#borders are fun. i loooove borders

[citrineoleander]

oh river…

[emyladia]

I want you back... | L. Nr

pairing : lando norris x f!reader

summary : you and lando had broke up a few months ago and you're just now moving on. Or so you thought... 'Cause that was before he decide to text you.

genre : fluff, slightly angst ?

warning : cursing, pretty sure that's all

a/n : I just loooove writting about lando. This is kinda shitty but it was fun to write hope you'll enjoy it ! Anyways taking request if you want.

You were fine, of course the break up has been really tough for you but now you could say it loud and proud : you were over it.

What a lie...

All it took was a damn text for your world to fall into piece again.

"Hey"

It was 3 AM when you screen lit up, and now that single word was making you completly crazy.

What the hell ? Why would he be texting you ? Maybe a wrong number ? Was he drunk ?

Your head was just a huge mess at the moment, that's probably because of that that you decided to answer. You clearly wouldn't have if you were in your plain consciousness.

At least that's what you were trying to convinced you.

"Hey" You text back.

"It's been a while" He answered in less than a minute.

"WTF lando ?" You couldn't help but send, this wasn't making any sense.

He was the one to broke up with you, and he hadn't even try to contact you the past months. Why would he texts you ? And why now when you were finally moving on ?

"I miss you"

You had turn off your phone after this text.

Like what were you supposed to say ? That you too you were missing him ? That in fact you were missing him so damn much it was hurting you ? That you were missing him so bad that sometimes you were calling your male friends by his name ?

You just couldn't answered that.

You were having lunch with your a few friends, yet the text just wouldn't leave your mind.

You had basically stared at it the whole morning.

"Hey, you're okay y/n ?" One of your friend asked.

"Oh yeah sorry I was just lost in my thoughts" You tried to brush it off, chuckling a little.

"You seem a bit off today, no offense but we've barely heard you" Another one of your friend spoke with a concern look on her face.

They were all nodding, as you sighed.

You should probably just told them, theywere your closest friends and it's not like you could keep that to yourself anyway.

"Lando texted me" You blurted out looking down.

A loud silence followed your confession as you saw all their eyes widened in shock.

"I'm sorry WHAT ?" One of them finally spoke.

"Lando in like LANDO ?" Another continued.

And they all followed, throwing questions at you.

You showed them the conversation, way easier and they all gasped at the last text.

"What are you gonna do ? You should probably block him" Your friend said, they seemed tp all agree.

"Yeah I should do that" You nodded.

They were probably right, that was the best things to do. They were the one who had picked you up piece by piece when Lando broke up with you.

You were gonna do just that, blocked him and he would be out of your life forever.

God you were so weak.

When you went home and were about to block him another text illuminated your screen.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that, you're not mad are you ?"

You swear your fingers had just moved on their own.

"I'm not mad, I was just busy sorry" You replied, and you knew you had fucked up, that needed to stop and yet you were encouraging him.

"I'm so relieved to hear that ! How you're doing ?"

Damn why was he answering so fast.

"Just casual life nothing too entertaining, you ?"

"Pretty much the same"

It was gonna be fine, it was a simple discussion between two young adults. Nothing to worry about.

"The paddock feels empty without you" He added.

Shit. This wasn't fine at all.

"Is that so ?" You were kicking your feet like a damn teenager.

"Yeah, can't win a race without you" You knew, and he knew this was border, but to be honest you weren't caring at all.

"Can't win a race at all" You joked, you were giggling. God you've missed talking to him, even for simple discussion like that.

You shouldn't felt that way, or you were gonna end up sad again, but you couldn't help it.

"OFFENSIVE" He texted back, but you knew he was laughing.

You and Lando kept talking for hours, you were smiling at your phone like a maniac.

He was such a good talker, smooth, funny, full of charm.

He knew how to annoy you and how to make you laugh the most. He also knew how to hurt you the most.

You were currently laying in bed, watching 'pretty woman' when you got another text from your ex boyfriend.

"I really do miss you tho"

Here you were again, staring at the screen like it contained the answer to the greatest mystery on earth.

"Lando, stop that please" You eventually texted back after a few minutes.

"That what ?"

"That thing that you're currently doing, trying to make me pity you"

"Is it working ?"

"Lando..."

"Cmon y/n I'm serious, I fucking miss you, every minute of every day"

You were no longer paying any attention to the movie that was still playing on the screen of your laptop.

"YOU chosed to broke up" You remembered him.

"I know I made a damn mistake, and I'm sorry"

"You know what I don't even want to talk you anymore"

"Y/n don't do that"

"I should have blocked you already"

"But you didn't"

You were infuriating, completly messed up by too many emotions at the same time, you were sad, and angry against him, and against you too cause you were so weak for this man.

He was right, you didn't.

"Babe please, I just want you back" He sent you a few minutes later since you weren't answering.

"Should have thought about that sooner, and don't call me that"

"I'd do anything" He insisted.

"Claim me on TV and I'll think about it" You texted saracstically before turning off your phone.

You and lando had never been public, because fans could be crazy at some times and you were finding it absolutly ridiculous to brag on social media that you were in a relationship.

That's why you had said that, that wasn't making anysense. Maybe now he'll understand that this was definitly over.

Or so you thought.

When you woke up your phone was blowing up with notification.

A lot of demands on instagram and hundreds of texts from your friends.

You were so confused until you clicked on the link your friend had sent you.

It was an interview of Lando that he hade just done but the views were already so high. Why would she send you that ?

Everything become clear when right before ending the interview Lando spoke :

"Actually I want to say something before leaving, I used to date a girl Y/n Y/l/n, she was amazing but I messed up with her cause I was a complete idiot... So if you're ever seeing this please come back, I know I've been an asshole. But I really want you back"

What.

In.

The.

World.

Was.

Happenning.

You grabbed your phone and dialed his number immediatly... No answer.

"What have you done ???" You tyepd agressively on your keyboard completly freacked out.

[cabezadeperro]

2024 in review

I wasn't actually going to do this this year, but what the hell.

2024 has been--weird. I think it's the year I've written the least since 2020, word-wise; it also saw me writing something non-Star Wars related for the first time in four years. These two things may or may not be connected.

Anyhow, this is a pretty short list with five fics that for whatever reason I find the most interesting. They aren't my favourites, they're not the best; but they were hard to write, or I learned something writing them, or I had fun, etc.

half agony, half hope. 34k, codex, T, also known as the persuasion AU though it's more of a homage to one of my favourite novels ever. it was extremely hard to write and it took me a while to get out of my own way and just do it.

you'll like it if you enjoy pining and yearning, smart and competent people so deep inside their own asses they can't see what's right in front of them, the agonies of being 20 and responsible for the lives of millions of people and a clone trooper, jane austen, cody being fucking stupid.

home alone. 2.9k, jango fett/obi-wan kenobi, E. part of my daredevil AU. I don't think it's a very good fic, and I feel too self-conscious to reread it and find out if it's actually bad, but that's okay. The fact that I wrote something like this (that is, something that's quite a bit of my comfort zone for a couple reasons) is good enough imo.

you'll like it if you enjoy fics that are pwp but a bit to the left, trans jango fett, obi-wan being the annoying kind of service top, established relationships and domesticity, superhero AUs that aren't actually about superheroing.

islands. 9.4k, codex + anakin & rex, T. The Force Sensitive Rex fic. I am very proud of this fic. I think it does exactly what I wanted it to do, and I had a lot of fun writing it. I loooove writing these three in different combinations, and I really enjoyed having them interact in such a weird scenario.

you'll like it if you enjoy shrimp emotions, Force Stuff TM, force sensitive clones, fics where there's no Anakin bashing that acknowledge that there is something very wrong with him (affectionate), cody and rex being obsessed with each other, rex being a messed up lil guy.

smoke signals and code. 3.5k, jason todd/tim drake, T. This fic was my return to Batman comics and to this ship after a decade. I think it's kind of rough, but I'm still pretty proud of it, and I had so much fun writing them again and coming back to this world and these characters. In a lot of ways it was very much like coming home.

you'll like it if you enjoy unresolved sexual tension, calculated violence, characters who are too clever for their own good, that very specific brand of fucked-up-ness you find in late 90s/early 00s batman comics, ships that take the trope "enemies to lovers" as a challenge.

irradiated. 1.5k, vader/rex/cody, E. I wrote this as a gift for a friend. It's the kind of fic that is only supposed to be liked by one person--if anyone else enjoys it, that's great, but it is very much tailored for one person's tastes. In this case, that means it is weird as hell. There's a POV change half-way through, it's more of a character/relationship study, it actually doesn't have a plot, it sits right on the border between experimental and presumptuous, I'm not that sure it works. And I had a lot of fun writing it (and my friend liked it ❤️).

you'll like it if you enjoy second person point of view, Vader being weird, a bit of body horror in your not quite smut, open/ambiguous everything, Imperial Era stuff, weird style choices.

[hollyhorseheads]

this is my banner btw i just stretched it out. i loooove a good stretched png...

below the cut is alt versions!

ok here. the picture its based on + the image without the bg being a bit blurred* + the image without blurring OR text. if you want any of this separately lmk cause like i still have all of this saved as separate layers

* i blurred it to make the the text slightly easier to read LOL

also fun facts / notes about the image:

i spent a frankly ridiculous amount of time looking for those picsart sticker filter overlay things?! like i swear ive found them so easily before but idk... as we get further from 2020 relics are hard to find....

holly has the femme flag on her cheek in the third image and hol horse has the butch flag in the fourth image!

the overlay/border thing is the lesbian flag in the third pic and the nonbinary flag in the fourth one, i'm sure most people know those flags but like why not write it down for those that dont ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ anyway i didnt wanna just overlap both because that looks bad but to me hollyhorse is a nonbinary lesbian couple. theyre both enby dykes i hope this helps

cinnamoroll is there because i found that sticker on picsart and i love cinnamoroll too much to not use that immediately

the button in the bottom right of the fourth picture says "in dykes we trust" (and like god bless. yes we do.) and the button pinned on hol horse's shirt (also in the fourth image) days "it's a bitch being butch!"

the background is just the cover to pitbull's album "global warming meltdown" idk it was that, tilted towers, or bliss (xp). but i used the last one literally not even a week ago(?) and i use tilted towers as a background ALL the time. so i spiced it up a bit. also im listening to pitbull right now

the speech bubbles are based on that one like jungkook(?) (its a kpop boy i think its jungkook.) roleplay reply tweet screenshot that has those exact lines in ridiculous fonts. that image turns 4 this year... i cant believe i ever lived in a world without 𝖎 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚. ???

thats it i think... this post is dedicated to hollyhorse nation but especially strawbeebap on twitter. ive never talked to them in my life i dont have a public twitter anymore 😭💔 if someone who does sees this pls tell cal strawbeebap i say hi and thank you for carrying hollyhorse nation 🫡🫡🫡

[gaykey]

share some key reactions making u smile, I could also do with some smiling and feeling good about our man being great

ah okay anon! i know @commajade wanted me to share some too, so here are a few faves. i watch a lot of reactions btw....

atm, ja diaz is probably my fave babywol reactor. he got into shinee less than a year ago? but he's been shawol'd real quick. he posts a fair few reactions on his main channel, but i'm a member of his discord and he shares a ton more there. he's in deep, and he looooves key. his discord is full of 4th gen fans and it makes me laugh when they're all talking about those groups and he's like - ANYWAYS KEY.

literally. (the diamond. i mean, spot the shawol.)

here's his gasoline reaction and his bad love, hate that & i wanna be reactions. and he has a fair few more shinee ones.

i'm sure most of you have seen them, but the kukture study always posts a nice juicy reaction video. and you can tell they have a strong shinee/key bias.

iiiii have mixed feelings about koko3op, mainly because of his strong taemin bias, bordering of solo taemin stan behavior, but, his key gasoline reaction was decent.

again, george hollins i have mixed feelings about, but that's literally just me being a bitch - he just annoys me for some reason - however, i always enjoy his key reactions. he recognises key for the fashion icon he is, and i love to see it.

topher. i actually watched him for his bl reactions, but he's recently started his shinee journey and idk, he's just a nice guy.

rj kpop, he's one the one who fell of his chair after seeing minho in the dynamite performance that time lmaoooo. he's also blown away by kibum.

torsie is sweet and fun. she's been on her shinee journey for about a year? and has weekly 'shinee world wednesday' recations, so, a ton of reactions to watch, and is a taemin biased, but gets pretty wrecked by kibum most of the time.

differently alike. idk, they're just nice. i don't think they've done any other shinee recations? like maybe just key & taemin, but they're really nice and i like what they say.

another one who's been on their shinee journey and gas a ton kf videos of them. sir austin. his key reactions was a good one. anyone that refers to key as an icon is good in my book.

uhhhh, that's all i can think of atm in regards to faves? but yeah, i watch a fair few. i'll try and regularly share whenever i watch a particularly good one.

[pilferingapples]

eee ok this is an EXCITING bit so bear with me if I ramble a little

Historical Context A: The Napoleonic Era was huge for Hugo's generation of French writers. Like...what WWI was for the Jazz Age, you know? They'd all grown up with this image of the Emperor, this larger than life figure, and then POP he was gone--but he left a really massive legacy effect, not just on the macro level of new alliances, national borders, etc, but in the daily life of every French person, thanks to the Napoleonic Code (the effective legal system for AGES) , major changes that he had set up in society, etc.

which all leads to :

Literary Point A: one of the big themes going on in Les Mis is that it's time to move on from the concept of the Great Man of History and focus on regular people. That history is and should be made now by just people, that Jean Valjean is as important as Napoleon. So as you read the Waterloo section, look for the way Hugo talks about why Napoleon loses-- the emphasis on weather , on the way Napoleon treats his conscripted peasant guide, on how the effect he's having on history is out of favor with God.

Making this argument , Hugo still grants Napoleon and the French a LOT of glory, here. Saying "only GOD could stop Napoleon" is pretty complimentary, after all! And there's plenty of praise for individual leaders in the French army. Which brings us to...

Historical Context B: When Hugo wrote Les Miserables, he was in exile, an opponent of the current ruler of France , Napoleon.

...well , Napoleon III, Louis Bonaparte.

which leads to

Literary Point B: Hugo and his publisher were both sincerely concerned that Les Miserables might get banned in France, or be so heavily censored that it would effectively be banned. This had already happened with some earlier work he'd written in exile!

And Les Miserables is, frankly , a call to revolution , of one sort or another. It's extremely pro-socialism and pro-republic, and France was operating with neither system at the time. It is super political and Hugo's politics were Not Welcome with the people currently running the country.

But! the Waterloo section of Les Mis was really super positive about France and Napoleon's army, even while denouncing Napoleon as incompatible with Progress. Hugo actually pushed for the Waterloo section to be released if anyone wanted a preview , saying :

“If we give quotes, insist on Waterloo, bring out (focus on) what the book has of the national (cause/identity), what stirs the French fibers(/soul), make Persigny ashamed to stop a book in which justice is finally done to Ney, grandfather of his wife, make the seizure impossible by saying it is the battle of Waterloo won by France, etc…”

( more of that letter, and more on those background politics, here!)

As I say at that link, I don't think Waterloo is just chaff for the censors; Hugo didn't say anything he didn't mean to say. But the way he said it was always , of necessity, with consideration of his chances of publishing legally. (Hugo wasn't new to this. Writers in 19C France were always working around censors from one government or the other. It's a fun thing to think about when considering Why X Said It That Way! ) Waterloo is very relevant to that!

And, just for fun, Purely Literary Point C :

Les Mis looooves its parallels and antitheses. That's Hugo's stylistic jam. Les Mis reflects on itself and outwards in endless fractals. So Waterloo is this big grand last stand marking the end of an era... and then one of the major sequences in the narrative's present is a big grand last stand marking not an ending, but hopefully the beginning of a beginning. To be direct: keep an eye on the details in Waterloo, they will echo and counter-echo in surprising ways on the barricade.

(Also you can check out this fantastic post about it! it really helped me understand the emotional core of this section way back when)

(and all this said.... skip Waterloo entirely if you need to. The most immediately relevant chapter is the last one, with the post-battle looting. You can come back and read it later, with the rest of the book fresh for making connections, and it will still be good! But all this makes the whole digression a lot more interesting for me now. )

so part 2 is called Cosette

why the fuck am I reading about Napoleon for ages

[sunshine304]

“Like a river flows” by @/traceyfic on twitter was the second fic where I decided on the design. I’d been in love with that decorative paper and it immediately came to mind when I thought about this fic’s design.

I’m also deeply in love with this marbled paper! For some reason, with this fic I always think about cracking glass, but it’s also got the topic of flowing energy and I though this paper fit very well.

The creases you can see are not air bubbles but the bookcloth coming through a bit. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That photo of the high rise is kind of used as a frontispiece (though on the wrong side, but I can do what I want). For some reason, this stupid picture was the devil and did not want to be printed without weird colour lines etc. I tried several printers, I even tried to go the black/white route but nothing worked, it always looked atrocious. I was set on including this picture though, because I’d done quite the search for it and even downloaded new cracks brushes for PS, so! I asked a colleague and lo and behold, her printer managed to get it out with minimal lines!

Last but not least, “All caught up” was the fic that I was still typesetting when I started binding the other books. It wasn’t much left over to do, but still.

Fun story about the design: I really struggled with it and couldn’t decide. Well, I’d finally settled on the grey flowers for the cover, but I was still pondering whether to go with a blue or red colour scheme. Like dark blue for winter setting + Cloud Recesses, or red for loooove and marriage. XD I wrote a friend a long, rambling message about it with photos of the options and her reply was, “red”.

Okay then. XD

And I’m really very happy with it, it was a good decision and I’d been leaning in that direction but needed that last kick.

Unfortunately, this was when I still had some problems with pressing the books (it was the first to have the case connected to the block, in the end) and so there’s a crease in the endpaper. Booo. But ah well, that happens, and I at least didn’t make that mistake with the other fics, so there’s that.

Art by official artists. Please appreciate that trying to colour that last picture by Changyang red caused my old Photoshop to crash like a million times! XD It really hated this picture, IDK why! At least it turned out well in the end. There is unfortunately a severe lack of official art for the WangXian wedding!!!

I changed the label for this book last minute. I had wanted to match the red of the linen and then trace the title and the border with silver acrylics. But I simply couldn’t get the reds to match! I came so so close, but it was still very slightly off in the end and I lost patience. XD So I scanned the cover design and used part of that for the label as well as the red that had come closest for the text. Even though it wasn’t my first choice, I think it turned out very well and I am pleased!

I had a great time designing all the books and making them. I won’t ever make so many books at the same time again. XD I’m still not overly fond of typesetting, but what I really disliked about so many books was cutting 16 pieces of cardboard for the covers. XD XD Awful experience, would not recommend. XD XD The sewing part is nice, as is gluing all the stuff onto the case. Putting the book block into the case is still terrifying. XD

But! It was worth it as the books turned out pretty much as I’d hoped they would! I’m super happy with them and also very glad that both @/traceyfic and @ziusik​ love their books and that I could surprise them, even! :D

Previous post

[bisexual-horror-fan]

I've honestly watched Freddy vs Jason probably more times than I have any other Freddy film and some might call that blasphemy but honestly they just don't have an appreciation for wildly entertaining and dare I say bordering on campy films (also not me giving u the opportunity to make a whole other post on fvj not me *whistles*)

Okay but also SAME!

I fucking loooove Freddy VS Jason so damn much like holy shit.

I could go on and on about this movie.

Like so all us real fans know they wanted to make F VS J happen for yearsssss, went through a lotta hands and script treatments and I am so happy with the one they ended up with. The base concept of Freddy using Jason to instil fear and get people thinking of him to regain his power is some good shit.

There are so many great line reads, the kids involved are fun, even if I don’t like Lori, I dig the rest of them, some fun ass kills and of course the biggest thing, this has my fave Freddy.

Oh and also the whole fucking lore shit with Westin Hills, love the throwback, and the implication is horrifying with the kids who couldn’t stop dreaming and are put in a perma-coma.

Like fuck he is just at his absoulte best in this, just fucking amazing, peak bastard, amazing jokes, and totally the movie that got me simping and simping HARD.

But for real you are correct this movie IS camp and one of my all time faves.

I am so down to watch it any moment.

I actually watched it the night before I got married with my bridesmaids and having some drinks. It’s just a fun ass fucking movie.

[marvelandimagine]

In My Home

Series summary: After Wakanda opens its borders, you begin working in Shuri’s lab as part of an all-women STEM program, and you meet a certain White Wolf. What starts out as mutual bonding over science turns into much more than you ever could have anticipated.

Pairing: Bucky x scientist reader

Word Count: 3,400

Warnings: Language, PTSD

A/N: I think this is the longest first chapter I’ve written in my life oops guess that’s what happens when you’re gone for two years!! I regret nothing. Bucky POV coming in part 2! Loosely inspired by “In My Home” by Young the Giant.

“Please, you powerful little receptor, I am BEGGING you to bind with this epinephrine, BEGGING YOU.”

You cross your fingers and peer into the microscope, only to be met with what feels like the 100th disappointment this week. No positive binding. No responsiveness. Nothing.

Your foot connects with the side of your lab table, increasingly faster with every syllable you yell, causing Francesca, the new program recruit from Spain, to quickly inch her chair away from your adjacent work station.

“GOD DAMMIT YOU MOTHERFU—“

“Good results?”

You halt mid kick and turn to face Shuri, her eyes lit up in amusement as she surveys you over the rim of her Starbucks frappucino with a loud slurp––they’ve been her new obsession ever since Wakanda opened the borders and built one two blocks from her lab. As much as you’ve grown to bond with her in the time since she invited you to work in Wakanda as part of her new all-women biotech research program, in this moment, you have to truly fight back the urge to slap the drink out of her hand.

You collapse into a desk chair, trying your best to joke as usual with your new friend but find your words coming out gritted anyways:

“What, no coffee for me?”

As if on cue, three handmaidens appear holding recyclable trays of various caffeinated beverages for the team, who cheer and abandon their current projects for a moment to collect their drinks in a flurry of movement.

One of the handmaiden approaches and you sheepishly accept your cold brew, grimacing at Shuri in a way that you hope reads, “Sorry, I’m an asshole.”

Shuri snorts and rolls her eyes, but her tone is light:

“Colonizers. Always so impatient.”

She nods over to your desk.

“And not just with Starbucks orders.”

You let out a frustrated exhale.

“Shuri, I’ve been here for two months. I have the most advanced resources and tech on the planet at my fingertips, and yet I still have nothing concrete to show for it––nothing to show you for it.”

Your tone gets quieter but maintains its intensity.

“Look, you brought me here because I know you know that, if I can get this, we can change lives everywhere––and not just soldiers, but anyone trying to work through PTSD or severe trauma. Being able to de-intensify the physiological response to triggers to shorten dissociative periods or even get rid of them so we can get a stronger sense of normalcy back, to lessen that fear and strain even a little -- that’s worth the long haul, I know it’s a long haul, one that’s worth the setbacks and sleep deprivation and madness because that’s science and I love it, but, I don’t know.”

You sigh before taking a sip of your coffee.

“I just thought I’d be farther along, that’s all.”

Shuri grabs a chair and wheels it to face you.

“Do you know how many trials it took before I got the nanotech working seamlessly in brother’s suit?”

“Knowing you, probably three.”

“Four, actually.”

You groan and cover your eyes but Shuri drags your hands away from your face, clasping them in her own.

“Let me finish! Do you know how many trials it took for me to get the remote access functioning in the Kimoyo Beads?”

“More than four?”

“759 to be exact, and they still have much room to improve. My point, Y/N is to not be discouraged.”

She looks at you seriously.

“I would not have brought you here if your body of work was not excellent. The work we’re all doing” — she turns and gestures around the room of women who have all returned to their respective stations, coffees in hand and intently focused on various glowing blue projections of statistics and diagrams hanging in the air, the sound of rapid keystrokes and odd hisses and bangs echoing around the room. “we can only know so much until we know more, yes?”

As if on cue, you feel a rush of heat move past you as Francesca hurls the flaming, mangled remains of what looks like a helmet into the sink, flinging on the spray faucet and wiping her brow as her ruined demo piece hisses with smoking finality.

You turn back to face Shuri.

“Point taken.”

You rest your chin on one hand, shaking your head slightly.

“Why are you so wise?? You’re 13 years younger than I am and dropping some real life truths.”

“The real life truth is that I think you need a break.”

You laugh and take another sip of your coffee.

“I can’t say I disagree with you.”

Shuri grins, her eyes lighting up with mischief.

“You know who else needs some fun in their life?”

“Who?”

“Bucky!”

You swear internally as your heartbeat immediately quickens at the sound of his name, averting your eyes as you spin your chair away from Shuri, but she scoots herself closer.

“I’m sure he would loooove to spend a whole day with his favorite scientist.” Her grin widens. “And I’m sure you would loooove to spend a whole day with your White Wolf.”

You roll your eyes, trying to stop yourself from smiling and failing miserably, which only seems to delight Shuri more as you shake your head with a half-assed:

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. We’re friends.”

“More than friends!” Shuri yells, poking your shoulder in quick succession. “You do not look at friends the way you look at each other! I took that broken white boy all over the city, show him my lab, and he says maybe three sentences—to me, the girl who saved his brain —but for some reason, he has no problem asking the American a million questions about science and tech and how her work is coming.”

You feign as much nonchalance as you can in your response, but you can’t help how light your chest feels at her acknowledging Bucky’s supposed eagerness to talk to you.

“You said it, we’re both American, maybe he just feels more comfortable--”

“Comfortable enough to spend hours sitting with you while you work, hmm? And you, letting him, you, the same woman whose shouting made W’Kapi look like an antelope in headlights when he came for my tech upgrade and got too close to your samples!

“Hey, I apologized, but I was not about to redraw 10 vials of my blood that got contaminated all because some border security chief decided -”

Shuri presses on.

“The first time I saw Bucky smile was when he was with you, and you two go on walks and eat lunch together,” Shuri crosses her arms with a broad grin as she delivers her final piece of what she evidently deems as damning evidence, “and I know you are the only person besides me and brother who has gone out to see him.”

You open your mouth and close it, your brain firing on all cylinders to come up with some kind of argument, any kind of argument, to deflect away from your relationship with Bucky. Because thinking about it, talking about it, made the way you felt whenever you were together that much harder to try to ignore.

But you’ve got nothing because, while you can’t speak for him, you know Shuri’s right. You don’t just like him as a friend. You like him way more than that, want him way more than that. But you aren’t sure you’re ready to deal with all of that.

You didn’t anticipate catching feelings -- you didn’t even anticipate meeting this quiet, attractive stranger. It was a few months earlier, only a few weeks into your stay in Wakanda. The combination of excitement and anxiety and the time change had meant you weren’t sleeping much, so you went into the lab early to get some work done. You were in the zone — with the lab all to yourself, you were able to comfortably spread out your work across tables and even onto the floor, blaring your “productive playlist” at full volume as you ran through your latest brain scan videos and blood samples.

Your phone pinged and you checked it to find a message from Shuri:

“Gonna be in late -- Bucky is supposed to be in at 6:30 for his scan, so just tell him I’m behind.”

Shuri had briefly explained the situation with Bucky to you last week, and while you found yourself being fascinated by the logistics of how Shuri deprogrammed decades worth of conditioning, you also felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and empathy for what he had been through. When Shuri suggested bringing him as a data sample and to see if he’d consent to participate when your clinical trial took off, your head instinctively agreed, but your heart won out, telling her that you still weren’t close to a full-fledged medication, and, besides, you thought the guy had been treated as an experiment for so long—you didn’t want to add to that, not when, based on what Shuri said, he was finally in a semi-stable place to heal.

You were still definitely curious to meet him, though, so you texted back an “ok” but found it odd that she didn’t just tell him herself. The thought faded, though, as you quickly became absorbed back into your work.

You didn’t even realize the time that had passed until you heard the gentle woosh of the lab doors sliding open, barely audible over the growling, fast-riffed Rise Against track that was currently playing:

“Do you still believe in all the things that you stood by before?

Are you out there on the front lines or at home keeping score?”

Would you care to be the layer of the bricks that seal your fate,

or would you rather be the architect of what we might create?”

Bucky didn’t see you at first, but you saw him. Even just from his side profile — his hair, his beard, the muscle clearly prominent even underneath his dark clothes — you thought he was gorgeous.

You did your best to keep your cool, though, as you walked out from behind your lab table in the back corner, turning off the music with two taps of your fingers in the air.

“Hi, Bucky?”

He whips around to face you, and your initial impression attraction to him was only heightened as you were met with a pair of brilliant blue eyes, but you were also thrown by the panic you see in them, how fast his posture shifts to defensive.

You held up your hands.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you — I work here.” You gestured to the back corner of the lab, his eyes following.

“I’m Y/N, Shuri’s latest recruit. She told me to tell you she’s gonna be late for your scan.” You smiled, hoping it would ease his tension, and it seemed to work because he unclenched his fist. “You can hang out wherever, and don’t worry about bothering me— as you can tell by the sound from when you walked in, I thrive in chaos.”

He just stared blankly at you, seemingly uncertain of how to respond.

Uncomfortable in the silence, you turned away to go back to your corner, but stopped as he asked quietly, but with genuine curiosity:

“What are you working on?”

You looked back and he actually gave you a small smile, and you were surprised to find your cheeks warming up.

Your panic about feeling all kinds of things over a solitary smile must have read on your face, but Bucky misinterpreted it as reluctance, and so he quickly backtracked:

“You probably get asked that all the time, I’m sorry, I don’t want to distract you.” He averted his eyes and your brain finally caught back up to speed.

“What? No, it’s totally fine!” You sat down at your desk, wheeling over another chair. “C’mere. I’ll show you.”

And that’s how it started. For whatever reason, as you went on and on in excitement about your project, about how you collected 500 data samples back home, about how you were now working with binary augmented retro framing, Bucky got more and more relaxed around you, asking questions and laughing at some of your jokes. And you felt more and more relaxed with him, falling into a rhythm that felt both comfortable and utterly exhilarating. You were pleasantly surprised by his sense of dry humor that matched his own, and any man who openly admired your work got an automatic extra few points in your book.

And when Bucky paused and asked why you were doing all this work on PTSD, you still felt somehow just as comfortable as you were joking around with him as you were then candidly sharing about some of the things that happened to you. You were normally pretty open about the trauma in your story, but you were usually pretty brief, even in the support group you went to. But here, with him, captivated by this newfound connection you felt, it was easy to not just share, but to truly open up, and not just about what happened, but what you had been doing to try to heal and move forward. And you were floored when he reciprocated—Shuri told you he was pretty shy, but here he was, telling you some of things that kept him up at night, about how he felt like, even with Shuri’s work, what he had been through still felt like it was always pressing on him, like it would always be engraved into his bones.

You hadn’t even realized that an hour had passed by the time Shuri came into the lab, apologizing for being late but saying she was glad you two had finally been introduced.

“So am I,” Bucky had murmured quietly to you, and you smiled in a daze and nodded in agreement, trying to still maintain your composure because what in the fuck was happening here between you two already, this felt like it could be something, even though you had no intention of looking for something when he walked into the lab. It was dizzying and overwhelming but it lit you up from the inside out, beaming back at him as he asked if he could come back to see you—see your work, as he adjusted quickly, and so you gave him your number and said he was welcome to come up anytime.

And he did. And you weren’t an idiot, you had a pretty good sense of when a man was interested in you, and it certainly felt like that as you kept spending more and more time together -- the way he looked at you sometimes made you feel like passing out and grabbing his face to make out at the same time. But still, there was that hesitation, the uncertainty and anxiety -- what if you were wrong? What if he genuinely just appreciated your company, liked having someone who had been through similar shit to talk to? What if that was it and nothing more?

All of this runs through your head as you sit there, and you realize there’s it’s pointless to try to refute a fact backed by evidence. You liked him. You really, really liked him. And if there was a chance he felt the same, if an objective third party like Shuri even sensed something romantic between you two—maybe it was time to stop hiding behind your fear.

“I --” You run your hands down your face, knowing you’re going to feel both defeated and liberated by your admission, “fuck it, yeah, ok you win. I like Bucky.” You sigh, the words rolling off your tongue seeming to solidify how you felt inside, making it even more irrefutable. “Goddammit.”

Shuri throws her fist in the air.

“HA! You admit it, more than friends!”

“Shhh, Jesus, I can’t speak for him, but yeah, maybe, I don’t know, just keep your voice down!” you hiss, pushing your palms toward the floor as you crane your neck to see if anyone is paying attention, but they’re all too absorbed in their own work.

“Not maybe, definitely!” Shuri grins, resting her chin on her hands. “So, take the day off, go spend it with him. I’m sure one of you will crack and finally break the sexual tension.”

You groan and cover your eyes, shaking your head. “Oh my god, we’re not having this conversation.”

You look up, your anxiety getting the best of you.

“But I don’t even know what we should do for the rest of the day.”

“Ah, but I do! You should go to echibi elikhulu -- the great lake. Baba used to take mother all the time when they were younger.”

You frown, confused.

“Where is there a lake in Wakanda?”

Shuri chuckles.

“Well, technically, there isn’t one -- not on any map, anyways. Just because we opened the borders doesn’t mean we gave away all of our hidden treasures to the rest of the world.” She smiles, clasping your hands, “But I will certainly tell you about it in the name of true love! Only if, and I mean, if, you tell me EVERYTHING that happens.”

You laugh and shake her hands emphatically, touched by her willingness to share this piece of her home with you, with Bucky.

“Deal.”

You still feel nervous, but it’s mostly excitement now as you think about not only getting to enjoy the beach, but to be able to stop dancing around your feelings for Bucky -- if you had the courage to finally admit it to him, and he reciprocated, it would absolutely be worth the time away in the lab.

Shuri jumps up from her chair. “Then no time to waste! You can take my Jeep, I’ll program the GPS to get you there and back.” Her tone changes suddenly to businesslike. “You go home, shower, change, and get your things ready, and I’ll meet you outside in 45 minutes.”

You tilt your head to the side slightly, trying to work out the final aspectt hat’s puzzling you.

“Why do you care so much about us getting together?” You pause, quickly adding,” And I don’t mean that to sound shitty, I’m just curious.”

“Y/N, when I know something can be improved, I want to help. You both have suffered, and you each seem to find peace in each other -- you’re good for each other. I think you’d be happier together and could even heal better together then just as ‘friends.’” She smiles, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “And, also, then I could say I set up the cutest colonizer couple in the country.”

You smile back. “I appreciate it.” Your tone softens. “Really, I do. Thanks for the push.”

“You’re most welcome. Now go! I’ll see you in a bit.”

You quickly grab your backpack from your lab table, shoving in notebooks and folders before you swipe your coffee of the counter, give Shuri a wave, and power walk out the door.

You laugh out loud at the absurdity of it, how agitated you were this morning compared to how you were nearly bouncing down the street in anticipation now, the prospect of exploring a new and beautiful place with Bucky and finally telling him how you felt buoying in your chest.

You felt determined, you felt like you might throw up, but above every emotion and thought racing around inside you, you felt hope.

[dearkyeom]

Hi Kristy 🍒 I’m curious 👀✨✨✨ (works are under @delicatecy : tagged/mine) thank you for doing this 🧡

AHHHHHH thank you for sending this in!! i’ve seen a few of your things before but never got a proper look at your whole portfolio so i’m glad i got the chance to now! ♥ - i LOOOOVE the colors on these. the texture on the top two blend so well into it and makes it feel like a print!!! i love how the blue crystals makes the pink really pop without being too bright, and the way the orange in the plant photo brings out the orange in the rug in moonbyul’s picture. and omgg the lockscreens! i love LOVE that translucent white texture you placed on top because it perfectly frames the photo of moonbyul in the middle and guides your attention there. also all the little “stickers” and elements ARE SOOOO CUTE. i especially love how the goldfish, flowers, and lineart are all orange/yellow colors because it complements the blue so nicely, and also they all fit so well together even though they’re like unrelated items haha. it’s whimsical and cute!! also i am a huge sucker for pink/turquoise combos, so the left set is so [chef’s kiss.] ♥ - THIS WHOLE SERIES IS SO CUTE!! i’m linking minghao’s in particular because i love how the photo you used of the lamp has basically the exact same structure as minghao’s picture hdfdfdssd. also i’m just gonna gush about how you colored it because it looks so dreamy and romantic?? you really brought out the browns in minghao’s picture but in a way that’s soft and subtle and maintains the integrity of the original picture. ALSO THE WORD AND THE DEFINITIONS ARE MINGHAO EXACTLY??? it’s so good!! definitely gonna be saving these and reblogging them right after i finish this post haha. ♥ - and i’m linking another minghao set bc i’m BIASED. but also again bc these are so cute and you colored them sooo nicely. like omg i’m in love with how you made the skies look overcast!!! and also the lower exposure/contrast/brightness the browns again come out so nicely brings all the adjustments together so well. LOVE THE WAY YOU LAID THE FLOWERS BORDERING MINGHAO’S PICTURE and the way they add warmth to balance everything out. the bokeh, and also the text overlay on the right lockscreen, are really cute. the transparency on them feels JUST right because it’s enough for me to see it and appreciate it, but not too opaque that i feel like it takes away from the overall picture! ♥ - linking this china line set bc.. . i’m biased... but also bc it’s SO fun to look at. the translucent orange and blue squares feel like they’re, again, placed JUST right. they help bring the audience’s attention to the main subjects and guide you through the whole piece in a logical order. i love how the printed text cuts off where the squares are, and also the way you layered the blue square on top of junhui but underneath minghao. i love it when elements “cut” into pictures like that. the gradient maps on the circular portraits of junhao!! so nice and they really pop out prettily on the monochrome background! (on a semirelated note, the color palette reminds me of the album art of f(x)’s 4 walls, the deep and vivid orange and blue!) ♥ - wooowww these gifs are SO nice!! i love how you colored it, muting/toning down the other “unnecessary” colors but with the orange/red (claws, solar’s lips) and the purple (outfits) still popping out! it like really helps you watch these scenes as like a whole rather than letting your eyes wander to other details, if that makes sense. (for example, one of the dancer’s bright neon yellow earring in the mv was a lil distracting HAHA). the timing and the pacing of the gifs also feel perfect, like i don’t feel like it was cut off too soon or not soon enough, and it wasn’t too fast or too slow!

[woozifi]

how would you rank seventeen mvs by aesthetic?

ok, first off, please note that i spent like an hour watching and rewatching all 19 official mvs as noted by wikipedia, including unit mvs, so i can be certain that this list is correct. with that being said, i AM correct, this list is valid, and constructive criticism is absolutely NOT allowed.

Q&A: did i say 19?? haha just kidding this is a 20-MV LIST, i refuse to not include the best collab song and the most aesthetic mv svt has ever done. the colourful and sometimes almost too-bright (dare i say…highlighter-bright?) studyblr aesthetic that also meaningfully plays into the song and how the boyfriends feel like they’re being “quizzed” on their relationship skills? the absolute PEAK bf looks brought by a trio so iconic pledis’ coward ass has never put them together again ever since? jihoon’s fucking brown carpet sweater? ailee wasn’t in the mv because they knew i wouldn’t be able to take the sheer, potent perfection of it all in only 4 minutes.

AJU Nice: ok, the only reason this beats out clap is bc of that one bit with jihoon’s “heart” exploding and he’s falling backwards from the piano. let’s be real, it’s aesthetic enough that we’ll be giffing/editing that single shot for the rest of svt’s career. i can argue that this song, mv, aesthetic, and era in general is one of of svt’s most defining vibes. the suspenders really tied the whole thing together with a little bit of sexiness/maturity without taking away from the fresh youthful aspects that were so integral to svt’s concepts at the time, and the exploding confetti “hearts” were just so iconic!

CLAP: need i say more? the minimalist blocks of bright, solid colours in the background, the boys and their props purposefully smaller/centered to give everything a very “set”-like feel, which ties in perfectly with the mv’s entire meta filming concept. the computer glitches, the editing effects, the callbacks to the previous unit mvs in cute little dioramas?? excellent.

Change Up: YEAH WE FUCKEN KNOW IT!!! trust me, you’ll see me gushing about my love for svt’s solid blocks of colour and purposefully empty set design in a lot of these lists. y’all get the picture.

Adore U: shut up, this is a crazy aesthetic mv, and we can all thank pledis’ low-ass bankrupt budget for it. the shitty green-screen effects, up to and including that weird retro sci-fi bit, the blank and empty sets… god, even the pink and blue lighting that feels even more symbolic now thanks to our official rose quartz & serenity colours is aesthetic! adore u deserves this spot, and anyone who disagrees is free to fight me anytime.

Call Call Call: does it deserve to be this high in the list? probably not. did i put it up this high because i’m still not over how hot jihoon looks in this mv? probably yes. but ok, it is aesthetic, with the vibes & concepts of each of the 3 groups instantly recognizable and identifiable, it almost felt like 3 different aesthetics were used for each group.

Home: IT’S AESTHETIC!!!! that one purple set with all the lamps is already so fucking aesthetic i can barely stand it. i also lose my shit every single time in that one scene where the walls move. jeezus. so good.

Check-In: do i even need to say it. the gorgeous scenery, the chill vibes, mingyu’s aggressively orange hair? it’s ~*a e s t h e t i c*~

Pinwheel: i can’t say much bc every time i see their beautiful faces in this mv (and also jihoon’s really awful but still kinda attractive haircut) i feel like crying. anyway. it’s aesthetic.

Holiday: maybe it has the advantage of being filmed by wonwoo, but the aesthetics for this one are so soft and comforting. smth about the lower quality and occasional shakiness, the black border bc of the camera’s smaller screen, seeing the boys just playing around, going shopping, interlaced w/ shots of the scenery … it’s all so very natural and genuine. if it wasn’t for the purposeful scenes of them lipsyncing to their lyrics or dancing to the music, you could almost forget this is a music video!

Oh My!: the sleepy, dream-like quality of this mv is so unbelievably cute!!! and the clouds? the wonderland tea-party-like table with the sunflowers? ugh....so good. the only criticism i have is that the lighting feels slightly off in some of the sets, like it’s shining too much on their faces and making it hard to make out their features. and not being able to see svt’s beautiful faces is never aesthetic.

Mansae: okay, look, school concepts are always aesthetic. as usual, svt was on top of their fucking game with the bright blocks of colours, and their early eras were sooo good at sacrificing realism for hyper-funky-fresh sets and scenery. also, i just loved how they had their names in huge-ass labels on their school uniforms, it was a very clever idea for a new group with so many members.

HIGHLIGHT: okay, i could say that it’s because of the way they used lights, the flashes of deep red, the minimalist set to help emphasize perf unit’s dancing abilities … but in all honesty, i saw them in suits and my brain just blanked out. so here we are.

Trauma: the same themes of empty, minimalist sets and blocks of colour, albeit muted to suit the concept of the song! not my fave mv, but certainly an aesthetic one. side note: i don’t remember vernon looking so fucking hot in this mv.

Thanks: actual sets and scenery? in my svt mvs??? ok in all seriousness, the use of lighting was great in this one, with the ultra warm glows and the more realistic fluorescent ceiling lights ... bruh, it’s good.

BOOM-BOOM: one of the only mvs that has any coherent semblance of a plot, and immediately it’s the sort of fun, lighthearted, ocean’s 11 type of heist concept that svt can pull off easily. in terms of aesthetics, it’s not that great, but the use of colour and set design was really great.

Pretty U: it’s distressing having to rank one of my fave eras so low, but look….pretty u was kinda aesthetic but it wasn’t aesthetic enough. i mean, this was the era with the outrageously cute pink and blue suits and the fucking unbelievably entertaining musical-inspired choreo!!! and for some reason, the official mv couldn’t even let us see any of that? not to mention the camera seemed to love jumping from one member to another or filming their backs as they ran around, it was difficult to even really see any of their faces. the one aesthetic bit was the glow-in-the-dark bowling scenes, and nothing else.

LILLI YABBAI: look it’s just…it’s too BRIGHT. that being said, the saturation of the white and blue was great, and as usual performance unit looks like they’re about to single-handedly restore my faith (and attraction) in men, but i’m gonna argue that this mv…is not aesthetic.

Getting Closer: you fools, this mv isn’t aesthetic. the boys just look super hot. don’t get confused.

Don’t Wanna Cry: this might get some people mad at me, but listen…the aesthetic was a rooftop and a desert. like…..that was it. thank u, next.

looking back now, i realize i probably should have included shining diamond, but wonwoo’s hair upsets me in that mv so i didn’t want to.

[franklyshipping]

Festive Fiend ~ A Markiplier Ego Fanfic

FESTIVE FIC NUMBER TWOOOOO! This prompt is from the lovely @lappyisgaming Wilford is looooving the festive season, buuut ends up getting a bit stuck….and a certain writer tries to assist in any way that he can….LETSA GOOO!

Wilford had never been happier. The radio was on with Fairytale of New York playing at a medium volume, and Wilford was traipsing about the living area with bundles of tinsel in his hands. He was on a mission. To make this place a damn festive wonderland. Dark had begrudgingly just allowed Wilford to do what he wanted, because when it came to festivities there was NO way to stop Wilford from having his way. So there he was, silver, pink, and red tinsel in his arms as he draped them over furniture and window sills and around light fixtures; he really was in his element.

“-and the bells were ringin’ out, for Christmas Day…..”

Wilford warbled along with a wide grin as he reached up to wrap some crimson around the small chandelier in the centre of the room, he could only just reach. The rest of the unused tinsel was pooled at his feet haphazardly, which was Wilford’s main mistake.

‘Come ooooon…..get…..get up ya piece o’-AHA!’

Wilford suddenly exclaimed as he flicked one end of the tinsel up and thus succeeded in decorating the hub of light, rather beautifully actually. Wilford went to turn around and shuffle towards the couch…..which was when he slipped. The floor was carpeted, but since all the tinsel was under his feet it meant that any small sense of balance the man might’ve had was wrecked.

‘Now the-FUCKING SANTA SHIT!’

Wilford exclaimed as he wobbled before falling to the floor on his back, but he thankfully wasn’t injured in any way. Wilford was just glad that no-one had been there to witness his clumsiness; he sat up fractionally to look down. Crap.

'Oh ya gotta be kidding me……’

Wilford wriggled his legs and feet about, but he couldn’t move them otherwise due to how literally ALL the tinsel was now wrapped and tangled round his ankles and calves. Wilford hurriedly went to reach for knotted tinsel, but then jumped at the sound of someone clearing their throat at the doorway.

'The Host wonders if Wilford is alri-’

The Host trailed off as he perceived Wilford’s predicament, and he couldn’t help but smile gently; something like this was bound to happen. Wilford felt a little bubble of embarrassment when he caught the Host’s smile, but he tried to shake it off.

'Ahhhh hey there Hosty! I uh, I seem to have gotten myself into a bit of a pickle…..’

The Host paced forward, his arms were lightly folded at his chest as he fought back a gentle snicker.

'The Host noticed…..this sort of scenario was not entirely unexpected.’

'Hey!’

Wilford exclaimed, but he was grinning as the Host’s smile widened too. The latter tilted his head gently, his voice held a hint of amusement.

'May the Host offer his assistance?’

Wilford grinned, letting out a light chuckle as he placed a hand on his chest.

'Oh I would be most grateful.’

The Host let out a huffed laugh as he went to sit next to Wilford’s ankles, his hands immediatly going to feel the tinsel and begin trying to un-knot it. Wilford out a light sigh as he went to lie on his back, which made the Host snicker as he muttered.

'The Host never knew that someone could be so prone to chaos…..’

Wilford felt himself grin cheekily, letting out a small giggle as he replied.

'Why thank you!’

The Host withheld a sigh as Wilford boyish giggles filled his ears, he could feel the joyous waves coming from him and bounding round the room; it was quite lovely.

'That wasn’t a……oh never mind…..’

Wilford spluttered and giggled more at the Host’s light groan, and he leant up to peer at him as the latter fiddled with the tinsel which was still haphazardly tangled.

'You were totally complimenting me! Admit it!’

The Host pursed his lips, but Wilford could see him smiling despite him bowing his head.

'The Host would never do such a heinous thing…..’

Wilford gasped audibly, and switched his tone to that of light indignance when the Host chuckled a little.

'Yoooou’re a little liaaaar! You know you love me Hosty!’

The Host sighed, shaking his head as he flicked one of Wilford’s soles with a light mumble.

'You are unbelievable frivolous….’

Wilford was about to ask what the hell “frivolous” meant, but he ended up letting out a rather loud yip as his foot jerked. He couldn’t help it! The lightest…..sensations there could really affect Wilford. Wilford felt little fizzles of nerves build up when the Host paused, his head tilting to face him as he spoke curiously.

'The Host….wonders what prompted Wilford to make that noise?’

Wilford gulped a little and tried to play it off, waving one of his hands as he replied…..extremely quickly.

'Oh that? Pffft it was nothing, aaaabsolutely nothing….’

The Host listened to Wilford carefully, picking up on the nervous speed of his words and the strong insistance, the Host thought for a moment bfore he smiled. Of course. The Host shifted so that Wilford’s feet were in his lap, as said man fiddled with his hands….oh no.

'The Host thinks…..that it is Wilford, who is the little liar.’

Wilford shivered, unable to hide an embarrassed smile at the Host’s gentle tease; it was just enough to make him feel jittery.

'N-no I’m not! I-I’m not I s-swear!’

The Host felt a wave of satisfaction at the sound of Wilford’s stammers, and he couldn’t help but see it as rather cute; his innocent nerves were so pure and adorable. The Host felt his own smile widen as he placed one hand on Wilford’s ankles, grasping the tinsel so that Wilford couldn’t move them.

'Yes Wilford…..I think you are.’

The change in the Host’s speech was enough to throw Wilford off guard, so when a single finger dragged down Wilford’s sole he let out an unrestrained squeal.

'N-noho Hohohost d-dohon’t doho thihis!’

Wilford started to giggle continuously as the Host’s finger dragged all the way from the base of his toes, over the ball and down the sole where it reached his heel; the Host would give it a little flick before continuing back up. It was an evil cycle.

'Goodness Wilford, I’m barely touching you…..you must be ever so ticklish….’

Wilford felt his cheeks heat up as he giggled, attempting to tug at his ankles….but it was no use. The Host didn’t hold back his cheeky grin as he kept up the slow touch, loving Wilford’s reactions.

'Shuhuhut uhuhup! Th-thihis ihis meheheeean!’

Wilford whined with a few little squeaks as he moved to cover his pink cheeks, letting himself lie back on the carpet as he squirmed.

'But I'm hardly doing anything? Really Wilford, you do overexaggerate sometimes…..’

The Host trailed off with a fake sigh, which only made Wilford giggle harder; especially when he added more and more fingers to Wilford’s sole until all five were tracing and dragging.

'Nahahahat thihihihis tihihiiiiime! Hohost c'mohohohoooon!!’

Wilford wailed through his squeaky giggle fit, which was almost bordering cackles as he clenched his fists; his cheeks were more red than pink now.

'You’re really not making much sense Wilford, if you want my help then you’ll need to sort out your coherency.’

The Host knew he was being slightly cruel with his nonchalance, but it was so much fun teasing Wilford and making him blush with a few simple words; the opportunity to embarrass Wilford was a rare one, and the Host wanted to take advantage of it. He knew that Wilford didn’t really mind though, it was Wilford’s worst kept secret. 

'Fuhuhuhuhuck yohohohou!!’

Wilford banged his fists against the floor as he giggled hysterically, constantly trying to curl his toes and tug at his feet; which made the Host let out a small chuckle, he couldn’t keep up his ignorance.

'Is that really any way to speak to me Wilford? Particularly due to the position you are in…..’

The Host’s voice seemed to dim into a low purr as his words trailed off, and it sent a chill down Wilford’s spine as he gulped with a wide, nervous smile. Wilford’s giggling was loud and bubbly, and it flounced round the room as the Host’s fingertips danced on his soles; the single hand now alternated between both soles which kept Wilford guessing, as well as yelping.

'Ihihihi’m sahahaharry!! J-juhuhust gehet mehe ohout ohof thihihis!!’

Wilford stammered and whined as he tugged harder at his ankles, which still showed no hints of budging. The Host meanwhile raised an eyebrow, and grinned as he elected to scratch at Wilford’s heels which made him snort and cackle rather raucously; the Host spoke over the noise teasingly.

'Mmm, I did say I would assist…..but you’ll have to ask me nicely, and politely. Or I might just keep you here.’

Wilford’s cheeks were red from embarrassment as the Host’s words melted in his ears, since when was the Host so damn good at teasing?! As Wilford threw his head back in mirth, the Host merely snickered as he pondered on what to do next; he hummed as his fingertips moved up to scratch at the balls of Wilford’s feet. Wilford noticed.

'OHOHOHO GAHAHAD NOHOHO PLEHEHEASE HOHOHOST!!’

Wilford exclaimed with a loud squeal as he scrunched his feet, but it didn’t do any good against the Host’s onslaught; said man chuckled gently, observing Wilford’s reactions was rather fun.

'Oh but why ever not Wilford? Your reactions are adorably intriguing, I can't help but want to hear more......'

Wilford's cheeks had surpassed the shade of crimson by this point, and through his cackly laughter he wailed with jittery indignance.

'NOHOHOHOHO THEHEY'RE NAHAHAHAHAT!!'

The Host tilted his head at Wilford curiously, smiling gently as tears began to build in the corners of Wilford's eyes as his hands busied themselves with covering his burning cheeks. Although Wilford's words did vex the Host. How could Wilford not see how amazing and cute his reactions were? As the Host's fingertips lazily scratched up and down Wilford's soles to give him a light breather, the Host focused on Wilford. Ah. Of course. Wilford's utter embarrassment was what hindered him, and it seemed that referring to him as any such term like ''adorable'' made it worse. Intriguing indeed.

'Oh but I assure you they are, your laughter and unrestrained noises reflect your unabashed joy, and your flush only cements your flusteredness and your clear enjoyment at what is being done to you.'

Wilford was encased in giggles as the Host's words melted in his ears and made him shiver. When the Host said something, anything, it would always have more meaning; now was no different. Wilford could feel fizzles and butterflies shooting through his system as he squirmed and peeked through his fingers.

'Shuhuhuht uhuhup! Y-yohou're m-mahakihing ihit w-wohohohorse!!'

As soon as his words left his lips, Wilford found himself gasping and yipping nervously as the Host's movements came to a halt. Wilford's heart was rampaging as one of the Host's hands went to un-scrunch his toes....oh god. The Host faced him with a deft smirk as a single word flew from him.

'Good.'

Wilford emitted a purely ungodly screech as he felt the torturous, scratching sensation under his toes. It was partially delicate, and yet so intense that it made Wilford arch his back and cry out.

'AHHHHHHHHHH NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!'

He was gasping and squealing as his whole body thrashed, and the Host kept his touch meticulous as he fluttered and tickled every little inch of ticklish skin that the area had to offer. Except he wasn't using his fingers. Just by chance, one end of the tinsel wrapped around Wilford's ankles was just able to reach round.....so the Host took advantage of it. He worked it underneath and in-between the toes, and even spared a few little flicks to the toes themselves which made Wilford snort and wail beautifully.

'Tickle tickle tickle.....you poor sensitive thing, this must just feel maddening.'

It did. It really did. The Host chuckled as he exploited Wilford's sensitivity for a few moments more, feeling elated at how desperate and yet how incredibly happy Wilford was amidst his torment.

'PLEHEHEHEHEHE!!! GEHEHEHET IHIHIHIHIT AWAHAHAHAHAHAY!!!'

Wilford was close to his limit, his mind slowly beginning to crumble at the relentless sensations.....who knew a simple decoration could do so much? Well, Wilford certainly knew now. The Host grinned, knowing that Wilford wouldn't be able to take much more so he withdrew the tool carefully and let it flop to the floor as Wilford gasped and let his body flop on the floor; he was rather exhausted. The Host kept facing him as he muttered.

''The tangled tinsel became easily undone around Wilford's ankles, so that he would have no difficulty removing it and regaining his mobility.''

Wilford blinked a few times as he felt himself able to shift his feet and shins, and he slowly sat up so that he could yank the bindings away and bring his legs towards him so he could hurriedly hug his knees. There was a brief moment of silence. Wilford looked up towards the Host, who still bore a gentle smile; the moustached man narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at him.

'You.....are an evil little fiend!'

There was barely five seconds before both men burst into laughter, the Host chuckling softly with a hand over his mouth as Wilford's bubbly giggles bounced round the room. The Host's dimples were on show as Wilford's eyes shone, and the former grinned widely as he replied.

'The Host aims to please.'

Wilford spluttered and shook his head, narrowing his eyes for a moment before jumping to his feet and looking down at the Host; he smirked and offered him his hand.

'And you always do. Now c'mon I need décor feedback!'

The Host chuckled again, allowing Wilford to pull him to his feet as he launched into a vivid description of what he'd achieved so far. The Host already knew, he already knew exactly what he'd done and where. But he let him ramble away because it was better. The Host may have been able to see all, but seeing something through the eyes of Wilford Warfstache was always that bit better.

FIC COMPLEEEEETE HOPE YA LIKE IT AAAND I LUUV YOUS XX

[evenstevensranked]

#42: Season 1, Episode 20 - “Almost Perfect”

Ren gets a "C" in shop class which means it's the end of the world. Louis' locker is festering with steam and bacteria, so Wexler lets him use a storage closet until it’s fixed. Naturally, Louis makes the best of it and renovates the space into a south-of-the-border themed hang out.

This episode opens with the subplot. We see steam blasting out of Louis’ locker accompanied by “Halloween”-esque tinkering piano. I don’t know why I never noticed the opening line before, but Twitty asks “Dude, are you grilling turkey dogs in your locker again?” Why am I laughing at this?! Louis explains that his locker has had a hot water leak all week. It’s causing moss to grow on his egg salad sandwich and mushrooms to “not only grow, but THRIVE” on his math book. He tries to ask Principal Wexler for help, but.. ya know.. Louis isn’t exactly the most reputable student. So Wexler pretty much ignores his pleas. Probably because he was too busy running off to a meeting with Vice Principal REN STEVENS! 

He finds Ren and approaches her all excited like “Guess whaaaat?!” Ren guesses that he finally bought some red car he’s always wanted. I like this because it foreshadows Dirty Work where Wexler DOES get his snazzy red convertible. The big news is that she’s a shoo-in for Student of the Semester. This whole scene is slightly uncomfortable, like most of their scenes together. Their relationship is so weird. He even calls her “the daughter I never had.” Okay. He suggests that she should write some glowing article about herself in the school paper. Why would anyone ever suggest that? How arrogant would that be? Either way, Ren ends up agreeing to said article but instead of writing it herself.. she assigns two little minions to do it.  

No, really. Am I the only one weirded out by this? lol. 

We meet Carla (Lisa Folies, All That!) and Marla (Krysten Leigh Jones, Remember the Titans) for the first time. They're two young girls who are obsessed with Ren and her ~perfection~. We only see them one other time in Season 2. They’re very eager to impress Ren and dress exactly like her and everything. I never understood how people dress the same as others on TV shows like this. How does that work? Did they break in and photograph all of Ren’s clothes one day and then go out to buy everything??? Do they have cameras in Ren’s room that live stream her outfit choices every morning? And then proceed to reach into their Ren Closet and wear the same exact thing? Like... How else is this even possible at all? 

They’re fawning over Ren and asking her what it’s like to be perfect. Ren insists she’s not perfect, but when she’s asked to list some of her imperfections… She acts all cutesy arrogant like “what do’ya know! I guess I don’t have any! *shrug*” It’s a little off-putting.

Louis’ locker water leak has gotten so bad he needs to wear a wetsuit and goggles to school now, lol. There’s seaweed or something growing in there and it’s also the home of an evil life form that somehow materialized. He tells Wexler “I swear to Pete, there’s something growing in there and I don’t think it likes me at all!” Who are these men everyone in the Even Stevens-verse swear to?! Twitty swears to Bob, Louis swears to Pete. Once Wexler sees the extent of the damage, he lets Louis use an old storage closet for the time being. I never got that. Sure, Louis keeps a whole lotta junk in his locker -- but what normal person needs a giant closet for a few books and a jacket? Anyway, Wexler says “make yourself at home” so you know Louis is gonna run with it. Like, I’ve said before... If you give Louis an inch, he WILL take 20 miles. 

“I can make this work” he whispers to himself as he observes the closet space, lol. I just realized there’s an actual physical lightbulb next to him, signifying the idea. Wow. 

Even though she’s the number one contender for Student of the Semester, Ren really wants to ensure that she gets the title… again. Apparently you get a $25 Honey Ham gift card and it’s really satisfying. Why she gotta be so greedy, tho??? According to Wexler she's already been Student of the Semester for the last two semesters, she’s Student Policy Monitor, lord knows what else, AND don’t forget that she's practically Vice Principal as well. Geeez, Ren! Let some of the other kids have their time to shine. But, regardless.. her plans are halted when she gets a C in shop class, jeopardizing her chances. As you can probably guess, this means it’s the end of the world. Well, what did she expect?! Everyone else constructed things like violins and grandfather clocks. But Ren Stevens thinks she can pass with flying colors by making a pizza paddle. In comparison to everyone else’s projects, hers is honestly worth a D- lol. Sorry, Ren!

LOOK AT HER COMPETITION! She seriously submitted a pizza paddle -- a literal slab of wood -- and expected an A. 

Louis decides to turn the closet space into a Mexico-style club. I mean, what else do you expect from Louis Stevens? He has an entire construction team come in to do the job and forges Principal Wexler's signature to pay for it. I feel like this is an episode that has glimmers of the more outlandish, unrealistic plots we see sprinkled throughout Season 2 and super frequently in Season 3. But, the odd thing about this case.. is that it doesn’t seem THAT outlandish to me. I can actually see Louis pulling this off, lol. I’m pretty sure Shia is ad-libbing all of Louis’ commands to the construction workers. (i.e. “Come on, guys! We should have the ceiling fans by now!”)

Something that made me laugh: Ren aimlessly walks around clutching her pizza paddle repeating “C” to herself in disbelief. She walks by Louis and the renovation crew so he asks her “We’re thinking of going with this Burnt Tortilla paint for our walls… What do you think?” and all she can say is “C” …but, Louis takes it as “Si” and I can’t deal with it.

A conversation between Ren and Wexler is accidentally broadcast through the intercom… letting the entire school know that “Ren Stevens got her first C.” Everyone listens in utter shock and some people even rush to the principal’s office just to stare at Ren with disappointment. Everyone held her to a ridiculously high standard and now they’re all depressed and let down because -- SHOCKER! -- she’s not perfect. How dare she!

Because of this, Carla and Marla completely let themselves go and dress like ragamuffins the next day. I feel like there’s a lesson here: Do not put all of your faith in a mere human being, you guys. This is all too extreme. It’s a C. They’re acting like she committed some morally wrong, unforgivable crime. Hardly. However, in Ren’s world, a C is an unforgivable crime. So, technicallyyy she did this to herself. Oops. She eventually decides to “fight back” for a chance to re-do her project, and suddenly Carla and Marla love her again.

Louis unveils the newly renovated locker/closet to Twitty. I love this scene. Twitty walks in and says “Dude, I’m in Mexico!” and Louis is like “Nooo, my friend. *turns on Mariachi music* NOWWWW YOU'RE IN MEXICO!!!"

He proceeds to show Twitty around the small space saying things like "See that? That's not a guitar, it's a bass and I got it shipped in from Meh-hee-co" with the accent. The line that kills me though is "See that matador painting? The guy at the gas station told me it's on real velvet." - Incredible. This line is actually a very obvious overdub. It cuts away to a shot of the painting and Shia clearly recorded this line as a voiceover after the fact. The quality and volume of the audio is totally different from the rest of the scene. Just something I always noticed. Wexler obviously finds out about this when he receives the work order and pays Discoteca Louis a little visit. 

“You said make myself at home, so I did. Tropical smoothie?”

Wexler tells him “Stevens. I want you, your smoothie, and your tacky velvet matador painting out of here in 24 hours!” and leaves. Feeling like this is an injustice, Louis decides to throw a muy grande farewell fiesta before the place is torn down. We get one of my favorite lines here: 

Twitty: I kinda like the matador painting.

Louis: Yeah. “Tacky”?! HE PAID 12 BUCKS FOR THAT!

Ren goes to speak to her shop teacher after school and we see that his license plate reads “WOOD LVR.” He also tells her “Ren, maybe you haven’t noticed but.. I LOOOOVE WOOD! Wood is ma’lady.” Why do I feel like this is another innuendo? All I can think of is Beyoncé. SERFBORT. Her teacher ultimately gives her a second chance at the project. Of course. All she has to do is make a perfect footstool and she’ll get an A.    

There’s a line half way around the world to get into Louis’ party. He has bouncers, velvet rope, and Twitty is keeping track of a guest list. This is so hilarious it’s ridiculous. To highlight how ~exclusive~ the party is, Twitty won’t even let Carly Blaine, his own cousin, in because her name isn’t on the list. Louis eventually turns it into a free for all and allows everyone to go in. How they all fit, I have no idea.

After completing and submitting her footstool for grading, Ren is anxiously awaiting the outcome in the hallway. Here is where we finally get a fantastic character moment from Louis:

Louis: “You ever wanna be normal? You're always trying to be perfect at everything.“

Ren: “What's wrong with being perfect?"

Louis: “It's not normal.”

YOOOOOOO! How fire is that line, though?! The matter-of-fact, simple way he was able to get through to Ren reminds me of something Shia said irl at his #TouchMySoul art instillation. I love caring, smart Louis! Yes.

Ren ends up getting a B- on her footstool. She’s not too happy, but she accepts it. Sheesh! If I got a B- in junior high, it would be up on the refrigerator door! Dang. She says she’s done with being perfect and goes to have some fun at Louis’ shindig.  

There’s a Ricky Martin - “Livin’ La Vida Loca” knockoff song playing at the party, presumably called "Casa de Fiesta.” IT GETS STUCK IN MY HEAD ALL THE TIME BUT I LOVE IT. We get a montage of Louis partying it up set to this song, which is truly a vision. Although, I can’t help but feel like Tumblr would crucify him for the cultural appropriation. Or would this count as "appreciation"? He has an authentic Mariachi band and everything. It just hit me -- Where the heck is Tawny?! Surely she’d have something to say. 

Louis is shocked when he sees Ren there. This is another one of my favorite moments:

Louis introduces Ren to the band and I swear this is Shia ad-libbing again. (i.e “This is Arnesto! And Manuuuuel!”)

…and that’s pretty much it.  

This is a good episode. It really is. But, much like Dirty Work.. This popular and memorable Louis storyline is only a subplot. Also, nothing serious happens with Louis as a character here until the last few minutes. Like I said, I adore his mini speech to Ren. GAHH!! When Louis is good, he is REALLY good. He just busts out some profound crap outta nowhere sometimes. Gotta love that. As usual, this Ren main plot just isn’t as strong. It's so unfortunate. But seeing Louis’ words get to her is touching, and it’s great to see her let go at the end.

Thanks for reading as always! Getting back into the swing of things after my trip to New York last weekend. :)

Please, chime in using the Disqus comment section below!

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[elfynevans]

hi! 3, 7 and 19 for the nation ask thing! :)

3. does your country have access to sea?

yess! a lot of the border is the sea!

fun fact: wales is the first country where a path has been created so you can walk the whole of the coast on one path (870 miles!)

7. three words from your native language that you like the most?

i know people like the classic welsh words like cwtsh, hiraeth or (the wrong) popty ping but my (slightly random lol) faves are anghenfil (monster), Myrddin (Merlin) and er enghraifft (for example)

19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem?

if people don’t like the welsh flag they’re wrong!

best flag in the world fight me!!!

also i loooove the national anthem it slaps ❤️

(also side note: god save the queen is terrible and can go die in a ditch lmao)

ask me questions about my country (aka wales)

[girlcrushau]

loml!!!! that’s hilarious that your fav subject is bioanthro, i’m in physical anthro and it’s interesting but the 8ams just kill me ya know? my favorite season id say is fall so many great things about fall, including halloween which is my favvvvv holiday of all time. what’s your fav holiday? i’m writing this from the library in which I should be studying, please give the the strength to open my calculus book. ooo also do you have pets? i love you so muchhhh, petal, talk to you tomorrow -🖤💫

chdnsjx i think bioanthro and physical anthro are the same thing!!!! i loooove fall too and uhhhh as for my favorite holiday 🤔 hmmm i’m gonna go with the fourth of july just because my whole family goes up to our lake property and goes on the boat and has campfires and all that fun stuff!! i love it :) and uhhh i hated calc too much but ya girl still got a b+ soo uh i’ll heckin take it!!! also uhhh do i have pets,,, i have a 3 dogs, a corgi named copper, a border collie named daphne, and a multipoo (maltese and poodle) named jack :) do you have pets ??ilysm dear anon!! next time i speak to you my bby harry will be 24 and i’ll be in a pool of tears!! ilysm i hope tomorrow is a great day for you 💕 good luck with studying!!

[herrlehnsherrhai]

Werewolf RP idea

Hello! My name is Robby or Smokey and I've been RPing for more than 10 years. I'm over 21 years of age. My style is past-tense, third-person format and I average 3-12 paragraphs, depending on what a partner gives me to work with. I play over email and Gdocs and prefer to keep it that way. If we like each other, I'll give you my kik/skype/discord so we can chat ooc. Not to be an asshole, but please do not contact me if you intend to give me less than 3 paragraphs. I have a lot of practice at this and I'm a pretty decent writer, and you will be ignored if you don't put as much effort into posts as I do.

I'm looking for a somewhat specific plot for a werewolf-themed RP. I'm happy to play either character in the scenario, and I'm also very open to changing it up and exchanging out tropes or details. I love plotting, so any and all ideas are more than welcome. This is a setting for a M/M pairing and that's the way I would prefer it to be. Right out of the gates, let me specify that I have no interest in Omegaverse, furries/beastiality or severe prolonged abuse between the characters. I also will not play Mpreg, vore, scat/watersports, underage, rape or any of those typical hard NOs. I have other limits, but those are the ones that I will not negotiate.

With that out of the way, let's move on to the plot:

Characters A and B are forced to live together in a secluded place, when one of them is bitten by a werewolf and begins to change. I'd like for it to be a kind of employment situation where they have to stay in the same place to finish a job, and I'd like for it to be secluded. Preferably either in the 1800s when there is none of the advanced technology of the day, or in a setting where they don't have access to internet or phones. Maybe there is a white-out in the area surrounding where they're staying. The main theme of the story will revolve around one of them, let's say Character A, becoming infected with lycanthropy and slowly becoming a werewolf, while Character B is forced to look on and watch it happen.

They can already be established lovers, and in fact this might make it easier. I want B to have feelings for A, enough so that he doesn't want to just kill him or immediately rat him out to the others when A becomes infected. I'm open to any interpretation of the relationship, whether it be romantic and committed or something more like apathetic fuck-buddies. Smut is very welcome in this storyline, but I'd would like to have some actual story to go with it. I can also get on board with the idea of their not having had sex at all yet, but there needs to be some kind of attraction, and I would like feelings to develop later, if not right away.

There can be other people floating around the property with them, also trapped. I'd like for the infection to remain a secret between just A and B, though. Maybe the others (I'd prefer there not to be too many) already know about the werewolves beyond the borders of their property and are wary of anyone exhibiting symptoms. Maybe no one has ever heard of werewolves, or they are seen as myth, but A and B are still afraid to tell anyone bc they're already in a survival situation and they're low on food and people are tense etc etc.

It can be a setting where they work togethe at some trade, or where they're members of some military manning a fort of some kind, or anything like that where they have to stay in one place and the outside is not easily reached. A large fortress would be a bonus, seeing as there are werewolves outside and such. I'd also be into the idea of a religious figure/homophobic individual who gives our boys a hard time when he begins to suspect that they're lovers, because that's always fun drama to play with. I loooove horror and action and adventure and gore (non sexual kind of gore) and fantasy and drama and psychological thriller and all that dark stuff, so don't hesitate to throw it all at me. All of this is very open to any ideas you would like to submit as well. If you've read all of this, please add your favorite movie/book genre somewhere in your message.

I have no preference about roles/types/character tropes, but I would like for the characters to be as realistic as possible. No anime or manga face claims, please. I can't get into those.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for taking the time to read my ridiculousness! This is a plot that I originally started to flesh out with a person who became busy in their real life and did not wish to play it anymore. I never got the chance even to try it and as a result it had stuck with me in my mind ever since. I would love to work out the kinks with you. Send me a message on tumblr or through email if you're interested and we can get to plotting! Please do not just send "let's RP." Tell me a little about yourself!

Email: smokeringsintx@gmail.com