#cant dress pretty at work bc Reasons

[umiwomitai]

i love dressing up on my day off when i go nowhere and see no one this is between me and no one else actually

[muikitoo]

Hi,Ummm,good morning/night

Can I request something regarding the Rottmnt boys,I want them their love at first sight with a female reader in a school ay(More like a mix between the Yokai/mutant/human society

(No rush,It's ok if you don't want to do it and stuff,It's totally fine to take your time☺️,Have a nice day/night)

Love at first sight

Aged up! Rottmnt x fem! Reader

(somewhere around their 20s)

Warnings:

None

A/N: this was so hard to do for me for some reason (especially Mikey and Raph), i had to think for a few days for certain scenarios and this might come late bc i rlly want it to be good. Im sorry if it isnt what u expected 🙏

You were an English teacher who recently started working at a new school. Youre quite nervous, but exciting at the thought of what awaits you with this sudden change.

Donnie

- Donnie was one of those strict science teachers that nobody dared to underestimate.

- At first, he didnt seem too interested when he heard of a new teacher who started working there.

- hes never even been a romantic type, he honestly didnt care and let fate decide if he gets a partner or not.

- When he saw you for the first time though, he thought he might be hallucinating.

- "Oh sweet Galileo help me.."

- you probably immediately checked his "cute but mean" type without even saying a single word

- He became more interested in you, talking to you more often, even at times asking u to meet up during the break.

- "Hey, uhm.. Could i maybe interest u in some coffee during the break?"

- he thought all of this "romantic feeling" thing wasnt real, but he seriously cant help but fall for you.

Leo

- Leo is obviously the laid-back cool Spanish teacher.

- Almost every student liked him, he was chill and even jokes around

- (he once drew donnie on the board with a huge forehead and wrote "megamind" next to it)(no, donnie did not take that well)

- He was quite interested when he heard of a new teacher, hell he was probably the first one to interact with you out of his brothers

- The second he saw you, this mf fell straight face down in love with you

- "oh mi gosh thats the new teacher?! Shes gorgeous! Do you see her Donnie?! You see her?! Oh i so need to get her number!!"

- tries to act sly and flirt with you

- and fails miserably

- "Hey there hermosa, how do you feel about a date? Ya know, just you and me? *Wink wink* *leans on wall, trips and falls miserably*"

- (A/N: i cried writing that)

Mikey

- Mikey is the sweet art teacher and students enjoy being around him, but yet again they probably wont dare to underestimate his "Dr. Delicate touch" side

- He was quite excited when he heard about a new teacher.

- When he saw you, he suddenly felt nervous and flustered. And he knew why.

- at this point, everyone but you knew abt how he admires you, a little more than in the friendly way.

- He couldnt get the courage to go and talk to you, which put Dr. Feelings to shame

- When you actually started talking tho, you got quite close.

- Youd be with him almost every break

- You would often stay in his classroom/art studio and watch him paint during the lunch break

- and during those times he even asks u to pick his colours

- "Hey Y/n, which colour do you think would suit the ladies dress more? Red or blue?"

- Sometimes you even jokingly ask to be his model, but in all honesty he doesn't mind at all

- you guys were an inseparable duo, and he caught himself falling more and more for you

Raph

- He's the PE teacher, hes fun but strict when he needs to be.

- He doesnt mind that theres a new teacher, hes quite excited abt it actually - he would gladly want to meet you.

- First thing that catches his eye is that he thinks youre really pretty.

- He's most likely stuttering during ur first convo now😭

- Hes super sweet, bringing you coffee and/or lunch, helping u out with random teacher stuff, checking up of u, ect

- "Hey! How you feeling? I brought you some coffee.. if youd like."

- Hes so shy, but he cant help but feel his heart flutter every time you thank him or show appreciation towards him

A/N: Raph was so hard and i know it's not accurate at all. Ive literally been beating my ass up bc of him cuz i didnt have any ideas😭😭 this took super long and I'm really sorry about that, i hope it turned out the way u wanted🙏 anyways its 1AM so im js posting this cuz i have nothing else to do😔

[ganondoodle]

since i have seen this argument pop up again and again and now its used to defend the minecraft movie

i really hate the argument that something, be it a movie or a game, can be as shitty as it wants when its primarily aimed at kids (or people THINK it is aimed mostly at kids) bc its 'just for kids'

like children are lesser an stupid? like they arent incredibly impressionable and deserve good movies? im not saying they should only watch critical acclaimed drama movies, but you can make a movie 'for kids' AND make it good, its been done before, sure there will always be shit movies, and thats fine, but dismissing any kind of criticism towards them bc "its just for kids" feels so unecessarily mean spirited towards children, like they are little people in wildly different stages of development!! they can think too!!

'kids' itself is such a wide range that i feel its not very useful as a category anyway, a 5 year old isnt the same as an 11 year old, both of them should get good things, and both can watch or play things they may not completely understand yet! i grew up with shrek, and while a big parody and haha fart humor movie, they (1+2) have an incredibly strong core, i didnt udnerstand them fully when i was little, so what? i still enjoyed them, i felt more connected to them than any disney movie (bc hey .. the monster is the main guy and no they dont all turn into conventionally pretty humans as the ultimate reward- i felt othered throughout my life too) and i still do, theres jokes and themes and meaning i understood fully only when i was rewatching them as an adult, i still enjoy them even at 27

and like, shouldnt it ESPECIALLY matter what children watch? (not in the puritan brain worm way) bc they are ... people in development?? do you think if they just sit down and watch shitty movies and play games that dont challenge them at all, be it thinking critically or emotionally, all day it wont have an affect on them??

(im sorry to bring up totk again, but that 'its for kids' argument has been used to defend it so much too, and its so incredibly annoying to me, ah yes, its puzzles are all skippable or easy as shit bc its main target are kids and children are stupid and shouldnt be challenged ever, the story is a simple fairytale type deal maybe to you, but contains alot of harmful stereotypes that have led to real world harm and its repeated unquestionably while offering nothing intersting to think or engage with, theres a reason alot of childrens media contains alot of stereotypes to propaganda even but its just for kids of course its not propaganda bc kids are stupid and cant understand that lol BECAUSE they are so impressionable, if a series 'for kids' only lets the girls be in frilly pink dresses and do 'girly' stuff do you not think that wil affect how they think about themselves??

if they keep seeing the light skinned blonde heroe stab the unquestioned evil arab stereotype bc he wants to take over your holy land bc hes just 'evil' and is never ever humanized in any way and only presented as a monster, while the good little maiden princess does everything she can to support her hero in shiny armor with big sad doe eyes and pretty little white dress- do you not think it will affect them? if it were an isolated incidence perhaps not much, but its a stereotype perpetuated to such a degree that you think its just 'how fairytales go'? yeah, you have been influenced by these portrayals, they are working as intented- and if they are used as such in media without the writer intending to influence you that way? thats even worse bc it means it has been so normalized to think that way people dont even realize it- while alot of real people in the world are ganondorf, they are demonized and dehumanized, others think of them as inherently evil.. but its just a "simple fairytale"

yes i know children can also question things on their own, but you shouldnt assume that comes naturally and then also in just the correct way, i questioned why i was just doing whatever the talking boat told me to do when i first played windwaker as a kid, but more bc i liked how ganondorf looked and hated being told things to do without a good reason being given (autism much?), 'evil' didnt do it for me, but that doesnt mean i knew he was an evil arab stereotype, i didnt like tetra turning white as zelda, bc i thought she looked cooler before and i didnt like 'girly' things myself, not bc i knew it was whitewashing

-not saying media should be free of anything 'problematic', the problem is how its presented and never questioned or engaged with critically and then that stupid argument being used to dismiss it like children are both unable to think and not influencable somehow-)

[pansy-picnics]

A vat7k related question.

What do you think is Hugo's gender identity? Cus I want to hear what you think Hugo's gender is and the story behind it.

EHEHEHE personally i think she’s genderfluid and uses he/she/they pronouns…….I think he was kind of an uncracked egg up until the trials though. like, he’s been in survival mode for so long that he’s never had the time or luxury to really think about himself or his identity….i think he’s had a lot of different disguises over his career though, and those personas are either male or female depending on what the situation calls for so he’s not a stranger to dressing femininely either.

but yeah…i think for a long time hugo just identified as male by default cuz like…what else would he be LOL. if he had any doubts at all they weren’t significantly hindering him or anything so he just buried them with all the other of the emotions he doesn’t want to feel. but like the closet is made of GLASS and this becomes especially obvious when she teams up with 3 other teenagers who are also transgender so sometimes she’ll just Say Shit and they all turn around and look at her like “…….🤨”

i have this very vivid scene in my head where varian comes out to the gang as trans and hes clearly really uneasy abt it. and hugo doesn’t know what to say so he just tries to relate by saying the first thing that comes to mind and goes “oh yeah i get it i mean. sometimes i wish i was a girl but like not all the time yk” and nuru and varian both just stop and stare at him

hugo, getting nervous: …Sorry that’s probably not the same thing forget i said anything

nuru: No i think we should talk about this?

anyways yeah….other than her traveling party giving her some weird looks nothing actually really came of these conversations bc hugo would refuse to think about herself even if you put a gun to her head

fast forward to post-trials though, and hugo’s been living in the castle with varian for about six months…it was REALLY messy for both of them while she was adjusting, but at this point shes finally started to let her guard down a little, and all of a sudden she has SO much free time and she has no idea what to do with any of it. she’s stealing collecting things, tinkering with all kinds of useless little gadgets, rapunzel is teaching her tons of little arts and crafts projects. overall shes pretty content despite everything. So anyways then the gender crisis hits them like a fucking freight train

honestly i’m like half joking when i say i think it started bc they just kept forgetting to cut their hair. like one day they looked in the mirror and they’re like “wow my hairs getting so long i kinda look like a girl lol. Wait”

AND AS FUNNY AS IT IS ITS SO. WILDLY UNFAMILIAR TO THEM. like all of a sudden theyre SO insecure for as far as they can tell, NO reason and it drives them CRAZY. i dont even think that hugo dislikes their masculine features after coming out, i think they embrace them if anything but its just like…going from 0 to 100 so fast and suddenly being so hyper aware of themselves in a way that they NEVER were before…having to realize that they’re definitely Not cis. it’s fucking TERRIFYING!!!

not to mention it hits him all at once during a time when he’s still frankly really paranoid about him and varian’s relationship, and he’s kinda walking on eggshells bc deep down he’s convinced that var’s just gonna get tired of him eventually and kick him out. its like he’s just waiting for the final nail in the coffin despite the fact that there is literally no coffin.

All that being said i think it takes him a while to work up the courage to talk to varian about it. and he knows he won’t like. hate him for being trans or anything (I sure hope he wouldn’t, at least, seeing as he is literally also trans) but varian’s already done SO much for him and helped him through literally everything already….he doesn’t want to burden him any more than he already has. he also cant comprehend that someone can just Like him, like, as a person, so he’s convinced himself that varian must see something specific in him right now and he’s afraid that if he changes himself drastically in any way then whatever varian saw in him just. won’t be there anymore. If that makes sense

as for who he actually goes to first- honestly i think it’d have to be lance. at least in my head lance was the first person hugo really started to bond with aside from varian….he didn’t start letting his guard down with rapunzel until quite a while after that. also i think he’s worried that if he tells rapunzel she’d end up accidentally spilling something to varian (which is like. Valid bc she’s a horrible liar) he’d definitely write a letter to nuru, too, but nuru is also in another kingdom, and that message takes a while to get to her, so it’s more something they talk about after the fact

when he finally does get a letter back after dumping this revelation on her it’s just like

“dearest hugo. upon reading your letter i desperately wanted to tell you that i told you so, but i realize that would be in poor taste, seeing as you are clearly struggling right now. Moreover,-“ /j

regardless of who she tells first, they obviously all support her and encourage her to talk to varian as well…And ofc varian hypes her up to no end when she finally does. i wanna say it’s a sweet emotional scene but i feel like varian was also under the assumption that she figured out the gender thing like a year ago /j

hugo: ,,,,so like. i don’t think i’m a guy

varian: . yeah?

hugo:

hugo: TFYM “YEAH”?????!!!!???

varian: D. DID WE NOT ALREADY KNOW THIS?

hugo: ,???? NO???!!???!

jokes aside though as soon as hugo does decide he wants to explore his presentation more varian immediately consults rapunzel who gets WAY too excited about it and it kind of scares hugo a little bit. /j like Do you want to cut your hair? Dye it? Do you want new piercings? TATTOOS????

they eventually just settle on getting her a few new pieces to add to her wardrobe and that works out fine. varian sees his girlfriend in a dress and loses his mind etc etc. All is right in the world

[hornedandwingedangel]

Raphael thoughts

I’ve been analyzing him a lot recently so here are some thoughts I have about my favorite cambion.

SFW

- tbh, I don’t think he’d be that bad in a relationship. He canonically says he cant resist helping you, he likes you. Maybe he almost respects you? In a way. Sure, he’d be toxic sometimes. But he even said he’d “make time for his favorite client”. He cares about you, I think he’d be pretty nice.

- For example, I think he’d buy you nice things. He has expensive taste and he’d want you to look good next to him. And ofc he’d love handing you a beautiful dress or necklace to see a smile on your face.

- he’s actually your biggest supporter. He genuinely wants you to succeed in the things you do. You can see from a conversation with Korilla.

- He reminds me so much of Ursula lol. Flamboyant, manipulative, condescending

- It’d take a while of being in a relationship with him for him to open up, but eventually he’d vent to you about his father and issues between them. I think in general, he’s not super open, but he is quite honest.

- an example of that honesty is that he tells you that the Orphic hammer is a good trade and he writes in his journal that he really believes it is. I think he genuine likes you and wants to help you (but not quite enough to let you get in the way of his plans)

- I don’t think you can “fix” him or calm his ambition down as much as you can with Astarion or Gale. But I think you can calm him down just enough for him to let himself express his human side around you more often.

- hugs! He would be suave and very nonchalant about letting you hug him, but he secretly LOVES holding you in his arms. Feeling you in his grasp. His own little mouse all to himself.

- LOTS of banter. Well, he likes your praise and attention all to himself. But he also likes some arguing. He finds you being opinionated and having stimulating intelectual conversations attractive.

NSFW

- This guy has serious anger issues. It’s not hard to piss him off. I think it’d be a lot of fun to rile him up sometimes. He’s cute when he’s angry. Ofc, this can lead to… “punishment” and such… “activities”

- now about him being a bottom and whatever. Here’s what I think based on other headcannons I’ve heard. 1) he wouldn’t rly bottom for you. he wouldn’t submit to anyone who wasn’t him (or on his level like Haarlep who is in Raphael’s form anyway). 2) he’s “bad” in bed bc he doesn’t have to do any work to be satisfied. Haarlep does all the work and they don’t have a romantic relationship aside from sex so there’s no real reason for him to put in any effort. But you can’t tell me after idk, hundreds of years? of having sex he doesn’t know how to fuck?

- he would never make you do anything you didn’t wanna do. When it comes to how you guys do the devils tango, I think these headcannons are totally up to you. But imo, he’s a dom on the aggressive side with teasing, humiliation, and condescending praise.

If you have any bc questions (ex: would he like ___?) pls comment :) I hope you like these hcs 🫶🏼

[pumpkinsy0]

Okay kinda related to that one anon about papercut doing theater.... what if I said Pony in choir and hcs on this pretty please like how curly reacts to finding out how the GANG reacts and hcs on them coming to his choir concert *blinks cutely*

fun fact: i actually did do choir a few times so im basic pony off me here cause i feel like we wouldve felt the same exact way

•y did pony do choir u may ask??? the curtis parents put all their kids into extra curricular activities, and choir was just one of the things they pushed pony to do

•pony did choir 2 times in his life, once bc of his parents, the other bc of school!! the curtis knew pony did choir waayyyyy before curly did, they just never told him, so curly found out about pony in choir bc of this school performance but ill get to that later

•darry and soda were literally the only ones defending pony when they found out he was doing choir, everyone else was laughing at him, even johnny, what a snake💔💔

•YES pony had that robe at some point but he hattteeddd it bc his always stank and never fit him

•he didnt last long in that choir tho he hated it so bad and only actually did like one ACTUAL show w that choir, the curtis parents recorded it all and u can see pony just glancing at the camera here n there and wanting to die, hes so real for that

•u could also hear the rest of the gang giggling in it, and them being told to b quiet

•THANKFULLY pony doesnt exactly remember that day, bc after the show when it was time for him to go home they were DOGGING on him BAD, now that recording is basically lost somewhere in that house

•BUT NOOWWWW YEARS LATERRRRR he has to do choir bc his school offers music class or choir and he got pushed into the choir while curly did music

•curly knew that and when pony was in that class u could see curly at the door window grinning at pony and pony trying to not look at him

•considering two, johnny, n steve still go to school w pony, i think they found out and for sommeee reason they forgot pony did choir but finding out he was BACK in it made em remember and pony skips it now cause he’ll b DAMNED if he sang in front of em

•curly called pony princess after hearing him sing n it caught on w half the gang, its worse bc he cant transfer out the class, poor fella

•now the gang n curly couldnt rlly see pony perform the other shows he did, BUT there was one time the music teacher was making a show w BOTH the music and choir classes and it was a project grade so they all had to attend and dress nicely

•first it was the music class and THEN the choir and for the choir class they were doing popular songs so pony was even MORE embarrassed and trying to kid behind the other ppl but it didnt work much

•u couldnt hear pony but u could def hear steve and curly laughing together (thats how bad this is, theyre getting along) and two but acting like hes the maestro

•after the show at some point curly stole one of those roses they sold there and gave it to pony, talking about pony serenading him

•johnny and dally didnt go, neither did darry or soda, but they told em to tell them how it goes and THAT they will do

[gabessquishytum]

That ask of dream having to work the summer at one of his family's resorts and being perved on by hob is so delicious to me. But consider: hob is very rich and powerful, yes. But nowhere NEAR the level of the Endless family and would probably never have even talked to the cute shy waiter who had no idea what he was doing if he knew who dream was. Dream knows this. He really considers telling his supervisor about hob bc it would be taken care of by dinner but he kinda likes the attention... hes always thought people only talked to him bc his family name but here hob is catcalling him across the pool and laughing at him when it makes dream spill his tray of drinks. Hob has no idea how this kid got THIS particular job but hes very glad he decided on extending his stay and might do so again:) hob is constantly demanding dream as his server and tucks his more than generous tips in the band of dreams tiny shorts before sending him off again with a slap to his ass. Hob is mostly playing chicken when he tells dream change into his swimsuit and let hob teach him to swim but dream AGREES and returns in the rarely chosen uniform one piece suit and hob can finally see his little tits cupped by something tighter than the sadly shapeless uniform polo. Hob "accidentally" sends it off to laundry forcing him to remain shivering in his swimsuit and dream knows thats a lie but hob calls him pretty and offers him a drink in apology. Then another, because dream deserves it for working so hard. He cant say no when hob tells him hes going to a yacht party that evening as hobs guest instead of an employee. The last minute addition means theres not enough chairs at dinner but hob waves his protests away and pulls dream onto his lap, keeping him quiet with a glass of wine to his lips and his other hand up dreams dress. Dream is wasted as he walks back to his room with his shoes in hand, he figured he should leave when hob got pulled into conversation when they got back. Hes frustrated because hob never made him come but theres another waiter dreams age whos hes sure has been giving him looks behind those shades and maybe Corinthian is capable of pleasuring him unlike hob :/ hob is pissed his arm candy left before he could get dream to beg for relief writhing on silk sheets but he does get to break rodrick burgess' nose for touching whats HIS and if his pretty boy thinks this was for moral reasons? Hey, hob is eager to accept dreams gratitude and dream rethinks his opinions about hobs sexual prowess when hes got dream moaning on his dick til sunrise.

-🔪

I'm sooooo thirsty about this au. I just love the idea of Hob teasing Dream until he's a little riled up mess, bless him. All those touches with those big warm hands have him aching, and maybe he shouldn't want it... but oh, he does. Its the fact that he could stop it at any time, that he technically has the power in the situation... but Hob doesn't know that. So Dream can really lose himself in his helpless slutty waiter fantasy.

When Hob finds Dream after the yacht party, they even have a little "fight" - Dream says that he's sick of Hob being gross, he's going to call Cori to take him to bed and report Hob for harassment tomorrow! And Hob is holding the hand that he used to punch Burgess and he's like "oh :((( OK I guess. You should know that Roderick won't bother you again by the way, I knocked him out." And Dream is like "oh? you defended my honour?"

And they fall into bed immediately. Hob tears Dream’s dress down the side seams and eats him out until he's thrashing and crying, the bedside lamp is on the floor, the sheets are soaked because Dream squirted everywhere. When he finally gets fucked he's just gushing, coming all over Hob’s dick as soon as its inside him, moaning until he's hoarse as Hob lifts him up and down with one hand. He's never had sex like this. Every slap on the arse, every lewd comment, its all worth it. Hob is some kind of sex-god disguised as a rich asshole.

They sleep in late next morning and Hob is like "won't you be in trouble for skipping work?" Dream just smiles and straddles Hob’s thighs for another go... And that's how Hob finds out that he's been perving on the prized third son of the Endless family...

[ddejavvu]

ok so now im stuck on the whole stepdad!james maybe dark ask i jsut send in, but obviously this james is the tried and true, big beefy rugby lad, gentle giant, that type.

but you just know that the lads take the PISS outta him, like he doesn’t introduce ur mom as “the missus”, or anything endearing, but once the boys find out that ur sorta kinda his step daughter?? ohh the porn jokes come flooding in.

want her to call u daddy james? oh stepdad im stuck over the couch again!!

and james can’t help but flush red cus he doesn’t really like ur mom like that, but he wants to be around you cus ur pretty and nice (not to mention ur a lot closer in age), and then. oh then. u get an almost-boyfriend.

a guy who sorta tries asking you on a date so u sorta try and go, but james is a fuckin baby about it once he finds out. all petulant and flushed cheeks bc he CANT say anything to u bc he’s not an official authority figure in ur life, or a potential romantic interest cus he hasn’t said so, so he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place so he tries to put issues in place like forgetting to dry ur date dress, or making ur favourite meal bc oh bug im so sorry i totally forgot ur going out tonight!! :((

i just want beefy james potter and his big fat fucking tits at this point that’s so cringe but MY GOD 🙏🙏

this post is 18+ (and so are its characters) and dark, minors dni.

THIS IS SO SPECIAL TO ME :')) james is already a certified lover boy but when he can't express that whenever he wants to?? totally whipped!! he's constantly calling you honey or love or sweetheart and when his friends realize that he doesn't call your mom any of that shit they lay into him so hard </33 sirius sends him porn links that he passes on his way to whatever he's looking for that are labeled stepdad or stepdaughter something along those lines, along with teasing remarks like 'this kinda looks like your kitchen. been up to anything fun with y/n?' or 'if you're looking for any ideas ;)'

when.. when you tell him you're going out. oh my god. he doesn't know what to say!! he can't stop you, and if he tattles on you to your mom she won't stop you, because what reason would she have? so he just nods all stiff and tells you he's happy for you. he bolts from the room as soon as he can, and you think it's kinda weird/mean but he seems fine later so you brush it off!! but the reason that he's fine is that he's just schemed with sirius and remus to get you to stay home for the date and he's confident now that you won't go </3

you're so right he does bait you with your favorite meal.. he calls you downstairs to ask you to taste the sauce for him and you come down in a full face of makeup!! he tells you that you look so pretty, but asks what it's for. you're like james.. my date?? and he goes ohhh, honey i forgot! i made your favorite :( i thought we could have a movie night!! your mom's at work :') and you feel sosososo bad bc he seems so hopeful about it and you don't want him to think that you don't like him!! but you're still planning on this date, so you tell him you'll eat light and come home early.

not good enough for him!! he just smiles and nods and tells you your dress is fresh out of the dryer, but ohhh it shrunk :( it's too tight now!! he's so sorry for ruining it, he must have put it on the wrong setting :( he'll take you to the mall tomorrow to replace it!! and you're pretty discouraged now, your outfit is ruined, you feel guilty for leaving, so you just raincheck the guy :( you feel super bad, especially because he thinks you're just getting cold feet, and snaps at you that he wouldn't have enjoyed your company anyways. this means you're sad and feeling guilty, and james gets to croon over how mean he was and how sweet you are for still feeling bad and he wraps you up in his big strong arms beside the stove and lets you bury your face in his big broad chest and he coddles you for as long as you’ll let him :’) he shovels your comfort meal into your mouth and puts on your favorite movie and snuggles up under blankets with you and at the end of the night you end up snoozing on his shoulder while the credits roll :’) he carries you up to your bed and tucks you all snug under your covers and he can’t stop himself from kissing your forehead :’)) your face is warm and flushed and he yearns to kiss your lips but he tears himself away and leaves you there with a promise to himself that he’ll treat you better than anyone else because it’s what you deserve :’)

[fickes]

hiiiiii

as a pre top surgery transmasc i adore your art so much. it makes me so happy and gives me hope that someday i too will be able to get top surgery!

okay so i like asking peoples personal experiences, so what were the most interesting things about getting ready for top surgery, the surgery itself or the recovery process in your eyes?

also how long did it take to get off of the binder after the surgery? thats the part i worry about the most bc i cant wear a binder bc my lungs are inept (affectionate) so i worry how thatll go but i mean itll be worth it obviously.

anyway whatever you are comfortable sharing about the surgery process, id love to hear it!!! have a great rest of your day

Thanks so much :) I'm answering this publicly in case other people find this information useful, but let me know if it's a problem and I'll take it down right away. Also feel free to message me with any follow-up questions.

I should let you know a lot of my comics are a bit dramatized for comedic purposes. I don't lie at all but sometimes I phrase things to be funny, not accurate ;)

Let's get into it - first of all, speaking as someone who needed top surgery but felt it was a pipe dream for soso long, I'll say a) it was well worth the wait and b) it wasn't nearly as hard as I expected it to be, both logistically and physically. I had the advantage that I live in a pretty liberal state in transgender law and financial aid, but the disadvantage of having a few medical conditions that I expected to make the surgery pretty hard on me (and that blocked me a little in terms of getting medical permission). If you live in the USA, I may have more specific legal guidelines for you if you want it.

In terms of the binder! I actually have a chest deformity that made wearing a binder extremely painful and probably damaging. I usually had to opt for sports bras etc., and this was a big concern for me, too, in terms of the binder that you have to wear after surgery. The vest the hospital gave me was problematic because it didn't fit me right and was causing a lot of pain. I'm not sure if my deformity had to do with it or not. But the point is: I told them the problem, and they gave me the option of just going out and buying Under Armour compression sportswear. This SAVED me, and it was FAR less painful than any binder or binder substitute I've ever worn. I could wear it 24/7 and barely even notice the pain, and it was only about $20 online. This is definitely worth asking about ahead of time to any potential surgeon. Even if this particular solution doesn't work for your case, they probably have others. There are a lot of us with bad lungs/ribs!

I was required to wear the compression shirt for 6 weeks. After that, I've chosen to continue wearing it on and off because I still have a little swelling. They expect that to be done by 6 months.

The worst parts were the vest (before I replaced it with the sportswear) and the drains. The worst part about the drains is they do hurt, and if the tubes shift at all you can feel it inside your body (BAD feeling). Unlike everything else, they were gradually hurting more the longer I had them. I got them out after a week, and after that recovery was no problemo at all. The drains are the hard part - I think most people agree with me on this one. Some people experience pain getting them removed, too, but for me it just felt a little weird.

The most interesting thing to me was the result itself. The wound, the bruising, the stitches, the glue, and the scars. Watching my own skin heal itself into a new shape was fascinating! I was allowed to change the dressing on day 2 and it was a pretty gruesome sight, but it also felt RIGHT. I was expecting a difficult adjustment. Even with the gender euphoria, a lot of trans people say they felt woozy or strange when they first saw the results. It can take a long time for your brain to adjust to your new shape. But for some reason, for me, it just immediately felt right. It's already hard to imagine my chest having ever been different.

[allykatsart]

STOPPPPPPPPPP peccantum is my child now sorry im adopting him you are losing your parental rights. move the fuck over alastor that little boi is MINE

no but for serious, I. Am. So. In. Love. With your series. the art, the dynamics, the designs, the lore, all of it ALL OF IT. you worked peccantum into the series events so smoothly like whaaaaat

A couple questions I have, and then I'll be out of your hair:

Does Peccantum have any preferred nicknames? I saw someone call him Pec/Pecc once and I've been calling him Peccy in my head. I'm curious if there's an actual, creator-approved, nickname we can use

Do we get to know the full details of what Peccantum got out if his deal? Not tryna steal info you aren't ready to share but by lucifer is it eating at me !!

I don't know if you watch Helluva Boss, but considering og Peccantum (not hazbin version) is space-themed and you mention he decorates his room like space,,, it's totally improbable but WHAT IF HE MET STOLAS or Octavia!!!!!!! I just think it would be so wholesome for him even though the Goetias don't interact with sinners

So in his pre-afterlife lore you mention he worked his way up a cult but got taken advantage of by the leader and stripped of all the power he'd accumulated. He's obviously suuuuuper power hungry so it may fog up his thinking, but did he not learn from that??? why is he cozying up to Al (like eating the rotten venison just to impress him) if the last time he did that, it resulted in him losing everything

Peccantum wears Alastor's colours bc soul ownership and everything, but during the 7 years when Peccantum never heard from him, how relaxed did he get? Did he still wear the colours then or did that begin when he was oh so kindly volunteered for "bellhop" services?

If Peccantum's red string theories lead to conspiracies like "Alastor is just Lucifer in disguise", how off the mark is he about who owns Al's soul? Like would he be crazy enough to suspect Razzle n Dazzle or something or would he hit close to the mark?

On a related note, do you have a HC for who owns his soul?

I LOVEDDDD when you gave Peccantum his different hairstyles (they were all gorgeous but I particularly enjoyed the one with the many braids),, maybe Angel or Charlie would convince him to play dress-up??

Does. Peccantum. wear. makeup.

Is there a particular reason behind bis jumpiness or is it just one of his many Talents ✨️

If Alastor ate Peccantum would Al season him or would he be eaten spiceless?

Peccantum visits Cannibal Town for Al's errands, is he chill with any of the residents or does he more employ the in-and-out-without-looking-at-or-speaking-to-or-acknowledging-anyone tactic

Also just curious about how his and Al's dynamic will evolve

I'm sorry this is such a rambling ask, and please feel free to completely gnore or only answer some questions, I'm just really invested in this au you have going on !!!!!

ps i looked up the name to find how you came up with it and i think you were very smart with it

Who is Peccantum?

Oh wow dkajfbshdhjsjshd I'm. I... I don't know how to respond?!??!! This is so sweet! Thank you! 🖤💜💚❤️💜💜💜❤️✨

Sorry it took so long to answer this! I was drawing a comic and it actually added context to a lot of these questions/answered them, so I figured I'd save it until after I was done. There's a lot here so I'm gonna answer it in numbered sections!

1. Names & Nicknames

I don't really have a nickname for him, I usually call him by his full name lol. Peccy is cool lol. His name is pronounced with hard C's. So Pec-cant-um. Or, in case of the nickname, Peck-y

Fun Fact! Peccantum isn't his 'real' name. Like Angel and Husk, he took a new name once he died. His other name was actually shorter (and an actual name too). Peccantum is actually a mix of the words peccatum, meaning sin or transgression in Latin, and incant, in Latin meaning enchant. Basically, magical sin, which sums up Peccantum pretty well actually!

2. Peccantum's Deal

Yes you can!

3. Meeting Stolas

I am a fan of helluva! Have been ever since it came out! Despite that I haven't actually thought about this until now.

Peccantum, absolute nerd that he is, would probably be fascinated by Stolas and his powers. Like talking about specific spells, how long it takes to set up, magic of the stars, etc. I feel like they would have a VERY long conversation about magic and space and shit cause Stolas is lonely and Peccantum is very enthusiastic about this topic. Octavia, meanwhile, would get a long list of places in the human world with little to no light pollution. For excellent star viewing, of course.

4. Cozying up to Alastor

The short answer? No, absolutely not, Peccantum learned nothing XD

The long answer? It's complicated and messy. Peccantum, at that time, went into a bad situation because it was familiar to him. Blood, illicit murders, and strange dealings were all part of what Peccantum was taught to do. He thought he could handle whatever Alastor would ask of him. That it wouldn't matter in the end because Alastor would eventually get rid of him.

He wasn't expecting the Radio Demon to vanish.

5. Clothing Choices

You may have noticed during Checking In that Peccantum is wearing a completely different outfit before he's pulled into the hotel! That is Alastor's doing! Because Peccantum wasn't working for him dressed like that.

At first Peccantum was completely on edge because he was expecting Alastor to show up. After that first year, Alastor could call on him at any time! That's a scary thing to constantly have in the back of your mind. But then, Alastor just... didn't? There were rumors that Alastor had fallen to angels and Alastor wasn't showing up? It left Peccantum completely to his own devices.

Slowly, very slowly, Peccantum started making choices for himself, and learning how to live. He got a shitty job, a shitty apartment, but for the first time in years he was actually living, making choices of his own. And he found he kinda liked it. Not everything, of course, but making your own path in life, finding out what you like and who you are... Well. It was nice, for a time.

Peccantum still has his own clothes but he's aware that what Alastor dressed him in is his uniform.

6. Who owns Alastor's soul?

Tbh, I think it's Lilith. Maybe that's the obvious answer but like... That's the only viable candidate we have rn.

Peccantum would be suspecting Lilith and Lucifer, mainly because of the specifics of the deal Alastor made with Charlie. He didn't take her soul, meaning there's some benefit to having her free.... Or the more likely option; Alastor can't. Whatever deal he's under restricts him from taking Charlie's soul. The only people Peccantum knows who care about Charlie enough to fuck with the Radio Demon would be her parents.

I think he would lean more towards Lucifer, though. It would explain the immediate hostility between him and Alastor. Lucifer's ignorance could be feigned to piss off Alastor even more.

However, Peccantum would also keep evidence for Adam and maybe some of the seven deadly sins on the board. He doesn't have enough evidence for them, but he's not going to dismiss those options just yet.

7. Dress up day

Peccantum doesn't own a lot of clothes but he has explored a few other outfits! Here's some of the sketches I made when exploring what he would wear before he came to the hotel.

I do imagine there would be a 'express yourself through clothing choices' activity he would get wrapped up in tho. He can wear just about anything and still look pretty good. Charlie's happy to see Peccantum embracing different styles and exploring! Angel might help pick outfits and push Peccantum out of his comfort zone.

8. Makeup

Peccantum does wear makeup! It's actually pretty new for him, so he's not the best with it and he doesn't go too extreme but... It's kinda fun!

9. Spice or no spice?

I. I have no idea tbh. I'm not an expert in... people flavoring? XD

10. Jumping at shadows

Did you misspell trauma as talents? XD, joking. In all seriousness though, Peccantum is fairly jumpy because he's high strung. He's a very anxious person in general (there are exceptions) and he's in his own head a lot. Sometimes he will forget that other people are there and be surprised when he is reminded of their presence.

11. Errands to Cannibal Colony

Peccantum definitely keeps his head down. Cannibalism in general makes him uneasy, so best to keep out of the way of any hungry citizens who want to try their luck. Peccantum can defend himself, but he'd rather not if he can avoid it. Cannibals travel in packs and the best way to avoid them is to avoid putting a target on your back.

Thankfully, most people there know he's Alastor's, so they leave him be.

12. Alastor and Peccantum

This one is tricky because I wanna explore this more in other comics, but I'll try and give a general overview here.

Their relationship isn't... Healthy. Especially not at first, but Peccantum coming to the hotel does actually put him in a better place. He meets new people, gains friends, and makes a support network that he never had before. On the other hand, he has to deal with Alastor, the constant anxiety of job performance, and deal with/unpack several traumas he's been repressing. It's a mix of good and bad.

Later on, a few months after working at the hotel, I think Alastor does start to warm up to Peccantum some. They become friendlier, not to the point of being friends, but Alastor appreciates the work Peccantum does and trusts him with tasks that he wouldn't have beforehand. By the time the attack on the hotel happens, he trusts Peccantum won't screw him over.

And then the fight with Adam happens.

We don't know what will happen in season 2, and we probably won't for a while, but... I imagine losing that fight with Adam did not help Alastor's insecurities. Personally, I think the Radio Demon is going to close himself off from the others, more than he already has. To feel in control again, he's going to be a lot more strict with his 'employees' and a lot less lenient with Peccantum.

Peccantum, of course, isn't going to know this and would take it as a sign that he's failing Alastor, something he's deathly afraid of. His anxiety would spike and the almost neutral relationship he had with Alastor would turn unhealthy again. There would be a regression of progress.

Whatever happens in season 2 would def affect their relationship tho, so I can't say much more than that for now.

Thank you so much for the comment! I love answering about my lil deer guy!!!! Don't feel like you're bothering me, I may take a while but I do get to these questions eventually and I appreciate the interest!

[auntiejohn]

I LOVE YOU IMMENSELY JESS AHHHHHHHHHH CONTRATS ON THAT 500 ITS SO WELL DESERVED

SEEING YOUR POSTS ON MY DASH MAKES ME SMILE CAUSE EVERYTIME IM LIKE "yay thats my mutual jess i love her sm!" and my day is IMMEDIATELY BETTER.

May i request from thou a 🐚 and a 🪐?

Some facts about me:

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG LIST IM SORRY

-my favorite colors are blue purple and pink and i just happen to be a ROCKIN BISEXUAL

-favorite band is fall out boy but mitski, AURORA and Laufey are my favorite artists

-I have a notes app of songs that continuously make me cry

-my favorite Greek goddess is either Artemis or Hestia

-i own about a million stuffed animals

-I physically cannot choose between two things. I have two everything. Bilingual, bi and ace (two flags) etc you get the point. For some reason the number 2 is just really me.

-the entire gaang from ATLA is my personality but just split up into different people

-lancey lance from vld is literally me except i cannot (and do not) flirt to save my life and I’m not funny 😭

-i wanna go to med school and be an ER doctor! (Or physician, whatever you prefer calling it)

-Also wanna be a biomedical engineer and do some research w that

-I wanna learn how to speak Russian, Greek, Mandarin, and ASL

-I have a LOT of hobbies (this is a non comprehensive list cause its a LOT); i play instruments, kinda know how to sew, and wanna start learning either fencing or boxing this year

-say what you will but ANDREW IS LIT MY FAVORITE and Neil is my second fave (from aftg if you haven’t read it you so should!!) I love all the characters though they’re amazing

-I lit live under a rock and don’t know like anything until it becomes old (like i still dont know what hawk tuah is??)

-CLASSICAL MUSIC IS A BOP. My favorite composer is saint-saëns but Bach is amazing and i love everything about his pieces

-i cannot dress for shit bro, my style is so very bad. I’ve been wearing the same four pairs of jeans for like three years

-i have curly hair (around 3-b?) but have exactly 4 pieces of pretty much straight hair. Thanks mom.

-have horrible taste in men (the guy i like is actually cute guys he’s just an acquired taste i promise!) and I just seem to only fall for straight girls. wtf guys

-i slip into a British accent all the time. Like i cant stop i even do it in school its become a problem.

-most likely ADHD bc wtf is memory and object permanence but not diagnosed cause fuck therapy (BUT YOU ALL SHOULD GET THERAPY FR!! ITS GOOD FOR YOU!)

-i am a hopeless romantic to my very CORE. I just want someone to love and shower all my affection with (hence the laufey obsession)

I know this is SO LONG but I hope i gave you enough to work with!! And again CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU MY POOKIE WOOKIE

LOVE YOU JESS!!!!

STOP CORI ILYSM YOURE SUCH A SWEETHEART JUST MADE MY DAY

500 followers event

｡⁠.ﾟ⁠+⁠ 🐚 - ok so like I wanna say remus or sirius but they're both pretty different I feel like so like a wolfstar love child or something

｡⁠.ﾟ⁠+⁠ 🪐 - moodboardd!!!

omg ok so I always see people talking about aftg but I have literally no idea what it stands for so PLEASE lmk

[navarice]

bridgerton fans on tumblr save me bc the ppl over on twitter are choosing to be obtuse on purpose…

I’ve never been opposed to being a little shit over content/media we all consume but my god ppl just wake up and decide to be assholes on the internet for no reason. cant say how many people I’ve blocked bc of it 😧

long story short, if you don’t like what the season will offer for any reason at all, please do us a favor and don’t watch it. Please we are begging. Some of us want to get lost in the fake regency and pretty dresses and plenty of fucking. not everything has to be another reason why you think teenagers who write burn books are the literal worst ppl to walk the planet or how you don’t find fat people hot. Both are valid and fine but don’t come into a working kitchen and be surprised people are using the utensils.

[mardytoast]

🍄🪐📚

🍄headcanon for one of your favourite ships/pairings🍄

clyde and craiggg

craig introduced clyde to fnaf when they were like 10 to scare him bc clydes scared of everything but he actually ended up eating it up. they play it together and the next day clyde knows ALL the lore and craigs the one getting freaked out. he'll play all the games, scream, but then be like 'that was awesome' while Craig pretends hes not horrified out of his mind bc he cant accept that clyde is somehow less of a pussy than him. this obsession never fades.

man like clyde, scared of gingers, dressed up as hyper realistic springtrap for halloween when he was 13

🪐name three good things going on in your life right now🪐

very grateful to be in a position to answer this!!

1. i joined a discord server of poets for napowrimo (poetry month)

im finally able to share my work with people with experience, who care, appreciate and are able to give me really good feedback

it's only been a few days but i kinda love them🤭 also im being spoilt with soulful poetry

2. im getting better at guitar!! ive been learning for 3 months now but i haven't been practicing much so progress is slow. IN SAYING THAT THOUGH, i can see a crazy amount of improvement. callouses are pretty non existent but ive memorised a few chords and currently im trying to master pompeii by bastile

i am delighteddd to no ends bc it means i can start putting music to my songs!! alr done it with one!!

3. gonna split this between two small things. a.) summer is upon us, so im very excited. b.) i think ill be able to reconcile with one of my friends i fell out with for a stupid reason. im going to try talk to her and im feeling confident!!

📚what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app?📚

the last thing i wrote was a song called 'if eurydice could see me now' and it's from a napowrimo prompt. i shared it with the server and they liked it :)

it's very inspired by tear you apart by she wants revenge

it's based on greek mythology, you can look up eurydice to read abt it <33

here's a little exert:

oh muse i can't face you now

i would die, to bring you back

i play my lyre and don't believe the man

im not a fool, im just overwhelmed

blood pooling in the imprint you left

but i leave, there'll be no poets

i arise to the heart's music

i gave up, now i just make it

[a-court-of-moonlight-and-ire]

So because of my hentel mealth i havent really been able to read or do creative stuff so Ive just been spending most of my time properly synching up the subtitles i have for various takarazuka Elisabeth productions and idk how coherent this is gonna be bc I dont know how much of an overlap there is between people who like to complain about sjm books and euromusical fans, but I cant stop comparing Death and Rhysand and getting even more pissed off about Rhysand

like, listen, both of these guys are weirdo freaks who feel entitled to and are oddly possessive of a young vulnerable woman but the thing about Death is that hes like that because hes meant to be like, a metaphor for what its like to have suicidal thoughts and for what its like to live in ~turbulant times~ so hes kinda alluring but also very scary and in the original austrian production hes just fuckinh flingin people around, but Rhys is not a metaphor or a personification of a concept, hes just a guy. Not just that but hes meant to be like, the better guy. thats wild right. Rhysand, the guy who endangered Feyre for no fucking reason with the weaver stunt he pulled and whos forced her to lie to and steal from a potential political ally whos been nothing but kind to both of them, is the better one. and im making a point here to only mention the acomaf crimes Ive witnessed so far, obviously hes done and will do a lot worse

And you wanna know what the worst part is? Its what it always comes down to and its what I always complain about, he doesnt even serve cunt. And that truly is the worst thing about Rhysand for me because I am a very shallow person, if he wore black lipstick, if he wore clothes that glitter, if he dressed like some kinda dracula instead of just wearing plain black leather most of the time, not only would I not care about the actually shitty things he did, I would not care about him being pathetic and annoying, which, him being annoying is worse to me than any of the shitty things he did btw because hes not even interesting or endearing while hes doing those things yknow what I mean

like idk, im working on the 1996 star troupe production where Deathbis played by Asaji Saki and she does a really good job playing this inhuman weirdo experiencing regular sincere human emotions for the first and being made vulnerable by that experience, its genuinely pretty cute. theres this scene where he briefly interacts with rudolf, elisabeths child son, and then it transitions into a different scene and a bunch of recurring adult characters run onstage and Death trips one of them up to make rudolf laugh and its just cute and genuine yknoe. Whenever Rhys has a quote unquote vulnerable moment thats supposed to humanize him (that isnt just him being a horndog) it just feels so fake me, like when he talked to Feyre about Tarquin being easy to love and being noble because he had it easy while Rhysands been suffering or whatever i was just like, buddy youre doing that to yourself, if you wanted equality for the lower fae in the night court you couldve already done that in the 500 years youve been on the throne literally no one is stopping you

[j2zara]

literally pilfer off of me as much as you want i literally almost included a clone in LSOP fic but decided that it'd be better for jace to be entirely isolated w/ no one who understands him. how are we putting j2 in luxury sex object prison. maybe he runs out of spell slots and porter just keeps him around. doesnt let him outside the house anymore since there cant be two jaces running around elmville. j2 gets to play housewife. he can still do research but porter doesnt care how productive he is, he just likes knowing that j2's around. j2 is sooooo happy with this deal in no small part because jace is livid about it. finally he gets a moment to gloat and be smug because he's useless and porter still likes him, can jaceprime say the same? would jaceprime be safe if he stopped having a purpose?

Oh no trust me LSOP fic is all the better for having Jace be all on his own i promise!!!! The clones are for fun and me time but like tbh i think you 100% made the right call the feeling of isolation is so perfect in capturing the vibe. And also referencing Annabel Lee???? ummmm ily maybe??

on the one hand i love a situation in which all the clones are in LSOP together bc i think its incredibly funny if jace creates the torment nexus and is like. Wow i didn't think i would be reaping what i sowed with the torment nexus!!! On the other hand i am like. Is there a unique Luxury Sex Object Prison of their choosing? Like. To be fair there is a part of Porter that does like Bluejay on his own terms, not just an extension of Jace and. I mean. A god can have anything he wants, right? Maybe he would want to keep J2 in LSOP

J2 genuinely does like feeling useful so like i could see him enjoying doing research for sure and. i do think more importantly i think he wants a sense of belonging so like ultimately if that place he belongs is in luxury sex object prison it's like ok! The whole like This is Dollhouse but Good Actually is so funny and honestly real b/c like i do think any marginal discomfort and dissatisfaction J2 would get out of this deal is wayyyy less in comparison to how any of the other jaces would feel he's easily the one that's like we got everything we wanted! out of this. He would be pretty content i think to be Porter's housewife. Like yes you get to come home to me at the end of the day and i'll always be dolled up for you and ready and give you a kiss and a martini and tell you how hard you work as the god of conquest! Do you like my dress? You were the one who got it for me! And he would be SO HAPPY for porter once he won like ough which is something that Jace i think frankly. had more conflicted feelings about. Literally J2 just wanted to be loved and he was willing to be the bad guy to get that.

I genuinely think the worst thing for him is porter being away for a long time. But it does feel kinda good to get something and even if he's lower in the hierarchy. He knows his place! He never was promised to be by porters side so he has no reason to resent anyone! That's jace's problem not his and besides what porter wants porter gets, don't you see this is what's best for you? Don't you see how much he treasures you? It is kinda good to feel like he has a place he belongs even if its lower in the pecking order, like he got his and Jace is seething. And like. Idk. Maybe its blasphemou to be a little smug about it. But he is.

I'm not saying its a GOOD ending but to be fair if j2 is still around and Jace is in luxury sex object prison, maybe porter doesn't have to keep fucking him as an extension of jace. Maybe j2 misses that. Maybe he misses trying to be the cunt porter married because like. He got to play at being the cunt that porter married!!!! maybe he misses when he was pursued with an attempt to recapture something transcendent and glorious and he got to get just a glimpse of that. but like. he's still the boytoy of a god. He doesn't even have to desperately fight for his survival anymore. As long as he gives porter everything he wants. But he's spent his entire LIFE giving porter everything he wants, how is this any different? He's no jace. He was made for this life. That's everything he could want right?

(n Jace is like. doesn't it piss you off that he sees you as a Plaything. And j2 is like. I mean i've always been a thing? I know it upsets you and i get that because you're special. You've always been special. And. I don't know if he loves me for me, but if i'm loved as an extension of himself how different is that from when i was loved as an extension of you? I loved being you so much, i wanted it more than anything, but i don't know. Maybe this, being beneath you but getting to be Bluejay, is something that spares me that heartache.)

(And like. Maybe he’s wrong about that. Maybe even now he’s still an extension of Jace)

This is honestly kinda interesting. Thinking about J2 in luxury sex object prison. Which to be fair is pretty derivative of just ruminating on Jace in Luxury sex object prison but. If i have the ok to pilfer i might return to this well. I miss J2porter.

[moodindigov]

lol lmao imagine giving unfinished snippets of a scene bcs u accidentally deleted the rest of it and you cant get it back bcs u write in ur notes app…haha…anyways here’s a small snippit of brendan and neksa scene that probably still has a note or two of mine there ill rewrite it when i have time

Brendan heard her yelp before he saw her again. He sat up straighter and stopped his mindless leg swinging. It was easy to spot the girl, her familiar figure sticking out like a sore thumb on the empty London street.

Her hair was tied into a messy ponytail held high on her head and her linen dress was filthy with grime and hard work.

It wasn’t uncommon to see young women and girls a mess of dirt and sweat, not anymore. It never was to Brendan in the first place.

In his family, no matter what you were—boy, girl, woman, man; everyone was given a job. And no matter the filth or shit you’d had to stick your hands into, the piss stained sewers and foul smelling slums, that job was to be completed without failure. Because failure meant death and an unimaginable sense of grief he couldn’t seem to escape.

Brendan shakily exhaled.

The financial crisis that Britain was going through, (The Devil’s Decade according to his father) was helping naught with business either. Hittin’ the North hard, his Da had told him and Jess once. They were lucky to live in the home they did with food on their plates and proper rooms to sleep in. A reminder of those words sat true outside their windows every night with eyes of defeat.

And foolishly he realized that with his reflecting came staring, and staring seemed to get the girl’s attention. <(better transition)

“Hey, you! What’re you starin’ at?“ she yelled over to him. He startled and looked around before stupidly realizing she was talking to him. She rolled her eyes and started walking closer to where he was sat.

Walk away, his mind whispered. It’s just another girl, walk away. You’ve got barely five minutes ‘til you’re expected back, sack it off. And yet, he couldn’t. For some reason, this girl, this completely average, filthy as dirt girl drew his attention. And maybe it was her dark shining eyes, or the pure spunk in her voice. Maybe it was the kindness and the small semblance of peace she gave him, something to settle to constant buzzing in his mind. He shouldn’t. He needs to walk away, never to see her again—

“You alright?” he asked her suddenly and she cocked her head.

“I’m perfectly content,” she started, “are you alright? You look properly down in the dumps. Don’t see a reason for it, either, you look lucked out.” Lucked out in the poor reality of failing families and lost homes he was, he grimly mused to himself.

“I’m fine.” The girl (he really had to learn her name) didn’t seem to be convinced.

“Oh, and I’m the Queen’s niece,” she scoffed. “You look constipated with all that thinking you’re doing.”

Brendan huffed with indignation. “I am fine. Leave me be, go back to milkin’ cows or whatever you do.” He walked away, once and for all he declared to himself.

“Do you talk to everyone you meet that way?” She stomped over to his moving figure and kept a steady pace with him.

He resolutely ignored her. She didn’t seem to like that.

“Hello? Anyone there?” Brendan huffed as she hesitantly poked his arm. “Oh, don’t be a big baby. What is it with men and getting sensitive when talking about feelings?” She mumbled the last part under her breath but Brendan heard her clear as day.

Maybe he’d run into Jess, or (gods forbid) his Da. They’d get him out of this situation. Well, he scowled, his idiot twin would run off without a second thought once he caught his eye. He clenched his jaw and the pretty girl seemed to notice.

“Is that it? You don’t want to talk about feelings?” She asked, not unkindly.

Brendan shouldn’t answer. He shouldn’t. He should keep walking away like he’d do to any other lady, any other lad, towards a house that wasn’t a home, could never be a home.

— end