#because when youre buying for a family you can end up with a loooot of these | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

darkandstormyart · 4 years

Text

Xicheng fic recs

(figured i might make a list of my own)

(to be expanded as i dig out more treasure/remember stuff)

in no particular order:

Deep as the Yearning Night by FreckledStarKnight

“At first, it was pure chance. The second time was accidental. And the third time? Well, they say the third time’s the charm, after all. Lan Xichen discovers that Jiang Wanyin sings beautifully and is immediately enamored by it. His pursuit of Jiang Wanyin’s secret talent leads to a discovery and a series of events that he did not anticipate at all. Not that he’s complaining, of course. He got what he came for and more. Or, how two sect leaders get together through the song called love. CQL-verse.“

post-seclusion lxc

trying to get jc to sing

bonus lxc & jin ling feels i hadn’t considered before

cute

Always use protection by hesselives

“In which Lan Wangji attempts to hire a new bodyguard for his older brother, a well-known traveling exorcist. Jiang Wanyin doesn’t even make his carefully considered list of Top Ten Candidates, and yet here he is.

Lots of wandering in the countryside, distant yelling, and mildly inconvenient spirits.”

bodyguard au

honestly just really intersting worldbuilding

Rewrite the stars by Arashii

“Five great kingdoms have been fighting for years and when the kingdom of Yunmeng is destroyed, the Crown Prince Jiang Cheng vanishes.In Gusu, Lan Xichen makes an offer impossible for Jiang Cheng to refuse. His life or revenge? There’s only one option and Jiang Cheng swears loyalty to the man he hated the most his whole life, the Crown Prince of Gusu, Lan Xichen himself.Written for XiChengFest2020 - Day 4“

ROYALTY AU ROYALTY AU

enemies to lovers!

flashbacks! i love flashbacks so much ohmygod

No paths are bound by Arashii

“In seclusion, Lan Huan has the support of a ghost no one has seen since the massacre of Yunmeng Jiang. His feelings start changing with the often visits and conversations they share. Before Lan Huan can confess though, he ascends, leaving everything and everyone behind him.

Two hundred years later, back to the Human Realm and without powers, the Martial God Zewu-Jun has a mission to uphold. His Heavenly Calamity started. The clues are little and the support comes in the most unexpected form, the current Ghost King: Sandu Shengshou. Now they need to stick together to contain a menace that is slowly growing.“

TGCF AU TGCF AU

ghost king jiang cheng come on

doesn’t follow tgcf plot, just the setup so no spoilers

jiang cheng gets the dogs and the xichen he deserves

once upon a dream by cafedeolla

“Xicheng soulmate AU

An au where your dreams are small snippets of your soulmate’s day. They’d show small things like buying coffee, reading a book, or hanging out with people from their perspective.

The problem was that people always have expectations and Jiang Cheng knows he always falls short of them. Time and time again.“

soulmate au, but being soulmates is more a problem than a solution

misunderstandingssss all over the place

now with a squel (in progress?)

Lan Furen series by jagaimocchi

“Jiang Cheng leaves Lotus Pier before the Wen Internment Camp and before the destruction of his home. When he meets Lan Xichen on the run from the Wens after the burning of Cloud Recesses, his plan to live a peaceful life away from cultivation sects is quickly derailed. Now, free to make his own choices, he cannot find it in himself to leave the other man's side.

With love, patience and time, Jiang Cheng finds his own happiness and peace with his past.“

have you ever wanted a fic where jiang cheng peaces out from home in search for a better life, bc he’s Had Enough??? jags got you covered

adorable xicheng

good uncle-dad-figure Lan Qiren

ongoing <3

Just around the riverbend by JungleJelly

“One day.

Jiang Cheng just wanted one day of peace and quiet, away from home, away from his responsibilities, away from his idiot brother and his nutcases of a mother and father. Just a few hours alone — him and a boat and nothing else.

Clearly, that was too much to ask for.”

now with a new story in the series which is adorable too!!!

mermaid!lxc need i say more?

Bad ideas (where they lead) by JungleJelly

“Jiang Cheng is a busy man. Fortunately, he is also a huge pushover when it comes to his sister, so when she recommends that he start doing yoga, he agrees pretty easily.Featuring Lan Xichen in yoga pants, Jiang Cheng’s inability to handle a crush, and, perhaps most importantly, a big fluffy dog.“

done for 2020 MXTX MiniBang

yoga instructor Lan Xichen

Jiang Cheng is: struggling with a crush on the yoga guy from youtube & very angry about that

If there’s a price for rotten judgement by TheWanderingHeart

“All Jiang Cheng wants to do is, well... his job, really. Other than that? Keep the city safe, keep his nephew alive, keep his sanity intact (if possible).

So when his brother calls with unexpected news, he knows all of that is about to fly out of the window.

***

[Every instinct is telling him don’t ask, you don’t want to know. By this point, Nie HuaiSang has scooted closer to listen. Jiang Cheng takes a steadying breath and pulls out his antacids. “What did you do?”]”

superhero au, come on

jc just trying to do his job in peace

(he can’t)

i love it so much oh my god *sobs*

The Form of Boneless Ice by TheWanderingHeart

“Mythical beasts have long ago been driven to extinction by the gentry — hunted for sport, but more importantly for their magical cores. Since then, there remains only one creature that has never been caught. The Jiang’s retreated a long time ago. Abandoning land altogether, they sought safety where the humans could not reach.It all comes to a head though, purely by chance. (Or is it by fate that a spontaneous decision allows for them to meet? If fate were a rock!) Jiang Cheng suddenly finds his whole life balanced on the head of a pin — on the flimsy promise of a human boy. In his opinion, things cannot possibly get worse!(But then they do when the Wens decide it’s finally time to search for the elusive merpeople, and suddenly nowhere is safe.)“

there she goes again, with another beautiful xicheng story full of awwww and mythology

actually one of the first xicheng fics i read

i chose it because there were mermaids

painfully accurate takes on Jiang family dynamics

kids! lots of kids!

Let me Slytherin to Your Heart by TheWanderingHeart

“Jiang Cheng never thought he'd return to Hogwarts, but in hindsight, he probably should have known that someday he would.With his nephew about to start school, he reluctantly takes his good friend's bad parenting? career? advice and ends up tumbling head-first back into the madness that he hoped he'd left behind... and rediscovering some feelings he thought he'd left behind too.“

Harry Potter au!

just really fecking cute

lots of snakes

[I am not going to link all of Jo’s fics, though I probably could, just my 3 favourites. UOSB is there by default]

Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes

“Jiang Cheng, resident Angry Guy and heir to a conglomerate empire, has never been the apple of his father’s eye. Quashed under the shadow of his brilliant brother, the music prodigy Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his chance to turn things around when he is recruited by the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt. One problem: he can’t sing to save his goddamn life.As he struggles to develop his nascent singing abilities, Jiang Cheng finds himself sucked into the whirlwind drama of reality TV, helped along by his adoring siblings, his irritable vocal coach Wen Qing, and strangely enough, the unfairly attractive host of the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt, Lan Xichen. Somewhere in the glare of the stage lights and an unexpected first love, Jiang Cheng stumbles upon the thing he was searching for all along: the courage to dream — and to attempt the impossible.“

done for 2019 MXTX Big Bang

uuuuuuuuuuh i might have cried maybe

heartwarming? painful at times? lots of family love?

slowburn xicheng being lovely

The Provenence of Hope series by velithya

“A chance meeting on a night hunt sets a course of events into motion that will change everything. Featuring Xicheng getting together, recovery for Lan Xichen, healing for Jiang Cheng, and always, always, hope.“

got everything. feels. hope. love. ~~healing~~

A Small Measure of Peace by Sandstone112

“With his brother in seclusion, Lan Xichen finds himself in temporary custody of his nephew with little to no expertise in the child-raising department. Uncertain and alone, Zewu-Jun is willing to do everything to be the person Yuan needs—even if it means inviting Sandu Shengshou to a playdate.“

a loooot of adorable family times with jc and lxc taking care of their nephews

good grandpa lqr!

canon but fixed and less painful

🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋if you wish to avoid scurvy:🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋

Some day I’m gonna make you mine series by locketofyourhair

xicheng getting together through the years

friends with benefits but the real benefits are the friends we made along the way

Take me over (take me tonight) by velithya

jiang cheng has a tattoo and lan xichen doesn’t stand a chance

i'd be the sweet feeling of release (mankind now dreams of) by piyo13

two bros, chilling in a cave, no feet apart because they don’t want to lose their cultivation powers what are you gonna do

haven’t read yet and shame on me, but AM GONNA:

Upon Our Silver Bridge by TheWanderingHeart obviously

““When the path ignites a soul, there's no remaining in place. The foot touches ground, but not for long.” ― Hakim Sanai

Lan Xichen's sorrows have caught the attention of something. Unlike the adventures and foes they have faced before, there is no obvious enemy here to defeat. If this is the same thing they thought had taken Nie Mingjue's life, then he believes it is fated for him to die as well. Nothing can stop the black fire when it wants to burn.Jiang Cheng is sure his part in this is over. Wei Wuxian is back, his grand adventure concluded, and he'd never been at the centre of it anyway. So what does it matter what happens to him in the end? Slowly, he will come to realise that there will always be a battle to fight, a story to tell, a choice to make, and there is no such thing as an end to anything.“

it was difficult to do things in 2020 and few i regret not doing more than not reading uosb yet :’(

i will tho

Emergency Help Wanted by piyo13

“EMERGENCY HELP WANTED I lied when I got my job. I told them I had a kid so I could leave early from work to pick him up from daycare, take him to doctor's appointments, and occasionally miss a day when he's sick. Long story short, I'm in too deep. I didn't think it through. Looking to rent a kid for bring your child to work day. Must be a boy ages four to six, longish dark hair, likes soccer. Must also be artistic as the macaroni noodle paintings I made seem a little advanced for his age. Also, I will pay extra for someone willing to play the role of husband when dropping him off. He's a prosecuting attorney who often brings his work home. Message me for further details. Serious inquiries only.“

Running Our Hands Through Embers by MarvelousMar

“If asked, Jiang Cheng would compare falling in love with Lan Xichen to a moth inevitably drawn to a flame.It burned.***In which Jiang Cheng discovers that even death can't help him escape from his trauma, so he embarks on a quest to save the people he loves, fix what he can, make the love of his life fall for him, and maybe, somewhere along the way, do a little bit of healing.”

The Beginner’s Guide to Moving On by InvincibleMel

gone from ao3, but i think there’s a link with a pdf going around

#xicheng #fic rec #Jiang Cheng #lan xichen #mdzs #the untamed #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mo dao zu shi

539 notes · View notes

sachirou-senpai · 4 years

Text

Kageyama, Yaku, Kenma and Hinata as sugar daddies.

request: ELLIE YOU CAN'T GET AWAY WITH PUTTING THIS IN MY HEAD AND LEAVING ME LIKE THIS AHSHSUSVSHS,,,, can I request some headcannons for Kageyama, Yaku and Kenma as sugar daddies? Or Hinata!!! Even though he's a sugar baby already shsghsbas ;;; Or you can choose whichever you like best between them??? I will be happy with every crumb I can get 🙏

warnings: mentions of s*x and sugar daddy/sugar baby relationships, hoshuimi is a nosy bitch, yaku has the confidence of a god (must be a leo thing) kenma is so cute ahhh, Hinata just wants someone to love and call mommy, i really love this. implied fem!reader for hinata, although i guess you could call a gn person or a male reader mommy. whatever floats your boat.

a/n: this was very fun. ;)

Kageyama:

what the fuck

how did he even get a sugar baby?

great question

it happened because he had a fuckton of money and had no idea what to do with it

and hoshuimi, of course

cause hoshiumi's a nosy lil bitch

saw kageyama checking his bank account app on his phone and was like

WHAT THE FUCK WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MUCH MONEY

it's cause he never spends it

hoshuimi offhandedly tells him he should get a sugar baby

later that night kageyama googles what a sugar baby is

he's shook

doesn't think about it for months

until he gets this ad for a "meet sugar babies" website on a volleyball video he was watching

he thinks oh hell, why not

so he signs up, and meets you

he's so awkward oh my god

but you think it's adorable, and you're glad he's not some old dude

he doesn't know what to do so he asks you a lot of questions about what you like and stuff

the first thing he sends you, i kid you not, was a fucking volleyball

you call and ask him about it and he's like:

"it's the best quality"

you keep it.

eventually he starts sending you stuff you ask for, which works out better for both of you

you help him with the concept of a 'luxury life'

eventually gets a black card and literally just says:

"please use it for me, i don't know how"

and you're like damn okay

the first time you attempt to do something sexual he literally short circuits

you have to explain to him that a sugar baby usually repays their sugar daddy/mommy with sexual favors

he makes the 😮 face

he didn't even think you were sexually interested in him?

he'd be lying if he didn't think you were the most beautiful thing he's ever seen

and he's definitely had some um, not so pure dreams about you

and definitely jacked off to the pictures you've sent him

which he just thought was to show him what you liked

so god if he didn't fucking jump your bones right then and there

it was uh, intense, to say the least

best sex of your life

and the cuddles afterwards? on point.

you two get very attached

he really really likes you

introduces you to the team

which was embarrassing

eventually, you decide you want to become financially independent, and so you tell him you want to cancel the agreement

he fucking cries

he so desperately doesn't want to lose you

cause he's fallen in love with you

he tells you about all of the feelings and how you make him want to do anything for you and he's sobbing while telling you

you're shook, because you've kinda been developing feelings too

so you're like, okay, no sugar daddy stuff, be my boyfriend instead

total 180°

tackles you and holds you, on the floor, for like 3 hours

he still spoils you, it's a habit of his now

but you don't really mind, because you have one hell of a man by your side

(gimmie a kageyama pls)

Yaku:

knows exactly what he's doing and knows exactly what he wants.

You.

he probably met you at some sort of event, you going because you were the personal manager for some really weird guy there

he knew he wanted you the second he saw you

and he was straight up about it too

we're talking like walking up to you and saying:

"quit your job, let me take care of you."

and you're surprised, because who just says that?

you don't even know what happened, but you said yes

quit your job that night, and left with him

yeah, you fucked on the first night but so what?

he is the best sugar daddy omg

he already knows what you like just by looking at you

(no he doesn't, he's just called Alisa so many times she swears her phone is gonna break)

he's more of a surprising you with what he's gonna buy kind of guy, but he always enjoys when you surprise him

he takes you everywhere with him

he has a game in another country? you're going. guaranteed.

he just always wants to be near you

it's clearly more than a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship from the start

and he likes it that way

he just doesn't want to make you uncomfortable, so he doesn't say anything

you two fuck....a lot

it's clearly not because of the arrangement anymore

you're just naturally drawn to each other

it's intense

and you spend a lot of time together, not only because he literally takes you everywhere

just because you like it

there'll be periods of time where he doesn't buy you anything and you don't buy anything either, but you still stick around and you still have sex

and that's when he knows you actually have feelings for him

HE'S SO HAPPY OMG

you've been in the arrangement for several years

you're practically dating

and so one day he just asks you to marry him and you're like

fuck yes

who wouldn't want to marry yaku morisuke?

cause i sure as hell want to marry him

Kenma:

i think kenma likes to watch twitch streams in the background while he's playing his games

it's just relaxing

with a fake account, of course, he didn't need all the hype from when he joined their stream

one day, a streamer he was watching ended their steam and raided yours

he first heard your voice and was SHOOK

you had the prettiest voice he'd ever heard

so he looked at his computer screen and nearly died

how could someone have such a pretty voice and a pretty face?

wildly unfair, he thought to himself

at first it was just a low-key thing

he'd watch your streams, whenever you were streaming

it was a miracle you two never streamed at the same time

you were just his go to relaxation method

one day, he heard you mention offhandedly that you were struggling with money

and so you know what he did?

donated 10k

he was already basically in love with you, so why not help you out?

and your reaction was perfect

you started smiling so hard, and thanking him over and over

it put a smile on his face for the next week, kuroo though he was sick

and he did it again, the week after

and again

and so finally you messaged him asking why he kept sending you so much money

and he just sent you his number, with the message "call me"

you were so nervous

but you did

AND OH MY GOD IT WAS KODZUKEN?

WHAT?

you were such a big fan

and you really didn't know what to do

he was ever so kind, (lmao no) and just said:

"let me take care of you. i don't want you to ever have to stop streaming and go find a job that makes you more money."

you're so surprised you can't even speak

WHO SAYS THAT??

KENMA FUCKING KOZUME, APPARENTLY

you agree so hesitantly, and he notices

"you deserve it, please don't feel bad. i want to spend my money on you."

"o-okay"

"good."

and so that's exactly what he does, he'll just send you money every week

and little trinkets too, stuff you've mentioned in your streams or in the calls you'll have

you don't live close at all, but you wanted to meet up

he was sooooo nervous

kuroo, yet again, thought he was sick

and he probably was

but he came to you, and you just walked around a little, you showing him your favorite things about your city

he was just staring at you the whole time

he had come to stay with you for a week

and insisted that you stayed in a hotel with him, even though your house was literally right there

you slept in different beds

until one night you just got really paranoid about the horror game you played earlier

so you walked over and just got into bed with him

he was half asleep, but all he knew was the person of his dreams was laying in a bed next to him and he would hate himself in the morning if he didn't hold you close as physically possible

you woke up in each other's arms

annnnd that's when you both knew you were done for

he asked you to move in the day before he left

you said yes

(now i want a kenma too)

Hinata:

oh my god what a baby

he just wanted someone to be with, really

atsumu was the one who suggested it

after kenma stopped sponsoring Hinata, he ended up learning how to manage his money and he was really good at it??

he invested well and now had a loooot of money

he was talking about his money like a Grown Man

and atsumu was like,

"do ya spend any of it?"

"yeah, on my investments"

"no, i meant like on yourself"

"well for food and stuff"

"LIKE FOR ENJOYMENT"

"m-my gym membership?"

"oh my fucking god"

so atsumu tells him to get a sugar baby

"a baby? i don't have the time for a child!!!"

queue atsumu literally dying inside

he shows Hinata an app and is like,

"don't worry, they're all grown"

"oh"

so atsumu helps him fill out the profile for the app

atsumu uwu's inside when he sees Hinata checked the box for 'emotional fulfillment only'

cause like, what a precious baby

anyway, a couple hours later he gets a match

and he's like

"WOAH ATSUMU LOOK LOOK HOW PRETTY THEY ARE"

"damn, okay hinata, nice kill"

he's so happy to find someone to talk to besides his family and volleyball friends

you two talk

ALL

THE

TIME

and he sends you the cutest things omg

like a little plushie he saw? in the mail the next day

some MSBY merch? yeah, he's sending that too

little snacks he thinks you'd like? yep, those are going too

he sends you the stereotypical sugar baby stuff too, like pretty dresses and suits and lingerie and jewelry

he was blushing so hard when he tried to put the lingerie in the mail, atsumu had to do it for him

a couple days later, you send him a picture of you wearing it

wow

sure, he knew you were pretty, and was undeniably physically attracted to you

but he'd never felt like that

he took the LONGEST shower

he couldn't even message you till the next morning because he knew he'd have to look at the picture and god he'd never get to bed if he looked at it any more

he was surprised in the morning when he had messages from you saying sorry and that you shouldn't have sent it and that you didn't mean to make him uncomfortable

that you would understand if he wanted to call off the arrangement

he was like WHAT???? NOOOO

so he drives alll the way to where you live and pounds on your door

you're like hinata what?

"PLEASE DON'T THINK THAT I HATE YOU AND WANT TO CANCEL THE ARRANGEMENT I JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO YOU LOOKED SO PRETTY AND I JUST I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT AND THEN I STARTED THINKING ABOUT BAD THINGS LIKE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IF YOU DID NAUGHTY THINGS TO ME AND I WANT IT I WANT IT REALLY BAD I-"

you're kissing him

wait

YOU'RE KISSING HIM???

holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit

he doesn't know what to do

he's desperately trying to process what you're doing, but with your tongue shoved down his throat that's a little hard

so you know what he does?

he fucking whines

and you're like ohhhh shittttt

yeah you fuck

and you get the nickname mommy

which you love

such a sweet relationship

yes, relationship

you got together

he's so happy

looks like he got laid all the time

(which he usually did, but that's beside the point)

he's just giddy

and it's the cutest thing

10/10 relationship, please cherish him forever

(now i want a kageyama, yaku, kenma and a hinata DAMNIT)

oh my god this was so fun and perfect

@warmbearhugs i'm so glad we talked about with this, and i'm so glad you requested it

taglist: @warmbearhugs wow, i've tagged you 3 times in this post now @beanst0ck @your-local-abyss @oof-she-needs-therapy @tendouthighs @oyasenpai @senkuwu-chan @lovetsuki @kuroos-babie @keijination

send an ask to be added to the taglist!

1K notes · View notes

jpegjade · 4 years

Text

The Satchel

Request: Spencer Reid x reader where for Spencer’s birthday the reader refurbishes his satchel. Morgan hangs out with him for the day, and the reader secretly takes it. He comes home and poof! It looks as good as new

OKAY GUYS. IVE GOT SOME FLUFF FOR YOU ALL bc i’ve been putting out a loooot of angst. HERE YOU GO: PURE FLUFF.

_____________________

“Spence, what time is Morgan coming to pick you up?” You called from the kitchen.

You were making pancakes for Spencer for his birthday. He loved the ones with the sprinkles mixed in them and you were so excited for today.

“He’ll be here in half an hour.” Spencer said, coming out of the bedroom. “Have you seen my satchel, y/n? I’ve been looking for it all morning.”

“Nope, I haven’t.” You were putting the pancakes on the plate, finally finishing them.

“Oh, well if you find it, you’ll let me know right?” Spencer sat down at the table, smiling up at you.

“Of course, baby. Now, let’s focus on these pancakes.” You put the plate in front of him, a stack of pancakes with a lit candle in the middle of the top pancake.

“Thank you.” He said, his smile growing bigger.

One happy birthday song later, you were excited to give him his present but it wasn’t ready yet. You had something cute planned for him. It was the real reason he couldn't find his bag.

“So, what do you have planned for this afternoon?” You asked, digging into your normal pancakes.

You used all the sprinkles on Spencer’s pancakes so you just decided to let him feel special with his own set of pancakes.

“I actually don’t know. I think he’s taking me bowling later or something along those lines. Something with physical activity even though I hate doing that.” He said, digging into his pancakes. He couldn’t hide his smile. He was just so happy today.

You knew exactly what Morgan was going to do with Spencer: waste some time. You had coordinated Spencer’s birthday with his team weeks before Spencer’s birthday because you wanted to do something special for his birthday. You planned the whole thing with JJ and Penelope’s help. The day was finally here and everything was in motion, Spencer having no clue what was happening.

“Okay well make sure you’re back with enough time for me to spend time with you, birthday boy.” You smiled, kissing him on the cheek before putting the dishes away.

“He’s here. I’ll see you later today, y/n.” Spencer smiled as he kissed you on the cheek this time and ran out the door. The boy was practically skipping with how excited he was.

You breathed out a sigh of relief that he was gone. Finally, you were able to put together your gift for him. The secret was killing you because you just wanted to finish it already so you could give it to him and watch his eyes light up in joy and pure elation.

“Let’s get working.” You said to yourself, throwing a playlist on. You needed to finish this quickly so you could run out and buy the decorations.

You grabbed the satchel from behind the bed, one of the few places Spencer wouldn’t think to look and started to fix the thing. It was falling apart and you figured if you fixed it up, made it look like new again, it would be the perfect present for him. You had the perfect amount of time before the party to fix it.

Meanwhile Spencer and Derek were “lost” downtown. Derek kept making the wrong turns even though Spencer was giving him Google Maps directions. It was frustrating for Spencer until they arrived at their first destination: a go-kart track.

“Adrenaline without exercise. A little for you, pretty boy, and a little for me.” Derek smirked, watching Spencer’s confused face.

Spencer couldn’t tell if he liked the idea or if he hated it. He didn’t really have a choice so he went with it. He didn’t have to workout and he would be driving for once, since Derek was always the one behind the wheel, so he didn’t mind.

Spencer rarely had as much fun as he had then when he was driving that go kart. He barely had time to calculate the speed and angle in which he needed to turn in order to speed past Derek on the straight away. Most of the time, Derek came in first place with Spencer close behind but he beat Derek once. That time, Derek really made some crucial mistakes but Spencer didn’t care. He beat Derek at something. In reality Derek let him win because he knew Reid would have something to tell you about at the end of the day. He wanted to make sure Reid was happy, even if Reid was going to hang it over his head for a while.

A few hours passed without Spencer noticing. The only thing he was focused on was the fact that he beat Morgan and got a little cheesy blue ribbon. When it was time to go, Spencer was tired from all the fun he had and was ready to go home. When he checked his phone, he had texts from the rest of the team telling him happy birthday and to enjoy his day.

“Where are we going?” Spencer asked, looking up from his phone to notice that they weren’t going in the direction of Spencer’s apartment.

“It’s a surprise.” Derek smirked, making another turn.

“Can you just drop me off at home? I really want to see y/n and tell her about how much fun today was. And I want to spend some time with her.”

“Calm down, pretty boy. You’ll see her soon enough.” Derek parked the car and they both got out. Spencer texted you while he lagged behind Derek.

Spencer recognized where they were: near his favorite bookstore. Unfortunately, it looked closed. All the lights were off and there was no one inside from what he could see. It wasn’t a chain bookstore, just a mom and pop business, so the owners could close early if they needed to.

“Let’s try the door.” Derek said, pulling on the door handles. They gave pretty easily. “Birthday boy first.”

Spencer hesitated. Why was the door open? How did Derek know it would be open? Was this trespassing? He didn’t want to go to jail if-

“SURPRISE!” His friends popped out from everywhere as soon as Derek flipped on the light.

In the rafters was a “Happy Birthday Spencer!” sign. They popped confetti streamers into the air. Everyone was there, all of his family. Even the owners of the shop came out to say happy birthday. They loved Spencer as if he was their own child. He saw their shining faces and smiled. Everyone was together for him...

You came striding out from behind a bookstand, holding a box wrapped in birthday wrapping paper.

“Happy birthday, baby.” You said, handing him the box. He gave you a kiss on the forehead before opening it as everyone crowded around him.

“A new sweater!” He held it up in the air.

“You needed a new one. I was getting tired of seeing the blue one.” Emily said, half kidding, half serious.

“There’s more. Lift the paper.” You said, nudging his arm.

“I thought this felt a little heavy for just a cardigan.” He put the box on the table in front of him before peeling back the paper to reveal a satchel.

“You got me a new satchel since I lost my other one?” He said, lifting it up to see it better. There was something familiar about it…

“No, honey. I restored your favorite one so it looked like new. That way, you don’t have to worry about something happening to it. How did I do?” You said, meeting his eyes.

He kissed you in front of everyone. Spencer wasn’t really one to show too much PDA but this time, he was too overjoyed not to kiss you.

“It’s perfect.” He said, breaking away.

________________________

tag list:

@thatsonezesty13

@ancailinaerach

#criminal minds #spencer reid x reader #spencer x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fluff #fluff #cm

180 notes · View notes

a-libra-writes · 4 years

Note

who do you think would prefer an s/o who’s charming, more of a people person, using their words to get what they want vs an s/o who’s more quiet, strategic, and plans and schemes to get what they want? is it a case of opposites attract, or would they want someone to compliment them? 👀

.......so i ended up having a lot of thoughts about this LOL

okay so i think this depends on the s/o’s morals! like you can be scheming to help others instead of hurting them. so let’s go with that bc i dont wanna brainstorm a low ethics/morality s/o (this makes me think of 7KPP, a fantastic visual novel that’s the only decent Court Drama Simulator vn i’ve come across). Also there’s a loooot of characters so imma just list the ones I have Strong Thoughts on and sort them by region oh lord what have you done my dork is showing

Northbois

So while I feel like Robb and Ned would prefer a more outgoing and charming sort of person ... I really can’t help but ship them with someone whose more cunning and can actually play the game of thrones. Like lord someone help these Starks because their intrigue score is 0 and they need someone protecting them from Tywin, Roose and Walder LOL. I can really see both father and son thinking their s/o is this sweet thing and not having a clue of how much scheming they’re actually doing to protect Winterfell... Ned would probs catch on after a while but Robb would just be blinded by love and devotion haha.

Sansa would probs want the first ideally, but as she gets older she’d greatly appreciate someone who has that sort of cunning and uses it for good purposes. Also she’d like a calm and steady personality to rely on.

Jory is a straight up honest guy to a fault, kinda like Ned, so he’d also prefer the first type of person and appreciate them more.

OKAY SO you’d think Roose would go for the second type but HEAR ME OUT. I think he’d go for both equally, or a mix of the two. Listen. I have a strong HC that he would be very attracted to someone who is his opposite in many ways - outgoing, charming, sweet and kind. If that person also happens to be cunning as hell and willing to manipulate anyone - even him - to protect what’s their’s, oof. He’s gone. I think he’d really get off on the idea of having an s/o who everyone is shocked he’s involved with bc “omg they’re sooo nice” and only he really knows their “other side”, so to speak. Realtalk I don’t think he’d go for someone just as morally awful as him bc he’d see them more as a threat than a potential partner.

Ramsay is a little shit that would also be attracted to the first kind of person but honestly needs the second type to keep his ass in line. That’s the sort of person who would figure him out and manipulate him accordingly so he isn’t skinning the goddamn neighbors. Also he wouldn’t give a damn about their morals so go off i guess just dont start any revolts in the north

VERY Northbois

Jon really doesn’t care for schemes, even if he acknowledges they’re useful, and he’d be attracted to someone who knows just what to say and is charismatic bc lord knows he’s struggled w that for a bit. Benjen really loves outgoing, charming and talkative peeps esp when they wiggle their way out of stuff or convince the upper command of the Watch to consider a different plan. He’ll be soooo attracted to that. Edd is kinda meh on both I’d feel? Like he’d prefer a quieter person but not a scheming sort, that’s too troublesome to deal with. I think he could come around to the first one eventually.

Mance super respects the second type, he finds it very attractive actually, especially when they start manipulating him into something and he catches them. Tormund is a dork and prefers outgoing people, totally doesn’t notice when he’s being taken in lol. He rlly hates the second sort of person, sees them as snakes.

Southbois

Edmure would absolutely be drawn to a gregarious and outgoing person! And if they can talk their way into or out of things thank god bc fishboy has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. I really don’t think it’d work out with a schemer person bc of that Tully honor, and unlike Ned or Robb, Edmure would start to catch on (I don’t buy into the show characterization of Edmure like frack that he’s not an idiot). Brynden has a lot of experience and has seen a lot of BS, so he’d understand the risks and sacrifices his s/o would be making when they’re playing the game, and he’d really wish they wouldn’t!! Like yeah it’s to protect their family and friends but he wishes they didn’t have to do that. He wants to protect them on his own.

Brienne REALLY prefers someone whose honest and can talk their way in and out of things!! Like the Starks she’s very honorable and has no patience for lies and manipulating even if it’s for something good. It’d take a lot for her to trust and be attracted to that kind of person, they’d have to like... be very honest with her about what their plans are and why they’re doing them.

Kingslanding bois

oh lord Stannis okay so INITIALLY he’d be put off by both personalities for diff reasons - outgoing because socializing and diplomacy is something he just sucks at and the second one because holy hell he hates dishonesty and scheming. Now, he can admire a strategic and collected mind, but as soon as dishonorable plots roll in he starts side-eyeing. I think it would take some time for that latter personality to gain his trust, and if this is like... his wife we’re talking about, she’d probs have to scheme behind his back, even if it’s for his own sake. For an outgoing person, he could eventually befriend or fall for them once some common ground is found. He wouldn’t be able to admit how much he admires their people skills haha.

Davos understands that sometimes manipulating and scheming is needed and can be used for good, but personally he prefers a more diplomatic, out in the open approach. So the first type is def his kinda person. He could still befriend the second type as long as they’re not assholes, though.

Tywin would honestly work with both sides of the spectrum and in between, but ultimately, you’d have to understand who you’re dealing with. There’s no honor or high ground being involved with Tywin Lannister, and the s/o should expect to get dragged into his schemes, esp when he trusts them ... and that’s no easy feat. Ultimately it’s less of how you get what you want and more of ... what are you willing to do to get it. Pesky morals and all that.

Tyrion has had enough of his dad’s bullshit that he’d only be romantically involved with the first type, someone who uses sass and flattery like he does. He can still respect and befriend a more cunning person, though. Jaime also prefers the first type, he thinks it’s just because “oh I like outgoing and forward people” and not...”i’ve spent years dealing with lies and schemes from father and cersei”, yanno that old chestnut. Bronn definitely prefers gregarious and cheeky peeps, schemes go over his head and bore him.

Sandor dislikes both sorts of personalities for different reasons ... He’s offput by someone who would be very talkative and outgoing with him (like why are they talking to him wtf), and he also hates scheming and lying and all that, he’s seen too much of it. The first type has a better chance of befriending and getting close to him, the second not so much.

Petyr very much respects and admires both but like ... you know he’d prefer someone that he thinks he can outwit and manipulate, so probably more of the first type of personality because they seem less cunning and more of “just” a people person. Given his obsessive/yandere tendencies he probably wouldn’t notice he was being taken in by someone friendly and kind.

like okay weird thing to think about but just consider this... I really wonder what it’d be like if Robert had an s/o like the first one you mentioned. Not Cersei, certainly not his beloved Lyanna - a third party, a gracious and likeable queen that kinda makes up for his faults and she’s TRYING hard as hell. like idk if they’d ever fall in love but like idk i feel like his depression would be slightly lessened to have a partner that’s very beloved and tries to help him and put him in a good light in his subject’s minds. Am I making sense? She’s not perfect but she wants what’s best for the realm and if she’s gotta do it herself she will. IDK sorry this is a tangent, i think about major change AUs and their political consequences a lot

Heckin south n east bois

Margaery is a Big Gay and you can’t fight me on this, you will lose. She’s super attracted to the first kind of gal bc that’s def how she is herself! So she’d love to play those little word games with them. The second personality type she’d just write off as “eh quiet person” but once she got closer and began to realize their cunning and wittiness she’d def take an interest, esp if she found out about some good things they did. Then it’d be a classic “outgoing babe dating more reserved babe” and yall both would be VERY well-known in court. absolute power couple

Oberyn likes both equally! Especially if your motives are to help others and/or save your friends and family. He loves that kinda loyalty and he really admires someone who has a way with words and schemes in equal measure. Hell he does both himself. He might lean more toward an outgoing person just because that’s how he is too.

idk where to put Beric but he rlly likes the first kind of people!! He’d probs ask you to get supplies or money on the Brotherhood’s behalf, and he actually kinda likes it when he finds himself doing something you wanted cause you asked so nicely or talked him into it ..... Thoros calls him a simp and it’s true ok don’t bully he can’t help it

& lastly Essosssss

So, I think Daenerys would be a lot more drawn to the second kinda person. First of all: Very mysterious, ooh. Secondly, she’d appreciate a cool head that will tell her the truth and is willing to do more unsavory things bc they believe in her so much. Obvs she would need someone with unquestionable loyalty, and once she tests and is reassured of that loyalty, then she could start some kinda romance. She’s def attracted to someone who can get shit done that way.

Jorah is a big opposite in that he’s kinda had to do that unsavory stuff himself and is still ashamed by it, and generally doesn’t trust people like Littlefinger and Varys and Illyrio, etc so he’d prefer someone who is just genuine and talks their way out of things. Also yall know him he can’t resist once he starts liking someone like cmon

Grey Worm is absolutely in the first camp too but for diff reasons! Scheming and all that shit just makes him nervous and he distrusts it, even if it’s for Daenerys’ sake. He just wouldn’t associate with the person ... Someone more outgoing would definitely fluster him more but at least he could feel like he could trust them. Missandei can go either way - she knows the power in both diplomacy and manipulation, and would likely admire and be pulled to someone who uses both to help people.

sorry i got so wordy and a bit repetitive lol both are like, my fav kinda character archtypes, esp for court settings.

#libra says #libra says A LOT OF SHIT LOL oops #yall can send in stuff like this anytime idgaf its interesting #libra headcanons #got x reader #got imagines #game of thrones x reader

80 notes · View notes

jq37 · 4 years

Text

The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 2

Ambush on the Sucrosi Road

And we’re back for our first battle episode! Are you feeling trepid my guys, cause I sure am.

You’re Dead and Here’s Your Mini

You’ll remember that, at the end of the episode, the Candia Caravan had stopped in the road because of a fallen tree--the universal fantasy fiction indication for an impending ambush--and Ruby was unceremoniously dropped to zero HP. But don’t worry! Brennan is here with all the missing ceremony at the top of this episode! And by ceremony, I mean we get the most graphic, visceral, bloody description of bodily harm we’ve ever gotten in an episode of D20 as the arrow pierces her neck and she goes unconscious. In her unconscious state, she’s on a trapeze, swinging from one bar to another that seems to be either getting closer or farther away. A voice in the inky black that surrounds her tells her to bring it towards her. We fade out from the vision and that brings us into the combat proper.

So that’s the very chill place this episodes starts.

With Ruby down, everyone else springs into action. Liam does his ranger thing and reveals a hidden enemy--which is like finding a roach in your house: You *know* there’s no such thing as a single roach. Jet tries to snatch Ruby into the carriage but when she loses her grip, she opts to instead threaten Lapin--Heal my sister or I’ll reveal you’re working for the Sugarplum Fairy--and hop on top of the stopped carriage to use herself to shield her sister from any further damage. She also activates the Locket of the Sweetest Heart--a split friendship locket the two of them have which gives advantage on saving throws if the other person is within 5 feet--so she’ll have help on her next death save which happens right away. She gets a success with two 13s, which gives her 1 save, 1 fail (I assume from getting hit by a second arrow--ranged attacks while down count as a fail and melee attacks count as two. Yikes!).

In her mind, Ruby uses Mage Hand to bring the trapeze bar closer to her and, as she does so, she sees a pair of smiling purple eyes and hears a voice say, “You are gifted in the ways of the arcane. It seems that my brother has made quite a family for himself.” Ruby gasps. “Are you my aunt?” The voice tells her to take good care of her bow. She’ll need it.

On Amethar’s turn, he clocks a bunch more hidden archers and hears that they’re speaking Carnish (the meat language) but (and Jet especially notices this because she speaks Carnish) they’re speaking it brokenly and with weird (vaguely French-y) accents. And the arrow that hit Ruby is baconsteel, but the archers look weird. Like, it’s less that they’re made of meat and more like they’re *wearing* meat, and it smells like it’s rotting (which, hey Brennan? Gross). Something’s up.

Amethar, charges out and goes into a rage--pouring cola onto himself and letting the pop rocks of his body explode out (extremely cool flavoring for that), doing 2 points of damage to anyone in the immediate vicinity. Jet, still over Ruby’s unconscious body, narrates this all to her, because Emily Axford never lets a moment for an emotional gut punch go to waste.

Amethar gets a Nat 20 with his first attack and hits the nearest enemy hard enough to cut through the meat. Underneath, he smells stinking cheese.

But then, it’s the enemies’ turn and Amethar is absolutely beset. A couple of enemies go after the others’ but five enemies go for him and all hit, bringing him down to less than a third of his HP in one round of combat (down to 10). And they’re not messing around. They are really and truly trying to murder him specifically.

Thank the Sugarplum Fairy or the Bulb if you prefer that Lapin’s turn is next. He scrambles to the top of the carriage and casts Cure Wounds on Ruby which brings her back to full because first level rogues are so so weak you guys. Lapin goes through the Bulbian motions but Jet, who is closeby, can smell the sugary magic energy from his true patron. She doesn’t much care though since it means Ruby’s back and she promises her silence. Lapin also tosses Amethar a d6 of healing with his bonus action.

Theobold hits a nat 20 to do a good bit of damage then action surges and casts Compelled Duel with his sword--Battlepop the Broadscicle--to force the Captain of the attackers (who rolls a Nat 1 save) to 1v1 him to take some heat off of the king.

Ruby and Jet are forced to confront the possibility that Lapin and Theobold might be...cool? Really, all the old dudes this fight are kinda badass--Calroy also hits a nat20 and is kicking ass all fight (also, his pants are on point--I think this is only the second time in d20 pants have ended up being *A Thing* (John Feathers) but that still feels like a lot for *pants*).

The fight continues!

Jet fights alongside her super proud dad and does a bunch of damage but doesn’t quite get a killing blow which she blames on Theobold’s refusal to teach her one last episode. The brigands continue to strategically try and take out Amethar and Lapin judiciously uses his precious few heals to let him drop and then bring him back instead of blowing all his heals at once--stressful but effective. Also, Sir Theo comes in clutch and uses his shield--Swirldwarden--to, as a reaction, take one of the attacks that would have F’d him up.

Ruby shoots the leader of the cheese brigands--at this point everyone knows that these are cheese people disguised as meat people--and, spurred on by some new, hazy awareness from her near death experience, uses her once per day grasping arrow (an Arcane Archer ability) to hold the captain in place and make him take damage if he moves. Amethar goes back into a rage after having gone down, teaching us that when he does that, it hits enemies and allies alike. On the baddies’ turn, the captain tries to move and gets obliterated by Ruby’s arrow. This is super clutch, not just because he was going after Amethar, but he also gave +1d4 to all attacks to all of his guys of which there are/were many.

Amethar goes down again and, on his turn, Lapin heals him, and then wrecks some of the brigands with a very un-Bulbian blast of candy energy, though he continues to insist that it’s all above board. On her turn, Jet gives her half of the locket to her dad in case he drops again (not how it really works since it requires attunement but Brennan allows it this time since it’s her dad). One of the attackers tries to hit Jet but between her once-per-day shield with Flickorice and Theo imposing disadvantage, she’s unscathed.

Our Daily Bread

You’ll remember from last episode that the caravan was on their way to meet an Imperial escort. Well, they finally show up to help, led by a young Ceresian Centurion Commander (they confirm later it’s the guy they were supposed to have been meeting--Commander Constano Grissini--wonder if him showing up was like an “after x rounds of combat” story event or if it was based on something else). Ruby (very conspicuously) casts Fog Cloud around her dad to try and make it harder for anyone to hit and drop him again. Brennan makes her roll an Insight check and on a 12, tells her nothing which is the most maddening thing a DM can do to you.

With the extra help, they’re able to end the fight pretty quickly after that without any casualties (tiny violins for Brennan because, lbr, the house always eventually wins--it’s only a matter of time before he gets one of them). Theobold wanted to keep one enemy alive for questioning but the Tartguard didn’t quite get the memo and skewered the last guy. Lapin is very suspicious of Grissini but his 23 Insight check tells him this is a straight up guy who would have been ruined if anyone here had died. However, he also notices that Grissini won’t look Ruby in the eye. Calroy quietly comes up to Ruby and tells her that, while she did a good job this fight, things are about to get very complicated and she should be a loooot more careful with any future magic she does. She seems confused by her own abilities and mentions she saw her aunt Lazuli while she was passed out but Calroy shushes her before she says anything else incriminating. It seems we didn’t get the full picture of how frowned upon non-Bulbian magic is outside out Candia.

Lapin rolls to cover for Ruby with Grissini and says that her magic is Bulbian and Brennan rolls in the Box of Doom to see if he buys it. 10 or higher and he knows something’s up. We don’t get the result (though it *looked* like a 1) but he either buys it or plays along.

Theobald investigates the area (with help from his living sprinkle/dog Sprinkle who I haven’t mentioned before but gives him the help action in battle) but doesn’t find any info they didn't already have. However, he does notice that there aren’t any steeds around, which he interprets to mean they didn’t get there through outlaw means (ie: ride in on your horse, steal a bunch, ride out).

Calroy pulls aside Lapin and Theobald and says that even though they may have been able to convince Grissini, all of his men also saw Ruby doing forbidden magic and if word gets out it’ll be a problem. They need to make a plan and they need to be very careful about how they tell Amethar because if he finds out they “know how he’ll solve the problem.”

Ominous!

Things I’m Concerned About

So something I talked about while this episode was happening (and something that Brennan talked about during the talkback afterwards but in slightly different terms) is that the enemy NPC Battle effectiveness has, like, changed from “Saturday Morning Cartoon Minion” to “Art of War Scholar”. No one came into this like, “Let’s have an epic fight!” It was like, “We need to murder one specific guy as quickly as possible.” This isn’t a world where you can spend several rounds trying to jump on tables for cool points. This is a world where you need to be paying full attention even when it’s not your turn and everyone figured that out pretty quick. This is the most tense I’ve ever been during a d20 battle episode and this was only the first one! Amethar--the *Barbarian*--dropped THREE times. He ran out of rages which I didn’t even know was a thing! The fact that everyone made it out of the battle alive was really a miracle! Like, everyone was strategic and played well but if Ruby hadn’t won that Grasping Arrow roll off (Siobhan: I love gambling!), if Lapin hadn’t been perfectly placed in the initiative to feed Amethar heals right after he dropped, if just a couple of things had gone differently, they could have been so screwed.

Oh, and you know what else? Rezzes don’t exist in this world! Like, I think we all kinda figured but we got confirmation this week on Adventuring Party. It makes total sense. It is absolutely the correct choice for the setting. But, God, does it ratchet up every single round of combat. Every single decision. Every one of Lapin’s limited heals. Like, RIP Zac. What a season to play the party healer. Ally and Lou got off easy. (Note: The Spare the Dying cantrip does exist though at least, which isn’t a powerhouse spell but it’s not nothing).

I’m concerned about Jet’s flirting! First Thad now this hot Italian breadstick soldier guy? Like, usually I’d be like do you girl but, like, romantic entanglements are a quick way to get in a lot of trouble, up to and including death in a world like this! This is the “actions have consequences” season!

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, Liam doesn’t seem to have any interest in romantic entanglements which doesn’t always go over well if you’re a royal. He’s not directly in line for anything important it seems since he had so many older brothers, so maybe he can skate by. But last episode, Caramelinda did seem to be pushing him a little bit in that direction--saying he could get out of exile earlier if he got hitched--and I feel like there’s a good chance this becomes a bigger issue for him.

If we have a false flag attack AND and an attempted assassination in episode TWO, what are we escalating to, huh? Where are we going that that’s where we’re STARTING?

I could have mentioned this last episode but I’m glad I waited until this episode because it underlines the point even better. I’m *very* concerned about the religious politics of Calorum. In the first episode we got kind of a sense that things were different in Candia versus the rest of the world but this ep it was less of a “sense” and more of a concrete fear that someone was about to start gossiping about having seen Goody Ruby with the devil. And we knew from last episode that Lapin is secretly in league with the Sugarplum Fairy but Brennan used the word heretic in the talkback which feels a *lot* more dire but...yeah, is accurate. Plus, one of the girls’ aunt is St. Citrina, clearly a respected figure in the Bulbian faith, so there’s obviously Lore to unlock there. Look, a lot of going on and none of it feels very chill. Lapin better keep nailing all of his deception checks.

And, to drill down a little deeper, I’m very concerned that Ruby--who has presumably been told that magic is banned in the rest of the world, decided to illegally cast a spell in front of a ton of people--including Imperials--while loudly shouting “ABRACADABRA!” Like, if her impulse control doesn’t improve, we are gonna have some *issues*.

You know what I’m concerned about? My continuing relationship with several different food groups if I have to keep hearing graphic descriptions of them fighting each other. I mean, BONES in the CHEESE? *Bones* in the *Cheese*? My forgetting to preheat the oven is the *only* reason I wasn’t eating pizza when I heard that line. And the worst part is, with another DM I’d be like, “They probably didn’t think of the implications.” But this is Brennan so I KNOW he thought of the implications and he was like, “I’M DOING IT ANYWAY.”

Also, while we’re on the implications, I was also concerned--as Theo/Murph was--about Lord Swirly’s (the ice cream Candian) loyalty considering he is dairy (like the cheese brigands) even though he is Candian. Like, there’s a *lot* of overlap in different food types and that feels like it could easily get messy.

If this fight is an indication, these fights aren’t gonna be balanced to be fair. They’re balanced to be tactically sound--as in, “What would their enemies do to them at this moment?” And, man, I am really dreading the inevitable moment they get hit when they’re down for the first time. Having to start a fight already down to one third of your HP and having already burned through most of your spell slots is so demoralizing but you know it’s gotta happen!

I share Zac’s concerns about their Imperial allies. When he said, “This is Games of Thrones. It doesn’t mean anything,” I felt that.

I was reminded of a scene in the trailer which shows what looks to be the PCs in a freezer and now I’m just full of questions like is a freezer a part of a fridge or its own thing? Is it Calorum or is that like the upper part of the map that cuts off? Is it a death-y no man’s land? What’s going on?

So the toughest prof I've ever had was my Constitutional Law professor my 1L year of Law School. She's probably the smartest person I've ever met and so supportive but also super scary. What you need to know about law school grades to understand this story is that they're fake so a B- is like a hard C, a C is like a D, and a D means your professor wants you to die. A professor has to fill out paperwork and justify giving you a D at my school. So we heard a rumor that this professor gave one of her students a D and we were like, "Oh man, even she wouldn't...would she?" So, one day--I think at some kind of event, we're all chilling and we're like, "Professor! Did you *really* give a student a D last year." And she turns to us, glint in her eye, and says, "Who said I only gave out one?" Chills. Absolute chills. Anyway, that is all to say, I'm very much feeling shades of that conversation right now. "Brennan, did you really kill a PC this season?" *Anime Glasses Flash* "Who said I only killed one?"

Lingering Questions

Theobald is an Eldritch Knight, not a Paladin. So he has some magic, but it wouldn’t be Bulbian (unless Brennan flavored it that way). Is he also doing arcane magic on the down low or is there some other mechanism for that? (Sidenote: Glad the cast made the gummi berry juice joke when Murph cast Jump on Amethar so I didn’t have to.) If he is, gotta say, hiding it *way* better than the others.

Curious about exactly what Liam’s favored enemy is. Cause he was getting the bonus for that during this fight but was it because they were bandits or cheese people or archers or what?

Another quick holdover from last episode: Sir Theo rolled a deception check last ep against Ruby's insight upon seeing the princesses training with their new weapons (Theo won with a 19 to her 17) and Brennan gave us no information so it’s like, what was their deal? Past relationship? Past magical relationship (see first point)? Just concerned Ruby is gonna do something stupid with a magic bow in the world where magic is banned?

Five Six More Things

OK, let’s get the most important thing out of the way...my Candysona would be a Mint Chocolate divine soul sorcerer librarian/researcher. I’m sure ALL of you were wondering.

I really wanna give it up for the crew this episode! The battle set was amazing and the music was so good! Especially Ruby’s quirky circus-y theme. Loved that! Oh and the overlay of all the magical items was very helpful. (Side note: It’s all on the wiki if you wanna see it--I’d link it but tumblr hates when I do that. EDIT: @cloudmancy actually wrote them all up here too so here’s the link).

There was no way Brennan could have known that Ruby was going to drop immediately when he initially planned the session but using that as kind of a vision quest moment to unlock her magic which she starts fully using after that point for the first time was a very clutch story choice for them.

Murph and Emily sitting next to each other this season is a *gift*.

I cannot imagine having the gall to play a level 1 magic rogue in a world where magic is illegal, people who can hit for more than my hit point total 100% want me dead, and rezzes don’t exist. What a choice.

If one twin dies...and they have to decide...what to do with the other half of that locket...Brennan…

Housekeeping

Brennan is doing an Answer Time here on tumblr! Get your questions in before the 25th!

Not strictly D20 related but Brennan is also DMing a D&D game with some actual play vets and their kids! Check it out here!

I can’t believe I failed my word count limit two episodes in on a battle episode that I only had 3 pages of notes for. Bold of me to assume I could tamp down on me. But, plus side, Brennan did say I was valid on stream last week, so I’m gonna say these two things cancel each other out and I am in the clear.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #a crown of candy #a crown of candy spoilers #the royal report

93 notes · View notes

surveys-at-your-service · 4 years

Text

Survey #286

“has he lost his mind? can he see or is he blind? can he walk at all, or if he moves, will he fall?”

Do you prefer having carpets or hardwood floors? Hardwood floors. Easier to clean and just looks better imo. When was the last time you took a bath? Is this something you do often or do you prefer taking showers? Not since I was a kid, probably. I don't like baths; it feels dirty. What’s your favorite way to style your hair? Do you do this hairstyle often or is it too much hassle for you? "I can’t style it any way." <<<< Mine is too short, too. Do you have a real or artificial tree at Christmas? We always use artificial. The mess isn't worth it. What’s your favourite snack to make when you watch a movie? Popcorn, of course. Do you prefer the Beatles or the Rolling Stones? The Rolling Stones. The only Beatles' song off the top of my head that I enjoy is "Hey, Jude," while there's a handful of Stones' songs I like. When was the last time you played a game of Monopoly? Did you play until the end or did everyone get fed up and start arguing? I'm pretty sure the last time was the PlayStation version at Jason's house. I don't recall if we finished it or not. Have you ever won money on a scratch card or the lottery? How much did you win and what did you spend it on? Maybe like, $10 or so? Mom or Dad would buy one for the hell of it rarely, and they always let us kids scratch it off because we thought it was fun for whatever reason. Have you been on a plane before? Where was the last place you travelled to? Yeah, multiple times. I went to Illinois last to stay with Sara for a couple weeks. Would you rather do a wordsearch or a crossword? Wordsearch. What’s your favorite colour of skittles? Red, duh. I always save those for last. Do you have a favorite TV detective (eg. Sherlock, Poirot)? What is it that you like about them? Does Dean Winchester count? I loved him when I was into Supernatural. He was so charismatic, funny, a wonderful big brother, and don't forget hot as fuck lmao. Were you ever in any positions of responsibility when you were in school? No. Do you need to wear glasses or contacts? How long have you needed to wear those for? I'd had glasses since high school. I'm blind as a mf. Do you talk in your sleep? Yes. Ocean or pool? Pool. Cleaner and less risk. I'll swim in either, though. What's your favorite song at the moment? "DEGRADE" by "3TEETH." I've been hooked on them lately. Ever met anyone famous? No. Do you feel that you've had a truly successful life? *blinks* Have you been in love? Absolutely. Where do you wish you were? Sara's would be great. Last thing you spent lots of money on? My Markiplier tattoo. Favorite restaurant? Olive Garden. What is your favorite kind of car? I really dunno. I don't know almost any car by name. I like slick-looking ones, though. AKA expensive ones lmao. What would you honestly do if you had a million dollars? Pay off a lot of things, first of all. For both myself and Mom. I know too well I'd spend a good deal on tats, but I'm quite sure I'd be disciplined enough to know what's more important. Are you more of a shy or outgoing person? I am VERY shy. Would you rather listen to new music or the classics? I tend to listen to music I already know. I go hunting for new bands and songs too rarely... Can you do a cartwheel? lol hell no Do you currently feel any sadness? I always do. Do you always respond to chain letters? I literally never do. I don't care what it's about. They're annoying. Do you spend too much time online? My life is online. It's depressing, and very. I usually don't know what to do with myself if I don't have access to it. What is your biggest annoyance? Right now, people not complying to COVID restrictions to help end this madness. Are you currently in a relationship? No. What do you like to do for fun? Watch YouTube, play WoW, write, read, take pictures... Not a lot. I've been stuck with anhedonia for years; not a lot of things give me any sort of pleasure, even the aforementioned things sometimes. Can you type without looking at the keyboard? Yeah. Do you ever feel like people use you? I've sure as shit felt it before. What role does religion play in your life? None. It's honestly a place of bitterness. Can you sleep with your eyes open? Noooooooo, that shit creeps me out. How often (if ever) do you use moisturiser? Pretty much never... but I need to considering my skin is dry as the Sahara. Have you had any of your wisdom teeth removed? What was the reason? (eg. infection, impaction, lack of space). No. What was the reason for your last hospital visit? I visited Mom after her surgery. Do you use a laptop, desktop, tablet or phone to take your surveys? Laptop. Do you have any debt? If so, are you on top of paying it all back? College debt, for sure. I dropped out three different times. No, I'm nowhere near on top of it. How often do you travel by public transport? Never. Do you have an Instagram account? If so, how often do you post on there and what kind of things do you post? I have three, haha. I don't post on any regularly enough... but I use my first one most. My "main" one is my primary photography one, and I have a second photography account for my darker/roadkill/"vulture culture" work. Lastly I made one for my pets... yes, I decided to be one of those people lmao. Are you close to your extended family? Do you wish you were closer? Definitely not, but we want to try to get closer. In Grammy's last days, she shared that she wished we were more "together" so much. Do you prefer to give your pets human names or not? Definitely not human names, at least usually. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher? Would you know how to use one without reading the instructions? No; I doubt it. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever had to deal with at your job? When I worked, impatient customers. What was the last thing you used your mobile phone for? Listening to music. While my laptop is kaput, I'm using an old one, but it's super slow so I'm just using my phone for music and videos. Did you used to play The Sims? What version or expansion pack was your favorite one to play? I loved the animals one; I went through a period of playing that a loooot. There was also an African wildlife one that I had, but that one was pretty boring, honestly. I never got into the human ones. What quality do you value most highly in others? Probably compassion. Who has made the biggest sacrifice for you? Mom. What was your best find from a flea market, garage sale, ebay or thrift? I got an AWESOME shipwreck w/ a sea serpent nightlight from the flea market once. What is one selfish thing you tend to do? Uhhhh I'm unsure. I try not to be selfish. Have you ever written a letter to a soldier? No, but man does this make me think of "Travelin' Soldier." I love that song so much, man. Always have. What do you use batteries for the most often? Ha, it used to be my mouse, but now that I have one that plugs up to the computer to charge, idk. What’s the smallest thing you’ve ended a relationship over? "I don’t think I’ve ended any kind of relationship over something small." <<<< Would you rather order a starter (appetiser) or a dessert? Or would you be able to manage a full three courses? It really depends on what I want and how hungry I am. If I had the first two though, I almost certainly couldn't handle a dessert. Have you or a member of your family been diagnosed with COVID yet? My older sister had it very badly to the point she wound up in the ER. It's no fucking joke. Aside from the necessities (eating, breathing etc.) what is something you do every single day, without fail? I was going to say “get on the computer” or something of the sort, but what if I don’t have access to technology that day for whatever reason? In that case, I’d think of Jason to some point. There isn’t a day that passes when he’s not lurking in my head somewhere. Is there anything you enjoy that’s considered childish for your age? What is it? Roleplaying. Some shows. I’m sure there’s plenty others. How many times a day do you use the bathroom? A LOT. If I’m drinking something, a lot of the time, I almost immediately have to go pee after a single sip. Do you need caffeine to wake up in the morning? What’s your drink of choice? I wouldn’t say I NEED it, no. I do regularly have my Mountain Dew in the morning in place of coffee tho lmao. That’s out of habit, though. Do you live somewhere with lots of livestock or wild animals? Livestock, absolutely. Wild animals, sure, so long you’re not right in a city. Well, even then, roadkill isn’t rare. Would you rather live somewhere rural or urban? RURAL. Mom and I are both having trouble adjusting to living in the suburbs. The only good thing is we’re closer to everything. Is there anything (a hobby, for example) that’s guaranteed to always make you feel better when you’ve had a bad day? Not absolutely without fail. If you’re struggling with your mental health, who are you most likely to open up to, or would you bottle it up instead? I VERY rarely bottle it up. That is so unhealthy. I confide in my mom, usually. What room of your house do you spend the most time in? Is this through choice or necessity? Ugh, my bedroom… but yeah, it’s choice. I COULD be in the kitchen or living room on the laptop, I just don’t want to for privacy’s sake. I’m waiting for the extra bedroom to be cleaned out to turn that into like my “dayroom” or “office.” I’m putting a desk in there, lots of motivational stuff, just things to inspire me to work. I NEED away from my bed. I only want to use it to sleep. If you have pets, do you snuggle with them when you’re having a bad time? Does it make you feel better? Well, it’s hard to “snuggle” with a snake, but I’ll still take her out sometimes and she gets comfortable against me for warmth. I do however definitely snuggle with my cat Roman, because he’s a total cuddlebug and super affectionate with me. How would you rate Stephen King as a writer? Shockingly, I haven’t read a novel by him. However, knowing stories he’s written and his genre, I think I’d absolutely love him. What movie are you looking forward to? Oh goodness, I have no idea. I’m totally out of touch with movies. Have you been to see an opera? No, they don’t appeal to me. What do you wish that you knew with more certainty? My career success. Of the following things, which would you most like to have more of? Drink, dreams, bed, drugs, lust, lies, hate, love, fear, fun, pain, flesh, stars, smiles, fame, sex: Love, of course. Would you ever consider working for the government? Absolutely not. What are the best and worst television channels? I don’t need to even watch television to tell you Discovery is best. Idk about worst. If you had a magical pencil and everything you drew became real what would you draw? Hm… if I drew like, Earth overlayed with a peace symbol, would that cause world peace? What would you like to touch? A wild (well, habituated) meerkat. Meerkats are just… so important in my life. Without them, I wouldn’t have met people who’ve greatly affected and even changed my life. I know the day I (hopefully) hold or pet one will be one where I cry. Does anything you own glow in the dark? I don’t know. Would you rather ride a dragon or a unicorn? Who the hell would answer “unicorn” to this???? Dragons are so so so superior. Can you make a balloon animal? No. How many glasses of water do you drink each day? Rarely more than two, if even that. What do you like in a poem, accessibility, crypticness, or something in between? I guess of these options, leaving some cryptic space, room for the reader to imagine. What I cherish most in poetry though is descriptiveness, but not to an excessive point where it’s just hard to understand. Who do you find yourself in constant conflict with? Why the conflict? MYSELF. I’m just so mad at and disappointed with myself. What subjects do you refuse to talk about? Why are you hiding from them? I mean, none, really. With some people I’m willing to talk about whatever topic. Greatest black and white film: Idk, I can’t recall enough. Greatest film three hours or longer: Troy. I adore that movie. I should watch it again…

#survey #quiz #questions #questionnaire #lyrics: ''iron man'' by black sabbath

3 notes · View notes

rivkahstudies · 5 years

Note

do you have any advice for a high school senior who wants to make the most of their last year of high school? asking for a friend :)

hi darling! I think the things I remember most from my senior year (though it was only two years ago that it started) can be summarized in, “crazy busy, crazy stressful, but at times, crazy fun.” Here’s to making the most of it, and maintaining health while you do so!

This is going to be combination masterpost and advice post, because I’ve accumulated a lot on this subject and I have a loooot to say.

Also this is heavily based off of the assumption you’re pursuing higher education, but some of these things still apply/can be tweaked.

table of contents:

i. academics

ii. social life

iii. personal health

i. 𝓪𝓬𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓬𝓼

a. grades

They’re important for your future if your plan is to go to college or academy, but they’re not the whole world. (see social life and personal health)

I’m not a big fan of the “3-to-1 rule” or other such things that tell you “study for this amount of time no matter what” because it’s important for you to understand what comes naturally to you and what you need further clarification on. Some classes are going to take up less of your time than others.

The best you can do on a given day isn’t necessarily 100%. Sometimes your best that day is 90%, 80%, 60%. “try your best” isn’t “your best ever” so don’t push yourself for 100s every time for the expense of categories ii and iii.

A lot of people (at least in places like where I went to high school) who are hung up on the stress of competition and the need to be The Best™ are going to ask you for grades. It’s going to be everywhere. Assignment grades, test grades, SATs, ACTs, (if you’re not in the US, the equivalents of your state, regional, or national standardized tests), entrance exams, et cetera, et cetera. I know it’s tempting to fall into the anxiety of whether you measure up, but here’s a quick tip: even if you think you did well/above average, you can keep it private. It infuriated my classmates when I wouldn’t share, because I was comfortable with how I competed with myself and didn’t care what my peers thought of my scores.

When you’re someone as dedicated to studying as I am, you might get a lot of “oh, you got that grade because you’re you” (the underlying implication being that it’s natural or the work is easy for you, which was not the case for me) or “ha! I got higher than (name)! I measure up!” This is a lot of their own biases and insecurity talking and the best way not to be affected is not to buy into it. Again, this is based on my own experience.

I really cannot emphasize extra credit enough because some of my teachers threw it around like candy and some of them barely drizzled a little in at intervals, but either way it really saved me when it came to rounding my grades up.

It never hurts to have a grade tracker if you’re concerned, you don’t get graded by total points accumulation/have a weighted system, and/or don’t have an easy way to access your grades online throughout the year.

find your study strategy/ies for each class and stick to it/them. It won’t necessarily be the same. I’m a primarily visual learner, and it really, really helps for most things, but I still need rote memorization for subjects with a lot of vocabulary, like medicine or languages.

further resources

studying without notes by @fuckstudy .

prioritizing that crazy to do list (the abcde method) by @eintsein

a comphrensive guide to anki (flashcards online) by @studyingstudent

a stash of tiny study tips by @acalmstudiousfirecracker

and much much more on my #studyref tag.

b. extracurriculars

These I think matter (though I’m biased) more than grades, because they’re what shape you and your experience. Most of the students at my university had grades like mine, but it’s the places I frequented and the people to whom I devoted my time that formed my sense of self. I have so many skills, anecdotes, and ideas that I’ve gained from my extracurricular work.

If you have any you’ve stuck with since early in high school and you still like, keep ‘em. Quality over quantity. Show jobs or universities you can be dedicated and disciplined, and have stamina to see projects to the end. (I was in 7 and held leadership positions in 4 and it was probably part of the reason why I spent all of senior year on three hours sleep… besides my IB classes of course.)

If you’re not pursuing college immediately or at all (or even if you are), participate in ones that pull you out of your comfort zone and teach you something new.

ii. 𝓼𝓸𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮

Treat this category as you would anything else in your schedule–requiring time and being a significant priority. Not always at the very top, but still demanding its own attention.

See friends outside of school, for however long or short a period, at least once every week to two weeks. This can include extracurricular time if you’re pressed.

Schedule time with your family (especially if their lives are also cluttered and hectic) do something dynamic, and also something separate that’s relaxing. One week your family time might be reading in the same room and having gentle conversation or a family dinner; the next might be going out to the movies or taking a hike together. It can be easy to feel taken for granted or to take family for granted.

By the way, this includes “chosen” family if you’re not on great terms with some/all of them. I have experience with this too.

Get. Out. Of. The. House. This plays into “personal health” too! You need a change in rhythm/routine and exposure to the outside. Especially in your winter season.

I’m one of those people who has to have things scheduled way in advance, so family/curfew/etc permitting, do something a little bit spontaneous, say with only a few hours or a couple days notice. It will make you feel more alive if you’re in a stressful slump.

Communication is really important, especially if you’re stressed. Don’t be afraid to tell people “I am sensitive/hyperreactive to X because Y is putting me on edge right now” or “this triggers X insecurity because I’m anxious about Y.” This goes doubly if you’re struggling with mental illness. Talk to someone you trust. (See “personal health.”)

Don’t give in to peer pressure if you’re spent the time you need with friends and have to excuse yourself for other responsibilities. Balance!

No is equally as important to respected as Yes, no matter what the case.

Respect boundaries but invite people to challenge their comfort zone at their space.

Don’t be broken up if a romantic relationship doesn’t last. It’s senior year. Everything’s changing. Let it.

Also, please don’t be like me and let your summer/your school year be eaten up with relationship drama. I thankfully ended a difficult relationship early (late September) so it wasn’t a huge issue, but I watched people close to me struggle with while also battling the stress of the year.

iii. 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓵𝓽𝓱

mentally

If you’re struggling with mental illness, be aware of your own limits and pace yourself.

Sometimes we feel dull because we need to break routine/stimulate ourselves in a new way. You should have a structure/routine, but it should be flexible enough for you to adapt to changes and listen to what your mind and body are telling you.

The path to self-love must first begin with self-acceptance. If you struggle with self-image or self-esteem issues, you can’t build positivity off a foundation of negativity. You must first level it to neutrality.

Perform check-ups with yourself. This may be in the form of meditation, a diary, therapy, etc. None of these things are a “last resort” but rather a healthy part of building good mental habits.

physically

Exercise! You don’t have to be a star athlete to bring about the benefits. Even a 15 minute jog, 30 minute walk/hike, or 10 minutes of stretching can give you benefits.

On that note! Take! Frequent! Breaks! And please, please google stretches for certain body parts like hands if you do repetitive motion like drawing or writing for a long period of time! You don’t want to push yourself!

Listen to your body and don’t ignore pain, hunger, nausea, fatigue, etc. Respond patiently and with what’s appropriate.

Don’t forget about diet. It’s easy when you’re busy to reach for the quick and nutritionally poor snacks/meals, but it’s really important to set aside time to cook/meal plan or even just throw together a quick snack tray of fruits/crackers/cheeses/etc. It doesn’t have to be instragrammable but you should have a balanced diet that factors in your specific needs, if you have any restrictions, etc.

Change yo pillow case frequently kids, it does wonders for acne.

I cannot stress enough! To! Stay! Hydrated! My goal is eventually eight glasses a day but my minimum is 4-5. I try to have one every meal, especially in college.

Bedtime is important! But more than that, wake up time is important. If you’re trying to adjust your schedule and can only keep one consistent, choose the time you wake up. Eventually your body will naturally become fatigued for the bedtime to match it. It’s how I turned my sleep schedule from 12:00 AM to 8:00 into 9:30 PM to 5:30 AM over the course of one winter break!

If you’re a morning person, you’re a morning person. If you’re a night owl, you’re a night owl. There’s research now to prove that forcing yourself into a rhythm too extreme for your tendencies can make you feel awful either way.

At the end of the day, you’ve got one goal and one goal only: to look back on this year and be proud of what you’ve achieved and how you’ve grown. You shape your future and choose what matters most in your life!

If there’s anything else you think I’ve missed or you’d like me to cover more in depth/link more posts to, please ask me! I’d be happy to clarify/continue this series! I want to make sure you’re completely satisfied.

#sleepover #annabethofcolor #rivkah answers #my advice #masterpost #high school #high school seniors #studyref

119 notes · View notes

imagines-dreams · 7 years

Text

Family and Karaoke - Michael Mell Imagine

Rating:PG

Warnings: Michael Mell’s big Filipino family, there are children in this story, loooots of random kissing, Tagalog words

Summary: After being with Michael Mell for a long time, it’s time for you to meet his crazy, big, loud family. Apparently, they also have a tradition that when someone brings in a date, that someone has to do something special.

Word Count: 2147

Notes:

Tito (“Tea-toe”)=Uncle

Tita (“Tea-tah”)=Aunt

Kuya (“Koo-yah”)=word to show respect to an older male sibling or cousin

Ate (“Ah-teh”) =word to show respect to an older female sibling or cousin

Parol (“Pah-roll”)=a Filipino version of the Christmas wreath, a big light made out of different colors

Mano Po (“Mah-no Po”)=literally translates into “hand, sir/ma’am”, a sign of respect shown to elders where the person touches the elder’s knuckles to the forehead that is said to give the person blessings

Tagalog ("Tah-gah-lowg")= national language of the Philippines

Mahal Kita (“Mah-hahl Key-tah”)=literally translates into “You are the most precious thing”, means “I love you”

You smoothed out your dress for the fifth time that night. You cringed when you realized how sweaty you were. How could you not be though? You were going to your boyfriend’s family reunion for the first time. You had met his parents already, but his whole family? He told you about a few important figures. His grandma, grandpa, a few of his nieces and nephews. Oh god, but you were going to mess up. You were going to forget their names and mess everything up. They would tell him that you weren’t worthy for him and he-

“Babe?”

Your breath caught in your throat. “I’m fine.”

Michael blinked a few times before taking your hand in his. “They’re going to love you. Just like I do. I mean, who can’t love you?”

You shook your head. “I don’t know. I’m just nervous. You’ve told me about your family several times, and they seem amazing. I just don’t want to ruin anything.”

“You do remember I buy vintage collectibles, aka the things that my family thinks it’s a waste of money.”

“But they’re so cool!” You turned in your seat to face him better. “Plus, they make the basement more colorful. I mean, did you tell them that if you get the entire collection, you’re practically a millionaire.”

He smiled. “See, this is exactly why I love you.”

“I love you, too.” You giggled and kissed his hand. When Michael began to blush and stare at you like you weren’t real, you laughed and turned his head towards the road. Good thing the stoplight was red.

Michael shook his head to regain his focus. “Uh, right, we’re almost there.”

You blinked a few times. There was one house with many lights and decorations and the iconic parol Michael had told you about. There were quite a few parols, each one blinking a different assortment of colors. “Woah,” you gasped. “I think which house it is.”

Michael beamed. “It’s been that way since November.”

~ - ~

Michael wrapped his arm around your shoulders and kissed the top of your head. “You’re going to do fine.”

You fidgetted with your purse. “Wait, so who do I do the, uh, mano po thing with again?”

“Aw, babe, just my grandparents, and anyone else who looks like grandparents.” He shrugged. “When in doubt, just follow my lead, ok?”

You nodded. You replayed the action you were supposed to do in your head. They were going to hold out their hand slightly, and you had to gently take their hand and press their knuckles to your forehead. A sign of respect and hope for luck, Michael had told you. But, what if you did it to the wrong person, and they got offended because they were too young to have the mano po done to them.

Michael gazed down at you. Noticing your furrowed eyebrows and tense shoulders, he quickly grabbed your shoulders. Before you could squeal or protest, Michael pressed his lips against yours.

You whined, worried about your dress and hair, but it took less than a second for you to melt against him. His hands grabbed your hips and pulled you closer and closer, even when the two of you couldn’t be any closer. The bright lights and loud music faded to nothing, and you could just feel Michael all around you. His slight cinnamon breath and gentle lips. His hard grip turning into a gentle hold. The brief cold touch of his glasses against your cheeks.

Then, he pulled away from you, and the door opened.

“Michael!”

“Tito!”

You held your hand to your head as you tried to adjust to the exponential loss of Michael’s touch. That kiss left you breathless and slightly dizzy. The bright lights and loud music didn’t help.

Then, Michael’s arm was around you again. “Tito, this is (Y/n).” Your boyfriend blushed a little. “I’m her boyfriend.”

You blinked a few times before extending your hand. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

The man stared at your hand. For a split second, your eyes widened, and you wanted to die under his stare. At least you’d be in Michael’s arms.

However, the man beamed. “Ah, come ‘ere!” He pulled you in for an unexpected hug and squeezed you tightly. “Finally!” He turned around and shouted over his shoulder. “Mikey got a girlfriend!”

Michael’s eyes widened. “Tito, n-”

“Kuya!”

“Tito!”

Suddenly, an army of small children appeared out of nowhere, pushed the man out of the way and tackled your boyfriend. Michael stumbled back a few steps and laughed. He called each of the kids by name, ruffled a kid’s hair, and scooped a little one into his arms.

You sighed at the sight. There were at least ten of those kids, and he was doing so well. How was he able to-

“Come on,” the man said as he welcomed you inside. “You have got to meet everyone, and I warn you, we are all huggers.”

And he wasn’t exaggerating. There were so many people at the reunion. You did the mano po to one grandparent who laughed and tried talking to you in Tagalog. When he realized you couldn’t understand, he apologized and told you that you looked too beautiful for his grandson. You hugged many people, and it seemed like every five minutes, someone new would hug you.

You just went with the flow, floating past the two dining tables of food and grabbing a plate. You floated past a room just for karaoke. The backyard was for drunk relatives and one unfortunate aunt and uncle who were trying to barbeque. Another room was dedicated towards the younger members of the family, where you finally found your boyfriend giving a piggyback ride to one of the children.

You laughed and made your way towards him.

Michael’s eyes lit up. He inhaled through his teeth and found a nice couch to set the child down upon. “Hey!” He kissed you quickly, and you looped your arm around his.

Before any other words could be spoken, four kids ran up to the two of you. “Wow,” the kids said in awe.

You smiled and sat on the ground. “Hey, guys, do you know who I am?”

They shook their heads.

Michael sat down next to you. “Can you guys say, ‘Tita’?”

“Tita,” they repeated.

“(Y/n).”

“Tita (Y/n)!” The kids hugged you and greeted you with “Hi’s” and “I like your dress’s” and “Are you Tito’s girlfriend?”.

Michael just laughed and began telling everyone stories based on video games.

~ - ~

Michael and you collapsed on the couch as soon as one of his cousins decided to entertain the younger ones. Michael patted your shoulder. “Hey, there’s video game room.”

You gasped and narrowed your eyes at him. “How dare you keep that from me.”

He laughed and kissed your cheek. “Race you there!”

~ - ~

“I can’t believe it!”

“It’s not possible!”

“I never thought I’d see the day.”

Michael and you had been the last two standing in a Super Smash Bros fight. It had been ten minutes. Each of you had one life left. No one seemed to have the advantage.

You were intensely watching your character. Your reflexes were getting better since you started dating Michael, and it felt natural to do all the combos you had learned from him.

Michael’s cousins stood around the two of you, absolutely shocked to see the video game master actually struggling.

Then, the game paused.

Someone yelled, “Oh, come on! Who pressed it?”

Michael smirked. “Babe?”

“What?”

Then, he kissed you.

You gasped, and the controller fell out of your hands. You kissed Michael and slowly reached up to wrap your hands around his neck. He pressed his lips against your harder. You had to lean back at the sudden force and ended up lifting your legs so they rested on his lap.

The voices of disgust soon turned into gasps and “oh’s”.

You pulled away, the voices too loud to ignore, and immediately slapped Michael’s shoulder. “Cheater! This is a new low!”

You were too caught up in the kiss to notice that Michael didn’t lay a finger on you. His hands were too occupied winning, while your poor controller was on the ground. Michael kissed you quickly. “It was the only way I could win.”

“You bet it was!” you yelled. You hit him with a pillow.

Michael froze. Then, he smirked. “You’re gonna pay for that.”

“Oh, really?”

Someone yelled, “Pillow fight!” and suddenly, pillows were being thrown everywhere. You caught some, threw some, and even once got Michael on the back of his head. Score!

~ - ~

“I win,” you heaved.

“I disagree.”

“Wanna bet, Mell?”

“No. You win.”

You beamed. “Thank you.”

He laughed and kissed you once before resting his forehead on yours. “I kinda wanna go home.”

You pursed your lips. “Yeah, so do I.”

He nodded. He stood up and held out his hand. “Prepare yourself, it’s going to take a while to say goodbye.”

You looked over the railing. A sea of people waited on the first floor. You sighed. “You’re not wrong.”

Michael smiled and and held you close. “Before we dive into chaos, I love you, and you were wonderful tonight.”

You giggled and brushed his messy hair back. “I love you, too.”

He kissed you sweetly and softly before trying to lead you through the crowd. You and Michael had hugged at least fifteen people before one of his aunts spoke to him in Tagalog. He replied nervously before getting interrupted by her again. Suddenly, the two of you were being pulled into another direction.

“Oh, no,” you whispered. You knew where you were heading. The karaoke room.

“MIchael needs to sing!” someone shouted.

“Michael! Michael! Michael!” they chanted. Someone pushed your boyfriend into the clearing and handed him the microphone. He laughed. “Guys, I haven’t sung in years.”

“We know!”

He shook his head and looked to you.

You opened your mouth, about to say an excuse for him, but your boyfriend shook his head and looked through the songbook. His family cheered like they had won the million dollar lotto.

Michael laughed. “I got it! I got it!” He put down the songbook. “For the record, I hate you all.”

“We love you, too!”

“Go Mikey!”

“Serenade! Serenade!”

You stared at one of his cousins weirdly. Serenade?

Michael blushed. “I know, Ate! I am, I am.”

The music flowed through the speakers, and you had to cover your wide smile. This was too perfect.

Michael took a deep breath. “Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they’re not shining. Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying. She’s so beautiful, and I tell her everyda-ay.”

His voice sounded so heavenly. When he sang the first verse, it was soft and gentle, almost like he was whispering it to you. Then, the chorus hit.

“When I see your face!” Michael pointed at you and beamed. “There’s not a thing I would change, cause girl, you’re amazing.” He held out his hand for you, and the crowd parted immediately. With red cheeks, you took his hand and let him pull you to the front. “Just the way you are.” Michael held your hands and pulled you closer. “And when you smile-”

You giggled and leaned back just a bit.

Your boyfriend wrapped one arm around your shoulders and motioned to the crowd, “The whole world stops and stares for a while, cause girl you’re amazing. Just the way you are.” Being the drama queen he loved being, he added another “yeah” at the end of the chorus. His family cheered and whooped, all while you kept blushing.

“Get her a chair!”

“Someone have a chair for the future Mell?”

“I got a free chair!”

A chair was pushed towards you, and you gladly sat down.

The rest of the song was spent with Michael working the crowd, occasionally kissing you on the cheek or hand, and ending the song with an impressive show of his range. When he was done, he bowed, said, “Thank you,” and held out his hand.

You smiled, your cheeks still burning from hearing Michael Mell serenade you, and took his hand. You curled up by his side as the embarrassment and happiness overtook you. You barely registered Michael quickly saying goodbye to everyone before leading you back outside. “(Y/n)?”

Still holding onto his shirt, you gazed up and giggled. “I didn’t know you could sing.”

He blushed and awkwardly swayed back and forth. “Uh, yeah, my family kinda raises everyone with karaoke.”

“I’m glad they did.” You quickly kissed him. “You have a wonderful voice.”

“Thank you.” He kissed you again. “You were amazing, as always.” He let out a short breath. “Now, I just want to watch some movies and cuddle. Ok with you?”

“Perfect.”

He rubbed his nose against yours. “Mahal kita, (Y/n).”

You smiled. “Mahal Kita, Michael Mell.”

No, I can't speak Tagalog, although I desperately wish I could. Yes, I am obsessed with Michael Mell, and yes, I love my culture so much that since George Salazar is Filipino, I will imagine all characters he plays as Filipino, (aka Michael, Grover, and Mr. D are Filipino because YESSSSS)

Also, if someone has a better pronunciation guide or definition of these words, tell me! I was staring at my computer pronouncing things for at least thirty minutes, and I'm still not sure.

#michael mell #michael mell x reader #michael mell imagine #michael mell onehsot #be more chill #bmc #bmc x reader #bmc imagine #bmc oneshot

90 notes · View notes

roadtrip-2020 · 4 years

Text

Jackson Hole, WY.

Another favorite stop on our road trip was Jackson Hole. We were there in the shoulder season in late October, just a few weeks after most of the leaves had turned. While it was pretty cold, we had a wonderful time.

Where we stayed

Anvil Hotel - Roadside motel recently renovated into a trendy midcentury hotel.

What we liked:

Affordable

Great location, right in town

Decor is cute, beds are comfy

What we didn’t like:

Rooms are dark and almost all have windows that face directly into a parking lot. You have to keep the shades pulled down the whole time for privacy, so there isn’t much natural light.

Overall, it felt a bit cheap. It was cheap, so I guess you get what you pay for. I’d recommend it if you’re on a budget, but otherwise would stay elsewhere. We loved the Rustic Inn, where we stayed our last night in Jackson.

Rustic Inn - I’ll admit, the branding does not impress (Anvil looks much cuter online), but the Rustic Inn is actually very nice! I would definitely recommend it, especially if you can get a creekside cabin/room.

What we liked:

Beautiful grounds complete with a creek, teepee, creekside outdoor bar, outdoor fireplaces, and a river walk.

Big cabin-like rooms or actual cabins

Our room had a fireplace and a porch

Breakfast was to-go due to COVID, but they were really good breakfast burritos!

Outdoor hot tub and pool area (we took advantage of the hot tub)

What we didn’t like:

We tried to make spa appointments day-of or day-prior (right after we checked in), but it was too late -- they were full. It wasn’t the hotel’s fault, really. We would have liked to stay there longer and leveraged the spa.

Location is towards the outskirts of downtown Jackson, it’s actually right as you’re driving out of town towards the Tetons or airport. It’s good, because it has lots of space, but not as walkable as, say, the Anvil.

This photo was taken before we went to dinner at the creek right next to our hotel room at Rustic Inn...see, stunning!

What we did

We had so much fun in Jackson Hole and I love how much there is to see and do in the area! The Grand Tetons are absolutely stunning and are less than a 20 minute drive away...The proximity to Grand Teton National Park and even Yellowstone makes Jackson Hole one of my favorite destinations and a must for outdoor adventurers.

Outdoor adventures:

Grand Teton National Park - Out of every National Park we visited, Grand Teton was probably our favorite and definitely the best run. Everything was very clearly marked, rangers were extremely helpful, and the trails were well kept with nice bathrooms/facilities and plenty of parking. Sounds superfluous but you notice these things after awhile!

Rockin’ M Ranch Trail Ride - BY FAR one of our favorite activities in Jackson and of our entire trip. Forgot how cathartic spending time with animals in nature is...Rockin’ M Ranch is in Alpine, about 45 minutes outside of Jackson. They were WONDERFUL. We did 3 hour ride with lunch included, which was really fun. I guess there are less little kids on the longer rides, which worked well for us. We had a great group of about 5 couples and a guide who was nice, funny, and helpful. We hiked along and THROUGH a river, up and down hills and ate lunch at this area that had a grill and picnic table. Many pictures below...

Things we did in Grand Teton National Park:

There are sooo many hikes and beautiful lakes to check out in the Tetons...what we did in our limited time below and then I’ll also link some other favs. These are great activities for summer/fall, but had we been there in the winter we would have skied Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. We will be back soon!

Hidden Falls Trail - The majority of this hike is pretty flat and wraps around the gorgeous Jenny Lake. We ended up hiking up past the falls up a step path to a few overlooks that had stunning views of the entire lake. Then, we heard about a Moose spotting from another hiker and set out to find it...and we did! I think these offshoots must have added some distance and elevation to our hike because I was exhausted by the end.

Mormon Row - OK so this is less a hike and more of a site to see, but it’s these old farm houses and barns with the most stunning background. They are located on the Antelope refuge and we saw tons of pronghorn grazing in the area. I didn’t know what that was, but pronghorn are in the antelope family and they are the fastest animal in North America and the 2nd fastest animal in the world!!

Beautiful viewpoint on top of Signal Mountain - Perhaps you can hike here, but we drove it. The views from the top are stunning. You can see the Teton range and Lake Jackson on one side and Jackson Hole Valley on the other!

Top 10 Hiking trails in Grand Teton National Park on AllTrails >>

Yellowstone National Park is also only about an hour away from Jackson, but I’ll cover that in my Montana post! :)

Views from top of Signal Mtn:

Mormon Row:

Hiking Jenny Lake:

Shopping:

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to get a Stetson hat in Jackson. And so I did! And there were SOOO many good ones to choose from. Chris got his second Stetson, too!

Hide Out Leathers - I got both my Stetson hat and suede fringe jacket here! They have such a good supply of leather goods, not as wide variety of hats, but they do have some.

Beaver Creek Hats and Leather - Chris got his hat here and they have a loooot of great hats. I was tempted to buy another hat here after getting mine at Hide Out, but I resisted.

High Country Outfitters - They have fly fishing trips out of here and outdoor gear/apparel.

Pendleton Store - Pendleton stuff just says “the West” to me. So it makes sense they’d have a flagship store in Jackson. They have such cool blankets and even make custom ones at this store.

Breakfast / Lunch:

Persephone bakery - An adorable bakery and cafe. You order at the counter and then they bring you your food. Really cute outdoor dining, too! I got the croissant breakfast sandwich and it was so tasty!

Cafe Genevieve - Another wonderful little breakfast spot, right next to Persephone. More of a sit down and order kind of place. And more traditional breakfast food. I loved my waffles and chai latte.

Creekside Market - Great deli to get to-go sandwiches for a day of adventures!

Dinner:

We should have booked dinner reservations further in advance, because it was pretty tough to get reservations once we got there.

Our first night there, we met up with some friends who have a place in Jackson Hole. We wanted to sit outside (COVID and we had a dog with us), so we got drinks and dinner at Cutty’s, a local dive bar. Very divey, but fun! A bit out of the town square so less touristy but also you need to drive to get there. Not really a “must-see”.

Local restaurant & bar - This was our favorite dinner in Jackson. We both got really good steaks! They also had really great wine selection including many natural wines, which we loved.

StillWest Brewery & grill - When we couldn’t get reservations in town, we called StillWest. Stillwest is still technically in town, but not right in the town square. It’s closer to the local ski mountain, Snow King. It’s a really fun brewery and restaurant with good food!

On our third night we went to dinner with friends in a nearby town, Wilson, and went to an old-school Italian restaurant: Calico.

Recommendations

Because we had such a limited time there, I enlisted the help of my friend Kaelyn (a regular, and a local for a good chunk of COVID) to help me with all of her faves. So comments below are from her POV, which I trust, of course.

Restaurants:

Glorietta's - New-ish Italian spot. Literally everything I've had is next-level good, but Meatballs are a must.

Persephone Bakery - Breakfast/lunch spot. The one in town is tiny and always insanely crowded, but a new one just opened in Wilson and is bigger/way less crowded. We went here, too...Linked above!

Cafe Genevieve - Southern comfort-ish food (lol we did our late night wedding food from here). We went here, too...Linked above!

Pinky G's - Best pizza in my opinion — you can dine in but we usually take out Get the Abe Froman with balsamic glaze!

Snake River Grill - Fancy spot, probably best steak/bison place in town Make a reso NOW if you're going months from now haha

Bin 22 - Mini liquor/wine + mart that's also a tapas/happy hour spot

Calico - especially in the summer! We went here, too...Linked above!

Hikes:

Hiking in the park

Delta Lake - ~7 miles with elevation gain (takes 3.5-4.5 hours to hike, roundtrip, plus ~1 hour at the lake)...I'd say moderate-to-difficult but worth it. The views are unreal (it's that gorgeous bright blue lake!) and it's never too too crowded.

Bradley and/or Taggart Lakes - A 5-mile loop, not hard at all. Bradley is less crowded if you want to pick one.

Phelps Lake - Scenic and easy, more of a walk than a hike. Has a massive boulder that people jump off of into the water (great photo op!) — kind of a "rite of passage," if you will.

For both of these hikes (Bradley/Taggart and Delta), you'll enter through the park, which driving through IS an adventure in and of itself; you can buy a park pass that'll last you seven days

Also I HIGHLY recommend to everyone visiting Jackson that they rent a car

Hiking in Teton Village:

You can hike to the top of the gondola (~1.5 hours) OR ride the gondola and hike one of the trails that starts toward the top of the mountain...there are TONS

Did the Cirque trail this summer and LOVED it...It summits Rendezvous (the main skiing mountain in the village) and there were basically no people doing it.

Hiking in town:

Snow King - This is a ski run in winter but a steep and quick trail in the summer. Super quick but tough! A great workout.

Hiking with a bit of a drive

Table Mountain - You actually drive through Victor and Driggs (Idaho), then back through Alta (Wyoming) to get to the trailhead. Hike takes 4-5 hours and the first part (~3 miles) is really freaking hard BUT then it gets easier. On a clear day, you can see the Tetons from the other side!

Other Activities:

Float/raft Snake River - We usually just float it and drink beer but you can also do a guided rafting excursion, there are tons to choose from (just Google).

Get sloshies - Sloshies are alcoholic slushies that you can find at most of the gas stations in Jackson Hole. My favorite's at Hoback Market, but that's a bit south of town. They also have them Creekside Market (also has my favorite, most epic sandwiches), Basecamp (the gas station in Wilson), Albertson's and the liquor store attached to Aspens Market.

Visit Jackson Lake - Super scenic lake in the park. Kind of a hike to get to but if you devote a day, you can rent SUPs, walk around, etc. If you have a boat (or can rent one) you can boat around and water ski, etc.

Drive the big loop in the park - You'll see wildlife, the Tetons, the Chapel of the Transfiguration. Before leaving, grab a drink at Dornan's.

Granite or Astoria Hot Springs - The "official" Astoria ones aren't open to us non-Wyoming resident peasants BUT there are natural hot springs (called "hippie" hot springs) before Astoria/the red bridge that goes to the Snake River Sporting Club. Just park by the other parked cars, and you'll find a path that leads to them! (Def bring sloshies)

Below:

Pic 1 - Chris and I in our new Stetsons out to dinner

Pic 2 - Chris with our delicious steak dinner at Local

#jacksonhole #jackson #wy #wyoming #travel #roadtrip #grand tetons

0 notes

inazuma-eleven-translations · 7 years

Note

Hey! Hope you're well

I HOPE YOU CANCOME TO JAPAN TOKYO IS THE PROMISED LAND!!! I got carried away writing this and it’s super messy but I hope it gives you an idea of what’s available?? I’m sorry if it’s difficult to follow!! And so long… ;w;

Guide to Inazuma (andanime) merchandise in Japan

Tokyo!!

Ikebukkuro (JRYamanote Line, Marunouchi Line) – This is the HOLY GROUND for anime andyaoi/boys love goods aimed at girls.

If you’reafter anime goods, the row of shops nicknamed Otome* Road in Ikebukkuro iswhere you need to go!

*Young girl

About afifteen minute walk from Ikebukuro station (the Sunshine City exit), is theparadise that is Otome Road.

The easiestway to get there is to follow the signs for Sunshine City – and there’s a lotof great shops on the way too! Too many restaurants and cafes to count, the SanrioGate specializing in Hello Kitty and friends, and even an ikemen café!! And abunny rabbit café, and cat cafes too.

It’s about aten minute walk from Ikebukuro station to Sunshine City (a GIANT departmentstore), which will be on your right. Beside Sunshine City is Tokyu Hands (greatstationary here) and Book Off.

Book Off isa second-hand book store and you can find AMAZING deals here. In terms ofInazuma merchandise, Book Off has: all the games (in Japanese, of course), allof the game guides, a lot of manga, drama CDs and normal CDSs, a huge magazinesection (I buy ALL my articles about Inazuma here, pretty sure I bought all theGO ones, sorry!). If you’re interested in art, they have some great art bookstoo. I also found gems such as the Inazuma character art books. Finally, theyalso have all of the Inazuma DVD box-sets. Everything except the DVDs is supercheap.

Useful Vocab(If you need specific vocab, just let me know!):

アニメ anime

イラスト irasuto (art books)

Okay, let’smove on to Otome Road!

These aregood directions: http://lijaka.com/blog/2012/02/how-to-get-to-otome-road-in-ikebukuro/

It’s easy tofind.

The firstshops you’ll see are a row of anime goods shops, like Lashinbang, KBooks etc.These sell second-hand key-chains and other general merch. There’s very littleInazuma at the moment, but there’s a lot of other series.

The nextshop is ANIMATE! Animate will sell all of the Inazuma Ares no Tenbin merchstarting December 2017, so they will have a big Inazuma display! Get yourpicture taken with the cardboard cutouts of the characters, hee hee.

List ofmerchandise is available here, and can also be ordered online – I’ll post thelink when it’s up.

If you walkto the end of the street and cross the road (passing a Visual Kei shop, andanother KBooks) you’ll see a Family Mart and a staircase that leadsunderground. That staircase leads to Mandarake – doujinshi paradise.

They have alarge Inazuma doujinshi section. It can be difficult to find if you don’t readJapanese, so look for イナズマイレブン (I think it’s the yellow section).The staff don’t speak English so this phrase might help:

すみません。イナズマイレブン同人誌を探しているんですがどこにありますか。

Sumimasen.Inazuma Irebun doujinshi o sagashite irun desu ga doko ni arimasu ka?

Excuse me, I’mlooking for the Inazuma Eleven doujin section, can you tell me where it is?

The Inazumasection is divided by character, so you can memorize your favorite charactersnames in kanji or make a list and bring it with you. The 霧野 sectionis the best section by the way, hee hee.

If you’re nervousabout searching for doujin in Japanese – fear not!

NearMandarake is another KBooks – look for the KBooks selling doujinshi, and go tothe second floor. Once again, there’s a HUGE Inazuma doujin section, like awhole aisle. You’ll know it immediately because there’s a huge picture! Andeach section is marked by a picture of the character’s face, as well as theirname! So even if you don’t speak Japanese, this one is much easier to find whatyou want.

FINALLY, myfavorite store. KBooks again. The KBooks right beside Mandarake specializes insecond-hand merch – and THEY HAVE AN INAZUMA SECTION! Follow the artwork ofGenda and Sakuma. They have an amazing variety of Inazuma goods, including GO!I bought most of the Kirino stuff, hee hee. The prices depend on the character.Cheap characters are Sangoku, Kabeyama etc. Average characters are Kidou, Tenmaetc. Expensive characters are Fubuki, Kirino etc. Ridiculously expensive isKazemaru and Sakuma. There was zero Fudou or Aphrodi last time I checked.

There’s alsoa butler café near here, but you need a reservation.

NakanoBroadway – Nakano Station, Chuo Line

When I wentto Nakano Broadway two years ago, it was paradise for Inazuma goods, but I wentback this year at it was… not great. All the shops were closed down, BUT it wasa holiday so maybe that’s why.

NakanoBroadway is a much cheaper Akihabara. It specializes in retro-games and oldmanga, but you can find everything from Vocaloid to Pokemon to Inazuma! If you’reinto figures, this is the cheapest place. I found a Kirino figure here!

Look for theshops filled with ‘bishounen’ merchandise – there’s usually an Inazuma section.I found clear files, towels, postcards, keyrings, stickers, mugs, towels… A lot ofpractical merch here for Inazuma, all second hand so CHEAP!

Akihabara(Yamanote Line, Chuo Line)

Akihabara is…Very, very loud and not great. It’s aimed mostly at guys, so there’s a looootof boobs.

If you wantto see Akihabara for the experience, there are a few interesting things. There’sa chubby maid café, which was super cute, and if you’re into it there’s across-dressing boy café. Cute boys in dresses. YAY.

There’s onlyone shop that sells Inazuma stuff (though that might change when Ares isreleased). Mandarake, the fourth floor has a tiny Inazuma doujin section.

Oh God, thiswas so long. If I can make a picture guide, I will! Hopefully I’ll go back toTokyo sometime next year.

As for Tokyoto Hokkaido – you have a few options, but unfortunately it’s not cheap. I’mgoing to assume you’re aiming for the capital city, Sapporo? They have anAnimate, but it’s probably not as good as Tokyo… That said, I LOVE Hokkaido.The food is delicious, and the people are very friendly. Although… the same inTokyo…

BulletTrain/ Shinkansen: Most convenient way and most expensive.

Time: 4hours

Price: 29110yen (217 euros)

Mostexpensive, BUT if you’re planning to travel around Japan I recommend the JRPass, which means you’ll have free travel for 7 days as long as you take JRLines, including shinkansen.

Informationis here.

If you’d liketo see Tokyo, Kyoto and Hokkaido in a few days, the JR past is the mostconvenient and technically best value for money. That is, if you stay sevendays. You can also use it to get from Narita to Tokyo.

Next optionis flying. This is the fastest way. If you just want to see Hokkaido, thismight be good. Flight is about 2 hours, and costs roughly 10,000 (100 euro) to 26,000yen (200 euros). I think I flew Japan Airlines, but you can find cheaperflights if you book in advance. You can fly from Shinagawa airport (Tokyo) toChitose airport (Sapporo).

This sitehas good info.

Last optionis the cheapest and most awkward – night bus. Never mind I looked into it – don’ttake a bus, trust me. It’s too far and the same price as flying, just longerand more uncomfortable.

A bus fromTokyo to Osaka/ Kyoto is grand though.

BY THE WAY,can I also recommend hotels? Staying in Tokyo is not cheap, but if you’rewilling to try a Capsule Hotel, I 100% recommend the Centurion Cabin and Spafor ladies in Akasaka-Mitsuke. There’s one in Kyoto too. The standard capsuleis very comfy, and there’s an onsen/ hot spring bath, as well as free drinksetc… It’s about 3500 yen per night, and cheaper if you go through booking .com!

Home page ishere.

Booking ishere. You can switch the language by clicking on the Japanese flag at the top.

The area isfull of restaurants, from Indian to Korean to Chinese to Mexican to African andso on… The train lines are Ginza subway line and Marunouchi line (straight toIkebukuro).

Also, if youwant a Tokyo food guide I can also help with that lmao. And I can tell you theanime districts for Kyoto and Osaka too, but not Sapporo.

I’M SORRYTHAT THIS IS ALL OVER THE PLACE! If something is confusing, please tell me ;w;I’m so used to Tokyo I forget what makes sense and what doesn’t…

Also… if youwere interested and it was during the holidays, I could totally meet you totake you to all these places pfft

#long post #doujinshi #inazuma goods #anime merchandise #tokyo

21 notes · View notes

preciousthingsareprecious · 7 years

Text

Hey that’s great! I’m really excited for you, and I hope it goes well. A lot of what I do is trial and error, and learning from that, but I’ll try to put together some tips so you have a smoother time than I have. I’ll give you some basic tips, then show you a bit of my process on my costume and hope that helps too.

This is going to be a pretty long answer @bat-family-heros so I’m going to put the rest of this under a read more.

Some basic tips:

Supplies: Have all your supplies where you can find them. Get a good pair of scissors. Cutting fabric with scissors that are old or have been used to cut a lot of paper is going to be frustrating. Keep a pair that’s only for fabric and things will go smoother. Make sure you have loooots of pins. I pin everything. Get a good flexible bit of measuring tape, this has been my best friend. Chalk is great for marking on fabric. My second best friend is my seam ripper, I screw up a lot and pull out a lot of seams and doing that by hand sucks.

Measure: I can’t stress this enough, measure everything. I measured all my panels for my outfit and I still had some issues matching lengths when it came to sewing things on. Don’t just try to do things willy nilly or you’ll waste a lot of time and fabric. I did that with my last costume and it was frustrating.

Buy all your fabric of one color at the same time or as close to it as possible: There are a few reasons for this, the first is that it saves time. You don’t want to make a million trips to the store just for fabric, or be on a roll and run out. Secondly, fabric is dyed and doesn’t always end up the same exact shade, so if you’re trying to make everything match you want to get it all at the same time. There’s also the risk of someone else buying up the fabric you need and having to go somewhere else.

Don’t be afraid to tweak things a little bit: When your at a convention people aren’t going to notice every detail, they’ll be squealing that ‘omg I love that character’. When I did my Asuna cosplay I didn’t realize I’d made part of it mirrored until I was done and out of time. I freaked out, considered remaking the entire thing, and finally just wore it that way. No one even commented.

If you can modify instead of making it from scratch do that: I used a long sleeved black shirt and a pair of fake leather leggings for the base of my costume. I could have taken the time to make each of these, and I thought about it (because I wanted to sew the purple panels into them) but honestly it’s much easier to modify what I already had. It saves time and energy if you use something you already have, plus if you’re fairly inexperienced (like I am) it makes the job much easier.

Tutorials: If I don’t know how to do something I watch around a million tutorials on how to make things on Youtube and pick my favorite way of doing it from them. I also look at Pintrist and sewing websites for tips. These have been invaluable in helping me figure out how to do things.

Hemming: Hem your edges last. This might seem silly, but I’ve found it’s best to put this off until the end. Don’t leave cut edges when you hem, fold them under the fabric. If not time and washing will make them fray or roll, and this can be messy. Also iron down your edges first, this makes them so much easier to sew (I use a hair straightener on a low setting because I hate digging out my iron and it works just as well.)

Don’t give up, and keep trying until it works: Another bit of advice that feels silly, but really sewing is just one more bit of creativity so it stands to reason that you can work out whatever problem your having. I’m always trying something new when I work on things and sometimes they fail, and other times things turn out better than I’d imagined. It can get frustrating, but it’s also so rewarding to pull on a finished cosplay and squeal a little looking at yourself in the mirror.

Spoiler Cosplay:

To start I’m using a light cotton fabric that stretches for all the purple parts, which is to say everything beyond the top and pants. The top is a light cotton long sleeved top, and the pants are fake leather leggings I found on amazon.

I bought all the fabric at the same time and pre-washed it before I started using it.

Cape:

I used about 2 ½ yards of fabric for the cape. I measured it against my own body, making it wider than my shoulders and I left it long down to my feet. The hood I made by cutting out two large D shaped pieces of fabric and sewing the curved edges together. Then I found the center of my large rectangle of fabric and sewed it on.

You could sew ties onto your cape, but I added a button and made a loop for it to go through. I attached that by snipping a hole in the fabric, tucking the ends through and then sewing it in.

The last thing I did was hem all the edges. Because I was going for a clean look I folded them twice, to hide the frayed edges from cutting.

I also added some light interfacing in the hem of the hood to give it some form while I wore it.

For the interfacing I used a lightweight sealable interfacing that I attached with my straightener (because I didn’t want to bother getting the iron out). Interfacing is great if you want to add form to something or make it stiffer, depending on the weight of your interfacing. I used very heavy interfacing to make the armor for my Asuna cosplay.

Top:

I started with a black long-sleeved tee for my top and then cut two panels of purple out of my fabric. These I roughly measured from under my arm to about halfway down my calve. I didn’t need all that, but it’s better to have more fabric than too little.

I cut each panel to the same size. Across the inside of my fabric I measured out 4 inch rectangles across the panels and marked them with a red line. I’d recommend using chalk or pencil but I didn’t have chalk and none of my pencils made a discernible line so I went with red.

Then for both panels I folded the fabric over, using the lines as a guide, pinned the fabric in place, and sewed a line across as close to the edge as possible on each of my red lines.

When they were finished I hemmed the edges on both, measuring again to make sure they were the same size.

I had my sister help pin the panels to my shirt evenly and I sewed them on, saving the bottom for last. I pulled extra fabric up, and under the bottom and hemmed it on.

Pants:

I made and attached the panels for the pants in the same way as for the top, but I measured them a little shorter.

Shoes:

There are a lot of great tutorials online about making fabric covers for your shoes and you can find a few here. And I almost did that, but I had a pair of white boots from my Asuna cosplay I decided to re-paint.

I started by stripping the top layer of finish off the shoes with sand paper, then wiping them down to clear off loose bits.

I used acrylic paint and mixed one part paint and two parts water to start with. I then painted two layers of this onto the boots, bending the leather in between drying. This is supposed to keep later layers of paint from cracking, as well as help keep the shoes flexible. (I did this part outside because the paint kept splashing everywhere and I didn’t want to paint my apartment purple.)

After they were dry I added two more layers of paint, this time un-diluted. The ones in the picture aren’t quite finished, I’ve got some places to paint in, metal bits to clean, and laces to re-attached, and the image quality is eeehhh, but they’ve turned out really nice.

So far that’s all I’ve finished on the outfit, but I hope that little walk through will help you as your looking at your Red Robin cosplay and trying to figure out what to do with it.

As a side note, I always like to start with the bigger pieces first and work my way down to smaller bits. That way I get the harder stuff out of the way early and if I’m running low on time the smaller details can be modified or even omitted.

Good luck, and if you have any questions feel free to message me.

#cosplay #tutorial #Dawn-Speaks #personal #answers #I literally just wing it half the time #but I've done quite a few of these #and I've made other stuff #so I don't feel like this is as messy as my previous attempts #Which were A MESS #I can let you guys know how my utility belt and accessories go too #I'm going to make all those next #starting with gloves #then the belt #and the little extra bits of her uniform #Please ignore my not perfect stitch lines #I know they are ugly #but I've accepted that I can't sew straight #and no one will be looking that close at it

14 notes · View notes

consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis · 6 years

Text

19 Ways Life Changes When You Have Celiac Disease

New blog post! So you’ve just learned that you have celiac disease and need to start a gluten free diet. What else should you expect to change in your life, besides just your food?

Today, I'm rounding up all the changes I’ve noticed since my celiac disease diagnosis five years ago. I have two hopes for this post: first, I hope that this makes you feel less alone if you’re struggling to accept similar lifestyle changes due to celiac disease. Second? If your friends or family don’t seem to understand why adjusting to life with celiac disease can feel so freakin’ hard sometimes, I hope this post shows them that celiac disease changes way more than just the food you put on your plate.

So whether you have celiac disease or know someone who does and want a chance to “walk in their (chronically ill) shoes,” keep reading to discover 19 ways your life changes after a celiac disease diagnosis!

1. Your diet shifts...in some ways you may not expect.

I might as well start with the most obvious life change: the required gluten free diet. Depending on how you ate before your celiac diagnosis, going gluten free can be a big change. If you’re like me, though, you might also discover other food intolerances along the way. For instance, like many celiacs, my intestinal villi were damaged so badly that I wasn't able to tolerate dairy (and still can't in large amounts).

When my stomach continued to act up even after I started a gluten free diet, I also temporarily adopted a low fodmap diet and still have certain “triggers” (like onion and garlic) that I typically avoid. All of this goes to say that going gluten free for celiac disease is much more complicated than just ditching bread. People often underestimate how many foods wheat can hide in (from soy sauce to soup) and how many other dietary changes celiacs end up needing to make as well.

2. Grocery shopping takes longer.

Before I learned that I have celiac disease, grocery shopping was easy. I just grabbed whatever looked good and checked out! When you’re living with celiac disease, though, you have to spend extra time reading labels to ensure your food is gluten free and not cross contaminated. (Learn more about reading labels here).

Plus, if you don’t want to spend a loooot more money on your gluten free groceries (more on that on point number 13), you’ll probably spend extra time comparing brands to find the cheapest option. I’ve certainly gotten faster at grocery shopping the longer I’ve been diagnosed, as I now know which brands are safe and delicious and what label markings to look for. However, I doubt grocery shopping will ever feel as “easy” or “worry free” as it was pre-celiac.

3. You can’t just eat out “wherever.”

One of the hardest changes to accept with a celiac disease diagnosis, at least for me, was the loss of spontaneity. No longer could I just walk around town and grab a bite at whatever restaurant looked good.

Gluten free apps like the one I talk about here are definitely a big help in finding safe gluten free options when you’re out and about. Nowadays, though, I still call ahead or talk about the menu in more detail with restaurants that promote “gluten free” menus, as many of them are not cross contamination free or celiac safe.

4. Dating can be even trickier.

Considering that I was diagnosed with celiac at age 16, I found out first-hand that romance can feel a little more complicated without wheat. Choosing a date night restaurant requires extra research, and while various celiac experts I've talked to say that being glutened from a kiss is very improbable, I've felt sick after kissing a wheat-eater before. I try to make a joke out of requesting that guys brush their teeth (or wait an hour after eating) before they kiss me, but the disclosure can make some first dates a lil' awkward.

Add caption

On the plus side, though...you never have to deal with kissing someone who has major garlic breath! And I've found that the people who really care about me (and therefore are real dating material anyway) don't mind the extra tooth brushing either!

5. Telling people about your dietary restrictions is a near-daily occurrence.

When I’m working an office job or at school, I’m asked about my “special” food almost every time I meet someone new. After all, when you attend a pizza party and bring your own gluten free pizza, you’re probably going to raise some eyebrows.

Within a few months after your diagnosis, you’ll likely have the “celiac spiel” memorized. Mine usually goes something like this: “Yep, I have celiac disease, an autoimmune disease where ingesting gluten damages my intestines. I can get sick from even a small amount of gluten, so I make my own food most of the time.” Short, sweet and beneficial to raising celiac awareness!

6. You become “that gluten free girl (or guy).”

As people learn more about your new dietary restrictions, you might find your whole identity being equated to your food...for better or for worse. By sophomore year, I was known as that “gluten free chic” on my small college campus. (And fun fact: whoever controls my college’s choir Instagram account still follows me and likes my smoothie bowl pictures!)

Obviously, some people may feel more comfortable being known by this label than others. If you’re struggling to decipher how you feel about celiac disease being part of your identity, I’d recommend reading this popular post of mine. Also, remember that although some people might identify you by your diet, the people who know and love you best probably understand just how complex, multifaceted and layered your identity really is.

7. Holidays become a little more complicated.

Oh, holidays. Spending time with friends and family can be super fun and relaxing, but sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner can feel a lot more challenging when you have celiac disease or food restrictions. If you are lucky enough to have friends or family who want to (and can safely) accommodate your diet, great! If not, remember that the holidays are really about the people and not the food, and eat ahead of time or bring your own gluten free dinner to enjoy along with everyone else.

8. You ask a lot of questions about your food anytime you go out to eat or receive a “gluten free” gift.

Unless you’re ordering at an entirely gluten free restaurant (which are as awesome as they are rare), eating out gluten free involves a lot of talking, explaining and double checking. I typically talk to the waiter or waitress about what celiac is and the accommodations I need (fresh ingredients, clean pots and pans, etc), and I sometimes ask to speak to the manager if the waitstaff doesn’t seem educated about celiac disease.

The same routine happens when I attend a potluck or a party or someone surprises me with a “gluten free” treat on my birthday. Unfortunately, because small amounts of gluten are still dangerous for people with celiac disease, even “gluten free” food isn’t safe if it’s been made with cross contaminated equipment or ingredients. Have a hard time saying “no” even when you’re pretty dang sure the food is unsafe? Read this for an empowering reminder.

9. You may experience nutritional or vitamin deficiencies.

Despite the common misperception that a gluten free diet is automatically “healthier” than a diet with wheat, gluten free foods can be lower in vitamins and minerals or not as enriched as whole grain alternatives. Combined with the intestinal damage gluten likely caused before your celiac diagnosis, you may end up having several nutritional deficiencies.

Personally, my doctor put me on zinc and calcium supplements after my celiac diagnosis. I also recently found out that I am low in iron, and am taking a supplement for that. Obviously, everyone with celiac disease is different and you might be 100% healthy just eating a balanced gluten free diet. If you do discover nutritional deficiencies, though, know that you aren’t alone.

10. You get way too excited over new, delicious gluten free products.

When I’m grocery shopping and find a new gluten free product that I’ve previously tried and loved or have heard is ah-maz-ing, I’ve been known to: 1) jump up and down, 2) squeal, 3) buy 3-4 boxes, and 4) do all of the above. The truth is, it’s hard to ditch your old favorite foods. Even though there are tons more gluten free options nowadays, it can be equally hard to find gluten free products that you seriously love.

So when we do find something great, we celebrate, as goofy as it might make us look.

11. You rarely leave the house without a snack (or entire meal) in your purse, backpack or glovebox.

I never used to worry about having food on hand when I left the house. I knew I could grab a granola bar at school or visit whatever restaurant I happened to be nearby if needed. When celiac entered the picture, that all changed. Now, you might call me the walking pantry...and I’ve heard from many other celiacs that they are exactly the same way.

12. You may learn to cook...or not.

If you used to live off of takeout and pre-made meals from your local grocery store, you might still be able to do that after your celiac disease diagnosis. However, because of the price of many prepacked gluten free meals, you’ll probably end up learning how to cook at least simple things like stuffed baked potatoes, some kind of (vegan or otherwise) protein, roasted veggies and a side salad.

You might even turn into a foodie like me and learn that you enjoy spending time in the kitchen! You never know what delicious gluten free recipes might become your new favorite meals...

13. You need extra time for food prep and (likely) extra money for your groceries.

If you do end up cooking most of your food, though, you will be giving up one thing: time. As anyone who practices food prep knows, cooking can be time-consuming, even if you set aside a single day of the week to do it all. Plus, like I’ve already mentioned, gluten free products are often more expensive than their gluten-filled counterparts. So while your old go-to lunch might’ve been two slices of pizza for $6 at your work cafeteria, your new lunch might call for more expensive gluten free pizza crust and toppings, as well as the time to cook your own pie. But all hope (or free time and money) is not lost! Check out my post about how to eat healthy as a busy college student for time-management cooking tips!

14. Other members of your family may be tested and diagnosed with celiac disease.

Celiac disease is hereditary and after you’ve been diagnosed, your doctor might encourage the rest of your family to be tested for celiac disease as well. I’ve heard of families who refuse, and that’s certainly their right. Personally, my family was tested and we found that my dad carries the celiac gene, though it’s never been activated.

The good part about this is that your diagnosis might end up transforming - and even saving - a family member’s life if they have active but undiagnosed celiac disease. Plus, family members who carry the gene now know that they should watch out for symptoms in case their celiac disease does become active.

15. You sometimes feel isolated, misunderstood or frustrated because of your “special” diet.

I’d be lying if I didn’t include this bullet point in a post about how your life changes when you have celiac disease. The truth is, food is more of a social, connective component in life than I ever realized before my celiac diagnosis. As a result, you might feel unfairly isolated when you can’t join in on midnight burrito runs or pizza parties without having to bring your own food or go hungry.

As I’ve shared before, you may even grieve the loss of old foods and spontaneity. I’ve cried over not being able to eat a flour tortilla...and even five years after my diagnosis, I still have days where I hate the limitations I have because of celiac disease.

16. Accidentally ingesting gluten can cause you to feel “glutened” and be trapped in bed, on the toilet, etc.

Perhaps the biggest - and hardest - change to accept after a celiac diagnosis is that you can really be hurt by a common food ingredient. I learned at the Gluten Free Teen Summit from Dr. Peter Green that many celiacs don't experience major symptoms if they accidentally ingest a small amount of gluten. However, other celiacs definitely do have a wide variety of "glutened" side effects. Personally, my biggest glutened symptoms used to be extreme fatigue and brain fog a few days post-exposure. Now I often get extreme stomach cramps and other not-so-fun stomach issues on top of those.

On the one hand, it can feel disempowering to know that you can be wiped out by accidentally consuming gluten. On the other hand, I try to remind myself that I’m lucky to be able to avoid negative symptoms of celiac disease by avoiding gluten in my diet.

17. You learn which friends and family are willing to accommodate your dietary needs, and be extra grateful for them.

Like the old saying goes: “Those who matter won’t care...and those who care don’t matter.” I’ve been constantly amazed at how much my close friends and family will do to ensure that I’m safe and comfortable when eating over at their houses, sharing a kitchen, etc. Even if I don’t accept peoples’ offers to cook me gluten free meals, it means the world to hear that they care enough to want to try. Depending on how your family and friends react to your celiac diagnosis, you might find that your gluten free diet actually brings you closer to certain people in your life.

18. You experiment with new foods and gluten free recipes...and find some that you like, and some you really don’t.

There’s no better motivation to learn how to cook than realizing you can feel 100% confident in the safety of your meals if you make them yourself! It can be frustrating to try and find new gluten free products and recipes that taste as good as old favorites, but it’s so rewarding to make something that has even the gluten-eaters in your family eating! I’ve personally found that going gluten free for celiac disease also motivated me to try more naturally gluten free foods I’d never tasted before, like dragon fruit, buckwheat and dates.

If you’re craving a pick-me-up blog post that proves your diet can seriously be super delicious even without gluten, read here about why my diet is more diverse now that I am gluten free!

19. Your life feels harder at times...but you’ll learn to love having some direct control over your health.

Especially in the first few months after your celiac disease diagnosis, you’ll probably feel frustrated over your new dietary restrictions. If you have celiac disease and your body doesn’t heal normally on a gluten free diet, like mine didn’t, the adjustment period can feel even harder.

Even five years later, I give myself permission to feel jealous when friends can enjoy the free donuts at work or cry because I’ve been glutened and feel like rubbish. However, I also constantly try to focus on the positive ways my celiac disease diagnosis has changed my life.

It forced me to learn how to cook and discover that I’m actually a huge foodie. It taught me how to persevere and believe in myself, even when every day felt like a battle against my body. And, of course, it caused me to start this blog and connect with people all over the world...including you!

So You Have Celiac Disease...The Bottom Line

When you initially receive your celiac diagnosis, you might expect that starting a gluten free diet will be the only big change in your life. As this post (and many of my past posts) have shown, however, celiac disease complicates much more than just your diet. It often impacts everything from your monthly grocery bill to your socializing routine.

Like this post? Tweet me some love by clicking here: "The truth is, a #celiac diagnosis changes WAY more than just your diet. Today, I'm rounding up 19 ways life changes when you have #celiacdisease, from shopping for #glutenfreefood to dating! Read them all here --> http://bit.ly/2uuQnPb"

The biggest thing to remember? While you should stay realistic about the challenges of living with a chronic illness, you should also keep in mind that you can control your diet, your attitude and your health with celiac disease!

What’s the biggest lifestyle change you’ve noticed since your celiac disease diagnosis or since having to go gluten free for another reason? Tell me in the comments!

via Blogger https://ift.tt/2A4TFyB

#Blogger #college #celiac #gluten free #coeliac #celiacs #paleo #primal #foodporn #foodart

0 notes