#but maybe it'd be nice to be able to pick it up and play again sometime

[sockeyesoren]

rewatching Hibike! Euphonium has made me realise how much I miss playing an instrument

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Beachfront Bliss

Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick

Pairing: Billy "Fritz" Avalone x F!Reader

Summary: You're walking your dog, Delilah, along the beach until she decides to chase after a handsome man playing football with his buddies.

Manny Jacinto Characters Masterlist

The sun is slowly setting on San Diego. You'd just gotten home from work and now you're getting your dog, a border collie named Delilah, ready for her walk. She's excitedly shaking her tail as she stares up at you while you hold her leash.

"Wait," you command and Delilah sits, watching you expectantly.

You clip the leash onto her collar and open the front door, "Good girl!" Delilah promptly races out the door, only stopping when the retractable leash has met the end.

"Come!" you call for her and she rushes back to your side, sticking to it as you walk down your street and towards the beach.

As you grow closer, the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore become louder. Once pavement becomes sand, you slip off your sandals, stuffing them into your tote bag as you continue to walk.

There isn't a lot of people on the beach since it's midweek. However, you do see a group of people playing football.

The commotion alerts Delilah as the two of you near the group. There's boisterous laughing and hollering. The group spreads out as you grow closer, so you walk further away to not potentially be hit.

You avert your attention ahead, moving on from the football group, however, Delilah seems very keen on watching them, trying to stay in place.

"Come on, Lilah!" you lock the retractable leash and give her a warning tug, urging her to continue walking, "Let's finish your walk!"

Your commands fall deaf on her ears as she watches the group continue their game of football. One of the men throws the ball and another tried to catch it. The ball grazes his fingertips and causes the ball to go flying in your direction. It falls a few feet away from you and, before you could even blink, Delilah pounces at it. The sudden movement frees her leash from your hand.

"Delilah!" you shout as your dog starts running around the beach with the football in her mouth.

The group of people all laugh and begin to join you in the chase for your dog. Delilah clearly thinks it's a game as she dodges and weaves through everyone's legs. Men and a few women topple into the sand as they attempt to catch Delilah.

You and the others eventually start to slow down, growing tired of your dog's antics.

You stand there, hands on your hips, looking at your dog like a disappointed mother. She meanders over with a pep in her step and drops the football at your feet.

You sigh, pinching your nose, "Thank you, Lilah." You pick up the football and hand it to the nearest man. His tanned skin and toned chest are on full display. He's wearing classic ray bans and a smile that makes your heart stop for a moment.

"Sorry about her."

He chuckles, "Don't worry about it. Never thought it'd be a dog to take down a group of Navy Pilots."

Your brows shoot up in surprise, looking at the group of people around you, "You're all in the Navy?"

He nods, "Yup and I think you just proved to our Captain that we need to work out more."

You giggle, "Yeah. Again, sorry about her. She's probably a little stir-crazy. Haven't been able to take her out as much due to work. As you can see, she has a lot of energy."

The man kneels and begins to pet her, "She's cute so I'll forgive her. What's her name?"

"Delilah or Lilah or Deli."

"Well hello, Delilah, I'm Billy, but my friends call me Fritz."

"Fritz?" you look at him confused as he rises to a stand again.

"My call-sign."

"Frtiz! C'mon, man!" one of the guys hollers.

"I gotta-"

"You should-"

Both of you speak at the same time and stop with a chuckle.

Fritz holds his hand out, "It was nice meeting you..."

"Y/N. Nice to meet you Fritz," you shake his hand, "Enjoy the rest of your day."

"Thanks! You too! Maybe I'll see you guys around again!" he gives you a wave and heads back to his Navy friends who were all in position for the next game.

You watch them for a little bit, admiring the very attractive group of people before you. Then you chuckle, ruffling Delilah's fur before tugging her along. She's apprehensive, wanting to go back to "playing" with her new friends.

"C'mon, princess. We gotta go back home and start making dinner." Delilah reluctantly proceeds to follow you through the sand, leaving her new friends behind.

_______________________

It was your friend's, Jackie's, birthday and she wanted to do a bar crawl. You were one of the designated drivers so you've mainly stuck with water throughout the night and keeping a careful eye on your friend.

The next bar on her list was called the Hard Deck, which is apparently home to a lot of Navy officers. When you hear this, a part of you hopes you might run into Fritz, but there's no way, right?

Your group clamber into the bar, which was jam packed considering it was a Friday night.

"It's my birthday so feel free to buy me drinks!" you're already drunk friend hollers. A few men already begin to approach her ready to fulfill her request.

You tell your other friend, Abby, that you're going to find a table for your group. She gives you a salute and turn back to watch the rest of the group.

As you're weaving through bodies, you suddenly bump into someone, spilling their drink.

"Shit! I'm so so-Fritz!"

He looks at you in surprise, "Hey! Y/N!" then looks at you confused, "I'm kind of surprised to see you here."

You snort, "Yeah, um, not a place you'd usually find me at on a Friday night, but it's my friend's birthday," you point over your shoulder to Jackie with her birthday crown on her head and down a shot as your friends and a few Navy men cheer her on, "We're doing a bar crawl, but I'm the DD."

He nods in understanding, "Got it."

"Actually, you don't happen to see any free tables, do you? That's what I was doing before I bumped into you. Also, I will definitely get you a replacement drink for that!"

He chuckles, "It's fine. Really and you and your group can join me and my buddies."

"You sure?" you look at him apprehensively.

"Yeah, besides, I know a few of them will definitely pay for your guys' drinks," he gives you a smirk.

You snicker, "Alright. Let me go grab them."

"I'll follow you," he places his hand on your lower back as he follows you back to the counter where your friends are gathered.

"Hey!" you tap Abby on the shoulder, "This is my friend, Fritz," you point to him over your shoulder and he waves.

Abby gives you a questioning look, "Friend?"

"The guy I met on the beach because Lilah stole their football?"

"Ooooh!" she waves at him, "Hi!"

"Hi! I told Y/N that you guys can share tables with my buddies and I."

"You sure?"

"Oh yeah. Some of them will most likely pay for your drinks too."

Abby snorts, "Well I can't deny free drinks." She proceeds to tell the other women the plan and grabs Jackie's hand, leading her away from the men chatting her up.

She stumbles and you catch her, "Easy there, babe!"

Jackie spots Fritz over your shoulder, "It's my birthday!"

He laughs, "So I heard. Happy birthday!"

"Thanks!" she looks to you and not so secretly says, "He's cute!"

You chuckle, "Yeah, babe. Let's go to the table, 'kay?"

She nods, "Okay," and follows you and Fritz towards the back of the bar. He stops at three tables filled with the same group of people you saw on the beach weeks prior.

"Hey! Beach Girl!" a brunette with a thick mustache calls out.

You wave, "Nice to see you again."

"What're you doing here in our neck of the woods, beautiful?" the tall blonde one asks with a grin that makes you roll your eyes.

Jackie stands beside you and you gesture to her, "It's my friend's birthday. We're doing a bar crawl. This is one of our stops. Jackie, say hi."

Jackie waves, "Hi," she looks at everyone in awe, "Why are all of you guys so hot?!"

You facepalm, "Jackie's filter flies out the window when she's drunk," you explain to Fritz.

"The guys are gonna love it."

The men let the ladies have their seats, standing around them and making conversation.

You continue to stand beside Fritz, fanning yourself. He looks at you in concern, "You okay?"

"Just getting a bit warm."

"Wanna step onto the deck? It's just out there," he points to the double doors behind you. You take a look at your friends and make sure they're okay before you step out.

Once you're outside, you give a sigh of contentment. The cool breeze immediately chills your body in a welcoming way.

You rest your back against the railing so you can still keep an eye on your friends. Abby looks at you through the window giving you a questioning thumbs up. You smile giving her a thumbs up back and she goes back to her conversation.

"When did you guys start the crawl?"

You look at the time on your phone, "About two hours ago, but Jackie and a few others pregamed. So by the time we hit like the second bar, they were far gone already."

"How many more bars are on your list?"

"Jackie wanted to hit ten, but I'm not sure if we'll even get to the fifth one." There's cheers from inside as Jackie downs yet another shot.

"Not much of a drinker?"

You scrunch your nose and shake your head, "Nah. This overall thing isn't really me, but Jackie's one of my best friends, so I'll come out of my cave for her."

Fritz's nose crinkles as he laughs and you think it's the cutest thing ever.

"How's Delilah?"

"Good. She's happier now that work is starting to slow down and I can take her out for longer walks though."

"She hasn't stolen anymore footballs, has she?"

You snort, "Fortunately not, and she hasn't managed to take down another group of Naval officers either."

"Hey, she took us by surprise. We'd already been out there for a while, our energy was already low."

"Suuure. Keep telling yourself that, Fly Boy."

The two of you stay out there for some time, getting lost in conversation and each other's company. You've discovered that not only is Fritz handsome, but he's funny, kind, loyal, and a nerd. He has his parents and two sister back at home. He's a very family-oriented person and you admire him for that.

You two lose track of time and before you know it, Abby is coming out to you two.

"We're calling it a night. Jackie's is so far gone and some of the other girls are getting there."

"Alright. We should start closing tabs then."

"His buddies took care of it," she nods to Fritz.

You and Fritz grin at each other, "Told you," he says.

"Well, thank your friends for me. And thanks for keeping me company out here."

You step to leave, but Fritz stops you, "Wait, actually, is it okay if I get your number? I'd like to take you out some time."

You smile and nod at him, "Yeah. Of course!" you two quickly exchange numbers and promptly head back inside with Abby.

You gather your friends up, Fritz and his buddies helping you and Abby walk Jackie and the others out.

Your group piles into yours and Abby's car, waving at the group of men, "Thanks again, fellas!" you yell out before driving away.

Fritz stands there with his buddies and once you're out of sight, they begin to badger him about getting your number.

He reluctantly says that he did and his pals cheer him on with pride.

Before he goes to sleep that night, Fritz sends you a text:

It was nice chatting with you. Let me know your schedule so we can plan that date. Hope your friends don't give you too much trouble.

Sweet dreams. - Fritz

[osleeplessflowero]

if it's ok can you do a Dream x reader with fluff and in it Dream and reader are dating and the reader is fem and a smart, kind and chill Tomboy and they have the soul of kindness and they like to sing while playing guitar.

thank you for your request! ooh, i think i can see what you're going for. i'll do my best!

Request Specifics: Fem Reader

Kindness Soul 💚

A gentle breeze blows in the air. You feel your hair gently sway with it, smiling as you close your eyes to take in the fresh air. You lean against a tree, sitting atop an empty hill with a guitar in your lap, currently playing your favorite song. Humming along to the tune, you get a bit carried away, unaware of footsteps approaching you from behind. Someone kneels down, putting their gloved hands over your eyes with a chuckle.

"Guess who?" He asks, his calm voice easily recognizable to you. You smile, reaching your hands up to touch his gloves gently with your hands.

"Hmmm..is it.. Blue?" You joke, knowing the answer already. He rolls his eyes with a smile.

"Try again." "Ink?" "Ink doesn't wear gloves, silly." "He could wear them. You never know." "That's true..but come on, try again." You gently pull down his hands, turning around to look at your partner.

"Hi, Dream." You grin, unable to stop since he's here. He looks a tad bit surprised at first, before a smile forms on his own face as his adoring eyes meet yours. "Hello, Sunlight."

He walks out from behind you and sits down beside you, relaxing with his hands in his lap. "It's such a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yeah..it's really nice." You wipe some dirt off your pants, sliding your jacket down since it'd gotten a bit warmer and tie it around your waist.

"Have you been playing? You have your guitar with you." He gestures to it with the hand that's closest to you with a browbone raised. "Yeah, mostly just playing whatever comes to my head. Got any requests?" "Play me your favorite song. Something you really love to play." He raises his arms so his elbows are over his legs, resting his chin between his hands.

You snicker, grabbing your guitar pick. "Yeah, okay. It might not suit your tastes, though."

"I'm not worried about that, if you enjoy it it doesn't matter what I think."

Your face flushes a bit. You avert your eyes from the skeleton, able to see his warm smile out of the corner of your eye. How did you manage to pull this guy? He's so sweet..

Taking a light breath, you begin playing one of your favorite songs, closing your eyes as you sing along to it.

His eyes light up with adoration and wonder as he listens to you, your voice being one he could listen to for hours on end.. Such a beautiful sound, he thinks. Perhaps even his favorite sound..

Positivity practically radiates off of the skeleton, helping you feel a little more confident in your singing with his support. Eventually you finish the song, opening your eyes when you hear his polite applause and seeing that his eyelights have shifted into little hearts.

"You did wonderfully, Sunlight." "..Thanks, Dream." You smile, reaching your hand over to hold his. "I've..been practicing a lot more lately. I'm glad you could hear me..I think I'm doing good." "You certainly are, my dear." He trails his thumb over the back of your hand.

"I'll keep..doing my best. For you, and..maybe a little for me." "That's my girl."

Your face heats up way more at his reply, and Dream can't help but smile..he thinks your reactions are just.. so adorable! His adoration knows no bounds.

Turning to him, you move your guitar aside and shift so you're properly facing him, sitting on your knees and reaching forwards to hold his face in your hands. His cheekbones flush a bright shade of yellow at your touch, the skeleton looking a little surprised. ..He's still smiling, though.

"Hey..um..thanks for..sticking with me all this time. It really means a lot to me."

"You mean a lot to me. I'll always be here for you, Sunlight..no matter what. I promise."

"I love you, you dork." "I love you too, my dear." He leans into your hand, unable to break eye contact with you.

You avert your eyes a moment. Now would be the perfect time to try something different, but..would..he want to? Is it the right time yet? Too soon? God, why is this so difficult to ask?

Dream seems to notice your frustration, his browbones knitting together in worry. "What's wrong?"

"Can I kiss you?" You blurt, not meaning to say such a thing so suddenly. He practically jolts, his face flushing much brighter.

"I-I mean we just- we never have before and I feel like this is the perfect time and-"

"Sunlight."

"And I really care about you and I wouldn't wanna make you uncomfortable just because I want to-"

"Sunlight."

"And I really just-"

He slowly leans forwards, placing his hand onto your cheek before pressing a kiss to your lips. It's sweet.. just like him. You feel yourself relax in his hold, losing the tension in your shoulders as you put your trust in him.

A gentle breeze blows through once more, causing your hair to blow in the wind lightly as the two of you savor the moment. You wish this moment could last forever..just you, him, and the scenery..but you really need to breathe-

You break the kiss, taking light breaths as he presses his forehead against yours with a fond look in his eyes.

"That..that was wonderful, Dream.. I liked that very much." "Would you like me to do it again?" He smiles, earning a flustered reaction from you.

"T-..Too soon-"

You hear a chuckle, feeling him wrap his arms around you in a hug.

"As you wish. Sorry, I'm a little starstruck.." He smiles, holding you close and resting his head on your shoulder. "..Me too." You smile a bit yourself, pleased with the evening's events.

Leaning back a bit, you put your hands on his shoulders.

"You wanna go back to my place? We could just..I dunno, hang out somehow. You could make that tea you really like that you're always talking about."

"I'd love to!" He perks up, watching as you stand to grab your guitar and hold out your other hand, helping him up. He doesn't let go as you both walk back to your house, which is pretty close by thankfully.

[hn-undercover-9503]

Originally put this on AO3 and decided to post it to Tumblr as well to spread my manifesto to the world :) please give me rat Ren please please please pow...pow I'm begging so much rn please

‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵

Martyn didn't understand. This shouldn't have been possible. And yet…here he was.

“Damn it, Doc.” He mumbled under his breath as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head with an unfortunately familiar paw-like hand. He could already feel his tail. It'd been a while, but he remembered the feeling of it. He also remembered using it to help him clamber his way up walls and through tiny holes in order to run away from giant humans living in a big mansion. He remembered all too well the feeling of being a rat.

He didn't think he'd ever be back here. Although, to be fair, he didn't recognize where in the world he was, at least not right off the bat. It definitely wasn't the same house, though. He seemed to have woken up in some kind of large contraption, considering all the gears and levers he was surrounded by. They made soft ticking noises as he tried to gather his thoughts, leading him to believe it was some kind of clock. He wondered if Owen was still here.

Whatever the case, it shouldn't have been possible for him to come back. He specifically remembered leaving this world through the portal, so why was it that he was back here again in the same tiny little rat body all over again? Unless…

No, that was stupid. There was no way they would put him in this body for one of those. That'd be ridiculous.

A loud chiming noise startled him, making his tiny heart race in his chest. He'd forgotten how it felt, being this small and vulnerable. Looks like he'd have to get used to it again, though. Well at least this world had been fun the last time, apart from the ordeal with pushing Krow through a random portal. Hopefully that wouldn't happen again.

He stood slowly, scanning his surroundings for where he could exit the clock. He could see what must have been its face, and was shocked when he saw the sheer size of it. It was easily ten times his own size and towered over his head, the second hand tick tick ticking away. He was just about to start looking around the mess of gears for a way down when he spotted something sitting at the clock face.

He frowned, squinting to try and get a better look. It was small, but not so small that he couldn't see it at all. Curious, he grabbed hold of one of the various levers around and hoisted himself up a few more inches to get a better look. From this distance, he could make out the shape of ears and a tail, and his heartrate picked up again. Was it another rat? Maybe a player! Maybe it was Oli again, that'd be nice. He was always a great companion in these worlds, and one of the few regulars he saw that he could say he was pretty sure they were a player and not an NPC–or worse, an agent.

He climbed up higher, trying not to let himself get too excited. The last world had been chaotic and he'd ended up having to abandon all of them in it, players and NPCs alike. And after all that, he still hadn’t been able to make contact with Doc. And, well, maybe he sort of just missed having somebody to talk to, alright? Sue him.

As he got closer to the clock face, he stopped as he heard soft mumbling. The voice sounded oddly familiar, but also didn't at the same time? It definitely wasn't Oli, unless he was playing a different character this time who didn't have the same accent. But no, this voice didn't sound like any of the rats he remembered, so why did it sound so bloody familiar?

“Hello?” He cupped his hands over his mouth and called up. “You up there! You alright?”

The mumbling stopped, followed by a shuffling sound. A moment later, the face of a rat poked over the edge of the wall where the clock face sat, slightly obscured by shadows. As he'd thought, this wasn't one of the rats he'd met in the last world. They must've been new. He watched as this rat broke out in a smile and leaped down from the wall to land on a gear close to where Martyn was balanced. Immediately, once he was level with this new rat, however, his breath caught in his throat.

No way.

“Hi there, dude!” The rat greeted with a wide grin, the pointed brown ears twitching. Of course he still had his stupid dog ears, even in this form. They were smaller, obviously, and slightly less pointy, but Martyn still really wanted to touch them. “My name's Ren! What's yours?”

“I'm–Martyn,” Martyn nearly choked on his own words as he looked over Ren's new form. He couldn't believe his eyes. Ren was really in front of him, in a world that wasn't one of those damn death games, in a world that was generally pretty peaceful and death didn't mean the end. Against his will, his eyes began to well up.

“Nice to meet ya, Martyn!” Ren reached up and pointed to the face of the clock. “Didn't know there was someone else in here with me. I was just trying to figure out how to get down. I really need to go find some food. I might starve if I stay here much longer.”

“Uh, yeah–yeah, same here. We should–” He sucked in a deep breath, forcing the stupid, traitorous burning feeling in his eyes to dissipate. “Let's try looking down. Can probably slip through the gears and find a way out through there.”

“Sounds good to me, dude!” Ren hopped down from his gear and moved to stand next to him, leaning over to look at the array of mechanical things below them. “You escaped from clocks before?”

Martyn laughed despite himself, joining the other on his search. “I guess you could say that. Say, you wouldn't happen to know where exactly we are, would you?”

“Oh, that's easy, dude!” Ren reached down and poked at a lever, which made a loud squealing noise as he did. “We're in Paris! The city of love, dude!”

Martyn chuckled to himself. “Yeah, alright. I can buy that.”

He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know why he was a rat again, or why it was in Paris, and he really had no goddamn idea why Ren of all people was here, but…

Well, you certainly wouldn't hear him complaining about it.

[monpalace]

hi! really hope i'm not bothering you but i absolutely adore your writing and i was wondering if you could maybe write something for ororo (storm) again? if not, that's completely okay! hope you're having a nice day, love you 💗

gn reader (you/your pronouns), ororo isn't actually present, reader is heavily implied to be a mutant, 600+ words.

It was a last-minute decision and yet you were glad to have made your class a free period when the first raindrop fell.

Your students looked half-dead (some more especially than others) whereas the ones who had managed to stay awake were only managing to keep themselves conscious by murmuring to one another.

There was a movie playing on the television mounted in the front of the room. Supposedly it was to act as an introduction to the lesson that was going to be taught today— but all it really stood to do was entertain the teens who weren't able to find a way to pass the time.

You're halfway to dozing off yourself to be entirely truthful. Reading through thirty-seven students' papers on varying different subjects (your favorite was the differences of the kinetic abilities and where each stems from) had begun to make your eyes droop and eyes fill with tears from each yawn.

It's a necessary step to take a moment to yourself to wake up.

You're not sure how long you're out, but time is all like a blur. The zombie-esque walk you take to the teachers’ break room is much needed to get your blood pumping when you go cross-eyed enough to nearly knock into a wall.

You thank the Gods that there was no one to witness it— and that whoever had last made a pot of coffee.

It was piping hot and fresh. The taste of the room had yet to penetrate the taste, your favorite mug, and everything you usually put in your cup was set out beside it.

Your head tilts.

Could it have been Xavier holding sympathy for his employees, or Jean repaying you for when you substituted in her class when she had to leave unexpectedly for her X-Men duties? Was Kurt doing his weekly acts of kindness for his co-workers, or was Logan evening it out with you for when you saved his ass at a bar a few weeks ago?

All are very likely if it weren't for the smell of dew, honeysuckle, and grapefruit.

There's a bounce in your step as you make your way back to the classroom. Pulling your nose from your mug reveals the students who hadn't been able to sleep before were starting to dwindle on energy.

"Doc," one of the students struggles to say through their own yawns. Their head is still pressed against the desk with its full weight, but that doesn't stop them from sluggishly lifting a finger to point at the large window fit only for an overly expensive apartment— and your classroom.

If it were a painting, it'd be straight out of the Rococo era. The natural greenery that covered your wall all curled around the now-opened window to highlight the bouquet that sat pretty on the table pushed against it.

While beautiful, the gift and placement were subtle. You wouldn't have noticed it if the student hadn't pointed it out.

Passing by your desk to set your cup down and pick up your phone. It's difficult to not take more than a few pictures of the sight, but you manage to turn away to look at the few remaining students still conscious.

When you ask for the name of who managed to set everything up in such a short amount of time, they only turn away.

You know who it is you need to thank when the window is gently lowered by a gust of wind and the rain resumes.

[taradiddled]

@inubaki isn't feeling well. and I think @lilacwriter07 could use a pep-up, so I'm putting here another sneak-peek at the chapter I'm working on.

--

"Only a neglectful shepherd would leave their sheep's hooves unattended." She picked up her scrub brush again and began layering the hoof in soapy foam. "They need routine cleaning, because who the fuck knows what shit they pick up on a regular basis. I had one sheep that must have been not right in the head, because it used to stand in its own shit, totally oblivious to how filthy it'd get. Needed a cleaning twice a week, or else its wool would stink. I thought I'd have to put up with it for maybe eight or nine years, since it was so dumb, but the bastard managed to live to eighteen years before it croaked."

Lucifer snickered, amused at the mental image given. "I can't imagine you putting up with that for more than eight years."

"Well, I did," Adam stated proudly, her chest puffing up just a bit with pride. "It was under my care, and my protection. Just because it wasn't too damn bright didn't mean I was going to mark it for meat. Not when its wool was some of the softest I'd felt, and it was especially patient with the grandkids when they wanted to play." It'd almost been like having another nanny available, when the children's parents were busy with their own business of foraging and hunting to support their families. Though Adam had bemoaned caring for the sheep, she'd actually cared for it in her own way, and mourned the creature when it eventually passed away.

"What was its name," Lucifer asked, genuinely curious.

"Birn," Adam replied. "Birn the Burr." She finally finished cleaning Lucifer's hoof to her satisfaction. "Because of all the damn times I had to comb so much crap out of its wool." The first comb ever had been invented purely because of Birn. It'd been the size of Adam's hand, with four thick teeth, able to sort through Birn's thick-thick wool to pull out all the foliage Birn managed to pick up in a week's time. It'd been one of Eve's best inventions, and had saved Adam's fingers further abuse from the sharp twigs and tree needles that would get stuck in Birn's wool. How the beast had managed to collect so much debris in the pastures, Adam and Eve had never uncovered.

"You're good now," Adam proclaimed, setting Lucifer's hoof back into the water. "Your hooves could use a little trimming, but it's nothing urgent. Maybe in a week's time you'll need to give it some actual attention." With the task of cleaning Lucifer's hooves done, Adam turned to cleaning herself, tossing out the washrag she'd been using for a clean one.

While Adam started lathering up with some soap, Lucifer examined his hooves, blonde brows arching as he looked in awe at the difference made. "This looks better than when I use magic," he said, rotating one hoof so he could admire its underside. "Feels better, too. Yowza. You've got magic hands there, my Pretty Prickly Mistress!"

Adam scoffed at the syrupy sweet praise, rolling her eyes. "You said the same thing about me handling your balls a couple nights ago, Your Majesty." Still, it was nice to be appreciated. She brushed her foot against Lucifer's thigh beneath the water, lips curling with a naughty smile as she observed Lucifer's cheeks color that tangerine hue Adam knew so well.

Lucifer gulped, eyes going down to where Adam's foot was sliding up and down the inside of Lucifer's thigh beneath the water. "Wellllllllllll," he stretched out, voice taking on a higher pitch when Adam's toes found Lucifer's cock. "It's good manners to give credit where credit is due--oh!" He gasped when Adam's big toe rubbed against the tip of his dick. A pant rose from the king's throat. "Ada, as much as I would love to fuck around some more, we still have breakfast to get to, and that call we promised to make to Charlie."

Adam hummed, cocking her head to the side, making a face of consideration, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth, weighing her options, before she retracted her foot from its fondling between Lucifer's legs. As much as her ramped libido desired another go around, there were things that needed doing, and Adam remembered that the new Soul Counter was long overdue. She needed to check in with Charlie about her progress with her research, and start pulling together information so that they could start something substantial.

It's been over a month since we started, Adam reminded herself. If I keep lazing around, this shit won't get done until after Oz is born. And she'd be too occupied with her newborn baby and Lucifer to put any extra energy into starting up the Soul Counter.

With a sigh of reluctance, Adam resumed her scrubbing, washing away any sticky residue from her and Lucifer's earlier activities. "Sucks to suck," she grumbled, "Buuuuuuuuuuut you're right." She then threw the washrag at Lucifer's chest, the King of Hell just catching it. "We have work to do," Adam agreed, turning around so her back was to Lucifer. "So wash up my back quick, will you, goony? You're the one who wanted to finish on my back, anyways..."

"Orrrrrrrr," Lucifer started, wading his way over to Adam, seating him right at her back, "You could just ask nicely, like a normal person." Nonetheless, he began to tend to Adam's back, wiping away at the skin in careful, gentle circles. It was a relaxing experience, and Adam found herself leaning back into Lucifer's care, releasing an audible sigh of contentment, as well as a chuckle at Lucifer's suggestion.

"And why should the great Dick-Master of Humanity have to ask to get her back washed?" She looked back at Lucifer over her shoulder, grinning with ego she felt was rightly earned. "Especially from the devil whose dick the Dick-Master conquered."

Lucifer paused in his ministrations. With great amusement, he chuckled. "Is that what we're going to call me knocking you up from now on?" He resumed washing Adam's back. "Would make a far more interesting story: the naughty devil who met his comeuppance, ahem, literally, when his dastardly dick was valiantly, valiantly, conquered by the heroic Dick-Master?" He and Adam both laughed at how ridiculous the tale sounded aloud.

Adam's smile was rueful, and she shrugged her shoulders. "Hey," she humored. "You fucked it."

"And I will gladly do so, again aaaaaand again," Lucifer hummed with a melodic note.

[good-beanswrites]

HI 🎬 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THESE AHHH It did get eaten so I'm really glad you sent it again!!

It's interesting, because this movie night could take place right before T2 begins, and act as a little celebration/preparation night. But also, I like the thought of doing it after T2 closes, since they'd have their verdicts in mind while they watched the videos...

No matter when it takes place, this round of videos would definitely be more tense, but at least some of that would be lessened by the fact everyone was involved in filming. While the first movie night was a way to break the ice and have a little fun, this event feels more solemn. It's definitely used as a pick-me-up after such an ordeal -- a way to offer tons of praise and support and understanding to their fellow prisoner before/after a time where they had to pretend to hate one another.

Haruka, Mahiru, and Amane's require some serious time afterwards to talk and recover. LMAO I love the thought of Yuno's video resulting in some cheers as well as some "yes ma'am"s 😂 But I think despite her honesty, actually seeing her in those situations would cause the prisoners to understand her much deeply that before. (And I like to think she tries to bond with Amane over having multiples of themselves in the video :D) Mmm, and having a little moment between Muu and Fuuta would be so nice here. As bad as he felt seeing her be a victim in the T1 video, now he feels bad for her for a different way -- he can relate to her situation more and knows her pain.

Ahhhhh I want everyone to meet and hang out with Shidou's family so bad ;---; Although they're still not allowed to leave the facility until the experiment is over, everyone immediately starts making plans to hang out. Mahiru asks their favorite foods so she can have him over for dinner. Haruka asks if they have any similar hobbies/games so he can play with them. Amane doesn't say anything, but listens really closely to all the conversations. And yeah, by this time Jackalope would have received too much pressure to ignore the paperwork surrounding Amane any longer. While he's at it, they make him look into Haruka and his sister as well.

I wanted to make a John joke so bad you don't even know 😭😭😭I'm definitely going to sneak some teasing in post-neoplasm because I just think that's so funny and the others would never let him live it down OMG (I saw another post about it, but maybe secretly Red thinks it's fun -- despite hating the actual name John, he's excited to actually receive a nickname after Mikoto has given so many out to others)

But no matter how serious it gets, they'd be able to dance and sing along with some of the upbeat videos! The singer themselves may encourage the others to join in, since it would take some of the heaviness off of watching themself like that. It's such a bizarre situation, but they embrace it and find a little fun where they can.

I also just realized they'd get to watch Undercover!! It's the first time they get to hear Es sing and they're very impressed, and also enjoy seeing everyone together after separate filming. The visuals are pretty basic, and I think it'd be mostly teasing one another about the uniforms or looking like a sad wet cat behind bars...

Once again thank you 🎬!! These were so amazing and big brained 👏 I really appreciate you taking the time to write them out and send (twice ;-;), and I know a lot of others have enjoyed reading them as well!

[invisibleraven]

5 and peterpatterlina?

Also for @bananakarenina who prompted the exact same thing!

Luke was bored.

Look, he knew he should be paying attention, this was his last chance to pass this class and graduate with his friends unless he wanted to repeat senior year. It was just so stupid that he was stuck literally doomed to repeat History all summer.

Though if he wasn't he'd probably still be bored. Alex was spending half his time on dates with Willie, and the other half working at the dry cleaners to keep their band van up and running. Julie was visiting her relations in Puerto Rico for the first time since her mom passed, and Reggie was working at a summer camp with genuine cabins and a lake.

So Luke wasn't only bored, he was lonely.

Sure, the group text chat was well and good, even with Reggie's spotty reception, and it being a drain on Julie's data plan, they still talked every day. But it wasn't the same as being able to flop over onto the couch he claimed as his in the Molina garage and jam out with his band.

There was no Reggie with a joke or a cute animal photo right when Luke needed it. No Julie to bounce song ideas off of or share theories over the drama they were binge watching with.

It'd only be another few weeks, but that didn't seem to diminish the ache inside of Luke or make the stretch of time from now until then shrink any. He glanced up at the board, scribbling down the notes there, Mr. Jenkins always did the same stuff, droning on for half the class, and everything was in the book regardless. But Luke had made his mom a promise to graduate before taking a gap year to really get the band off the ground. Luke knew that once they did a few bigger gigs, they would take off.

Plus, as much as it chafed, it was nice to have a mom who cared. Who may not understand his dream, but had promised to support him if he promised to graduate and not run away again.

The clock ticked by, and Luke did more staring out the window and writing melodies than paying attention, but he still felt confident enough that he'd pass the test coming up. Yet the hours before he could try a video chat with his friends stretched before him.

He wondered if Alex was free, but as much as he and the drummer were close, Luke felt it wasn't him that he really wanted to talk to.

He wanted Reggie's sunny smile and stupid trivias facts. He longed for Julie's nose scrunch when she laughed and the wrinkle in her brow when she tried to play guitar. The way they worked together to craft a country song, even if Luke had no real interest in the genre. The way they lit up when he offered them his newest baking creation.

He wanted to craft music with them, to walk hand in hand with them...

Luke wanted to kiss them. To love them.

And therein lay the problem.

Luke wanted Julie and Reggie- as his partners as well as his bandmates and friends. And deep down, he knew they wanted the same, given all the flirting they had done in their own group chat they had formed around Alex's birthday last year.

The only problem now was waiting for them to come back so he could maybe make a move, see if they might agree to a date. And well, Luke had never been known for his patience.

To bide his time, he should have been studying, maybe picking up the odd shift at the diner he was a busboy at while he was living rough. They had told him he was welcome back any time he needed a job, but usually he just worked Sundays and the odd long weekend.

Instead he started working on a song, typical of him. All about the passage of time slowing down and aching for the chance for more of it at the same time. Not as a way to ask them out, but to vent his feelings.

But that didn't stop him from texting the lyrics to them. And maybe getting an enthusiastic yes when they video chatted later that night.

[im-gonna-squeet]

I still don't know who you are, I only know that I'm still lonely chap 3

ch.2

Donnie and April have a chat

It had been a few days since Donnie's 'bad night' as they called it and Missie was almost ready to be picked up. Maybe she would make them feel less lonely. Unlikely considering they already lived with three very supportive and loving siblings, and that didn't seem to help.

Maybe they'd talk to April about it.

There was less pressure opening up to her since they didnt live together (even though they spent most of their free time together anyways) so it didn't feel like they'd have to confront it again of they didn't want to.

They were snapped out of their thoughts by a reminder sounding on their wrist brace. They were supposed to pick April up from an after school event tonight. Convenient.

They checked the time, unsurprised to find that it was almost time to leave. Time had been wrong since The Technodrome. Or more likely, she had changed something in them to perceive the flow of time differently. But thinking about that made them want to scream and throw up and cry. So they much preferred the first option.

Streching and shaking that thought out, they left their lab to get changed, making sure anything that needed to be turned off was turned off.

They decided on their comfort hoodie and comfy jogging bottoms over their galaxy compression leggings. Before they leftt, they switched rheir contacts out for their glasses. They were just picking April up and maybw grabbing a drink, so unlikely to be doing any sort of acrobatics where they could lose them.

They exited the lair through the garage and sent a quick text to the groupchat so everyone knew where they were. They turned on their favourite playlist as they bagan the journey there.

~~~

"April!!", they exclaimed, removing one hand from their walker and turning to the side to hug their sister.

Donnie loved being with April. She never acted as if they were fragile or broken. She wss never afraid to play fight or shove them (she was more gentle with it now but that was understandible considering that they would 100% fall over), and she never tried to stop them from doing things under the guise of protection. So they, in turn, felt comfortable being around her, because the mood isnt going to change on a whim when she decides they cant do something anymore. They can decide their own limits.

So they listened while she told them all aboit all the drama and funny anecdotes from her day, and in turn shared their own (like how Leo manages to fall down the stairs and make the most cartoon 'bonk' noise they'd ever heard).

And before they knew it, they were back at April's flat.

They agreed to sit in the living room with Mayhem whilst April got changed.

"Hello little man." they said, cupping Mayhem's little face in their hands and rubbjng the top of his head with their thumbs. In response, Mayhem slow blinked and rested his head more into their palms. "What a sweetie pie, I hope you get along with Missy, it'd be nice for you to have another animal friend, wouldn't it?".

They planted a kiss onto the top of his head just as April walked in and Mayhem wriggled free of their grasp to jump into her arms.

"He HATE me. sad face emoji." They pouted.

"He doesnt, hate you, Dee," she moved Mayhem to press his 'lips' against the side of Donnke's head, "See? he loves you!" Donnie snorted in response, reaching up to scratch behind Mayhem's ear as April sat next to them.

"So, when does Drax reckon you'll be able to pick up Missy?"

"Some time this week, he said." they paused, "I'm not really sure about it T.B.H., like obviously she's gonna be a massive help and it'll make me feel better but also. Change. Y'know?"

"yeah, but we're all here for you and we'll help you adjust, yeah?"

"yeah." They gently knocked their heads together.

They argued over what film to watch for a while after that (as kf they weren't just going to watch the Atomic Lass one for the 4734736th time).

~~~~

When Donnie got back to the lair, they were surprised to see one Barron Draxum standing in the living room.

"Ah. Donatello."

"... Yes?"

"I must inform you that your, uh, service dog, will be ready for pick up tomorrow afternoon."

[actualaster]

Playing HZD and HFW back to back now for my series replay, I’ve got a few Mechanics Wishlist items for if we do get a 3rd game in Aloy’s story.

Currently 8 12 of them.

The climbing system was refined massively in HFW, like amazing job there to the devs!  I'd like to see them continue to improve on it, tighten some things up a bit, etc.  There's still some oddities once in a while and all, getting stuck, etc.

Hybridize the fishing mechanics.  I like being able to just grab a fish in the water, but it's a huge annoyance to keep swimming after a fish that keeps dodging you XD  If possible, it'd be nice to have the option to both catch them by hand or snipe 'em.

Return the datapoint indicator to the HUD at the up alongside the waypoints, machine sites, campfires, etc.  In HFW I found that I was missing them a lot more often because the overworld indicator was just not as notable.  I'd like to see it return and expand the range.

Extend the time machine weak points remain highlighted!  Or maybe have a "remain highlighted indefinitely within X range" option?  They never seem to remain highlighted long enough for me, I have a hard time making them out sometimes...

Return the "discovered campfire" icon to green, especially on the HUD navigation at the top.  Or another color.  Anything but "brighter white vs slightly darker grayed out for undiscovered one".  Maybe settings to change the colors of icons?

Amazing job on the accessibility options, by the way, did great work on those!  Be nice to see those continue to expand!  Maybe the above 3 points (3-5) could be folded in under customizable options in the future?

Retain some form of the gliding mechanic--if Aloy has to lose all her gear again or something, I get it but it'd be nice to have something to replace it return early on because that was invaluable to navigation once you unlock it.

Hybridize the crafting systems, maybe?  I liked the ability to craft upgrades on the fly from HZD rather than needing a workbench...  Maybe some sort of portable workbench you can craft or buy for a decent cost, or for limited uses?

Keep the "people will tell you about stuff at shelters and camps in the wild allowing you to get sidequest and other location markers before you get close to them yourself" feature! Especially if they expand the number of extra missions and quests and errands you can pick up.

PLEASE do not bring back "tie some of the skill points to fully max the tree to a board game" feature. By all means, keep that as a way to get skill points, but also let there be ways to obtain them all through other means such as leveling and the other sorts of quests. It's a huge pain if you just suck at it no matter how hard you try. (Yes yes, NG+ but it'd be nice to get them all first play lol)

Maybe less underwater stealth segments. They are. Hard and also so very different from tbe rest of the game because you CANNOT fight anything. Or at least offer some limited underwater combat options? Special weapons for underwater combat?

A way to mark custom locations on the map besides our single waypoint! It would be great to be able to put a stamp on the map to mark favored hunting locations for certain machines so its easy to tell at a glance (for those of us Bad at maps and remembering where we were)

[anonymousmothman]

I had another weird dream surrounding star trek (this time with jackie chan and thundercat???)

So basically I won this thing (idk if it was a giveaway or something) to hang out with thundercat. We were walking around chicago and he kept talking about being a werewolf and that was weird cuz . You know... cat is in his name. But then he turned into a werewolf and tried to hunt me.

Then I went to this star trek convention but for some reason star trek was real? And I got to talk to worf and ezri they were really nice. Some other stuff happened but I legitimately remember none of it. I then was watching a jackie chan movie with the ferengi (basically all the guys from the magnificent ferengi episode) and suddenly got transported back in time to when rush hour got released. I was sitting in the audience just minding my buisness then Quark started to film the movie cuz yay piracy! But he was horrible at hiding his camera and everybody kept staring at him because they knew. His camera didn't have a zoom feature so Brunt gave him this can you were supposed to put in place of the lens and it'd act as a zoom for you. But then, of course, everyone was like 'wtf are they doing with a can' so Quark gave the empty one to me and I had to pretend like it was Tuna I was eating. I was really bad at it. Then, at the end of the movie, a cardassian was playing with his baby (throwing her up in the air and stuff) and a founder took it from him while he was doing that then dangled it over the side of the railing (idk the seats in the theatre were high) and said "a sacrifice to the founders..." but then everyone started booing them and throwing popcorn at them so they gave the baby back.

After that, I went to this weird renaissance fair mixed with comic con thing (still in the past atp). A dude dressed up as an ensign knocked down this stand of books and I helped him to pick it up. Then, I wanted to buy one, so I was looking through them and eliminating options and was gonna buy something on dinosaurs? Idk it was weird it looked like a dork diaries book though. But another one caught my eye and it had medieval paintings on the front despite the fact it was a book about mesopotamian chemistry. So I went to buy it, but I got tied up in (honestly I forgot what happened) so had to leave it for the time being. When I came back though, a lot of people were bidding and arguing over who should get it. The only way you could buy it was by messaging the shop owner on discord so I tried to text them but I kept misspelling 'shop' as 'Schofield' so none of the messages would go through (there was a bot that prevented you from sending a message unless it had the word shop). I don't think I was ever able to get it, or maybe I was, also sort of forgot this part....

Then it cut to my backyard where Picard was stuck in my garage. He kept asking to be let out but when I let him out there were two animals on leashes in there. One was Porthos so I let him off, but another was those klingon dogs.. I forgot what they're called. Picard kept telling me to let that one off it's leash and I said "but its your pet :(" and he said hed pay me 30 coins so I did it. Then I finally let Picard out of my garage and it cut yet again to another scene.

I was on ds9 laying down to go to bed when Damar and Keevan entered and Damar was like "you weren't at Quarks" and I said "I had a really long day today man..." so they layed down with me and we cuddled YAYYYY but then I woke up BOOOOO

[pancakesmythie]

Shoutout to my bestie @ellulemmu (again TYSMM) for artwork of CHKN poacher!! Holy crap. Just imagine just walking thru the wilderness and u get shot with a tranquilizer dart and the last thing u see is this MF?! OMGGG😫

So I got CHKN again on Steam since it has been made free earlier this year (I think it was). The last time I played was sometime in 2015 or 2016 when I watched Jacksepticeye play it so I just got the demo then. It's been over half a decade since then and they are... still in early access with no big updates in the past 3 years or so. This was last on my list of Steam games to play and only got it because it was free.

Surprisingly, it's one of the better games that I have gotten recently! Despite (still) being in early access it's a fairly large game so far, like I can spend an entire day doing 1 task (like building or fighting bosses) and still have it stay interesting. All of the creatures make fitting noises, most items and menus have sound effects, the terrain is fecking beautiful and it seems mostly balanced as of now.

I've ended up just making and hatching bunches or hornhowlies, mostly because I'm missing World Of JumpStart but also because they are fairly effective at doing most things in this game. It's literally just so fun gliding around on my hornhowlie creatures, exploring the map and finding new creatures to fight or tame. It's also fun to loot poachers and see what kind of wonky tech they have. I was so spooked the 1st time I found a poacher, It was night time and I just saw this human figure with green and black as I died (early game tho).

Honestly I'm ok if it never gets another update. It would be better for it to stay in the state that it's in now rather than turn into an ugly crappy pay to win game. That being said, there's some cool ideas that I have for it that are not being added!

CREATURE DEPTH

The player should be able to tame aggressive creatures by scaring it/lowering heath and then feeding it. You should also be able to lead multiple creatures and attach the leash to a fence post, the ball should also work like playing fetch.

MORE POACHER STUFF

It would just be cool to have stuff like larger poacher camps, maybe poacher exclusive potions that mess up your creatures. Since they're poachers maybe they would be storing eggs with exclusive creature parts in them.

SOUNDTRACKS

There's some short tracks for thing like when your creatures level up but it would be nice to have soundtracks for when you are just wandering or if the music changes if you are being attacked. Add heavy metal to boss fights.

CHEAPER TOOLS

It seems just a bit unbalanced that we gotta defeat like 6 bosses before we can get the tool to mine ore to craft windows. Maybe the boss fights could unlock more armors or higher tier weapons and we could use cheap picks to mine early on. However, since there aren't that many items in the game it's understandable.

CHARACTER EDTIOR

I know this game is all about making creatures but we should be able to pick at least our hair and eye colors. The armors is all the avatar customization we get now. Though I do like the newer player model more than the old one.

MORE DECOR

I'm talking things like chairs, tables, pots for plants, maybe rugs or display cases for your favorite items, shelves and rugs. Thought that is a lot for early access still. It'd also be cool to name light beacons so we can tell them apart in the map menu.

Seriously, give this game a try! It's free atleast for now, it's crashed twice on me but I turned down the graphics and it's working fine now.

[crest-of-gautier]

briefly picked up pq again after not having played it in a month, i got through the cutscenes that happen when you start the second labryinth, but didn't progress past that! thoughts™ below

i basically spent my time in Many Cutscenes (all strolls available to me, the abilities 1/2/3, what do we call each other, navigational differences, and why a group date cafe) + also did the fuse xiezhai request as well as help with the trading showdown.

i think the only downside from this play session is seeing how... how badly they exacerbate teddie's "comedic" relief traits. this isn't a problem exclusive to pq (i've watched arena all the way through and am maybe halfway through ultimax, and teddie also suffers there). but MAN. it's so hard to remember that teddie has a good arc in golden sometimes 😭

bitching about teddie aside, i do appreciate him being there because teddie's origin story of being from the TV world and then leaving it to be with the investigation team acts as such a nice metric of comparison for whatever zen and rei is supposed to be. i've been over this a billion times but the way the game explicitly has made note of this in cutscenes is just so!! juicy to me!!! it does feel like a low hanging fruit for me to latch onto in terms of "clues regarding zen and rei's identity," but it's definitely the easiest to understand.

naoto prompting an attempt to investigate of the clock tower and the lore surrounding it's real-world counterpart was very interesting! i have faith in the writers for this cutscene to make sense later down the line with more context, but it does feel like a clue. i just. need some more time with the game (and possibly more details) to put things together.

i can't help but feel that rei expressing the want/hope to "go back" (in lieu of what teddie did with going to inaba) isn't going to end well... i mean, maybe it will! but to be able to "go back" (whatever that contains) is hardly guaranteed in the first place and i feel like hoping for something like this is bound for heartbreak (i would be interested in that given that rei's entire personality is based around food and zen LOL)

the velvet room scene too!! super juicy, i really enjoy all of the angles that theo, liz, and margaret all presented in regards to the distortion of the p3 + p4 casts from different times being gathered into this one place. given how the wild card power has been neutralized and changed it really makes me wonder about the power of the end-game entity... perhaps so powerful that zen and rei could be considered "shards" of that entity who forgot about that? very interesting for margaret to refer to the world as "finite," me thinks.

the game did give a brief glimpse to a silhouette sitting on a crystal(?) and was obscured by broken glass/spider web of sorts... i wonder whatever it could need from bringing TWO wildcards, i mean, yeah that's powerful but. i wanna know the motive!!! not that. divine entities and the like always have motivations in this series but. y'know. LOL.

anyway that's all for now! short progress today bc wahoo cutscenes and i got things to do but. really intriguing, i'm super interested in seeing how this gets followed up on. also i love yosuke whenever i see yosuke's animations in this game it makes me so happy!! he's so expressive and fun i love him a lot. and it'd be very interesting to play this game again on the p4 side to see minato speak but also see what has changed between versions, as well as catching any details i've missed.

[alexbkrieger13]

I was bored so decided to translate the Sweden press conference with Peter. I'll translate all of it. Instead of doing a summary where just the parts I deem important get picked. It's actually easier to do than to think about what to include and what to leave out. Especially when he's talking 😂 Maybe you can make a tag for this? It says much how Peter reasons about both individual players and the Sweden squad building.

"Welcome everyone! Since we started this in 2017 it'll actually be the first possibility to have this kind of camp with allsvenska players, with one exception. We've had before, went to South Africa a couple of times. Then it's been during Fifa dates. This time it's no Fifa date and for us in the wnt management we're very happy we can go through with this. It's not many countries that maybe have activity here depending on budget, and it shows the Swedish federation are very far ahead who can implement this camp. It of course also means at this time we have no game because very few countries have activity. We go from there and will get back with the set up when it comes to training, potential playing of game and so on. But at the moment there's no international game decided.

When it comes to the squad I can also make clear, or confirm, about Rosengård. During longer period of time actually when we started this I've had contact with Renée Slegers, who's the Rosengård coach, and understood it'd be unfeasible that the players from there could be at this camp. Partly it's statutory vacations they shall have and so on. They play Champions League until 21-22 December. So there are no Rosengård players called up.

Peter presents the squad. He just says the players names and their clubs.

And as you can see here Julia Roddar is in Hammarby so she'll be available for this camp. When it comes to Sofia Jakobsson they start up later in San Diego, and I've talked with her and San Diego. So there's a possibility for her to attend. Else it's allsvenska players who are in the squad.

Well, short and concise. We're looking forward and it's that which is nice. Often at this time you maybe look back and so on. But now we want (to go) forward. A World Cup year and an inspiring camp for players to present themselves and at trainings be able to show us you both short- and long term want to be in a A-national team - women.

Press manager opens up for questions.

Q: Peter, a couple of questions: Hedvig Lindahl back in the squad again. How do you view her level right now ahead of a World Cup? To take a spot back in the Swedish squad?

Everyone who has followed this (knows) Hedvig and I had a discussion. We decided, or I decided, that during the autumn I wanted to look at other keepers and let Hedvig get settled in Djurgården and start it up. Then we've had continuous contact and, that which I said then after the Euro is exactly the same that goes now. Which is the demand with a national team is that you shall go with the best players. We're going to go with the three best keepers, best backline players, best midfielders (he actually forgets to say forwards...) and Hedvig is one of those players who is competing, so we've had the possibility to look at six keepers this autumn and it's there we are now. So the three best keepers go to the World Cup. If it's Hedvig or someone else - that, the spring (part of season) and the performances both national team camps but also of course in club teams show.

Q: If it should come to it's between her and someone else, how much will her experiences heading into championships mean do you think?

It's hard to say but experience, that's always something. Then we put performance in a first aspect. Age doesn't really matter. It's the best ones who shall go. We've had for example someone like Hanna Bennison who's very young and who's been with us for a longer time, and she felt very experienced when she came into the squad. It's more maybe how you are as a personality and so on. And Hedvig is a personality who is very skilled in many situations, not only on the pitch but also outside it. But you shall be one of the best keepers. That is the assessment Magnus and I have to do in this situation.

Q: I'm thinking about the squad as a whole. When you see the many new names in a Swedish squad: is it above all individual qualities or is it players who you see could take a clear spot in your clear gameplan and in your way of playing?

That's the initial position of course that we look... Then there's some players, young players, who've been in U23 for example. Hanna Lundkvist we had last time. Freja Olofsson in Madrid who are also competing but can't present themselves at this camp. But the initial position is of course that we look short term, is there anyone or some who could be relevant for the World Cup but also of course long term. And it is very important to see players at trainings. That makes it so you get a comparison. In this squad we have some, like Jonna Andersson and Sofia Jakobsson, who have been with (us) very much. So we get good reference players too and we have some young ones, and we have some we've been keeping an eye on who are a little bit older but who haven't been with (us), like Felicia Rogic and Fanny Andersson, who are two examples. Nellie Karlsson that we've discussed but who now get the chance together with these young ones. So we have a bit different categories of players. But all who go there will probably feel 'Wow I have the chance'. And then if it's now for the World Cup or further on, they'll called up because they're going to be able to play in a Swedish women's national team.

Q: Hi Peter, you have some players from Eskilstuna, a club which doesn't exist (in Damallsvenskan) anymore. How did you react to that message? How do you view those players situation that they're in?

We'll get to see. We'll see what happens. We don't really know if it's going to be an appeal or what it's going to be. So we've picked the squad here today and then we'll see if they remain, where they end up or what it'll become. But generally it's always sad when (club) organisations aren't capable of running their activity like here. But I'm not read up on this. It's essentially an Efd issue when it comes to the clubs operations and that you're capable of running this. For me I feel of course mostly sad for the players, who maybe have rooted themselves and sometimes maybe want a future there. But now it'll be something else. Everyone remembers what happened in Kopparbergs/Göteborg when you were in a chaos period. There maybe some of these players will be too before you know what happens. So the hope is that these players who are called up now will be able to attend the national team camp, meaning they play in clubs so they'll be available. Should anyone become a professional abroad it could be you can't be with (us) here but when it's about clubs (he's talking about Eskilstuna) then, well... It's always sad when it happens but somewhere you haven't done it quite right. That's how it is.

Q: Abrupt changes between topics here. But it's a World Cup going on right now in Qatar for the men. It's been a huge focus on political decisions. Fifa has decided to not allow these captain's armband for example. It'll be a World Cup for you next summer and you have a national team who gladly take a stand in issues that don't have to do with the football. What are you thinking about the situation that's become around this men's championship and does it make it so you have to talk more about different situations ahead of the coming World Cup?

Not in the same way I think. It's like you say here, we'll be at a World Cup in Australia/New Zeeland and then it'll surely be... Then it's Fifa that decide which have its regulations and all. I can just say like this. I think that when this decision was made then if it was in 2011, or I don't really know when, I think it's very strange that an organisation that has both men and women, makes a decision about to put a championship in a country which couldn't really have a women's championship if you say it like that. So already there it has become wrong, so I understand that the reactions have been many for a longer time but... We've been, under our (time) period we haven't been hit by this but... We could go through with the things... World Cup 2019 that was our latest World Cup that Fifa arranged so... Well, it wasn't like that what I can remember at least. I mostly remember the football-wise parts maybe from there but nothing that in the now should disturb the World Cup in New Zeeland.

Q: But it's nothing that you want to decide ahead that we leave the political standpoints at the side or something, so it won't be this messy situation just before or something like that you've thought of with what's been?

Nah, for the time being not but it becomes like a discussion you'll have from the Swedish FA's side and those in charge there, down to Marika and down to us too and at lastly to the girls who I know is far ahead in many of these issues of course. So we'll see where we end up there but it's nothing we're discussing right now.

Q: Hi Peter, you said potential playing of game at the camp. Is there a risk there won't be any games at all?

Well it could be. But because (what) I said... many nations haven't budgeted for this, and then you're going to put a national team together to go there. So I think it's not certain we'll get an international game. Then we'll see if we solve it another way. If we don't get it, it's all the time things we can't affect. We're working very hard of course to get something but if it'll be a game there, against a club team or an internal game that we'll figure out. But the players will get the chance to present themselves also in a game environment even if it won't become an official international game.

Q: A question about a player who can't be with here (at the camp), who wasn't with last time. Rolfö. It was maybe answers from her and you that didn't say so much why she wasn't with. Is it something you can develop now a couple of weeks later?

No, not really. It's like with everything, you have... I mean Magnus and me we work very much and of course all national team coaches, club coaches, have individual talks with players (where) you talk about everything and that's something that we talk about and all. And it's not like we have a Youtube channel where we put all individual talks, which maybe would be easy for many to follow. You have these talks and from that different decisions are taken in the whole. So I have nothing more to comment for that situation so well.

Q: Is there a risk she won't be with again further on for the same reason?

No, absolutely not. It was for that occasion on that decision and this camp she can't attend. So when we call up a February squad I'm clearly counting on she'll be with. It's nothing else.

Q: Hi, I was just going to check. Rosengård's decision, how do you view that and would've you loved to have a player from there?

It was like I said. I early saw that, when the draw took place and we started to plan this camp it was for me obvious that those players shouldn't come along. I think, not us, but Janne here with the men's national team had the corresponding with clubs that gone far and didn't have players with. So for me it's absolutely nothing. One hundred percent support for that club and their players. Because it can become a very long season for them. So the potential national team players in Rosengård would get a very long season. Both with Allsvenskan that halts sometime in July and then we go maybe July 10. Then you're going home to play Champions League and be at it with everything. So for me it was one hundred percent that decision. If Renée hadn't taken it I'd taken it for her.

Q: Me again. It's not so often the mnt and wnt go to the same place like this. You have more Algarve experience. Have you left any tips of your gold nuggets at the coast for Janne?

I don't know but my first experience - sorry Fredrik - then I traveled with Fredrik Madestam by car. That I can recommend to not do. Because that was a little spooky I can say. No but I haven't so much. We'll be close by. We'll watch an international game and so on. To have some little meeting there to talk and discuss. But outside the office complex I don't have any tips there. There are no record stores. Janne isn't interested like me so it'll be another discussion.

oh cool thanks for this

[paintedbutton]

Writer Interview Tag

The dear @writernopal tagged me in this. Thank you!

When did you start writing?

I can't give an exact age, but probably somewhere around 10 years old? I still have the old "epic" stories I would write on the family pc on word 2003 (including word art for title pages and everything) on an external harddrive somewhere. They were epic tales that involved a lot of pirates because I was obsessed with Kai Meyer's Wellenläufer trilogy, and also a lot of horses. I should see if I can find them again ...

I switched from original stuff to mainly fanfic somewhere in my teens and only seriously picked up original writing again somewhere during my Masters degree. And I'm really happy that I did.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I'll admit I'm mainly a fantasy enjoyer, but I try to read stuff that's outside my preferred genres at least some of the time. The last book I really enjoyed in that vein was Murakami's Afterdark. I also like the occasional nonfiction. And I read a lot of children's books for work.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I recently made a post where I said if I wanted to emulate anyone it'd be KJ Charles, and I stand by that. But really, I just want to write my own stuff. It's more about the way she writes than the themes she writes, I guess.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I'm a PC girlie, so I do have a pretty good rig (mainly for gaming although ironically I mostly play a 20-year-old game rn). I'm bad at working away from my desk, so I've tried to make that as good as possible.

My desk is currently fitted into a niche in my living room because my apartment is pretty small. It has coloured LED strings on the wall behind it as well as a pinboard just for aesthetic purposes. On the wall beside it is one of my great treasures, which is a woodcut piece of a windswept tree by an artist from the baltic sea. He's lovely and I own several of his pieces.

I have a Keychron K8 mechanical keyboard with some dupe botanical keycaps, which I wouldn't miss for the world. It is so nice to type on.

Colourwise, the setup is very dark green.

I'd love to have a standing desk, and I am currently looking into it, but it's a bit of a problem with how my desk is located, so we'll see. Maybe I'll wait until I'm finally able to move into the house, but that might be years yet.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Music mostly. There's just something about a good song that gets the creative juices flowing.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Home. Just home. Finding it and making it and the meaning of it as a place or the people surrounding you.

I'm not overly surprised by this, but it was a bit of an "Oh" moment, when I figured it out. I'm a very rooted person. I need to feel not just familiar but at home with the place I am in, and that very much colours my writing I think.

What is your reason for writing?

I've been telling myself stories my whole life. Sometimes getting them out into the "real" world feels like a necessity.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Honestly, any. But I like when I feel like people actually engage with my writing. Like they mention a particular moment that happens or something.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I'm just some guy. I would preferably always like to be just some guy to others. I personally don't think much about the authors when reading. I don't know if others do.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I honestly don't know. Tell me?

How do you feel about your own writing?

Warm and fuzzy. Writing is a hobby to me, and one I enjoy greatly. I like reading what I've written.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

Nope. Again, this is my hobby. I write for myself. If others like it, that makes me so happy. But it's not a necessary component for this, the same way it isn't with cooking or gardening.

Tagging: @anyablackwood , @malimaywrite , @charlesjosephwrites and leaving an open tag for anyone else. :)

[trying2cope]

It was wonderful to see Master again.

It was my daughter's birthday weekend, though her actual birthday was coming up midweek. My son's birthday had been the previous month and he was sad Master was coming to his sister's party but not his.

"He wanted to come," I told him truthfully, "but he was sick that weekend." Which was true. Actually Master's health had been bad the entire time we were together. Though even if he'd been healthy he wouldn't have been able to come that weekend because he had his daughter and we weren't ready for her to come visit yet. But my son didn't need to know that. The first weekend we met, he had an ear infection. It was really bothering him by the day he left, so he went to a doctor that week and they put him on antibiotics. Then when he finished that round of antibiotics, he got some bad virus. That was the weekend of my son's birthday. . Then he got a sinus infection and went on antibiotics again.

Then he started to get a skin infection on his leg. And it got bad. He sent a photo of it to his primary care physician and she referred him to a wound clinic specialist.

It started clearing up in the time it took to get to the appointment... But a new one popped up. And then another one on the *other" leg.

The wound clinic appointment was the morning of the Friday he was coming to see me. They lanced, drained and dressed his wounds, sending a sample to the lab for testing.

It looks like MRSR, they told him. And they put him on a very strong antibiotic.

That first day we had a good time. Hung out with the kids until bed. Had couple time. Talked. Watched a movie.

The next day was the birthday party, which was a success. Lots of kids came. But Master was acting strange. I wondered if I'd done something to upset him, he seemed grim and standoffish. I was busy playing hostess to the other moms, but towards the end of the party I took him aside and whispered, "Is something wrong?"

"I feel sick," he told me. "Maybe a reaction to the antibiotic?" I told him to go back to my house to lie down, but he insisted on staying until the party was actually over.

When we got back to the house, he laid down and I googled his antibiotic to see what common side effects were. Fever, nausea, fatigue, etc. He had every single symptom. He was miserable.

He spent the night in bed. He was so weak and I felt so bad. In the morning we'd planned to go to church, which we'd done our first weekend, but I didn't bother to wake him. He needed the sleep.

He got up around the time church started anyway though. He rested and around noon he said he was feeling better and he wanted to accomplish something. What had I wanted us to do this weekend?

Long story short, we did some DIY and we took the plastic bags to the recycling bin in front of a local grocery store. Then we piled the cardboard boxes into the back of his pick-up truck because he decided he'd just take them to his recycling center since I'd never actually been to mine so we didn't knowwhere it was or if it'd be open. And he said goodbye and left.

He stopped at his ex's to say hi to his daughter on the way home (they'd been with a cousin or something.)

He didn't have a high opinion of his ex, but I was trying to keep an open mind. No one gets along with their exes, that's why they are exes. Just because mine was a jerk didn't mean his was, right?

They didn't have a formal custody agreement, but she'd tried to get a formal child support thing and failed. That is, he only worked outside the home M-Th (ten hour shifts) and she primarily worked weekends. So it worked out nicely that he'd have the daughter three days of the week and she'd have her four. And he put her on his insurance. So when the lawyers had looked at their finances and their schedule they determined that they were about even in providing for her, so no child support was owed.

He was sure though, knowing his ex, she was unhappy with this, and thus he was noticing her coming up with more and more ways to cut into his time. Asking for pick-up to be delayed for some reason or another. Ordering him to drop her off earlier than necessary on Mondays. And then there were weekends like that one where she'd requested to take her for the whole thing.

"What about going to court and getting a formal agreement?" I'd asked. "She keeps pushing the boundaries and it sounds like she orders you around like you're a babysitter, not a parent."

"Yeah, but that might not go my way," he hedged. "What if I get her less?" Because for him, it wasn't about the money, it was about the time. He loved his daughter and hated he didn't have her every day.

Then one time he picked her up and when he was driving down the road, his phone pinged him saying that a GPS tracker was in the vicinity.

He found an air tag in the diaper bag. He texted me, outraged as he turned around.

He drove back to his ex's and confronted her. She apologized profusely. Said she'd put it in there when she gave the daughter to the babysitter yesterday and had forgotten to take the air tag out. She hadn't meant to track him.

He believed her and relaxed.

I wasn't so sure. I bit my tongue, but I filed that away under suspicious.

By the time he got home from our weekend, he felt like crap again. Fever came back. He'd delayed taking his evening antibiotic dosage by a few hours so he'd feel well enough to drive home. But he was miserable for the entire 10 days he was on that drug. Even though he still had to go to work and everything.

And that week, on my daughter's actual birthday no less, was the first time I got a scheduled visit from my caseworker.