration”.

“Sorry”, you whispered.

“How do you feel about facing the end of the world with me?” he asked.

It was a damn good question. Parker really did ask all the right questions. After all the time in post-apocalyptic Boston, surrounded by enemy, living in a dark den and barely seeing the sun, it was very easy to actually sense the end coming. You clutched your own elbows, thinking. Strangely, you weren’t scared anymore.

A part of his face was in the shadow. He blinked the way you’ve only ever seen Kai blink, just a little, as if he didn’t want to lose visual even for a split second.

“I’m okay with it. I have lived a fine life, in my totalitarian city, guarded by robots and...”

“...zombies...”

“Hunted down by Harrison Ford...”

“You just jumble together all the movies, it’s actually insane, stop it”.

“But now as Cthulhu has sent its warriors...” (Kai rolled his eyes), “I’m ready to go”.

A lonely honk of a train cut through the distance making you feel melancholic. The trains were just crawling there day and night, filling the air with their lonesome cries occasionally. It would make any reasonable person go crazy, too.

“What will be the last thing you do before you die?” he whispered, his nose almost touching yours. You gave in, hot slow lava crawling up your body. You took Kai’s waist, trying to feel his ribs through three layers of clothing.

“You”.

He probably wore three or four shirts just to see you go nuts as you tried to undress him every time. His street jacket goes, then, a pullover, then a shirt, then another shirt, and you groan with anger as he chuckles at you, his hands snaking under your clothes at once. Your skin went shivering, covered with goose bumps under his fingers, like by magic.

As he pushed you against the wall, the gigantic Titan started melting above the river, looming shadow stepping away from the city, which was flattering. Kai’s whole mind was directed at you now.

You thought about how one loves at the brink of extinction; is it passionate, like when Kai grabbed your shoulder, your hair, pounding you into the floor, or is it gentle and thoughtful, like when you only moved your hips slowly, pressed against each other like two halves of Oreo, or is it impatient, breathless and vile, like when he was fucking you against the wall, talking all the way through your whimpering?

It took the end of the world for you to end up on his dick.

[koganegawasimp]

Holiday Headcanon Event

December 1 - Atsumu Miya

Schedule for the rest of this month is right here!

Ok so first of all he is a goofy, friendly, funny, and sometimes childish dork!!!! He is not a fuckboy asshole!!!!! He cares about people very very much!!!!!!!! No Atsumu slander here!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways.

Atsumu absolutely LOVES the holidays and you can’t convince me otherwise

He gets so excited by all the “holiday spirit”

Probably starts listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween (also probably argues with Osamu about it)

He basically turns into a really tall little kid

Goes ALL OUT on the Christmas tree

Like he goes out and gets the biggest tree he can find

Usually it’s tall enough to be almost touching the ceiling

Good luck trying to help him get it into his house

And he has so many ornaments, I think he wouldn’t really care about theming his tree or sticking to a color palette or anything, he would just have an eclectic collection of ornaments he’s been gifted, he’s bought on vacation, he’s seen online, he’s made himself, etc.

It’s basically just a big collection of things that he thinks are really cool! He doesn’t care what the tree actually ends up looking like, he’s just covering it with stuff that makes him happy!

Once you’re in his life, he’s so excited to share all of his traditions and take part in all of yours!

Back to the Christmas tree thing, he would be so happy to see all of your ornaments mixed in with his it would just make him so soft

It reminds him that you’re an important part of his life, and that he’s an important part of yours 🥺🥺

CHRISTMAS COOKIES OH MY GOD

So he LOVES Christmas cookies, and probably (tries to) bake them every year

And with you around? He makes a whole Christmas cookie date

He’ll put on some Christmas music and you’ll spend all day baking with him

He’ll try and make little gingerbread man version of the two of you (keyword:try)

They don’t really turn out great but it’s cute anyways

Once you put the cookies in the oven, he pulls you away to dance with you around the kitchen like a goofball 🥺🥺

He’s got stars in his eyes looking at you oh my GOD he’s so in love with you!

But you’re both snapped out of it with the smell of burning cookies

I don’t think he’d really be the biggest fan of the cold weather, so he’d probably bundle up with SO many layers every time he had to leave the house

Like shirt, over shirt, sweater, hoodie, jacket, coat, scarf, hat, gloves, etc.

He looks like an actual marshmallow, it’s kind of ridiculous

He would LOVE to go on ice skating dates with you! It doesn’t matter if you’re good at it or not!

He ends up trying so hard to impress you but he is definitely not as coordinated on ice as he wishes he was akhmgkhkgk

But it’s all very fun and lighthearted anyways!

He also tries to improvise some fancy figure skating routine despite knowing absolutely nothing about figure skating, and he can and will drag you into it

It definitely ends with you two laughing your asses off after you’ve crashed to the ground

He absolutely LOVES the snow, he just gets so so excited!

This bitch will run out the front door in his pajamas to roll in the snow, not thinking about how cold and wet it is outside

Yes, he does get sick, and yes, you do kind of have to baby him

He also initiates snowball fights like constantly jgjfjgjfhfh

Like you’ll just be walking home from the store or some shit and all of a sudden he’s shoved a handful of snow down the back of your shirt

He gets super competitive and will not stop pelting you with snowballs until you surrender

He would love to bring you to spend time with his family around the holidays!

His mom would definitely show you all sorts of embarrassing photos of Osamu and Atsumu as kids despite their protests

Atsumu probably gets a little bit pouty and you have to comfort him

Christmas dinner with them would be SO warm and welcoming!

Like you’re all sitting around the table, laughing and talking, eating the good ass food (they definitely got Osamu to cook for the occasion)

Everyone’s telling stories and joking around with each other, it’s just so nice

Atsumu dazes off several times during the dinner, noticing how nicely you fit with his family, and how it really feels like you belong there

He loves you so much, and seeing you with his family just makes him so happy

Osamu has to call him out for looking at you with heart eyes all throughout dinner to snap him out of it

His favorite holiday movie is Die Hard

He can almost definitely quote the whole thing through start to finish

He also will fight people who say it’s not a holiday movie

One night you snuggle up together on your couch and watch it, and every once in a while he’ll just softly whisper his favorite lines in your ear to try and make you laugh 🥺🥺🥺

HE WILL GET MATCHING UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

HE WILL MAKE YOU TAKE PICTURES WITH HIM IN THE MATCHING UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

AND HE WILL SEND EVERYONE YOUR MATCHING UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER PHOTOS! THEY’RE GOING ON ALLLL OF HIS SOCIAL MEDIA!

And when I say ugly sweaters I mean like UGLY ugly, like those light up ones with the horrible puns and tinsel on them

I think he’d be really good at getting people Christmas presents, especially for the people he’s closest to

He’d probably get you super sweet personal stuff, like clothes you offhandedly mentioned you liked, or something related to your hobbies, or an accessory he randomly saw that made him think of you, or something related to an inside joke you have

On the other hand, you could get him almost anything and he’d be pretty appreciative of it! He’s not picky, and he really doesn’t care how cheap or expensive the gift was as long as you put thought into it (within reason, like he’ll be pretty pissed if you give him like literal garbage lmao)

Overall, the holiday season with Atsumu is very fun and bright and still very soft

In conclusion I am in love with him and you should be too ❤️❤️❤️

[emsartwork]

May I ask? Have u given any thought to the flags and size of planets such as zhene koyu or vaonaa?

Below the cut ^-^

Zhen flag is reference to their planetary animal and planetary colors. Vaonaa’s represents their oneness and connection that the prevalent wind on the planet provides. Koyu is the crown jewels, the planet’s form, and the dark eyes that are characteristic of Koyuvians.

Eraklyan’s don’t technically have a wedding dress, usually they just wear a nice gown, and modern weddings with use a more traditional clothing style. Bloom here is in a royal gown, so the average Eraklyan would have shorter sleeves/dress, a less ornate vest, and no cape. Eraklyan Weddings are heavy on tradition, and have a set structure of courtship, engagement, ceremony, and post ceremony. Courtship isn’t dating, but a declaration of the intent to be married, engagement is the actual contract between the couple, and the ceremony consists of spoken vows and exchanging of personal jewels. Each person on Eraklyon has a gem given/assigned to them at birth, in the past personal jewels were thought to hold a person’s soul. Worn as jewelry( bracelet ring, piercing, everything except a necklace), these gems are given to the other as part of the wedding, if a person is not Eraklyan, they will pick out a gem at the start of the courtship. Instead of wedding rings Eraklyans propose/signify marriage with necklaces(the necklaces are separate from personal jewels, only necklaces can be used for marriage) Bloom has the heart of Eraklyon which is a specific jewel that been passed down through the people who marry INTO the Eraklyan royal family. The average Eraklyan engagement jewel is basically the same shape tho usually smaller. Eraklyan women also put their hair up after they are married or for the wedding, in ancient times sometimes the wedding day would be the first time an Eraklyan woman had tied her hair up in her entire life. Modern times have relaxed this custom but its still pretty common for unmarried women to leave their hair down most of the time and married women to wear their hair up more often than not. Sky initiated their courtship period in the first movie, Bloom(and Domino) misunderstood and thought he was officially proposing. He proposes in season 5 with the Heart of Eraklyon.  

MOVING ON TO ZHEN

History: Zhen is a very rigid planet social customs-wise, but they have a long history of political unrest and war. The planet is divided into small feudal states, and each one is constantly on alert for invasion or offense from the others. Through a very clever scheme, a prince of a larger state convinced another state to send him one of their princesses/princes as a peace treaty. Then claimed the prince/princess never arrived to the palace(they did, were not harmed and  hidden away in the lap of luxury) and propositioned a different state for a marriage peace treaty. Eventually he revealed he had kept the royals safe and alive and had legally binding peace contracts with each of the states he had tricked. Zhenese have an intense code of honor and will follow rules/contracts the way the fae do even if its inconvenient for them lmao. He became the leading power, and forced the other states to send him some of their family to stay at his central palace. Zhen was then at peace for longer than before in their history, eventually developing the central system of government with a central royal family. Local rulers still send a portion of their family to live at the palace complex as a tradition and a safety measure, though the family and their Regent will switch off visiting the hub. Unfortunately, the most recent Emperor and Empress were assassinated and their daughter, the closet heir, disappeared, thought to be captured or killed as well. Leaving the royal families to claim a right to the throne and fight it out. Ho-boe left a week after the assassination on one of the last ships before the rival states set up blockades for each other’s fleets/communications.

Cimate: Zhen is on the cold side and has numerous mountain ranges littering the continents with very flat land in between them. Their coastlines are ragged with a lot of good bays to use as ports. They have a lot of rivers in the mountains which generally combine into one major river across the plains. They grow a lot of grains, and are excellent hunters, surviving on a very high protein diet (it’s theorized that Zhenese evolved their sharp teeth, hearing, and low center of gravity with heavy musculature to become more ideal hunters in their environment) During peace, Zhen exported a lot of unique furs, minerals, and their woodworking skills(they don’t have a lot of forest to use for export but they are master craftsmen) Their clothing is usually wool, from the Zhenese Argali, a sheep/goat like animal with orange/red wool and blue(ish) horns. These animals are the most prevalent species on Zhen and are wild, domestic, used for wool, skins, dyes, meat, household objects, and even their bones are used whenever possible. 

Clothing: traditional dress is still worn on Zhen instead of Magix modern styles. In general: Thick sock/shoes with leather soles tied around the ankle, loose cotton pants, a pleated wool skirt, a shirt with a square stand up collar and long straight sleeves, a short sleeved jacket or structured tunic layered on top, sometimes a wrapped belt. Hair styles are complex and accessorized.  In warmer areas the skirt and sleeves are shorter, and usually only a lighter jacket is worn. In cold weather they wear a wrapped fur hat, several layers of wool shirts and skirts. Royal wear always features the planetary colors, a complex headress, and wide skirts with several layers. and stupidly wide sleeves (usually they cover the hands entirely but if a royal is doing anything they usually roll them up) royal coat/tunics feature a lot of embroidery, usually of geometric patterns, as well as draped tied from the shoulders(usually white). For a wedding Zhenese wear black yellow and white. Black is only worn for weddings and symbolizes the seriousness of the relationship that being officiated. They also have a hat with a bead veil and a pin through the hair with fabric/paper hanging from them onto the shoulders. The beads on the hat are strung in a very specific order, reflecting the planets reliance on rules and order, the veils can taken weeks to make because if a mistake is made all the beads have to be taken off and started over. A braided chord with threads of the planetary colors is knotted around the waist to represent the planet and culture as a whole. Married Zhenese have a short thread of beads they hang from their hats or hair pins.

VAONAA

History: Generally known for their spirituality and rich knowledge, Vaonaa has a fairly standard history. Fighting slowly stopped and the various groups on the planet were united after the incorporation of magic into their culture.(yes i know this is unrealistic leave me and my idealistic alien planets alone) One substantial difference is that Vaonaa developed an electoral system of government as opposed to a monarchy. Consisting of three groups (elders, adults, and youth) they’re all part of a larger group called the Council. Each individual group has to have an equal ratio of men/women/nb. Each county has one person elected and the other person assigned(like jury duty). The council is the main authority on everything and is a full time job. The Vaonaar is like a president/prime minister temporary position, every time a council member is appointed they submit a name of their most trusted person, if the council deadlocks over a decision a name from the list the Council members provided is randomly chosen to resolve the deadlock over a period of a few weeks so they actually have time to hear all the arguments and read relevant materiel. there are also more local officials like police/librarians/parks and rec etc. 

Climate: Vaonaa has a lot of flat grass land, with a high proportion of mesa formations. as a result of these steep valleys Vaonaa has strong wind currents. They coatline is relatively smooth, and they usually have to use rivers as ports because bays aren’t super common. They have many different types of grasses, and are especially known for their high quality textile production. They export their textiles, precious stones, and metal work. 

Clothing: Vaonaaj usually wear deerskin, suede, wool, and cotton. Tunics tied together at the sides, leggings, and poncho styled blankets, and wrapped or metal belts are the basic clothing items. Beaded necklaces and earnings are common accessories for everyone. Hair is worn in either one or two braids. In warm weather, a short tunic and soft moccasins are worn  In colder weather a woven blackets is wrapped around the body or tucked into the belt, leggings are added under the tunic, and wrapped skins are layered over the moccasins and leggings and secured just below the knee sometimes the blanket has a smaller buttoned on hood but i didn’t draw that. Royal Vaonaaj have a longer tunic with stitched details and beaded sections.a more complex belt, and a rectangular blue vest/shawl worn under the belt. For weddings, Vaonaaj wear a loose tunic/dress and wrapped leather around their feet instead of mocasins. strips of fabric and jewelry is in the four colors Vaonaa considers sacred, white, green, blue, and rust red. White and blue represent the wind, blue also represents royalty and honor, green represents the grasses that cover most of the planet and are used in making textiles, the rust red represents a grounding connection to the earth something the people tend to forget because they are so dependent on the wind and all. Married Vaonaaj keep a colored thread woven into their hair, in modern times this is usually done through magic.

(PSA: I almost exclusively based this planet/culture on Navajo native Americans, with some tweaks because fantasy alien planet.  I am not native, if any of this is inappropriate please let me know.)

(second less important psa: its like super hard to find clothing references for native american cultures before European contact so if any one has some good sources pls lmk)  

KOYU

History: Koyu is thought to have begun as a dwarf planet with a highly poisonous atmosphere struck by an asteroid and pushed further towards the sun it was orbiting. This increased the radiation levels which caused the dormant fungal growth on the asteroid to begin growing at exponential rates. The growth also filtered out the toxins in the lower atmosphere but eventually reached a state of equilibrium and was unable to grow any bigger. The outer reaches of the formation are still technically living matter, but the inner reaches have dried and kind of fossilized creating a porous tangle of branches around the planets core.  Koyuvian’s eyes have evolved to be intensely receptive to any light in their environment because the inner tangles are very dark and fire cannot be used as the dried growth produces poisonous smoke when burned. many plants and animals on Koyu are luminescent and are some are farmed and used as light sources. water runs through some hollow sections of the growth like vertical rivers. others are used as highways or roads. especially large knots of tangles usually become cities. spaces that don’t have as many branches of growth are known as the voids and are avoided because its easy to get lost or fall and especially dangerous animal/plant life occupy those spaces.

Climate: The outer reaches of the planet is very hot, and has a lot of dangerous radiation, so people don’t live there. The inner reaches of the planet don’t have direct sunlight and can be pretty cold, but there are still pockets that have a decent amount of warmth due to insulation, being closer to the radiation, or the planet’s core producing some heat.  Koyu exports some of their unique animal and plant life, and Koyuvian mushrooms are some of the most highly sought after produce/garden items in the magix universe but they are almost impossible to grow off planet. Koyu has very small mineral reserves but will export Koyuvian Diamonds for jewelry and technology which are formed in high heat high pressure vent branches of the tangles. 

Clothing: Koyu’s main priority for clothing is mobility, so their clothing is durable simple, and easily fastened or unfastened as needed. usually a shirt with a vest/coat, loose pants, a long piece of fabric around the waist that can be used as a rope in emergencies, and rough sole socks are worn. Koyuvians rarely wear shoes. In warm areas a rectangular fabric with a hole for the head is worn over the shoulders and secured with a wrap of fabric around the waist and lower chest.the pants are thin fabric loosely fastened with small leather cuff, usually with a slit up the side for ventilation. In cold areas a long sleeves undershirt is worn with a lined coat usually the sleeves can be buttoned or left hanging. the pants here are a thicker material with no slit and a fur lined leather cuff at the ankle, the socks might be a tad thicker but have to thin enough for the Koyuvian to have some grip. The royals are usually the only ones with any embroidery since detail work like that is hard to do in the dark lmao. Royal dress also usually features sheer material and an extra skirt layer . The veil is able to easily detach from the crown in case it gets stuck in anything and the sleeves are secured at the wrist and neck but can also be unbuttoned if they’re in the way. For weddings the bride and groom (or what have you) are dressed in dark colors, and a blindfold. because sight is so crucial to Koyuvians survival, removing it during the ceremony puts the bride and groom in a state of vulnerability, the metal disks attached to the blindfold ring as the couple moves, their goal is to find each other, and then find a Basket, a natural formation in the Tangle that looks like a small nest, its usually used as a temple/sanctuary.  They have their friends and family watching over them to prevent any serious danger but they aren’t allowed to help the couple. The reason for dark colors is for camouflage from wild animals but the gold on the breast is so the family can spot them. The couple find a basket, share a small meal there and the marriage is official. Married Koyuvians have small tattoos on their wrists.

[hero--for--fun]

Ichigo and Sanji

TL;DR: Wow Stinger, your mom lets you have a boyfriend and a girlfriend?

Sanji, male, 24

~Works as a coder and graphic designer.

~Started dating Stinger and Ichigo about a month after they went official.

~Brown hair dyed pink, green eyes. Honestly I see him wearing whatever is comfortable, no matter how bad it fits his aesthetic. Literally catch him wearing a hoodie and one of Ichigo’s skirts, because it was closer than a pair of his pants, and just vibing.

~A good artist (drawing, sketching, etc.) across multiple mediums, but awful at things like clay and anything with yarn. His favorite mediums are digital, traditional, and spray paint. 

~He likes cinnamon rolls, coffee, fun socks, and collecting mugs. 

~Sanji has some combat training. He took karate classes most of his childhood (Ages 6 to 19)

~~~~

Ichigo, female, 22 (soon to be 23)

~Works part time as a waitress at a maid cafe.

~First to start dating Stinger, and she likes to tease Sanji about it. 

~Blonde hair, hazel eyes. She dyes her hair a lot though, so nobody is actually sure about her actual color. I see her wearing lots of pastel colors, with darker ones tossed in randomly on her bad days.

~An awful artist (drawing, sketching, etc.), but a pretty good knitter. She also owns a sewing machine that she uses pretty often.

~She likes roller skating, plushies, staying up late as much as possible, and listening to r/entitledparent videos while she works on projects.

~Ichigo has very little combat training, but took self defense classes.

~~~~

Assorted facts/headcanons

~Ichigo and Sanji are dating each other as well as Stinger, and while they love each other very much they have a tendency to be competitive towards one another when it comes to Stingers attention. They have a friendly rivalry that Stinger isn’t fully aware of. 

~Sanji is an fan of western comics and movies, especially The New Avengers (Kamala Khan Luke Cage, ETC.). 

~They aren’t heroes, and they’re very proud of their hero boyfriend.

~The maid cafe is actually really shitty and she lowkey hates it, but Ichigo would hate to not be working. She’d feel like a burden. Basically its a hang out spot for scummy guys and its really the bottom of the barrel for these type of places. No security for the girls, guys hit on them constantly, monsters like to come there to mess with them, and Ichigo has had at least one guy try to follow her home. She wants to work at a different cafe or get out of the business all together, but is unable to at this time

~Sanjis name is actually directly from One Piece because I liked the name when I first read One Piece. Ichigo’s name was chosen because its the name of one of my BNHA OC and I tend to recycle names from those oc’s.

~While Stinger and Sanji like to cuddle and all that while they sleep, Ichigo surrounds herself with stuffed animals and has a field day. SHE’S THE MEME OF “My girlfriend and her $500 stuffed mareep”.

~Sanji and Stinger don’t know personal space when they sleep. They take over most of the bed, hence why Ichigo has her plush barrier. They lay on one another and their almost always touching. 

~Sanji likes to draw small chibis of his  partners, cut them out, and hide them around the house.

[dwindledglow]

001. MEET JULES

FULL NAME: jules antoine beauchamp. PREFERRED NAME: jules. NICKNAME/S: jul. DATE OF BIRTH: november 13th, 1999. GENDER & PRONOUNS: cis male & he/his. ORIENTATION: hetero. RELIGION: non-practicing christian. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: in a relationship with noémie leroux. OCCUPATION: full time university student. RESIDENCE: flatiron district, new york city.

002. CHECK JULES’ BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: saint tropez, france. NATIONALITY: french. ETHNIC BACKGROUND: french and italian. LINGUISTICS: french which is his native language and english and italian in a fluent level. EDUCATION: he studies mechanical engineering at columbia university. CRIMINAL RECORD: clean. BIRTH ORDER: second though he’s now an only child. FATHER: françois pierre beauchamp, born on june 6th, 1970 in rennes, france, currently residing in montecarlo, monaco. he is a businessman and the owner and CEO of rocamadour spirits group. MOTHER: vivienne giulia del vecchio, born on september 14th, 1974 in sicily, italy, currently residing in montecarlo, monaco. she is an italian billionaire heiress, writer and the owner of del vecchio oil group. SISTER/S: none. BROTHER/S: guillaume maxime beauchamp, born on april 17th, 1997 in saint tropez, france, passed away on july 16th, 2000 in saint tropez, france. SIGNIFICANT OTHER: noémie leroux. CHILDREN: none so far. OTHER RELEVANT FAMILY: none. EX/ES: none, he didn’t have any solid relationships before noémie. PETS: moon, a cavalier king charles.

003. GET UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

HEIGHT: 6′0″ or 183 cm. WEIGHT: between 171 lbs or 77.5 kg and 175 lbs or 79 kg. BODY BUILD: as someone who has exercised and been involved in sports from a young age, jules has always been what would be described as fit. though he’s not obsessed about his diet or his routines, he prefers to eat clean and keep up a 5 to 6 day a week work out schedule. this being said, he has an overall athletic frame with particularly defined abs, toned legs and arms. EYE COLOR: brown. EYESIGHT: his eyesight has no problems. HAIR COLOR & STYLE: he has blonde, lighter during summer, darker in winter months and usually he has his hair shorter on the sides and longer on the top so a very low maintenance look that isn’t particularly hard to style. DOMINANT HAND: right. NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: his smile which, following most people’s opinion, seems to make him seem even younger than he is. overall, if it could be considered as such, the hint of youth, often mistaken by shyness, that his features portray. as the opposition to it, the amount of tattoos scattered all over his body are a standout, as is his athletic frame.  SCARS AND MARKS: on top of the usual every day little scars and marks, jules has some which are courtesy of all the exercise he does on a daily basis. otherwise, there’s nothing that is particularly notable or that stands out. TATTOOS: he got a shhh… on the underside of the index finger of his left hand — reference. his following piece consists of a cross with wings on the back of his neck — reference — something that symbolizes his faith and personal beliefs, and definitely the one tattoo he doesn’t like to expand much on for it’s a touchy one. soon afterwards, when one of his best friends - gabrielle - decided she wanted to get inked but was reticent since it would be a first, jules ended up going with her and getting a matching piece ; gabrielle’s micro tattoo reads we’re all in the same game; just different levels split into two parts in a cursive kind of font and is placed on the inside of her left wrist, whereas jules’ completes it and reads dealing with the same hell; just different devils. - his is also split in two, the same font, except it’s placed on the inside of his right wrist. as a consequence of a night where him, léo and henri got completely plastered, he has a smiley face tattooed on his toe. later on, and as the fulfillment of something he really wanted, jules proceeded to get the first piece of what would soon become a half sleeve on his left arm. he got a roaring tiger to symbolize his independence and free spirit while at the same representing strength. a little above it, and completing the half sleeve, he has a blooming rose which has more than one meaning to him - it was chosen to complement the tiger because despite the power and strength, he wishes for balance within his life but more so, and the primary reason why he acquired it back in the day, it’s because, atop of being one of noémie’s favorite flowers, roses can symbolize hope which, truly, translated into, back when he got it, him hoping for the best and hoping they would get together one day. next to the rose and above the tiger, he has a treble clef simply to symbolize his love for music. atop of his half sleeve, on the back of his left arm, he then got two fists bumping, another matching tattoo he got with gabrielle when he was visiting her in kailua. he has a distortion clock, dali’s style, merged into the back of his half sleeve, a tattoo he got soon after noémie started dating mathis and he got his heart broken. clock tattoos often represent an endless love, the meaning stands for his, the distortion only adds to the meaning by representing how heartbroken and helpless he felt at the time. towards the end of his half sleeve, and on the inside of his left wrist, he has the geographic coordinates both to where guillaume - his older brother - was born and where he passed away. he has a diamond, also merged into the back of his sleeve, something he has gotten when he was going through a rough patch as a reminder to focus on the positivity and be strong. additionally, within the half sleeve, you’ll find some more pieces like a G., the initial of his deceased brother’s first name; an anchor, something he got randomly but that also reminds him to stay grounded and a micro tattoo saying côte d’azur meant to represent his home. lastly, merged into the back of his half sleeve, he has a blacklight tattoo that’s otherwise invisible to the eye, reading six septembre, noé’s birthdate. he has the world map with a plane flying in between continents and a compass next to it, on the inside of his right bicep, something that he got soon after realizing he wanted to see more of the world and that he wasn’t willing to, eternally, stay in south of france. as for more recent tattoos, he has gotten the quote peace of mind on his left upper arm which he has begun to shade, and thus begun to extend his half-sleeve into a proper full-sleeve tattoo. higher above the two fists bumping he’s gotten with gabrielle, and complementing the tattoo with some additional shading, he has two keys crossing over each other with a V on one of the keys and a F on the other, representing two key people in his life - vivienne and françois, his mother and father respectively and next to it, he has a tiny sashimi roll tattooed, not really meaning much other than his love for food and sushi. likewise, merged into the others with the shading and all, he has a endless knot on the back of his arm. he has the sentence mon mond fou on the right side of his ribcage, in white ink. along his left hip, he has the quote il vaut mieux faire que dire meaning doing is better than saying, which resembles the whole actions are better than words, something jules avidly believes in. on the underside of his ring finger, he has a N’s - not-so-subtly meaning he’s noémie’s - followed by a micro dix juin - which is when he and noé officially started dating. he has the quote mind over matter is magic along the outer side of his right foot, a note to self more so than anything else, and on his right side, often covered up by his arm, he has the sentence la famille avant tout vertically tattooed in micro, cursive font.     PIERCINGS: none. VOICECLAIM: fabio quartararo. ACCENT & INTENSITY: though he spends a good chunk of his time speaking english and has been immersed in the new york environment for nearly a year, there’s no hint of a new yorker accent. from his words down to his enunciation and the way he carries himself as he speaks, you can tell he’s french. the little twists and quirks attached to the words make the south of france accent peer through and the fact his closest friends and girlfriend are french as well, help keeping the accent and its intensity intact. ALLERGIES: apples and cashews.  PHOBIAS & FEARS: being stuck in the same place - he’s not claustrophobic but the idea of being confined to a space, no matter how small or how big, it tends to send him spiraling into a state of utmost anxiety. MENTAL & PHYSICAL ILLNESSES: none so far. ALCOHOL USE: sometimes, mostly on social situations. SMOKING: he doesn’t smoke. NARCOTICS USE: no, he doesn’t use drugs. INDULGENT FOOD: it’s not something jul does very often. SPLURGE SPENDING: very rarely. GAMBLING: no, never.

004. DIG DEEPER

CAN THEY DRIVE? yes, he can drive. CAN THEY COOK & BAKE? yes and yes. CAN THEY CHANGE A FLAT TIRE? yes. CAN THEY TIE A TIE? ish. CAN THEY SWIM? yes. CAN THEY RIDE A BICYCLE? yes. CAN THEY JUMP START A CAR? no. CAN THEY BRAID HAIR? badly. CAN THEY PICK A LOCK? no. EXTROVERTED OR INTROVERTED? extroverted. DISORGANIZED OR ORGANIZED? in-between. CLOSE OR OPEN MINDED? open minded. CALM OR ANXIOUS? calm. PATIENT OR IMPATIENT? patient. OUTSPOKEN OR RESERVED? in-between. LEADER OR FOLLOWER? in-between. OPTIMISTIC OR PESSIMISTIC? optimistic. TRADITIONAL OR MODERN? modern. HARD-WORKING OR LAZY? hard-working. CULTURED OR UNCULTURED? cultured. LOYAL OR DISLOYAL? loyal. FAITHFUL OR UNFAITHFUL? faithful. NIGHT OWL OR EARLY BIRD? a mixture of both depending on the days. HEAVY OR LIGHT SLEEPER? not heavy, nor light. an in-between. COFFEE OR TEA? coffee. DAY OR NIGHT? night. TAKING BATHS OR SHOWERS? showers. COCA COLA OR PEPSI? neither. CATS OR DOGS? dogs. NETFLIX OR CINEMA? netflix. SHOWS OR MOVIES? shows. LAPTOP OR GAMING CONSOLE? gaming console. HEALTHY OR JUNK FOOD? healthy food. ICE CREAM OR FROZEN YOGURT? frozen yogurt. PIZZA OR HAMBURGER? pizza. LOLLIPOPS OR GUMMY WORMS? neither. BEACH OR POOL? beach. SNOWBALLS FIGHTING OR ICESKATING? snowballs fighting. LITERATURE OR SCIENCE? science. HISTORY OR ART? art. CHOCOLATE BARS OR COTTON CANDY? neither. XBOX OR PLAYSTATION? playstation. FACE-TO-FACE OR PHONE INTERACTIONS? face-to-face interactions. DRAMA OR SCI-FI? both. HORROR OR COMEDY? comedy.

005. JULES’ FAVORITES

FAVORITE ACTIVITY: working out. FAVORITE ANIMAL: lion. FAVORITE BOOK: thinking, fast and slow by daniel kahneman. FAVORITE COLOR/S: green. FAVORITE CUISINE: italian. FAVORITE DISH/ES: pissaladière, pan bagnat, gnocchi, profiterole, bananas foster. FAVORITE DRINK/S: pumpkin spice latte and plain iced water. FAVORITE FLOWER/S: roses. FAVORITE GEM: emerald. FAVORITE MOVIE: green book by peter farrelly. FAVORITE SONG: mile high by james blake and travis scott. FAVORITE SCENT/S: citrus, jasmine and musk. FAVORITE SHOW/S: brooklyn nine-nine, how i met your mother, f.r.i.e.n.d.s, the office, fresh prince of bel air, the big bang theory, new girl, the simpsons & rick and morty. FAVORITE SPORT/S & TEAM THEY SUPPORT: soccer, he supports as monaco and juventus fc, motogp, he supports yamaha moto racing, formula 1, he supports mercedes amg petronas, tennis and cycling. FAVORITE SEASON OF THE YEAR: summer. VACATION DESTINATION: banff, canada and anywhere in croatia.

[itsbuckysworld]

HELLO SPRING DAY 11

Pairing: none but implied bucky x reader in a future maybe. Category: Modern AU. Warnings: rushed, maybe some bad words. bad writing.  Word Count: 1.7K Guest Appearance: Wanda, mentions of Sam and Steef Rawgers

Summary: You get no christmas shopping done, not when your day is suddenly consumed by Bucky Barnes after bumping into him randomly.

Day 11: Where should we meet? for my Spring Short Story Writing Event

“Where should we meet?” you asked your mother taking a sip of your iced drink. The five women stood at the entrance of the mall with their game faces on. It was Christmas shopping time and this was your plan of action year after year.

Every time, when December 15th rolled around, you, your mother, your aunt, your mom’s best friend who you lovingly called aunt, and her daughter - your best friend Wanda, attacked the season’s shoppings in one afternoon together. Except you almost never spent it together.

The plan was simple. Rendezvous at x point at x time, try to avoid running into each other or looking into bags or carts in risk of spotting your own christmas present and ruining the surprise and get at least the bigger bulk of christmas shopping over with. Should you not find something specific you could always come back, but this? This part of the shopping was tradition.

“Right there, in front of that Pretzel stand” Wanda’s mom pointed. Almost out of a spy movie the five of you looked at your watches, making sure they were if at least not in sync, close in time. “4pm on the dot ladies. 5 at the latest” and with that you dispersed.

Wanda decided to tackle her parents gifts first, they would take her the most time. Gifting you or her brother Pietro always came easy-peasy. In fact she had already ordered something for you off amazon, and was going to top it off with a gift-card to your favourite coffee shop. Instead of avoiding her mom on the men’s section of a clothing store, she joined forces to pick something for her dad.

On the other hand, your mom tended to begin with gifts for you, wanting to get the easy out of the way. She knew her daughter well.

Your aunt focused on her kids first as well. Your cousin was going into labour any moment now – not really, it was still a month to go – and that made gifting so much easier: just get the baby something.

You found yourself walking through the food court, trying to pass the time. You had spotted the stores you wanted to check out for very specific gifts and they were packed. Definitely waiting a few minutes until the craziness died down was the way to go. It didn’t matter how planned you and the other women in your life were, you always encountered dozens and dozens of people crowding the mall in December, no matter the date. At least earlier on the month it wasn’t as hectic. You had to come up with a last minute gift for Pietro two years ago when his Wanda told you that his then girlfriend had bought the thing you were thinking of. You did not want to repeat that. It still caused you nightmares.

Walking down a crowded hallway in front of a new accessories store, a body slammed into you, sending your iced drink tumbling down, fortunately not staining your shirt or the strangers. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry” they said, bending down to pick up the plastic cup, hands stretched out in an apologetic manner. You shook your hand rid of the droplets and started shaking your head to say it was no big deal when you were met with the stranger’s piercing blue eyes and chiseled jaw. “No… Uh, no biggie” “Y/N?” he said, his brows furrowing. “Yeah?” you looked confused, and a small grin started to form on his face. His eyes trailed over your features as if taking you in, and you did the same, trying to place him. The slight beard, the now somewhat familiar eyes and crinkles by them. “Oh!” you exclaimed “It’s me! James! Well…” “Bucky Barnes” you said amusedly, giving him a quick hug that he returned happily. “Wow, you… how are you?” you refrained from saying he looked different. Even though different didn’t mean worse, not at all.

The Bucky you remembered was skinnier, clothes hanging off his back almost sagging, clean shaven, and his hair was short. This Bucky? Fuck, this Bucky was strong, with a manly beard and longer hair almost past his ears, perfectly swooped backwards. Different was good, so so good.

“I’m sorry for your drink” his face scrunched up, deeply apologetic, you would think he accidentally let your dog out and it got lost, not that he’d just accidentally made you drop your drink. “Really, it’s no biggie” “Please, let me buy you another, and maybe we can chat for a bit? Catch up?” and it was really not a big deal, you were halfway done with it either way and it was icing your hand, but with that smile he gave you, how were you supposed to say no?

・‥…━━━━━━━ o ━━━━━━━…‥・

Wanda’s foot was tapping incessantly as she sat by the bench directly behind the pretzel stand, half eaten pretzel she didn’t even want to buy in the first place, in her hand. She glanced at the watch on her wrist one last time. It was 4:30. Where the fuck were you? She looked back to your mom, who looked just as annoyed, and somewhat concerned as well, with the long wait, and without question, Wanda picked up her phone and dialed your number, your mother doing the same short after when you didn’t pick up your best friend’s first call.

・‥…━━━━━━━ o ━━━━━━━…‥・

“No way!” you laughed out loud, throwing your head back and covering your face with the napkin you were using. Bucky sat in front of you, leaned into the table and resting on his crossed arms over it, trying to keep a smile at bay. “I can’t believe you and Steve did that. Gosh you’re still the same dorks as way back then” your laughter died down and you resumed your position, also hunched a bit over the small table outside a café in the food court, leaning on your hand, elbow anchoring the arm on the small wooden plank of a table. 

Your eyes looked into Bucky’s shiny ones, waiting for more of the story he was telling, and your free hand reached over for your almost empty glass of water, taking the last sips through the straw as Bucky only nodded. “What can I say? We like a good challenge” “Ok, but next time, do something a bit more… I don’t know… Modest?” “Oh, so running through central park half naked isn’t modest?” he joked causing you to burst out laughing again. He really liked that sound, his satisfied smirk was enough to tell.

Still coming down from the giggling fit, you reached into your bag, looking for your long forgotten phone that you felt buzzing a second ago. With a swift glance at it your breathing hitched and your heart dropped. Was that the time? “Shit!” you said, unlocking the device and opening your chat with Wanda where you had about a dozen texts. “Everything ok?” Bucky asked, concern painting his features, but he leaned back, not wanting to accidentally look at your texts or make you feel like he was invading your privacy, yet he stayed close enough that he could be there should you need him. “I was supposed to meet up with everyone almost an hour ago!” you picked up all your stuff in a hurry and stood up, shooting a quick text to Wanda that you were on your way and so sorry for making them wait, followed by Bucky who wasn’t sure what to do, but he understood.

You had mentioned when the two of you sat down at the table with small sandwiches and drinks that you were on a Christmas Shopping spree with your mom and Wanda and everyone else, yet the meeting time was so far away, neither of you worried much after, immediately jumping into ‘how have you been’s and ‘remember this person? well…’ “Time totally flew by, I’m so sorry! I have to go” “That’s ok. I get it” “Oh god and I didn’t even do any Christmas shopping” this caused you to laugh incredulously and Bucky joined in, scratching at his beard. “Neither did I” “I’m sorry!” you facepalmed, now guilty that you had kept him from his day’s plans. “Eh, I don’t really mind. I had a great time –” his smirk made you blush like mad – “Better time than I would have had trying to spot a gift for Steve’s new boyfriend” he rolled his eyes jokingly causing you to giggle. He had mentioned that Steve was so in love with Sam, this guy he’d met a few years ago. They were happy, and Sam wasn’t that bad, but Bucky and him had a more… Bicker-y relationship. It was all out of love, Sam was the best boyfriend Steve has ever had, and Bucky couldn’t be happier for them. “When I tell Steve I ran into you, he’ll understand” “It was so nice to see you again.” “Ditto. Hey maybe we can uh, come back, do actual christmas shopping?” “Together?” his eyes almost bulged out of his head. “I-I mean, just an idea, y-you don’t uh, you don’t have to if–” “I’d love to.” his face split into a grin, hand scratching at the back of his neck shyly. “Meet you here tomorrow? Say 10 am?” you pressed a quick peck to his cheek in form of goodbye, and he reciprocated, making shivers run down your spine at the warmth that his hand on your shoulder provided. “I’ll be here” “You better” you winked at him before rushing away to meet your family that greeted you with concerned looks and a chorus of ‘where were you’s and ‘did you not buy anything’ to which you just responded with a shrug, saying nothing had caught your eye and that you’d be back tomorrow to try and spot something different.

It was half true, nothing caught your eye besides Bucky, it’s not your fault the man held your complete attention for over 4 hours. He was that charming. That wasn’t any different than back then. The promise of seeing him again translating to chills you couldn’t contain, your smile mirroring his as he texted Steve – who had dropped him several texts asking if he needed any help picking a gift for Sam and concern to Bucky not answering them – that no, no gift for Sam just yet, but he wouldn’t guess what happened.

feedback is greatly appreciated and encouraged!!

ok so far i’ve written three reencounters lmao, and there’s a couple more to go. Hope you enjoyed this, im sorry for the poor writing!

[edennohebi]

The Winter Solstice Celebration

Some may have learned to fear the television buzzing to life while others will simply ignore it at their own expense ( Though it rarely does any good: Choices matter not here, & the snakes will force you to listen to their demands ), but the sing-song ‘hello’ from a lesser-heard voice does wonders to catch the attention & snap a soul up by the ear.

Your greeting comes from the Princess & the elder Prince rather than their progenitors -- & it seems in good spirits, which couldn’t mean anything other than something awful was bound to come… right?

“ Hellllooo -- can you hear me? Testing, one, two -- well, it’s not like you can answer back, huh? ”

“ Haa? You never know -- They may very well try to throw themselves through the screens one of these days. ”

“ Wuuh? No way! That’s like something from a horror movie Onii-chan, it’s not a fun thought at all! ”

“ Ne? & here I thought you’d enjoy something as gruesome as that,” His palms splay out as his shoulders rise & fall in a careless shrug, one that’s far too relaxed. “Oh well ~. ”

Maeru only offers a close-mouthed snicker in apparent amusement before crossing her arms & casting a pink-hued gaze camera-bound yet again. This banter between the two felt unprofessional, but at least the comedic value made it feel more like a light-hearted channel than two murderers running a podcast.

“ They’re not terrible , but creepy little kids are a whole different thing! But we’ve wasted enough time -- so guess what, guys~? ”

“ Though a Christmas celebration would be absolutely blasphemous for us lovely serpentine hosts, we ARE happy to introduce you all to our culture’s winter solstice celebration~! There’s nothing bad and you get to dress up too, so it’ll just be a nice break from all the torment you’ve been through lately ! -- Right, Onii-chan? ”

Although his eyes had rolled during Maeru’s monologue -- whether it be in genuine exasperation or harmless teasing between two siblings was unclear, & truthfully, didn’t matter all too much -- he offers the camera a much more coy, crooked grin and a narrowing of his eyes that was all too much like his father’s.

“ Right, right -- It really isn’t all too bad, you know. Celebrating death & being reborn certainly sounds grim to you humans, I’m sure, but any fear you all have is way too hypocritical! That is what your,” He waves a finger as his brows knit together. “ Own holidays celebrate, isn’t it? ” His shoulders raise in another shrug, & his head tilts to the side slightly. “But of course, who are you all to say no at the offer of food? There is a promised feast, drinks, & activities -- though I wouldn’t consider it kindness on our part. Just tradition. ”

“ Even so, this isn’t one of those things you’re FORCED into either -- so just come to Hanami Recital in Invidia if you want to have some fun & relax with your friends or get to know those who’re still strangers! We’ll play Three Kings to exchange gifts, decorate a tree, have a dance… it’ll be great~! That’s just the beginning of it too, so just come & see for yourself -- but bring a coat! Shiro is a good snow maker with a little assistance, so maybe it’ll help you feel at home? ”

The two exchange a glance, red eyes meeting pink & their smiles parallel before they turn their focus back onto the camera once more. With the briefest of snickers hissed behind their teeth, they offer the camera a wave each --- Maeru’s with the daintiest wave of her hand that one would figure she’s mocking you, & Toumetsu with an insincere salute as the screen fizzles into nothingness. 

UPDATES :

✘ all around the invidia ward are fairy lights of different colors that will flicker to life once the sun sets -- which it will . for the duration of the event the invidia ward solely is on a proper 24-hour cycle. ✘ there is a large tree erected in hanami recital and multiple boxes of decorations can be found by a few picnic tables along with all the materials and fabric needed to make your own. the tree already has lights on it, but is otherwise bare. you wont find anything remotely religious in the boxes however, so no angels nor crosses -- mostly things like poinsettas, stars, and other traditional ornaments. ✘ it’s snowing throughout the duration of the festival as well. the royal family is kept warm thanks to kagerou, but all snakes outside of it may feel themselves slipping into brumation because of the temperature, making them lazy and otherwise overly relaxed. the snow does stick to the ground except for on the walkways of invidia, so by the 21st there will be at least over a foot high of snow -- perfect for snowball fights or building snowmen! ✘ there’s a large feast of meats, fruits, and desserts galore with no strings attached -- but... huh, where did seto’s cow go? ✘ finely aged wine is provided to everyone courtesy of Favoring Eyes -- but any muses under the age of 15 can’t have more than a half glass. ✘ at 3PM EST there will be a three kings (secret santa) event, so feel free to either send an ask or message a mod on the discord what gift your muse wants to throw into the “pot” so that we can randomly generate who gets what gift. even the snake NPCs can join in! ✘ from 5:00PM EST through 12:00AM EST there will be a dance! it’ll be in hanami recital with a live band of snake npcs playing songs in the style of Hadestown. ✘ your muse is provided with traditional clothes to wear for the duration of the festival upon entry into invidia -- so you can choose what outfit they get, but just make sure it’s either MEDIEVAL or GREEK in design! ✘ gattaisareru and saeru seem unrecognizable -- they’ve reverted to their true appearances just as yakitsukeru has and dressed for the occasion too! it’s almost jarring how amiable they’re being by taking part in the festivities, but you could almost aliken them to mirror images of persephone and hades judging by saeru’s horns and gattaisareru’s crown of pomegranate blooms. ✘ the fighting ring won't be up this weekend, so all asks are on hold until the following weekend! ✘ this is only part one of the festivities -- the second and main event will happen sometime on the 21st, however!

[corawest169]

How To Start 온라인카지노 Missions In GTA Online #3055

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[plume8now]

For the 'Send me a ship...' meme, can you do LawLu? Please!! I've gotta know your thoughts on them.

I was hoping for this ask so bad thank you very much I love you

Here it comes I hope you’ll like it - sorry, it’s a bit long, even thoughI feel like I didn’t say a lot tbh xD (I’m sorry for the mistakes I didn’t read it after writing this).

Who hogs the duvet:

Luffy, always. He’s justso present, so here,physically but also with the way he behaves, Law does notice it whenhe’s alone and when he’s not.

Who texs/rings to check how their day is going:

Luffy ofcourse! Law isn’t really much of a person who likes to talk.However, he likes it – but would never admit it – when Luffycalls him to tell him about his crazy day. And, oddly,  little bylittle, Law naturally comes to talk about his too which always makesLuffy grin – because he loves hearing Torao’s voice, a lot.

Who’s the most creative when it comes to gift:

Law is actuallyoverthinking it. He isn’t used to buying gift to people, and when hedoes realize Luffy’s birthday/Christmas/something is coming – he’spersuaded he’ll disappoint Luffy if he doesn’t find something“awesome”. (Little does he know Luffy is gonna be happy with hispresent, no matter what). So he’ll spend a lot of time looking forthe right gift, while Luffy is just going to see something randomlyin a store and buy it for his boyfriend.

Who gets up first in the morning:

I like to think Law isthe one getting up first. This is one of the fewest times where hecan look at a peaceful and quiet Luffy. As he waits for the youngerCaptain to wake up, he’ll enjoy some time to read; or preparebreakfast. However, if Luffy happens to be the first to get up, he’llsilently wait for Law to wake up, because he knows how little Lawsleeps, and how bad he needs to rest.

Who suggests new things in bed:

Luffy’s mind is full ofinsanity and crazy thoughts. You can always expect him to suddenlysay “TORAO, what if we adopted a dragon?What if we exchanged bodies forone day, just to see how it’s like? What if we bought-” for noreason at all. And Law would just sigh, nod, or roll his eyes, hopinghis damned boyfriend won’t harass him with that idea for the weeks tocome, just like last time.

Who cries at movies:

I don’t really see themcrying in front of movies, but if I had to choose that’d be Luffy.Law is just gonna tap tap on his shoulder without losing sight of thescreen, if Luffy’s not already hugging him.

Who gives unprompted massages:

Law’s a doctor, and Luffycan enjoy it at his best, that would be a shame otherwise, wouldn’tit? Actually, Luffy likes it so much he’s ready to give up some ofhis ideas to get some. That’s a good deal, and Law is perfectly okaywith that. Plus, the surgeon likes to take care of his boyfriend –he’s not relaxed very often.

Who fusses over the other when they’re sick:

Luffy because he’sselfish sometimes you have to give him that. He knows Law’ssick and needs to rest, but when he’s bored,well… good luck with that.

Who gets jealous easiest:

Trafalgar Law, jealous?Never. And what, are you saying he wouldbe jealous because it’s about Luffy?Yeah right. He’s a unicorn dancing on a cloud with rainbow cheeringhim up then.

(I’msorry to tell you Law is a unicorn dancing on a cloud with rainbowcheering him up.) But seriously, Law would maybebe a bit jealous. But that’s not that possessive jealousy, that oneso big it’s horrible and almost suffocating, no it’s just that littlesentence about how Luffy decided to leave him alone to go with thatdude or that girl because there was something so cool to see overthere and he was just left here alone. (That sentence, by the way, hemight have said it once, and ever since, Luffy didn’t change hishabits, if there’s something he wants to do, he just does it, but nowhe’s taking Torao with him – still not asking whether he wanted tocome or to stay but that’s Luffy you know).

Who has the most embarrassing taste in music:

Luffy, but you know what’s theworst part in this? That’s when he sings. And when he does that,Law’s really struggling not to use his powers to do something aboutit so it stops. Just make it stop.

Who collects something unusual:

Eheh, I guess TrafalgarLaw does!

Who takes the longest to get ready:

Luffy, especially if whatcomes next is something he doesn’t like or something that bothershim. Yes, Monkey D. Luffy is a real child, and Law has every right tocomplain about it – but Luffy’s Luffy, and he just loved the guy,so basically, he just has to deal with it. He knew he was screwedright from the beginning anyway.

Who is the most tidy and organized:

Law. This is when yourealize how different and even opposite those two are. Luffy isabsolutely not organized, the guy’s real chaos, and according to Law,it is highly possible Ace and Sabo’s influence didn’t help.

Who gets most excited about the holidays:

“HOLIDAYS IN ONE MONTHTORAO ONLY ONE MONTH LEFT!” “THREE MORE WEEKS AND SIX DAYS TOCOME!” “ONLY TWO DAYS!” “SEVEN HOURS!”

“Mugiwara-ya, please,stop yelling that every SINGLE day.”

Who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Luffy’s the big spoon(aww I love his question so much because it’s so cute to imagine andI love fanarts about this and fehfdfdkf) but during the night ithappens Law changes positions and Luffy doesn’t mind at all. Law’s sowarm and he feels so good in his arms. (Come to think of this, healways feels so good when Law’s around.)

Who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports:

Remember Luffy’s the onewith a 4-year-old kid’s mind here. BUT if Law’s being provoked, hecan be worse than the Straw Hat’s Captain – and when it happens,please, hide your kids.

Who starts the most arguments:

Law, when he runs out ofpatience. Of course he loves Luffy for who he is, but sometimes it’sjust too much.

Who suggests that they buy a pet:

Remember what Luffysuggested a few questions before? Of course that would be Luffy. Anew nakama! (If you look at Thriller Bark, he was literally read toaccept zombies and odd… creatures). Law’s being careful with hisanswer though, because their house could easily become a farm withLuffy.

What couple traditions they have:

Okay so to me, they arereally not romantic, so their traditions won’t be romantic ones.

- They eat the food theother doesn’t like – basically Luffy will eat Law’s bread, and LawLuffy’s cherrie pie when they have those.

- Law got used to Luffy’srepeted hugs, and hugs him back only in the morning because it’s socosy and peaceful.

- They hold hands, butvery discreetly. When they’re sitting next to each other, they holdhands under the table, when everyone’s ahead and they’re at the back,they hold hands. It’s not that they hide it, they just like to keepit to themselves. It’s their moment.

I’m sure I can find otherheadcanons but that’s all for now!

What TV shows they watch together:

The adventurous kind ofTV shows, at least not the love stories “It’s so boring”according to Luffy. Law won’t disagree on that matter. Luffy likesmagical stuff however, while Law rather watch medical shows so theyhave to agree on who’s choosing what for when during the week.

What other couple they hang out with:

Oh, that’s when I justgive my other ships? :D

I guess Zoro and Sanji,then. Sabo and Koala, and Ace and Marco sometimes, because well,Luffy’s brothers.

How they spend time together as a couple:

They don’t plan to doanything. Life goes on, and they follow it. They have opportunitiesto enjoy together, for instance both of them like to watch the sea –because of the sight, the sound, the sand… – or to look at thestars at night. Luffy was already doing it with his brother when hewas kid, but it’s different with Law, they walk under that beautifulsky and talk about everything and nothing, sometimes Law wouldgenuinely smile and that’s what makes it a precious moment.

But that’s just anexample.

Who made the first move:

Both of them. It justhappened. Just like that. Okay, maybe a little more Luffy if youreally want someone to do the first move, but yeah.

Who brings flowers home:

Luffy when he findsbeautiful ones and thinks that’ll be pretty, Law too, but onlybecause that woman bought them for him because he saved her son’slife, or something like that.

Who is the best cook:

Law forbid Luffy to eventouch the kichen’s tools. Theonly thing he’s allowing Luffy to cook is meat, because he’s actuallygood at cooking that, but that’s all.Also, he rather prepares food because he knows what’s actually goodfor Luffy’s health, and what’s not. (Plus, he was used to cook as achild, Corazon wasn’t a very good cook to be honest, but he taughthim a few things which happened to be useful).

It was so fun to do! *-*/ thanks again!

If you want to send me a request, about this or something else, please do //^-^//

[hinatassmile]

IwaOi 💘

Thank you Naz!!

who hogs the duvetOIkawa, he likes the feeling of being in a blanket burrito, and Iwaizumi is naturally really warm so he doesn’t really need the duvet anyways~

who texts/rings to check how their day is goingOikawa will randomly text Iwaizumi during the day with a “

who’s the most creative when it comes to giftsIwaizumi, not that Oikawa’s gifts aren’t interesting, but Iwa always knows how to make the smallest thing into something that will make Oikawa happy 

who gets up first in the morningIwaizumi, he’s always been an early-riser and usually gets started with making breakfast (which wakes Oikawa up and then he sleepily stumbles into the kitchen to give Iwa a good-morning-and-thank-you smooch) 

who suggests new things in bedOikawa! He wants to learn aaaalll the ways to make Iwaizumi melt~ 

who cries at moviesOikawa, but if it’s a film about animals and the animal dies, they both cry rivers 

who gives unprompted massagesOikawa, he’s really good at pressing the right pressure points and getting the right rhythm, and he likes seeing Iwaizumi relaxed and comfortable~ 

who fusses over the other when they’re sickThey both fuss over each other a lot :’D  Oikawa’s a bad cook but he’ll try to make porridge anyways and feed it to Iwaizumi (who ends up having a coughing fit and nearly passing out), and Iwaizumi will patiently stay by Oikawa’s side, even when Oikawa’s sleeping 

who gets jealous easiestOikawa! I feel like he’d be slightly more insecure about their relationship than Iwaizumi, so even though they’re both popular and both can get jealous, Oikawa’s happens more often, lasts a bit longer, and runs a little deeper 

who has the most embarrassing taste in musicI feel like…Iwaizumi might have more unique music tastes….. while Oikawa is into dream pop, R&B, and indie 

who collects something unusualIt’s not really unusual, but Oikawa collects photographs of moments he’s happiest with Iwaizumi, and is in the process of creating a scrapbook~

who takes the longest to get readyOikawa! He cares more about how he appears and has to choose the right outfit, while Iwaizumi is fine wearing a sweatshirt, denim jacket, and worn jeans 

who is the most tidy and organisedI think they’re both tidy people! When they start living together, their home is immaculate~

who gets most excited about the holidaysOikawaa~ he always loves doing typical couple-y things with Iwaizumi during the holidays and is the one making plans for them! Iwaizumi hates the crowds during holidays, but he loves having more time to spend with Oikawa so he bears with it 

who is the big spoon/little spoonIwaizumi is the big spoon, OIkawa is the little spoon 

who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sportsOh man they’re both super duper competitive lol, and when they’re pitted against each other things get intense really quickly! The competition usually ends up being neck and neck until one of them slips up a tiny bit which lets the other one win, but they both have a smile on their face as they shake hands with each other and say “good game” 

who starts the most argumentsOikawaaa, but it’s usually small things (”Iwa-chan why don’t you cook more spaghetti?” “Iwa-chan you left your underwear on the couch again”) and Iwaizumi may roll his eyes and make a smart remark in response but for the most part the conflict gets resolved quickly 

who suggests that they buy a petIwaizumi!~ But when he goes to the animal shelter he picks one of the older dogs who has less chance of getting adopted because he believes they deserve better 

what couple traditions they haveThey go cicada hunting during the summer; they take each other out to a fancy restaurant for their birthdays; they kiss each other gently and hold hands as they fall asleep; Sundays are sushi days; if one of them is feeling restless they’ll hop in the car and drive around aimlessly and soak in the silence, each other’s company, and the starry sky 

what tv shows they watch togetherBotched, Worst Cooks of America, and Shark Tank 

what other couple they hang out withMatsuHana, KageHina (when they’re adults), KuroDai 

how they spend time together as a coupleCuddling, watching TV, jogging together (with the dog), practicing volleyball, taking hikes with scenic views, traveling, bar hopping, one of them gazing at the other one when they aren’t looking, the other one doing the same moments after 

who made the first moveIwaizumi, Oikawa was actually too scared to really try and take their relationship further 

who brings flowers homeIwaizumi, sometimes it’s just one flower, sometimes it’s a bouquet, but every time it makes Oikawa’s heart bloom 

who is the best cookiwaizumi! Oikawa almost convinced him to try out for a cooking show at some point, but Iwaizumi didn’t want to be part of the drama 

Send me a ship!

TsukkiYama  KiyoYachi  KageHina  KenHina  TanaNoya  AkaKage  EnnoTana  IwaOi  BokuAka

[imbrogliostew]

Game of 2016: Path of Exile(?!): Questioning and analyzing video game addiction, also a review

Hey what’s going on, you’ll ask, Path of Exile isn’t a 2016 game!

Yeah, maybe for you, but about that...

Oh boy. I think all of that was 2016.

I’ll tell the truth, I haven’t played TF2 for a solid 4-5 years and it’s been on the top of my most played charts since I stopped playing. Like all games though, eventually I got tired of it and started played something else but I have not gotten any game beyond that mythical 291 hour mark. Europa Universalis 4, excellent game, but so far, only 194 hours. Dark Souls 1 and 2, I finished the game and made several builds at 150 hours. Skyrim? Not great, but addicting, and I broke free from its curse at 162 hours. Only recently, when I last checked, did another game take the place of My Most Played.

Path of Exile.

So, we are at the end of 2016 and instead of anything overtly political and depressing (go check my twitter for that!) I think I want to talk about this game instead. God knows we’ve had quite enough of that so far. And I also want to use the freeform essay format to properly sort out my feelings about being addicted to a video game, something I haven’t truly felt since my days of Ragnarok Online. So let’s go together to a journey of the mind. Journey of my own soul and have a deep heart-to-heart about video game addiction and game design and all that high-learnin’ cockadoo.

So what is Path of Exile?

If I have to put it in the crudest way, Path of Exile is a Diablo clone. More specifically, it’s a reaction to Diablo 3’s art and design direction, which more emphasized a cartoony, bright, and stylized look for the game (i.e. Warcraft-like), in which the overreaction was famously parodied in this Penny Arcade comic. In response, Grinding Gear Games, a New Zealand development company, created a game that plays like Diablo, but darker, edgier, bloodier, gorier.

If you’re like me, you’re rolling your eyes right now and saying “okay dude I’m gonna play a good game that’s not afraid to be bright and colorful like Sora no Kiseki” but hang on. Hear me out. Because even with this juvenile “like Diablo but DARKER” veneer this game has, it’s a genuinely good game. And, you know, it’s free, and that’s probably what pushed me to start this game out in the first place. But then after I started, what made me stick?

I am obsessed with customization

Have you ever looked at the passive tree for Path of Exile? I’ve talked to people who said that just looking at it intimidated them. I’m stupid and this is a video game, so I went in without any prior knowledge. Obviously, I fucked my build up because I thought like a sane person and said “well I’ll focus on powering this skill if I’m in close range but I’ll power this skill if I’m far away!” and both my skills are like the worst in the game. So, instead of being discouraged and play something else, since I’m a dog that loves punishments (oh baby) I rerolled a new character and got something workable by reading guides.

What’s my point here? This game is easy to fuck up because there’s so many ways you can build your character. Not all of them are in any way viable. But I like that. That’s fine. That’s the risk if there are also a ton of ways to make your character viable. You want a standard character that can’t take a ton of hits but absorb health by attacking them with your giant axe? Yeah sure. You want to build a character that has no health at all but immune to chaos damage while you let your minions do the hard work? Why not? You found some super rare gloves that reverse knockback effects so they come to you, so you’re going to make a build completely based on making yourself a magnet for enemies? Shit, you do you, fam. It might work, it might not, but making stupid theories and working out details on your builds is fun.

And because I am that insane enough about wanting to try new things even if it hurts me, but not insane enough to think it matters that I get hurt is why I am in love with this aspect of PoE.

For awhile, it is empty, easy grinding

In the lower difficulties (which you have to go through on ALL YOUR CHARACTERS btw) PoE is piss-easy. And because that section of the game does not require a lot of focus, I doze off, listen to a podcast or audiobook, and go on autopilot.

“Wow you don’t sound like you’re enjoying the game.” That’s not what that means. It means that due to my warped understanding of productivity, it’s a game that I can multitask with just fine. It’s the reason I was kind of into Guild Wars 2 a while ago, it’s easy, not a lot of thought, I can put my brainpower in something else as I grind the levels. I’m not a person that likes to sit still. Unlike a lot of people I am physically incapable of sitting down and watching a movie without pausing and taking a walk around or thinking of something (movie theaters are hell). Video games allow me to listen to Chapo Trap House, likewise when I am driving, eating, doing busy work, or otherwise any activity that doesn’t utilize a major part of my brainpower.

It might be no coincidence that I got into Path of Exile in 2016, when I’ve gotten the urge to listen to more audio-based media. That it was right after my dad died and I began to think a whole lot about money. About capitalism. Started to read, get information, and the dead empty-headed approach to video games like most MMOs and PoE appealed to that.

I doubt I could’ve gotten through all the books and podcasts I have without having something for my fingers and that part of my mind to do.

An interesting approach to multiplayer economies

Crafting in PoE is a piece of shit.

But it’s a piece of shit that’s expertly designed because GGG wants it to be shitty. Everything is in the mercy of the RNG, when you craft, so if you want to give your boots a little bit of boost to your mana, you don’t get to decide how much it gives. When you upgrade your common helmet with the item that gives it bonuses, you don’t get to decide what those bonuses are. As GGG further updates the game to give us more control over the crafting results, they never let the player get full control of it. They still give at least some portion of the process to RNG.

That shittiness makes the multiplayer aspect necessary.

Unlike another recently-released Diablo clone, Grim Dawn, PoE is designed from the ground up to be a multiplayer game, which can be seen in its drops. Grim Dawn’s rarest drops appear like candy compared to PoE, so you don’t really NEED to trade around to get the builds you want to run. PoE doesn’t get a lot of rare drops, and the majority of them have such randomized stats to make them utterly useless for your specific build. They might be good for someone else’s build, though, so you put it up for sale.

Here’s where it gets interesting: PoE does not have money in a traditional sense. There’s no gold item which only function is so you can purchase things. All currencies are crafting components. Items to randomize the bonuses of your gear. Items to add a random bonus to your equipment. Items to randomize the colors of your gem sockets, randomize the amount of the gem sockets, randomize the links between each socket, etc. etc. etc. These items are now your currency.

So you sell your item, you get some crafting currencies. You decide not to spend them and instead use them to make your own equipment. Etc. Rinse and repeat. The multiplayer is necessary if you want to play something other than self-found builds.

But this sort of multiplayer economy is symptomatic of any mercantilist system. Eventually, you’ll have a player or a guild that’s very successful and have the economic might to run and dictate prices of the market. How can anyone avoid that? Simple: by resetting the economies in temporary leagues. The temporary league is the game mode that anyone actually plays because it’s the one with the gimmicks. Every few months, a new temporary league is made, with a fresh economy, everyone starts from a new character, and your characters from the old league are transferred to standard. Nobody actually plays standard.

In summary: a well-designed and shitty crafting system that encourages player interaction and trading, along with an economy using actual items and barter as currency.

Still developing, still changing

I would not have written this last year--hell, I would not have written this piece six months ago! In 2016 alone, PoE has gotten two major expansions and I want to talk specifically about the second one from this September, Atlas of Worlds.

As much fun as I’m having making builds, figuring out viability of unique items, and looking at the stuff people are selling, the endgame for PoE is criminally dull and uninteresting. Your character has saved the world three times (once per difficulty level) and you get to finally reach the real endgame! How exciting! What is it? Why, you explore randomly-generated areas to get epic loot, of course! Make your character stronger, finish your build!

And quite honestly, this is where I usually stop every league.

This part of the game suffers from the same disease as Monster Hunters X, another excellent game, but one I couldn’t bear to finish. It’s that, even if the game itself is fun, I can’t get invested if there’s just no story attached to it.

Is that silly? Maybe. I loved Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and played the main campaign to completion. I don’t doubt that if the main campaign lacked the thin veneer of story that it had, without the characters, the narrative, the stakes that each arc  put on the table, I would not have gotten far in the game either. That plot is important.

Atlas of Worlds fixes this problem. You explore the maps and an NPC tells you about the Atlas. You encounter a mysterious being that empowers the bosses. You then go on a quest to learn the mysterious goals and to take down this powerful creature and its four great servants.

That’s all it takes! A concrete, solid goal for your character to fight for. It doesn’t need an excellent plot (though it helps). If it’s fun, it will be played, but I do believe that shade of a story and progression is important. More importantly, it fixes this stale and dull endgame.

These expansions are free, by the way, and it will keep on developing. Act 5 of the main plot is being developed now, for example, and new content is forthcoming as well. I’m excited to see how this game will develop as time goes on.

Ok, the bad parts

So! Have the descriptions of my personal psychoses made you more curious about this game? Hang on there, because I’m about to dive into why this game isn’t perfect. Like not even close.

Holy shit leveling is boring.

I told you already about temporary leagues, right? And how leveling characters mindlessly is part of the joys of the game? Yeah, that might not be for everyone.

I’m not exactly sure why I’m lagging?

Not a game with the best online implementation, admittedly, and in a game that’s always constantly online, that’s a problem. That its graphics are mediocre and it can encounter graphical stutters is also an annoying minus towards its merits.

PoE exploded my computer

I’ve seen one--and only one--tell me their computer died because they tried playing PoE. I do not know how credible this is and I’m not sure I believe them.

Other parts/in summary

Path of Exile is a fantastic game and time sink. Not perfect, far from it, and I think though anyone can enjoy it, I think it takes a certain type of person to be utterly obsessive about it.

I’m certainly not the most obsessed. There’s a person in my friends list, who befriended me after we made a small party to beat a boss. They’re always online. Always. Constantly changing characters out of the fly. X is offline. X is online. X is offline. X is online. Even though I spend an unhealthy amount of time playing, and writing, about the game, there are others who are even more obsessed. Who are they?

Have you ever been addicted to an online game? To an MMO? I have. That game was Ragnarok Online when I was but a young teenager. It was an unhealthy obsession that uh…

Hmm…

No, actually, I can’t say that I regret it. But I do regret some stupid stuff I did while riding on that obsession.

See, that’s the thing about  it, I associate good feelings with the obsession, though I know it was objectively a bad thing. I still smile and want to cry when I listen to the theme of Prontera. The truth is, I enjoyed my addiction. Because the real world was honestly not really better.

Is it a coincidence that my addiction began when I moved to the USA? Probably not. I left my friends back in the home country and came here all friendless. I wasn’t quite able to talk or make friends in this strange new country with its alien nostalgia, its foreign cultures, and a language that I am kind of fluent in, but only because of my previous obsession with movies and video games. So I dove deep into the online world. Forums. RP. Video games. Particularly, Ragnarok Online.

I was probably lucky the server shut down when it did!

That was then, around 2005 to 2007 or so. Since then I was able to become more social, more used to life in the USA. Less dependent, perhaps, on video games.

Now, in the tail end of 2016 and the dawn of 2017, I am obsessed and finding myself spending a lot of time in another game. I don’t think it is the game itself. Depending on specific circumstances, I might find myself obsessing over another game. But I am obsessed with a game now, and what does it say about me?

What does it say about 2016?

Why did you write this?

Well, to make this article about me for a second, I have not been properly writing these days. I used to be a bit prolific with short stories but the daily grind of life, work, and clinical depression have smoothened out the parts of my brain that get excited about fiction. Not completely, but enough. I still have things I want to talk about though, and I am compelled to write something down, so I decided to talk about my discovery of PoE beating my TF2 numbers.

Anything is worth writing about, you know, and a game review is no exception, even if it is a few years old.

And also, I haven’t been playing a lot of games, you know? And the games that I hoped would be GotY just turned out to be... Not flops, but just good or ok. Stellaris, Hearts of Iron 4, SMT4 Apocalypse, Dark Souls 3. Either that or I’ve gotten old and cynical. Or maybe since these games are involving and take a long time, I’ve just lost the time to spend a lot of time focusing my whole brainpower on them. So I just wrote about Path of Exile.

It just wasn’t a great year in general, huh?

But that’s my piece. As I try to escape life I find myself delving deeper into the systems in my head that make me like what I like. 2017 will not be a good year, not by any stretch. But we will all get through this together.

[brqima435579-blog]

Why Deliver Kids Are Fond Of The Lego Fire Location?

The Bridal shower is an integral part of the wedding celebrations. It is also quite an old tradition. The Bridal Shower was a way for a girl in the old days that didn't have a dowry due to poverty or a disapproving parent to get all the things she needed to start her married life. The tradition evolved and has become a part of the normal celebrations. Another tradition is that games are played at the shower. Here are some great games that can be played at your shower. The first game is Newlywed Trivia. Have guests play a game where their knowledge of the groom and bride will allow them to win fabulous prizes. The game can be done in several ways. One is to model it after Who Wants to be a Millionaire. You can also do the game based on Jeopardy and give gifts ranked on the number of points earned. You can also use the model for games like Family Feud and use polled answers. Have a Honeymoon relay game. The Honeymoon is the vacation the newlywed couple goes on as husband and wife. Honeymoon relay relies on each player performing an action of preparing for the Honeymoon. The final player has to pack a suitcase and wear what is packed. This will not only build up the group but also be a great photo opportunity. Another game that can be played is Celebrity Couples. The idea is simple. You come up with a list of famous couples. You then give everyone a list with the names of one half of each couple. It is then the job of the guest to complete each couple. The person or group with the most correctly guessed couples wins. You can play the game individually or in teams. A traditional favorite is Bridal Bingo. Each guest receives a bingo sheet with wedding words on it. The caller who will likely be the maid of honor will call out randomly chosen words. The first person to complete a row and call out bingo will be the winner. If you don't want to make the bingo cards yourself, there are many companies online that offer some. You can even find cards that can be customized to your preferences. The Bling Bling Game is another exciting game that you can play. Each person receives a fake diamond ring when they arrive at the Bridal Shower. When everyone has received a ring and settled themselves, have everyone twist the jewel in their rings. The person whose ring flashes after they twist it will be declared the winner and get a great prize. One game that all your guests will adore is Bridal Dirty Dice. For this game the rules are simple. There will be a pile of fine wedding gifts and favors. Everyone will roll the dice. If doubles are rolled the person who rolled it can get a gift. If the person gets doubles again they can steal from another member. If they get double sixes then even a stolen gift can't be stolen You can also play bridal charades. In this game players have to guess wedding words due to the pantomiming of their teammates. The game is easy for everyone to play. They just need to be particularly adept at nonverbal communication. If alteration is so, what you seek, be be careful that style quality is certainly of my utmost magnitude in these situations. Minus usage pointing to lights, pickup trucks can gain into any kind of collision present in the late night or in advance morning. Travelers also pick up about how people display communicated in fire further up to those present by means specifically telegraphs, system boxes, and calling emergency services. Shortly, next the extremely jet come to the WTC, she acknowledged as me entirely on her phone phone. Parties are hands down a well-off source linked entertainment in order for everybody. When i asked if she could direct all of to an show, and she referred to that it was conflicting the building, we could be in.

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[mamajeanetc]

The Great CNY Singapore Staycation - 2017

Last weekend was Chinese New Year -- Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!  And welcome to the Year of the Rooster!

This photo was taken near Chinatown about a week before the official holiday began:

CNY is the biggest holiday in this part of the world (like Thanksgiving and Christmas combined) and people throughout the region travel to visit family or to enjoy a holiday getaway with family.  Unfortunately we weren’t sure about Tim’s business travel plans and what days he would have off until about 10 days before the holiday.  At that point it was pretty much impossible to get plane tickets or accommodations for a long weekend getaway, so we decided we would have “The Great CNY Singapore Staycation”! 

MJN closed their Singapore office at noon on Friday, January 27.  Tim went to the gym and had a good workout and then I met him at 2:00 pm to officially begin our holiday.  Our first stop was the ArtScience Museum.   The building itself is remarkable, as it is shaped like a giant lotus flower.  

We were going to see 2 temporary exhbits we had seen advertised.  When we bought our tickets the gal said for $1 more we could also visit their new permanent exhibit, “Future World:  Where Art Meets Science”.  So, we spent the extra buck and were glad we did! 

“Future World” uses digital technology to create art.  There were many interactive displays and lots of kids enjoying them!  At these coloring stations in front of this aquarium you could color a sea creature which was then scanned and would appear in the aquarium on the wall, swimming along with other sea creatures. 

This wall had various light symbols randomly floating around.  By touching the symbol you could grow a tree or start a fire or make a bird fly, etc.  Once you figured out which each symbol represented you could try to build the scene you wanted. 

From “Future World” we moved on to “Journey to Infinity:  Escher’s World of Wonder”, which showcased the work of one of the world’s most famous graphic artists, MC Escher.   In addition to some of his well-known pieces involving stairs 

and tesselations (geometric shapes repeating to cover a plane without leaving any gaps)

the exhibit contained some of his early works when he was developing his technique, often at nighttime in Italy.  This is at St. Peter’s Basilica: 

He also illustrated a book in 1932 called XXIV Emblemata.  Each page contained a proverb written in Latin, with commentary in Dutch.  Although there was a booklet there which provided translations we still found it difficult to understand their meanings!  Here is an example: 

The proverb:  “Slightly dampen choking voices.” 

Commentary:  “Do you pine for hapiness and muted song?  The chords of your youth will resound for countries.”

The final exhibit at the ArtScience Museum was “NASA - A Human Adventure”. One part of the exhbit focused on the race to the moon between the US and Russia, with one side of the room representing each country.  On this old-fashioned TV, President Kennedy’s speech about why we were going to the moon replayed.  

The walls around the TV were covered with LIfe magazine covers featuring the space program. 

This display showed the relative size of various space crafts that have been used over the years. 

There was a full-scale model of the Gemini space craft. 

Having been to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, this display was a bit anti-climatic for us, but still interesting.   And it made us want to go home and watch Apollo-13 again.  Which we did . . . after some Indian food for dinner! 

Speaking of space, I’m going to take this opportunity to say if you haven’t seen the movie “Hidden Figures” yet . . . .GO SEE IT!!!  It’s a great movie!

Day #2 of our Staycation started with early morning bike rides.  After a late breakfast we skyped with the kids.  Not often that we get Paul and Maggie in SLC and Kelsey in Azusa all on the screen at the same time so it was a special treat. 

That afternoon we went to a movie theatre to see “LaLa Land” -- a fun movie with a kind of Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers feel! 

We had dinner Saturday evening with friends from church.  Ralph and Jane are from England.  We met another couple at their house -- Gil, a Filipino who grew up in NYC and Jill from South Korea.  It was the first of several “multi-national” meals over our long weekend!

A great day, but no photos! 

Day #3 was Sunday.  We went to church in the morning and then came home and took a nap -- cuz that’s what empty-nesters do on Sundays!! 

The first year we were in Singapore I became very homesick during CNY -- we would take the dogs for a walk and see all these families getting together for dinner as we walked through the neighborhood!  Although this goes on for 2 weeks, New Year’s Day is one of the biggest days for family gatherings.  So, we had invited some folks who might be experiencing some loneliness on this day to join us for games and dinner. 

Todd (back row next to Tim) is a colleague of Tim’s from the MJN office in Chicago.  He came to Singapore for a couple of weeks to work on a project, not realizing that there would be a 4 day weekend in the middle of his stay. 

Melissa is an exchange student from the US.  Her mom is from Taiwan; her dad was serving in the US Navy there when they met.  Her family now lives in Maryland but she attends Rensselaer Polytechic Institute in upstate NY.  She is studying electrical engineering at Nanyang Polytechnic University here in Singapore this semester.  I sat next to her on the 15 hour flight from San Francisco to Singapore when I returned from the US after the holidays.  We talked quite a bit on the flight and when we landed I gave her my contact info.  Knowing that the university campus was probably going to be very quiet over the holiday weekend I had invited her to come for dinner and told her to bring any friends who might also be around and not have family to spend the holiday with. 

Melissa brought Sam.  Sam’s mother is Japanese and his father is British.  He has lived in both Japan and England growing up and is studying international politics in Wales.  Except this semester he is also an exchange student at Nanyang.

We had a lot of laughs playing Balderdash.   

We started our dinner with a “Lo Hei”  -- a Singapore CNY tradition also known as “Prosperity Toss”.  Each ingredient is symbolic of something desirable in the new year -- wealth, fertility, etc.  After adding the ingredients to the bowl one at a time everyone tosses the salad with chopsticks to mix it up.  The higher you toss, the more good fortune you will have in the coming year.

In addition to the Lo Hei we had a typical American BBQ -- ribs and sausages, a vegetable casserole, rolls, and chocolate chip cookies and ice cream for dessert.  Apparently the food at the university is not great -- Melissa and Sam both took photos when we brought the food to the table and said multiple times that it was the best meal they’d had since they arrived.  Sam had never had BBQ ribs and could not get enough -- Tim, Todd and I ended up just sitting back and watching with amused smiles as this skinny kid packed it away!

It was a really fun afternoon and evening and a real pleasure to spend some time with these bright young adults!  I have a feeling we’ll see Melissa and Sam again before they finish their studies in Singapore!

The main event of Staycation Day #4 was an outing to Coney Island. 

 Also known as Pulau Serangoon, this small island off the northeast coast of Singapore, was purchased by an Indian businessman in 1950 who wanted to turn it into a resort and model it after Coney Island amusement park in New York.   His dream was never realized and in 1972 the Port of Singapore Authority purchased the island to develop it for recreational purposes.  “Developing” in this case meant building 2 bridges to access the island, clearing a few paths and building a few picnic shelters.

We wandered around for a couple of hours and enjoyed the variety of plants and trees,  (Signs indicate there are 157 fauna species and 86 tree species).

There have also been 80 species of birds sighted on the island.  We did not see a lot of unusual birds, but were constantly hearing different bird sounds as we walked around.  We did see several monkeys: 

And we caught this National Geographic moment -- a dead centipede being carried off for dinner by some ants!

Monday evening we had a lovely dinner with our friends Mark and Vanessa, who are from South Africa, 

Day #5 we focused on learning a bit more about the history and culture of Singapore; the main event was a visit to the Peranakan Museum. 

In Malay “peranakan” means “child of” or “born of”.  It is a term used in SE Asia to refer to a person of mixed ethnic origins.  Originally referring to the descendants of traders from all over the world who came to this region and married local women, there are now a number of different cultural mixes who refer to themselves as Peranakan.   I must say that I’ve always found the term a bit confusing and my visit to the museum did not completely alleviate that confusion,   The first room of the museum is filled with large photos of Peranakan individuals displayed with a statement of what being Peranakan means to them.  They varied greatly, but perhaps the one that made the most sense to me was “being a cultural hybrid drawing from and identifying with different racial groups.”

Photos are not allowed in much of the museum but there were interesting displays about all aspects of Peranakan culture -- from food and furniture, to civic involvement and mourning the deceased.  There was an entire floor dedicated to marriage -- a 12 day event with a lot of symbolic rituals and gift-giving.

En route to/from the museum we stopped to take a look at a few other historic buildings in the area. 

This is the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd -- the oldest Roman catholic church in Singapore.  Originally built between 1843 and 1847, it was elevated to a cathedral in 1888 and became a national monument in 1973.  It recently underwent some major restoration work. 

The priest of the church strongly believed that “a church without a school is like a king without progeny”.  So he spearheaded the mission to develop and raise money for a boys school.  The buildings across the street, which were originally the school, now house the Singapore Art Museum. 

One block over is Chijmes -- a building complex which now houses restaurants, bars and a few boutique shops, but clearly was originally a religious institution. 

I’d always wondered about the “j” in Chijmes, which is silent.  At this display inside what was once a chapel we learned about the history of the complex and why there is a silent j in the name! 

The buildings were originally a Catholic convent started by 4 French nuns.  The Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus took in and taught orphaned children, girls from broken homes and other boarders.  These buildings functioned as a convent for 132 years.  Apparently when they were developed for commercial use “MES” was added to the original acronym for the convent “CHIJ” and pronounced “chimes”, but they retained the J for Jesus! 

At one time there was a very influential Armenian community in Singapore.  This Armenian church, built in 1835, is the oldest of all the churches in Singapore and became a national monument in 1973.

There is a little garden in front of the church with sculptures depicting the road to Calvary.

And behind the church there is a small graveyard.  The most notable grave being that of Miss Agnes Joaquim, for whom Singapore’s National Flower -- a hybrid orchid called Vanda Miss Joaquin, is named. 

Our staycation ended Tuesday evening with a quiet dinner at home -- just the 2 of us.  It was great to take some time out from our busy routine to enjoy our little island nation!!