#but we can change location easily if we wanna

[elysiium]

& 𝐑𝐄.  KAELIE MORAIS   /   @violentdesires​   ➔   ❪  some club , unseelie lands   ❫

❛  OH  MY  FUCKING  ,  god  !  ”  the  vampire  gasps  ,  staring  at  her  phone  in  hand  as  she  handles  her  business  on  the  toilet  .  ❛  have  you  been  on  lately  ?  did  you  see  what  they  just  posted  ?  i  can’t  believe  they  posted  this  about  you  !?  ❜  violeta  supposes  she  shouldn’t  be  shocked  .  whoever  was  behind  the  gossip  (  was  it  just  one  person  ?  a  group  ?  )  targeted  anything  they  found  JUICY  about  anyone  ,  regardless  if  it  was  true  or  not  ...  let  alone  they  loved  to  post  anything  when  it  came  to  the  royals  .  but  to  be  real  ,  it  didn’t  matter  all  too  much  to  violeta  if  it  was  real  or  not  .  she  far  to  much  enjoyed  reading  whatever  they posted  ...  at  least  normally  .  when  it  came  to  her  friends  ?  that  was  another  story  .

[wileys-russo]

Mary earps in the date to remember series “I’m beginning to question whether you only married me for my ass” idk about location, maybe home or out shopping?

part of the a date to remember series gentle pat II m.earps

"okay! shopping bag, keys, list, phone, backpack leash, snacks for bribery. are we ready? i think we're ready." your wife clapped from the front door as you gave her a look.

"mary." you deadpanned, raising an eyebrow as she looked on uselessly. "forgetting something?" you egged her on as again she seemed dumfounded, going through her checklist and shrugging.

"me!" delilah came barreling through from the bathroom as your wife blushed slightly and you shook your head.

"from putting yourself to bed instead of her, eating half her dinner before she even got home from dance last night and now nearly locking her in the house alone...better pick your game up earps." you squeezed your wifes shoulder, snatching the keys from her hand, grabbing the shopping bags from the floor and walking out the front door.

"yeah mama, pick your game up!" delilah grinned cheekily as mary scoffed, easily scooping the four year old up and tossing her over her shoulder. "pick my game up! righto cheeky i've had about enough of this little parrot routine aunty tooney taught you." mary rolled her eyes, delilah for the last week finding endless amusement in doing and saying whatever she did on a dare from ella.

you of course also found it hilarious given it wasn't you that was being copied, not even lifting a finger to try and help put a stop to it.

"i'm not a parrot!" delilah huffed banging her fists against marys back who stepped out and locked up the front door. "are too, gonna change your name from delilah to...feathers? or maybe chirpy? squawk?" mary pondered as you watched on from the passenger seat with a smile.

"no! not allowed to do that mama." you heard your daughter scowl, turning around with a grin and tickling her stomach as mary buckled her into her car seat and delilah giggled kicking away your hand.

"good news babe i've decided we're changing her name. we've got options; feathers, chirpy, squawk?" mary pondered sliding into her seat and starting up the car as you hummed and delilah continued to protest from the back.

"oh! could call her tweety? or maybe birdie?" you joined in as mary backed out of the driveway with a grin. "no! delilah delilah delilah delilah delilah!" the four year old chanted over and over.

"okay okay! you can keep the name delilah...for now." mary teased as delilah huffed and pulled a face. "lilah we've talked about this. if you make an ugly face and the wind changes you're stuck like that forever." you warned as she quickly slapped a smile on and started to wiggle around happily as you flicked on her favorite playlist.

~

"don't wanna wear it! please mummy?" your daughter looked to you with the puppy dog eyes that normally broke both you and your wife but today all it earned her was a shake of your head as mary helped her slip on the backpack.

"sorry babe, you lost that privilege the last time we went shopping and you ran off. remember mama and i had to come and get you from the big security man? and we were very very worried." you clicked together the straps so it sat securely on her as mary grabbed the leash part.

"sorry." delilah mumbled kicking a rock, though spotting a pigeon land a few metres away she sprinted off as mary was almost taken down to her feet at the sudden tension on the leash and you covered your mouth to cover your laughter.

grabbing the shopping bags you winced seeing your wifes training bag shoved in the back, the girl currently in mid season break you knew it would have sat there for awhile.

"urgh mary!" you groaned, pointing it out as she near dragged delilah back toward you, smiling guiltily and kissing your cheek, promising to do the washing the very moment you got home as you hummed.

"hey! my turn." delilah stomped her foot, tapping her cheek expectantly and making you laugh as your wife rolled her eyes playfully but ducked down to kiss all over your daughters face making her squeal.

"alright. off we go!" mary nodded as you closed the boot and locked the car, gently tapping you on the ass as you passed her causing you to glare at her over your shoulder and delilah to giggle as mary only winked.

"you're in trouble." delilah warned wagging her finger at your wife as you took off ahead of the pair of them. "you're in trouble." mary parroted shoving her head to the side as delilah tried to tackle her and mary dodged out of the way with a grin.

turning around to see them left behind and chasing one another about you rolled your eyes and cleared your throat loudly, raising an eyebrow with one hand on a shopping cart as mary scooped up your daughter and hurried over to catch up.

"divide and conquer." you ripped the list in two and handed her half as you entered the supermarket, marys grip on delilahs leash tightening as delilah held up her hand expectantly.

"where's mine!" she frowned when she wasn't handed a list making you smile. "you get the most important job tiny." you warned as her eyes lit up and she nodded. "babysitting mama and making sure she doesn't get distracted." you whispered as delilah nodded, hugging your leg.

"go mama! hurry." the four year old barked, tugging on your wifes jumper where she was stood reading the nutrition information on the back of tub of protein.

"yeah mama, hurry." you teased, giving her a wink as you took the cart and headed off to start your own shopping, though not before a hand collided with your ass.

"mary! for god sakes we're in public." you hissed in warning as your cheeks burned red and she only grinned and headed off in the opposite direction with delilah ordering her around as she went, hitting her every time she deemed her as distracted.

you met back up every now and then, trading delilah or the shopping cart as you went, your daughter for once incredibly well behaved which earned her a few extra treats tossed in when mary thought you weren't looking which made you roll your eyes with a smile.

you were staring at the freezer section trying to find the specific brand of dinosaur chicken nuggets you knew were delilahs favorite and also the easiest way to get her to eat vegetables if mary smothered it all with gravy.

but a sharp slap to your ass had your body whipping around with a glare however the face you were met with wasn't the one you expected.

"deliah!" you exclaimed in shock as mary stood behind her with somewhat of a proud smile, your daughter grinning cheekily up at you. "mama does it." your daughter shrugged as if that was excuse enough, racing over to the freezer and pressing her face against it in wonder.

"you're a terrible influence." you glared at your wife who was tugged closer as delilah moved toward the ice cream section, pulled back a little by marys grip on the leash.

"me? my love i simply don't know what you mean." she winked, reaching around to squeeze one cheek in her hand as you smacked her chest and pushed her away.

"i'm beginning to question whether you only married me for my ass." you sighed with a shake of your head, grabbing the leash as your daughter continued to pull and struggle, determined to reach the ice cream section despite barely moving an inch.

"of course not darling i married you for your mind, your wit, your passion...and your ass."

[mr-tsuyo]

i love the style of that 3d render of your character! may i ask how you animated the outline and made the whole thing pixel-y? :0

Very glad you asked!

There isn't many tutorials on how to make this kind of stuff so I am totally glad to be the first one.

BLENDER 2.5D TUTORIAL

First of all

Get your model ready and steady, that part is what I ain't explaing, however if you want it to have these colors, you will have to put this nodes in your texture shader

`[ This is for her red jacket, the lower nodes is for her primary colour and the upper nodes are for her shadows, which also has some extra nodes to give it a comic texture. ]

Quick reminder to give the model some lineart yourself to the parts that don't form its sihlouette, for example her shoes.

Now for the lineart, first of all make sure you have created a black Emissive material and that it has Backface Culling activated

After that go to the Modifier Properties and add a Solidify modifier

Make sure to Flip the Normals, set the Material Offset to where the Lineart material is, and adjust a little bit the Thickness of the mesh, then you will get some natural good-looking lineart like hers.

Now, you could easily be satisfied like this, but now we are going to make it feel like each frame is a new drawing by making her model lineart jiggly

First of all create a Displacement Modifier and give it a cloud texture

Make sure to lower the strenght and midlevel, otherwise it will look like this

Now, create an Empty Plain Axes and go to the Displace modifier, change the coordinates from Local to Object and focus the object on the Empty

And thanks to this adjustments, if you move the empty around, it will create a slight jiggle

Now what we want is for this empty to automatically move around without you having to do anything

Create a new screen and go to the Graph Editor section

In here we will be making the empty move with a modifier

Select the empty and press "I" of Italy and select Location, this will create a keyframe for the empty that we will be able to manipulate

Go to the Editor and ONLY SELECT THE Z POSITION, and then go to the Modifiers tab and add a Noise modifier

Make sure to adjust the Scale and the Strength so that it looks more proper for the jiggle effect, make it look like a rollercoaster!

And now, if you did everything right, your empty will be moving up and down and all around by its own

WHICH also means, the model displacement will follow the path of the empty to create that jiggly effect we crave so so much

However...

The model is indeed jiggling, but it's doing it the wrong way, we are trying to make it look like a cartoon not a gosh darnit gelatin

So to make it jiggle the right way we are going to make its noise feel more STEPPED

Go back to the modifiers of the Graph Editor and add a Stepped Interpolation, and make sure it has a Step Size of 5

And now we finally get the choppy jiggle effect!!

Now you can play around the Displace and the Noise to make it more or less jiggly

But nonetheless, if you followed the tutorial right, you will be gifted with the perfect looking 2.5D effect!!!

Now you can go ahead and try to fool everyone into thinking a 3D animation is 2D

And before we wrap up, one more extra for the one who asked how this is made,

We are going to make the render feel pixel-y!

Go to Render Properties, make sure you are using Eevee, and in Sampling put the Render on 1 and the Viewport on 0

Then go to Output Properties and you can do two things:

1) Change the X n Y to a size lower than 1000 px

2) Change the Resolution % to these numbers (8, 16, 32, 64) This way if you wanna do pixel art you are more accurate

For this render I used the 1st option

And last but not least, in the Output Properties make sure you save your files in the right way with these settings

THen render animation, make an image sequence with all the pngs, and TA-DAH

You get a pixel-y 2.5D animation!!!

Thank you so much for checking, I hope this is useful for anyone who wants to do this stuff, if anyone has any questions don't be afraid to ask, I may have explained some stuff badly.

Anyways have a very jolly day

Tsuyo OUT

[highvern]

Drunk Goggles (Heart Eyes) II [morning after]

Pairing: Kim Mingyu x reader

Genre: fluff, idiots in love

Warnings: tooth rotting fluff, friends to lovers, confessions, hand holding and smooches

Length: ~1k

Note: Sequel to Drunk Goggles ! its short but i will probably keep updating/editing it because im a perfectionist and never happy with any of my writing. I have two more drafts for them that I'm editing right now and then I'll probably focus on something new! In other news, Mingyu makes me wanna slut him out put a ring on his finger so bad

When morning comes, you wake to the soft light of dawn gently illuminating your bedroom and a nasty headache. You brave opening your eyes to search for Mingyu, easily locating his large form as he lays on his back on the other side of the bed. Flailing across the short distance between you, you burrow down into his chest and throw a leg over his hips to steal some of his heat against the morning chill. Finger tips trace gentle circles against the smooth skin of his tummy, letting you enjoying the rise and fall of his chest.

Like you were thrown in an ice bath, everything from last night comes racing forward. You remember it all. How you both stayed within a foot radius of one another all night, clinging to each other in the sweltering heat of the club. All the brushes of lips against skin, becoming more and more daring as the night dragged on. Worst of all, right before you passed out, how you whispered all your feelings into his shoulder and sealed them with a kiss.

Today. You think. You need to talk to Mingyu today.

But as he continues to snore quietly above you, you're lulled back to sleep and away from the ocean of nerves that threatens to drown you.

-

The second time you wake is to a hand gently carding through your hair, carefully working away the tangles from tossing and turning through the night. Another hand is tracing the ridges and valleys of your knuckles on your hand laid across his sternum. With a deep inhale, you stretch against Mingyu to let him know you're awake, yawning as you blink against the sun.

"Sorry," He croaks. "didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," you assure, voice still thick with sleep.

“We should talk.” He sighs 

“Okay.” You whisper.

“I–,” Mingyu starts, the pep talk he gave himself for the past thirty minutes dissolving on his tongue. He swallows in an attempt to get his nerve back but you beat him to the punch.

“Ireallylikeyou.”

The silence is deafening. 

You both knew. Painfully aware of your own feelings as well as each other's. The issue time and time again wasn’t the lack of knowledge of how the other felt but the dread that if you said something and it didn’t work out you’d lose each other forever. But after last night neither of you care to keep up the charade. Mingyu wants to call you his girlfriend, take you to dinner with his family, hold your hand in public and parade you around for everyone to see how lucky he is. And you're in the same exact boat. You want to tell anyone who will listen about how amazing he is, not just as Mingyu your friend but as Mingyu your boyfriend; let him be the first person you see in the morning and last at night; let all the fantasies that play in a loop in your head become a reality.

“I like you too.” He finally breathes, weight lifted off his shoulders. 

It's fascinating how such life altering confessions don't change anything as much as you think it will. For months, you thought that the day you both confessed would make the world start spinning in reverse or the sun would fall out of the sky. But the room is as calm as it was before you shared your thoughts. Sheets ruffling gently to the swirl of the overhead fan droning above you. Outside, cars bustle on the street while the family of birds living in the tree next to your window sing their morning hymn. If you strain your ears then you can hear your downstairs neighbors returning from their morning walk with their yappy dog. Today is like every other Saturday morning but nothing like them at the same time.

“Yeah?” You smile, unable to look at him just yet. Instead you turn your face into his pec, trying to contain the giddiness bubbling under your skin like sea foam.

“Yeah.” Mingyu responds, sighing in relief. He wraps his arms around you snuggly, holding you close while his heart drums wildly in his chest.

When Mingyu decides to rest his lips against your hair, you giggle like a schoolgirl. It can’t be helped. You just confessed to Mingyu like you were two sixteen year olds and it makes you giddy. He likes you. 

“What’s so funny?”

“You like me.” You sing, smile blinding.

Your head is turning towards Mingyu’s, catching the way his eyes crinkle and mouth twists in delight. He’s laughing as well, flustered by the morning’s developments.

“You like me too!” Mingyu accuses.

“I know.” Your face softens as you lose your breath. "Isn't it great?"

“So," he starts, suddenly bashful under your gaze. "Does this mean I can count breakfast today as our first date?”

God, he’s so cute it hurts.

“You absolutely can.” 

The smiles threatening to split both of your faces in half make kissing difficult but you figure it out pretty quickly.

-

When you arrive at the entrance of the farmers market hours later, Ms. Kwon observes you and Mingyu as you stroll to her booth. She notes the way your hands are tangled together, faces bright red, sneaking shy glances at each other. Interesting, she thinks.

Testing the waters, she asks if your boyfriend is going to buy the usual bouquet of wildflowers he gets you every Saturday. You don’t rebuke her use of the word "boyfriend" this time, instead sharing a small yes. When Mingyu responds with an even more ridiculously happy expression than the one he strode in with, she hides a knowing smile. Mr. Lee, who sells fresh pastries further down the market, owes her dinner.

[too-antigonish]

Hey guys! Wanna do a group activity?!

A number of folks with tickets for the Here In America streaming have expressed interest in doing a group watch. I've figured out a way to make this work and tested it out with @oeuvrinarydurian to double-check that everything actually functions properly. 

We would be using GoogleMeet as a platform. It is free and there is no specific hardware or software involved except a computer or phone. You would just need to message me through Tumblr in order for me to give you a link that you would then use to access the "meeting" at the specified time.

While the software does allow video and voice at all times,  we'll turn off cameras and mute voices while the stream is running. During the stream itself, we can use the chat feature to communicate.

After the stream concludes, you can either choose to turn your camera and/or voice on or leave one or both off, whichever feels more comfortable for you. We can then continue the discussion for as long as people would like to talk.

I'm planning on doing one session on Thursday, Oct. 24th and possibly a second on Friday, Oct. 25th depending on numbers interested and people's schedules and locations. 

The session on Thursday would be timed to happen after people in the US make it home from work, probably around 5:00 pm CDT but that could change if I hear that it's too early from a lot of folks.

The one on Friday would be at noon my time (CDT, which equals 17:00 GMT and 18:00 GMT+1) because it's a time when people in the UK and Europe can easily participate.

If you're interested, drop me a message letting me know what time works best for you. I'll get back to you with a link once we get everything settled.

[respectthepetty]

Lost in Translation

I saw this image recently, and instead of hijacking that perfectly good post, I thought it best to write my own.

Because this a very real issue, even when watching a show or movie.

Mostly when it comes to watching queer media that already incorporates a coded language due to the topic.

Many people watching Portrait of a Lady on Fire in another language didn't realize the significance of the final scene between these two because they didn't understand French.

The entire movie, they used the formal form of you basically referring to each other as madam, but at the end, they use informal you, and it shows the intimacy that has developed between them. If you didn't understand French or romance languages, you probably missed it!

It happens often in Asian dramas as well because they use honorifics that don't get translated with the same significance.

These two in Ghost Host, Ghost House skipped over the traditional honorifics and instead opted for you and I. It was important because even when they were fighting, they still saw each other as equals.

This was a big moment in Semantic Error, but if you watched it with just the translation on one streaming platform

You would have missed the urgency of the scene because he finally showed respect for this person and the relationship they had developed.

And often, the translations of colloquialisms (slang or informal language) are literal so context is omitted.

I would pay $$$ for annotated subtitles (like from Viki, depending on the team, Idol Factory does a good job, and Lazy Subber, please come back!) because they explain the context we would miss in the literal translations.

In Thailand black bean is (derogatory) slang for gay sex, so asking if someone wants black beans is coded language.

When Knock asks his girlfriend if she is itchy in Together With Me, if the audience doesn't speak Thai, they understand the flow of the conversation as being logical since Knock's girlfriend just mentioned getting bit by mosquitoes and wanting to go inside. However, the show does a strange sequence that indicates this moment meant something...more.

Because asking if someone is itchy in Thai is asking if they are horny. Knock is asking his girlfriend if she is horny and if that's why she wants to go inside. That's missed in the translation.

This happened in Love Mechanics as well. Vee asks Mark if he wants him to come inside to watch a series. It seems innocent enough, but Mark's reaction is aggressively upset.

It's because this is equivalent to America's Netflix and Chill or Korea's Wanna Eat Ramen?. Vee is asking Mark if he would like to YouTube and Lube. Vee is asking Mark if he wants to have sex! That is missed in the translation.

Big Dragon had this issue with different translations on different streaming platforms in regards to this scene:

Some platforms translated Yai as saying "You're a pain in the ass, really" while others used "You're a pain in the ass, literally." It's a small change, but Mangkorn smiles afterwards because he gets what Yai is saying and is a literal pain in the ass. Yai had to visit a doctor after their first sexual encounter because Mangkorn was so rough it caused Yai pain...in his ass, and they just had sex again.

Language is a cultural tool, so although it incorporates a lot of implied knowledge, it's subtle. If the audience is missing the cultural context, an entire narrative can be easily missed.

This is also the case with intonation aka the rise in pitch when speaking or emphasis on a particular word - Why is this here? vs. Why is this here? - One is asking why this specific item is outside instead of another item, while the second asks why that specific item is outside instead of another location. If we don't know the language, it's hard to decipher when the intonation causes a change in meaning.

So the next time you are watching a series in another language and think the dialogue is lacking, understand it's probably because you don't speak the language. Sometimes the substance is lost in translation.

It's okay, but ask questions, do some research, and try to learn, so the next time someone asks if you want ramen, you can smile and say enthusiastically "YES!"

EDIT - Adding more links from others that show examples:

Extraordinary Attorney Woo - The cat's butler scene

My Engineer - Cool Kid Nickname

English in KinnPorsche as deception

[yan-snowcave]

🥀The Horribly Perfect Creation 🥀

[Perfect Love, Yandere!Dragon AU]

[Tw; Body Horror (for the picture at the very end) & Abuse]

Her Perfect Love...

Everything that she wanted...

Everything shaped by her own two hands, creating the perfect creation that obeyed her every command. So obsessed with her, so desperate for her and yet, here he lays. In an unknown location, confused and scared with two new hims literally attached to him. Or would they count as one now? Three turned into one, the Perfect Love she craved;

Manipulative Charming!

Violent Protective!

Obsessed Passionate!

Everything she wanted, she shaped him to what she desired until he lost himself. That was at least until he became this...Monster and got left behind by the one who claimed to be his forever. Was it the many blinkless eyes that bothered her? Or the extra arms perhaps? Maybe the extra mouth they had gotten had bothered her...

If she only told him the problem...He could've fixed it, ripped the eyes out, let her cut his arms off (she cut my finger it hurt so much.) Or maybe the wings attached to them bothered her? He gladly let her tear them to shreds (I just wanted to fly with her but she grounded me, why does it hurt so much? I still feel the knife tear them apart, please make it stop.) Maybe it truly was the endless eyes, watching her every move? She did strangely bump into them (always watching, we need to keep an eye on her, if she leaves she will kill us, I don't wanna die...)

He still remembers the day when she stopped coming back to check on him, keeping him locked away in that abandoned garage they had found a long time ago. The only place that could house his new size, hide his appearance from others, their 'little nest to be' as they called it...Or at least that was what it was supposed to be.

Instead he was thrown away like a broken toy. Something that no longer could hold her interest, something to be forgotten and left to rot while she found someone new. A new toy to shape and break to her will, while they had to watch from afar.

Their promise of being together forever, to be the one and only for each other...

Broken.

Shattered like a plate, into so many pieces but nobody daring to pick them up. Why risk getting cut? Nobody would care for such Trash like him, right? Not even his parents loved him, so why should the one who promised to stay by his side forever? Oh how Pathetic of them to think they were worthy of love.

Oh, how they screamed in rage, pain and denial. All of this agony, echoing throughout the area, their own little song written for the one they loved, someone who indirectly caused them to turn into this monster.

And then, she dared to abandoned them, like everyone else had.

Deep down he had to confess that he knew she would stop loving him, it was clear when the first few symptoms showed up. How she brushed them all off;

A Migraine here, dry skin there, the occasional aggressive snarl that changed immediately to puppy-like happiness and the sudden growth spurt that strained his poor muscles, causing him to collapse as his legs gave out.

All of them easily explainable to her; Stress, the weather getting dryer, just hungover or high from a party they went to and of course his "tall genes" doing their work again.

The only ones concerned for his well-being from what he can recall were Valli, Desmond and Seth. The latter looked at him like he wanted to say something but couldn't...Maybe it was because of the way he started to distance himself from everyone like she had commanded to.

And the worst part? He did it gladly so, after all this was his one to be. His lover, his soulmate!

Now he regrets obeying her command.

He needed help but who.could he even call? She would just ignore him or worse make fun of him, belittle him...No he wouldn't take it.

Valli? Seth? Desmond? What were they suppose to do? What COULD they even do?! He himself didnt know what was going on, he was so alone, how pathetic to think that he would ever get a chance at love.

In her eyes he must've been just another failure.

A failure, disappointment and something that nobody could love. Not even his own parents, so why did he think others would?

...How Pathetic.

"Mr.Change, the doctor is ready to see you."

That voice...It sounded so...

"Oh, how rude of me! I'm Nurse ____ and I will be the one to take care of you from now on! Welcome to the Draconic Rehabilitation Clinic."

Perfect...Yes, they would be his Soulmate, he would make sure of it and this time;

They wouldn't be able to run from him!

[This is what Perfect!Dragon Milo looks like, he has a more healthy one he unlocks after spending time with the nurse (your OC/Sona/Self Insert/Ect ;3)]

[kitkatscabinet]

PROMPTS I'D LOVE TO WRITE

Credits to the following for certain prompts: @leneemusing @novelbear @creativepromptsforwriting @soulprompts @flovprompts @memesomething

FLUFF

' i don't want to spend any time apart from you. ''

'' i really need you to know that [that i love you]. ''

“ wait, you knew? “ “ you haven't exactly been discreet... “ Jason Todd

'' so, do you... love me back, or? ''

“ do you have feelings for me or something? “

“ i think i'm falling in love with you. “

“i love it when you smile! i wish you’d do it all the time… ”

“ you can’t get rid of me that easily. i’m gonna be here every day to remind you how wonderful you are! ”

“ you know me. you… you see me. i’m never totally myself unless i’m with you. ”

“ we all have our flaws. you stayed with me in spite of mine. now i’m doing the same… ”

“ of course i remembered! i remember everything about you! ”

“ don’t make this weird, but… i saw this in the store. figured you’d like it. ”

“ whoa… hey, now, who made you cry? where’d they go? ”

“ don’t make a big deal out of this. you like hugs, right? so… here’s a hug. ”

“ um… if you don’t mind, i think i’d like a hug now. if that’s okay… ”

“You’re cute when you’re jealous”

“ the world just… feels right. when you’re with me. ”

"is this okay?" "it's more than okay."

JEALOUS/PROTECTIVE

❝  i just didn’t like the way they were looking at you.  like you weren’t mine.  ❞ John Mactavish

❝  you know i’m yours,  right?  i only have eyes for you.  ❞

❝  hey,  is this asshole bothering you?  ❞ Dean Winchester

❝  tell me you’re mine.  ❞

❝  you wanna lose a limb?  beat it,  fucker.  ❞

for one muse to possessively kiss the other in public.

for one muse to lean into the other’s side or hug them to seek comfort from a crowd or individual while in public.

FRIENDS TO LOVERS

going as each other’s “platonic” date to a mutual friend’s wedding

agreeing to kiss each other “just to see what it’s like”

punching the guy who broke your best friend’s heart

friends and family think we’re dating because we’re always acting like a couple

sharing clothes, we're just that comfortable with each other

accidentally blurting out “i love you” during a conversation

i’m watching you date all these other people and i don't know what it is i'm feeling but it's definitely not jealousy

you're upset and disappear for a couple hours, and i'm the only one who knows where to find you (which is at the location we always hung out at as children)

one dropping hints about their feelings, the other one is completely oblivious

hearing your best friend say you’re nothing more than friends, dying a little on the inside because you wish it was more than that

family and friends constantly pointing out how compatible you are with each other

ANGST

'' i can't do this without you. ''

'' don't you dare... don't you dare say goodbye. ''

'' it's okay. '' '' it's not okay. ''

'' do you remember that song, that we always used to sing as kids? [could you...?] 

'' don't you dare close your eyes. ''

'' she's not dead...! ''

'' you're gonna be okay. ''

“ can you move? “

“ why is it so difficult for you to believe that you deserve to be protected? “

“ stay close. whatever you do, do not leave my side. “ Dean Winchester

“ i’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. no matter the cost. “

“They say you almost died. You left it that late.”

“ tell me it isn't true. “ “ i can't."

“ why is it so damn difficult for you to believe you’re worthy of love? ”

HURT/COMFORT

"I don’t know how to just live.  I constantly feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop."

“There are just too many people depending on me.  I can’t rest.  I can’t let them down.”

“Every time I start to feel like things are getting quieter and I can feel safe,  something bad always happens. ”

“I’m here and I’m not leaving or letting you change the subject. now talk to me.”

“You’re important to me. Do you hear me?  you’re important, and that’s never gonna change.   ”

“I’m not going anywhere until you get some sleep.”

“I want to take care of you.  please,  let me.”

“You’re a good person. good people deserve to be safe."

“I’m going to protect you, now. because that’s what we do for the ones we love. we keep them safe.“

"It's alright... it's okay... I'm here now. I've got you."

"Of course I came for you... it would take far more than that to stop me. "

❝I know I can’t protect you from everything,  but I wish you’d let me protect you from the things I can control.❞

“You’re safe. [Name], can you hear me? They’re here to help you, you need to let them help you.”

“I wasn’t –… Your doctors weren’t sure you’d wake up.”

“You.. you were so close to dying. I was scared.”

SCENARIOS/ACTIONS

Smiling at each other from across the room

Laying a hand on the other’s leg

Fixing the other’s clothes 

A kiss to the side of the head

Embracing from behind

Laying your head on their shoulder

Bumping shoulders

you take their hands firmly, intertwine their fingers with yours

you repeatedly say you love them when they’re anxious/experiencing low self-worth

put your hands on lover’s cheeks, cradle their face in your hands

you get really mad when you hear someone hurl an insult your lover’s way

for sender to catch or steady receiver when receiver tries to stand up too early or to push their body past what it’s ready for

 for receiving muse to not recognize sender or medical staff trying to help them, due to being drugged or otherwise disoriented – so they fight.

SECRET DATING/CONSEQUENCES

“You will cut all ties with them”

“Where were you last night?”

“How long? ” [a confused pause] “How long have you two been in a relationship

“How long do you think it’s going to take before your family finds out? ”

"If I ask you to kiss me in front of all these people, will you do it?"

[kristinamae093]

It's me again.... 🤣🤣🤣

Listen.................... This is happening because I recieved this ask earlier, and it got me really pumped. So I've spent all day filtering through all the rough chapters I have of Ghosted and getting reassurance on some ideas (thank you @ao719 🥹😘) which got me even more excited for what's to come 😬. However, that means I did not actuality get around to getting it ready to post 😔.

BUT I'm so excited I needed to do something like RIGHT NOW or I might explode 🤣. I know this isn't even an official thing anymore, but, it is 110% happening so fasten your seat-belts. 🫡🤣

So this is from chapter 8 of Ghosted, which is titled Always Watching. Per usual, there is more than six sentences and everything is subject to change. 🙂🖤

TW - Language (first and last word, oddly enough. 🤣)

“Goddamnit,” Liam growled as he slammed his fist down on the desk he stood beside. “I– I can’t just sit here and wait. I need to do something now.”

“Perhaps we should seek outside help," Olivia interjected.

“What do you mean?”

“I have an acquaintance whose somewhat of a… ‘private investigator’. He’s not cheap, but worth every penny. He can look into Riley and Tariq’s locations, for sure, as well as whatever else you may see fit…”

“I’m not against the idea… but, how would that even work?”

“We can figure out the details later, but I have somewhat of a cover already thought of. I can easily say he’s my driver, or bodyguard, or anything really. Who’s going to question me? Honestly?”

“I want to agree, I really do, it’s just… the last person to get involved with this was… well, you know. Do we really want to put someone else in danger like that?"

“Much as I hate to say it, maybe she's onto something, Li,” Drake admitted with a sour face. “Bas clearly has his hands full, and I know you wanna get some kind of an answer.”

“See? Even the caveman agrees!” Olivia exclaimed, earning her a middle finger from Drake. “Plus, perhaps having another set of capable eyes around will do us some good."

Olivia snickered. "It's cute of you to worry, but he’s more than capable of defending himself.”

"Do it, Liam! DO IT! Or I will myself!" Maxwell exclaimed.

"I don't know…"

"Perhaps he would be interested in a one-on-one interpretive dance class; we could trade one service for another."

"No offense, but how are you gonna pay him?" Drake asked.

Ghosted tags - @ao719 @txemrn @imashybish @queenrileyrose @kingliam2019 @riseandshinelittleblossom @dcbbw @tessa-liam @twinkleallnight @amandablink @cordonia-gothqueen @sfb123 @jared2612 @harleybeaumont @bebepac @charlotteg234 @busywoman @malblk21 @angelasscribbles @bascmve01 @iaminlovewithtrr @hopelessromanticmonie @mysticalfangirl @umccall71 @fuckitweball0000 @differenttyphoonwerewolf @lovingchoices14 @emersyn-in-cordonia @aussiegurl1234 @karahalloway @the0afnan @nestledonthaveone

"Hate to break it to you, but your dance class ain't worth shit."

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1225: A Peachy Filled Date~ (Super Smash Bros Ultimate X Sonic)

10:11 a.m. at Smash Manson: Mario and Peach's Bedroom........

Peach: ('GASPS') Oh my gosh and stars!~ (Happily Squeals and Mov9ng her Upper Body Up and Down on the Bed Her and Mario Are Laying on Together

Mario: (Chuckles Lightly at How Adorable his Princess is Acting Right Now) What got you in a jumpy mood, dear?~ Saw a new peach colored dress you would want to wear?

Peach: Happily Turns to her Teddy Bear of a Plumber) Even better that, look!~ (Shows Mario a Pink Colored Flyer on her Phone)

Mario: (Starts Reading the Words Written on Peach's Phone Out Loud) "Come, one and all, to a very special event that is making a return of a lifetime: The Peach Harvest Festival 🍑. Starts at 12p.m. sharp, located at the Local Smah Park." Hm. (Smiles Softly) Nice to see this town doing something special for Peach Month for once this year.

Peach: Right? And it's on a very lovely sunny day to boot. (Clasps her Hands Together as She Sighs Dreamingly at the Past She's Reminiscing) I will never forget the day Toadsworth took me to one growning up~ The attractions, the mini rides, the peachy atmosphere, the one of the kind souvenirs, snd the yummy, delectable peaches we get to pick out from the gardens- (Mmm MMM!~) They were so divine!~

Mario: (Chuckles Lightly) I bet. Sounds like a really fun time.

Peach: ('Sigh') The funnest time in the whole world~ It's been so long since I've attended another one of them- (Grabs her Chin While Thinking) It makes me wonder how much it has changed these days......

Mario: I'm sure it won't change a whole lot. (Casually Shrugs) But I guess the only way to find out is to go there ourselves for the day.

Peach: Yeah-Wait. (Eyes Starts to Widened Before Turning Back to Mario) You want to go to the festival today too? Truly?

Mario: (Happily Nodded) Yeah. You gave me a good enough reason to be intrigued. (Smirks a Bit) Plus, seeing you this happy all day would brighten my day up even more than it already has right now.

Peach: (Hearts Begins to Melt in Pure Happiness) Awwwwweee honey- Wait a second! (Starts Pouting at her Plumber) Mariooooooo..... Is this your way if saying I'm cuter than you?

Mario: (Slowly and Playfully Shrugs) Mayyyyybe- Yes.

Peach: (Makes Grumbling Noises) How many times do I have keep proving you otherwise, mister!?~

Mario: You can do it as many times you want. It's not gonna help you beat the cuteness allegations anytime soon.

Peach: And no one's gonna help you beat the huggable allegations either- COME HERE!~

Peach pulls Mario into a tight, loving hug before showering him with her kisses, causing him laugh ticklishly very easily.

Two Hours of Cuddle Shenanigans and Getting Dressed and Ready Later...........

Outside of the Peach Harvest Festival's Entrance

Peach: Thanks again for dropping us off here, Shadow. (Happily Hugs Shadow Right Next to Her) You were such a great flyer out there, I'm so proud!~

Shadow: (Starts Blushing a Little) It was nothing, mother. I only took a few of Rouge's lessons and advice by heart and execute them the best I can.

Peach: That's wonderful, dear~ (Forms a Bit of a Smug Looking Smirk on her Face) Told you she wouldn't be as bad of a teacher you think~

Shadow: ('Soghs in a Bit of Defeat') That you did. But I impore you and father not to give her too much credit. (Rolls his Eyes) She'll gloat about it to no end.

Mario: (Chuckles Lightly) We'll keep that in mind, son. You sure you don't want to go to the festival with us? The more is always the merrier

Shadow: (Simply Nodded) I'm positive. This is suppose to be your date today, I don't wanna get in the way of that. (Rolls his Eyes) Also, I promised Rouge I'd come back to her with a new fashion magazine and a bag of chips, two things she could easy get herself.....

Mario: (Smiles Sheepishly) I'm sure it's just her way of helping you hone your skills more often, you know?

Shadow: I doubt that. Nonetheless, hope you two have a good rest of the evening.

Mario: Thanks, son. (Hugs Shadow Along with Peach) You too.

Peach: And try being a little more patient with Rouge, okay? She cares about you just as much as we do. (Gives Shadow a Kiss on the Cheek)

Shadow: I know. And I'm forever grateful. Truly

Shadow gives both his parents a kiss on both their cheeks before using his newly found wings to fly off.

Mario: (Waves Goodbye to Shadow Long with Peach) Byeee, Shadow!

Peach: Be safe up there, sweetie!!~ ('Sigh') I miss him already......

Mario: Me too......(Turns to Peach With a Smile While Grabbing onto her Hand) Ready to get this festival date started?~

Peach: (Smiles Back at Mario While Holding onto his Hand) Let's!~

And so, plumber and princess duo embark on their journey the Peach Harvest Festival.

Peachy 🍑 Go Round Ride~

Peach: (Happily Riding on a Giant, Slowly Moving Peach) WEEEEEEEEEEE!~

Mario: (Chuckles Lightly While Sitting Roght Behind his Princess) Having fun over there, dear?~

Peach: The funnest in the world!~ (Giggles Softly) I feel like a little girl again, I love it!!~ Ooh! (Turns to Mario From Behind) Mario, you think you could hold onto me for a second? I wanna try something right quick.

Mario: (Starts Wrapping his Arms Around Peach's Stomach and Waist) Like this?

Peach: (Happily Gives Mario a Thumbs Up) Perfect, honey, thank you!~ (Sticks Both Her Arms Out From Side to Side Before Screaming Out.....) I'M THE QUEEN OF ALL PEACHES!~

Mario: (Starts Snickering at How Cute Peach is Acting) What wrong with being a princess?

Peach: Nothing. Just feeling promoting myself today~

Mario: (Playfully Rolls his Eyes) Uh-huh. Sure.

Peach Fashion Store

Peach: (Standing a Few Inches in Front of the Men's Fitting Room Door) You're doing okay in there, honey?

Mario: (Inside the Fitting Room) Yeah, I'm fine. Don't know how I feel about this get up you've gotten me though.......

Peach: Oh hush. You're always gonna to look great in my eyes, Mario, have more faith in your physique!

Mario: I have my faith in it. (Walks Out of the Fitting Room Wearing a Fancy, Peach Colored Suit and Top Hat) It's the color scheme of this attire I'm iffy on personally.

Peach: ('Gasps') Are you kidding? You look absolutely dashing in that suit!~ (Playfully Pulls on Mario's Cheek) You handsome little gentleman you~

Mario: (Chuckles Ticklishly by Peach's Antics) Easy on the pinching there, dear.... (Takes a Look at the Fancy, Peach Colored Dress Peach is Wearing) Ooh~ I really like how stunning you look in the dress.

Peach: (Confidently Strikes a Few Modeling Poses) Why, thank you!~ I've always wondered how I would look in a peach colored dress. I feel like a million bucks already!~ (Gives her Hips a Firm Smack, Causing it Wobble Around a Bit)

Mario: (Begins to Blush, Memorized by the Movements Peach's Hips are Making) MamaAh- (Quickly Shakes His Head as Tries to Come Back to Reality) S-So uh- ('Clears Throat') You think we should wear this for the rest of the festival?

Peach: Nah. It's far too hot to do that. Ooh!~ We could save them for Halloween this year!~ We'd be the most peachiest couple of the night.

Mario: (Grabs his Chin While Thinking) We could do that.....(Forms a Cheeky Smile on his Face) Or~ We could have our small family dress in fancy, peach colored attires along with us.

Peach: ('Gasps') (Happily Claps her Hands to the Idea) We can be one happy peach family, I love it!!~

Mario: (Proudly Nodded) Mmhmm.

Grand Peach Harvest Field 🍑

Peach: (Holds a Ripe Looking Peach in her Hand for her and Mario to See Upfront) Here it is, Mario. The harvest's very own peach.

Mario: Wowie.....This looks bigger than any peach I've seen so far.....

Peach: The size is impressive to look at, I'll give that, but it's the taste of the fruit that ultimately matters.

Mario: (Snickers a Bit) Since when did ypu became a Peach connoisseur?

Peach: (Playfully Pouts at Mario) Since I was a little baby, no shush!~ (Turns Back to the Peach in Front of Her) The moment of truth have arrived!

Peach takes one bite of the peach and eats it, consuming every last bit of it's taste before swallowing it whole before leaving her surprised and speechless shortly after.

Mario: So..........What do you think?

Peach: Oh....my gosh.....(Puts on the Most Excited Smile She Could Muster as Her Eyes Begins to Sparkle Up) This taste even more yummier than it did all those years ago!!!~

Mario: Really?

Peach: (Turns Back to Mario) REALLY!!~ (Hands Mario the Peach) You have to taste this for yourself, dear. You just gotta!

Mario: Alright, alright, I'm gonna. (Takes a Bite of the Other Side of the Peach Before Widening his Eyes Up Shortly After) Mama Mia, this is the best peach I've ever tasted.

??????: Right?

The couple turns to see a familiar crocodile face eating a picked peach of his own.

??????: ('Mmm') They're so good. ('Crunch') Like, if I could, I would plant and grow myself a tree full of peaches that are half as tasty as this one right here. ('Mmm')

??????: (Walks Over to her Husband While Giving a Soft Motherly) Vector, don't talk with your mouth full.

Vector: (Eyes Widens as He Realizes What He Was Doing) Oh. (Swallows the Peach He Was Finish Eating with One Gulp Before Rubbing The Back of of his Head Back and Forth with a Sheepish Smile) S-Sorry about that.

Vanilla: (Happily Greets the Fellow Couple In Front of Her and Vector) Hello, your majesty, Mario.

Peach: (Smiles Brightly Along with Mario) Vector, Vanilla, hi!~ It's so great to see you both on this fine day.

Mario: How the marriage life is going along these days?

Vector: (Smiles Back at the Couple While Wrapping his Arm Around his Wife's Shoulders) Going as fantastic as ever! Our love for each other keeps getting stronger and stronger by the minute, even before we tied the knot.

Vanilla: (Happily Hugs her Husband) And we couldn't any more happier ti be where we now. Are two enjoying your time at the festival so far?

Mario: (Happily Nodded) Oh yeah, big time. (Points at Peach Beside Her) She been ecstatic about the whole thing since we found out about it this morning.

Peach: (Pumps her Fists Up in the Air in Rejoice) I'M RELIVING MY CHILDHOOD!!!~ (Suddenly Hears her Stomach Growling a Bit) While being hungry!

Vanilla: (Giggles Softly) That's wonderful, dear!~ Vector-Kins and I were about to head to the café and eat. Would you like to join us?

Peach: You want us to hang out you two? ('Gasps') Like a double date!?~

Vector: (Casually Shrugs) Yeah, sure. The more, the merrier.

Peach: (Starts Jumping Up and Down, Happily Squealing) EIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!~

Mario: She means yes. We'd love that.

Few Minutes Later ............

Peach Harvest Café 🍑 🍽

Mario: Awwwww~ (Looks at a Picture of Cream, Charmy, and Chese Wearing Mini Detective Outfits on Vector's Phone) Is that you're little detective team at home?~

Vector: (Smiles Brightly and Proudly) Damn right! Charmy's already been a junior trained detective beforehand, but now with Cream and Cheese around, these three have been trying to solve their own cases together these days. (Wipes a Single Tear From his Eyes) ('Sniff') Making their old man real proud right now, you know?

Mario: (Smiles Softly) I know the feeling. (Shows Vector a Picture of Hat Kid Wearing a Mini Detective Outfit of Her Ownnon his Phone) Our little girl here was able to solve an entire train mystery all by herself during one of her adventures in spaces.

Vector: (Eyes Begins to Widened Up in Genuine Surprise) Dude, seriously? That's incredible! What kind of mystery is it, if you don't mind me asking?

Mario: (Grabs his Chin While Thinking) Hmm....Can't say I completely remember what irlt was all about, I can assure you it wasn't murder related!....'Least I hope it wasn't.

Peach: (Watches and Gushes at the Two Boys Talking Among Themselves Along with Vanilla) Ohhh~ Look at our two handsome men over there~

Vanilla: ('Sighs Dreamingly') Such sweethearts indeed~ It's always warms my heart to know him and the boys have been a part of me and Cream's life for so long~ (Turns to Peach) How has your and Mario's family been back home, these days?

Peach: They're still as lively and rowdy as they've ever been. (Happily Clasps her Hands Together) But I still love them all the same~

Vanilla: Even Bowser?

Peach: (Rolls her Eyes While Sighing a Bit) Yes, him too to a lesser extent. Still a headache to deal with though.

Vanilla: (Giggles Softly) Stay strong now, your highness. I'm sure he'll take a hint sooner or later.

Peach: (Starts Looking Inside One of Her Stopping Bags) Honey, he's far too persistent and delusional to take any obvious hints I've given him. But no matter. I'm more than willing to give him a nice, harsh reality check every chance he gets. A-Ha!~ (Picks Up a Sealed Lipstick From the Shopping Bag) I found it.

Vanilla: You brought a nice lipstick there?

Peach: (Takes the Lid Off the Lipstick amd Wind it Up a Bit, Showing Off a More Peachy Like Color) A nice peach color lipstick~

Vanilla: (Intrigued by The Lipstick's Color) Oooh!~ Very lovely indeed~ (Smiles Sheepishly) Kinda me wish I didn't ignore a few of them sitting on shelves somewhere at the shop.

Peach: No worries. (Happily Presents Vanilla Another Brand New Lipstick) I have a spare for you to have if you like.

Vanilla: (Happily Bows to the Princess as She Receives the Spare Lipstick) Bless your heart, your highness, thank you.

Peach: (Smiles Sheepishly) Oh, dear, there's no needto keep being formal around me. Just call me Peach. We're friends now, aren't we?

Vanilla: (Stare at Peach For a Brief Second Before Smiling Back at Her) Yes, of course we are, Peach. Thank you. (Starts Examining the Lipstick in Question) I can't wait to put to use someday. I have no doubt I would look wonderful on the both of us.

Peach: (Starts Looking Back at the Boys Before Putting on a Bit of a Mischievous Smirk on her Face) Why wait when we could put them on for a little run test on two of our targets in front

Vanilla: Our targe- (Immediately Figures Out What Peach is Telling Her Before Putting on a Smirk of her Own) Ohhhh~ I see~

Mario and Vector continues to talk to one another before-

Peach/Vanilla: Ohhh Boyyyyyyys!~

Mario: (Turns his Attention to Peach) Hm- Whaaaa!?

Vector: (Turns his Attention to Vanilla) What's up-Whoa!

The two gentleman's eyes widened up as they see their respective love partners wearing peach colored make-up, staring, blinking, and waving hello at them in a sensual manner before blowing two kisses morphed into speeding love bullets, directly planted them on both their cheeks, leaving the duo wobbling, completely lovestruck.

Mario: W-Whoahohoho~......(Wobbly Turns to Vector) Did you something different about the ladies today, Vector?~

Vector: (Wobbly Turns to Mario) Y-Yeah~ Think they more prettier than usualllllllllll~

And just like that, both Mario and Vector faint and fell down on the ground right on cue.

Later that Evening.......

Peachy Fireworks Show 🍑 🎇

Peach: (Already Memorized by the Fireworks Presented Thus Far, Most Noticeably the Peach Shaped Ones) Oooooooh......Peachy......

Mario: (Sitting on Peach's Lap) Enjoying the show so far, dear?

Peach: (Happily Hugs Mario) Indeed, I am!~ It's such nice way to close the event. (Looks Down at Mario with a Playful Smirk) Feeling comfy so far?~

Mario: ('Sigh') Yes. I am.....Very much so.

Vector: (Chuckles Lightly While Sitting Next to the Fellow Couple Next to Him and Vanilla, Who is Sitting on his Lap) Is that why you wanna sit on her lap? (Forms a Teasing Smirk of his Own) Just to feel comfy?~

Mario: (Glares at Vector) NO! (Quickly Turns his Head Away and Crossses his Arms Before Blushing a Bit) ........I also like to feel slightly taller for tonight.

Peach: He's so cute when he's shy about~ (Kisses Mario on the Head)

Mario: Peeeeeach!

Peach: (Giggles Softly)

Vanilla: (Gives Mario a Reassuring Smile) There's no need to be embarrassed, Mario. There's plenty of advantages to being slightly smaller than your significant other. For instance- (Happily Snuggles onto her Husband's Chest While Giggling and Blushing) This~

Peach: (Gently Surprised by What is Vanilla is Doing ) Oh my!~

Vector: (Playfully Rolls his Eyes) Don't mind her. She always do this whenever we're this close together, not that I mind (Chuckles Ticklishly While Hugging her Back) I love her wild, adventurous side~

Vanilla: (Looks Up at Vector With Genuine Love in her Eyes) And I love your sweet, tender side~ Just as much as I love you as a whole~

Vector: Ditto~

The two married couple locked into each other's eyes for a brief second before softly kissing one another on the lips.

Peach: (Watches the Married Duo Make Out with a Smile on her Face) Awwww~ I'm so happy those two are married now.

Mario: Yeah. (Suddenly Let's Out a Bit of a Loud Yawn) They're made for each other.

Peach: Uh-oh. (Looks Back Down at Mario) Getting sleepy on me, dear?

Mario: A little, but not by much. I can hold a little more longer. ('Yawn') Just for you.

Peach: (Heart Begins to Melt in Genuine Happiness) You sweetheart~ You don't have to try and do that for my sake. We'll leave here soon enough. (Starts Yawning as Well) I'm starting to get a little drowsy myself.

Mario: (Simply Nodded in Agreement) Roger that. (Smiles Softly) I hope you're having a good time at the festival so far.

Peach: I am. This is one of the best moments of my life that I will always cherish for the rest of my life. (Gently Cups Up Mario's Cheeks) And it's all thanks to you coming here and experience everything here with me.

Mario: Thank nothing of it. I always do what I can to make you happy and that won't stop anytime soon. If anything, I should be thanking you for bringing the festival up to my attention to begin with. I had a great time too.

Peach: I'm so glad. I love you so much, Mario~

Mario: I love you too, Peach. Always~

And so, the two couple finally shares a tender kiss on the lips as the fireworks continues to bright up the clear night skies with the imagery of peaches all around.

Happy Peach Month, Everybody!!

@decibelcoatl

@bestpony666

@ma-lemons

@caleb13frede

@rechicken-and-waffles

[naminethewriter]

On the Road, Just the Two of Us

Chapter Eight: At Our Destination, Not Just the Two of Us

Masterpost | First | Previous | Ao3

Summary: This was written for @dukeceit-week-2024, @dukeceitweek

Janus and Remus are living in a campervan at the moment. Are they going somewhere? Who knows. The only thing that’s important is that they’re together.

Content Warnings: Flirting, Kissing, Bickering between the twins

🌻🌻🌻🌻

“I don’t want this to end,” Remus admitted quietly.

“I know, darling.” Janus didn’t look over at his boyfriend, too focused on the GPS that told him they were only five minutes away from their destination.

“Can’t we just drive past and keep going?”

“No, dear. It was fun and I loathe to admit I wouldn’t mind if this trip was longer, but we need to go back at some point. I can only take off time from work for so long and we do still need the money. Even if we were to live like this full time. I don’t think I’d enjoy it on a permanent basis, actually.”

Remus sighed, leaning heavily into his seat.

“Yeah, I know. Me too, actually. I can’t sculpt like this. Or paint on the scale I’d like. I know it’s for the best, but still… I don’t wanna deal with the responsibilities again.”

“I cannot relate to that at all.” Janus moved his hand to Remus’ thigh and squeezed. “It’s going to be fine. You focus on your art and let me deal with all the annoying paperwork and bills.”

“You’re gonna be busy again,” Remus accused, though it was in a lighter tone. He was indeed upset at that fact, but he also knew that it was necessary.

“Yes. That’s probably not going to change for a long while.”

“I know. It sucks ass.”

“It does.”

The GPS announced the last turn they would have to make before they’d reach their destination at the end of the road.

“We’ll find the time to do something like this again, promise,” Janus said. “Not every year, not even every other year but we’ll do it again.”

“I’ll cut you if we don’t.”

“Sounds fair.”

They drove the last stretch of their journey in silence, just enjoying each other’s company and reflecting on the past three month on their own.

It had been the most freeing time in Janus’ life.

He was going to miss it.

He pulled the van into a free parking spot outside a lovely, old hotel. The location of the wedding.

“Are you ready?” he asked Remus. His boyfriend huffed.

“One last thing.” Remus pulled Janus over to him, practically lifting him from the driver’s seat and onto his lap, before sealing their lips together. It was unusually sweet for him, no tongue involved.

They parted a few minutes later.

“Now I’m ready,” Remus grinned and Janus chuckled.

“Then let’s go.” He leaned over to grab the keys from the ignition before climbing out of Remus’ lap and out of the passenger door. Remus followed after him, but not without commenting on how good his butt looked.

“There you are! Finally!” The car door wasn’t even closed behind them before Roman was stalking over to them, looking close to furious. “Do you have any idea what time it is? You were supposed to be here yesterday!”

“What a nice welcome,” Janus commented dryly, causing Remus to burst out in giggles and Roman to glare at him.

“Sorry, Ro-bro, but we got turned around.”

“Oh, really?” Roman asked, obviously not convinced, his arms crossed.

“No, he saw a flyer for a carnival and begged me to go.”

“It was super fun, I almost puked on one of their rides! So worth it.”

“I cannot believe you two! A carnival, really?! The rehearsal dinner for your wedding is in two hours! Two hours! And you both look like you haven’t showered in a week!”

“Don’t be dramatic, it was only five days.” Roman groaned and Remus smiled at him, delighted by his annoyance.

“I do not know why you didn’t get a better van! One with a shower! Janus is a lawyer for goodness’ sake, you could’ve easily afforded it!”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t the aesthetic we were going for!”

“I am so going to strangle you!”

“Oh, look, the grooms finally made it,” a new voice commented, and Janus turned to see that Virgil, his best man, had joined them. “Roman was going up the walls since yesterday, it was hilarious to watch.”

“I can’t imagine that at all.” Janus smirked. “You seem quite calm though. Usually you would be right there with him, worrying your pretty little head off about everything.” Virgil elbowed him in the arm for that and rolled his eyes.

“Why would I stress myself out about your wedding? You already paid for all of this, so it’s not like it would’ve been a loss for me if you didn’t end up showing. Plus, I know the two of you, of course nothing here would go to plan, especially since Roman did most of the planning. I was sure you’re going to turn up late, if just to spite him. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past you to have arrived here like two days ago and you’ve just stayed in the van ten minutes from here until you could be fashionably late. I’m more surprised you showed up for the rehearsal at all. Second plus, Logan’s been weirdly insistent that you’d be here around this time. I think Remus has been texting him updates.”

“Why should we put so much effort into a wedding Roman wanted more than us? We would have been fine with getting an officiant into our backyard during a barbeque. He insisted on something more ‘meaningful.’” Janus rolled his eyes and Virgil snickered.

“He and his high standards. Anyway, let’s get you inside and under a shower. You reek.”

“Why, thank you Virgil, for telling me that so politely.”

“Fuck off and just come along.”

They started off towards the hotel, closely followed by the twins that were still arguing.

“And what the hell was that text about sunflowers in the bouquet?” Roman huffed, still rather worked up. “You can’t expect me to change that on such short notice! And they would have clashed with the other colors, plus they stand for platonic affection, not romantic!”

“The fuck you mean ‘short notice?’ I asked you about that two and a half months ago!”

“Yes, way too late! I added some sunflowers to the decorations but not the bouquet.”

“Wow, thank you for your sacrifice.”

They continued to bicker like that the entire way. When they reached the entrance to the hotel, Virgil pulled the door open and held it for them all to pass. Janus let the twins go first, since Roman seemed about to explode if he didn’t get Remus ready immediately. Janus watched them disappear further into the building when Virgil lightly shoved his shoulder with his own.

“So, you ready to get married?” he asked.

Janus watched Remus laugh loudly and pulling his brother into a hug and he smiled.

“I was ready to marry him years ago.”

🌻🌻🌻🌻

This is the end of the story! Thank you all so much for reading, reblogging, tagging and commenting 💛💚

[uhshsmsmaka]

Kin list because I keep forgetting and I wanna keep it written so I remember

giving the biggest “please be my friend ur so cool please please please please” to whoever knows all of these characters

But I’ll say them here anyway, in order from the top left going right.

Mikey - rottmnt

SCP-035 - SCP Foundation

Tawnypelt - Warriors

Ennard - FNAF Sister Location

Dr. Iceberg - SCP Foundation

Moxxie - Helluva Boss

Space Kid - Camp Camp

Phone Guy - FNAF 1 (I think?? I never played the games..)

Phillip Graves - Call of Duty Modern Warfare (reboot)

uhhh idk if I label or spelt that right. I hope I did. That’d be kinda embarrassing if I didn’t lol..

———— why I kin them ig.

btw some stuff is headcanons like so and so being lgbtq and Graves having daddy issues

Mikey ROTTMNT- hell, there’s a lot of reasons.. it’s like… really personal with me lol

4th child, plus youngest. 3 older brothers and often gets left out, or brushed off from being involved. + aro/ace spec.

+ orange theme buddy agh I love u ur so pretty 💛💛

+ ADHD

SCP-035 - hmm.

Wants to watch the world burn, and is here for a good time and is really opportunistic with people, and often forms bonds with people for what they can give him… I’m a bad person I know. I’m trying to change.

+ Latin hehe

+ a lot of people really like him when they first meet, and learn the longer they spend with him, the worse he gets.

Tawnypelt - I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about her bc I didn’t read the 2nd arc, but from what I get, she seems to have struggled with gaining her own identity and being seen as someone other than a clone in her family. I struggle with people only knowing me for my brothers so I relate to her for this.

Also idk her leaving Thunderclan, despite her family, friends, and everything she knows and it being genuinely a good place she is comfortable and happy with— to Shadowclan so she can start a new life just touches me personally.

I don’t want to stay here. It’s not bad here, and everyone I love is here, but I don’t feel like I belong here, and I relate to her for it.

Ennard - yeah.. no, I got nothing. Idk why but he’s just like me fr.

Dr. Iceberg - HE’S AN ASSHOLE!!! I’m an asshole!!! Easily entertained, and doesn’t think of others that much, or the consequences of his actions. + mentally ill

+ bad taste in men

+ probably American with a small fraction of his ethnicity from Europe.

Moxxie - Daddy Issues. shit on by everyone. Underestimated kinda I guess???… and mixed morals. Often really polite— or at least is perceived to be, and is a thinker. Can go absolutely feral if necessary.

+ Italian I guess lmfao

+ short- ish..

+ adults and some older kids shall be referred to as ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’

Space Kid - he likes space. What can I say?

He’s so silly. A lot of the actions and stuff he does feels like stuff I would have done/do.

+ brown hair

Phone Guy - tries to help and probably fails. Hey, he’s trying.

Phillip Graves - Daddy issues. I also headcanon his dad was in the military and he moved around a lot and lived throughout the US, so he’s fairly decent at adapting to different places, and tolerate as hell. “It is what it is” mentality about most everything out of his control.

Finds that one person and looks up to them, and gets really clingy and obsessed with them. Doesn’t show it of course, but in his head he wants to impress them and please them in every way possible. *cough, Shepherd, cough cough*

(I met a lotta people I hyperfixated on giving away everything to make them happy. We’re just casual friends now. Except for that one. She was mean as hell to me. We still meet occasionally tho.)

Outside of headcanons, his personality and the way he acts is just very familiar and relatable to me.

+ American (wtf is a kilometer🦅🫡🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅💥🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸)

+ makes shitty jokes no one laughs at

[verycharismaticdragon]

Wuthering Waves graphics settings and how to cook them

I tried looking up a guide for this, but all the ones I found were of a "if your device is dying or catching fire, try turning these off" variety - when what I wanted was more along the lines of "the best settings for taking screenshots", or at least "these settings offer obvious improvements in graphics, while these ones are barely noticeable".

So, today I've decided to just go for it and make some comparisons myself! And share my findings, of course. To start with, I went to compare settings that affect how character models look, since I do love me my blorbo caps.

Before we begin: do open the images to their full size to accurately see the differences! Tumblr's compression is lying to you! And without further ado...

Settings you definitely DON'T wanna turn off

Anti-Aliasing. Your good friend who takes care of 80% of pixelization on your models. I'll just let the shots speak for themselves:

Anti-Aliasing ⬅️ ON - OFF ➡️ (all other settings ON or highest possible)

Settings you probably won't notice are gone

Capsule AO. AO stands for Ambient Occlusion, and what it does, in theory, is improve shading, adding extra depth (or color, i think?) to shadows depending on environment. Well... is the ambient occlusion in the room with us right now..?

Capsule AO ⬅️ ON - OFF ➡️ (all other settings ON or highest possible)

Ofc, I gotta say that it's possible it will be more noticeable in the environment shots; but since for now we are talking character models - you can see for yourself. (I also gotta add that I saw someone complain that it doesn't work properly on mobile version after the 1.1 update. So maybe I'll try it again in a while.)

[continued under cut]

Shadow Quality: Ultra High vs High. Now, I won't say I can't see any differences, but they are so minimal that you really gotta ask yourself if it's worth the extra strain on your CPU.

Shadow Quality: ⬅️ Ultra High - High ➡️ (all other settings ON or highest possible)

Like there's a difference in how the shadow bleeds, for example near the corner of his lips, but you gotta really look for it to notice.

I also have to add that, unfortunately, even Ultra High does not solve an issue of pixelated shadows that sometimes inexplicably happen to certain characters in certain angles 🤷‍♂️

Now, while we are talking shadows...

Shadow Quality comparisons

Shadow Quality: ⬅️ Ultra High - Medium ➡️ (all other settings ON or highest possible)

Shadow Quality: ⬅️ High - Medium ➡️ (all other settings ON or highest possible)

Now, as you can see, there's a clear difference in depth once you lower SQ to Medium. Other than that, it doesn't look too bad, and if you have performance issues to consider, going with Medium might be the right choice. Or you can keep it on Medium for regular gameplay, and only turn it up when you want to take pretty screenshots/screen recordings! Just from my experience, I can barely see the difference on the phone screen, even in environment shots - but it does make a difference once I open the pics/vids on PC.

And for completion's sake...

Shadow Quality: ⬅️ Medium - Low ➡️ (all other settings ON or highest possible)

Now, there's no significant difference on the character model, and if you were already going to stick with Medium, you might be thinking, why not free up my device's processing power some more? But I gotta warn you here: Low becomes very noticeable in environment shots, removing like half of the shadows of objects. I will make an environment shots comparison sometime later, but you can easily observe the effect yourself by going to any overworld location during the in-game day and changing the setting. So: I'd say turning it all the way down to Low should be the last resort, if your device is catching fire - and after you have turned down all other environment-related settings!

Finally,

Settings that are down to taste

FSR (to fullname, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution) is an upscaling technology, or, to make it easier, a nifty little trick games use to make themselves look better than their actual resolution. You will notice that the FSR ON version looks much crispier!

FSR: ⬅️ ON - OFF ➡️ (all other settings ON or highest possible)

However, the other side of this coin is that it may make pixelization on the edges more noticeable. This especially affects spiky hair *and here I went to grab a few more screenshots* - again, open the image to full size to really see what I'm talking about.

(to make sure im not misleading anyone, this set was taken with my casual settings, not the highest possible ones like the other screenshots in this post)

So... what to prioritize is entirely a matter of your taste 🤷‍♂️ As you might've already realized, pixelization is not that noticeable if you are not zoomed in to 100%. On the other hand, if we are talking screenshots in particular, fixing slight blurriness takes minimal editing, unlike fixing pixels... Just think about it - or try changing the setting and taking a few screenshots with your faves to compare - and decide.

Now, last but not least,

Bloom. Bloom is a method of lighting the model. From what I've read, it is used to up the 'brightness' of the game, without actually upping it. If you look at the comparison, you will see that the Bloom ON version has this sort of soft 'glow' to it...

Bloom: ⬅️ ON - OFF ➡️ (all other settings ON or highest possible)

...however, you may also notice that the Bloom OFF version has slightly more definition to it.

And, confession time: after turning Bloom off for the first time, I actually left it off and never looked back until today. To explain why, I will show a few more screenshots, with ON and OFF versions taken without moving the character from the spot:

Now, if we try to flat compare the two, I'd say that OFF works better for darker places (first set, character facing away from the light, and the shaded side of the second set), and ON works better in the light (third set, character facing bright light, and the lighted part of the second set - especially the glow on his hair!).

But in a more general way - and what I think you should consider while choosing what to do with this setting - toggling it almost feels like switching up the art style of the game. Both styles look good in their own way! For me personally, Bloom OFF feels more right for WuWa's vibe and setting, which is why I'm keeping it that way. Maybe you love the gentle glow of Bloom ON, though - and that's perfectly understandable too! It's really pretty!..

All in all, though, I think you should try toggling this on and off - zooming in on your characters, fighting and seeing the ResLib animations, and so on - before deciding what to go with. At the very least, the OFF version is worth trying out!

----

And this will be all for today! Here's Encore to see you off!

Taken with my usual graphic setting, btw. And I'll see when I have the time for that environment comparison.........

[cariantha]

Accidental Valentine

Book: Open Heart, Book 1

Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Sawyer Brooks)

Rating: Teen

Warning: A little bit of sexual innuendo

Category: Fluff

Word count: 4K

Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and Ethan and Sawyer get “stuck” spending the evening together.

A/N: This takes place after Miami but before the opera. Inspiration drawn from an episode of Grey's Anatomy, 🎶I Wanna Remember, 🎶My Body, and 🎶If Our Love is Wrong.

February 14, 2023

4:30 p.m.

Ethan guided Sawyer through the dimly lit maze of construction materials in the new wing. Instinctively, his hand hovered just inches from her lower back. In the eerily quiet section of the hospital their pagers buzzed simultaneously. The unexpected noise startled Sawyer causing her to stumble as she stepped over a bundle of cables.

“Whoops!” 

“Are you–”

She felt the warmth of his palm as she found her footing and awkwardly laughed off the mishap. “I’m good.” 

Checking his pager, Ethan read the new notification and groaned. “And so it begins.”  

For the past two days, the National Weather Service warned of severe blizzard conditions. Local news stations ran stories showing empty grocery store shelves as Boston residents took precautions to shelter in place. Chief Emery reviewed emergency protocols and prepared hospital staff for the influx in the emergency department.

Offering his hand to help her step over the next hazard, Ethan cautioned, “Careful… watch your step. The page was for more doctors in the E.R., not patients.”

Sawyer took his hand but not before giving him a gentle side-punch for his jab about her clumsiness.  

Minutes later they waited for the elevator to arrive, and ever the gentleman, Ethan gestured for Sawyer to enter first as the steel doors slowly slid open. “After you.”

Once Ethan was safely across the threshold, Sawyer pushed the button for the first floor. Rolling back and forth on her heels, she waited for the digital number above the door to change. 

Ethan stood against the side wall, a small smile forming at the corner of his mouth as he admired her profile. 

“What?” she asked, feeling the burn of his gaze as she watched the floor number change from five to four.

“Nothing,” he answered, shifting his eyes to where her attention was still focused. 

Before the number changed to three, the elevator jerked violently coming to a sudden stop. The jolt caused them both to stumble backward a step or two. 

“Whoa!” Sawyer yelped, trying to keep her balance.

Ethan tried to reach for her but lost sight in the now pitch black box. “Are you alright?” he called out.

“Yeah. You?”

“Fine.”

Sawyer pulled out her phone to illuminate the small space helping Ethan locate the emergency call button.  

“It’s not working. The storm must have knocked out the power. The generators should kick on shortly. Do you have any service?” he asked, pulling out his own phone to check.

“No, I don’t have any bars.”

The emergency light above them finally buzzed to life, the soft glow just enough for them to make out each other’s faces. 

Ethan backed up to the wall and supported himself on the handrail. “I guess there’s not much else to do but wait it out.” 

5:30 p.m.

They had talked easily, not realizing how much time passed until Sawyer checked her phone.

“Ethan, it’s been an hour. Shouldn’t the generators have kicked on by now?”

“Yeah, they should have.”

Concern etched across his face as he thought about the patients who might be in danger, particularly Naveen. But before he could share those concerns, they were interrupted by some banging and a distant muffled voice.

“Hello? Can anyone hear me? Anyone there?”

“We can hear you!” Ethan responded with his deep booming voice. 

“This is Richard from Maintenance. Are you okay?”

“Yes, we’re fine.”

“Ethan? Ethan, is that you? It’s Harper. Who else is with you?”

“Yes. Dr. Brooks is here also. Why haven’t the generators kicked on yet?” he shouted back.

“They have. But the computer system controlling the elevators crashed. We haven’t been able to reboot it. We’ve called for a technician but the storm is making travel impossible right now,” Harper explained. 

Ethan shared a look with Sawyer.

“Make yourselves comfortable. It’s gonna be a while,” Richard hollered down. 

Sawyer sighed as she moved to sit on the floor, “Well, you heard him.”   

6:00 p.m.

Ethan had finally joined her on the floor, propped up against the opposite wall. 

“Okay, lightning round.”

Scrunching his face in confusion, “Pardon?” 

“I’m going to ask you five random questions and you can’t think. Just answer with the first thing that comes to mind. Are you ready?”

“Uh…”

“I said no thinking!” she pointed and laughed.

“Fine, go ahead,” he reluctantly consented. “Hopefully these will be better than the ones you asked when we tested the fMRI.”

“Let’s find out. First celebrity crush?”

Without missing a beat, “Jennifer Love Hewitt.”

Sawyer nodded in quiet approval. “And if you had the chance to hook up with her tonight, would you?”

Ethan squinted looking into her eyes. “No,” he stated confidently.

“Okay, hmm… What’s your favorite carb: bread, pasta, rice, or potatoes?”

“Pasta.” 

“When people stand up for a standing ovation, are you usually one of the earlier people to stand up or one of the later?”

“I rarely stand at all.”

“Yeah, that’s on brand,” she laughed thinking of what to ask next. “Say something cool.”

“That’s not a question.”

Sawyer rolled her eyes then her hand to encourage him to answer anyway.

“Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.”

Shaking her head with a giggle, “You’re such a nerd.”

Ethan shrugged. “Is it my turn now?”

“That was only four questions. I get one more.” 

“It was five… celebrity crush… if I’d hook up–”

“The hook-up question was merely a follow-up. It wasn’t an official question,” she argued with a smile. “Last one. Favorite type of muffin?”

He tilted his head slightly and raised his eyebrow with a questioning glare.

“What’s that look for?” she genuinely wondered until it suddenly dawned on her. “Oh my god! Stop! I wasn’t trying to bait you. It was an innocent question. When I stopped at Derry’s the other day, I thought it would be a nice treat for you and Naveen, but I didn’t know what flavors you liked.”

“Riiiiight.”

“It’s true!” she insisted, kicking his foot. “And given how quick your mind went there, I guess I have my answer.”

As their laughter died down, Ethan jutted out his chin to start his line of questioning. “If you had to choose another specialty, what would it be?” 

“Borrrrring,” she faked a yawn. “Is that really the best you’ve got?”

“What? It will tell me a lot about you. Especially if you say something absurd like ‘surgery.’”

“Emergency medicine.”

He pursed his lips together and nodded. “I can see that. Okay, um…what book are you reading at the moment?”

“Yours.” 

Ethan rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious. After the Platt case I wanted to read the Rethinking Symptoms chapter again. Remember that case? The horrible PITA you assigned me a while back.”

“I remember,” he quietly acknowledged, a twinge of guilt knotting his stomach. His only intention was to challenge her. Had he known just how abusive Platt had been to her and the nursing staff, he would have intervened much earlier. 

Sensing he got lost in thought, Sawyer urged him on. “Next question?”

“Hrm… What’s the most reckless thing you’ve ever done?” 

She looked down for a moment and bit her lower lip before hesitantly reconnecting with his curious eyes. “I made out with my boss on a work trip.” 

It was a half-truth. She couldn’t speak the whole truth. Because the truth was, allowing herself to fall for him was the most reckless thing she’d ever done.

And if Ethan was asked the same question, it wouldn’t be a prank from medical school, or a drunken one night stand, or even Patient X. It would be that he fell for his intern.

As the air thickened in the confined space, Ethan decided it was best to put an end to the game.

“Alright, I think that’s enough speed dating fun,” he concluded trying to keep his tone light.

“Wait, if that was speed dating, then I have to know… would you have wanted to see me again?”

“Probably not.”

Offended Sawyer threw her hands into the air, “WHAT?! Why not?” 

“Because my first impression of you would have been an ass-kissing, E.R. adrenaline junkie, with questionable morals. Need I say more?” he teased with a rare full smile. 

“Well, for what it’s worth, I would have wanted to see you again.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You would have had me at ‘pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.’ That was hot,” she winked.

7:00 p.m.

GRRRRRRRRRR.

“Hungry?” he asked.

Embarrassed, Sawyer clutched her stomach with her hands, “You have no idea what I’d give for a cheeseburger and fries right now.” 

“When was the last time you ate today?”

“I shared a late breakfast with Naveen.”

Ethan shook his head silently admonishing her as he shoved his hand into his coat pocket. He could hardly lecture her though. He was about to hand her the silver-wrapped candy bar that he purchased from the vending machine in lieu of taking his own lunch break earlier. “Here,” he politely offered.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, she moved to sit at his side, thanking him for the sugary sustenance. As she started to peel back the wrapper there was another rumbling sound. But this time it didn’t come from Sawyer’s stomach. Snapping the candy bar down the middle, she offered Ethan the other half. “Here, we'll share.”

With a shake of his head, “It’s fine, Rookie. You go ahead.”

“I insist,” holding it in front of him until he finally took it from her. 

Sawyer took a big bite from the corner of her mouth. She moaned softly, leaning her head back against the wall as she savored the chocolate-coated pillowy goodness. “Mmm.”

It was a sweet, familiar and arousing sound that transported Ethan to a night not that long ago. A night when conversation flowed as easily as the gentle sea breeze. When mouths not only tasted the salt in the air, but the salt on each other’s skin. And when her hips rolled against his, like waves lapping the shore.

Noticing he was lost in a daze, Sawyer gently steered him back to the present. “Hey, everything okay?” she asked softly. 

“Hmm?” Registering her voice, he shook the fog from his head, “Uh, yeah. Just remembering something.”

8:00 p.m.

Ethan checked the time on his watch and sighed.

Curiosity got the best of her, wondering if he was late for something. “Did you have any plans tonight?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” he confessed. “A quiet night in with takeout, a movie, and the promise of interesting conversation.” It was subtle but he caught how she lowered her head to pick lint from her pants, masking what seemed like disappointment. 

“I feel sorry for your date…” she muttered.

The insult caught him off guard. “Excuse me?”

She slapped her hand over her mouth and then clarified, “Oh god, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that! I just meant that they are getting stood up on Valentine’s Day. That sucks. I think the only thing worse than that is getting left at the altar.”

“I’m not worried about it. When Naveen finds out I spent the evening with you instead, I think he’ll be quick to forgive me,” he winked. It wasn’t a secret that Naveen picked up on their chemistry and attempted to play matchmaker often, much to Ethan’s chagrin. 

This time as punishment for his teasing Sawyer shoulder-bumped him while mentally breathing a sigh of relief.  

“What about you? Surely you had plans tonight.” Ethan was well aware of the fact that Sawyer had many admirers at work. There was a high probability that one of them would have extended an invitation to her for the evening, especially the cocksure Dr. Lahela. Ethan noticed how the Malibu Ken doll hung to her every word, and even worse, held on with his self-proclaimed “magic” hands. It appeared to Ethan that the scalpel jockey was incapable of having a conversation without having an arm around her waist, fingers massaging her neck, or hands rubbing her shoulders. And in the last couple weeks, it irked him more and more.  

“Nothing concrete. I was keeping my options open.” With a slight blush pinking up her cheeks, “I know it’s silly but I was really hoping this cute boy from work was going to ask me to be his valentine today.”

Ethan met her eyes in a challenge. “Is that so?” 

Not backing down she looked him dead in the eye. “Yeah, but I don’t think he will. Even though he likes me too.”

“Maybe it’s just bad timing,” Ethan regretfully looked down at his hands. 

“That’s a possibility. But one of the nurses did tell me that Justin also likes Miley, the peds transfer from MK. Apparently he can’t make up his mind which of us he likes more and doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.” Sawyer laughed and tapped his foot with hers to lighten the mood, as a small smile formed on his lips. “I mean, Miley’s really cute, but c’mon,” she lifted her hand up and down gesturing to herself, “I’m the full package.” 

“No argument there,” he agreed, tapping his foot to hers this time.  

8:30 p.m.

Bored, Sawyer stood and stretched in front of the bulletin board. She scanned the flyers advertising rooms for rent and used cars for sale, as well as outdated posters promoting health and wellness. She snorted when she lifted a couple layers to find the “What to do in case of emergency” instructions buried underneath it all. Removing a few of the flyers, she returned to her spot on the floor.

“What are you doing?” he inquired.

“Arts and crafts. Want to join me?” she chuckled expecting him to pass.   

“Sure. Hand me a couple of those flyers.”

“Really?”

“I’ll have you know I’m pretty good at origami.”

“Of course you are,” she rolled her eyes. 

As Ethan got to work folding and twisting a piece of paper, Sawyer carefully creased a couple lines into hers. Having torn off one of the edges to make a perfect square, she continued folding and creasing, then folded each corner toward the center of the page, repeating the process until she had achieved the right shape and size. 

She leaned across Ethan snagging the pen from his chest pocket, “Can I steal this?”

In that split second, Ethan’s senses were overwhelmed. Her hand on his thigh as she reached across with the other. The hints of coconut and tropical flowers that tickled his nose. The closeness of her body against his. He cleared his throat, “It appears that you already have.” 

Already back to work on her project, Sawyer wrote numbers on one side and colors on the other. After carefully pinching the paper to change its shape, she pulled four flaps up and wrote a random phrase on each one. Finished, she excitedly showcased her final product, “Ta-da!” 

“What is it?” he glanced up momentarily from his own craft.  

“A paper fortune teller.” She positioned her fingers to push and pull the points of her device and asked the first question. “Will we ever get out of this elevator?”

Her fingers moved the paper contraption back and forth as she spelled and counted out loud. “B-L-U-E. One… two… three… four.” Peeling back the tab over the number four, she read the fortune. “‘Outlook not good.’ Grrrrrreat.” 

“Geez, I didn’t realize being in my company was so horrible,” he inserted, still concentrating hard on his art project.  

“It’s the worst,” she said, dramatically rolling her eyes and feigning annoyance. “Ask a question. You can keep it to yourself if you want.” 

“Uhhh…” he thought for a moment, working on the final touches of his origami. “Did I make the right decision in Miami?” he asked himself. “Okay, I’ve got one.”

“Pick a color,” she instructed, showing him the options. 

“Green.” For the color of her eyes he decided.

“G-R-E-E-N. Now pick a number between one and eight.”

“One.” Because she was the number one intern, his number one pick for the program, and the first person he thought of when he woke up these last few weeks. 

Sawyer peeled back the tab. “Reply hazy. Try again later.” She heard Ethan’s unsatisfied snort. “Not the answer you were hoping for?” 

“Not quite.”

Sawyer assumed his question was about finding a cure for Naveen and offered him a sympathetic smile. Noticing that his hands were now still in his lap, she pointed to them. “Let’s see your masterpiece.”

Ethan presented a nearly perfect paper rose complete with stem and leaves. “For you.”

Surprised and flattered, Sawyer accepted the sweet gesture. “Wow,” admiring the level of detail as she twirled the delicate flower in her hand. Then looking into his waiting eyes, she held the paper blossom to her chin, “Thank you.” 

9:30 p.m. 

Ethan circled his ankle and bent his knee up and down a few times trying to improve the circulation in his leg.  

“Leg falling asleep?”

“Yes.”

An idea forming in her head, Sawyer unlocked her phone and opened her music app. Scrolling through her favorite playlist, she found a befitting tune and pressed play. Rising to her feet, she extended her hand to Ethan. “May I have this dance?”

Ethan stared at her hand considering, then met her eyes. 

“C’mon,” she reached down to take both his hands and helped pull him to his feet. “We need to stretch our legs. And honestly if I don’t move around I might pee my pants.”

“Well, we don’t want that.” Still holding her hands, he raised his left hand and folded his fingers around hers. He guided her other hand to his shoulder and placed his right hand on her waist.

They began to sway back and forth making circles in the small space of the elevator car. At first they avoided eye contact. But as the words of the song sunk in, their eyes met more frequently until they were finally locked on one another.  

I wanna memorize you, wanna stay here forever 'Cause I-I-I, I-I-I I take a picture in my mind so we're always together 'Cause I-I-I, I-I-I wanna remember

When the song ended, Sawyer was the one who broke the trance. She was just about to pull away when Ethan spoke. 

“One more?”

The corners of her lips lifted into a radiant smile. “Okay. Let me find another song.”

“I rather liked the last one.”

After hitting the replay button and returning the phone to her pocket, Ethan took her hand again. As the intro music played, he slid his other hand around to her back pulling her body close until there was no space between them. Her arm wrapped around his waist. The side of her face rested in the crook of his neck.

This feels like One of those moments moving by so fast You wanna do something just to make it last You wanna do something to remember Breathe it in The feel of your body on my fingertips The moonlight on fire and the clothes we're in We gotta do something to remember We don't wanna forget it

As they rocked side to side in each other’s arms, Sawyer could see their reflection in the stainless steel walls. His chin rested on the top of her head literally breathing her in as the lyrics suggested. 

The song ended and Ethan placed a quick peck on the top of Sawyer’s head. Ever-so-soft, she wouldn’t have even noticed had she not still been looking at their reflection. When they finally pulled away, Ethan brought her hand to his lips. “Thank you for the dance.”

11:00 p.m.

Tired and cold, Sawyer sat by Ethan’s side using his shoulder as a pillow. He encouraged her to try and get some sleep, but the cold steel against her back and dropping temperature in the elevator made it difficult. 

When she hugged herself to help control the shivers, Ethan nudged her to sit up and removed his lab coat. “Come here,” he patted the floor in front of him. 

She did as she was told, nestling herself in between his legs as Ethan draped his coat over her like a blanket. Pulling it up just barely over her mouth, Sawyer breathed in the familiar and intoxicating scent.

With a hand on her shoulder, Ethan guided her back against his chest. Framing her sides with his bent knees, he transferred his warmth and Sawyer melted into him.

Ethan leaned his head against the wall and took long slow breaths. His mind and body were engaged in conflict. He summoned all his strength to resist temptation and tamp down the twitch in his pants. As his head said “no,” his body urged him to lean down and nibble her earlobe. Massage her pulse point with his tongue. Slip his hand down her shirt to know whether her heart still beats as it did in Miami.  

As they laid there quietly for a few minutes, an occasional shiver still coursed through Sawyer even though the cold no longer affected her. She felt Ethan take a deep breath, her own body moving with the rise and fall of his chest. “What are you thinking about?” she asked softly.

He wanted to tell her. He wanted to give her the honesty she asked for that day in the lab. He took a moment to think of how he wanted to phrase it, and when he was ready, he leaned down and half-whispered next to her ear. 

“Stavo pensando che mi fai sentire qualcosa che non ho mai provato prima. So di aver detto che questa cosa tra noi è sbagliata e non dovremmo. E per la prima volta nella mia vita... non voglio avere ragione. Perché voglio che tu sia mio.” 

Sawyer didn’t understand anything he said, but she felt the meaning deep in her bones. Turning her head and shifting her body, she looked him in the eyes. There was longing and desire, and she watched how they slowly drifted down to her lips. She leaned in ever so slightly and Ethan pushed forward the rest of the way capturing her mouth. His hands held the sides of her head as he kissed her over and over. As her lips parted, he lightly introduced the tip of his tongue, moving deeper as she opened to him further. They continued to take each other’s breath away until at last the need for air had him closing the kiss with a soft peck. 

Needing to slow the pace before things went too far, Ethan rested his forehead against hers and begged, “Tell me something. Anything.” 

Sawyer caressed his face as a beautiful smile spread across hers. “This has been the best Valentine’s date ever.”

He leaned back a bit, raising his eyebrow in disbelief. 

“I mean it. Great conversation and lots of fun. You gave me chocolate and flowers. We danced. You spoke sweet nothings in Italian. At least that’s what I heard… you could have said I had amateur scalpel technique for all I know… but it was still romantic. And that kiss,” she sighed softly. “I’ve never been one for traditional Valentine’s Day gestures, but you may have convinced me otherwise, because tonight was perfect.”

Ethan was just about to say something when the elevator jerked back to life. 

They both stood dusting off their backsides and straightening their clothes when Ethan tried to speak again. “Sawyer?”

She already knew how this was going to end. “You don’t have to say it, Ethan. I know where things stand when these doors open.”

He nodded sadly. “Right. But I was also going to say, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day.’”

“Oh,” she said, surprised. 

The chime indicated the elevator finally reached the first floor. “Ethan?” Sawyer stepped out into the hall and turned around to face him. Smiling affectionately, she held the paper rose close to her heart, “Thank you for a lovely time tonight.”

A/N: Here’s what Ethan said in Italian: “I was thinking that you make me feel something I never have before. I know I’ve said this thing between us is wrong and we shouldn’t. And for the first time in my life… I don’t want to be right. Because I want you to be mine.”

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @potionsprefect @jamespotterthefirst @annfg8 @peonierose @socalwriterbee @tessa-liam @jerzwriter @quixoticdreamer16 @mysticalgalaxysstuff @inlocusmads @txemrn @trappedinfanfiction @mvalentine @takemyopenheart @ofmischiefandmedicine @openheartforeverinmyheart @doriopenheart @coffeeheartaddict2 @genevievemd @starrystarrytrouble @hopelessromantic1352 @kyra75

[happytaffeta]

Not going to reblog the post because I respect and agree with the op and I don't wanna write a fucking essay about my feelings on their post, but I finally stumbled across a photo of the calf and I haven't had a great afternoon, and i haven't had a great week. So uh. Here's your warning: Animal husbandry is important to me. I grew up in a rural area and I, and every kid I knew, and all my neighbors, kept various animals and a lot of them were livestock. I never kept cattle but I knew kids who did. I am going to be sad and angry below the cut, and I'm putting it below a cut because it's gonna be a bit long and maybe not super articulate, and definitely not always as kind as I maybe could be. I don't expect to change the minds of people who think that what's happening to that poor thing is okay. But I need to get some thoughts out.

I kept rabbits, goats, chickens. Mom had(still has) horses. we had cats and dogs and occasionally would capture reptiles and amphibians, look at them for a bit in a secure container, and then release them in a safer location where they wouldn't get hit by a tire or spotted as easily by the dog, or my kid brother(gentle, but young, so both clumsy and curious) or the rowdy neighbor boys(less gentle, just as young). You breed livestock, even on a small, 4-H kid, backyard scale, you end up on a first name basis with death. Wildlife happens. Sometimes there's a nasty outbreak of something and it hits half your flock. Sometimes there's stress from a hot summer day or general social group aggression. There are ways to avoid a lot of things but when you're a first time keeper of a given animal type trying to start a little show flock, or a nice little herd for your project book, no matter how much you read up first, there are things you learn by running up against the reaper. Some eggs never hatch. Some kids are stillborn. A first time mother gives birth on the wire instead of in the nest box. Now and then there's an invisible but fatal physical defect that kills a critter later. My first doe kid died a week and a half after I brought her home, heart defect. No one knew. She was weaned and everything, cause I didn't bring her home until after she was full time eating solid food.

This calf is not going to be okay, ever. This is a blue eyed white foal kind of situation, except those are pretty avoidable for the most part. You cannot save these babies, and trying only adds more pain to an inevitably early death. Trying makes you into the monster, it makes you be the one causing pain. This is an infant who is never going to be able to understand why the world consists of suffering, and there is no way for us to explain it, and there is no way to make it stop that is not death. This isn't a life to save. This is not someone who can consent to life-extending medical intervention. This is a creature who needs as gentle and quick a farewell as we have the power to give. Please don't do things like this. Please don't make us into monsters. Please, let the suffering baby beasties go.

[jokertrap-ran]

[スタオケ] La Corda d'Oro Starlight Orchestra Mikado Ukiha Cast Story Chapter 5 Translation

*Starlight Orchestra Masterlist | Mikado Ukiha’s Personal Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Mikado's Route Tag will be #Ukiha’s Star *T/N: Protect Mikado's smile!!! Precious...

Ukiha: …The wind is starting to carry the scent of winter rather than autumn.

Ukiha: The season is about to change… and I suppose our surrounding environment will soon follow suit as well.

Ukiha: I wonder how many times we have already walked the streets of Gion together like this.

Ukiha: It is a place that sees little to no change. Are you not bored by it?

▷Choice: Not at all

Ukiha: I see. That is good then. Ukiha: I am all too familiar with the streetscape here, but I suppose it is still a new experience in your eyes. Ukiha: I am too used to these streets, so I am afraid it is no longer possible for me to enjoy them like before.

▷Choice: I just want to spend time with you, Mikado

Ukiha: How heartwarming. However, I doubt it would be fun to go around with me in this manner. Ukiha: Surely you would find more enjoyment wandering these streets with someone who is equally new to this place. Ukiha: Their reactions would be more candid, and I am sure it would make seeing new things all more exciting.

▷Choice: Then let’s go somewhere else next time

Ukiha: I do not mind. Will you do the honors of deciding our next destination? Ukiha: Nothing really stands out to me anymore since I have gotten used to these streets. Ukiha: People who are here to visit would know where all the good spots are. And I can show you around as long as you know the location.

Guy 1: Yikes, look at how long the queue is! I guess that's unavoidable, considering its popularity…

Girl 1: Let's join the queue since we're already here! The guidebook strongly recommends this place, so I really wanna try it!

Ukiha: …Are you curious about it too? The long queue is for the shop that is famous for its matcha.

Ukiha: They also serve parfaits in the store, but as you can see, they often have long queues due to how small the shop is.

Ukiha: You will not have to line up to enter the store if you purchase it as a takeaway at the counter. We can pop in for a look if you are interested.

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

I bought a matcha soft-serve ice cream.

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

Ukiha: …I never thought that the day would come when I would be one of those people.

Ukiha: The couples dotting the area along the river here, spaced evenly as they are, can be called a Kamogawa specialty.

Ukiha: I have looked down from this bridge before, but this is my first time experiencing things as they do.

▷Choice: Do we look like a couple?

Ukiha: Who knows? Perhaps we should try sitting in a fashion more befitting of couples. Ukiha: Like sitting closer… Ukiha: Hehe, you have gone all red. I might easily get the wrong idea, considering how easy it is to draw that reaction out of you.

▷Choice: It's a new experience, right?

Ukiha: Oh? Did our previous conversation cause you to worry about that? Ukiha: It is quite refreshing. Plus, this is also my first time sitting by the water while the wind is this cold. Ukiha: I never thought that I would ever get the chance to sit so close to another, just like this…

Ukiha: I know it is cold out here, but that ice cream is going to melt and go to waste if you do not start eating it.

Ukiha: It may not be the best season to enjoy it, but the taste never changes. I hope you enjoy it.

Ukiha: Oh, no need to worry about me. Seeing you enjoy it is more than enough for me.

At his prompting, I turned back to the matcha soft-serve— intact and unmelted…

Ukiha: …Eh?

A strong gust of wind suddenly came out of nowhere. Just what…

…The ice cream I was holding disappeared!!!

Ukiha: …Pfft- Ha! HAHAHAHA!!!

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

Ukiha: Ahahahahaha! Oh dear, this is truly an unexpected turn of events!

Ukiha: Haha, it was a black kite. A black kite stole your ice cream!

Ukiha: Look over there. That was the black kite that stole the ice cream you were holding earlier!

Ukiha: Haha! Oh, what a masterpiece!

▷Choice: Laugh along with him

Ukiha: That was amazingly smooth of it! Hahaha, it happened in the blink of an eye!

▷Choice: Quit laughing so much

Ukiha: I cannot help it. I mean, the look you had on your face right after it happened was- Ahahaha!

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

Ukiha: Ah… Aha… my stomach hurts from laughing so hard. I have heard rumors, but I had totally forgotten about it…

Ukiha: Rumor has it that there are black kites in Kamogawa, so it is advised not to bring food there.

Ukiha: That really came out of nowhere. Never would I have thought that we would actually experience it first-hand…

Ukiha: Your hair has gotten all mussed up.

Ukiha: Oh my… How long has it been since I last had such a good laugh?

Ukiha: You should have been the one enjoying your time here, but the tables were turned somewhere along the way, and I ended up being the one gleaning enjoyment from it all.

Ukiha: Since your ice cream is gone… Shall we head back?

Ukiha: How do you feel about dropping by my place? We may not have matcha ice cream on hand, but we should have some matcha-flavored dango.

Ukiha: It will be prepared alongside a hot pot of tea, of course. I… would not mind spending a little more time with you.

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬Ukiha’s Star♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

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