#be in my eyes

[ravendruid]

Hello! First time asking for me. Can I ask for prompt 17 and 25, vaxleth. I love your writings

Hi!!! Thank you so much for sending a prompt. ^_^ I apologize it took me a few days to get to it. Since you asked for 17: cookies, and 25: board games, I decided to write one single fic that included both. This is set in the Be In My Eyes universe, and it happens sometime between Chapter 29 and Chapter 30. You can read the full story (and the other shorter drabbles) here.

Gunpowder Cookies and Kisses

(Read on AO3)

Today was one of those rare weekends where campus got eerily quiet. With finals approaching, people were either holed up in their rooms or in the library studying, or, in most of Vax’s friends’ cases, they had taken the opportunity of the last quiet weekend before hell descended upon them to go home and relax. Vax’ildan was used to the occasional silence that befell apartment 7B whenever his friends would leave for the weekend, but today was different. It was strange to him, to say the least, because when it would usually be him, his twin sister, Vex’ahlia, and Keyleth left, this time Vex was gone, too, on a weekend trip with Percival, which meant…

“Hey, Vax?” Keyleth knocked at his bedroom door, louder than the music Vax was playing on his phone as he worked out. 

Vax set down his weights and wiped the sweat off his eyebrows before he opened the door, completely aware he was shirtless, and asked, “Yes, Keyleth?”

Oh, how fun it was to watch Keyleth’s eyes widen, her pupils dilate, the rush of blood climbing up to her cheeks and the quiet stammer of her voice when she saw him. 

“I–” 

Vax tracked Keyleth’s gaze like a hawk tracks its prey, from his eyes, slowly moving to his lips—the bob of her throat almost made Vax forget every modicum of decorum and kiss her right there—then down to his sweat-drenched torso, to the scars and hairs that dusted his skin. Vax felt Keyleth’s piercing gaze contour every divot of his muscles as she descended to the hem of his low-swung black sweatpants. It felt good to be admired like this by the person he loved, so much so that Vax leaned against the doorway, waiting for Keyleth to drag her eyes back up to his face and see in his eyes just how much he also desired her.

“I–” Keyleth tried again, the redness of her cheeks spreading to the rest of her face when she finally saw the way Vax was looking at her, when that sly smile of his almost made her legs buck from underneath her. 

“Come on, Kiki. I believe in you,” Vax teased her, cocking his head affectionately. It was still true, even though he was teasing her.

Keyleth shut her eyes close and gulped hard. Her hands closed into tight fists at her side and, eventually, she took a long, deep breath. This was when Vax leaned away from the door and put a sober look on his face. As much as it was fun to tease his friend—she was more than that now, but he still wasn’t sure just how much more—Keyleth had come to his room with something in mind, and whatever it was, Vax wanted to hear.

“I was going to–” Keyleth started speaking, still with her eyes closed, but then she opened one and flushed again.

“Do you need me to put on a shirt, Kiki?” Vax asked, seriously. The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable.

“No, it’s fine. It’s not like I haven’t seen you like this before. I just don’t know why–” Keyleth rambled but then caught herself before she finished the sentence.

Vax knew exactly why she was so flustered now, and he knew deep down Keyleth knew that, too. 

“I’m going to bake cookies. Want to help?” Keyleth finally spit it out.

Vax smiled at the lingering fluster. Keyleth wasn’t used to being flirted with, which Vax had to remind himself of often, but Gods above, she was beautiful. She was stunning, really, and even more with the soft blush of pink on her cheeks, the fluttering of her light eyelashes, and the puff of her lips. Vax might not often get as flustered as Keyleth did, but whenever he saw her like this, so shy in his presence, it made him flustered to the point where his brain would short-circuit.

“I–I would love to,” Vax stammered. Gods, he loved Keyleth so much already, but when she smiled at him the way she did now, clearly excited about the idea of cooking with him, it made his heart swell even more. 

“You should probably change,” Keyleth pointed out. Vax merely nodded. “I’ll get everything ready.”

“Okay, so I have two options for you,” Keyleth said, as soon as Vax walked into the kitchen after getting changed. She had already tied her hair up in a high pony-tail and had her pastel-yellow apron tied over her clothes. In front of her, on the counter, was a cookbook with a blue cover depicting a banquet and the title in gold lettering, Exquisite Exandria. 

“We can make maple, ginger cookies or gunpowder shortbread cookies.”

“Excuse me, did you say gunpowder shortbread cookies?” Vax asked, standing next to her over the book.

Keyleth chuckled at his shock, then turned to get a tin of tea from the tea cabinet and showed it to Vax. The tin was black with a yellow label and, just as Keyleth had said, he read Gunpowder Green.

“It’s a variety of green tea,” Keyleth explained. She opened the tin and dumped a small amount on her hand, then showed it to Vax, “It’s called gunpowder because the leaves are tightly packed into pellets that resemble gunpowder pellets,” She placed a couple on Vax’s hand and, sure as hells, they did look like it.

“Interesting,” Vax nodded, returning the tea to the tin. “Let’s do these, then.”

“Okay,” Keyleth set the tin down then opened the cookbook on the recipe for the cookies. She started reading the ingredient list out loud and Vax, not knowing what else to do, started grabbing the ingredients. 

“Tea,” Keyleth tapped the tin. “All-purpose flour,” Vax opened the baking cabinet and brought down the container of flour. “Salt,” Keyleth dragged the salt closer to her. “Two sticks of unsalted butter, softened—oh” Vax chuckled as took the butter from the fridge and placed it by the sink. 

“I got it,” He told Keyleth as he filled the electric kettle and turned it on to help with softening the butter. While the water boiled, Vax urged Keyleth to continue reading the list so they could get everything ready.

“Confectioner’s sugar,” She said, next. Vax grabbed the container and, while he was already in the baking supply cabinet, he also grabbed the vanilla extract right before Keyleth said, “Vanilla, obviously, and coarse sugar.” She finished, grabbing a box from the grocery bag on the counter. 

“Seems simple enough,” Vax said, looking at the spread of ingredients on the counter. “Shit, we don’t have a grinder, do we?” He asked, reading the first line of the recipe.

“Nope, but we have this,” Keyleth announced, proudly, grabbing a dark stone mortar and pestle from her cabinet.

“That works,” He said. He wasn’t sure why he was impressed that Keyleth had a mortar and pestle since it seemed like something obvious for her to have.

They started preparing the cookies together, dancing around each other flawlessly. It wasn’t the first time Vax cooked with Keyleth so he was used to how fluid her movements were, but ever since they kissed, things were different between them. It was almost like their souls were so intertwined that Vax could predict Keyleth’s next move as if it was his own. 

“The dough has to chill in the freezer for an hour now,” Keyleth announced, reading the book. Vax nodded and placed it in the small freezer they shared with the rest of their roommates (thankfully they had room for it).

“Would you like to play a game while we wait?” He offered. Keyleth nodded and started cleaning up. 

Vax wasn’t sure which game to grab from the communal board game pile. They didn’t have many games that only two people could play, so he grabbed the only two he saw fit. 

“Not a lot of options here. We have this one,” He placed a red box down on the counter, a tile game to form words, “and this one,” he placed the second box down, a trivia game that was best played with others, but would work with two people.

“Trivia game. I want to kick your ass.” Keyleth said, looking over her shoulder with a grin. 

“Yeah, yeah. You know that’s the only way you’ll ever kick my ass at games,” Vax shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant about it, but, in reality, he was thoroughly amused. Keyleth wasn’t competitive in the slightest, but sometimes, just when Vax least expected, she would come out of her shell and challenge him for fun and for the opportunity to gloat that she had kicked his ass at something, which, if it had been another person, would have bothered him, but since it was Keyleth, it only filled him with pride.

Vax set out the board on the kitchen table, making sure to give Keyleth the green token, while she finished cleaning up. He knew once the game started that Keyleth was going to be ruthless, so, when she sat down, Vax flipped the switch on his charm to get one last reaction from her.

“Have I mentioned you’re beautiful?” He smirked at her. Keyleth’s face, as Vax predicted, immediately went red, and he didn’t give her a chance to gather her bearings. “I love it when you pull your hair up, and that shirt looks really good on you.”

“Vax,” Keyleth mumbled. She took her green token and the six-faced die and looked at him from under her eyelashes, making Vax’s heart-rate increase. “Are you trying to distract me?” 

Vax chuckled at being caught. Keyleth was beautiful, but above all, she was one of the smartest people Vax knew. “Is it working?” He teased further, resting his elbows on the table and leaning his head on his hands.

“No,” Keyleth rolled the die onto the board. The six black dots on the white plastic brought a wider smile to Keyleth’s face as she started moving her token across the board, right to the big green square that would grant Keyleth her first wedge.

“For fuck’s sake,” Vax cursed with a smile. He grabbed the card, read it, and wasn’t even surprised when Keyleth answered the Science & Nature question correctly. He was, however, shocked when she gloated as she placed the green wedge in her token, “Well, this is going to be easy.”

Keyleth rolled again, this time a three, and landed on a blue square, a Geography question that she answered correctly, again. However, when she landed on an orange square and was faced with a sports question, she finally faltered.

“My turn,” Vax snorted, setting the card down. Keyleth gave him a look that almost made him cower if he didn’t know she was just being playful with him.

Vax didn’t have as much luck as Keyleth for his first roll, just a five, but it still allowed him to pick which category he wanted to answer, so when Keyleth asked him who had been the first sovereign of Tal’Dorei, Vax laughed. 

“Zan Tal’Dorei, of course,” He answered. The history of the continent, and the subsequent empire, had been drilled into his brain by his father’s tutors, not that this was a particularly difficult question. Anyone who had been raised in Tal’Dorei would know how to answer.

“Correct,” Keyleth replied with such extreme excitement Vax knew she was annoyed that he would keep going. 

“I love it when you’re this competitive,” He snorted, rolling the die again. Keyleth gave him an offended look and said, “I’m not competitive,” but when Vax answered a science question correctly, her demeanor changed. 

“Okay, maybe I’m a little bit competitive.”

They took turns rotating the cookie dough in the freezer and when the timer rang to signal an hour had passed, Vax and Keyleth paused the game to finish the cookies.

“This is pretty balanced,” Vax observed, half an hour later when he brought a plate of freshly baked cookies onto the table. Keyleth was right behind him with two mugs of the same gunpowder green tea they had used to bake the cookies. 

“Not for long,” She mocked him. They both had three out of six wedges in their token, so the game could still go either way.

They played for the next hour, switching between bantering, teasing and, on some occasions, even plain flirting with each other. Vax loved hearing Keyleth laugh every time he made a funny comment about any of the questions, he loved seeing her squirm every time he did something that flustered her, but, above all, he loved spending time with her. 

By the time Keyleth reached the center of the board and got her final question right, thus winning the game and officially kicking Vax’s ass, the cookie plate was nothing but crumbs and the only thing left in their mugs was the residue of tea leaves. 

“Alright, you win.” Vax admitted defeat with a smile. “Do you want your reward now?”

“What?” Keyleth looked shocked at him. “I didn’t know I was getting a reward.”

“Duh,” Vax got up and crossed the table. He leaned over her, holding himself up with one hand on the table right in front of Keyleth, and whispered, “Do you want your reward or not?”

Vax could feel the heat radiating from her skin and, for a moment, he could swear he heard her heart speed up in her chest. He leaned closer, allowing his gaze to drop from her beautiful green eyes to her slightly parted lips, then back to her eyes with a silent question hanging between them. Keyleth gulped at the proximity then gave him the slightest of nods, consenting to his request.

Keyleth’s lips were soft and sweet from the cookies and the tea. They were warm and inviting and so, so delicious. Vax wished he could stop time in this moment so he could stay here, kissing her for the rest of his life, feeling the softness of her skin on his, the tip of her nose bumping against his, her warm breath puffing against his lips every time they parted.

“Was it worth it?” Keyleth asked with a short breath when Vax finally found the courage to break apart from her. Their foreheads were touching, though, because even if Vax had managed to break the kiss, he still couldn’t get himself away from her heat.

“What?” He asked.

“Losing to me, again?” Keyleth’s slick smile was contagious. 

“Who said I lost? It seems to me we both won.” Vax pointed out and, before she could counter, he kissed her again.

Yes, Keyleth might have won the game, but he, too, won something that day, something that went beyond a kiss. He won her company, a moment of relaxation just the two of them. He won Keyleth for himself, just as Keyleth won him for herself. They both won in different scenarios but, at the end of the day, the prize was the same: they won each other.

[sadclowncentral]

shoutout to the guy who after unsuccessfully hitting on my sister and being politely declined asked her "is it okay if i ask your brother instead" and when she said yes gave me a long and searching look before sighing and going "no. i am not drunk enough to go for a dude. but you look like an angel" happy bisexual pride to this man and this man only. hope you figure it out soon king

[dzknik]

fellas is it gay to cover my entire house with imagery of my muse, the centre of my life, the sun in my galaxy

[wetdogblog]

How does tumblr feel about Primrose

(edit: some folks are asking if this is taxidermy. This is a real living dog, I promise)

[inkskinned]

please i love you i'm begging you bring back suspension of disbelief bring back trusting the audience like. i cannot handle any more dialogue that sounds like a legal document. "hello, i am here to talk to you about the incident from a few minutes ago, because i feel you might be unwell, and i am invested in your personal wellbeing." "thank you, i am unwell because the incident was hurtful to me due to my childhood, which was bad." I CANT!!!!

do you know how many people are mad that authors use "growled" as a word for "said"? it's just poetics! they do not literally mean "growled," it's just a common replacement for "said with force but in a low tone." it's normal! do you hear me!! help me i love you please let me out of here!!!

[churroach]

Looking respectfully

(EDIT: fellas, it’s really not that deep. Anyone starting beef over this stupid drawing getting blocked, i dont care to argue with people who come and judge me (a stranger) in bad faith. A bit dissapointed that this joke post is what’s getting the most attention but alas that’s the internet for ya i guess.)

[captainjonnitkessler]

>Join a union

>Hear people constantly complaining that the current union leadership is super corrupt, it's all just the same ten guys making all the decisions in secret and nobody else in the union ever gets to know what's going on

>Go to the monthly union meetings that are completely open to all 1200 union members

>The only attendees are the same ten guys every month, giving detailed reports about everything that's going on

[itsscaredycat]

the triangle obtains a mortal human body! and depth perception!

edit: AU created by @/waty_mot and @/LosanPostle on twitter!

[torchtour]

Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4

bro i hate living in ohio i thought a squirrel got trapped in my bathroom (again) but i opened the door to this absolute tomfoolery. do i need to involve cops or can i just call animal control?? idk how long it's been in there but if it fucked with my toothbrush ill be livid

(inspired by the lovely work of @squidflavoredsoup !!)

[mild-goth-sauce]

An informational comic I drew last year for my Comics 2 class, reposting it to my new account (had to jump ship from the old one unfortunately) with some minor grammar changes and learned my lesson in adding watermarks! Happy early pride :)

[itsays]

"life as a 22 year old mother of 3" "life as a married 19 year old couple" *video of mother daughter and grandma making reference to how they were both moms at like 16* *21 year old girl flex video about how she's a mother of 4* *couple whose entire personality is having 10 kids before turning 30* "married my highschool sweetheart at 18 and now i have 8 kids at age 25" "what i do in a day as a 19 year old housewife"

[ravendruid]

Be In My Eyes - Chapter 31

You can read the previous chapters here or on AO3. Hi everyone! I'm back (kind of) with BIME! This is technically Part II, but I decided to continue the chapter numbers instead of starting from 0. A few notes before this chapter: 1. Content Warning for hospital and medical emergencies. 2. I changed the POV format, but I'm not sure how much it'll stay like this. Lemme know what you think! 3. I am not a medical professional and I tried to fact check as much as I could, so if anything is wrong, please be nice about it. Additional Tumblr note: I'm no longer going to cross-post the full chapters on Tumblr, you will have to finish reading it on AO3 (don't worry, it should show up even if you don't have an account or aren't signed in!).

Percival de Rolo walked out of the small airfield located at the base of the Alabaster Sierras. The change in temperature from the warm concrete building to the freezing cold air of the region brought back memories of past travels, especially those of when Percy was younger and still had to accompany his parents on their multiple business trips. He hailed a taxi at the main road, loaded his suitcase in the trunk, and sat on the backseat with his personal messenger bag. Percy couldn’t help but smile in anticipation of how his younger sister, Cassandra, would react when she saw the gifts he brought her: a beautiful dress made by one of the best seamstresses in Emon and a snow globe with the city’s landscape. 

He still beat himself for leaving Cassandra behind. Percy knew he shouldn’t have done so, but getting his Engineering degree at University of Emon was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and his sister was safe with Father Yennen—or so Percy hoped. It was true that Father Yennen was a long-time family friend, but the man was still the one in charge of the orphanage, and Percy could not forgive himself if Cassandra ever felt like he had abandoned her like many other kids had been. Cassandra still had him, her only family. 

(Finish reading on AO3)

[linktoo-doodles]

To eat is to live.

[selftrepanning]

[emjaydoubleyou]

this post is fearmongering. the results of this study are concerning and should definitely be a matter of public discussion, but this is certainly not the conclusion the researchers came to.

the point of the study was to assess the risks of exposure to toxic metals- something one of the co-authors notes are “ubiquitous” fwiw- via menstrual products. Their research confirmed that these metals are indeed present in tampons, but no further conclusions are drawn. it is possible the metal entered into the cotton from the soil, which is a well-known phenomenon; cotton is so good at lifting heavy metals that it has actually been suggested as a part of the solution for revitalizing polluted ground.

the authors conclude with an acknowledgement that the study should be repeated- their sample size was 60 tampons- and a suggestion that further testing ought to be done to indicate whether or not these metals can even leech out of the tampon in the first place, let alone whether or not such leeching could occur at levels deleterious to human health.

there is, in fact, a body of research- too small, for sure, but much larger than this single study- indicating that long-term proper tampon use has no observable negative impact on health. i am grateful and thrilled that more research is being done and i hope that this study is the first of many on this line of questioning, but i am really frustrated at this post and the response it got.

obviously, if this study alters your approach to menstrual health, more power to you. consumers should be informed-risk-takers, and menstrual health is double-obviously a very personal choice. but it definitely wasn't the researchers concluding that you ought to “avoid using tampons at all cost," only this tumblr user did. the lead author of the paper, in fact, specifically says that she hopes people do NOT panic about the results.

(the notes of the post were disappointing. people affirming that they knew they were right to be suspicious of tampons all along, or even recommending alternatives that actually have very little to no research regarding the safety of long-term use, etc. it’s a different conversation, but categorical distrust of tampons is old-school misogyny. you certainly shouldn't wear them if you don’t want to, but there is nothing inherently scary or wrong about them, and people who prefer them are not being reckless or crass.)

((if you're really worried about exposure to heavy metals, you may want to turn a critical eye to fast fashion, as an aside))