#but some pieces just arent made to be sold

[bizlybebo]

*shaking them back and forth by the shoulders vigorously* STOP TRYING TO MONETIZE MY TALENTS !!!!!!!!!

[jacentric]

heres some of my fibers and metalsmithing work if yall wanna see it :) im putting it all under the cut so i can explain them a bit lmao (and theres also a good amount of them)

this one is probably my favorite maybe ever. its a self portrait and i dyed the three colors in the background that arent solids and the patterns in my hair and shirt i designed in illustrator and printed them out on fabric with this rly cool fabric printer. this is also 60x80 inches so its big. and the backing fabric is also fully dyed (the photo on the right featuring my cat helping ofc)

these are little keychains/zipper pulls of pride flags that i dyed most of the colors for (excluding the basic rainbow) and wove on an inkle loom. we sold them to raise money for various queer charities (i started this project after a shooting at a queer club in my state. we donated about $500 to them)

these rings were lost wax cast in sterling silver and bronze. the two on the left are knit and purl stitches and i hand carved them out of wax. the next three are cat food, corn, and a tractor tire and those i designed in a 3d modeling program and 3d printed them out. and the last one is a design from a spoon handle that i took a mold of and then cast.

this one is another favorite. instead of weaving just one solid fabric, this is weaving two at the same time (called double weave) and basically the black butterflies can be/are a seperate fabric than the purple ones. but they are interwoven together to make this pattern. it took foreverrrr to weave this and i came up with the pattern myself. (i was also individually picking up the strands to make the pattern based off of my graph paper sketch)

another weaving here that ended up being like 2x3 feet big. i wove it on a giant frame loom i made. its a tide pool and for our critique i submerged it in water and had a little aquarium pump running to create some waves. a fun fact about this piece was i made it when i first started watching foolish. this took absolutely forever and i watched foolish build the xd statue wings at the same time so we were 'suffering' together XD

i definitely have more to share if anyone wants to see them but ill end with this one for now. this is a copper chain mail pocket that can be used to help dye fabric. i made all of the jump rings myself (winding wire around a dowel and then sawing the spring into rings and which also took forever) and the chainmail pattern is called japanese 6 in 1. there is one slightly bigger and thicker ring with 6 smaller ones coming off of it. and it is so satisfying to hold bc its so heavy and makes such a nice noise. and the fabric dying bit, when dying with natural dyes (marigolds, logwood, etc) you need a mordant that basically allows the color to 'stick' to the fabric. most of the time, ive used alum which comes from aluminum, but copper also works. so i get to skip the step of pre-soaking the fabric in an alum mixture and can instead just put my marigolds into the copper pocket and that will mordant it and the same time its being dyed. you can see the little yellow fabric sticking out of the pocket there and that was dyed using the bag.

anyway if you made it this far down thanks for reading and id looove to talk more about any of this if you have questions or want to see more works of mine,, i have a lot XD :)

[l-sincline]

Girlish Whimsy - Chapter 8

AO3 Link

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AO3 tags: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, Ootori Kyouya/Original Female Character(s), Ootori Kyouya, Suoh Tamaki, Original Characters, Original Female Characters, Morinozuka Takashi, Haninozuka Mitsukuni, Fujioka Haruhi, Hitachiin Hikaru, Hitachiin Kaoru, Slow Burn, Acquaintances to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, smart people that arent smart about romance, Oblivious, Battle of Wits, Ouran High is one giant social chess game

Asuka has her eyes on the prize as soon as she steps foot on Ouran High School grounds. Her goal? Impress her father enough to convince him to let her remain as heir to the company instead of handing the title down to her younger brother. She knows going to school at Ouran will be one big chess game, especially coming in late at her second year- but she’s up for any challenge.

Asuka finds herself intrigued by the Host club and the inner workings of it. More than that, she sees untapped opportunities to grow her resume. Now all she needs is a partner on the inside who’s equally as motivated, and he was easier to find than she thought.

The whispering that occasionally followed Asuka as she ducked through the crowd to make her way out to the terrace was not her favorite thing in the world. She was learning more and more that Kyouya wasn’t really a frequent guest haver but more of a floating entity that occasionally sold you goods.

Obviously that made him more desirable and mysterious. 

Asuka heaved a sigh as she finally made it to the terrace and gently shut the large glass doors behind her. The talking and music instantly became muffled, the sound of chirping bugs and gentle wind taking over as the primary sound. She moved forward to lean on the rail and stare out at the expansive garden. 

She was to be Kyouya’s shield, in a way. She could do that. She was almost positive he’d give her some sort of script for these phone calls. She was also realizing that this partnership might lead her to talking to more girls across the school– certainly she might make some good connections there. 

But for now, she would focus on designing the jewelry. If she wanted to do a line based on the Host Club to sell to Host Club goers, it would be best to make a unique piece for each host. Perhaps she could sit down and do interviews…

Asuka’s peaceful thoughts were interrupted by the rest of the party goers flooding through the doors. As fast as everyone has arrived, Mayu has already managed to find Asuka and grab her by the shoulders. 

“You have so much explaining to do!” She whisper shouts at her friend, turning Asuka around to face her.

Asuka stumbles slightly in surprise.

“Jesus, Mayu! What’s going on?” 

“Oh.” Mayu unhands her, “Right now they’re just announcing the queen of the ball.” Her face suddenly hardens again, “But you are not getting out of the details this time. We have a whole car ride back home for you to talk so you better start getting ready for it.”

Yeah, there was not any escaping this one. She could resign to that. 

Asuka turned back around and shuffled backwards to stand next to Mayu, realizing that Tamaki had been shouting dramatically the whole time at a pair situated down just before the garden. 

Tooru Suzushima, he’s in teacups isn’t he? She thought to herself, Then is that his fiancee down there? I suppose it would make sense–

Asuka zoned back in as Mayu gasped next to her. In the few brief moments she had zoned out while trying to recognize the two at the front of the garden, the host Haruhi Fujioka had somehow found himself kissing Suzushima’s fiancee on the lips. 

Asuka clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh as the rest of the surrounding crowd gasped. She was quite shocked as well, she could admit. It seemed her laughter had infected Mayu, who now gripped Asuka’s shoulder again and sealed her lips tightly. 

“Lets go, lets go.” Mayu choked out, dragging Asuka into the pandemonium that was the crowd behind them. 

The two girls slipped through the throng of ladies to get back to the glass doors. At first Asuka was glad to be leaving, and then she remembered why Mayu was probably so eager to. 

-

Asuka groaned loudly into her hands as the limo drove quietly along the dark road. Mayu shook her by the shoulder. (Ow. Her poor shoulder. Seriously, it should be bruised at this point.)

“I’m telling my driver to lock these doors and not let you out until you answer me!” She declared. 

Asuka looked up from her hands, face hot; “It's a weird question, Mayu! Seriously! I’m trying to indulge in that girlish whimsy you were talking about but this is just weird!” 

“It's not weird!” She scolded, “You danced with a cute boy! You can comment on if he's a good dancer or if his hands or soft or if-” 

“Stooop.” Asuka rolled her eyes. 

“You’re literally blushing!” 

“Because I’m embarrassed by these questions! It was just a dance!” 

Truth be told, if this was just some random guy it might be easier to indulge in Mayu’s ‘girlish whimsy’ desires. But effective earlier today; Kyouya was officially a business partner. Business and romance were strictly different things.Was he attractive? Yes. She could admit that. Hosting business was obviously the place to be for someone with his looks. Did she want to think in depth about how he was a surprisingly good dancer or how his hands were soft but surprisingly strong? No. She didn’t. She actively wanted to erase all those thoughts from her head right this moment.

“Does he wear cologne?” Mayu’s voice suddenly pierced her thoughts again.

“Oh my god!” Asuka exclaimed, “He was a good dancer! His hands were soft! With the way he smiles you’d think he’s a fox in disguise! Is that enough for you? Can I skip the cologne question?” she pleaded. 

Mayu stared quietly for a moment before bursting into laughter. 

“You added that last part in yourself.” She grinned. 

Asuka stared back at Mayu slack jawed before reaching over and grabbing her friend by the shoulders.

“You make me fucking crazy!” 

[villanevehaus]

I HATE THIERRY hes such a little bitch but what made me mad is that i literally could not figure out why i hated him so fucking much. like banksy said he didnt break any rules because technically there are no rules. hes a fraud but hes not? hes not an artist but his work is worth millions? like the joke is supposed to be on him but its not so whos it on? who is right? does it even matter? what are your thoughts on why you hate him because i hate him but hes an evil genius - letterboxd anon

i needed several days to stop seeing red and this is of course going to devolve back into rage BUT i hate thierry because to ME his "success" embodies so many things that i despise about Fine Art Culture and ive just realized that i actually dont know where to start with this. okay. hhhhhh. im going to break it into chunks.

thierry documents his whole life on tape bc he feels like he'll never see it the same way again, but then he doesnt do anything with the tapes. he doesnt even label them or organize them or do anything beyond the act of filming them but because he carries this weird perversion about documentation he's afforded access to an artform that inherently is anti-documentation? im not saying that street art should or shouldnt be documented but he was able to document the process behind "temporary work" by following this lie that he was making something that WOULD be seen, and not collect dust in some random tub; a documentary. people (the artists) assumed he was making a documentary about street art because what the Fuck else are you filming all these street artists for, my guy, and then he got a reputation that he was doing this documentary so he was afforded more and more access- for what boiled down to no reason! "i wouldnt take no for an answer" but there wasnt question, thierry!! you werent asking shit because whatever they said might as well be the static of an erased tape!! cobwebs!! dust!!

and then SUDDENLY OH NO theirry actually has to make the documentary he's been lying about for years because banksy is like hey dude can't wait to see this film! he scrambles to make it and it's trash. it's 90 minutes of trash. but thanks to all of this access thierry was afforded he's seen how successful street artists can be (which is an entirely different can of worms for me to talk about. a counter-culture, accessible artform being commodified and turned into High Art for the elites- go to the MoMA and see street art! a private collection of street art pieces! perfect example of this is the banksy that sold at auction for like 1.4mil and then got shredded remotely which RULED! but then now the shredded banksy is 25mil Because its a shredded banksy). so he decides that he wants to be street artist. which is fine! whatever! sure! do whatever the fuck!

but then. he doesn't want to just be a street artist, he wants to be a Successful street artist like all the other street artists he's gotten to know (did you see banksy's show? with celebrities and thousands of attendants and media coverage?) so he needs an exhibition. he needs a debut, and a huge one at that. he pulls all the strings he has available: banksy endorsement! invader endorsement! all gained through that lie of a documentary that banksy is now making himself with thierry's forgotten tapes, by the way!!! his life addiction to filming everything has fallen to the wayside because he's hellbent on being successful.

the ways that thierry talks about art and success as an artist is fucking infuriating bc he's evaluating it solely on Selling and Name and Gimmick. it would be ignorant and stupid of me to say that artists arent influenced by other artists but the fact that all of thierry's works are virtually "Do You Get It"s of other artist's work that he even names?? this is like a warhol this is like a lichtenstein this is like a haring this is like a this is like a this is lik[foams at the mouth and keels over]

yeah he didnt break any rules bc there arent any rules but he played really fucking dirty. he got access to a subculture and its major players through a false cause (documentary), drummed up false interest in his work (the article), false endorsements in his work (banksy, invader), all while his work wasn't even being made because the work itself doesnt matter if you inflate the hype enough

he emperor's-new-clothes'd himself into absolutely everything, right down to the title of artist and filmmaker

[suncatchr]

concepts + designs for mvs that I was stricken by and fixated on for five days straight :D

[SCRIPT]

[quinntamsin]

*Raises her her hands as her warder, Delphine, blocks the Fade’s attack. A weave of fire wraps around the creature burning the Myrddraal.*

“I like Oddities.” - Loial son of Arent

Episode 5 “Blood Calls Blood”, continues the major shake up for the first season of Wheel of Time. Alright, in Eye of the World, everyone is still in Andor and comes to its capital, Camelyn. It’s here where we meet Elayne Trakand Daughter-Heir of Andor, Gawyn and their half-brother Galad. It seems that they decided to introduce Andor later, which makes more sense for Season 2 honestly since Tar Valon is central to A LOT of character development for Books 2-3. Tar Valon, is a definite dream for the eye, a little low end for the VFX, but that’s understandable .Its easily on par with the Witcher, and I think by season two we’ll be on GoT level of VFX. Alright, introducing Loil, our Ogier, I’m not sold on the make up, but they nail the nose, and the beard. His deep voice FITS hard, and yet I really didn’t see any tufted ears. I think they decided to forgo the ears and make things a bit less animated. The ears would likely have ben hard to do with all the set pieces they are already creating. Once again we jump back to the Tuatha’an where Egwene and Perrin are now dealing with the Whitecloaks. Fuck, I hate these fuckers, and Galad is the only one I ever liked remotely. More nuances on the Way of the Leaf, good to see Valda getting some serious resistance.

One big thing in this story I forgot to mention, in the books Kerene dies off set in a river killed by Darkfriends. HER death in this series emphasizes not only the sorrow of her loss, but honestly gave her more agency. Especially, since in the books she is the “Captain-General” aka she was -the defacto leader of the Green Ajah! Stepin’s actor nails the grieving, and his warder friends while a little stiff in their acting convey the emotion right for the scene.

Rafe made the whitecloak abuse of Egwene reminescent of Witch Investigations from England and the New World. Honestly, it was disgusting, but luckily the scene wasn’t too overgenerous. Game of Thrones failed this aspect hardcore especially in the White Wedding and their treatment of Sansa. Eamon again is a fucking piece of shit, and the actor is…insidiously good at his job. The fact they are torturing Perrrin and it activates his wolfbrother abilities is interesting. Their options are plainly given, but I mean it is just blunt that Eamon is a plainly evil man. 

The story eluding to Egwene’s strength (future Amyrlin material right there bitches) does a good job as they segue into her escape fro the White Cloaks with Perrin. Marcus Rutherford, does an okay job in his confession to Egwene in how Perrin killed his wife. I think that the scene itself was one of the weaker ones in today’s episode, but it doesn’t marr the totality of their collective acting. Perrin to me was always either a boring or fascinating. The escape itself solid shows the dangers of the Wolfbrothers and honestly Egwene’s subterfuge was well played.

Tar Valon’s internal politics are small now, but we learn more and more about the backstory of the world. Stepin and Lan show off figures representing the Forsaken, the Aes Sedai of legend who turned on the Light. The gay energy in the Tower and the platonic energy between the Aes Sedai is palatable. I like how Liandrin tries to get to Nynaeve, and how Alanna tries to warn Moiraine. There are ears everwhere in the Tower, the Black Ajah watches, and perhaps Mogdien has already draped her control of the Red for the future.

“The Wheel of Time weaves as it wills.”

Hottakes

1. More Nynaeve choosing Yellow Ajah with her Tar Valon clothing doing some nice foreshadowing.

2. Loial is strange, the slight blonde ginger hair they gave him looks better upclose than in some of the promotional images they dropped.

3. I just wanna give Nynaeve and Egwene a hug! Two Rivers sisters unite!

4. Logain Ablar laughing at the “boys” as they watch him is an interesting twist. Is he seeing Rand rising as the Dragon and Mat’s leadership of the Band? Who knows?!

5. Liandrin you Black Ajah bitch, stay away from Nyn!

6. Rand getting flustered when Loial calls him an Aielman, fucking finally! Give me some Aiel soon! Far Dareis Mai preferrably!

7. The fact that there appears to be different funeral rites for Stepin versus those out in the field is interesting. Is this cultural, or is it because Stepin took his life.

8. Lan’s grieving cry is pretty fucking Klingon if you ask me.

[bridgyrose]

you ever think about if Fallen Petals (hypothetically) becomes canon and how weirdly thematically fitting it would be for both Ruby and Cinder’s characters?

Besides the fact on how feral the fandom would go if it happened?  I’m going to try to make this as coherent as I can, so bear with me on this. But... lets imagine that Fallen Petals became canon in vol 2. Starts off as a rivalry between Cinder and Ruby. It’s not love they feel, its tension... or so they say. They’re always trying to one up each other, fun games start becoming heated competitions between the two. Why? Because they both feel funny about the other but cant put a finger on why. And it would work considering you have Ruby “couldnt pin point the crush she had on Emerald” Rose with Cinder “what the fuck are these feelings? I’ve never felt this before” Fall. And weirdly enough, they’d both be questioning if they were jealous of or wanted to be with the other.  Then, the day they finally get together and have a date, they both start feeling strangely at ease. Ruby starts slowly showing Cinder just how good things can be while Cinder starts teaching Ruby a bit more about the cruelty of the world she doesnt understand. Both come to a consensus that life is better when they’re together. And then the real fun starts...

Volume 2 continues as it did: Ruby fights with Cinder in the tower and thwarts the plot of the White Fang. All this with the added bonus of Cinder trying to keep her plans under wraps, suddenly feeling a bit afraid that Ruby’s piecing things together when she shows up at Beacon tower. And Ruby just has no idea what’s going on, going off about how much fun that fight was even if it was slightly terrifying with all the fire.  And then Vol 3 happens exactly the same. Ruby’s still none the wiser... until she watches Cinder kill Pyrrha and her heart breaks. And for the first time in her life, Cinder hesitates. Killing Pyrrha was never part of the plan, but the girl just wouldnt let it go. And once she realizes that Ruby’s there, she starts really questioning if what she’s doing is worth it. 

Fast forward to vol 4 to Salem finding out about Ruby’s relationship with Cinder. Now, the idea of keeping Ruby alive has more purpose to it: not only is it to keep Cinder inline and to more than likely get another experiment, but now she has a tool she can use against Cinder. Nothing breaks a person than watching the one they love suffer. And Cinder just cant stop thinking of Ruby. Every time she fights, all she sees is Ruby’s face back at Beacon: the sheer disappointment and fear on the girl’s face. And for a few months, she can push that image away. She can keep herself from seeing Ruby. And then it gets harder. The longer she tries to push the memory of Ruby away, the more often she starts seeing that face and it starts getting to her. 

Then Cinder sees Ruby again at Haven. This time, its as enemies instead of lovers. Cinder starts to break a bit as she see’s Ruby, becoming a bit more unhinged. Its not out of anger, its out of fear. Fear of what Ruby thinks about her. That maybe she could use this as a way to push Ruby away forever. And it hurts. Meanwhile, Ruby does what she can to try to understand Cinder. The whole fight between them is Ruby trying to ask Cinder why she killed Pyrrha. Why she had to cause Beacon to fall. Why all of this had to happen. And then Cinder... stops. She quits fighting, trying to figure out why this all did have to happen. At first, things were easy to justify: she was abused, sold by child traffickers, pushed to a breaking point and then told she was irredeemable. But then she remembers the secrets that Ruby told her. How Summer disappeared and she learned from a young age that happy endings arent the default. How she watched her dad break, confused on why he wasnt always eating right, why he seemed to go to bed early, why Yang had to step up to make sure Ruby was cared for. Even Qrow, trying to mask the pain of the world with stories of his conquests, let it slip just how grimm things really are. Cinder looks into Ruby’s eyes, starting to realize what she was doing had no real justification. But she feels like she’s in too deep. That at this point, there was no turning back. So she hurts Ruby, trying to push her away. And she runs before she could see the damage she did to Ruby, going down into the vault with Raven and Vernal, only to fail to achieve her goal. 

Then we move onto Vol 7, Cinder being alone with Neo, trying to justify what she’s doing again and falling into bad habits. She tries to push away her thoughts of Ruby, tries to see her former girlfriend as the enemy. But this time, she’s alone. She finds herself checking into the local news, catching glimpses of Ruby helping others, but she cant help but feel the resentment of Ruby helping the establishment that hurt her to start with. Anger and jealousy start ruling over Cinder, pushing her to move forward with her plans. But this time, when the two meet in the maiden’s chambers, there isnt a flash of silver light. It’s Ruby, looking down onto Cinder and wonder what pushed her to go this far. And for once, Cinder looks back into Ruby’s eyes with regret for everything she’s done. 

And then for Vol 8, Cinder struggles to stay in line with Salem. The good times she’s had with Ruby start surfacing again. She starts looking, really looking at Atlas and Mantle, realizing why Ruby was helping them. Once the siege of Atlas starts, Cinder takes the chance to grab the lamp and leave, no longer looking back. She searches for Ruby and her friends, realizing the mistakes that were made. When she finally sees Ruby, she’s greeted with the sharp end of Crescent Rose, Ruby glaring at her, covering the scars that were left from Cinder. Cinder finally gets the courage to tell Ruby what Salem’s plan is and that they wont be able to hide for long. That they had to come up with something to get out of here. For a moment, Ruby doesnt believe Cinder, thinking it’s a trap. But she gives Cinder a chance, because no matter what differences the two may have had, she’s going to give Cinder another chance to prove herself. Another chance to be try to be better. And then Cinder finally breaks. She still harbors the hatred she has for huntsman, for none of them helping her and leaving her to be abused, but this one girl... this younger girl... helped her and gave her a chance. Slowly, she starts to realize why it is that Ruby wants to be a huntress, that the answer she always gave anyone, “that’s why we’re here, to make things better”, finally started making sense. 

Cinder freezes when Ruby hugs her, feeling tears from the younger girl. The two start talking again, Cinder starts explaining what drove her to join Salem, telling her about the past, while Ruby listens, getting a better understanding on why. While Ruby could never truly forgive Cinder, she keeps the promise of giving another chance, a chance that Cinder never wasted. The two start realizing they’re just two sides of the same coin, only one side becoming bitter at the way the world treated her, while the other kept trying to make the best of anything that was thrown at her. 

The two end up completing each other, whether they realize it or not. Cinder needs Ruby to give her a chance, to prove that not all hunters dont care about those who are truly in need, while Ruby need Cinder to keep her grounded. To show that no matter what, the world is never going to be kind and there are some that will never be given a chance to prove their worth.

[afriendofhanguangjun]

BRI’S BIG LIST OF 3ZUN FIC RECS

a few people on twitter expressed some interest in my 3zun rec list so here are some of my faves! this isn’t separated by ship but by the kind of fic. there are some i didn’t rec because i can’t rec them in good conscience even though i like them. YEAH

THEY WIN I PROMISE (or: happy ending fics)

there is just one thing i need by MonocerosRex. modern au, rated G, 11k! primarily nieyao, but it’s 3zun. nieyao go on a cross-country road trip to pick up lan xichen from the airport. it is SO FUN, i laughed SO MUCH. the nieyao dynamic is DELIGHTFUL

just one kiss (for our fake date) by thefaceofno. 4k, rated T, modern au! xiyao. jgy brings his friend lan xichen as his fake boyfriend for a family gala. somewhere along the line, he forgets to mention the word “fake” to xichen. the misunderstandings are really fun and cute! 

you seem, secretly, to love everything by jelendra. 11k, modern au, M, 3zun but the focus is on a nieyao get together. it’s part of a big series but tbh i havent read the rest of the series. but THIS ONE is that lan xichen is dating jgy and nmj separately and wants them to date each other! meng yao feels really weird about this. 

Synced by theherocomplex. T, 23k, nielan, space au! nmj and lxc become partners to explore a little satellite planet. featuring fun mental bonds and AMAZING wordbuilding. the atmosphere is so quiet here. i love the vibes

soaring, carried aloft on the wind by skadiseven. E, 68k, nielan, au! lan xichen is forced into an arranged marriage with “”””warlord”””” nie mingjue and finds out that there is more than he had initially assumed about the people who are invading his kingdom. AMAZING prose, the worldbuilding is so fun, the fic itself is so soft and sweet. if you want to be sold on nielan this fic sure will sell you! 

holding off the rust by me! :3c 3zun, 3k, T, modern au. jgy THINKS he’s cheating on nmj and lxc with each other. he is wrong. it’s a good time! 

Becoming Prom King in Ten Easy Steps: A Guide by Jin Guangyao by me. 3zun, 40k, modern au, T. jgy wants to become prom king and schemes his way to the top. along the way he gets some boyfriends. this is a teen comedy movie in fic form. 

Nevermore to Leave also by me! nieyao, 17k, canonverse, rated T. meng yao’s first 100 days as the vice general of the nie sect. he learns how to be safe and the nie bros eagerly adopt him. lots of family content! 

FOR A GOOD OL’ CRY (bittersweet fics!!!)

to exist, in reaction by autoclaves. 6k, modern au, T, nielan with past xiyao. lan xichen learns to handle his grief of losing the husband he thought he knew thanks to the help of a plant shop, two cats, and the cute man who keeps coming into his shop. this made me tear up ;u;

tell me what I already know by daughterson. M, 9k, modern au, nielan with past xiyao. the entire series is AMAZING but this is the flagship fic and its honestly one of my favorites. lan xichen cheats on his husband nmj with one of the students at his university. he learns to deal with the fallout. it is heartbreaking and amazing and AAAGH JUST. AAGH!!!! LAN XICHEN AH LAN XICHEN!!!

to hoard promises that could sniff out the lie by Mayarene Rose. 3zun, 50k, T, pacrim au. please. my god. if you’re gonna read any fic on the list, read this one. i don’t know shit about pacific rim and i loved this. it cycles between their povs and it is AMAZING. it GETS the 3zun dynamic so well. im choked up thinking about it. the epitome of “they’re in love and it wasn’t enough.” 

favor by venndaai. T, 30k, focus is xiyao but 3zun is important too, hunger games au. WIP!!! this makes me SO emotional. meng yao volunteers in nie huaisang’s place and meets lan xichen in the games. im miserable over this. the prose is gorgeous and i don’t know where it’s going but i am delighted to see where! 

MY LOVE IS THE KILLING KIND (BAD END FICS)

the ruins left inside of you by aroceu. M, 26k, canon divergent au. 3zun, focus on nieyao. technically a jennifers body au. this is one of my favorite 3zun fics of ALLLLLL time. its a GREAT character study of nmj and how a demon whose power you absorbed for your own and an evil spirit that you let corrupt your soul arent all that different in the end, huh!!! the ending is so tasty. my god. i love this one.

Cry a river, call it rain by rheawrites. 2.6k, E, modern au. jgy kidnaps xichen. that’s it. that’s the fic. i love it

qinghe triptych by bloodletter. E, 3 part series, canonverse mostly nieyao but part three is sangyao and mosang. 40k total. a three-part examination on the qinghe trio and a three-part breaking of my heart. each fic is gutting and beautifully written and UGHHHHHH I DONT HAVE THE WORDS I JUST WANNA WAILLLLLL

there is the way the air feels by nenyanaryavilya. 9k, xiyao, modern au. E jgy visits lan xichen in his big lonely manhattan apartment. some FUCKED UP xiyao vibes that i love a lot, thanks. 

The Mountain Stood So Large by esperra. 16k, M, canonverse. very 3zun.  two weeks before nmj’s death, lxc and jgy take him on a night hunt. what follows is some light horror, a lot of hallucinations, and a character study on what it feels like to be unable to trust your own mind. 

Obligation by ilgaksu. 53k, rated M, 3zun at different points. canonverse. WIP. ON HIATUS a CUTTING jgy pov fic. non-linear timeline, but cuts across different points of canon. jgy is just a fucked up little man and it’s delightful to read. the prose is UTTERLY beautiful.

GETTIN DOWN WITH 3P (you can extrapolate what that means for urself)

Past Tense, Present Perfect by nonplussed. canonverse, around sunshot...? kind of a fix it fic. 6k, E. 3zun. 3zun get down to some fun roleplay and learn how to communicate with each other along the way! there’s a lot of fun identity stuff with this one. i am a sucker for dom jgy

softly by isozyme. E, 3.5k, canonverse. nieyao. jgy breaks nmj’s d*** for fun and profit. they’re so in love. that doesn’t make anything better. the vibes are terrible and i love it so much

études (in a minor key) by bigspoonnoya. E, 9k, modern au, xiyao with past (?) nieyao. jgy shows up on a repressed lan xichen’s doorstep one night saying that nmj broke up with him. lxc tries to comfort him and then he Comforts him ;) jgy is an absolute piece of shit here. i love it. the ending is GUT WRENCHING. part 3 of the series is also good!

half cloak & half dagger by fahye. 13k, E, canonverse. jgy and lxc are happily married but sometimes a gremlin has to scheme his way into a good bang, yknow???? its SO funny and the jgy pov is SO good

the notes on an old mistake by esperra. 26k, series. mostly nieyao but it turns into xiyao and 3zun. nmj and jgy are exes who end up sleeping together again... and again... and again..... if you love bad decisions you’ll love this series. jgy gets together with lan xichen and then ropes nmj into a terribly negotiated polycule.

ok thats all of them that i am brave enough to rec haha

[rae-arts777]

You guys need to just hear me out on this one ok.

Stripper Makoto AU

18+ content (like heavily mainly)

TW: sexual trauma

Conning people still wasn’t enough, he wasn’t that good at it, he really needed money somehow. He soon learned, people would paid just for a chance to look at his body.

He didn’t want to have sex with people for money, but if there was a way, to make lots of money by just looking sexy..that’s how he joined the industry

Vanilla Bean, made his way up in the stripping industry.

Men and women loved him. He had regulars who loved to pay him for his work. Life was good, money was good. He didn’t have to get too intimidate with people unless he wanted too. 

Things were going great, he joined the club at 21, and by 23 he was sitting comfortable on a stable income.

Things changed when new management took over the building.

The manger was…something else, a lot of Makoto’s collages got fired due to them not making a lot during their shows, not looking a certain way, or just …left.

The manger took a liking to Vanilla Bean, called him his special jewel. Makoto tried to ignore it, he could find a new club maybe, but he decided not to, not wanting to start over at a new work place.

Makoto’s new collages were also…something…soon the strip club turned into more of a sex club..Makoto made less and less each week, refusing stoop low, he didn’t want to have sex with his customers. Soon even his regulars started leaving him for other dancers when he denied them.

One week…he really need to bring home lots of cash that night…rent was due soon..he needed the money…he had sex with a customer and felt…like a sell out…he felt…disgusting..he didn’t want to have to start having sex for money..it was the last thing he promises himself he would not do in this industry…

After the session he went backstage and used the showers sobbing, washing at his skin until it turned red, he couldn’t wash the filth off.

When he finished he changed into his normal clothes ready to leave but was stopped by the manger. The manger praised him for finally “letting lose” and that “now he’s going to useful” groping Makoto’s ass with a smile “I knew my jewel wouldn’t let me down” he placed a kiss on Makoto’s cheek, and walked off.

Makoto shook in fear, now he understood why some of his old coworkers left..

Tomorrow tonight will be his last night….

He got there and got ready, he went on for his performance, but it wasn’t as good as his last ones, his head being in a weird phase.

After he walked around the club, staring at a wall when a customer would feel him up.

“Vanilla Bean, private room 5” he heard someone call to him.

Makoto gulped and went to the private room, he enter and found a blonde man sitting there. New customer. Foreigner?

“Hello sir..” he mumbled

“Vanilla bean?” The blonde man asked

Makoto nodded and walked towards him “name..?”

“Laurent.” The blonde man smiled

“Ok Laurent..” Makoto straddled him and started to roll his hips in front of Laurent, praying the blonde man wouldn’t ask for sex.

Laurent did nothing and let vanilla bean dance for him. “You’re beautiful.” He spoke

“Thank you..” not the first time someone said that, but it was mainly out of lust.

“I mean it.” Laurent brought his hands up “do i have permission to hold your hips”

Makoto was taken back, permission? “Oh..umm..sure..”

Laurent grabbed his hips gentle watching Vanilla Beans face, he felt the man flinch and his face shifting into uneasy, but trying to hide it “is this uncomfortable for you? Be honest, should I stop?”

Makoto looked up trying not to cry, crap he can’t cry, he can’t “please…let go…” he started to tremble

Laurent quickly let go, and shifted away.

Makoto sat on the couch next to him covering his face, he started sobbing. All the filth started to come back to him. He felt so gross.

Laurent handed him a handkerchief “it’s ok..let it out”

Makoto took it and wiped his eyes trying to calm down “I’m so sorry..! Please don’t tell my manger..! Please..!”

“Shhhhh…” Laurent cooed him “Makoto.”

“How do you know my name..?!” Makoto freaked out.

“It’s a long story, listen, I’m here to help ok? I need you to listen to me and not run out of this room screaming.”

Makoto looked at the door, he wanted to get out of there but…something told him to stay and listen “ok…”

“Your manger isnt who he says, he’s the head of a human trafficking ring. Half your coworkers who left were cause he shipped them off. Don’t worry, my team and I were able to locate them and help them to escape. All your new coworkers are part of his ring to, and tonight, you’re supposed to be shipped off to Thailand for someone who bought you. The “customers” here arent here for your dancing, they’re here to figure out who they want to buy. Like a brothel”

Makoto felt like he was going to be sick, he was sold off? Who…the man he had sex with the night before…wait why should he believe this man? This stranger? But he knows Makoto’s name, why would he lie?

“Makoto” Laurent grabbed his chin and made him look at him “you have two options. Believe me now and I get you out of here. Or, not believe me, but my team will still save you ok? So even if you chose not to believe me, I swear to you, we’re not letting you get sold off like a piece of property.”

“….I believe you…”

Laurent nodded and got up, offering an hand that Makoto took, and helped him up. He kissed Makoto’s hand “I’ll keep you safe I promise.”

“Okay…”

(Part 2…?)

[ikol-cosplay]

So, I’ve also had the goal to cosplay every Loki (ambitious I know) but even though I’ve been going at it since 2012 I’ve only gotten 3. My primary issue is finances. Do you have any tips for making and saving money for cosplay?

Ah I'm in a very priviledged position of still living at home and having my parents pay for most monthly expenses which means I can spend almost all my money on cosplays. Cosplays are definitely expensive. I have 2 small jobs (3 if you count art commissions) and I used to get more study financing than I needed so I used the rest on fun stuff (I'll still need to pay it back after my degree so yes I gave myself more debt lol). So while I can try to give some tips, it won't give anyone else the ability to create as many cosplays as I have because I've been very very lucky as well.

I can't really give tips on how to make money, that's just jobs and stuff...

As for saving money.. I usually spend it as soon as I get my paycheck 🙈

But here are some things that I do:

-research everything in advance so you can keep an eye on the materials you want and buy them during a sale (holidays usually)

-I ask for materials when people want to know what kind of birthday/xmas gifts I want (I've gotten buttons, paint, primer, worbla, fabrics, wigs, all kinds of stuff)

-re-use old clothes (not everything has to be accurate, sometimes dyeing or painting over an old shirt works just fine)

-I've sold other cosplays to fund new ones

-You don't have to buy expensive materials when an item not intended for cosplay works as well (for example, I didn't buy fake fur from an online shop, I bought a fluffy rug meant for decoration and cut it into the shape I needed)

-Now I personally like to use eva foam and worbla, but it's definitely not necessary for good armor and props. If you take the time to really get a smooth shape with paper mache then that can look awesome as well! A good primer works wonders. Definitely compare prices because some stores sell primers and paint for a lot less

-Maybe get fabrics from a market? I get lots of stuff from markets and use them to stock up on fabrics I know I'll need because I can ask for a discount

-If you can save up it often saves you money in the long run if you buy stuff in bulk (a bigger sheet of worbla is cheaper than two small ones)

-You don't need all kinds of expensive tools to make good cosplays, while they definitely help, you can work with scissors, glue and needle and thread. I've used a hairdryer for worbla and I only got myself a dremel and a wood burning tool recently. Hand sewing is very time consuming but it works.

-You could check if fabric stores have leftover fabrics, that's where I got the stuff I'll be using for my TVA jacket.

-Over time you can also build up a supply of leftover stuff yourself. I never throw away fabrics or worbla or bigger foam pieces. I've made cosplays from leftover stuff before, the president Loki waistcoat was made with EXACTLY the right amount of leftover fabric from my AoA sleeves. I made my Lady Loki scales from leftover fabric from my first AoA cosplay.

-I've also entered and won several cosplay competitions and used the prize money on new cosplays (if your cosplays arent your best work yet, you can often also win based on your act) But I understand stage fright is a thing

I hope this helps!

[gluestickcherrybum]

Ahoy there! I'm back with another study post °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

 So if you aren't aware already, me as well as various other study bloggers are notorious for writing aesthetically pleasing handwritten notes. Notes aren’t absolutely necessary if you prefer to do without.  A lot of my friends and acquaintances don’t bother with them and prefer to rely entirely on the lecture materials provided. I find that it helps me indefinitely in my studies and as a brief creative outlet which I rarely give myself the time for.

Why take Notes? 

Instead of printing the lecture materials given digitally, I've taken it to re-write the lecture notes a few days prior to the lecture. Some lecturers insist their students read the material to get a grasp of the topic before the lecture and this is taking it a few steps further.  They say writing something down is equivalent to reading it 7 times, meaning getting into memory this way is so much more efficient which is one of the biggest reasons I insisted myself handwrite my notes. Also writing your own notes is totally customisable to your needs, do you prefer mind maps or lists? Infographics or paragraphs? Minimalistic or colourful? It's all up to you.

Why I personally take notes

Different plants have different needs. Some need to be watered daily, some twice a day and some every other day. Some thrive in nutrient-rich soil and some prefer to sit in dry sand. Just like plants, each individual student has different needs and circumstances to thrive. For me, since I have a relatively low attention span and am a relatively slow learner, I needed the head start of reading topics beforehand to catch on with the rest. To me, with proper preparation for lectures, attending the lecture is like filling in the missing puzzle pieces. At least it should be. Also, I'm more of a visual learner, so if you're like me, then well structured, colourful and easy to read notes are not only more appealing but really help me in my studies and help me grasp topics a lot faster.

SUPPLIES

Probably the part where everyone is pumped for but I'll to simplify as well as be in-depth as possible.

Basically, you need paper and a pen. Need some colours? get some highlighters or coloured pens. Some people usually go one or the other but you can benefit from using both systematically. 

What I look for in my preferred paper:

Thicker paper (120gsm) because I use markers and pens that bleed through anything less and I like my paper sturdy because I heavily reference my notes and I don't want them to get worn out as quickly (i want to actually try to use thinner paper and be gentler but not sure how much I can commit to it  o(╥﹏╥)o).

Smoother paper is good if you use felt tips so they don't get damaged that quickly.

Line spacing. Its a waste of space and paper if you have small handwriting but largely spaced outlines. Not easy to find though.

Line colour. I prefer lighter lines such as light grey if possible, it just looks tidier that my writing contrasts more than with jet black lines.

Recycled or sustainably made paper. Because environment. Trees happy. Duh.

At the moment I'm a fan of loose-leaf paper because I'm not a fan of wasting notebook paper at the back (plus its even harder to get the paper features I want in notebooks unless I'm lucky) but if I were to succumb to using notebooks, I would definitely prefer thread-bound or hand-sewn over spring bound just because I think metal springs are annoying and if they're plastic, they aren't recyclable. You know me.

In conclusion, it's hard to find test pad with all of these features, you can consider printing your own notepaper if you're as picky as I am but you do you. If you can only afford flimsy see-through paper, that's alright. But make sure your supplies are appropriate for them as most of the supplies I use will bleed even on regular paper

Pens

Don't bother going all out and using fine liners or drawing pens to write notes. Get practical. Pick your poison. Smooth gel pens or dry ballpoint? Ergonomic or Budget-friendly? Disposable or refillable? My only guideline is to make sure they have waterproof ink because in any case, you need to send in an assignment last minute and have to rush through the rain without a folder you definitely want your writing to be at least legible if anything. (yes I learned this the hard way, yes illegible work will cost you a lot of marks. don't make my mistake ｡：ﾟ(｡ﾉω＼｡)ﾟ･｡

 Also. Black or Blue? Studies show that writing in blue improves memory collection but black is the more neutral aesthetic. What do I do? I use black as my main colour and write keywords and important facts in blue to take advantage of its memory-enhancing properties.

My current preference: Zebra Sarasa Clip (because its made of 75% recycled plastic and is a good quality pen) with Pentel Energel refill (gel ink that dries quickly. that's all I need)

Budget-Friendly: There are good quality pen sets at the ECO shop (Malaysian dollar store) or buy disposable pens in bulk at any book store. Trust me, it saves a lot more than buying a brand new 80 cent pen every now and again. (Also including the cost of transportation to the store because when you live independently, every cent matters) It's not exactly environmentally friendly but hey, anything to cut the cost right?

Zero Waste option: Fountain Pen with a converter (not the cartridges) and glass bottles of ink refill. Yes, it sounds daunting but its zero waste if that's your cup of tea. You don't have to go all out and buy an expensive luxury fountain pen made of stainless steel, or go fancy and get a flexible nib. If you ask me, I have my eyes set on the pilot kakuno fountain pen, its simple, aesthetic and highly recommended for beginners (although not plastic-free its made out of 85% recycled plastic which is cool since I'm hoping to make a one time purchase, I won't mind it being made from plastic but that just my taste)

Coloured Pens

So I haven't been a fan of using coloured pens for a while but ill tell you I'm currently using a cheap set of coloured gel pens from Kaison just because they have cute patterns but the ink flow isn't that smooth so I should've bought something more practical. The ultimate budget-friendly option which is not only cheap but long-lasting and good quality, and ones that I’d recommend for anyone is the Papermate Kilometrico ballpoint coloured pens. So far I only know they come in five colours but they've been my favourite for years. Most people I know that disagree with me usually don't like the colour range or arent a fan of dry ink but if you aren't that picky and looking for a reliable option they're a good option, plus if you're using cheap paper, they won't bleed or anything so that's cool.

Highlighters

I love pastel highlighters. Its soft, cute, aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and some colours are better at actually highlighting words rather than their neon counterparts like green and purple. Although not the cheapest option, I doubt ill ever go back to neon highlighters ever and ill only be recommending pastel highlighters thanks.

My current preference: I'm currently using Monami Pastel Highlighters just because they were on sale with comparable prices to unbranded cheap pastel highlighters. I will never recommend commonly branded highlighters like Stabilo Boss or Zebra Mildliners because the extra pennies just aren't worth it since the unbranded kind has lived up to my standards. (also I haven't tried those branded highlighters mind you but I doubt I'm missing out on anything)

Budget-Friendly option: While Zebra Mildliners are being sold at RM5 for one and RM25 for a set, Mr DIY sells knockoff brand "BEIFA" for RM7 for a set of six which is a pretty good deal if you ask me (also there are double-sided ones with a bullet and chisel tips if you thought mildliners were the only option with those features). I've also found some rare gems, unbranded pastel highlighters hidden in common bookstores for an even cheaper price, but they're really hard to find unless the pastel highlighter trend decides to catch on. I digress.

Zero Waste option: I heard about highlighter pencils, just wooden pencils with neon colour pigments, but why get trendy when you can use any old wooden colouring pencils lying around? I don't think ill give up plastic highlighters for wooden pencils despite being a strong environmentalism advocate but there are a few options for highlighters made from recycled plastic but they either don't come in pastel colours or too pricey for my taste (yes I'm a cheapskate for crud sake)

Extras

These other things aren't exactly necessary but they add little flourishes and/or aid you in your note-taking. Not exactly an extra investment but its completely up to you

Sticky notes (or coloured memo pads) for extra notes, diagrams or equations which I like for them to stand out a bit. (Pastel over neon of course)

Washi tape to divide subchapters (but a highlighter streak does the job)

Correction tape because never will I ever use correction fluid mind you

Brush pens for headers (completely unnecessary but I don't have any other outlet to practice brush lettering so.) Recommendations: Artline Stix (chunky but super cheap, marker type not for thin paper), Pentel Fude Touch (great for beginners, small and practical, 83% recycled plastic, but will bleed on regular paper)

Alternatively, a regular black felt tip marker just to make the title stand out is good enough.

NOTE TAKING TECHNIQUES

An underrated note-taking method is the Cornell method which is frankly a systematic way to write notes in which you divide the paper into 4 sections, a place for title and date and stuff, the main body for notes, extended side margin for extra info/lecture comments/questions/subtitles and bottom quarter reserved for a summary of the notes. Some people modify this technique by omitting the summary section, depending on your needs.

Bullet points and indents. This is pretty self-explanatory, but it's pretty much notes that aren't chunky paragraphs. Easier to read, easier to register information, easier to skim through. You get the gist of it.

Highlighting system. Some people go all out with their highlighting system and designate colours to certain things such as green for vocab, orange for equations, blue for subtopics. etc. You can try this out if you want, but for me, the plethora of colour is quite distracting and not that aesthetically pleasing, but you do you.

BREAKING DOWN MY METHOD OF NOTE TAKING

My priorities to note-taking are: Easy to read, simple, decluttered and visually pleasing. For colours, I mainly use up to 4. Black pen for the main information, blue pen for keywords (or any coloured pen that matches the highlighter), one or two highlighters as a colour theme and matching sticky notes for extra info, diagrams or equations.

I assign a whole chapter to a specific colour theme, first assigning a certain highlighter colour to the first six chapters, if there are more than six chapters, I use 2 accent colours just to shake it up a bit. This makes it easier to differentiate the chapters when flipping through your notes.

So its, hand-lettered title (i do my lettering quite quickly, mind you) or all caps title in black marker. Mini banner doodle for subtitles (a simple box with a drop shadow works just fine), contrasting coloured keywords (or underlined) and highlighters just for accents like dividing subtitles or drawing boxes for extra info (that or sticky notes). I don't simplify my lecture notes, rather rewriting them in a more orderly manner and leaving a good amount of extra space here and there (or an extended margin if I use Cornell) for extra lecture notes. Also, I highlight whatever notes that my lecturer would point out as important or worth remembering. And that's pretty much it. After the lecture, I then know which parts of the notes were more vital and can then simplify those key points into flashcards which ill discuss in a different post.

Thanks for reading, I know my posts are pretty long but that's the way I like them, long but in depth. As usual, if you would like me to cover any specific topics, feel free to message me or give feedback. I hope to be able to write 2 or 3 articles a month if I can but until then, have a nice day. Study smart peeps. 

ヾ(@°▽°@)ノ 

[isaspsp]

Dream Log:

Okay, it's dream time.

Let's just say this dream was chaotic as fuck, so I'm gonna focus on the very tail end of it.

Basically I work at a fast food place (my mom owns it) me and a bunch of people (like 30 people or so) work there. We are all witches (it isn't established if everyone else is also a witch, if people know we are witches, or if we have to hide it). My witch ability is duplication. I can copy and duplicate anything.

We then start in the kitchen. We are preparing smol little churros for a flash sale (these churros are like two unches AT MOST), and we have these special sauces that well dip the churros in. After we get everything ready we go to the front of the counter. We start screaming at the people about the churros (there are so many people already there) and we like, throw some in the air (no sauce) and the people who catch it find it delicious. BUT THEN we throw some dipped in the sauce, and people go ape shit (note, these things have technically just gone through boiling oil, so idk how they were able to get it).

As people are crazy to get some, they form a line in front of the counter. Despite there being so many people working there, and me and one other person are takeing care of the churros influx. The process is: asking how many the person wants, dipping the churro in salt, then in the sauce, and putting it in a lil basket, get money (each churro piece was separately sold), next. By this point the churros arent churros anymore, they are fried potatoes, we are still treating them as churros tho.

I do a few people's orders and even though the other person who was supposed to be taking orders along with me DISAPPEARED, I'm doing fairly well. Then get this. I call up the next person. He all nervously asks for the following: A FULLY FUNCTIONING GAME OF CONNECT FOUR MADE OF CHURROS. I stare at him. I am in shock. There are so many fucking people in the line. BUT APPARENTLY I CAN'T TURN IT DOWN, OR IDK ASK FOR HIM TO CALL US FOR AN SPECIAL ORDER, NO I GOTTA DO IT ON THE SPOT. So I say to him: I've never played connect four, I don't even know how many pieces there'd be! I guess 32 (if that was of each color or in total, idk) as the guy guessed 34... i get to work.

We were already low key running out of churros even before this guy arrived, but now FOR SURE I won't have enough fo this order, or any that come after. So I quickly close the curtain in from the counter (apparently that meant the store was temporarily closed, as such turns off all the lights) and go to the kitchen. EVERYONE IS GONE. Not a single soul, and I realize I also didn't see anyone on my way there. FUCK. WHAT AM I GONNA DO? I then resort to my duplication, and desperately start duplicating the already cold churros I have. After I duplicate a stupid amount of churros, which were only about half what I needed, I shove them into the microwave to warm them up. As I'm waiting in front of the microwave my mom appears. She tells me: The restaurant has been attacked. We had some vandalism going on so we had to evacuate everyone/everyone went to take care of it (remeber all the poeple in the restaurant are witches). I am mad as all hell, but don't get an answer as to why *I* wasn't informed that we were under attack. I take the churros back to the front and start working on the connect four game again. I then wake up. Real mad.

[l-sincline]

Girlish Whimsy Chapter 11

AO3 Link

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AO3 tags: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, Ootori Kyouya/Original Female Character(s), Ootori Kyouya, Suoh Tamaki, Original Characters, Original Female Characters, Morinozuka Takashi, Haninozuka Mitsukuni, Fujioka Haruhi, Hitachiin Hikaru, Hitachiin Kaoru, Slow Burn, Acquaintances to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, smart people that arent smart about romance, Oblivious, Battle of Wits, Ouran High is one giant social chess game

Asuka has her eyes on the prize as soon as she steps foot on Ouran High School grounds. Her goal? Impress her father enough to convince him to let her remain as heir to the company instead of handing the title down to her younger brother. She knows going to school at Ouran will be one big chess game, especially coming in late at her second year- but she’s up for any challenge.

Asuka finds herself intrigued by the Host club and the inner workings of it. More than that, she sees untapped opportunities to grow her resume. Now all she needs is a partner on the inside who’s equally as motivated, and he was easier to find than she thought.

Mayu had been a little mopey with her the next day, but her friend was easily brought back to life by tales of her interactions with Tamaki and how kind he’d been. Once she had been done cheering up Mayu, Asuka had weaved through desks to reach Kyouya towards the front of the room and hand him a manilla folder. 

“I kept the script, but the contract is there, signed.” She spoke quietly, but not quietly enough for anyone to question what they were talking about. She knew her own ears would be perked at some hushed whispers.

“No issues?” 

“No. Everything seemed in line.” 

“Great. I have Honey and Mori set up to talk to you after club hours today.”

“Honey and…?” She drifted off, he quirked a brow, “Oh. Haninozuka and Morinozuka?” 

Kyouya nodded.

“I see then. Thanks.” 

Kyouya shrugged. They were silent for a moment before Asuka turned and headed back to her desk. Awkward. 

She did not know that that would definitely not be the most awkward interaction she had that day. 

-

This was the first time she’d really seen one of these… themed days. A part of her thought this had to be Kyouya’s doing as an attempt to bring in more money, but the concept overall reeked of some ridiculous Tamaki scheme. 

Lots of tears today… She noted, tapping her pen on her bottom lip as she glanced up from her notebook. Somewhere across the room Tamaki seemed to weep into one of the girl's arms. The twins were in a similar predicament between themselves. At least Haruhi seemed as confused as she was. 

On the table in front of her, her notebook had really turned into a sketchbook. She’d tried to get into the designs for Haninozuka and Morinozuka early today, but wasn’t quite sold on what their pieces should be yet. 

On one page, matching bracelets. Then, those concepts turned into just one bracelet with two charms. Then she separated them again and drew two necklaces. Then… friendship necklaces? But that was too tacky. Asuka chewed at her bottom lip and tapped the pen aggressively against the page. Having to wait through club hours was starting to be a little pain staking. Maybe she was more impatient than she thought. 

“Your current posture really doesn’t fit the ‘zen’ image we’re going for today.” A saucer and teacup was set lightly on the table. 

Asuka shook herself from her concentrated state and set the pen down, looking up at Kyouya.

“Well I’m a guest, not a worker. I’ll do what I please. Customers are always right– isn’t that how it goes?” She challenged.

“I give you free tea when you’re here and you have a contractual obligation to the club. I’d hardly call that being a customer at this point.” A small, but typically sly smile made its way to his face as he looked off in thought, “Maybe glorified set dressing. Should I get you a costume as well?” 

Asuka groaned and rolled her eyes , “No, that's quite alright. I think you all have it covered.” 

Suddenly, loud commotion from the door. 

Kyouya turned as Asuka leaned forward to glance around him. The twins, Tamaki, and… a girl she hadn’t seen before all huddled by the door. The twins seemed rather amused by Tamaki’s sudden outburst of pain, Asuka’s ears perked trying to make out what exactly the mystery girl was yelling at Tamaki. 

Kyouya had already started moving towards the door, but Asuka found herself curious. If she had a contractual obligation to be at the club, she figured she should be allowed to get a closer look at what exactly was going on– right? Surely this aided jewelry research somehow. 

She shut her notebook and held it by her side as she made her way over as well, the girl’s voice slowly becoming more clear until,

“...my one and only prince charming!”

It was impossible for Asuka not to laugh. 

-

Personally, Asuka thought the speed at which she had clapped a hand over her mouth and stopped herself from laughing had been appropriately quick. The girl– Renge, she had learned– did not think the same. 

She was the next to receive Renge’s wrath, and now she was stuck here listening to this absolute trash fire of a conversation. She was shocked by how horribly this day had gone in terms of normalcy. In fact, Asuka believed that if someone pinched her right this moment, she’d probably wake up. 

“Otaku…” She found herself echoing some of the other Host’s cries of disbelief, letting out a deep sigh. 

Renge had seemed to ignore the sounds of disdain and disbelief from the rest of the group and fallen back into her own delusional world.

“She’s so in love with this character she must’ve deluded herself into thinking we’re engaged…” Kyouya seemed to speak out loud in that moment, “We must look similar somehow.” 

“So she’s not really your fiancee?” Tamaki asked, hopeful.

“Well, no. I’ve never met her before in my life. I’ve certainly never asked her to marry me.” 

Asuka was once again stuck wondering why she was still here as Renge seemed to finally come back to the real world– did Renge see making her sit through this impromptu meeting as some sort of divine punishment for laughing at her earlier?

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll be the manager of the host club!” Renge suddenly declared, “I’ll make this place even better– you’ll see!” 

“Kyouya…” Tamaki whined.

“The Houshakuji’s are very important Ootori family clients. So please just play along and do your best not to offend her, alright?” 

At this point Asuka had had enough and stood, brushing out the wrinkles that had formed while sitting for too long. She leaned down and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. 

“Well, if that's quite all, I think I’ll be going.” She pushed some hair behind her ear, “I’ll just reschedule the interview for another day.” 

“Wait!” Renge cried, stomping a foot up on the small coffee table between them. Asuka jumped slightly in surprise, “You have a very important task and you haven’t even heard about it yet!”

Asuka laughed slightly, “With all due respect, I’m Host Club ‘set dressing’,” She threw up air quotes, “not really a member or anything. So, there should be nothing you require of me. Anyways-” Asuka moved to leave again when Renge grabbed her wrist.

“No! You’re the oldest daughter of the Kaneko family. You thought I wouldn’t recognize you?”

Well, I certainly didn’t recognize you… Asuka thought to herself, but settled with a simple shake of the head.

“You must make Kyouya and I’s wedding rings! I’m sure you’re the only one for the job.”

Asuka scoffed and opened her mouth, but was interrupted by a loud cough behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Kyouya, arms crossed, face fashioned by a very fake smile. He purposefully mouthed, ‘contract’ and Asuka turned back around quickly. 

“Uh… yeah. Sounds great. I’ll start drawing up the plans.” 

“Wonderful!” Renge finally let go of her iron grip on Asuka’s wrist and cheered. 

As soon as she was free, Asuka booked it out of Music Room 3 as quickly as possible. A part of her felt a deep-seated remorse for the boys that would now have to deal with their new lady manager, but then she reminded herself that she’d be dealing with Renge too– that remorse turned into self-pity. 

[dontyoudarejudgemesworld]

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far Chapter Four: The Girdle Rule

Alright, so first off this one maybe a bit on the rough side as far as editing goes. My back up beta flaked on me and there was a whole slue of issues with even getting this to be able to post it (say it with me computer problems suck). Anyways this is a very Billie-centric chapter giving a bit more insight to her as a person and why she is the way she is. It's also 6.643 words about 85% of which is rather angsty. And while there arent any real graphic descriptions there are underlying themes of drug use, OD, death, grief, childhood trauma, abandonment issues, and violence. So you know be aware of that.

Also as a heads up the next chapter will land in the series bringing Dipper and Mable into play and really taking the first step toward the real meat of the story. So that's something to look forward too. Other then that if you read this likes comments are always appreciated.

As always this is posted on AO3 and you can read it there by clicking here. 

And with that I scream yet another chapter into the void

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January 2011

Billie sighed as she walked through the mall, it was almost deserted, the snow that fell lazily outside enough to deter all but the most determined of shoppers and teenagers. Pulling her phone out of her pocket she looked at the screen for the millionth time, even though she knew it was useless; Stan didn’t own a cell so when he got the messages she’d left on the answering machine he would call her. Still, she was restless, she didn’t even know what she was doing here. She’s just been up a few weeks ago to throw Stan’s Christmas gift at him and spend a few days getting a crash course on Hanukkah since it turned out the Pines were Jewish. It had been nice to spend an actual holiday with someone, but after she’d left to head down to California for a job everything had gone to hell.

She'd met with the client and decided  to pass on the job. While she wasn't one to pass up a job simply because the employer was obviously less than upstanding, she was one who listened to her gut. And her gut had screamed danger in big red letters with flashing lights and sirens. So she'd politely declined and the soft-spoken man who'd offered her the job had been less than pleased. After trying to throw more money at her only for her to insist she wasn't interested, he'd changed tactics to one of intimidation.  Four hours later after being roughed up a bit by his 'bodyguard' they'd parted ways with the understanding that she'd never met him and would forget his face, and he'd return the favor. It wasn't the first time that sort of thing had happened, but that didn't make her ribs any less sore. After that, she'd decided that it might be better to head out the next town to find another job. And then...

"God damn it, Stan, it's the off-season what could you possibly be doing?" she growled her finger hovering over the screen as she considered calling him again, before shoving the device back into her pocket. She'd already left four messages telling him that she was suddenly in town and asking if she could crash at the Shack,  if she left another he might start worrying. And he didn't need to worry, there was nothing wrong, she'd just decided to come up this way.

In fact, it was stupid she'd even bothered him, she should just call him back and tell him never mind. It wasn’t like she really needed to see him, or she wanted the strange comfort his presence gave her. No, it wasn’t that she wanted someone to tell her that it was all going to be okay. Or that she needed someone to tell her she was wanted. She really should just keep moving. Seattle was close and she had a few repeat clients there she could check in with. Yeah, she would do that.

"... said move on creep. We aren't interested," came a familiar voice sharp with anger and a hint of fear. Her head snapping up her eyes found a group of three men in their twenties crowded around someone besides a hallway over which the word 'Restrooms' was stenciled. They looked a bit rough, and even though she didn't claim to know everyone in the town she could tell they weren't locals. Glancing past them, she found the voice she had recognized; Wendy stood in front of her goth friend defiantly glaring daggers at the men.

"Oh come on. We just want to have some fun. Why don’t you show us around? You two would love to do that, right," the biggest one pressed in a friendly tone as he took a step towards the girls causing Wendy's face to waver as her friend shrink back in an effort to hide behind the redhead. He looked like he just walked out of a James Dean look-alike shoot and just radiated sleaze.

"Yeah, we're new in town. Show us around," one of the others chimed in with a predatory grin.

"We said beat it," Wendy growled, though a slight crack in her voice took some of the venom out and seemed to encourage the men who took a step towards them.

"Hey, fuck face the girl said beat it,"  Billie snapped as she traveled the distance between them in a dozen steps to place herself in front of the two girls much to the surprise of everyone, "So you best be movin' on,"  she snarled her shoulders squaring and fists clenching. While she would never have hesitated to step into such a situation no matter who it was, the fact that the assholes had picked Wendy pissed her off to no end.

"Who the hell are you?" one of them demanded a scowl on his face as he took half a step forward in an effort to intimidate her. Behind her she felt Wendy and the other girl shift as they pressed into her to hide. Letting out a soft growl she leveled her gaze on the one who'd spoken her features unreadable and eye cold as ice.  

"You feelin' froggy, boy?" she asked calmly, "Go ahead, I'll tan your hides gladly," she said with a slight laugh that just screamed unstable. The men hesitated as they looked at each other, before the leader smiled at her, raising his hands in surrender.

"It's cool," he assured her, "Come on guys," he said as he turned and walked away. The other two hesitated before they followed him and Billie glared at them as they headed out the nearest exit. Shame, she really wanted to hit someone today. Rolling her shoulders, she turned to Wendy and her friend, Tammy she thought, flashing them a smile.

"Y'all alright?" she asked and Wendy smiled as she let out a breath she'd been holding.

"Yeah, thanks man," the teenager said as she stepped back, her friend nodding from behind her phone. The older woman nodded and the two stood in silence for a minute as Billie looked her over. Despite the girl's easy going tone and relaxed posture it didn't take a genius to see she was a little shaken up, making Billie wonder just how strong those assholes had come on.

"Alright, but for my own piece ah' mind, let me get y'all home," she said, choosing to pretend she didn't see relief flash across the redhead's face.

"My Dad's picking us up in like a half an hour, but if you need to hang around, that's cool," Wendy told her, "I didn't know you were back in town again. Soos normally texts me when you show up."

"Yeah, not stayin' though. Just passing through to Seattle. Needed a new pair of gloves," she lied smoothly, "Was just picking them up 'fore heading out. Good thing I did."

"Wait, you aren't gonna go see Stan?" Wendy asked in surprise.

"Naw, he hasn't called me back, and I don't wanna just drop in unannounced. Lord knows what Stan's doing. Probably sitting around watching those historical dramas he pretends he don't, but you never know," Billie replied, rolling her shoulders as she looked around. Wendy's face pulled into a confused look. She like Billie, sure she was a bit rough around the edges, but she was cool. Aside from the fact that she was more than willing to help her skip out early sometimes, she had almost the same kind of salty charm Stan did. Though Stan was charming in a gruff kind of way where as Billie had a sarcastic kind of charm... she was pretty sure it was the southern accent that sold it. But there was something off about the woman today.

"You okay?" she asked, earning another charming smile.

"Finer than a frog hair split four ways, darlin'," she assured the girl, "It's been a long drive. Sometimes the glamorous lifestyle of a PI gets tiring," she said with a soft laugh. Wendy stared at her for a moment with her eyes slitted, that was bullshit and they both knew it. But before Wendy could call her on it her phone buzzed and she pulled it out to look at.

"Dad's here Tambry," she said and the goth girl nodded, "Thanks again Billie."

"I'll walk with you, darlin'. I was on my way out anyway," she said smoothly as she turned to lead the way out. Wendy just shrugged, knowing it was better than protesting. Soon enough, they were outside Dan's truck idling right by the doors.

"See yuh Billie," Wendy said as she pulled open the door, letting Tambry climb in first which she managed without ever looking up from her phone.

"Have a good evenin' girls. Stay out of trouble," the older woman  replied, glancing past her to Dan, whose brows were furrowed in confusion at her presence. Flashing him a smile she lifted her hand flashing him a six fingered wave, "Hey Dan," she said as she kept walking heading out to the parking lot and her bike.

"Billie," he rasped automatically in greeting as his daughter climbed in closing the door behind her, "What was that about?" he asked.

"Oh some creeps were hassling us and Billie scared them off," she told him calmly. Dan's eyes narrowed slightly at her words over protective feelings surging at the idea of someone messing with his daughter.

"Creeps?" he repeated, "Who?"

"Dad be cool, it's fine. I could have handled it, and besides Bille took care of it," the teenager sighed settling back in her seat. He considered pushing the issue but decided against it. Instead, he made a mental note to ask Billie about it when he saw her at the bar next.

"Seat belts," he boomed and Wendy rolled her eyes as she buckled up Tambry affirming she already had.

~*~

Billie slouched against the bar moodily working on her fifth beer. She’d been planning on just going out to Seattle. After all, if she kept moving she didn't have to think about anything besides keeping her bike on the road and away from cars. The snow storm, however, had different plans, in town it was a steady drifting fall but once she hit the base of the mountain it had turned into a full blown white out. And as self destructive as she could be she wasn't insane. So she'd landed at the Skull Fracture drinking away the last month. It was a quiet night no one but a few regulars; Bats and Cat (so named for his tattoos) were playing pool in the corner growling threats loudly at each other. Chin lounged at the table beside the door to check IDs if someone happened to venture in, and rowdy laughter drifted over from a few of the Scacr-O-Dacyles who sat BSing in the corner. She'd been invited to join Bats and Cat but had declined. For all the buzz about the place in town she actually liked it. While it could certainly get rowdy and fights were a dime a dozen on Saturday nights the regulars were good guys. She'd  brawled with most of them at some point or another in the last year and a half but after they always wound up laughing and drinking together. Good guys if a bit rough.

Still tonight was quiet which didn't do her much good. Billie had hoped to take her mind off her trip back to Georgia, but only managed to dwell on it. Groaning she shoved a hand through her hair as she took another drink.

"Ugh, how the hell did I get stuck with you?" she growled at her glass her mind drifting to the urn in her saddle bag, "An' what the hell am I supose ta do with yuh now?" she muttered. The call had come in when she'd been on her way to LA; Mary's parole office had found her with a needle in her arm. Billie had wished she was shocked at the news, but she wasn't. Her mother had been an addict in the truest sense, sure she got clean here and there but she always went back. The last time Billie had talked to her was a few years ago when she'd been 'born again', for the third time by Billie’s count. Billie had given her a chance though, told Mary if she stayed clean for six months she'd come visit. That visit hadn't happened. God had lost his appeal four months later. Two months longer then when she'd regained custody of Billie when she'd been 12 and four months sooner then when she'd invited Billie to see her baptized when she was twenty.

Still, Billie had been her listed next of kin, which meant her death had come a whole heap of problems. The woman's older children didn't even speak to her so all the debts, apartment, and arrangements had been left to her youngest. And while Billie had considered telling them to donate her to science and give away all her shit, she couldn't do that to her. As angry as she was there was still a small part of her that remembered eating ice cream at midnight and making blanket forts with her Mom when she was between benders. So for the first time in eight years Billie had gone back, and now she wished she hadn't.

She hadn't had a service or anything instead choosing to have her mother cremated, and after looking through the sad little apartment her mother had for anything of value she'd donated what she could and had a service come clean up the rest. The landlord had been a man so sleazy her skin had crawled and it took every ounce of self restraint she had not to punch him in his face when he'd demanded next months rent and the costs of repairs over the security deposit. Credit cards, pay day loans, and a court fees had run her a pretty penny but she'd made sure they were all taken care of.

And that had been the easy part. She'd also taken the time to call all five of her siblings to let them know; Vernon and Ivy hadn't even picked up, Emma May had hung up on her, and Jesse had laughed over the sounds of his girlfriend demanding to know who 'the bitch on the phone' was. Only her eldest brother Bo had shown any kind of feeling, he’d sighed sadly and asked if she needed help, though she knew his heart wasn't in it. He'd asked out of obligation, he was 11 years older then her and the first born so she knew he felt like he should be the one taking care of it. She'd assured him that she had handled everything, asked the obligatory 'how's the family's, answered his standard 'still doing the gypsy detective thing', and given the standard staying in touch niceties. Bo was a good guy, and honestly they were the only ones that ever spoke with each other even if it was only once every five years or so. Honestly, none of them had anything in common beside having been brought into the world by Mary. And after being separated in the system they had gone on to live their lives trying their best to find some sort of normality.

"Hey!" came a raspy voice pulling her from her internal brooding causing her to blink as she looked over to find Dan towering over her. Blinking again she flashed a smile up at him as she straightened up swiveling the bar stool to face him.

"Oh evenin' Dan," she drawled lazily as she glanced around him finding his perpetual shadow behind him, "Tyler you're in actual jeans...it must really be cold," she told the smaller man with a grin.

"Billie Jean! I didn't expect to see you again so soon. You finally deciding to move here?" he asked cheerfully causing her to laugh. She really liked the flamboyant little man, when he'd first met her he'd squealed in delight asking excitedly if her middle name was Jean. When she'd confirmed that it actually was she had thought he might explode with excitement insisting on calling her Billie Jean, something she hadn't been called since high school.

"Naw sug. Though if I ever decide to settle down this place is in the top contenders," she assured him finishing her beer, "What are you buys up to tonight?" she asked and Tyler laughed happily.

"I should hope so. It's a great place. I convinced Dan to play some pool. Wanna join?" he asked eagerly.

"Naw, I'm beat. Maybe next time," she told him and he nodded before bouncing off to call the table next and eagerly cheer both Bats and Cat on. Chuckling she stretched running her fingers through her hair again as she realized she was feeling the beers more then she'd thought, before looking up at Dan who still loomed over her. Raising a brow she cocked her head looking up at him. She liked Dan as much as Tyler, though he came off as a meat head with too much testosterone and shoulder hair he was actually a lot brighter then most people gave him credit for.

Sure he absolutely fit the name Manly to a tee, and took shit from no one, but shed had more then a few intelligent conversations with him. From the value of reforesting in the logging industry to him telling her that the weird rattle she kept hearing was the Hide Behind, she'd found him rather engaging even if he did deliver his points in a booming raspy voice that could blow out your ear drums. Plus, it was pretty endearing the way he watched out for Tyler.

Apparently, they'd been best friends since elementary school, and Dan really loved the enthusiasm enthusiast. She'd even seen him play wing man for his fabulous friend which had been priceless. She’d sat by and watch Dan distract a middle aged woman who had been all but begging him to take her home so Tyler could chat up her friend, a cute red headed bear of a man...obviously he had type. But what she liked best was he seemed like he was a good Dad; hanging out at the bar was something he did when all the kids were off somewhere safe and sound, and even then he never seemed to get good and drunk just in case he needed to switch into Dad mode. Something she could appreciate, and she guessed that had something to with him towering over her at the moment.

"I wasn't corrupting your daughter. Scout's honor,"  she told him raising two fingers.

"I know, she told me," he growled and she smiled wondering what it was then, "She said some guys were hassling them. Who?" he demanded and she chuckled. There it was, he wanted to know who he was hunting down.

"I dunno I didn't recognize them. Some James Dean wanna bes in leather jackets. They'd cornered them and were trying to get them to ‘show them around town’," she told him as she signaled for another beer, "She was holding her ground but she had...Tammy?" she hesitated trying to remember the goth girl's name.

"Tambry," he supplied and she nodded.

"Tambry hidin' behind her. They were pretty easy to scare off though. Still, I insisted on hanging around until you got 'em," she finished with a shrug as she caught the glass the bar tender sent sliding down to her, "If I see them again I'll let yuh know."

"Thanks," he said after a second, "For keeping an eye on Wendy that is. I know she can handle herself but...," he trailer off a bit awkwardly and she gave him an understanding  smile.

"'Course Dan," she said as Tyler shouted that they were up.

"Sure you don't wanna join?" he asked and she smiled shaking her head. Nodding, he turned and headed over to his friend. She watched him go out the corner of her eye. While she enjoyed Dan as a person she also enjoyed him as the world's biggest piece of eye candy too.  

Settling back against the bar she glared at her drink. It occurred to her that trying to drink away the feeling in her hadn't been the beat idea. While she wasn't drunk, she was certainly feeling it, and booze tended to make her short to begin with. But she had been out of pot for awhile and needed to do something. She knew that the mix of anger and sorrow was normal for grief, and she was self aware enough to know that she'd spent years repressing the complex emotions she had about Mary and that her death was trying to drag it all up again. But still she didn't want to deal with them now. She wanted to stuff them all deep inside and leave them there.

She didn’t want to wonder if she had forgiven her mother and spent more time with her if Mary would have cleaned up a bit. The question ‘Am I going to end up dead alone in some crappy apartment too?’ wasn’t one she wanted to ask herself. Facing the deep seated insecurity of not being a good enough daughter making Mary choose partying over her wasn’t a thing she wanted to do. Every time she’d angrily wished her mother dead, and all the nights she’d spent wondering if she was broken since even her own mother didn’t love her swirled around inside her. If only she had some kind of magic memory ray to erase it all...to delete everything to start fresh tomorrow with out all the damage she carried. Taking a drink she caught someone leaning against the bar next to her as well as movement behind her.

"Hey, you're the one who ruined our fun earlier," came a smooth voice. Setting her drink down she turned to find the James Dean wanna be staring down at her, and realized his two friends were now flanking her. Calmly she glanced at the other two before turning back to the leader who was looking down at her with a predatory grin.

"But I'll tell you what. Since we're such forgiving guys you can make it up to us. How about we have a few drinks and then you and us can see where the evening goes. Maybe find a way to keep us all warm," he leered and she realized he was staring down her shirt. Cocking a brow she wondered if this guy was for real, if he seriously thought she was going to take this. Looking him up and down as he leaned casually against the bar and looked like he owned the place it hit her. She was the only woman in a bar full of bikers and roughnecks, he and his friends assumed they were alphas in the situation. That because she was sitting alone in a room full of men who all oozed testosterone no one would object to them objectifying her. But man had they read the place wrong, while the regulars were certainly less then civilized by most standards none of them were animals when it came to women. Letting out a low chuckle she sat up cracking her neck as she stretched. Glancing at the two that flanked her she returned her gaze to James Dean and smirked.

"Yuh actually think that's gonna work on me?" she asked taking a drink, "Listen son, even if I wasn't already in a piss poor mood I wouldn't keep you or yur flunkies warm if we was six feet deep. Anyone who tries to scare girls into goin' with 'em ain't worth the shit on the bottom ah my shoe," she told them cause the men to shift angrily around her but she just smirked as she stood rolling her shoulders. Displeased with her dismissal of him the scumbag pressed forward almost touching her as the other ones crowded around her. He was using his height to force her to look up at him but she just smiled catching movement behind him, glancing past him she saw Chin has stood from his stool beside the door very aware of the situation. Raising her hand slightly she signaled she had this and he stilled not sitting down but trusting her for the moment.

"You got a smart mouth bitch. Maybe we should teach you how to use it," he threatened and she let out a bark of laughter in his face which only served to piss him off more. Good, she needed to blow off some steam.

"Oh bless yur heart, huh really don't realize how fucked you are do you?" she asked her tone dripping with southern condescending, "Maybe if you weren't so busy trying to intimidate women into yur bed y'all'd've realized you picked the wrong bar to do that in. In fact, y'all picked the wrong town, an' y'all certainty picked the wrong girl," she chuckled.

"Oh really?" he asked glancing sarcastically around, "Because there's three of us and you don't seem to have any friends. So why don't you think this through. We can have some fun and make nice," he offered and she laughed again causing his face to contort in frustration. It was clear he was use to women submitting to them...scumbag.

"Oh honey I got plenty a friends here. But no, I meant at the mall," she informed him raising her fingers to her lips and letting out a loud whistle causing the whole bar to fall silent. The dawning realization that they'd fucked up that was creeping into his face was priceless as she looked over her shoulder to Dan and Tyler who stood beside the pool table staring at her. The look on his face told her that he was already piecing together what was going on and she grinned.

"Hey Dan these are the assholes that were hassling Wendy," she called and the snap of the pool cue as his fist clenched around it sounded like a gun shot in the silence. All at once every pair of eyes turned to the men who surrounded her the hate tangible, before they all looked over to Dan. Well, actually they all turned to the little man beside Dan. Raising a brow Billie looked at Tyler who’s eyes narrowed in anger as he stared at the men around her.

“Get ‘em,” he said softly rendering his verdict to everyone. With those words what was going to happen became clear. Turning back to the scumbag towering over her she felt the acid grin splitting her face.

"Thanks hun. I've been lookin' ta hit something all day," she told him before snapping her hand up to the side of his head and slamming it viciously into the bar. And with that all hell broke loose.

Twenty minutes later Billie panted slightly as she watched the three assholes get rolled out the door. Blood dripped from a split on her forehead and she could feel her left eye swelling already. In the split second after she'd slammed James' head into the bar his two friends had jumped her landing solid hits to her face and chest and the world had gone red. After that it was a blur of fury and pain as she and Dan had beat the living hell out of them. She had taken out every ounce of rage she'd built up over the last month on the poor bastards until finally Dan had dragged her off them, probably so she wouldn't beat them to death. Looking down at his arm that was wrapped around her waist she pushed gently on it.

"Uhh Dan you can put me down now," she told him and he looked down at her skeptically, "I'm not rabid I won't attack," she assured him. Grunting he set her down on her feet and he frowned as she stretched.

"Uhhhh you okay?" he asked raising a brow at her and she sighed nodding. It was obvious that he wasn't just talking about physically. While Billie was always up for a fight she was never out of control. But tonight she had gone insane, and now she was just exhausted. All of her anger had been channeled into her hits leaving her feeling nothing but a strange kind of hollow sadness. Still she put on a charming smile and shrugged.

"Yeah, rough week," she told his dismissively. He opened his mouth to say something but her phone began blasting an air raid siren from under a bar stool. Thanking God for the excuse to avoid any further explanation  she dove for it flipping it open.

"'Ello," she chirped wiping at the blood seeping down into her eye.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Stan thundered causing her to pull the phone away from her ear, "I'VE CALLED YOU FIVE TIMES. YOU SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH! YOU SAY YOU'RE IN TOWN BUT NEVER SHOW UP?!" he raged, "IT’S A GOD DAMN BLIZZARD OUTSIDE!"

"You never called me back to say I could crash with you," she snapped and the silence on the other end was slightly threatening.

"I told you last time to just come in," he told her, "Now get your ass over here before you get snowed in," he barked before he hung up the phone. Looking down at the cell phone she snapped it shut and shook her head. Well, guess it was time to start walking cause she sure as hell wasn’t in any shape to drive.

~*~

Stan sat glaring at some late night documentary on the manufacturing of mud flaps played on the screen. It was almost midnight and Billie still hadn’t showed up, he’d called her 45 minutes ago. It wasn’t that he was worried about her or anything he was just cranky that the woman was keeping him up. He’d spent the last two days down in the basement with that damn portal and unsurprisingly gotten no where. So when he’d come up to find the answering machine blinking he’d been glad for the distraction, if a bit surprised to hear she was back so soon. But after listening to the messages he had gotten a bit concerned, the last few times she’d come for a visit she hadn’t asked if she could stay, she’d just told him she would be there. And he’d told her that she was always welcome. But suddenly she was acting like he might turn her away. Had he done something last visit to make her feel like she was no longer welcome? He didn’t think so.

But then when he tried to call her she hadn't picked up, which was weird, the woman was attached to that damned cell phone like if she missed a call she might die.  Seriously, it was like the thing shocked her every time it rang. When she’d finally picked up he was pretty sure that he’d heard the sounds of the Skull Fracture in the background. And the bar was only about ten minutes away so what was taking her so long? Looking outside he could see the snow was falling more heavily then it had been an hour ago. The plows wouldn’t be out until the morning either which only served to make him even more agitated.

She only ever rode that bike of hers and if she had skidded off the road she had no shelter. She could have been hurt or worse. He trusted her to know her limits, and he knew that she never really got hammered. She had a few beers at most and had walked back the few times she had felt she wasn’t able to be safe, but the snow was a different story. Even seasoned drivers could get in trouble in it.

“Damn it Stanley you should have gone and got her,” he growled to himself, “You idiot. What were you thinking? You know she doesn’t have a car,” he berated his anger manifesting in self loathing, “Stupid worthless old man.”

As he stood to go get dressed so he could go out looking for her a knock came on the front door sending him charging towards it like a bat out of hell. Relief washed over him as he wrenched the door open ready to demand to know what the hell was wrong with her, but the sight before him left him speechless.

Billie stood on the porch snow clinging to the messy black braid of her hair and the shoulders of her fur lined parka. Her jeans were soaked through to the knees where she’d obviously trudged through the snow. Still sticky blood coated one side of her face from a large gash on her forehead, her left eye was half swollen shut and blackening quickly, and her bottom lip split and seeping blood. Her skin was even paler then normal from cold or blood loss and her jaw was bruised and angry looking. Staring at her he felt his heart stop in his chest, he should have gone and got her. She’d obviously crashed on her way over and had to walk here, he needed to get her to the hospital. There was no telling how badly she was hurt, she could be bleeding internally, or have broken bones and only be standing because of shock. She could be dying and it was all hi fault. Stupid worthless old man, he should have gone and gotten her.

“Holy Moses, are you okay? What happened?” he finally managed to bark as he reached a hand towards  her pulling her into the house. She was freezing, he could see her shivering and her lips were tinted blue. Good god he need to get the keys to take her to the hospital. “Stay there I’ll get my keys. We have to…,” he began but she cut him off.

“No,” she said her voice thick with pain as she caught his hand with hers. Her skin was like ice, and he noticed her knuckles were bruised and bloody, “No,” she repeated and he stopped looking down at her. Something was wrong, the Billie he’d come to know always had a cocky manner, head held up defiant to the world, sharp eyed and ready to take on the world. But now…she didn’t look like the hell cat that was his daughter. Instead she looked…like a lost little girl. Her shoulders slumped, one arm hugging herself, and big green eyes watery with unshed tears. He looked like he’d felt so many times in his life; lost, alone, and broken. Now, utterly confused he stood looking at her and wondering what the hell he was suppose to do. For a second she stood motionless before shaking her head and moving like she was going to leave. Catching her hand he stopped her, he couldn’t let her go back out there in her current state.

“Billie…what happened?’ he asked again unable to think of anything else to say, “Hey. It’s okay. I’ve been around the world. Whatever it is I’ll understand,” he said echoing the words he’d said so many years ago. He didn’t know what was wrong but this time he wasn’t going to fuck it up again. He refused to loose his daughter like he’d lost his brother, “Come on kid, you’re freaking me out.”

“I…I…Mary died and I had to go back to Georgia. And none of the others seemed to care. And I…I tried to just forget, but it didn’t work. An’ I came here because…I dunno. And I went to the bar but then I beat up James Dean and….and,” she spewed as tears began pouring from her eyes before she lunged forward and hugged him so tightly it almost hurt as she buried her face in his chest. Blinking Stan stood for a second staring down at her as she sobbed quietly into his chest, “I don’t wanna die alone Stanford,” she whimpered into his chest and something in him broke a little as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I know kid, but it’ll all be okay I promise,” he told her his own voice a bit choked. What else could he say? He’d never been good with word or feeling so he just decided to let her cry it out. After all he couldn’t do anything else for her besides be a caring ‘uncle’.

For a while they just stood there; Billie crying softly into his chest as she let out all the grief she’d been holding in and Stan letting her. Finally, she took a step back scrubbing at her eyes and staring at his feet embarrassment washing over her. She must look like an idiot, showing up on his door step crying like a little kid. Sniffing she rolled her shoulders the beating from earlier staring to set in as her body ached along with her heart. Her eyes were puffy and itchy from all the crying and her throat sore from the walk in the snow. She realized she was exhausted in every possible way and looked up at him to find him staring at her hesitantly.

“Feel better?” he asked finally and she gave a jerky nod.

“Yeah…thanks Stan,” she said shoving her hands in her pockets, “So…I’m gonna invoke the girdle rule here.”

“The what?” he asked his face contorting in confusion.

“The fact that you wear a girdle. You know it’s a thing. I know it’s a thing. But we don’t talk about it and pretend it never happened,” she told him and he couldn’t help but let out a huff of laughter.

“Alright, alright I get it,” he told her and she gave a weak smile, “Now not to sound too bossy or anything but you should go get cleaned up and take some aspirin. Probably wanna ice that eye too. Cause it looks like James Dean beat you up not the other way around,” he told her and she let out her own laugh. Nodding he turned to head into the kitchen for the first aid kit and a glass of water for her. She was going to need it.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said as she dragged herself towards the stairs only to pause on the first step, “Really, thanks Stan,” she said not looking at him.

“Sure thing kid. That’s what family is for,” he said not turning from his path to the kitchen. Smiling she nodded as she headed up stairs.

[stories-mostly]

Starks Bug

Tony Stark x son!reader (this chapter more Rhodey x nephew!reader ;) )

Words: 2150

I'm sorry this took so long as an apology I'll post chapter 5 tommorow after that it should be once a week again :) enjoy!

Chapter 4

Today was a Rhodey and you kinda day.

Your dad had some business trip to attend to where he couldn't take you with him. So instead of being quiet and polite with a bunch of strangers, you were loud and polite with Rhodey.

You had stayed over at Rhodeys several times with Tony but never alone. So both men were anxious to see how you'd manage.

It's only been two hours since Tony had dropped you off and you had been greatly entertained by your uncle the whole time. Playing with toys and building blocks. He even told you a funny story about your dad getting his head stuck somewhere while they were in college together. There really wasn't anything funnier than that story and the pictures to go along with it in your 3 and a half year old mind.

Rhodey looked up at the clock on the wall before turning back to you.

"Let's stop playing." He said standing up. "We need to buy some groceries before we get hungry,"

You, although reluctantly, began to put your toys away. You had brought all your favourite toys with you so you wouldn't get bored while staying over. Though Rhodey would never let that happen. Within a few minutes you were dressed and strapped into the car seat in Rhodeys pretty little vehicle.

It wasn't really what you were used to. Your father had either really well maintained old cars or rather new high tech expensive cars. So sitting in a well aged small car that isnt extremely uncommon to see driving around town was different but not at all in a bad way.

Rhodey threw a big shopping bag in the back and started the car up. Pulling out of his driveway for the short trip down to the nearby supermarket.

You were more interested in the scenery you passed than talking so Rhodey put on some music and strummed along to the beat on his steering wheel. You started listening to the quieter tunes that you're used to. Your dad had a slightly different taste in music than the songs that were playing.

"So, what do you wanna eat?" Rhodey asked driving around a corner.

"I'm not hungry." You turned to him a slightly confused look on your face. Rhodey chuckled.

"I mean when you're hungry, buddy. What would you like to eat then," he clarified.

You thought for a moment. "Pizza! I want pizza,"

"What kind?" He asked pulling into the parking lot.

"The one I always eat." You pulled at your seat straps still not fully knowing how to unclasp them on your own. Rhodey reached over and opened them for you.

You jumped out the car, with a lot of effort, before he could stop you. "I can show you!"

Rhodey just nodded and followed you out.

You tried to pull out the cart yourself but it was still connected to the other one with those little seatbelt like clips. You took the coin your uncle was holding out and put it in the thing that let's the cart go from the other one. Once the cart was out you were placed in the seat and your store adventure could begin.

You kicked your legs about and looked in every direction as you were pushed through the store. As you were passing the candy isle you looked long at a bag of gummy worms. They were one of the few candies you had been allowed to get and your absolute favourite.

"Uncle Rhodey I want gummy worms." You said pointing at the colourful bag of artificial worms.

"I don't know sweetie. I don't think you asked all that nicely for them." Rhodey replied to your plea. Scratching his chin like he was deep in thought.

"Can I pweeeease have gummy worms?" You tried again drawing out the please and using your "I am a cute and innocent child which only desire in this cold cruel world is this small cheap bag of precious gummy worms"-voice.

Rhodey chuckled and handed you the bag with an "Alright alright".

You didn't go to stores a lot so everything was very fascinating. And needed to be explored and asked about.

"What's that?" You asked now pointing at a big display of raw meat.

"That's meat," Rhodey answered "We actually need some." He reached in and grabbed a big piece of meat indistinguishable from the other meats to your young eyes.

"For what?"

"Dinner tommorow."

You nodded and moved on to ask another question about another thing.

Everything went smoothly from then on out. You showed him which of the pizza's you liked the most and answered whether or not you wanted some apples. All was well until you passed a big tank of lobsters.

You let out a big gasp as you saw the both big and small animals sitting together in the bare tank.

"Look uncle Rhodey! Crabs!"

"Those are Lobsters. They're really big arent they?"

"Yes! Can I have one?" You asked without looking away from the tank. Rhodey frowned.

"Since when do you eat lobster?" Your head snapped back in Rhodeys direction at the speed of light.

"NO not for eating! It's for pets!"

"You want to pet a lobster?"

"Yes! And keep it!"

Rhodey was stunned silent for a moment.

"Y/n, you can't have a pet lobster. They're sold here for people to buy and eat them."

Not even a few seconds later after Rhodey had said those words he regretted them. Your eyes first grew big and then your lower lip started to quiver. And that was when Rhodey knew he fucked up big time.

Within a second you were crying loudly about how people can't eat the lobsters because you love them while Rhodey was desperately trying to calm you down. People were starting to stare and Rhodey could feel every single gaze on him.

He then suggested something he would have to thoroughly explain to your father later.

"Y/n, kid, listen. I need you to calm down. I promise you that none of there lobsters will be eaten okay? I'll talk to your dad about getting you one of them. But you have to behave," he explained having placed his hands on your much smaller shoulders. Without much fuss you stopped crying. It made sense to you that your dad would save the lobsters. He is a great person after all.

You were okay with that and even helped your uncle place the items on the conveyor belt and back into the cart once you were done shopping.

With a sweet smile you handed the nice cashier lady the money and she gave you a piece of her chocolate.

You thanked her and waved her goodbye as you left the store.

All the way back to Rhodeys house you were in a happy mood thinking about how you'll soon get a pet lobster if you behave. Oh and you'll behave. You'll behave so good that no one will think that you were even capable of misbehaving. As least until you had your lobster.

On the drive home Rhodey made a call to a very confused Tony Stark about the possibility of getting Stark Jr. a pet Lobster.

Later around the same time as you were helping Rhodey unpack the groceries your dad was frantically researching on how to care for a lobster and how long they lived the same with how much space they need and more. He even called a zoo and a lobster farm.

He'd organize the build of a tank for a crayfish, a big one. You won't be able to tell the difference until you were much older and did some research yourself.

But you'll never eat a lobster, or any crustacean for that matter, until your eventual demise.

The rest of the day went by without a problem. You helped your uncle with everything you could, cooking, cleaning, washing dishes and doing the bed were all completed with the clumsy help of a 3 year old.

You crawled under the covers next to Rhodey, insisting on sleeping in the same bed. During the night you kicked him several times and somehow ended up with your feet on the pillow while the rest of your body was hidden beneath the covers.

The second day of your week long vacation was not all that different than the first. You played together inside and outside, cooked, ate and then sat down to watch some DvDs before your afternoon nap. A mistake as the series Rhodey turned on hyped you up incredibly. It was the first episode of "The Incredible Adventures of Captain Magic". You had never before watched this series but your young mind was hooked in an instant.

The episode was all about how she became a super hero, introducing herself and her friends. Your mouth couldn't have hung open any wider. The second the episode was over you started jumping around in excitement. Holy heck that was too cool for your young mind to comprehend. You started fighting villains no one could see and Rhodey couldn't get you to fall asleep for another hour. He himself was incredibly tired at that point.

The next two days you wouldn't shut up about how cool and strong Captain Magic is. Rhodey didn't say anything discouraging about it. Though it was clear to him that the hero was obviously heavily leaned on Captain America. Not that you'd know who that was.

Friday, Rhodey suggested a trip to get you off your Captain Magic high.

"Where are we going?" You asked kicking your legs and clutching the tiny backpack you had taken with you.

"Its a surprise. But you'll like it I promise,"

You nodded and turned back to look out the window.

"Look look a puppy!" You excitedly pointed out a few minutes later.

As Rhodeys car pulled to a stop you looked around with squinted eyes having almost fallen asleep.

"We've arrived."

"I know this?" You mumbled a bit dissapointed. You had visited Rhodey while he was working numerous times in the past. This wasn't anything exciting.

"Yeah you do, but I bet you've never sat in a jet before!"

"What!" You screeched and jumped around happily in your seat waiting on your restraints to be opened.

Rhodey greeted a few people on your way to the hanger. Some people seemed surprised while others knew about his plans.

The hanger was empty of any people but stored several huuuuge jets. You shouted "Hello!" and "AAAAH" Into the hall to hear it echo back.

"Is this cool or what?!" Rhodey said marching towards one of the planes which had a staircase ladder thing next to it.

"SO COOL!" you screeched running around and under the planes. Rhodey called you over and threw you on his shoulder while he carried you up to the now opened jet and place you inside. It was like sitting in the driver seat of a parked car, just ten times cooler.

You asked a thousand questions about the planes and Rhodey was happy to answer all of them.

"What's that?" You said pointing at another switch over your head.

"Uhh it's," Rhodey leaned closer to get a better look at what you're pointing, "it's switches all the communication on an-"

"And that?" You said pointing at another thing not letting him finish.

This went on like that for about 10 minutes before you started your fake flight. Even getting to wear the headset which was a few numbers to big for you. Your uncle took a few pictures while you were playing which he'd later send to Tony.

You didn't get bored for a full hour, you were so enthralled with making little noises and flicking on and off switches (which all did nothing) that you didnt even notice that Rhodey got himself a cup of coffee and was talking with some strangers now instead of standing on the rolling staircase next to you.

The rest of the trip you got shown around by Rhodey and introduced to a few of his colleagues.

You tired fast and fell asleep a few minutes into the drive back. You woke up later on the couch with Rhodey cooking in the kitchen. The nice smell of something tasty that you couldn't quite place wafting through the air into your nostrils.

On your last day in Rhodeys pretty house you helped him pack some of your stuff up and just generally did stuff together. Like having a water pistol fight, playing super heroes, and watching Captain Magic and whatever else was on TV. It was a laid back Saturday which was only laid back because you didn't run around the house screeching while you played with your toys.

That evening you fell asleep on the couch next to Rhodey, sort of clinging onto his clothes while your breath evened out and the soft strokes over your little head of hair gave you a deep sense of security.

You woke up later at night while being carried by a tired looking Rhodey.

"Go back to sleep, sweetpea." He whispered as he placed you inside your car seat. You nodded slightly and  said with your voice barely above a whisper.

"Okay, love you."

"Love you too." You faintly heard before falling back asleep after the car door shut.

You woke up the next day in your fathers bed next to his snoring form. Very confused on how you got there. But very glad that he was back.

Tags: @shannonr2003 @art-estrange @nicholasbich @tater-thottie @tonystanktheirondad @gaylemonshark

[snexy-the-snail]

What about a previous idea you mentioned a while ago? Tiny Mermaids being sold, and taken horrible care of- creatures like borrowers or fairies or mermaids being seen more as pets than people- And David notices a little fishy Max, and HAS to get that child out of there! David won’t have been able to explain anything first, and won’t until he gets to a safe enough place, then he has to try and calm down a squirming scared little mer-kid inside his belly -ducky

Holy shit I totally forgot about that one! Thanks Ducky

David was admittedly lonely, so what did his broke college self do? He went to the pet shop cause there was bound to be something there he could afford.

Maybe he would get a fish or a nice cat, something that didnt need to much care but enough to make him feel useful.

He chews on the inside part of his lip as he pushes open the door, a soft ding echoing through the shop. He nervously taps his water bottle swinging at his side and waves at the owner before ducking into a row of cages.

"Arent you cute." He says with a small smile, glancing over an excited little puppy. He was waaay to much money but it didnt stop him from being so cute!

He grins happily to himself and heads down the rows some more, pleased to see he had reached the bowls of fish. There were all types of fish in a variety of beautiful colors but they were all so expensive.

He bites his lip and turns to the next row, pausing when he saw a beta fish that was much more than anything he had seen today which was very strange since beta fish weren't exactly expensive fish.

"And why are you so much more?" David asks curiously to himself reading the little greeting card. He was surprised to see that it wasnt just a beta fish, but a merkind, well merkid if you wanted to be technical.

"I dont think they got you legally." He whispers looking around to see if anyone was looking before reaching into the bowl, trying to see where the poor thing was hiding.

Max was done with people tapping ag his bowl to see what he looked like. He wasnt a fucking pet, he didnt need to bed to their every fricken will.

He didnt bother coming out when he heard someone whispering. Maybe he would be a gift or something, either way he was going to raise hell the second he could. The person didnt move on and in fact had the nerve to put their hand in his living space.

"Oh you fucker." He hisses out swimming out of his hidey hole. He was prepared to give the asshole a piece of his mind, he was not however prepared for gentle fingers to pluck him straight out of the water.

"What the fuck?!" He squeaks. He did not like being in open air, hell he didnt like being in the air in general, this was some class A bullshit right here. He desperately tries wrapping his tail inbetween the human's fingers.

"Sorry, this is really sudden, but I promise you it's going to be alright."

The human whispers. What was he going to do? Fricken still him and with what, he saw no cup. He growls and grips the human's fingers tightly with a scowl.

"What's going to be alright? What the fuck are you even going to do?" He hisses back. He wasnt liking where this was going at all. The human kept looking around nervously and licking his lips as if they were constantly getting dried out.

"There's really now time to explain, but I promsie you're going to be safe."

Max wasnt liking that weak smile or how the human kept reassuring him that it would be fine. He scowls and stares the human down.

"What do you mean by that?"

The merkid asks, his eyes narrowed in distrusted. David supposed that was fair with what was going to happen. He laughs nervously and decides to just go for it. What was the worst thing that could happen, upset stomach?

He opens his mouth wide and raises the kid above it, not to far up just to avoid him missing and seriously injuring the kid.

"What thE FUCK!?"

He hears the kid hiss out in panic, his smooth tail clinging on tighter to his fingers. He grimaces slightly and carefully peels him off, allowing the kid to drop inside his mouth.

The merkid was a lot colder than expected, and yes did have that distinct fishy taste. He ignores the various insults and cusses coming from the kid and closes his mouth after carefully holding the kid in place. He didnt want to accidently hurt the little thing.

He tilts his head forward and sighs in relief through his nose, alright he got this, he just had to act cool, like there wasn't a tiny half fish squirming in his mouth.

He shudders and squares his shoulder, about to take a step when the merkid violently launched himself forward.

Max was sure if he caused a fuss the human would let him out, after all what sick bastard ate little fish kids? He smirks when he hears and feels a gag.

"That what you-"

He yelps when he was cut off the tongue pushing him backwards like it was on auto pilot, his stomach dropping when a swallow pulled him down, sealing the deal.

"Fuck!" He hisses out, squirming all the way down. He felt utter powerless as powerful muscles pulled him down rhythmically with practice ease. He wasnt even a challenge which scared him even more.

The area had no water in it at all, which at this point he desperately wanted, a tail was pretty heavy to support with no liquid. At least it was wet and squishy and nothing was burning.

That didnt stop him from flailing around as much as he possibly could. He was terrified and wanted out dammit. He didnt want to go like this, he wanted a badass ending.

The human was moving around which gave him hope until water started splashing on top of him. Yes he knew he wanted water but not in a fucking stomach.

"I want out!" He yells failing around as the human chugged more water. By the time the asshole was done he had a decent ammout of water, granted not enough to swim in, but enough to keep his tail slightly a float.

He didnt care what was happening in the outside world, right now his main goal was to get out of this deadly place. "Let me out you fuck head!"

He was running out of curses to throw at the human, he either had to die soon or get the human to cough him up. Neither was happening anytime soon.

"I'm sorry! But I swear you're safe!"

Max wanted to hit the person and skin him alive. Did the human think he was that fucking stupid? He may be a kid but he wasnt a fucking dumbass.

"It's a goddamn stomach what about it is safe!?" He shrieks, continuing his flailing. He was sure he would at the least give the stupid human a stomach ache.

"I can't digest living things!"

David blurts desperately. Yes the recuse mission was a success but this aching was going to kill him tomorrow. He bites his lip as he opens his car and gets in, grabbing a few bottles from the ground.

"W..what?"

Now the kid just sounded defeated and confused, he felt horrible. The poor thing probably thought he was going to die the whole time.

"I can't digest living things..i kinda go around to pet shops and um..well tuck merkind, fae, and um other small people hybrids like that." He says sheepishly uncapping a bottle. He grimaces at how incredibly full he was going to feel after this.

"So..i really am safe?"

David found himself nodding and flushes when he realized the kid couldn't see him. Sometimes he really was an idiot.

"I swear you are." He promising, putting the bottle to his lips and takign a deep breath before chugging it as well. He grimaces slightly at the feeling but knew the kid was probably thankful for it

"Is that enough water?" He asks somewhat hopefully. He felt like a balloon sloshing around, it wouldn't last long that was for sure but it would be nice for the kid.

"Yeah..it's good." He hears the merkid call back, hesitantly moving around, less sporadically this time, which David would be forever greatful for.

"I'm Max..thank for...um saving me I guess?" Despite the constant cursing Max was pretty cute. David grins slightly and buckles up, starting the car in a fluid motion.

"You're very welcome, i hope we can be friends later on." He says turning onto the road, grimacing slightly at the sloshing in his stomach. That was going to made him sick after a while.

"..yeah..I'd like that."

Maybe this could work out dispite their rocky start. David grins to himself as he drives home with yet another mythical creature he saved.