#but i do think they think too highly of me and i'm definitely gonna disappoint them 🥲

[daz4i]

love my social worker he's so sweet and i love my mentor/guide/one day i'll find a fitting english word for what her role is too. last time i met the former he said they talked abt the thing i'm starting this thursday and said "while it feels like these circumstances may be impossible for you, logically speaking you shouldn't succeed there, yet both of us are certain you will" which is very nice but also AAAAAAAAAAAAA

[daenysx]

those tiktok videos where couples are ranking types of kisses but it’s you and james 🧚🏻‍♀️✨😭 if you write it, thank you very much for your time ❤️

i hope i got this right, thank you for requesting, angel!! reblogs and comments are highly appreciated, please let me know what you think if you like this guys <33333

james potter x fem!reader, fluff (lots of kissing haha)

it's so easy to get james in the mood for trying a new tiktok ranking trend.

he's been obsessed with them lately, keeps trying different stuff just for fun when he waits for you to join him in bed at night. the funniest part of this for you is that he actually takes them so seriously, he gets visibly disappointed when he puts an option in the wrong place and regrets it later.

"i'm gonna show you something." you say, sitting on bed with your phone in your hand.

"what's that angel?" he asks, pulling you closer. "your hair smells amazing, come closer."

you settle down next to him and open the app on your phone. "we're gonna rank types of kisses."

"oh, that's new? i've never seen it."

"i just saw a couple doing it, thought you'd enjoy." you laugh.

"um-yes, please?" he says, seriously. god, you love him so much.

"okay." you hold the phone in front of you. "so, when a type of kiss appears on the screen, you'll give me that kiss and i'll rank."

james clearly likes the idea, he sits straighter on bed. you look at him before starting, he nods.

'neck kiss' appears on the screen and james gives you a perfect kiss on your neck. you love how he pays attention to your neck all the time so it's a clear favorite.

"this can actually be the first one." you say. "but no, three."

'hand kiss' comes next and james kisses your knuckles. "good?" he asks. "i feel like i'm under pressure."

you laugh. "gonna put it in number six."

next one is 'nose kiss', you cheekily rub your nose on james's. "you don't like this so much." he says.

"um, eight."

"i wonder which one will be ten."

'earlobe kiss' appears. "oh my god." you laugh. james kisses your earlobe and it's too loud. "that's ten."

you regret your decision when 'bite kiss' comes next. "no!" you laugh. "don't bite me."

"sorry, angel." he laughs. he bites your arm softly.

"nine."

you put 'top of the head kiss' on number four. "you could do better than that." you say to james, smiling.

"i definitely could." he agrees. "this is hard."

"okay, 'lip kiss' next, you gotta be quick."

james kisses your lips but he hates how there's not enough time. "gonna put it in two." you say. "but number two and number three are just so close, jamie, i'm not sure."

"that's okay, we're totally doing this every night, you can change that." he whispers against your ear playfully.

"oh, wait." you say. 'forehead kiss' comes next. it's definitely your favorite, james takes an extra second to keep his lips on your skin. "that's number one."

"you're so predictable, sweetheart."

"it's kind of your fault."

you put 'cheek kiss' on number five. it could be number four but you feel a bit distracted by james's lips, you have no strategy left.

"what's number seven, then?" james asks.

'french kiss' comes and you laugh so hard, you drop the phone. "yes!" james says, he laughs with you and change your positions on bed. "we're gonna have to do it, you know."

"yeah? for the game?"

"mm-hmm." he agrees. you lay under him now. "for the game."

the kiss is nice because james stops teasing and kisses you with all his heart. you cup his cheek, pull him closer on top of you. your breathing slows down when your tongues meet, james sucks on your bottom lips deliciously. when you're apart you can't get your thoughts straight.

"that's definitely not number seven." you whisper.

"if only i had this much time to do all the others-" james starts, kisses you again. you spend the next minutes kissing with your eyes closed and bodies entwined. your phone is long forgotten when james takes off your shirt.

[sarkyfancypants]

Borderlands: My honest thoughts

Warning/Disclaimer: Long rant and personal opinions from someone who knows a little too much about the games and maybe spoilers.

What can be said that hasn't been said about Borderlands? The gameplay is fine but its story has wasted potential? That the fanbase keeps getting rear-ended by the franchise's creator who can't pay his workers right and suffers a meltdown from getting feedback and critiques? That it's been taking a slow nosedive after BL3 as the characters and plots keep getting dumber, slowly losing its loyal fans?

That third statement may be a bit of an exaggeration but I have heard people feeling exasperated about how many tumbles Borderlands has taken with Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (although that's not directly a Borderlands game, much more of a spinoff) and The New Tales from The Borderlands which nearly drove me into tears from how awful it was...

I'm not counting the movie, that's it's own thing, but I'll just say it is equally as disappointing.

I'm gonna start with a phrase I heard someone say:

"Handsome Jack was the start and the end of Borderlands".

Stay with me.

Borderlands didn't have a proper plot to begin with, and it was until BL2 when things started to pick up and you can't deny Handsome Jack was part of the reason it became the talk of the town.

I'm not saying this just because Jack is my favorite character. It's something that I have heard from many different people who have talked about the franchise in general. Jack was, and still is, highly appraised as "one of the best videogame villains" so far. He set an unexpected standard for the franchise that held up throughout The Pre-Sequel and Tales from The Borderlands, up to his definite end.

When Jack died, the franchise died with him. Dramatically put.

Sure, we still had some more of him in The Handsome Jackpot but that's inconsequential I think.

This is not saying that I want them to bring Handsome Jack back.

I don't want them to bring him back.

I feel that he has served his purpose.

But a much wasted purpose. Here is where my issues begin. At the end of The Pre-Sequel we got the cutscene where the Guardian/Watcher warns the VHs of a war. A war that we yet have to see because nothing of that extremity happened in BL3. Who knows, maybe it'll come in Borderlands 4 and 3 was just the setup.

That scene seemed important, and it coming from The Pre-Sequel, an underappreciated game that talks about Jack's transformation to Handsome Jack, the revelations of his involvement in BL1 and the things that then led to the events of BL2 on forward, almost seemed to indicate something. At least in my point of view.

I don't want them to bring Handsome Jack back, but what I do want is to see a follow-up to the consequences of his actions. That warning of a war almost felt to me like the the things Handsome Jack did triggered something big. His meddling was more significant than what Atlas and Dahl did previously, and it would ultimately justify Zarpedon's urgency to bring him down as she was enlightened by Eridian knowledge and supported/guided by the Guardians.

But after BL3, it was almost as if he was simply swiped under the rug and that was it. People only mention him to say how much of a dick he was but that's all of it. No impact, no shred of importance. Just an underwhelming "he was an asshole".

Maybe I'm looking too hard into this and I don't know if anyone else sees my vision, but it is one of the many missed opportunities from BL3, just the same as my bane which has been Troy draining Tyreen to death and becoming the focus for the rest of the game. The signs were there, it was leading up to that, there was even cut dialogue that implied that! But it was ultimately scrapped and therefore wasted.

Like the cutscene after Maya's death, the scene that would redeem Ava from being an annoying brat to a more grounded person with space for character development.

The fact that Aurelia was presented in the trailer as an ally later to be revealed as a one-dimensional villain we have to kill to progress on the story. That one still pisses me off.

I'm also upset that the awesome characters we played as in BL2 were turned into bland npcs that only showed up in DLCs that serve no purpose, with Maya being the only person to actually show serious development only to become the product of a death made for shock value in an attempt to replicate Roland's death. It's so appalling.

Don't get me wrong, Borderlands 3 is a good game and it holds up because it is really fun to play, but the story has me and many others longing for something better.

Oh by the way, did you know the first Borderlands game had a whole third act scrapped out which showed more of Commodore Steele's involvement, grounding her more as a proper villain/antagonist? Yeah, I'm mad too. Shit was already bad from the start.

I will not talk about New Tales, I refuse to think of it as canon. Someone said the best way to cope about its existence is to imagine that none of it is real and it was an in-uneverse film and all the characters in it are in-uneverse actors.

The franchise seems to be in a dire spot and my hopes for the 4th game which was confirmed to be in development, it is making me nervous and I'm disillusioned.

All I have is whatever made-up content I have for myself to still enjoy this franchise that hurts so much to watch it sink like this.

[spacedys]

skincare & i like you's.

the cold open to the latest episode of criminal minds played on the tv as you sat on the couch with NISHINOYA, applying a skincare mask onto your faces as he rambled on about his day - the show would always start out as background noise, but as it progressed, you'd both go quiet and watch the episode.

"so, i'm looking at shoyo's food, then at mine— and i realize how much yummier his is!" he says muffledly, he couldn't move much since you were still applying the mask to his face. "so, naturally, i just take 3 spoon servings out of his food!"

you let out a gasp, shaking your head in disappointment. "why would you do that, you monster!"

he pouts at you, "wha— don't call me a monster, his food looked scrumptious and mine was basic, you shoulda seen it! and then daichi got mad at me.." "of course, because you took shoyo's food!"

since you were both still in your second year of highschool, you obviously weren't living together - yet with how much he stayed over and snuck in, he practically treated your parents' home as his.

once you set the 20-minute alarm, you climbed off of nishinoya's lap and settled in, laying down against the armrest of the couch and pulling him close to you as you divided your attention to the tv and his story.

"it was a stupid idea to even think about taking his food," you muttered quietly as you your hands through his soft brown hair, nodding along and making occasional comments to his story - which technically was definitely 7 different stories now, but you didn't mind much, you liked when he talked. and he liked when you listened.

nishinoya liked the way your expression softens when you look at him, the way your eyes light up at the sight of a new cheap sushi bar you could eat at, and he liked the way you would stare at the plates of food as it moved in tiny little cars next to your booth, even if it tasted bad, you both seemed to like it a lot. "can 'good' sushi move around me?" you would argue, "i don't think so."

nishinoya liked how even if he would get a little intense sometimes with volleyball, you would get intense as well— he liked how you were always cheering him on from the audience. he liked how you were the loudest there; wearing his jersey and cheering his name.

nishinoya liked how after a bad game, he could find comfort in you. whether he wanted to rant about it, eat something, watch a movie, or just sit in silence, he would want to do it with you.

"i like you, yn." he mumbles into the crook of your neck as you watch tv, he could practically feel the smile on your face as he uttered those words. you snort, "i better hope so! because if not, then as your partner, we're gonna have a huge fight, nishinoya." you joke.

it was soft times like these where you felt the most at home - it didn't matter where you were or what was going on between you two, you just felt safe when you were with nishinoya.

"i like you too, yuu."

© spacedys ‘23 — all work belongs to me!! do not plagiarize, copy, repost, or modify my work or content on this platform or any other form of media. reblogs, likes, and comments are highly appreciated though!

[ask-serendipity-sky]

Honestly I have no f*cking idea what jk will do in his mv. If he's actually gonna make out with someone then I'mma be honest I'll stop connecting his name with jimin's.

Not because I will think that oh he made out with someone which means they're dating. No! I know jikook are definitely a thing.

And I highly believe that whatever stupid theories these people are coming up about his mv are stupid because we don't even know what the song will be even about.

Anyway what I'm saying is that if a scene like that is in there then I'll stop shipping jikook because it won't feel wholesome to me anymore. Idk if you're getting what I'm saying. But the experience will be kinda tainted for me. Shipping should be fun and I don't think we should do so much mental gymnastics about it because at the end of the day it's not our relationship.

But honestly I would be too sad and disappointed to ship jikook anymore even if it's just acting. I don't care.

Hello,

I get you.

Let's be honest, everyone is waiting for the mv because the curiosity is killing them and the thought of Jungkook maybe or maybe not doing something sexual with a woman is in their mind.

I won't lie to you. I believe Jikook is real too and had these same thoughts in the beginning. I know it's art. I know it's performative. I know that. But the heart in mind was like "nope".

I suppose it all comes down to the way we view Jikook. Many see Jikook as this magical, once in a lifetime love with 0 flaws, and they worship each other blah blah soul mates, blah blah, and they would never touch another human being.

But I feel you said something quite important:

"Shipping should be fun and I don't think we should do so much mental gymnastics about it because at the end of the day it's not our relationship."

It's not our relationship and whether you ship, support, or believe in Jikook, we have to remember that they won't act like we want them to.

Relationships are not always wholesome. Even our own. Relationships are imperfect and can be a wild ride. Especially for us as the observers of a supposed relationship between 2 people that work in the music industry where things like these (whatever "these" are) are done to break out, stand out, to make your song marketable, etc.

We will probably be dissapointed a lot if we continue setting these unrealitistic expectations on Jimin and Jungkook.

So I get you. But we really should try to not be sad about this. It may turn out to be nothing or it may be everything, we just have to wait and see.

But meanwhile, just remind yourself that it's art and art is meant to entertain us...but actual relationships aren't meant to entertain us. So it's important to keep the relationships separate from the art. As hard as that is.

Thank you for sharing.

[lollytea]

You tagging that last post with Willow just prompted me to put forth my dyslexic willow headcanon. She didn't work well in the abominations track for multiple reasons but one of them was that it was VERY textbook based compared to plants and she was struggling Bad. She tries to read cosmic frontier for Hunter and Gus but struggles (thinks abt how she's the only main kid with no book related/bookish interests..) and eventually Hunter and Gus take to just reading the entire book aloud to her, doing voices, etc.

YEAH YEAH EXACTLY!!! I have the dyslexic Willow headcanon too (also adhd) because her school problems really do feel like a kid with an undiagnosed learning disability struggling to keep up. Obviously that's not ENTIRELY why she's not the best in the abomination track but I definitely see it as being a big part of the problem.

But oh my god!! Stop!!! Willow doing her goddamn BEST to read Cosmic Frontier because she said she was gonna and Hunter's really excited to know what she thinks. Meanwhile, Gus is giving her the side eye of the century because he KNOWS how hard she finds it to read long wordy books. But she keeps shrugging him off like "Pssh I'm fiiiiiine, I totally got this!! :)" both of them knowing full well that Willow badly wants to make Hunter happy. Plus, he thinks so highly of Willow's intelligence and she isn't ready to admit that she just can't read the book. She doesn't want to put a damper on his perception of her. She doesn't want to disappoint him.

However, when it all becomes too much and Willow has to come clean about the book, she's surprised by how unfazed Hunter is. The first thing he says is "Hm. Okay. How can I help?" Because obviously, his main priority here is the unfairness of Willow not being able to experience the best book ever written and he can't let that slide. Fortunately, Gus already has plenty of ideas.

I could absolutely see them reading the book aloud but in my mind there is no way they wouldn't do The Absolute Most. Gus and Hunter, a pair of massive theatrics. Oh they are literally about to act out the whole book like it's a play, complete with sets and costumes (courtesy of Gus' illusions and Hunter's sewing machine) and SO much enthusiasm!!! All for Willow!!!!

And tbh I think even if Willow could have easily read Cosmic Frontier, she wouldn't have fallen in love with it the way Gus and Hunter did. But whatever the fuck THIS is??? Two of her best friends in the world acting their little hearts out, putting on funny voices and having an absolute blast for two hours straight. Oh Willow had the time of her life.

[ladytauria]

i think i reblogged it from you but never sent you questions, so for the book rec asks: 1, 13, 23, 44, 50, 54, 79, 92, 116, 130, 131 please!! thats A Lot, so feel free to pick and choose haha

ahhh thank u bean! i love talking books uwu

coming back up after answering to edit... um. bean, i'm so sorry for my answer on the last one xD i should have picked a different book. (i ranted. a little.)

1. a book that is close to your heart

there are a few books i could name, but i'm going to do the one i thought of first.

a girl of the limberlost. i only remember reading it once, but my mother is the one who gave it to me, and told me that it was a book she loved at my age at the time. (same with the secret garden.) so i can't think of that book without thinking of her, which makes it a little bit more special to me <3

13. your favorite romance novel

immediate impulse is to say legends and lattes by travis baldree bc. it's so good. however, while there is a romance i don't know if i would count it as a romance novel.

so.

the lady's guide to celestial mechanics. historical, sapphic, featuring both women in STEM (or, yknow, historical equiv) but also an appreciation for domestic arts / crafts normally looked down on. also there's an acknowledgement that homophobia existed, but there's none on page.

the prose is also gorgeous.

i don't actually read a ton of romance novels, but i've been trying to pick up more!

23. a book that is currently on your TBR

mmm, too many

but Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield went on sale on kindle the other day so! it's mine now <3 and one i've been eying for a while. the kindle cover isn't the one i wanted, but that's okay.

44. your favourite fantasy novel

a very large chunk of what i read is fantasy. this is HARD 😂

uhhh.

the locked tomb is technically sci-fi, isn't it?

fuck.

i'm gonna go with The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle bc it is the only book i purposefully own more than one copy of! would love to get my hands on the graphic novel <3

honorary mention to the Inheritence Cycle bc reading Eragon was what got me to start writing my first novel.

which absolutely wasn't just. Eragon but with griffin riders instead.

(okay, legitimately, there were differences, but there was also definitely heavy inspiration.)

50. a book that made you cry a LOT

i don't actually cry at much? the last time i remember actually crying was when i was reading an abridged version of little women and beth died xD

i'm trying to think of another book which really grabbed me emotionally recently that also isn't. already on this list. and i'm coming up empty?

54. a book with the best opening line

i don't have a good memory for opening lines ^^; however for some reason i want to say The Lightning Thief, so. that's what i'm going with.

79. a book that reminds you of your favorite song

my favorite song changes by the moment, so i don't have answer for this one ^^;

92. a book about a redeemable villain

kay, so i almost answered this question with the book i gave for the next question, but i realized i don't? read a lot of multi pov books?? or at least not that i remember being such. i did remember one but it was the second in a duology, so.

so.

anyway!

the closest i can think of atm would be Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone. (highly rec this one, though i was a little disappointed when the pairing i wanted didn't happen xD)

116. a book with multiple povs

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley.

this book.

i.

woof.

okay, so. if you are. remotely squeamish, like. at all? you might wanna give this one a pass. (def check storygraph / other places for trigger warnings. im also happy to elaborate myself, lol.) i am. very squeamish, and made it through only because the story grabbed me tight and wouldn't let go. the worldbuilding is extremely interesting. the characters are all very different and both likeable and unlikeable in a million different ways. but.

oh boy, it was a tough one.

if you're NOT squeamish, though--

it was a 4 or 5 star read for me, iirc, so, y'know. recommended. not sure i'll ever pick it up again, but like. do not regret reading.

130. a book featuring flashbacks and/or intersecting storylines

i know i've read others like this, but the book that comes to mind is--and i had to google this bc it's been so long since i read it---Thirst by Christopher Pike. It was also published under "The Last Vampire." i don't actually recommend them; i read them during my middle school vampire phase and even i remembered being a little mindboggled. mainly bc i think there was an alien abduction in... the second or third book? idk, i had an omnibus.

131. recommend any book you like!

there's only one answer i can give to this, tbh. the locked tomb series brainrot is real and deep and i am. both highly anticipating and dreading the release of alecto so.

i gotta recommend Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

that SAID, i am well aware that this book has a reputation on tumblr esp for being poorly summarized, as the most oft-used pitch is "lesbian necromancers in space."

this is not an inaccurate summary.

BUT.

it is also not complete.

so first, some expectations: it's sci-fi, definitely, but also there are a lot of fantasy vibes? probably because of the swords and the necromancy and the sworn knights-esque plot. uh. basically, it's sci-fi like star wars is sci-fi, but also it's. it's not star wars.

second thing: this series is unreliable narrator central. tamsyn picks the least qualified person in the group for you to follow the story with, and it works. so well. like, firstly bc ofc things get explained (some; it does drop you in and expect you to pick up a lot through context clues) but ALSO because you WILL pick up things you didn't on re-reads. i did a reread before Nona and spent half of it screaming. i'm not much of an annotator beyond highlighting some lines on kindle but i was commenting all over the place.

uh.

i still haven't talked about the plot, my bad.

Gideon the Ninth follows the titular Gideon, after her childhood nemesis and heir to the Ninth House, is invited to the First House by the God Emperor of the Nine Houses to seek quasi-immortality and join him in fighting a war as old as the Houses themselves. When they get there, though, they soon find their fellow heir-and-cavalier pairs being picked off one by one.

this book also features a lot of gay... not pining, not really, but like. Gideon likes women and her pov spends a lot of time appreciating the other women with them xD (this is also part of what makes her unreliable as a narrator. plot? what plot? gideon is here for thirsting, and a little bit of pining.)

also mild enemies to lovers vibes.

ALSO there are memes. there's a none pizza left beef joke in book 2, i'm still not over it.

does get a little squicky at times with loving descriptions of bones and viscera, though.

if i keep talking about this book i won't ever stop <3

[ book recs ask game ]

[spookyserenades]

Hey girl!!!! I'm back again after what feels like ages! But I was on my "thirsting on f1 drivers" phase and couldn't read anything else for a couple of months. Anyways. I just binged read the last 3 chapters and WTF was that smut? I'm so loving how Y/N is dirtyyyy. I was as shocked as Yoongi.

Ghostbusters trio is the best thing ever, Namjoon opening up and bratty Jungkook (I see what you are doing there). But it made me crazy that they didn't seem to care about the new couple, Tae was the only one to meet my expectations.

Alice is a genious, if I was ever jealous of her with Hoseok, I don't remember. And I was just expecting her plan come into action after the last smut. I was fully believing that someone would arrive accidently when they were finishing and hear everything!!!

I'm not even mad at the cliffhanger this time. I went through so many emotions while reading this last chapters, that Seokjin's confession would be too much right now.

Lastly, if you were ever in doubt about writing smut, it was totally pointless cause you rocked. Talented, that's what you are! Love you and can't wait for the next chapter. (I'm gonna update myself now reading the asks you answered while I was gone)

HIII OMG I've missed you!!! 🥺 ooo I do NOT blame you for the f1 drivers thing 😉

HA I've unleashed my inner freak with the smut!! I know many readers have been waiting quite some time for the steamy scenes, so I didn't wanna disappoint LMAO 💀 I also love how dirty Y/N is, you can tell she's been waiting to jump Yoongi's bones jkdsafj

I love our ghostbusters!! I'm seriously so pumped to keep writing about all of their adventures. I think that over time with their investigations, it will give Namjoon and Jeongguk the opportunity to grow closer to Y/N, as they are some of the more distant hybrids. HA bratty Jeongguk... I love him, I can't wait to see him get all tender in the future. And finally, we get some background on our mysterious Namjoon 🥺 Those two are more concerned with their own hobbies than romance at the moment, which is why I think they were so nonchalant about her and Yoongi. Although, Namjoon may be harboring some secret wolfish jealousy. We'll see!

Alice is the friend we all need! While she flirted with Hoseok in the beginning, I highly doubt she'll do it any more because Y/N disclosed her feelings for all of the boys. Can you imagine how awkward it would have been if they were caught while Yoongi was balls-deep 💀 Of course, it's going to be unavoidable in the future that the others will be around while she's intimate with one in particular. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it LOL 💀

Classic Dana cliffhanger! This time, though, I think it was necessary, like you said. The next chapter will open up with that scene, picking right up where we left off, so that's something to look forward to-- romance and feelings and our sweet Seokjin 🥺💕

dkaslfs THANK YOU for the compliment about the smut writing 💜💜 I was initially nervous about writing it (I've done it before, but not as descriptive or drawn out) so I'm really happy you liked it 💕 Definitely more where that came from!

Love to you and I'm so 🥺 to hear from you again! Hope you have a nice rest of your March and we'll meet again in April 💜

[sharkiethedork]

Hi so I finished reading A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green the other day and I really enjoyed it! I do have a couple rambley nitpicks on how I thought the story was gonna go but I don't know anyone else who's read these books yet so I'm gonna throw it out here into the void. so spoilers below! (I do highly recommend these two books though so if you do read them we can talk about them hehe)

Okay I was SURE that the text that Miranda got from Maya about the the dresses was actually from Carl's Brother/One dgsdfgs like! I was reading that part and right when Miranda starts speculating on what Maya meant by that, I had a really incredible moment of dread when I remembered that, oh shit, April chucked Maya's phone out of the car earlier! I thought One got ahold of the phone or signal or whatever and sent that text to make Miranda feel bad and start doubting her friends so she would get mixed up in Altus easier! I believe Carl gives Maya her phone back in the next chapter and I was kind of waiting for that reveal to be made for a good chunk of the book, but then Maya said that she did send that text when she rescues Miranda from the Altus space. (And for a moment, that also made me wonder if that was actually a fake out too! But that wouldn't make much sense for One to do since Miranda didn't know they'd be coming to get her then anyway)

Which, isn't a problem and I know the whole book wasn't always strictly chronological so that's fine. Maybe I'm just a sucker for when the villain completely plays the protagonists (which, to be fair, was the case when it came to the Thread so I did get what I wanted in that way lol) but I was very slightly disappointed that my foreshadowing senses were slightly off there haha

And secondly. I was positive Robin was gonna die at some point lol. He's the only member of the gang who didn't have any chapters in the book, and Andy said something to the affect of "I never learned more about why Robin has issues with dating" after their heart-to-heat scene (Which was a scene I really adored btw). It just turns out that Robin just kinda...stopped showing up about 3/4th the way though.

While I definitely get that it probably wasn't feasible to have a SIXTH narrator in the book, and as an aspirational writer with a few minor projects under my belt I'm very aware that sometimes you just end up having a character that just kinda doesn't have anything to do later on and falls to the wayside, Robin's absence did kind of feel like a missed opportunity. Robin's reveal that he knew April's agent whos name escapes me soz was also working for Petrawiki was the partial catalyst that led to April "dying" in the first book, and he makes it clear to Andy that he's wracked with guilt about it. If I recall, the only interaction we get between him and April is that she hugs him when he shows up at the penthouse, and I'm pretty sure that scene ends up being his last appearance or at least his last major one. I think it would have been great if some time was spent in an April chapter where they make up. It's fine if April has forgiven him since then, but having some closure between them on the page would have been really great. Oh well.

At the very least when it comes to him not being a narrator, I can easily imagine them asking Robin to help write the book but he's just like "Hey it was your guys' job to do all the work on the ground, my job is to be your agent and get it out there, let me do that well."

Other than those two frankly minor nitpicks I thought ABFE was really good! I wish I had read them sooner but they came out while I was in the middle of my like five years where I didn't read shit, and also I hadn't been paying much attention to Nerdfighteria so I was only vaguely aware of the books for a while. I think I slightly prefer An Absolutely Remarkable Thing although I'm not super sure why I do, but you can't just stop at the first one!

[chocolate-failure]

Boiohboi I'm freaking out. I think it's been exacerbated by the tea I drank. I fw black tea heavily. I've really been digging irish breakfast tea but of course black teas, especially shit you be drinking for breakfast have a fair amount of caffeine in them. But man oh man do that shit be slapping like dicks on clits.

But yeah, I don't like feeling like I fucked up and I kinda feel like I fucked up. I bought presale tickets to this concert and spent a whole fucking lot to get floor seats but they've sold tf out before and I really want to see these bitches in concert. I feel like this is the definition of fomo but like I'm not so much scared of missing out as much as I'm just highly motivated to enjoy myself and I really like live music. It highkey feels like fomo implies that one covets an experience that's not entirely worth the investment. If I enjoy myself I feel like the experience is always worth it. Buuuuuuut idk if I got hitouch and I feel kind of dumb for impulsively buying this $600 ticket. I have the money, I could buy another one if I really wanted to and just give the other away but I also get so goddamn nervous and feel horrible when I buy stuff. Idk... but they're listed as general admission even though they're on the floor and with my fucked up impulse control and lack of executive function I felt super rushed to go ahead and check out so the ticket wouldn't get released... God the more I think about the more panicked but chilling I get. Like I'm panicked that I fucked up but also it's fine and my last hitouch experience wasn't great so maybe it's better I don't get hitouch. Not to mention I got the ticket on ticket master so it's not gon be like the 2019 MX concert. It's a real ticket, just expensive af. But also I feel like I fucked up. But it's okay, right? Like it's not the end of the world. But don't forget that you fucked up and should be ashamed of how dumb you are. Just buy another ticket when they go on sale fr.... how tf do I check if I have hitouch like.... I just need to know. Ugh.

I'll be fine.

But I should've checked or talked to someone who's done this before. Why didn't I ask someone?? I hate this.

You have floor seats stfu and move on.

Okay so yeah I'm trying not to scream but coolin, y'know.

It's okay I'm okay it's okay I'm okay it's okay I'm okay....

Okay

I feel fizzy. Like my brain is soaking in McDonald's sprite. Quite unpleasant. But writing has helped. It's helped an incredible amount. And I feel like it directly correlates with my weight. The last week I've been able to firmly cement myself in the 170s. Very much a good thing. An exceedingly comfortable development. I feel like the 170s were difficult before but this time the 180s were really mfkn hard to free myself from. I'll need to look back and see but almost entirely certain 170 was a problem for me in the past while the 160s weren't that bad but the 150s made weight loss go back to being hard. 150 is very comfortable but harder to maintain than the 140s I feel like I could maintain 140 along with gaining some muscle. Maaaaaan

Also I'm nervous af about food when I go visit my aunt in June. Like I kinda really don't wanna mfkn go cuz buffalo is horrible but also performative eating is a huge strain around my family. There are more people around who know that food used to be an issue for me so they'll notice subtle shit. Then going to see Ichigo... is that the name I gave him? I feel like it is. My bff from when I was a little ass kid. I'm taking a flight from Buffalo to jfk and hanging out with him and his partner might be extremely hard for me 🥴 like I kinda feel like it's gonna be too much. God I'm scared of losing all my progress but maybe if I can get myself down far enough I won't be as bent tf out of shape if a gain a couple lbs. I just really REALLY don't want to disappoint myself. But I'm a proverbial disappointment, it's probably inevitable.

I'm scared.

[white--moon]

He thinks Ichigo could come up with something if he tried, but he nods. "Sound strategy. Could write about anything you want if you mask it as fiction. When you do and it publishes, lemme know so I can buy it." He'd probably even try to sit down long enough, sober enough, to read it. He snorts a dry, humorless laugh at Ichigo calling him a dumbass. "You're right. I'm a dealer, but I'm also a menace and a danger to society." He's mostly kidding. He doesn't care about society as a whole enough to think of himself as a menace or anything else to it. Ichigo really thinks highly of him and he's not sure what he ever did to cultivate that opinion. His brows arch a little. "You're gonna write your book about me? Or about misunderstood drug dealers in general? Either way, I'm flattered."

He glances over, amused by that muttered confession. Seems like maybe Ichigo's not getting much. Or maybe just not as much as he'd like. "I'd say yes to you all the time and I'm definitely the hottest guy you know." Well... "Except maybe Grimmjow but just ignore that."

That's still not much of an answer. It might actually be even less of an answer than the first thing Ichigo said. He does know what Ichigo means, though, and he sighs about it. His nerves and everything else are a little too frayed around the edges to be couth. "Only one stopin' us is you." Ichigo probably already knows that, though, and he certainly doesn't need to hear it said aloud. What are they even doing to each other by spending this time together? Torture, that's what it is. Mutual, consensual torture.

His brows furrow, half in offense and half in confusion about how Ichigo went from asking if he needs to make himself scarce so Shiro can have his guy around to saying he couldn't care less about if it works out for Shiro or not. "Suuure," He drawls, "But you kinda just answered your own question. Who's gonna be around? Not you. Not your problem. And I don't need a babysitter, I don't need to be watched and looked after." Yes he does. That question's not a lecture but it sure does get the same point across. He knows Ichigo's disappointed in him. "Both, probably."

He snorts. "Not just bodies. You think I have two houses and five-" fuck. "four cars by movin' the same amount of product around? And no one looks twice. This thing is so boring it's like camouflage."

"Oh, you were bein' a smartass?" There's a heavy dose of sarcasm in his tone while he rolls his eyes. But it's good to hear that Ichigo is still thinking of his sisters in this. Ever the protector. Has to make sure his sisters are alright, had to interrupt his own life to make sure Shiro gets through this treat.

He smirks slightly about that. "What would it be about? What it's like runnin' around the streets doin' everyone else's dirty work?" He scoffs, but it's good natured. "Whatever, I'm not that hard to figure out. How to understand a back alley drug dealer for dummies." He laughs, amusing himself.

Aiming a look at Ichigo, he arches a brow and disagrees. "I always need a bunch a' guys saying yes to me. Preferably hot ones." Not that he's sleeping with his staff. He tried that exactly twice. The first time was disastrously annoying and it was not a fluke.

It is a fair question, and he wants to argue that, but Ichigo keeps going to answer the question anyway. "I wasn't asking what you think, I was asking exactly what I asked." But he got Ichigo's option anyway and it doesn't surprise him. He notes that Ichigo didn't actually say yes or no to wanting him there, though. He's talking around the answer the same way Shiro did about the shirt. "I already plan on laying low for a while. As much as I can, at least. I think I'll stay in the penthouse for a while. It's a lot safer than the mansion but it'll seem less like hiding." And he can higher some muscle to keep around easy enough, like Ichigo's suggesting, he's stubborn about it. He has always been his own muscle. He's never needed security or guards, but this is getting bigger than he can handle on his own. It's getting bigger than he thinks he warrants, but he has made himself notoriously hard to get rid of.

He doesn't know how to feel about Ichigo trying to keep him and his maybe-boyfriend situation intact. It's good of him, it's the morally right thing to do. The only real problem with it Shiro has is that it's just further proof that he and Ichigo have no chance of being together again. "I'll figure things out with him, you don't need to worry about it." Or he wont. Maybe he'll sabotage his own building relationship and blame it on all the chaos of attempted assassination. His features even out. "All my habits?" This better not turn into a lecture. "He thinks I indulge a little too much sometimes, but otherwise he tolerates it. I doubt he expected anything less from a dealer. Most people don't know I was ever clean, only you. It was always weird for me not to use the product I was sellin'."

He slides into the driver seat and starts the car, then looks over at Ichigo and snorts. "You mean boring?" He shrugs. "I needed something with more cargo space that didn't stand out so much. It's easier to clean, too. Less work for my cleaner."

[dashawfrostart]

This Week In "Time & Again" #6: Unfortunately, Lothar.exe Has Stopped... 😅 And An Important Announcement

Whoa, it's been a while! Here goes my initial intention to post consistently, lol. 😅 But let me tell you more about what has been going on lately.

Time sure flies - especially during the pre-Christmas time. Having a lot of fun and getting extra inspirations at work is definitely wonderful! You've already seen my To-Do list for the rest of December, and I'm glad to report that majority of those goals is complete! 🥳 And very soon I will present you a certain new art piece - the very one I've been working on in the last few days. I must admit I am very excited!.. Unfortunately though, it's not related to "Time & Again" in any way possible, so I'll stop bragging about it right this once - instantly, perhaps faster that the instant noodles are cooked.

With all of those life and other art activities, I must admit, the work on "Time & Again" itself has not moved very far ahead... as of now. I still have only a few pages left in Chapter 5 to draw the black and white lineart. Yep, I've been temporarily distracted by the other things that were needed to be done, in both life and art. Currently I'm hoping to finish up the lineart by the end of December. Unfortunately, the development of Chapter 5 has stretched out across time (and possibly space, too); originally I was planning on releasing the latest chapter this year, and that would've been an excellent Christmas gift for all of you (says I, with enormous cynicism - for those very few of you who know what I'm talking about are sure frightened rather than jollied). My art schedule included a somewhat steady release of approximately 2 chapters per year - I would definitely strive to uphold that within the next upcoming years. But life's unpredictable sometimes, so one can never know how it's really gonna unfold, especially given you're a married and working adult 🤓 However, there's not room for disappointment at all! Sleeping on it and ruminating more on the matter, I think I've come to conclusion that, in the end, it might be better the way it is: it's probably nicer and more polite if I release this... bloody chapter after the jolly and happy Christmas time. Because... Well... You'll see soon enough by yourselves.

There's one more important thing to note. I highly encourage you to go to GlobalComix - which is the home of "Time & Again" online release - and read the whole thing or selected chapters from it before something else mysterious happens to it... "How come?! What happens?!", I hear ye saying. And let me tell you: it's gonna be something BIG. So here goes:

I'm planning to release slightly updated versions of Chapters 1 to 4 packed with additional notes, commentary, and easter egg deciphering for the clearer reading experience. It also means that the older editions that are available right now are gonna be turned into "legacy editions" (for archival purposes, let's say), and therefore they will be PERMANENTLY REMOVED from both GlobalComix and Itch pages, to be exchanged with the updated versions.

For this reason, I made "Time & Again" COMPLETELY FREE TO READ on GlobalComix right now until further notice AND the release of the updated editions. So suit yourselves 😁 See the links in the post pinned to the very top of my blog and 👉here👈.

(The PDFs on Itch, however, will stay at their regular, full price, for they come in extra high quality. As already mentioned, they will also be later removed from their pages, so if you would like to get acquainted with the "legacy editions" - NOW is the time. Get them from here; they are $4 CAD each... for now, but I might make a discounted bundle to honour the upcoming updated edition, so stay tuned)

Meanwhile, I must mention the newer, updated editions are not going to be completely overhauled and turn into something totally different, no. Most extra additions and corrections are going to be made in the bonus materials section, and it will also undergo an extra session of proofreading in order to remove typos and wording that is far too convoluted. However, there indeed will be tiny little additions to the main dialogues, too - only in a handful of selected spots that awkwardly slipped my attention and needed to be perfected.

That, of course, will be another little "Verbesserung" sub-project of mine for the next year. And I already started working on refining certain points in already existing chapters. That's for certain: you won't be disappointed 😉

But now, in order to keep up with the usual format of blog posts on the progress with my precious "Time & Again", I'll share some more technicalities with you. There's something curious I wished to share with you for a while now.

Back in the day, we used to have that little Sticky Notes app in Windows - if I'm not mistaken, it was included into the standard installation package alongside with the other convenient apps well-known for the most Windows users. I used it for a while, for, at times, I really enjoyed to just "pin" my lil artistic to-do list down to the desktop so that I could always see what I needed to do. Perhaps, strange to hear that from an old-school person who is a great fan of pen/pencil and paper - but having notes attached to my desktop really worked well for me, for your humble artist practically never opened her notebooks to even check the hand-written to-do lists 😅. So yes, Sticky Notes worked well!.. ... in theory. And unfortunately, it worked only in theory, because it ended up doing things I was very discontent about - usually it enjoyed failing to load my notes on startup despite having it on in the settings. That was getting on my nerves, so I finally decided to let Sticky Notes go and to find the open source alternatives to suit my tiny wee requests and caprices. At first PNotes caught my eye - but alas, I had to get rid of it, for I had trouble with the quirkiness of the interface and extremely weird issues with the notes autosaving (?!) - which practically defeated the purpose for me.

But shortly after I found Simple Sticky Notes and I enjoy it immensely every single day now 😁 It has enough customization, super easy to use, simple and neat functionality to it, and most importantly - it works. It loads on startup just as requested - and it even saves all the changes to the notes in an instance. Wunderbar!

Here's an example of what my desktop memos look like right now, using Simple Sticky Notes:

As you can clearly see, the formatting of the notes is simple, appealing, and useful. It makes me truly happy that my notes are organized well. Something that needs to be especially kept in mind is highlighted. A memo on the content of Lothar's gun holsters is there, too, because it would be funny to mess it up and draw the wrong pistols in the wrong holsters (unless he secretly juggles them when nobody's watching... but I doubt that this German sir wants to bother himself with a nonsensical show-off such as this - even though my imagination is quite entertained with the picture). "Notes & Commentary" is, indeed, intended for the updated edition mentioned above. For now, I've only had time to complete that section for Chapter 1. And to my surprise, it had way more references and easter eggs than I remembered! And every single one of them was noteworthy.

So this is how my artistic workplace is organized.

Ok, time to wrap it up for today, I've already wrote a lot, just like I always do 😁 There will be more Lothar and Jeanny in the next "This Week In 'Time & Again'" posts. And after all, it's Christmas time. You're probably puzzling yourself trying to guess what kind of crazy and ridiculous outfits I come up with for them this holiday season 😉

Cheers! See you soon! 👋

[betzabobababi]

Broken Tom Holland x Reader

Chapter 3: Diagnosis

jtlyk there are gonna have a flashback through out the story :)

Warning: swearing

Plot: Y/n and Tom were made for each other and have been married for nearly 10 years but what happens when they go through putrid rough patch?

Summary: Y/n goes to the doctor (flashback)

AUTHOR'S POV

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have spoken to you like that" you said trying to calm your nerves from your sudden outburst, but he was making this so fucking hard. You had absolutely every right to be livid at him, he made you move from your comfortable lodge to the apartment near the studio. It wasn't bad but the fact that you spent almost all of the 3 months alone, isolated, made your blood boil, especially in your condition.

"No. No your right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made you feel this way. I'm sorry that you are alone and I'm sorry that I spend way too much time at work. I'm sorry for everything. If I could go back in time and redo everything I would. But we can't. So from now on I will try my best to be at home. I'll try my best to treat you like the queen you are. Because you are my queen."

You were stunned. You didn't know how Tom would react but you definitely didn't expect him to react like...that. Moreover you were happy. You knew that he meant what he said. You knew he would try his best. You also knew that if you told him your secret now, everything would be ruined. But you knew you had to tell him. You knew that this wasn't going to go away anytime soon. This was something serious and the only way to get through this would be if you had Tom there to support you.

*Time skip*

AUTHORS POV

You and Tom went back to the loft happy and content about the progress that you had made with your relationship. Atleast that's what it seemed to him. He didn't know but you were slowly and painfully dying. You were a relatively active person. You had played volleyball in high-school and college. Even though you were very good at the sport you never pursued it as a career. So when you noticed the lack of energy you had, and how it had become painful to do your everyday exercise activities, you instantly knew something was wrong. You brushed it off at the beginning thinking it was the amount of stress you had or the lonleyness, but after a few days of not being able to move due to how swollen your knees and ankles were, you booked a doctors appointment. You had many tests done and even had a few MRI's done.

FLASHBACK

Y/N'S POV

I was sitting in the doctor's office, highly nervous and it was clearly visible. Despite the pain, my knees kept bounding up and down. I was worried, I didn't know what was going to happen. The one person I really needed right now was at work. Tom. It had always been Tom. He was there when I got the phone call from the hospital, saying that my mom was in the hospital. As soon as I had gotten that phone call I broke down. Tom was there for me. He was there for me when my mom died. He was there for me after my dad committed suicide. But where was he now? He sure as hell wasn't here. My doctor entered the room with a gloomy and disappointment expression.

AUTHORS POV

The doctor sighed, disappointed in the results of the MRI.

"Mrs. Holland, I'm sorry but the MRI has shown you have a cancerous tumor in your bone marrow. Normally a person who is diagnosed with bone cancer has the life expectancy of five years, but the tumor you have has slowly been progressing throughout your body. I'm surprised we weren't able to notice it before, but you have approximately 9 months left to live. It could be more it could be less, but at the rate your cancer is spreading it will be around 9 months."

Y/N POV

I was speechless. I had just found out that I had a cancerous tumor in my bone marrow. I. Had. Fucking. Cancer.

"Is there a cure?" I said while trying to do a million things in my head. I need to tell tom. I need to tell Nicki and Dom. I need to tell my friends. I have to get the funeral planned. I gotta do this I gotta do that. My brain was going 175 miles per minute.

"Fortunatley there is, we can do chemotherapy or we can do the medical procedures to separate the maintining tumor from your bones. Although the chemotherapy would take longer it is the most efficient. It is costly but your insurance should be able to pay for it. Try not to be stressed during the next fue months. The chemotherapy has a 35% chance of killing all of the cancer. Now as you can see there is a very low probability so I suggest you get your affairs in order just in case it doesn't work" the way the doctor gave me hope and then demolished it with the probability of chemo helping me out was so heartbreaking. I knew that if the cancer did end up killing me I needed to tell Tom but how? He was never home. I need to tell him.

END OF FLASHBACK

AH AH AH tehe please don't hate me this might seem a bit cliche or cringe but nevertheless this chapter was a fucking emotional load. It took me a lot of time to decide what type of cancer Y/n would have but in the end I decided on bone cancer bc my best friend died of bone cancer and I thought why not? Anyways ANY feedback is appreciated!

Have a Good Day or Night Wherever You Are! <3

[cocained]

it was a long time to be doing hockey, figure skating and trying to keep a roof over his head all at once. the truth was that mason didn't know how he was going to do this. if he did something, he always gave it his everything and his fear to disappoint had never been worse. mainly to disappoint himself, because he always set the bar high and with figure skating it felt like he could only fail. the brunet wouldn't admit it, but he was glad allison put in the effort of guiding him through it. she certainly seemed to be a lot more patient than him and was admirable. "well, i can't wait for him to be back." it was the first positive thing he had to say about cole and it was only out of selfishness. "i don't know him all that well. just that he's a spoiled brat and he annoys me." ever the kindest, mason had no concern to spill his thoughts on the guy whether she got along with him or not. protecting other people's feelings wasn't what he was known for and the sooner allison found out the better. a scoff that sounded offended was released once she made the comparison between him and the guy. not because he cared about her saying he had a big ego, not even he would deny that, but the idea of being similar to cole wasn't welcome. "i don't think we're anything alike — apart from that and having to skate with you." mason didn't have anything against her at all. if anything, he got along with her dad good although he wasn't the easiest person to deal with either. he should be nice to her. then again, the dark haired male wasn't great at making friends. his words were often too direct and his mood too deciding. as right when she told him cole was one of her best friends and he couldn't help but to make a face. "really? well, good for you." if his envy wasn't showing before, it definitely was now but the athlete would deny it to the bitter end. he couldn't help it that when he saw someone a certain way, he became protective. easily threatened by the outside world and combined with the fact that he didn't like most people anyway, was a ticket to drama. allison was everything in he would want in a girl when it came to looks, gorgeous in every definition of the word and so far she matched his energy perfectly. quick with her words and confident. it was dangerous to even think about her that way because being friends with her was already out of the question, let alone more than that. not when they had weeks of practice ahead of them, when her dad was his coach and he wasn't looking for anything serious whatsoever. "again, i didn't do anything wrong besides showing up late for practice and i had a reason. your dad knows that. there's another reason he's making me do this. teaching me a lesson, or whatever — it's not like i can read his mind. i guess we'll find out." it bothered him that allison thought of him like that. having a big ego was fine, but that he had done something to deserve this kind of punishment was not true and he wanted her to know that. "is that a threat? what are you gonna do — fight me?" a short chuckle fell from his lips as she told him this was her kind side and although he had no doubt the petite had a strong personality, it did make him want to test his limits even further. seeing it as a challenge rather than a warning. "it's a joke, sweetheart. don't get your panties in a twist. i'm the least of coach's concerns when it comes to partying. i know it may be hard for you to believe, but i'm a good guy." while laying his hand on top of his heart to seem more genuine he meant his words, although he couldn't be described as an angel. he had a strong morale, discipline and loyalty. even though he could be rude at times. seeing the sweet look on her face however, mason knew she wasn't any better. knowing she would use the pretty face to her advantage anyway she could and he didn't blame her. "a good girl taking tequila shots and flirting with hockey players? i highly doubt that." then again he wasn't a snitch. wouldn't tell her father anything if she kept her mouth shut as well.

"trust — might be an issue, my love. doesn't come so easily, does it?" it would take time to build that, if the situation even allowed for it. he wanted to get to know her, but at the same time it was easier not to let her close. easier not to have to be the one to make sure she landed back onto the ice safely as she did her magic. "your hand? please — i'm not even looking forward to this party as much as you are, clearly. and you seriously underestimate my strength. i could kick you out of the place within seconds, i'm twice your size and don't you forget it." even drunk and stubborn, he could easily throw her on his shoulder and drag her out whenever he felt like it. then again he hoped she would behave and this wouldn't be an issue in the first place. that they would just be able to do their thing like nothing had ever changed with them practising figure skating. "you sound just like your dad." mason spoke after she was done giving him the instructions and he briefly rolled his eyes before she brought his hands to her hips. he could swear his heartbeat was getting faster when she looked at him like that and maybe this wasn't as much as a punishment as he thought it would be. "ready." the brunet confirmed, pressing his lips against each other as he lifted her into the air. not sure how high he should go, he kept her just above his level. he didn't even stretch his arms which added to the strength he had to use to keep her up. meanwhile, he started skating again in a slower pace than he was used to as he struggled with balance a lot more than he expected. "like this?" he asked, unsure of how to reenact the elegant movements he watched on the rink several times. "you better not move right now, or i might drop you. — i think this is not so bad though, is it?"

at his question, first she sighs, then shrugs loosely 'i don't know... more than eight weeks, for sure -- but exactly how long only depends on cole.' her jaw tightens as she realizes how long it'll take for him to come back, and it may take even longer... sure didn't hurt to look at mason, but she needed to remind herself he was there to skate, and nothing else -- therefore she pushed back her thoughts about how something else could come of their time together on ice. but she didn't date her skating partners, nor hockey players -- and mason looked like a goddamn greek god, but he was both. she didn't really know what kind of reaction to expect from him, but sure wasn't that, as she frowns her brows in confusion, not quite getting what he meant by that 'yeah... that guy. but what exactly do you mean? you two know each other?' from that she also didn't know what to expect, given cole could be quite the one you either loved or you hated -- no in between. still, allison would bet all her chips they had some kind of beef -- cole had a big ego, but so did most hockey players, so it sure could have sparked something. she scoffs at his words, but there's somewhat of a smirk as she taunts 'i don't know about that. guess it's up to how good you can be figure skating, 'cause seems to me you two are quite the same when it comes to big ego.' tho cole sure was much worse -- and he was nowhere as near as hot as mason for her to look past the annoyance of that. besides, it may have started roughly between her and mason, but deep down she knew the two of them could get on quite well once they aligned their paces -- and not only ice-wise. she low-key liked the challenge of picking on his grumpiness, as well as she did find that bickering of theirs interesting and perhaps even a bit hot. 'besides, cole is one of my best friends, so we spend a lot of time together off the ice anyway.' she shrugs, dismissing it with one hand. doesn't even crosses her mind mason is asking that for any reason other than making small talk. cannot help but let out a big laugh at his drama -- and also at how rocky his spin was. she loses no time on retorting 'firstly -- my dad is many things, but one he is not, is unfair. i don't know what got you into the eye of this hurricane, but i'm sure you deserve it. secondly -- making your life a living hell? excuse me, but if it's anyone's hell, it's mine. i didn't do anything to deserve it! oh, and lastly... if you call this hell, i've got bad news for you big guy...' she scoffs, mischievous smirk fitting her gaze 'because this is me being nice -- i haven't even started showing how much of a bitch i can be if you wanna make this difficult.' she bets it won't come down to that, but she can't resist warning him just to see what his reaction would be -- could also bet it'd be just as feisty and hot. her brows arch up and so do the sides of her lips at his claim 'oh, yeah, i know there's always an exception... but i'm not naive to think that's the case. and did you seriously just referenced my dad as voldemort?' she asks while trying to contain a laugh. on her mind, she calls bullshit on the special occasion excuse, but she chooses picking on the other part 'with the boys, but not only the boys.' tho that and imagining him hitting on girls make her realize perhaps it's not just the free buzz that got her so interested in the party. 'keep me locked? why would he need to do that when i'm such a good girl?' gaze meets his as she gives him her most innocent look -- a facade her dad really believed in, oblivious to how much a menace she could be -- as if him calling her love didn't give her goosebumps. she shrugs at him, and just for the tease she goes against his expectancy 'it's somewhere to begin, right? i mean, doesn't what we're doing here also requires trust?' she plays that card with a sweet check-mate smile on her lips. she wants to roll her eye at him and boo him for being so stiff, but his wink melts her attitude away in a smirk as she teases 'what's next? gonna ask his permission to have my hand?'

sighing, she ends up giving in 'fine. you push from there, i push from here, then.' still, allison being allison, it wouldn't be a surprise if she showed there uninvited and against her father's will, as she remarks 'but if this goes south, then good luck trying to catch me and throw me out of your party, mason.' might not be what she really meant by that, but her mind goes straight to how hot it'd be to have him chasing and catching her... what could perhaps even end in between sheets. she pushes her fantasies aside just as she feels her cheeks warming up, having him come so fast after her at that moment surely not helping it go away. she's glad when he brings them back to what reunited them there: practicing. nodding, she takes the lead 'alright, then. we already know you can get me pretty high on the air, so the next thing is keeping me there while skating in a straight line. imma need you to put your hands on my waist, and when i jump, you lift me and hold me there. steady, try to keep your balance, alright? remember it's not all about strength. let's start trying to keep it for 3 seconds, and then we go on from there, okay?' she asks, delicate hands reaching his and placing them on her waist as she tries not to focus on his grip, his viciously intoxicating scent or how little space is left between them. 'you ready?' she asks quietly, dark dovey gaze looking up at him as she tries to concentrate in what she needs to teach him instead of on himself.

[bowandcurtsey]

Hello, Aine~!

Can I have a story of Julius consoling his s/o who is feeling down, because many things kinda didn't go the way she wishes to.

She didn't get the result that she wants, even though she was confident about it.

"Do I think too highly of myself? I guess I'm not as good as i thought.."

I need consolation. XD

Thank you!

Hello Reyalee <3 hehe I'm sorry I broke your heart with angst in the last request hahaha! *evil laughters* But okay I'm here with fluff today (=´∇｀=)

Julius Novachrono x f! reader

You walked into his office and he immediately knew something was up. He couldn't read ki like his friend could, but he doesn't need to read your ki to know that you were feeling miserable.

"Who has made my queen upset?" he purred as he rested his chin on his hand.

"No one," you pouted as you sat in his office sofa.

"Then why the look of dismay, honey?" he came over from his desk and sat beside you. He pulled you onto his lap as he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

Being in his embrace calmed you down a little. He smelt so good, a mixture of something minty yet something musky.

"So are you going to let your dearest, supportive hubby know what made you upset or are you gonna just sit in my embrace and smell me?" he chuckled, pressing more kisses to your head.

"I just... feel like I'm not good enough." you let out a sigh.

"You are definitely good enough, honey." he said firmly.

"No Jul," you protested, "I just not as good as I thought I was, I got too over confident."

"What happened honey?" Julius raised both his brows, showing the crinkles on his forehead, "What made you feel this way?"

"You know the project I was working on?"

"Mhmm, the one you stayed up for countless nights for?"

"I thought I made it perfect. I thought it would definitely clinch the deal. But I was wrong. The client chose someone else instead."

"..." Julius was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say.

"Do I think too highly of myself?" you sighed again.

"Well, honey, listen to me," he pulled your chin up so you would face him. He pulled some stray hair away from your face, "Do you think I think too highly of myself? Seeing that I'm wizard king and all."

"Of course not, please, you're the most humble king I ever met." you rolled your eyes at him, earning a little chuckle from your man.

"Well, there are times where I have to put up some rules and laws and people aren't happy about it. I'm sure most are happy with me being wizard king, but I'm also sure there are people out there that hate me and hopes that I get replaced."

You blinked at him twice.

"I won't get you replaced." you smiled at him.

He laughed, "I won't let you," he tapped his finger on your nose, "All I'm saying is, there will definitely be someone that will not like you and your works even if it was your best. But that's okay, honey. It doesn't make you any lesser than who you are now."

"Okay," you pursed your lips, "I'm just feeling disappointed that I made such efforts and didn't get the deal I guess.."

"That's okay, it's the experience that counts and maybe you could reuse some of this project's ideas for another client in the future?" he smiled.

The smile felt so warm and genuine, you couldn't help but smile with him as well.

"How about you let your amazing husband treat you to a nice dinner and we could enjoy our evening together?" his eyes sparkled.

"mhmm," you nodded, "sounds great, hubby."

You pulled him in and pecked him on the lips, "thank you Honey."

"Anything for my beautiful wife," he leaned in for another kiss.

-end-

[luminouslumity]

Just finished Single All the Way and it's just as cute as the trailer made it out to be! I already have a soft spot for cheesy Christmas romcoms already, so I already knew I was going to enjoy this anyway, but I can see myself actually watching this more than once. Also, congrats to the fanfic writer who worked on this because it plays into and even addresses so many romance tropes, but it subverts some of them too, so that's always nice. Favorite character would definitely have to be Kevin. He's only in the movie for a few minutes and it's only to sing a few songs, but I still love him!

Is the film perfect? Of course not. No film is, though if I had one gripe with it, it's that I was disappointed that the guy who Peter was initially seeing at the beginning of the film is apparently bi/pan, which could play into the whole "all bi people are cheaters" stereotype. I think Peter's "I'm not gonna judge whatever journey you're on" was at least some kind of attempt to address it, but still. As someone who is bi, it didn't bother me too much, but I know that's not gonna be the case for everyone. Otherwise, it's still a fun, cheesy Christmas film that I would highly recommend.

And I know they're two completely different movies, but if I had to choose between this one and Happiest Season as the gay holiday romcom I'd watch each year, I'd choose this one in a heartbeat, though I do hope these two films help pave the way for more cute, cheesy romcoms in the future.