#featuring a veeery tiny

[infini-tree]

[hands you a real time fandub quote]

[ratsoh-writes]

Monster idea: A big bug-beetle like monster with a veeery narrow waist, horns and a sturdy carapace like back.

Their face has a sort of T shape, with big ole eyes and a second smaller pair below them.

Their torso, legs and arms are pitch black. You can know their magic color by the color of the hands, horns and carapace.

They are mostly known to have acid and poison magic.

Their carapace is so strong that not even cannonballs or bullets can dent them.

Whew! That’s three new monster types down! I’ll start from left to right!

Carashield:

One of the oldest monster subspecies, carashields are found in every au, and every AUs records. They like to fight with the goats and slimes over which of them came first in monster history.

The carashield is a lanky but massive monster, averaging between 8-12 feet tall. These monsters are known for a bug like appearance with a small triangle head, bulging eyes, and of course the massive back shell pieces. Every carashield has a skin color ranging from pitch black to a charcoal grey, and rarely, slightly green shades of grey. And of course, their favorite features about themselves: the tiniest waists

A special detail about these monsters is that the large eyes are actually false, they are used to show emotion but don’t actually “see”. Instead the two smaller eyes in the middle of their face are their true eyes.

The carashields magic color will show in their large false eyes and proper eyes, as well as the tips of their horns, fingers, toes and the spot on their carapace.

The carashield is a monster built like a tank, as long as they have their back armor that is. Without it, the monster is very frail. The back carapiece is both a shield against magical attacks and physical ones, being able to withstand even bullet fire. These monster also tend to be skilled in poison and acid magic, and occasionally, illusion magics.

Carashield monsters are known for being highly intelligent and proud. They are easy to offend and hard to please, but get in ones good graces and you’ll have a friend for life. All AUs have these monsters, but the ones with the highest carashield population is gastertale and undertale.

Maedaes:

The maedae monster is a medium sized monster with a round head, false flames surrounding the head and neck, and a solid torso. The lower body slowly tapers off into a wispy shape resembling smoke. They typically “stand” between 4/5’8 feet tall

Maedaes are a monster type who while not “new” are young enough to know what two monsters they came from. The first maedae in each au had a sunsport and ghost monster parent.

Maedae monsters take more after their ghost ancestors in their magic and structure. They float naturally and can become partially intangible in their torsos and the “flames” surrounding their heads. They’re monsters skilled in healing and occasionally fire magics.

One special thing about these monsters is that their magic color is always a warm shade. It is represented in their eyes, mouths, flames and the little pads on the tips of their fingers.

These monsters are known to be rather wild with high tempers. Never piss off a maedae or else the wild magic from its anger will give you one hell of a migraine. These monsters in ancient history were known for being on the front lines in war for a reason, despite being healers, they’re born with a fighting spirit.

There are Maedaes in the aquatic AUs! These rare individuals still keep their warm color palate but their “flames” resemble a teardrop shape, and none are found with fire affinities. The aus with the most Maedaes however are underfell, fellswap red and lustfell.

Vambao:

The vambao is an older monster type and a known ancestor of bat monsters (with a mouseling being the other parent). Vambao monsters are a medium sized monster standing between 4’5/5’5. They have large ears, tiny moth like wings, sharp teeth and hooves.

These monsters are known seductresses/seducers. They are highly skilled in pheromone and illusion magics and appear in a lot of human mythology for “stealing”young men and women away lol. The way these monsters spread their pheromones is through the dust on their wings, or through a bite. The method depends on what family the Vambao came from

Vambao are lustful monsters, and they almost always prefer other monster subspecies or humans over each other, so the Vambao population is always much lower than the average monster type. After all, when you pick a mate from another subspecies, you risk only having the same type of monster children as your mate.

Polyamory is also very common with these monsters, often being in a triad or more with their chosen loves, however they’re jealous lovers and do not share. Either you’re all dating the vamboa or not lol.

This monster type also enjoys meat more than the average monster, needing a lot of protein to fuel their type of magic, so a good way to get on a vamboas good side is with some great barbecue.

Vamboas are found in every au, but the AUs with the most of them are lustswap and lustred.

And now let’s meet the new babes!

Berkeley Dickens:

Berkeley is a handsome carashield from gastertale! He’s just entered his middle age at 300 and stands at 9’1 feet tall! He has a neon yellow magic.

Berkeley is a well spoken dignified and elegant fellow. He was born in high society and worked hard to respect the customs and rules of his ancestors. He has a scientific mind like many in gastertale, but takes it in a different direction with an interest in music! So despite having the attitude of the stuffy “silver” (gaster) monsters, he’s considered a bit of an oddball in his au

Barkley is a conductor for a prestigious orchestra in ebott. He writes the music they play as well, designing the songs for the way the sound waves make people feel over the actual sound. However many adore his music and his shows are always packed

Berkeley is single at the moment, and yes for lack of trying. His research has consumed him for most of his life. He’s open to a partner, but doesn’t care if he never pairs. So it would take someone determined and willing to chase him to tie this classy monster down

His magical talent is being able to “double hum”. Basically when Berkeley hums, it sounds like two people are doing it lol. His magic weapon is a simple sleek fencing sword.

Things he loves: music of course, the piano and cello especially, fencing, lemon flavored ice treats, his cat Beethoven, the color navy blue, fancy pens and stationary, winter

Monsters he knows: napstablook, Vamp (royal), pepper, green, G, crow, vibrato

He lives in the community around mettaland and has two roommates

Cotton Lee:

Cotton is a young maedae born after the crash to her outerswap parents. She’s only 14 at the moment and stands at 4’5 but is still growing. She has a reddish orange magic color!

Cotton like every maedae before her is a real spitfire! She’s got a lust for violence and her biggest goal is to be a professional fighter and to someday beat every fighter who’s ever won ebotts freedom festival battle royal. Especially Helios, she’s modeled her fighting style after him after all.

While cotton is feisty, she is also a compassionate child and loves feeling helpful. Her parents found that the easiest way to keep her out of trouble is to make her feel like she’s in charge of or responsible for something lol.

Cotton is currently in school of course, but she was allowed early in the older grades physical classes because of her talent. She’s working hard hoping to graduate early by the time she’s 17

Her magical talent is also her signature move. She calls it “vessel burst”. She has the ability to concentrate a massive amount of healing magic on one small area of the body to force it to grow and burst suddenly. Yea terrifying. Her magic weapon is a large spiked hammer in the shape of a sun.

Things she loves: sparring, fighting, any form of combat, Godzilla movies, her mom’s vintage frilly dresses, stealing from her moms closet, Helios, GI Joe, lace bows.

Monsters she knows: petunia, dove, Jupiter, bruiser

She lives with her parents in an apartment in inner ebott city

Mozzy Stewart:

His name is actually short for mozzarella. But he prefers Mozzy. Mozzy is a young adult Vambao from farmswap! He’s 62 years old and has a pretty light blue magic. He stands at 5’3

Mozzy is actually a half breed monster, but not in the way you think. Both his parents are mages, his mom a mothra mage and his dad the vambao mage. He just got all the monster genes he guesses. He has three other siblings, two mages and one a normal human. He’s the middle child

Mozzy is a huge goofball, he loves to play and joke around. And of course he lives up to his monster subspecies by being a huge flirt. However he tends to get sidetracked while picking up chicks/dudes and winds up making friends instead. Oops.

Mozzy comes from a long line of butchers and follows the family business working in his parents butcher shop. He’s mostly behind the counter slicing the meat and packaging it. He takes a lot of pride in his job and hopes to inherit the shop when his parents retire as the only child who works full time there.

Mozzy’s magical talent is word search. At least that’s what he calls it. Whenever someone can’t remember a word, if he’s nearby he naturally just thinks of the exact word they’re looking for. His magic weapon is a meat cleaver the size of his arm.

Things he loves: baby back ribs, pork loin, tri tip, sloppy Joe sandwiches, barbecue sauce, hosting barbecues, gardening, hook ups, hair care, volleyball, swimming, the lake

Monsters he knows: cider, barley, rancher, peaches, rosemary, Carmen

He lives in a little cottage in Corncopia with his oldest sister (human, 78).

Things he hates: mozerella cheese.

[serendi-pat-y]

i'm learning that love comes but never truly goes. love stays. you just don't wake up a random day and feel relieved because love for a specific target left.

it stays. even if you were, actually, the one who initiated the departure.

with time, the feeling does fade a bit, though, or rather: it softens. it doesn't feel as "centric" and doesn't take as much space anymore, but you can still feel its aroma from time to time, as if a fresh breeze suddenly hit you. but it's not a bad thing! quite the opposite. if that love, after some time, still managed to stay, even if it's very, veeery subtly, it can only confirm that it left a positive mark on you, one that was, in fact, probably necessary.

maybe that subtle aroma reminds you that, hey, now we take vitamins more seriously, or maybe it taught us more about world's history, or about how plants thrive better depending on the acidity of their soil.

love stays. and it includes the tiny traces of core memories that somehow made a difference in your life. let's embrace it 🍃 and let's tap into the feeling of gratitude. let's stop and breathe slowly delighting in the feeling of gratefulness.

that love became a photograph 🖼️ you can look back at it from time to time with a nostalgic smile, accepting that it happened. if it was an overall positive experience, you can rest assured that the other person, although maybe at a different pace, at some point will feel that gratefulness too. and they will delight on it, feeling "oh how that made me change for good", even if it's a little bit.

people say we are a mosaic of the people we loved. even if that feeling comes delayed. we didn't make a mistake by choosing to love, or to try, at least. we chose to take the step and trust to be a bit more vulnerable than usual, letting another person take the brush and add some strokes on our heart-shaped canvas. maybe the final result didn't come out exactly as expected (it usually never does), but it indeed added new colors that only them could bring. and for that specific space, for that specific moment, be it shorter or longer.

love stays because, if you think about it, it's eternal. as cheesy as it sounds. we cannot just make it disappear the same way we cannot make energy cease to exist. it can move here and there, but never be destroyed. what if love is actually the eternal essence of life after all?

anyhow, the sooner we accept its permanence, the sooner our hearts will finally breathe in relief 🤍

let's be glad because love never ceases to exist. what a relief! may each breeze of loving memories remind us that we added a new color in our canvas, and that there are still even more people waiting to cross our paths, which will uncover new features in ourselves. how exciting! and how exciting to also be able to become future painters for others 🎨

let's keep painting with good feelings, leaving traces that with time will become fresh breezes and photographs to look back to 🌿

[liliedfashion]

Day 6/25 of productivity

fri-100223

Featuring the cute stickers I bought from Etsy because of my foul mood on Wednesday. Today the café served free banana bread with each coffee and I brought my friend some!

Had a super productive day today and went out with friends to a relatively cheap and veeery tasty and tiny Chinese restaurant for lunch. Finishing the day by reading some Emily Brontë and I'm on page 100-ish and I find it so incredibly sad. Definitely not some light hearted bedtime reading, so I might switch to Huck Finn. Both of these I have to have read by Monday since I have my oral exam on them rip

Anyhow I hope you find some time to relax and enjoy your weekend! Much love<33

[twinkleallnight]

Book: The Royal Romance AU

Characters: Hana, Myra and her father.

Word count: 862

Disclaimer: All characters belong to pixelberry except Myra.

Rating: Teens

Prompt: Features day 4 of TRR Appreciation Week hosted by @trraw

Link to the Series here.

"Once upon a time there lived a girl whose heart was pure as snow, whose mind was as calm as millpond and whose soul was clear as a crystal."

"Ma! Ma! It's Ma!" Little Myra clapped in excitement. She was clinging to her father's side, her head resting on his left arm. Her black eyes set over high cheek bones twinkled at the mention of her mother Hana.

"How did you know sweet pea?" Her father asked, surprised.

She stretched out her palms to make a hand span and said, "When you use such big big wordsh to speak about shomeone, it is always Ma."

He roared out a laughter and planted a kiss on her silky straight brown hair that made a train along the length of his arm.

"Yes my darling, it is your Ma. Wanna listen to her story?"

"Yeshh Bampásh!" She curled her tiny fists under her chin to show her excitement.

"Here it goes. There was once a little girl named Hana. She was a kind and quiet girl who grew up in Shanghai. She would visit Cordonia on vacations with her mother, that is your Nana." He tapped his finger tip on her little round nose.

"Did you know? Nana waj veeery strict" Myra said, widening her little asian eyes.

He hated how Hana spent her childhood but knew better not to utter it in front of his little princess. "I know baby, but your Ma learnt a lot. She grew up to be the finest lady. Hana is the best in whatever she does." He said fondly, looking at her framed photo on the bedside.

"My Ma is the besht!" She raised her small fists up in the air in exclamation.

"That she is!"

"Did you know, she taught me how to sauter in ballet today." Myra quickly got up and showcased her talent by jumping on the bed.

"Bravo!" Her father applauded, as she quickly settled back into his nook with a big smile.

"I have ashked her to teach me the Minuet on the piano tomorrow."

"Woah! Hold your horses little champ. Go slow. There is a lot of time to learn all that. Why don't we both go out and have a play date instead?"

"I'm shorry but I have to take my doll Anna for a date with Krishtoff tomorrow." She frowned.

"It's okay Sunshine. Bampás will wait for his turn." She smiled and stretched her neck to leave a peck on his cheek.

"How did you meet her?" Myra got back to the story of her Ma.

"I was visiting Shanghai for my work. On one such trip I met her."

"You fall in love." She giggled trying to explain she understood how it goes.

He tickled her tummy. "You smart one! Yes. Who can stay away from Hana without falling in love with her?"

He gazed in the distance, reviving his memories. "Hana and I, we were the opposites. While I was fierce and adventurous, she was warm-hearted, affectionate and courteous. A demure young lady." He sighed. "But your Ma. She is so adaptable and accommodating that she can win over anyone's heart."

"Shee. The big big wordsh again!" Myra spanned out her fingers to show 'big'.

Her father laughed out loudly. "Okay, enough big words for the day. Let's go to sleep now."

Myra closed her eyes and cuddled up on her father's side. Soon she was fast asleep and he was snoring.

A set of soft lips touched him. "You slept." Hana's smooth voice woke him up. He carefully removed his arm from under Myra's head and got up to follow his wife into their room.

He let out a yawn as he encircled Hana's sleek waist. He rested his sleepy head on her shoulder as they stood idly in the centre of their room.

Hana chuckled, moving her fingers through his tousled blonde hair. "You are tired."

"Hmm. The energy ball kept me on my toes the whole evening when you were away."

"You need to rest then. You have to attend your MotoGP race tomorrow."

He lifted his head, his blue eyes brightened like a little boy's at the name of the motor race. "I am going to make it worth it. After all I need something to boast about when we reach Cordonia next week."

Hana shook her head, smiling. " Leo! Grow up!" She slapped lightly on his chest.

"You want to know how grown up I am?" He arched his brow and lifted Hana to the bed. They settled down amidst the laughters and giggles.

"Did you tell her?" Hana asked. Leo was splayed on the bed while Hana made circles on his back with her slender fingers.

"I ended up telling her more about you." He turned around to rest his head in her lap. "Does it make a difference? I have abandoned the princely life long ago. She can just visit Cordonia as a noble's daughter. We can skip the princess part, maybe…?"

"Hmm. Let's see…" Hana pondered.

"See what?" His eyes shone brightly with mischief.

Hana hit him with a pillow. "Leo! Grow up!"

"I am!" He growled and pounced.

Tags: @annekebbphotography @alj4890 @anjanettexcordonia @bascmve01 @charlotteg234 @cordonian-literature @choicesficwriterscreations @cordonia-gothqueen @drakewalker04 @gkittylove99 @krsnlove @hopefulmoonobject @hopelessromanticmonie @idontknowwhysblog @indiacater @jessiembruno @kingliam2019 @lisha1valecha @neotericthemis @ntoraplayschoices @princess-geek @princessleac1 @secretaryunpaid @sirbeepsalot @speedyoperarascalparty @texaskitten30 @txemrn @sweatyrysconnoisseur @theroyalheirshadowhunter @aestheticartsx @yourmajesty09 @efecom @grsarco-blog @lovelyladyk88 @mainstreetreader @choiceskatie @claireloutoo @tinkie1973

*****************

Next part here

[dragons-bones]

Kit Meme

Name 7 items your character has them on all times:

Journal: Less travelogue and more research orientated (though separate from her summoner’s grimoire), during downtime Synnove will usually scribble logistics problems for fun or work on complex mathematical or arcanima formulae to further refine her spells or as a theoretical exercise. She also keeps any stray papers (well-worn letters, notes, recipes, etc.) tucked in between pages. Full journals will be cataloged and shelved in her office at Mealvaan’s Gate according to the complex cross-reference system she and Halulu developed; some theories she’s devised on the roads have gone on to form the basis of formal research papers, practical experiments, and revisions to her summoner’s grimoire and scholar’s codex.

Hunting Knife: An all-purpose blade for peeling and chopping vegetables and fruit, dressing game and fish, cutting strips of leather, and self-defense when a glaring Highlander isn’t enough to dissuade trouble. This is a custom made knife commissioned by Arnor Greywolfe, Synnove’s father, made of Ala Mhigan steel with the Greywolfe family seal stamped onto the butt of the knife. Synnove’s owned it since her father presented it to her when she left home to study arcanima in Limsa Lominsa.

Bracelet: A simple bracelet primarily featuring white jade beads strung on a strip of black boar leather. Spaced evenly among the white jade are three gemstones: emerald, yellow topaz, and ruby. These are the foci for Synnove’s beloved carbuncles: Galette, Tyr, and Ivar, respectively. This bracelet does not ever leave Synnove’s wrist, and the white jade beads are specially warded to warn of attempted theft.

Snacks: Synnove is the first to tell you that using your personal reserves of aether can be exhausting and potentially dangerous if you use too much in too short of time, and making sure to keep oneself well-fueled is imperative of all mages. She tends to have a lot of dried fruit and roasted nuts as she’s discovered they give her the most energy (and are also excellent treats for carbuncles, but especially Galette, the sweets-loving piglet). Cheese is also a favorite.

Triple Triad Cards: She doesn’t advertise it much, but Synnove loves Triple Triad (with the Ascension and Plus rules two of her favorites, to no one’s surprise). She keeps a number of cards on hand that she can form at least five distinct decks from for whatever ruleset may be in play; she also likes to shuffle them as a fidget method when feeling restless. If she’s traveling with Rereha, Heron, and Alakhai, she and Rereha will usually play a few matches before turning in for the night.

Coffee: Synnove cannot function without caffeine in the morning, and coffee is the most efficient way to get her going. She keeps both whole beans (which she will grind up herself using a mortar and pestle) and ground, and out on the road she’ll brew coffee cold over night so it’s ready for consumption first thing in the morning, with a little maple sugar. Do not try to talk to Synnove before she’s had her coffee.

Trashy Romance Novels: Look, a lady needs some (comedic) entertainment in her life, okay? Traveling all day on chocobo is fucking boring after a while, and not smooth enough for writing, and Synnove’s friends are just as guilty of having a couple on hand as she is (and they will frequently trade them, including in the middle of road by tossing them to one another). They will also read out loud particularly terrible passages, and damn near fall off their chocobos laughing.

Tagged by: @emilyplaysgames

Tagging: @captain-ameribunny, @nineprotons, @cosmicdwarf, @tehjai, @redhawkfg, @stuckonstones, @lywinis, @ohlookashinysquirrel

[scholar-for-christ]

More adventures in text role-playing...

(My sis plays Jaskier, I’m Geralt and Valdo) We’re just about to start a fic featuring Valdo vs Jaskier and it’s gonna be glorious. XD 

Note: Kerack is Jaskier’s birth city on the coast and just happens to be veeery close to Cidaris the infamous home of Valdo Marx...

Also that tiny gif of Joey desperately trying to cook is the “WHY WON’T YOU DIE” moment... which sums up Jaskier’s feelings on Valdo quite well I think. 

[quirkykayleetam]

Broken Pieces Superhero AU

Hello friends and superheroes!  @burtlederp and I are back with a new installment, though the next one might take us a little longer.  This features some hurt/comfort for Damien, domestic fun and insults as a love language with Daniel and Beth, the beginnings of badass!Jay, and trouble brewing for Mr. Marcelo.  Ready to read?

Chapter 4: Of Secrets and Soup

Jay stared at the television set. Their hand paused between their mouth and the bowl of popcorn on their lap.

“No,” they thought. “It couldn’t be.”

Behind them, Jay heard Daniel curse.  They registered the man prepping the SUV for damage control.  They knew someone had to help the Alchemist before it was too late and, well, Daniel was known for saving people.  He saved Jay.

Still, Jay stared at the 23 inch screen.  Their mind did and redid their calculations, instantly analyzing vocal tone, hand gestures, speed, gait, everything Jay could make out.  It matched over 90%, no matter how Jay ran the numbers.

Jay knew who Roman was.

“Don’t go to the hospital!” they called desperately to Daniel before he sprinted out the door.  They hoped Daniel heard. Then Jay dashed to their bedroom.

They needed their computer. They needed to think, get all the information, because Jay only knew one thing: They had met Roman before and they sure as hell weren’t going to let the villain hurt anyone else, not on their watch.

“Ahhh, smooth as silk,” Marcelo sighed as he walked back into his home through the medical room entrance. “Honey, I’m hoooome!” He called.

“Get changed and meet me in the kitchen, I made cinnamon rolls!” Cynthia called back. Marcelo moved faster, skipping to the master bedroom. 

Cynthia walked into the bathroom as Marcelo stepped out of the shower just a few minutes later, holding a buzzing phone. He looked up at her, then to the phone. It was that phone. The secure one he’d made specifically for communication between him and Jay. Cynthia looked worried as she handed it to him.

“Thanks honey,” he nodded, taking it and putting it to his ear. “Mayor Blackwood speaking, is everything alright?” 

“Umm...you said I could call if...if I needed anything, right?” 

Marcelo could tell even over the line that Jay was shaken and shaking.

“Yes, Jay, of course, of course! What can I do for you? Are you okay?” he asked.

“I can’t….It’s not safe over the phone. Can we meet? Now?”

“Yes, yes we can. I’ll be over in ten minutes, is that alright?”

“Not the house!” Jay blurted.  “Not there. I’ll be in Central Park, by the red bench with the rose bushes. And Mr. Marcelo, sir?”

“Yes, Jay?” 

“Don’t….Can Mrs. Cynthia not be there?  I don’t….I don’t want her to hear anything and get in danger or trouble or--”

Marcelo glanced to Cynthia, brow creased with concern. “Of course, Jay, ah… Should I… should I bring some kind of defense for myself?”

“I don’t think so….Not yet. Not until you’ve heard what I’ve got to say. Then I was….I was hoping we could make plans from there. Together.”

“...Okay.” Marcelo sounded apprehensive. “I’ll be there… I’ll be there very soon.”

“Thank you. Thank you sir. I need to be somewhere safe. I need to be with you.” Jay’s voice crackled slightly as the phone cut off.

“What did they say?” Cynthia asked, eyes wide, as Marcelo lowered the phone.

“They sound very… Very worried. They wanted to meet me alone in the park.” Marcelo swallowed. 

“Take a gun with you?” Cynthia requested. Marcelo looked at her and smiled.

“Of course, love,” he brushed his thumb affectionately across her cheek. “Alright, I need to put some clothes on. Can I take a cinnamon roll for the road?”

“Yes, I’ll pack one for Jay, too.” Cynthia answered warmly, and stepped out as he got dressed.

---

It was warm. It was very warm, but not unpleasantly so, not hot. Just warm. And soft. Damien didn’t remember his bed being so soft. 

He opened his eyes slowly, aware of a very distant pain as he focused blearily on popcorn ceilings, green-striped wallpaper. Not his house. So, of course, not his bed. And no mask. 

It took a moment for all the memories of the past couple hours to come to him, but while they trickled back, his heart pounded. He wasn’t wearing a mask, he wasn’t wearing his costume, he wasn’t wearing a shirt or pants. He remembered Daniel, the fight with Roman, getting shot. 

He groaned, lifting an arm and stopping as he realized an IV was delivering to him… Well, he didn’t know what it was, but it was probably helping, maybe. 

“It is,” Desperaux offered helpfully in the back of his mind. 

Something smelled good, he noticed. His stomach was empty, that he was acutely aware of, and the smell made it rumble. He started to sit up, surprised at how little his wounds hurt him--they still hurt, just not as much as lesser wounds had in the past.

“Hey, kid,” Daniel said stepping into the room.  His hands were wet, like he’d just washed them, and he buttoned a fresh black shirt around his torso.  “I wouldn’t go sitting up just yet.  Those bullets got you pretty bad.”

“Hey, kid!” a feminine voice called back from behind him.  There was no ire in it, but it still made Damien jump.  “You pull four pieces of shrapnel out of a goddamn superhero and the first thing you say when he wakes up is ‘Hey, kid’? I thought you weren’t supposed to be patronizing.”

A short Latino woman with curved bangs and a teasing smile appeared in the doorway.  She held a large green patterned bowl in her hands, mixing its contents with a spoon while balancing several smaller multicolored dishes on her hip.

Damien watched her come in somewhat warily, but already trusted her a little for her comment. “How long was I out for?” he croaked, sitting up anyways, maybe to spite Daniel a tiny bit.

The aforementioned Daniel handed him a plastic cup of water.

“About 3 hours. We had to give you some pretty heavy sedatives to get the bullets out.  You bounced back quicker than we expected.” The operative looked over his shoulder at Beth before reaching up to scratch behind his ear. “We were worried about you, kid.”

Damien almost smiled as he heard Despereaux purr delightedly in his mind. “They noticed! They noticed!” He didn’t let the smile reach his face, still, but lowered his gaze, humming in response.

“What Daniel means to say,” the woman cut in, “Is that you were all kinds of stupid--read: brave--and that I’ve been yelling at him for the past 2 hours for not telling me about you from the time we landed. So, he gets to go do the dishes while I get to ask you the easiest question you’ve probably been asked in a while: Do you want some Corn-and-Poblano Soup?”

Damien looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. “Um, yes ma’am.” 

“Look at me, surrounded by gentlemen! I’m Beth Hernandez. Daniel says I shouldn’t tell you what my last name is yet, but you’re in my goddamn house and it's the most common thing south of the border.”

She spooned out a healthy portion of porridge-like stew, setting it on the bed next to Damien’s hip and handing him a spoon.

“Just don’t the be dumbass Mr. Wei thinks you are by picking that bowl up while it’s still hot and you’re still weak. I haven’t found a pottery store I like here yet so no one is allowed to break anything.” 

A veeery slight smile found its way onto Damien’s face as he looked down at the bowl. “There’s one on Inupiak street, three over from main.” 

Beth narrowed her eyes at him.  “Local artisans?”

“Yes’m.” 

“Fantastic!  You get better, I get some more stuff, and I promise we can chuck every ugly thing in this house at the wall until it shatters. Deal?”

“Can I help?” Daniel called from the kitchen. Beth looked expectantly at Damien, like she was asking for permission or something.

Damien looked back at her blankly for a moment and shrugged. 

“Ugh, fine you villainous hero-wrangler!” she called back.

Damien smiled. “Thank you, ma’am, for the food, I really appreciate it.”

Beth leaned in closer like she had a secret to tell. “Now, you may not know this yet, but this is kind of what I do. I get worried about people in danger which makes me stress cook so I get Daniel to get those people and bring them right back here.  You’re not the first person I’ve collected.” She winked. “But you’ll meet Jay later.”

Damien nodded. “I hope he’s nicer than Daniel.”

“They’re sweetness wrapped in trauma like an empanada. Don’t yell too loud and you’ll get along just fine. Daniel is the one the yelling’s for.”

“I don’t know how to yell if I’m not in costume.” He shrugged. 

“I think we can work with that,” Beth said. “Now shut up and eat your soup. I have to go make sure that maniac hasn’t rearranged my cutlery again.”

“It’s more efficient with the army method!” Daniel called as Beth went after him.

Damien scoffed quietly to himself, and began to slowly tuck into the soup. “She’s nice.” Fox commented in his mind. 

“She is,” Damien murmured. “She is.”

---

Marcelo stepped out of his car, his casual one--not a big, black suburban, but something small, economic, good on snowy roads. He walked out to the bush that was blooming happily, standing by it and watching a family play in the park as he waited, tense. He’d brought a gun, stashed subtly within his light coat.

Jay ran up, seemingly from nowhere. Their appearance was rushed: frenzied blond hair fell over darting blue eyes. They grasped the small black bag from the plane cargo bay in their hands.

“You came. You actually came. Thank goodness!” they said, staring past Marcelo to the roses, or maybe their thorns. “We can’t stay here. I...I know something. Is that your car?”

“I--yes, that’s mine,” Marcelo’s brow furrowed with worry. “Jay, you’re alright, aren’t you?” he asked, walking towards his car.

“I’m honestly not sure? I...I think I am, for now.” Jay scrambled in the passenger seat before meeting Marcelo’s eyes in the most intense gaze the mayor had ever seen. “I have information on Roman, sir.”

“You do?” Marcelo returned his gaze, just as serious, nothing in his face betraying fear. “What is it?” he asked, locking the doors for security.

“Not here,” Jay repeated. “Once we...once I say this, neither of us are going to be safe.”

Tag List :  @stoic-whumpee​​​​​​, @whatwasmyprevioususername​​​​​​, @whumpty-dumpty-fell-off-the-wall​​​​​​, @straight-to-the-pain​​​​​​, @castielamigos-whump-side-blog​​​​​​, @0idril0​​​​​​, @fallingstormphoenix​​​​​​, @whump-fantasies​​​​​​, @imagination1reality0​​​​​​, @whumpback-wail​​​​​, @whump-tr0pes​​​​​, @untilthepainstarts​​​​​, @captivity-whump​​​​, @burtlederp​​​​, @redwingedwhump​​​​, @whumpiary​​​​, @captivity-whump​​​​, @blue-flare10, @aquaace

[7wanderingpaws]

3. OCEAN'S DEPTH.

Genre: marine biologist AU

Pairing: Bambam x reader

Word count: 2.2K

0. Synopsis // 1. Whales // 2. Dolphins. // 3. Ocean's depth.

(( I apologise for the long wait, it was not planned at all. Uni is in full swing, I am in my final year so the thesis writing is giving me a little headache. I hope this part will still be somehow enjoyable! Please let me know your thoughts! ))

- - - OCEAN'S DEPTH - - - 

You were tapping your foot against the warm pavement the next day in the docks. The weather was still shiny, pleasant and ever so welcoming.

You were supposed to have a good mood, considering all of these aspects.

You felt like a piece of a rotten tuna tin.

Exactly like rotten tuna tin, whatever it was supposed to mean.

"Where is he?!" you shouted angrily to your two colleagues who were looking bored and kept murmuring among each other, snickering quietly.

"Calm down," said Jaebeom and pressed the side button on his iPhone to check the time. He pushed it back into his back pocket of his jeans. "His late just 15 minutes."

Jackson laughed in disbelief. "Just 15 minutes."

You glued your strict stare at the cheerful man and he just shook his head, not bothering to talk to you more.

"Well, if he isn't coming in five more minutes, we are leaving."

"But boss, even if we leave in five minutes we will still be there 30 minutes early," replied Jaebeom in a diplomatic tone.

Jackson snickered again.

You sighed, combing your hand through your already messy hair. "Are you making fun of me? Do you think this is funny?"

"No, not at all, " replied Jaebeom, coughing away his giggle.

"Look, " you started, holding your hand out." You can think whatever you want to, but the fact is that we should be there a little bit earlier to make sure everything goes smoothly. As you can see, this duck head is late anyway. This is why we have to be there a little bit earlier."

"A little bit, " mumbled Jackson to himself.

Jaebeom started to laugh loudly, not bothering to hold back anymore.

As much as you liked to see your forever cold and reserved colleagues laugh, you did not appreciate it one bit at the moment.

" Shut up, Jackson, " you snapped. " You don't let me breathe even for a little while right? You always have to push me down."

He looked at your hurt face and before he could argue in any possible way, from the distance you hear rushed steps and a very tired looking Bambam. He was trying to adjust his bag on his shoulder as his hair was a big mess.

"I'm here! I'm coming! Oh, thanks for waiting for me!" he breathed as he finally arrived.

"Good." You turned around and marched forward towards the kindergarten that you hated so much at the moment. Youngjae was going to pay a big price for letting his mouth talk so much.

If Jackson were a dog, he would have his ears pressed to the sides of his head, his tail between his legs and lowered head. There wasn't a minute when you wouldn't fight these days despite how hard and cold you both were to each other.

He still wouldn't tell you what was pissing him off so much about you and you certainly didn't want to ask about that kind of thing. This way you were aware you were annoying him and that was more than enough.

You all made your way to the kindergarten and to your pleasure, you were quickly ushered in, the kids already waiting.

"Soon is never soon enough, Dr Im," you muttered to Jaebeom. Before he could retort something too sophisticated for you, you turned quickly to your team, mostly focusing your attention to your two colleagues rather than Bambam who was smiling the whole time as he was observing the kids' drawings. "Alright, we literally have like five minutes to discuss whose gonna talk about what-"

"Y/N," you heard your name. Youngjae's mum was standing next to you, her frame tall and her facial features kind. "I'm afraid you will have to go in now. The kids are waiting and they are restless."

"Yes but-"

"Alright, then there is no time to waste!" shouted Bambam, suddenly paying attention and soon he was entering the little hall kids had there for their performances.

Jackson snickered as he followed Jaebeom and BamBam. "So much for authority, huh."

A tiny growl escaped your lips, startling you. Damn. Now the game was on. You would ruin Jackson for sure.

The kids greeted you politely, most of them curiously looking at the blonde haired Bam.

While Jaebeom looked uncomfortable and seemed like dying inside from the attention, Jacskon was also naturally swayed with the kids as he was smiling brightly, waving at them.

"Everyone, let me introduce you these marine biologists," started Youngjae's mother, her voice a pleasant baritone. "Dr Y/N is The leader of the marine research institute here in Mokpo and Dr Jackson and Dr Jaebeom are her colleagues, great experts. Dr Bambam is a world famous marine biologist from Thailand so make sure to treat him with respect."

"Are we considered trash next to him?" muttered Jackson as he had his bright smile plastered on his face.

You bumped your elbow into his ribs quite hardly which made him wince with surprise. He widened his eyes at you, but you had a stern look already focused on the wall opposite you.

"Now I will let our biologists take over the talking and please participate actively!"

Youngjae's mum nodded at you with a supportive smile and you made sure to thank kindly before reaching for the microphone. "Hello, everyone! I'm Y/N and I would like to start with a question for all of you. Please raise your hands if you want to talk, alright?" you asked with a thumb up but when you didn't get any feedback you laughed awkwardly. "Alright! So, what do you understand under marine biology or marine research?"

You had a weird feeling these questions were not exactly meant for such a young audience as these four-year-olds who barely knew their mother's name but you were serious about doing your job professionally.

One little boy in the front row raised his hand shyly. "I think you work with dolphins."

You swayed your head from side to side. "Yes, could be also."

"That's totally true!" exclaimed Bambam. "And you know what? Let me tell you something that I'm sure you didn't know about whales." The way he was talking made kids much more interested compared to the poker faces they were giving you.

"The whales are these veeery big animals, right?" asked Bambam, motioning with his hands. "We also call them mammals.They can be much bigger than this whole kindergarten! And the important thing to know about them is that their poop is needed for the ocean's ecosystem."

You snapped your head to Bambam, not liking the direction he was going. On the other side Jaebeom and Jackson were also listening as intently as the kids.

"So how exactly does this work, hm? Well, when the whales poop it's really big and can create a big mess." Kids started to laugh, supported by Bambam. "Their poop contains lots of important microscopic creatures that are beneficial for other fish! For instance, phytoplankton is a crucial part of the ocean's ecosystem and some underwater animals live off of it."

"Eeeeeeeeew," kids whined but laughed loudly, scrunching up their noses.

BamBam laughed too, extremely pleased with himself. Jackson and Jaebeom had a light grin, also liking the playful way Bam introduces whale's poop.

"Another thing we have to watch out for are coral reefs," started Jackson his part. The k god it was an appropriate topic. "Do you know what are coral reefs right?"

There was a lady sitting by with a laptop who screened pictures on the big wall so the kids could see. She typed quickly into Naver search engine the keywords and all of you were met with colourful fish and massive corals. It made you smile right away and Jackson went up to the picture and tried to simplify the information about the coral reefs.

“They are extremely endagered. You know Nemo, right? Well, he also lives in these coral reefs. However, Nemo cannot cope with warm water. That is what causes these reefs to die out - warmed up temperatures.”

All of you continued with your presentations, trying to engage children as much as possible and at the end having a nice little quiz (with a rewarding present too!).

Jaebeom was breaking jokes about sea horses that you tried not to cringe about but thanks to Bambam, he supported every idea. It almost seemed like he knew only the silly stuff and not the important information.

After you were finished, you stopped Bam on your way out, so that Jackson and Jaebeom wouldn't hear you.

"Can we go diving today?" you spilled.

If Bambam was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead a signature smile spread across his face. "Well of course , boss. But I made a reservation at this five star restaurant you have in this little town so I will go there first."

You sighed, trying not to show your frustration. "Look. You shouldn't eat before diving especially not with the depth of our diving. Secondly, I thought you came here to help, not try all these so call five star restaurants."

BamBam laughed, tapping your shoulder. "should I cancel because of you, Y/N?"

"Exactly my idea," you smiled, walking past him.

He was quick to grab your hand though. "How will you refund me this loss?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how important I hold my luxury living. Since I'm going to sacrifice it for you, I hope it will be rewarding at least." His hand trailed over your arm, teasing you.

By now you knew better than to take his ideas seriously. "Well, heated kissing under the water, how does that sound."

Bam laughed tapping you shoulder. "Good enough, girl, good enough."

You couldn’t believe your own words. Your own mouth. Your own tongue. heated kissing under the water?! There was a sudden urge for you to slap yourself as you were heading to the docks to meet Bambam. How on earth could be this cheesy?

You knew Bam was not serious half of the time and even though he did tell you some good things about the marine biology and how to lead this entire expedition, there was just something slightly off. Whenever someone had a really professional question, he would suddenly go quiet, dissing the question with a simple answer that didn’t really add to your knowledge.

When you entered the docks with all your equipment, you were surprised to find him already there. He seemed deep in thought, his uniform already on.

You paused for moment, thinking what to do.

Set your goals straight...

There was no doubt you needed this guy for you to find the creature. He had all the knowledge. Apparently...

“How was it when you found out people know you?” you walked towards him, a challenging smile on your burned face. “And why would you talk about whale poop anyway.”

Bambam smirked as he turned towards you, his full attention now on you. “How else do you want to get the kids attention if not with something silly.”

“Good for you it was a true fact what you said,” you replied, putting on your swimming gear.

“I only say things that are true,” he murmured, eyeing you up.

A blush creeped up into your cheeks as you zipped up the uniform on your back. You both checked whether the equipment you had was prepared for the dive. “I sure hope so.”

“So the kissing part,” he started.

You held out your hand quickly. “Stop right there. I didn’t mean any of that.”

“And here I thought you liked me.”

“I do,” you said without thinking and immediately closed your mouth in pure shock. What did you just say?!

“You do?” he asked, his eyes full of hope.

You blinked a few times, hiding behind one of the oxygen bombs. “What? I mean I like the weather today.”

Bambam burst out into fit of laughters. “You are actually super cute, you know that? You play all this hardly approached girl but you are such a softie.”

“That is some good load of whale poop,” a doubtful laughter was the only thing you could let out. “Anyway, let’s go already. It’s gonna be super dark in a few.”

“Yes, that’s the point of night diving.”

As you walked passed him, you turned sharply, facing him. “Listen, Bambam. Whatever it is you are thinking, stop it. And just so you know, I have my eyes on you.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at you, obviously not taking you seriously but you just sighed and headed towards the little stairs leading into the water. It wasn’t until you reached the edge and you slipped on it that you felt his hands around your waist. You yelped feeling him pulling you backwards. It made him slip almost as well but he managed to keep a strong stance making sure you are steady.

You stayed like that for a few more seconds before your heart beat could simmer down to a normal rate. Slowly turning around, you saw Bambam’s gentle face. His eyes were already on you when you met his gaze. His hand reached out and slowly pushed your messy hair out of your face before his index finger slipped under your chin, sending goosebumps down your spine.

You didn’t realise you were holding your breath until his face was inching closer to yours.

Oh no.

What was he doing?!

 <3

[robotnik-mun]

Robotnik Art Historia- Part Three: A World Without Robotnik

Hello and welcome to the Robotnik Art Historia, where we chronicle and examine Robotnik’s visual depiction throughout the history of the Archie Sonic comic! 

In the aftermath of Endgame, the comic was left to deal with a massive shift in the status quo- Dr. Robotnik, the central villain of the book and the cause for almost every single conflict that had occurred within it, was gone now. And unlike the last time it had happened, he wasn’t coming back any time soon. Furthermore, thanks to the events of Endgame, Echidnapolis was now returned to Mobius, revealing a surviving population of Echidna and prompting Knuckles to uncover the mysteries of his own heritage. The landscape was changed for our heroes- rebuilding the kingdom, confronting other menaces trying to fill the void left by Robotnik, and the issue of Robian Rights now took up the book’s time. 

Whether any of this was executed well is a matter of opinion (in the case of the Echidna? Not at all), but the point of order is that Robotnik was gone now, but his actions continued to influence the book despite his absence. His presence would still be felt though via flashbacks and Pro-Art, and it was during this time that the details of his past would finally come out, all leading towards his eventual return... or WAS it? 

This time gave us a lot of variety when it came to bolt boy, and also gave us what was in my opinion the best artist ever to draw Robotnik. So, let us dive into Robotnik during the Post-Endgame days! 

12. Nelson Ribeiro

A man with a somewhat sporadic career at Archie, Nelson Riberio’s take on Robotnik was definitely one of the weirdest looking ones. First showcased in a Pro-Art piece, his Robotnik was noteworthy for turning Robotnik’s belly symbol into a harness worn on his body, making Robotnik’s hands REALLY tiny, and for giving his robotic arm a hyper-technological texturing... and I have no idea why he would wear a glove OVER the arm, but there you go. Oh, and then of course there’s the fact that his ear implants are *literally* bolt shaped, and the fact that his cranium is especially tiny and pointy here. There’s a Pinhead Larry joke in there somewhere... but yeah, what else can be said? Ribeiro’s take on the doc is definitely one of the stranger ones out there. 

13. James Fry

James Fry’s first contribution to the book would be not as a regular artist, but as the creator of a piece of Pro-Art, which happily enough managed to feature Robotnik himself. Possessing an expressive, heavily anime influenced art style that jived well with the book, he would be a worthy addition to the art staff in the Post-75 era of the book. As such, his own take on Robotnik was quite stellar- interestingly he seemed to make Robotnik’s mustache much more wild and frazzled and wild than it was normally depicted, taking up his entire upper lip. 

14. Ramona Fradon 

Ramona Fradon did only a single piece of art for the book, but her history outside of Sonic is actually quite incredible- her career goes all the way back to 1950, having worked as an illustrator for Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and she is particularly notable for being the co-creator of DC’s own shape shifting superhero, Metamorpho! Her work on Sonic would only be limited to a single image, but it was a good’un- her Robotnik is veeery well drawn. Dig the turkey neck the guy’s got going on there!

15. Mike Kazelah 

Another for whom Sonic was but a speedbump in a much more distingushed career elsewhere, Mike Kazelah worked extensively in comic adaptations such as Futurama, the Simpsons and Ren & Stimpy, as well as working in animation. His sole Sonic contribution was a bit of Pro-Art showcased in Knuckles #22, and here the Ren and Stimpy influence really shows itself as he gives us a particularly egg-cellent take on the doc. Definitely would’ve been a great fit for the old gag comic days, that’s for certain! 

16. Jim Valentino 

Jim Valentino is one of the most noteworthy individuals to work on the Sonic comic, but not for his work on the comic itself- rather, he is noteworthy for being one of the founders of Image comics, a former Marvel Artist who banded together with his fellow hotshots Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane and (most infamously) Rob Liefeld to form their own company due to dissatisfaction with Marvel’s policies. Valentino himself evidently wanted to work on the Sonic book because his son was a fan, and started out on the Knuckles comic. His frantic art style was not entirely good for the book, and his association with Ken Penders would later give birth to the abortive Image/Sonic crossover. His take on Robotnik (technically the Underground Robotnik, but still, the design is identical) none the less was competent if not especially noteworthy. 

17. Steven Butler 

I’ve never been shy about this- Steve Butler drew the best Robotnik, in my opinion. While somewhat controversial with the fandom due to his artistic style, I will forever maintain that Butler none the less was legitimately a very talented artist, and his design for Robotnik was second to none. Perhaps the most massive and menacing take on the doctor yet, Butler’s Robotnik struck a fine balance between realism and cartoonishness in terms of proportions and details, causing him to stand out as a figure of intimidation while keeping him consistent with the rest of the book. Which makes it a rather bitter pill to swallow that not only did he not have many opportunities to draw the doc, but half the time it wasn’t even the REAL Robotnik, but Robo-Robotnik in disguise. Still, unfortunate as that was, Butler still managed to give Robotnik a visual depth and dimension that was unmatched, and it’s a crying shame he didn’t have the chance to do more. 

Oh, slight aside- 

This is awesome. It will always be awesome. It doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of this, I just think it’s super neato, and I find it interesting that out of all the bodies there, only one of them is better looking than how Robotnik normally is and one of them is actually even *uglier*. The implications fascinate me. Man it would have been nice for some of these designs to at least cameo in other zones. Ah well. 

And with that, the third installation comes to a close! Two more to go folks, as next time we take a delve into the Sonic Adventure era of things, which would lead directly into what I call ‘The Dark Ages’ of the comic. Buckle up folks, because from here on out it’s a wild and rather bumpy ride!

[fearsomesheep]

TELL US MORE ABOUT AVERY AND PIP PLEASE.

AHHH WITH PLEASURE!

For the majority who don’t know; Avery is a witch OC that resides in @lilbluestem​‘s witchy universe (same universe as Josh and all those freaking fantastic characters and communities) and Pip is their elephant shew familiar!

Here are some inktober sketches I did of them a while back:

Avery and Pip are from a tiny town by the coast in Wales, Britain, which is primarily a Witch community. I say ‘primarily’ because it’s less taboo for blokes (like Avery’s dad) to settle down with families along side their witchy wives despite not having any ‘magic’ themselves. Men who do this are well aware (and accepting) of the witch aspect - they’re still pretty few and far between though. It’s a veeery small community. The kind of place where people are more likely to be born there then leave, rather than come and live there otherwise. Pretty much everyone is literally related in one way or another. Familiars in the community tend to take on the form of animals with some elongated feature. Things such as anteaters, ferrets, swans, alpaca… you get the picture.

Avery is gender-fluid and prefers they/them pronouns (or he/she if they’re presenting particularly masculine or femenine at the time). Avery is a freaking saint tolerating people who get pronouns muddled. Pip doesn’t associate with any gender in particular either but then again that’s easier when you’re a literal shrew. Using public bathrooms is a  n i g h t m a r e.

Sadly, this gender identity causes a fair bit of strife in Avery’s life - more so because they’re a witch. It’s well known that witches are nearly always female, so whatever Avery does can be met with backlash. Presenting as male? “Oh so you want to be SPECIAL do you?” Presenting as female? “Oh so you want to FIT IN now?” It’s not a good time :c Avery’s mum actually ends up noping out of the equation because she deals horribly with this aspect of Avery’s life. On a small bright side the mum’s familiar actually sticks around though! Mum-familiar is a wonderful Anteater named Anwyn who cares for Avery a great deal. (This personal contradiction of interests is why Human-Mum left. It’s bad enough having INNER turmoil without having very tangible outer turmoil too.) … Avery’s dad is a good dad though! He still cuddles with Anwyn when she permits him to. It’s a strange family dynamic and difficult, but they all do their darndest to make it work.

Avery LOVES flying and would like to be a pilot someday c: They also have their hair dyed white, like wearing hats, and putting their hair in pigtails.Pip likes eating blackberries.

I can’t think of much more to add right now even though there’s probably some headcanons I missed. This is long enough anyway me thinks! Legit. thanks to anyone that reads all of this??? I need to talk about Pip and Avery more, man.

[stylionable]

As with the beginning of a new year there should be some new posts and after seeing everyone doing favourites on Instagram and YouTube I wanted to follow this particular trend down this alleyway, as I think it will be immesurably useful to have something to look back on when it comes to products, clothing items and other little details. Also, I feel like this year I finally have my life together a bit moreand after trialing a lot of things over the last couple of years at university, I can definitely say with more confidence what I like and what I don’t.

As I am going to a wedding for the next week I didn’t want to leave this January favourites too late (I know, it’s already the middle of February and before long I will be posting the February one too) but I say- better late than not at all!

Toeing that fine line between expenses and savings, these items have now got me through a whole month on a reasonalby minimalist budget, especially considering how many of the items on this list are multi-functional and long-lasting, which is essential when 1) you are a student trying to get savings together for your first year of work/Masters and 2) it’s so cold in Durham and no amount of ginger tea will warm you up from the inside, meaning you have to hide yourself in layers upon layers of clothes. Either way, I am rambling.

Without further ado, here are my January Favourites 2018:

1. Davines Dry Texturiser, £19.95

I love the brand Davines so much it physically hurt when I ran out of their Nounou tomato extract hair conditioner from my Liberty beauty box last year. As the box was a gift, I felt like it had been a reasonable purchase, with a ridiculous amount of amazing products featured inside, which is another reason I am sad that they either didn’t do one this year or I missed out without knowing it. That Davines conditioner that I used like a hair mask was a real revelation, not only because it smelt amazing but becuase I had very brittle hair at the time and it provided the perfect hit of moisture that it so desperately needed.

Anyway, back to the texturiser. As again with the issue of money, I very rarely get my hair cut, as I usually snip the ends away at home and then go once or twice a year for a proper, big cut where the hairdresser does her magic and restores my hair back to some level of normalcy. This time, the lovely Mihaela from Taylor Taylor at Liberty’s London used this spray/texturiser-in-a-bottle/dry shampoo on my unreasonably fine and flat hair, and boy, did it look amazing! I hate dry shampoo’s for their white powder residue and texturisers are usually either too sticky or too drying, so this spray was a revelation, I really cannot get enough of it.

Used veeeery sparingly, I am hoping it will last me at least half a year.

2. Penhaligon’s Portraits: The Bewitching Jasmine, £185

I don’t wear perfume very often. Now this may not be the best advertisement for the second item in my favourites for January, as it is a perfume, and a very expensive one at that! I find most scents don’t have enough staying power, with the complexity of the scent being overpowered by flat notes of musk, amber or flowery rose, which I am not going to lie- I hate. After my love affair with beautiful candles like the Diptyque Feu de Bois, I was looking for a scent that would have the similar layered quality of deep, spiced, rich notes that would unfold as you wear it throughout the day like a flower.

Now I love the traditional, old Victorian feel of London around Old Bond Street and the Burlington Arcade. Nothing makes me happier than window-shopping in that tiny covered walkway among old-fashioned, luxurious cashmere shops and vintage jewellery stores with Lalique icons displayed in their windows (I even wrote about it here!).

Each time that I head down to London I walk down here, usually stopping by Penhaligon’s like a pauper to pick up one of the scented napkins that they leave out on a silver stand outside the shop, filling the whole walkway with the most intriguing array of perfume scents. While I was there in December for Christmas shopping, the Burlington Arcade was packed, filled with eager and frantic Christmas shoppers. And Penhaligon’s was having a sale!

So in we went, and at an absolute steal got this beautiful scent in the unique cat-head bottle. The scent is very gentle at first, with the stronger, fiercer notes of sharp coffee and spice coming out later before evening out and spreading into a perfect aureole of mystery. The head note is Jasmine, then the heart is Incense and the base note is Oud. I would highly reccomend this for people who like the scent of spiced winter candles, but want a more harmonious scent that will sink into the skin. i think this will be an amazing contrst on skin in the summer as well… We shall see!

For something even sexier, pick Clandestine Clara, another one of the fragrances that I received as a sample with the purchase.

3. Alaska Bear Eye Mask, £10

This is the second one of these I have purchased, with the beautiful navy stripe design perfect for my boyfriend (I have one in black). I have been looking for a large, blackout eye mask that would be ideal for travel for a veeery long time. I have been using the free eye masks that you get on some of the longer flights, but the elastic at the back had gone completely and it had become such a chore to wear. Most silk eye masks are ridiculously expensive and not always completely blocking out the light, which can be very troublesome on 6hrs+ flights. I think I have quite an awkwardly shaped nose, and most eye masks seem to expose the inner corners next to the nose quite a lot, which means that I can always see through the side (I find this very annoying on long flights especially when I finally manage to get to sleep but the airplane lights come on).

So after reading a LOT of reviews on the best eyemasks and where to get them, I shot my blind faith into the dark for this Alaska Bear eye mask that came with high reccomendations from customers on Amazon. Oh my god, this has got to be the most perfect eye mask created. Unbearably soft and smooth with delicate piping around the outside and a thick elastic at the back (adjustable), it is exactly large enough to cover the whole eye area and sits snugly around my nose without exerting too much pressure. It is reasonably affordable, looks very stylish and originally came in a little pouch that you can put it into for travel, so on my list, it ticks every box. Cannot recommend this enough!

4. The Ordinary Serum Foundation in 1.1 N( Fair), £5.70

I don’t like many foundations as I find that they all get very drying on my face during the day, with creases around my nose and under my eyes, which is just not a great effect. They also make me look very washed out, which I hate, which usually means that I skip out on foundation and only use concealer in problem areas (the Maybelline Eraser Eye in Light is pretty great).

However, as I have been using The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid and Retinol since last summer, and now their Buffet serum, their foundation range looked very promising, and at close to £6, it was the cheapest foundation I could find anywhere (which may have been the number one reason I got it). The formula is very liquid and it buffs out beautifully with a foundation brush, leaving a smooth, glowing complexion you can be proud of. So far, I think I have used about a quarter of a bottle over regular use every day, so it goes a long way as well!

5. H&M Knitted Polo Neck Grey Jumper, £24.99

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All of those pictures of grey jumpers on my Pinterest finally pushed me over the edge to buy one in January from H&M. This has got to be the perfect oversize throw-on that goes with anything, as I have worn it mutliple times with dark wash jeans, black leggings from the Girlfriend Collective (pictured) and black skirts and boots when I am feeling a bit more fancy. It has a structured polo neck, with piping across the front that adds to the graphic appeal of the oversize cuffs. I have worn this jumper more times than anything else in my wardrobe, so I definitely think it deserves an honourable mention in my favourites.

However, I do think it has sold out in the UK, as I was only able to find images of it from H&M Kuwait, but there are still some amazing grey jumpers available in their collection. I will put all of these in this post, so just click through for the photos and links.

6. Glossier Cloud Paint in Puff, £15

With Glossier launching their UK delivery option some time ago, it has been my mission to try some of their most hyped products, and as I finished my favourite powder blusher about a month ago, I wanted to try something more natural in a cream/gel formula that would give me that flushed look without caking on too much product on my face. Clean and glowing is the look for 2018, and Glossier is leading that particular battle cry more than any other brand on the market.

The formulation is perfect, instantly blendable and perfectly rosy, without going overboard on the colour pay-off, making sure that you always have the right amount on. The cute paint tube shape is great for travel as well and I think this will definitely last me at least another 6 months, so Cloud Paint definitely aims high for the price to product ratio.

Next to try will be the Milky Jelly Cleanser and Boy Brow, but who knows when I will be able to afford and try those!

7. Audible (‘Little Black Book’ by Otega Uwagba), FREE

I have been saving up Audible credits like crazy since last year, and I finally bit the bullet and purchased some of those awesome books that have been floating about on my ‘To-Read’ list for quite a while now. With great book recommendations from the Anna Edit, Estée Lalonde and Elle magazine’s monthly books, my list has been steadily growing, but with all of my reading for my lectures and seminars I was simply too tired to focus on another page.

I remembered I had the Audible credits in the first eek of January, and Otega Uwagba’s Little Black Book was the topmost book on my list, as it covered everything to do with life, organisation, self-employment and most importantly, managing money.

I have only just realised how moeny-focused this favourites is, so, apologies everyone for being so penny-aware, but as a student, every pound has to be accounted for on a day-to-day basis.

The book related well to young 20-something’s going through life transitions that may make them feel overwhelmed, something that I am sure a lot of female students struggle with. I am happy to say that with this book, all of my commutes to university have become all the more productive, and my eekly to-do lists on Evernote have become more organised and efficient, meaning that I am finally on top of all my university work, correspondence and chores.

That is it!

All of my favourite for this month, with links to all of them above. I hope that you will aos find these useful as I would personally recommend all of these to anyone I know.

January Favourites As with the beginning of a new year there should be some new posts and after seeing everyone doing favourites on Instagram and YouTube I wanted to follow this particular trend down this alleyway, as I think it will be immesurably useful to have something to look back on when it comes to products, clothing items and other little details.

[dominavontana]

Don't Talk on Your Phone in Japan & Week 4 Reality Check

I gotta write this blog first so I can do anything else. The humidity level is rising (apparently June is the worst in this island nation...rain,rain won’t go away). And my hormone level continues to rise as well. When my cycle finally starts this month it’s going to be like a damn busting and I’m going to gleefully stand in the flow and drown myself while it all does down - my tits, my weight, my belly. It ain’t easy being a Goddess. Every month is a near evolution in femininity. I get why some women choose to lock it all behind a chemical door. But that’s not my style. True confession: I live for the red raging river because I never feel more alive than when my entire body is pulsing with the painful sacrifice of shedding and I’m still standing, despite the discomfort, the mood swings, the migraines.

Slavee got dumped, again, this month. Not his fault, the timing anyway. But the reasons? Aaalll his at this point. Mistress is done done done with thirsty bitches. I think this is becoming a recurring theme in the life of this blogger. Recovery ain’t easy either baby and I was a Class A co-dependent for most of my life. But it’s worth it. I’m a giver. I want a giver, because I want balance. Fuck opposites attract - when did that ever make anyone happy? “Love is a meditation in the ultimate surrender” - @nadiyashah (she’s a Class A astrologer who introduced me to the world of Youtube and all it’s fine forecasters and I vibe on her energy she’s so positive a light in a dark work). 

And the food - dear Goddess how I ache. The stomach. She’s hurting. Am I bitching? Good, I earned it. Two full nights now up and trying to figure out whether I accidentally ate some gluten (ok maybe not sooo accidentally) or whether my spleen is about to rupture. Seriously, I’ve cheated before but it’s never, ever felt like this and I’m starting to get worried. My physical well being has always been a priority and in this new land I’m not always sure what I’m doing. Ok, most of the time I’m clueless. And once again I’m on my own. My host works, a lot. And I’ve always been more than a bit of a loner, although a friendly one...so wandering the aisles of my local grocery store with Google translate on my phone is fine by me but some days it feels like between my budget and my nutritional needs I’m getting just about no where. And that’s when I break down and just buy one of those little bento boxes that they mark down 50% at 9  pm and I go home with a bottle of cheap sake and say, “Fuck it - I’m in Japan,” and put on Netflix and chill.

Yesterday, Mom called. She’d been trying to reach me for a day, so I answered. I was in public. I sat down on a bench. Turns out that bench was a bust stop. That’s when the old Japanese man screamed in my face about talking on my fon and his tiny old friends all laughed. I rolled my eyes, kept talking and walked away until I found a suitable wall to lean against in some nondescript corner. It’s absolutely forbidden to talk on your phone or play music on (or near apparently) public transportation. Like the dude just appeared out of nowhere. I was exhausted from a day on my feet in this humidity riddled nation (it’s worse than Seattle) and it was an honest mistake. And my Mother, bitch. And a huge #Gaijin moment. Won’t be my last. Oops. Sorry (not sorry?). That and the drunk Japanese woman yelling Gaijin go home at me last weekend in the gayborhood. The thing is they have zero follow through, no guns, no violence. But ay-yo the Olympics are going to be veeery interesting.

Quick disclaimer - most of these people, ok like all except the two mentioned above? Are angels. I love it here, the loneliness is just starting to set in but hey it means I blog more now because this is my escape back to English speaking land and my culture safe space so there’s that and yes I still love it here and would rather be yelled at my harmless xenophobes than watch my own POC citizens get systematically oppressed by their government and shot down by cops with guns. Yea...this, over that, any day. But especially today.

It’s raining, again, of course. Speaking of cheating I need to get my steak on tonight. TGIF. Once a month. I live for that juicy red piece of protein that I only allow myself just prior to the other juicy redness that I love. They go hand in hand. Science, nutrition, nature - do it or it’ll do you because the only thing more ancient than sex is her flow.  

All right...I’ll write...I think that is enough. You got your fix and I got my emotional/brain dump and can return to more potent matters at hand:

Guess who has a photoshoot and feature profile in her new country coming up in two weeks? Yip Yip iii Me.