#genuinely would not have minded if you popped in on the fifth lol

[berryblu-soda]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIENDO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🥳🎉🎁🎂 Your gift? I will not bite you. today.

hehehe

also I was panicking the other night bc i couldn't remember if your birthday was on the first or the fifth, so ty to your moot for sending that ask lol

you BITE berryblu? You bite berryblu like THE FOOTBALL?? afshsfshdgsgdbOh HECK YEAH >:D! thank youu!!! I can finally rest from the endless torment 😌💃💥💥✨!!

Hehehe srry for the birthday jumpscare! (Also low key crying bc you were on the lookout for it 😭💞💞💞💞)

[lonelyroommp3]

would you share the video essay? i also would like to be doing nothing rn

honestly it was not very good so i won't share that particular one lol but my favourite casual watch channels in general include -

if you want to get a recap of drama you would otherwise not know or care about:

emma in the moment - craft/fibre arts related drama (think dodgy yarn dyers, crochet plagiarism accusations, etc)

treacle tatts - tattoo related drama; mix of longer drama recaps & tiktok reaction vids. you could definitely waste an entire afternoon just watching the tattoogate series

izzzyzzz - very much in the sarah z/strange aeons school of "old fandom drama i almost forgot about" but i find izzzyzzz's videos tend to focus more on fandoms i'm not as familiar/don't have history with (my little pony, creepypasta, deviantart in general, etc) so it kind of fills a different niche for me in terms of learning something new as opposed to getting a cursed nostalgia hit. their mary sue video is a particular fave

if you like messy pop culture drama throwbacks:

casey aonso. honestly one of my fave youtubers in the game atm as someone with a big interest in 2000s/2010s pop culture, i've mentioned it before but her fifth harmony video is quite possibly my number one comfort watch of all time. cracks me up every time without fail

if you are a public transport enjoyer:

both geoff marshall and jago hazzard do very interesting & informative videos mainly focusing on the transport for london network but also going further afield. mostly shorter form content but there are a couple of interesting longer ones like geoff's video about riding every tfl bus

i find noel phillips' videos interesting from a pov of exploring various niche airlines but i can't lie him talking to camera on an otherwise silent plane & also surreptitiously recording his interactions with airline staff DOES give me potent second hand embarrassment and genuine moral qualms respectively so tread carefully on those ones i suppose

if you REALLY want to turn your brain off and just have some background noise i am a big fan of 1) level crossing videos. just search "uk level crossings channel" and go wild. 2) livestreams of planes landing in various airports. pairs well with flightradar24 in another tab especially if you happen to live somewhere underneath an airport's flight path so you can get what i like to call the "dual monitor experience" of seeing the plane irl and on the stream

if you want oddly satisfying content

HOOF TRIMMING VIDEOS!! if you just want something clean and satisfying watch horse hoof trimming vids. if like me you don't mind or arguably even prefer complex & occasionally graphic medical cases then cows are where it's at. the big two cow hoof youtubers - mootubers, if you will - are the hoof gp (scotland based, mix of straightforward short form trims and longer vlog style videos, more comedy & banter sprinkled throughout) and nate the hoof guy (usa based, more straightforward and calm delivery, come for the hooves stay for his commenters' absolute vendetta against the hoof gp under nearly every single video)

i love girl with the dogs for dog/cat grooming videos. she has two channels, one with very short (2-5 min) grooms and another with longer (15-20 min) more in depth videos

back in my last year of undergrad i got really into soap making videos. mainly watch royalty soaps who can be... a bit gratingly cheerful in her delivery but if you don't mind that the actual content is very relaxing to watch

[sumu-samu]

(Broken) Mind

Part 3 baby!

master list | part 1 | part 2

At first I was like “yeah three parter but then I saw how long the third one would be and now it’s 4 lol

*three weeks later*

The alarm blared, the sun wasn’t even shining yet. Cutie groaned as they threw their arm over to hit stop on the alarm. “Too damn early for this… 3 hours…I don’t get paid enough.” They rolled out of bed and got ready for the day. It was quiet, so so quiet. All they could hear was the running of the shower, the tap when they brushed their teeth, the pop of the toaster when their bagel finished toasting, the start of their car. But other than that, silence, and that's all it’s been for three weeks. They began their journey to the fifth floor of the building.

“Hey Cutie!”, “Morning!”, “Have a great day!”. All of their co-workers greeted them, to which they responded with a half assed smile. 

“Whats going on?” said the tall serenity daemon in front of them. 

“What do you mean?” The questioned.

“Oh please you can’t hide shit from me. You can’t hide anything from my entire race. You’re upset… like greatly upset. Talk to me” 

“I am fine… Cam, please. I need to get to my office. Im already late.” They pushed passed him

“fine , but I will get an answer!” He called out after them. 

They got to their office only to be greeted with the pile of paper work they didn’t finish last night, along with a couple extra files. With a big sigh they sat down and logged into their computer. That was until they heard a knock at the door. “Come in.” they called out with out looking up from the screen or stoping their fingers flying on the key board. 

The person entered and cleared their throat, causing Cutie to finally look up. “Mason, um, hi…” they became worried, why would their supervisor come all the way to their office to talk to them.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush. You’re a good worker. A great one… most of the time. But lately-” The Fae couldn’t even finish their statement before Cutie cut them off

“Yes sir, I know. I… I’m sorry, I- I’ll stay longer tonight..” 

“You’ve been taking late nights already. Like every night. Only occasionally you leave on time. But look at your desk right now, I mean you could build a skyscraper with the files you haven’t filed yet. I’m not here to reprimand you, because the fact it that when you work, you’re one hell of a worker. But I’m worried about you. Stealth tells me that you haven’t been sleeping at night, that you’re dealing with your own demons right now. But it can’t affect your work, you must know that. Especially now, with every thing that has happened. The Inversion, the break out, Quinn.” He said heartfeltly, they knew he genuinely cared.

“Yes sir, I know… I… It wont, I won’t let what is going on affect my work. I-... I’m seeing someone on my lunch breaks. It’s just taking a little longer than expected-” Cutie tried to excuse the poor work efforts lately, but they knew that it wasn’t a good one.

“I don’t want management to let you go. Please, for my sake… do better. I really don’t want to have to train another elemental.” Mason joked but Cutie didn’t laugh.

“Yes sir.” They nodded and got back to work as Mason walked out. And from 5:00 to noon that what they did, they worked their ass off, filing the stack of papers on their desk. They would have gone longer but there was another knock at the door. The person didn’t bother to wait for a response and just opened the door. 

“Hey Cutie,” Stealth popped their head in. “We’re uh, we’re headed to Enzo’s across the street if you wanted to come.” They offered.

“Shit… it’s lunch already?” They hadn’t even realized how much time passed but when they looked back at the papers so much wasn’t done. “No… no I um. I need to meet with someone. Thanks though.” Stealth nodded their head and closed the door. Cutie logged out of the computer, standard department protocol, and headed to the elevator. Didn’t bother to grab their bag or anything. They got in the elevator and hit the 10th floor button. 

“Tenth floor. Isn't that the mental case floor?” The man who phased into visibility right behind them asked.

“Jesus! What the hell Alec.” They turned around and hit him. “God I have enough on my plate with one stealth, I don’t need you randomly appearing behind me like a psycho.” 

“Hey, it’s what I do best, so um… why you going to the tenth floor? Oh god are they giving mental exams again?” Alec groaned. 

“No. No-uh… I don’t know. But that’s not why I’m going.” 

“Then… why are you going up there?” He pushed

“No reason. Just… just gotta file some paper work for a case.” They lied.

“Riiiggghhhhttt, and that’s why you have that HUGE stack of papers in your hands.” Alec said sarcastically.

“Alec, just stop.” They snapped. 

“Okay, okay.” He held his hands up defensively. “I think this is your stop.” 

The elevator doors opened, and walked out. “Well… good luck.” Alec called out.

They walked down the hall and stoped in front of a door. They knocked three times, and the door opened. “Hey! I thought you weren’t coming.” 

“Hey Melissa, sorry just got caught up in some work.” Cutie walked in and sat in the leather arm chair.

“Well then. Should we begin?” Melissa began to pull out all the usual equipment.

“Uh… Melissa, do… do you think we could keep this one off the record? I- I mean take what ever physical notes you need… but can we cut the audio recorder?” Cutie wrung their hands nervously.

“Are we finally talking about it?” Cutie nodded in response. “Ok, yeah.” Melissa put her audio recorder back into a drawer. “So where do you want to start?”

“Where should I start?” Cutie was already dreading this.

“The beginning. The why, the how. Everything.” Melissa opened her note book.

“Well. I guess it started as far back as I can remember. I mean, growing up in… in a telepath household…. My parents didn’t talk to me until I got my powers. And before and after, nothing… I mean NOTHING was private. Any crush or partner I had, any test I didn’t do too well on, any report card I got a B on, I mean, they knew when I was changing, what I would wear before I walked down stairs. They knew when I was lying, telling the truth, there was no point in trying to hide anything.” Cutie began to cry. “But when I got… when my abilities developed… I realized just how… how fake people were. What came out of their mouth wasn’t what was playing through their minds. I- I lost friends. People I trusted who lied to me.” Then came the sobs. “I-… I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be, crying is a part of healing. This is how you get better.” Melissa reassured. 

“Melissa… what if… what if I never get better? What if Geordi doesn’t want me back? I mean I wouldn’t want me back. Gods I’m such a fucking mental case-“ Cutie was rambling.

“Cutie… you are not a mental case, you are hurt. Years of family trauma, built up over and over. It’s trust issues. Every one has them to some level.” Melissa put her pen down. “Okay, forget notes, forget all of that. Just, talk to me” 

“I want to get better. I do. I need to get better. But… I’m scared that I’m never going to get better. What if… what if he trusts me again? Then what? I slip up and break that trust? I can’t do that….” Cutie couldn’t stop crying. They hadn’t cried like this since that day. 

“People have relapses. They have moments of weakness. But the more you work to not have those moments, the better you get. And you’ll get to the point where you won’t relapse any more.” Melissa gave Cutie soulful eyes. Caring eyes.

“He hasn’t called… hasn’t texted. Not since that night.” They looked at the ground.

“Have you ever tried to… contact him first? Maybe he wants to wait until you feel like you’re ready.” She tried to help them see the other side of it.

“What if I never feel like I’m ready? What if I take too long and… and he moves on?” The thought made their chest burn.

“Look, just. Reach out to Geordi, let him know you’re still thinking about him. That you still want him. Don’t let him go.” She pushed.

“Melissa-“

“No, don’t Melissa me. All of your what ifs will actually come true if you just sit on your ass like this. You’ve been seeing me for three weeks. Since then how many peoples minds have you slipped into?” She questioned.

“Um…” Cutie took a hard moment to think. “I- none… I mean I’ve been so focused on… well on other things. I don’t.”

“You haven’t slipped into anyone’s minds. See, that’s progress.” 

“I-… I don’t know…”

“Okay, how about some homework. You, are going to contact Geordi tonight. And update me tomorrow. Now our time is up and you should probably get back to work.” Melissa began to pack up all her stuff. 

Cutie went back to work, behind that same old desk. As they worked their mind wandered, it was always so quiet…. They wanted it to stop being so quiet. They thought about connecting to someone near their office…. Thought about using them as background noise. 

“No-“ they took a deep breath. “Music… music will help.” They brought up their Spotify and hit play on the first playlist they saw, without even looking at what it was. 

They were immediately hit with the wonderful notes of the Tetris theme song. “Fuck” they groaned. Their eyes began to well up, they pulled their legs onto the office chair and rested their head on their knees.

“Hey Cutie, I’ve got more fi-….” Stealth again walked in without a knock. “Woah… are you okay?” 

“I’m fine” they groaned without picking their head up. 

“Really? Because the fetal position in your office chair crying to the Tetris theme song does not read ‘fine’ to me…what’s going on?” The walked over and put a hand on Cuties back. 

“Geordi…. This is the stupid song that played on repeat in his head. I wanted to put music on to distract me from the silence but instead I put on the playlist that I made for Geordi ....” They tried to suppress their tears, but when they looked up at Stealth there were wet spots on their pants and they had red puffy eyes. 

“I’m sorry…” Stealth pulled them into a hug. “You want to come over to my place tonight? Have a self care night. Maybe we can rope Milo into it… paint each others nails and everything.” They said very excitedly

“No, I have… other thing I need to do. Maybe some other time.” They thought about the homework Melissa had given them. Contact Geordi…. 

That night they stayed extra late, the thousands of files they had to deal with got cut down to the 30s by the time they clocked out. They drove home in silence, they made a cup of instant noodles in silence. It was all so quiet. 

Sitting down on the couch, cup of noodles in hand, they used their other hand to pull out their phone. 

——————-

The phone buzzed, once, twice, three times, Geordi groaned and picked it up. “Hello?” His voice groggy, who would be calling him this late into the night. 

The person on the other end didn’t speak. “Hello?” He asked again only to be answered with silence. Finally he pulled the phone away to look at the contact information. 😚💜✨Cutie✨💜😚 

He put the phone back to his ear “Listen if you have nothing to say to me fine. But don’t call at one in the morning only to say nothing.” He was going to hang up when he heard the gentile tone of their voice.

“Wait… I’m sorry… for waking you… it- it’s not one am…” He imagined them shaking their head in refusal.

“Yeah… it is. Check the clock.” He replied.

“Damn…” they breathed

“Did you just get off work?” Geordie knew them, they’d work themselves to death on rare occasions when he had an out of town business trip. 

“Um… yeah… well, like an hour ago.” Their voice was soft, something he missed, something he longed for.

“What time did you go in?” He sighed.

“Seven… I- I had a lot of work to do.” They tried to justify.

“Cutie-… that’s not healthy.” He rubbed his temple.

“I… I know… I’m sorry.” 

“Can I ask, why’d you call?” Geordi wanted to ask that from the start.

“I… um…. I don’t actually know…” Great, their tired, probably drunk, and don’t know what they’re doing. Wait… drunk.

“Cutie… are you drunk?” He asked worried.

“No- no I’m not drunk.” The replied super fast. “Look in all honesty, um, my therapist gave me some homework to um… to reach out and contact you tonight. I don’t know what she wanted me to say but… I did it. I guess. If you want to hang up now that’s totally fine.” 

Therapist? Had they actually started to go see one? Of course they did, they said they would. They wouldn’t lie. Hell they told him when they invaded his boundary, even knowing the consequences, they told him. “Therapist?” 

“Uh-… we’ll… more like a department hired psychologist you know, detective can deal with some… some serious stuff so they have someone there in case…” they drifted off. “Uhm, but I’ve been seeing her for a while.” 

“How do you think you’re doing?” He had wanted to check in but ofcourse his brain alway distracted him and he ended up forgetting until late that night when he figured they’d be in bed. But looking at the time now it’s safe to assume that they most likely weren’t. 

“I-… I don’t know… I mean. She’s helped me find ways of dealing with it-“

“It? What’s it?” He cut them off.

“Oh… um… the- the silence. I guess I kinda understand why they use solitary confinement as punishment for inmates now.” They joked and chuckled. “But she’s helped me find ways. Instead of entering someone’s mind I just… put on some music, or a tv show or something to distract me. I have to admit though, it’s not always easy to.” They gave another chuckle. He tried to imagine the small smile they normally have with a chuckle like that. But it had honestly been a while he could only half see it, ouch… that hurt.

“Yeah, well no ones said it would be easy.” Shit that came out harsher than intended. 

There was a good thirty second of silence. “We um. We talked about my family today.” .Geordi’s jaw dropped. They hadn’t even talked about their family with Him before. 

“Oh- wow. Um thats great.” Gerodi gave them mental praise. They had to have been going to her for a while if they were that ready, or at least known her for a long time. The only person he could recall they said they told about their family was Stealth.

“Yeah… I guess…” there was yet again prolonged awkward silence.

“Hey, when um.. Whens your next day off?” Geordie broke the silence by asking.

“Oh- um… I’m not exactly sure… why?” They sounded confused.

“Um, why don’t we go grab a coffee or something. I miss you Cutie. I told you I didn’t want you out of my life and I still don’t. But, don’t feel like you have to meet up with me. I mean I imagine you’re a little pissed with me. I mean, I walked out when you needed me, and then I kept forgetting to call. That had to have messed with you a lot.” Geordie fully understood what a crappy move that was. He had told Cutie before he left that just because theres good intentions behind something doesn’t mean that its good. So just because he had genuinely forgotten… doesnt mean it wasn’t a terrible thing to do.

“Y-yeah.. I’d like that… I um… I’ll text you and let you know when.” He could almost hear their smile and it warmed his heart. He got the feeling that was the first time they genuinely smiled in a while.

[nemeseos-noctua]

Hi! Could i request hcs for Diluc and Xiao with a reader who is shy? Thank you!

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: xiao, diluc (separate) x gn!reader

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: a few swears in diluc’s! (it’s like one or two)

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒: this is actually my first tumblr post.... ive been super busy with school, sports, and other stuff. sorry! ill try to write more in the future! (constellations has been doing everything so far since i still dont know how tumblr works lol)

also, these are stupid long... and for what.

adventuring was a lot for you to process

okay, so maybe having your own Benny’s Adventure Team was not great while traveling through Dragonspine and Liyue

too many of everything

you ended up getting really beat up.

after passing through Mingyun Village, you could see Wangshu Inn and decided to stay there until you were healed up

you always found comfort in the night sky, so you went out there every day

It was your fifth night staying at the inn before you saw a short male standing on the balcony where you would usually be. Strange. You’d never seen anyone like that before.

You seemed to have caught him off guard when you started to approach him since he jumped a little. 

Taking a closer look at his face, you studied it a bit. He had golden eyes and dark teal hair that seemed to frame his face perfectly, accompanied by lighter streaks of the same colour.

Pretty... you thought, completely entranced by this strange man (boy?). 

“Ah, sorry. I’m probably disturbing you... I’ll go now...” 

He blinked. 

god he’s in love

not even romantic love but he loved you like the past adepti

xiao would see so many couples over the years that he’s been at the inn and absolutely hated them, but this?? 

okay it’s a different type of love but damn it felt nice

You started to turn and walk back to your room before hearing his voice.

“Stay.” 

STAY??? WE MOVING KINDA FAST BUT ALRIGHT PRETTY BOY !! 

On the outside, you were cooler than a cucumber. The inside? Chaos. Millions of thoughts raced throughout that little head of yours. 

“Only if you’re fine with it...”

Turning back around, you took a few steps forward before noticing that he wore a lot of accessories on him. One of them being a mask that resembled one of the Vigilant Yaksha’s in that one book you read as a kid. Probably just a fan or something.

You reached the balcony, taking a spot next to him while also keeping some space between the two of you. Leaning on the balustrade (the railing of a balcony), you rested your head on top of your arms.

A comfortable silence was placed in the middle of the two. A silent breeze blew, adding to the mellow mood. 

“What brings you here?” the pretty stranger suddenly inquired, gaining a small jolt from your serene state. “Did I scare you? My apologies.”

“Oh, uh, it’s nothing...” You lifted your head to look out at the lands of Dihua Marsh. Seeing Dragonspine in the distance gave you a chill. Those were not the greatest memories. The small movement didn’t go unnoticed by the boy.

“You’re an adventurer?”

“Oh... yeah, I am... I’m not that experienced yet, though...” 

for SOME REASON... this man felt even more inclined to protect you

you still had a fair amount of bandages wrapped around your limbs, so it was clear that you were injured

GOD IF HE COULD JUST HUG YOU RIGHT THERE AND THEN

but he did not.

he has restraint.

he is a good boy.

“I met a traveler that wasn’t very experienced either.” This fact shocked you. So he has been here for a while... but why hadn’t you seen him before? Does he just... disappear into thin air..?

the answer is yes

he does indeed do that

but that’s besides the point.

“Oh... that’s nice...” 

It was getting late. The moon was starting to lower back down and the lids of your eyes were getting heavier and heavier by the minute. You let out a yawn, but it was muffled by your head being buried in your arms once again.

“You should go get some rest.” You hummed. 

Then, a thought popped into your head.

“If you don’t mind me asking... what’s your name?” 

Even though you weren’t facing him, you could feel his piercing gaze on you. It wasn’t uncomfortable at all, but gave you a feeling of protection.

“Xiao.” You mouthed his name to yourself silently. It was nice.

“Goodnight, Xiao. I hope that we can do this again soon.”

“Goodnight to you...”

“(Y/N).”

“...(Y/N).”

you were a cryo catalyst that tried to fight against some cryo slimes alone

hint: that was a bad idea

my favourite elemental reaction was immune!

literally... you couldn’t even do anything to them

and you were getting beat up. 

badly.

for plot convenience you were at the lake next to Dawn Winery

“Shit...” 

At this point, you’d been fending these slimes off for around a quarter of an hour now and you were getting tired now.

Your dumbass tried to drown them in the lake but forgot that they immediately froze any moisture underneath them. You tried attacking them but everything you could do was inflict the freeze effect (against CRYO slimes). 

You literally could not do anything. Time to get frozen to death!

“Burn!”

WHAT???

Suddenly, a big fire bird swept up the slimes that had been occupying you for the last 20 minutes or so, effectively taking them out. 

At this point, the only thing that kept you standing was your adrenaline, which quickly ran out as you dropped to the ground in exhaustion. You let out a sigh, finally free from those damned slimes. You will have your revenge one day... just not today.

While you were resting on the ground, your saviour had been standing there, watching you calm down. And so you looked up to be greeted by probing crimson orbs, which definitely startled you.

Your saviour was.... Master Diluc. Master Diluc Ragnvindr, wealthiest man in Mondstadt. Him. In front of you. 

“OH! I, um, Master Diluc! What brings you here?” 

‘WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE??’ HE LIVES HERE THOUGH?? 

“I was taking a stroll around the winery and happened to see you in your own predicament.”

You attempted to stand up, though your legs failed you as you only flopped back onto the dirt. 

diluc doesn’t wanna admit it but that was unbelievably stupid, cute, and endearing

okay and what if this emo boy doesn’t like people

he still has feelings too >:(

“I’ll stay here with you so you won’t get attacked again. So relax.”

Mans was telling you to “relax” while you were in the presence of a literal typhoon here. He was so brooding and scary-looking all the time that you couldn’t even try to relax.

A few minutes pass and the sound of water rushing was the only thing keeping you two company. 

It was nice to enjoy nature, but the tension between the two of you was still higher than ever.

To break this silence, you had tried to stir up some small talk.

“The weather is nice today, huh...”

He grunted, which seemed to be a regular response of his. You started to notice this after a few questions like “how’s your day been” or “have any plans today?”

Not that you were genuinely interested. You bet that he could tell that you were trying to make it less awkward by responding at all, but it just didn’t help at all.

You were probably sitting for a good 10 minutes before deciding to stand up again, in which you were successful. But could you walk back to the city?

That was debatable.

You definitely felt and looked unstable, so being the gentleman he was raised to be, Diluc reluctantly bent down and slung your shoulder over his.

The height difference between the two of you was pretty big, so he ended up just carrying you to his place. As goofy as it looked, it got the job done.

― riri ✨

[f1nalboys]

Hi, I have been reading your blogs and love it! It's so nice to find someone who loves slashers too haha. If it's not a bother, I'd like to make a request. With The Lost Boys where the reader ends up stopping in the TLB movie universe. She gets confused at first but quickly recognizes everything, especially the boys. That being the case, she tries to help them by warning about the frog brothers. How would they react? Sorry if it got confusing lol.

hi there!! so sorry for the long wait but i really enjoyed writing this request!! I hope you enjoy it :)

WARNINGS: none

WORD COUNT: Approx. 1460

You had never been more confused before in your life. One minute you were in bed, half asleep, scrolling for a video to watch on your phone and the next you’re laying on the beach. You were sitting in the sand now, looking around trying to figure out 1. Where the hell you were and 2. Why the hell you were here.

There was a boardwalk just behind you and it was absolutely bustling with people. Most were dressed… differently than you were used to, but that’s not what made you freak out. It was turning to your left and seeing the Santa Carla welcome sign. Santa Carla. There’s no way you were here, right? It had to be a dream.

The sound of yelling caught your attention and you nearly shit yourself at the sight in front of you: four men in familiar clothing arguing with a beefy motorcycle man. One had platinum blonde hair, bordering on white, and he was smoking a cigarette with a smug look on his sharp features. Directly to his right was a taller, long-haired man with no shirt but a leather jacket on.

Holy shit. You blink your eyes hard, pinching yourself hard on the arm until the skin began to throb. You weren’t waking up. This wasn’t a dream, or, at least, wasn’t one you were waking up from. You stand, extremely aware of how differently you were dressed compared to the people around you, and you make your way towards the men. They had finished arguing with the man and were now standing around talking to one another.

“Hey!” You call, instantly slapping yourself in your mind. ‘Hey?’ Why would you try and get their attention anyways? The four turn towards you and you watch as David, because the closer you get the more you realize this was real, cocks an eyebrow at you. Paul and Marko were whispering to each other, large grins plastered onto their faces, while Dwayne watched you walk towards them silently.

“Do we know you?” David asks, his voice having an edge to it. You gulp, your heartbeat picking up speed and David grins at you. He could hear it. He takes a step towards you, closing the gap, and the others follow suit. They walk circles around you like a lion waiting to pounce on the injured gazelle. “I don’t think we do. I’m D-”

“David, I know. You’re Marko, Paul, and Dwayne.” You say, your voice much more confident than you actually were. David's grin drops instantly, his eyebrows scrunching together. He takes another drag from his cigarette, dropping it and stamping it out with his foot as he glances you up and down.

“How the hell do you know that?” Marko asks though it seems he’s more curious than angry. You bite the inside of your cheek, trying to figure out the best way to tell them that wouldn’t make you sound crazy, but nothing came up.

David’s hand outstretches and grabs ahold of your chin, gripping it tightly and forcing you to look at him. His eyes darken. “He asked you a question.”

“It’s a long story and it won’t make sense to you, honestly. I’ll tell you if you let me go.” You bargain and thankfully David obliges. He drops his hand to his side and raises an eyebrow, waiting for you to talk. You take a look at the other three men who were all waiting with various levels of annoyance and intrigue. You sigh.

Almost three hours of talking and answering questions later, you were finally finished telling them what you knew. You were now at a random restaurant, sitting on one of the outdoor tables, picking at fries. They had oh so graciously bought them for you halfway through your story which seemed to be draining their energy.

“So, let me see if I’m understanding you correctly. You’re telling us that you’re not from here and are instead from a place where we are… in a movie? And that it talks about us being… ya’ know?” You nod. David was on his fifth cigarette now and looked genuinely confused. “None of this makes sense.”

“Yeah, but I’m just telling you what I know,” You say, popping a fry into your mouth. Marko was absolutely riveted by your story and he had continued to interject, asking questions or correcting small details of what you said. Paul looked confused but you came to learn that was just his resting face.

“So… what now?” Dwayne asks, leaning over and grabbing a fry from your tray. He had been quiet this entire time, only speaking to tell Marko and Paul to shut up so he could hear you. You shrug. It’s not an everyday thing for you to get transported into one of your favorite movies and have to talk to the four people you had a crush on since the first time you ever watched the film.

“Maybe you got put here to tell us something… maybe warn us? This is awesome! It’s like that ‘Back to the Future’ movie or something,” Paul says and Marko nods excitedly. Dwayne seems to consider this and shrugs. David is the only one who doesn’t seem fully convinced.

“Who’s the head vampire?”

“Max.”

“... You’re right,” David says, displeased. He takes a swig of his now-warm beer and grimaces slightly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He kept staring at you, trying to figure you out and it was really starting to get to you. Sure you had always day-dreamt about staring into those icy-blue and green eyes but it was a completely different story now that he was doing so in a not-so-friendly way.

Marko throws an arm over David's shoulder and shakes him a bit, trying to get him to smile. “Come on, Dave! This is cool!” He turns to you once again and leans in close. You catch a whiff of his scent which was practically intoxicating; sea salt, hair gel, and nail polish. “So, how does the movie end?”

“Uhh… not that great, at least for you guys.” You say, grimacing at their expressions. You did not think this through. “You guys and Max kinda get killed…”

“Killed? By who?” Dwayne asks, his eyes narrowing slightly. Even though he didn’t believe you fully, you knew far too much about them for him to completely blow you off.

“Michael. Well, Michael, his brother, the frog brothers, and Star.” Their faces contort at the names and you realize that you may have gotten here before any of them had met the others. “You don’t know who I’m talking about, do you?”

“Star, yeah, but we just met her yesterday. Haven’t gotten her back to our place. Who the hell are the frog brothers?” Paul asks and, right on time, two boys sprint past your table, comics in hand, cursing at whoever they were running after. One was in a camo shirt and a red bandana tied around his forehead while the other wore a grey sleeveless shirt.

“That’s the frog brothers.” The four men pause before erupting into laughter. Those two losers had a part in their deaths? Yeah, right. “Seriously; they know about vampires and they’re the reason you four get caught. Just… try and steer clear of those people, alright? And if you haven’t turned Laddie yet, don’t.”

You scrunch your eyes in pain as your head begins to throb. You can hear the four men in front of you talking but you can’t make any of it out. A buzzing sound fills your head and your hands find a place over your ears, trying to stop the pain that has erupted in your brain. Right as you think your head is about to explode the noise stops.

Your eyes opened and you’re no longer on the boardwalk. You were in bed, a random video playing on your phone. It was considerably darker outside now and if you really concentrated you could almost smell the cigarette smoke that had been wafting around you for the last few hours. Smiling, you turn your phone off and curl into bed. That was the most realistic dream you’ve had yet.

Back in Santa Carla, the boys were still seated at the boardwalk, gaping at your now empty chair. One second you were there and the next you were gone. David hadn’t taken his eyes off of you and yet you had vanished.

“Huh. I think we should go talk to Max,” Marko says, standing up. Paul and Dwayne nod, standing as well, but David stays sitting. His eyes were still on your chair. Dwayne places a hand on his friend's shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

[henqtic]

Draco takes care of you when you tear your acl in quidditch and after surgery too

𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 || 𝒅.𝒎

word count: 945

warnings: tearing your acl- that’s a given, mentions of breaking your bones, kissing ish?, I think that’s about it.

a/n- I’m sorry this took so long lol- I’m a bit of an over achiever so I did ‘research’ before I started.

+masterlist | draco malfoy masterlist

The day had been annoyingly long, each sympathetic look weighing down your mood more than it already was. In simpler words, it was utterly exhausting. The only thing that could possibly make it better was a relaxed afternoon cuddled up with your boyfriend.

When you were younger, you always yearned for the attention others got when they broke a bone and came back to classes with a cast, prepared for anyone and everyone to sign.

Now that you were older, you realized that all the attention and ‘longing’ stares of pity just weren’t the best thing in the world, especially when they were coming from Gryffindors who’s whole existence was hating your house. You know what? You wished you had broken a bone, it would’ve been better than this.

Draco did try his best to help when he noticed you looked uncomfortable. But scowling at ninety percent of the school that were genuinely sorry that you had gotten hurt so bad had only drew more attention. It was out of sweetness really but sometimes he needed to read a room.

A week ago ago in a Slytherin versus Gryffindor game, a quaffle was directed right at you, and out of instinct you moved out of the way. Or at least tried to. Seconds later a blinding pain struck the middle of your right knee; a loud popping sound following.

Draco swooped in and grabbed you before you lost grip, disregarding both the snitch and the game at hand. You were about to complain that it wasn’t that big of a deal but once you looked down, you realized it was. Your knee had already started to swell up and looked very- obscure.

“Be honest with me Draco. How bad is it, ‘scale of one to ten?” You asked worryingly, half listening to what Madame Pomfrey was saying. Your hand was tightly latched with his big ones as he peaked at it. He grimaced before looking back at you. 

Truth was it was an eight and very close to being a nine but the worry was practically oozing out of you. “Let’s not worry about that love,” he said sympathetically, wiping a fallen tear from your face.

Out of all things that could've happened in your time in Hogwarts, you didn't think tearing your acl was going to be one of them. You also didn’t expect to be transported to st. mungo's for a surgery.

When it was done, you were informed that you would be able to go back to Hogwarts the very next day and someone would have to help you around. But the only part you were focusing on was if you were going to be able to play quidditch again.

You knew what torn acls did to a lot of athletes and you didn’t want that to happen to you- the fact that you had magical healers at your fingertips slipped your mind. You’d be able to play quidditch again just not in the next six months and maybe some time after that.

A downside was that you had to go around wearing both a cast and knee brace and crutches, which undoubtedly earned unneeded attention. Everything was better with Draco there. At some point he went as far as to bribe the physical therapist to be in the same room as you and promised to ‘not be a distraction’.

He had to leave after about ten minutes when he had gotten bored and decided to play with your crutches. He lost balance and fell face first, earning a bloody nose in the process.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“Draco you really don’t have to do all this.” He had already put pillows under your leg to keep it elevated and was going to grab an ice pack too. “What are you gonna do? Get up and stop me for carrying for you?” He asked rhetorically with a small chuckle placing the ice pack on top of your knee.

“Ha-ha you’re such a comedian Draco, the funniest guy out there” your tone was full of sarcasm; getting an infamous scowl. He caught sight of the school uniform you were still wearing, “Stay here and let me get you something more comfortable to wear yea?” He hadn’t given you a chance to answer before going to one of the dark dressers that decorated his room.

Stay here? Where does he expect me to go? You wondered looking down at your injured leg. Your thoughts were interrupted by a familiar emerald green jersey getting thrown onto the bed.

At any other given moment it would be comforting to wear a piece of his clothing, especially one you had been wearing since fifth year when you two started dating. 

But seeing as it was closely connected to the whole reason you were in this position in the first place, you’d rather be wearing nothing at all.

“It is supposed to be some sick joke,” you laughed, picking up the quidditch jersey. It wasn’t much of a joking matter but watching him scramble to get it out of your sight was nothing less of amusing.

“Are you- are you laughing at me?” He asked feigning offense, making you shake and bite your lip to contain the giggle that wanted to pass your lips.

“I’m going to get you back for that,” he threatened making you laugh louder and widen your eyes to fake being scared. He scoffed before grabbing your face in his hands and peppering kisses in every place he could.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with giggles and kisses and occasionally him trying to practice walking on crutches again. This time not giving himself a bloody nose.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

general taglist- @90smalfoy  @ch0kemedracomalfoy @dracosaccount 

draco malfoy taglist- @turn-to-page-394-please @clownybrit  @aguamvnti  @callmesasha   

if your name is crossed out that means I couldn’t tag you for some reason.

+Taglist form →here

[ak8shi]

Atsumu + Sakusa + Akaashi reacting to you tying up your hair Tiktok prank (pt. 2)

Part 1

warnings: slightly suggestive/nsfw?? I guess, mentions of dick, some spoilers !

a/n: tysm for giving the first part so much love, it makes me so happy to think so many people enjoyed it <3

 Miya Atsumu

Can I get an F in the chat for this man

He isn’t ready to be played like this aha

So you are sitting in his living room, watching a movie

You’re both sitting on the couch, you sitting between his legs with a big bowl of buttery popcorn he probably doesn’t even eat it because of his stupid healthy diet

All you can focus on is the prank you saw on Tiktok, I mean it’s the perfect opportunity

You’re already kind of between his legs where you belong

You pretend to spill a bit of the popcorn on the carpet and if we’re being honest he would be an ass about it

Him: you’re so cute when you’re clumsy 🧚🏼‍♀️💗✨now go trip over the ledge of my apartment balcony 🥰💫💞

LMAO so you get down from your previous position, and you manage to set up your phone on the corner of the little side table near the couch

Atsumu is so absorbed in the movie his aggy ass doesn’t even notice

You place your hand on his outer thigh, slightly stroking it

NOW HE’S PAYING ATTENTION

You start to put your hair up in a ponytail, and I think he would be genuinely surprised at your boldness for a second but then he’s like,, IT’S HORNY O’CLOCK

Him: Aha ahaha I know baby,,…. I’m just irresistible like that 🤪🥴

AAKSKKSS his vibes are something else he belongs to the streets

You, looking him dead in the face: oh ? I’m just on the ground picking up the popcorn I spilled like the lowly peasant I am :)) Don’t mind me !

Cue pouting Atsumu he honestly needs someone to put him in his place

Now he’s doting on you and being super cute, trying to get you to get back into his lap

“Babyyyy, I didn’t mean to mouth off at ya, c’mere and I’ll show you what else this mouth can do”

CRINGE LMAO,,,, he’s trying though and somehow the prank went an entirely different direction

You’ve been holding out on smiling or showing any type of emotion on your face, but then you crack and start smiling

You finally tell him it was a prank

You: I remember the words “I’m just irresistible like that” specifically coming out of your mouth

Him: well did I lie

You decide against posting it for his wellbeing, the tiktok community would’ve chewed him up and spit him out💀

Sakusa Kiyoomi

Oh god,,,, do not put him on the spot like thisss

Atsumu and Bokuto somehow convinced you to pull one on your boyfriend

You in the groupchat called MonSter BootY 🅱️itches: u guys he will simply step on me

Bokuto and Atsumu: Sis, that’s why it’s going to be so funny, you’ll thank us when you go viral

Anyways, the two boys offer to hide and record the whole thing in the locker room after practice

Sakusa comes out of his fifth shower of the day and is like,,, why are you in here

You: oh you know,,, just hanging out 🥰

He’s probably shirtless too,,, sheesh

Atsumu and Bo are hiding out in one the showers Atsumu has to cover Bokuto’s mouth the entire time

Sakusa is rolling his eyes at you, he’s just like whatever I’m almost done and then we can go

He’s standing near you while you sit on a bench he definitely tells you to get off it because of how many germs are on it and for the simple fact that Atsumu’s ass touches it

I’m screaming you’re already stifling your laugh knowing Atsumu is HEATED behind the shower curtain hearing that

Okay so you give the boys the cue to start recording, asking Omi to give you a kiss on the cheek

Usually this man would NOT do this in front of his teammates,,, but since he thinks he’s alone he makes an exception

He leans down to carefully press a kiss to your turned cheek, and then you make your move

You gently knock your phone down smooth

You get down on the ground, brushing your hand along his leg and calf

At this point you’re sure Atsumu and Bo are LOSING IT

And so you pull the hair tie from your wrist, putting your hair up in a messy bun

He’s looking down at you kind of intensely, and you think for a second that he might go along with the prank you: I like the view

You: oops I dropped something 😉

Him, stepping away from you: oh my god,, get up right this instant or I will not be able to legally touch you for the next week

THE EMBARRASSMENT,,,, you can’t recover from this he is so grossed out LMAO

You reluctantly pick up your phone and get up, hearing the boys’ thundering footsteps as they sprint out of the locker room,, laughing their asses off

He doesn’t even care about them at this point, he’s just like we need to get you home and into the shower IMMEDIATELY,,,

Sakusa looking at the Tiktok later: what do you mean it only went viral because I’m shirtless

You, looking at his Amazon purchases: why did you order so many gardening knee pads

Him: I know how to treat a girl right sweetie

Akaashi Keiji

Listen, this man is so freaky on the DL,, you’re like there’s no way you can’t get a reaction out of him

So you decide to surprise your boyfriend during lunch at his internship for a top publishing company

You are so proud of him and you make him so happy:((( please

Because of this, you decide to not post the Tiktok in case it jeopardizes his career!!

He’s so excited to see you, he’s grinning and softly holding your hand to lead you back to his secret lunch spot

You: Keiji why are we in a bathroom stall

Him: bold of you to assume I have friends here

You’re like, okay not what I was expecting but I can still make this work

It’s like one of those super fancy bathrooms with a lounge area and table, so you both sit down there

Keiji goes to lock the door so it isn’t awkward if someone comes in to take a piss and you’re just stuffing your face with dick food

You made/bought his favorites and he’s so thankful to not be alone for once during his lunch break I am crying

He’s sitting next to you, eating his favorite licorice candy with his arm slung around your waist

You think it’s the perfect time to do the prank, so you start putting your plan into action

You drop your napkin onto the floor as he’s telling you about how whack his supervisor is, and you bend down to pick it up

He doesn’t really think anything of it, letting go of your waist so you can grab it, expecting you to come back to your previous position

You don’t LOL

On the ground you hold onto Keiji’s knee he do be manspreading in front of you

You hear him gulp, and then you go to tie your hair, up, looking up at him through your lashes

You: sorry I dropped my napkin 😊 let me grab that really quick

You’re not really sure how things progressed so fast, but the next thing you know he’s leaning forward, his hand is gripping your cheeks and he’s sternly staring at you,,, oh so he’s HOT hot

“Don’t tease me like that right now sweetheart”

Let me move my bangs because,,,

He brings your mouth to his, you can taste the licorice that he had been previously eating

The kiss is kind of ROUGH,, like a warning , and then he pulls away going back to his normal self, popping another licorice into his mouth

.. speechless..

You: why do you ruin my fun

Him: I will not hesitate to dick you down right here

You: you have such a way with words ❤️

Him: anyways,,, let me explain to you why I suspect my supervisor is a cancer

The video ends up being too sexual to post but are you complaining ??

[bad-bitch-beauchamp]

Songs About Me: Chapter Five

Thanks for your continued support for these sweet artsy bairns! Here’s the next installment! I read all of your kind comments and they mean the absolute world to me.

READ ON AO3

Louisburg Square, Beacon Hill, Boston

Claire was just walking up to the picturesque green of Louisburg Square, where her townhouse sat facing the gardens, when her phone began an incessant buzzing. She had her hands full after stopping at the market for dinner staples (otherwise known as a box of Velveeta Shells & Cheese). She was fumbling with her purse and muttering a not-so-quiet “Shit,” when she dropped her keys on the porch. When she stooped lower to get the keys, more toiletries from the market spilled onto the ground and rolled down the steps while her phone continued to buzz. “Oh fuck it all to hell… Oh hello, Mr. Grant!” Claire’s next door neighbor was a kind man, but always appeared perplexed -- whether by her uncontrollable hair, clothes splattered with dirt from the shop, or simply by wondering how she came to be the owner of one of the most coveted real estate properties in New England, Claire would never know.

“Hello dear. Are you alright over there?” His brow was knit as Claire shoved her scattered belongings back into their various bags all while muttering under her breath as to not offend the old man’s sensibilities. She stood, and realized he had most definitely already heard her vocabulary choices.

“Oh, I’m fine, just one of those days!” One of those days where you fall head over heels for the strange guy you met last night and then all your shit falls on the sidewalk because your brain is short-circuiting.

“Well as always, if you need anything, I’m just here and happy to help.”

“Thank you! One day I’ll absolutely take you up on it -- I’m usually less of a mess!” She tried to joke it off, but it sounded a little too much like she was trying to justify herself to neighbor, and herself.

Mr. Grant smiled. “Of course, dear. Ah, you seem to be very popular today!”

Claire’s phone went off for at least the fifth time. She tried to reign in her annoyance, said her goodbyes to the man, and using her foot to kick a back of groceries inside the doorway finally made it inside. She dug around her bag for the phone ready to lash out at whatever telemarketer couldn’t take a hint, but stopped.

Two missed phone calls, four missed texts. The caller left a voicemail for each call. She pressed play on the earlier one.

“Hi Sassenach, uh, Claire, I guess I should call ye Claire since that’s yer name, huh? Shit. Hold on… Okay, let me start over. Hello Claire, this is Jamie. James. James Fraser? From the bookshop and the karaoke, ye ken? Of course she kens, ye damn eedjit… Me! Not you! Oh god this is literally the worst call I’ve ever made in my life. Fuck it, I’m just going to try again.” The voicemail abruptly ended. Claire was in stitches at his earnest attempt to just talk to her. At least he wasn’t lying when she heard him say she wouldn’t have to wait long at all for message from him. She pressed play on the second voicemail.

“Hello Claire, I hope this message finds ye well. It was verra nice to see ye today at my shop. It may be the cool, relaxed thing tae do would be to not call ye right away, but ye make me feel anything but cool and relaxed and under control. Ye make me feel… like there’s something different between us, mo nighean donn. As I told ye in the shop, I dinna think I can wait another week to see ye. If you would do me the honor of saying yes, I would verra much like to take ye out for dinner and drinks. Or anything ye wanted to do, really. Dinner and drinks was just my idea… okay I think I’m getting flustered again so I’m going to quit while I’m ahead. Okay thanks, talk to you soon hopefully, bye. Oh, and this is Jamie Fraser.”

Her laughter had died out the moment he said how she made him feel. Is that really how he felt about her? Did he mean it? Claire had a feeling that Jamie Fraser from the bookshop and the karaoke, ye ken didn’t ever say things he didn’t mean. She fell into the couch facing the big bay window, and breathed. Her breath came in heavy, her heartbeats fast. Her thoughts were swirling and her mind racing and everything felt light around here. A little breathlessly, she opened her text app to a number she didn’t recognize.

[+16178256192]: Hello Claire, this is James Fraser from Fraser Literature and from karaoke last night at The 21st Amendment.

Claire actually laughed out loud now. As if she could forget who he was! He had turned her world upside down at the bar, she sang in his shop, she gave him her phone number less than an hour ago! She added his number to her contacts before reading his following texts.

[Jamie]: Okay that was weirdly formal, sorry

[Jamie]: Could ye do me a favor and just delete the first voicemail?

[Jamie]: I was hoping we could maybe set up a time for the date I mentioned earlier at the shop? I would really like to see ye again before next week.

[Jamie]: And maybe before we have to hang out with the Spanish Inquisition. ;)

Claire laughed through her nose at that last one; apparently, Jamie had been grilled about their relationship? Interaction? by Rupert and Angus like Claire had been by Joe and Geillis. She reread all the messages he’d sent her before responding.

[Claire]: Hello James Fraser, owner of Fraser Literature and karaoke. I do indeed remember and even if I didn’t, you’ve reminded me several times in your many incessant texts/voicemails. ;)

Three dots immediately popped up, disappeared, popped up, and a next text appeared.

[Jamie]: I told ye to delete the first voicemail! You weren’t supposed to hear my rambling!

[Claire]: Uh huh, seems likely. ;) Maybe I have a super power that renders you useless around me?

[Jamie]: Well lass you're not far off.

[Jamie]: How’s about that date? What are you doing tonight?

[Claire]: Lol, you’re not tired of seeing my face yet?

[Jamie]: Not yet, not ever.

[Jamie]: Sooooooooo, dinner? ;)

Eventually, they decided on a little Italian place close to Claire’s place. Claire paced around the upstairs bedroom, trying out an outfit only to rip it off and throw it in a pile on the floor. She’d walk to the bathroom, evaluate her look, give a deep breath out her nose, and was now at the point of yelling about how she had no clothes. But, she remembered. In a garment bag at the back of her closet hung a blood-orange dress. A square neckline gave way to a triangle dip in the middle, the hem came just to the middle of her thigh with a cinched waistline.. She smiled, sadly. The last time she wore the dress, she was still in med school. Frank had asked her out to “a dinner with a few medical friends” and promised she could make a few connections to help her down the road. Claire ended up discarded at the door until Frank needed to show her off to a classmate or professor or colleague. She learned he hadn’t told anyone she was also studying medicine, telling her he “wanted to let you stand on your own, darling.” The last time she had worn that dress, she realized she wouldn’t resign herself to a life of being second-best to her partner, to a group of strangers, or to anyone. Tonight was the perfect time to remind herself she was taking things into her own hands yet again -- with Jamie at her side. Her smile turned genuine, and she pulled it off the hanger.

-- -- --

Jamie knew this was unusual. Claire wasn’t the first girl he’d ever been interested in, but if he had any choice in the matter, she would be the last one. Rationally, he should’ve been talking himself out of planning a future with the girl from the bar, but he couldn’t help himself. When he was in high school in Scotland, he kissed a girl who smelled like hairspray and spun sugar and he didn’t like that at all. He kissed a few lasses before rugby games and they’d tell him it was all for good luck. He enjoyed them (didn’t every red-blooded teenage boy enjoy kisses before sports games?), but enjoyment was the extent of it. In college, he had met Annalise. She was smart and kind and lovely, and so bonny. She’d loved his family, loved him. And he had loved her, too. Their relationship started after their first year at school when they became close friends and confidants. She was truly one of the best friends he’d ever had, outside of the lads. When he said he was leaving Scotland to pursue his dreams in the states, she said she was being “abandoned”. Jamie considered asking her to come with him to build a life, but reconsidered. After many long conversations, many tears, many honest words… they had decided their relationship was based in comfort. They loved each other, there was no doubt about that. They loved each other because of their close friendship, their proximity to each other at school, their families’ friendship that developed because of their own. When Jamie confronted Annalise about his realization that he would forever be grateful for her, but didn’t see a romantic future together, she had cried and told him she was so happy -- she felt the same. They split amicably and continued to call and text when they could. Friendships like theirs didn’t just dissipate.

With Claire, things felt… different. Emotional, raw, honest, profound. It felt like something he couldn’t quite place. Something he didn’t have words for. The mere thought of her made his pulse quicken, made his breath catch in his chest. Their connection last night at the bar, their physical connection at the bookshop (god, how it felt to be touched by her…) , their easy banter over text, and then when she gave him her address… he had to sit down. He knew her address exactly. He’d passed it every time he went home, or went to work, or went anywhere at all. She lived in Louisburg Square, across the garden and just to the right of a place he knew intimately. She lived across the garden and just to the right, of his place. They were neighbors. He never knew. He thought back to telling her how they must have just been missing each other for years, but god, he never knew how close they really were.

Jamie finished tying up his leather boots and took a look in the mirror. Hair brushed back, curls falling at his neck, a light blue button-up, a leather jacket. Not too bad. Still not good enough for her, though. He tugged at the neck of his shirt, and left his townhouse. He made his way up his side of the square, and stopped not ten feet up the sidewalk. He saw her. From the second floor, Claire was illuminated by soft light in the window, gauzy curtains framing her. He could only watch in awe as her head tilted to the side to fit an earring to her ear. She reached for a brush and started to comb out a curl. Jamie sighed contentedly when he noticed her hair was still down, curled around her face, wild as ever. Claire gave up with the brush and settled herself to smoothing down creases in her wee dress with delicate hands. Hands that had touched him, healed him, had literally written her name over his heart. She was... ethereal. Tearing his eyes away from the window, he managed to send her a message:

[Jamie]: On my way there Sassenach

[Claire]: No worries, take your time. See you soon!

Jamie rounded the center garden and up to her steps. The light from the window was still glowing, but he could no longer see her. One more text:

[Jamie]: Just outside

He walked up the steps, raised his knuckles to the brass knocker, and paused. First step to forever… His phone buzzed.

[Claire]: I thought I said to take your time? ;) seriously, how’d you get here so fast? Just a sec and I’ll be down!

He did knock then, answered her text to say there was no rush, he wasn’t going anywhere. Behind the door he heard a literal run down the stairs and he stifled a chuckle. There was a jingle of keys, a fairly loud, “Shit!” as the keys hit the floor, a scuttle of shoes around the entry, and the door opened.

Here we go, lad.

[graffitibible]

how do killjoys treat raygun burns? i genuinely have no idea and i know you've already gone pretty in-depth with raygun wounds in general but i was curious about the treatment

cw: we’re gonna be talking about medical stuff and injuries in here. i’m not gonna include any graphic pictures and also i’m gonna warn anyone who wants to do further research that some of the images that’ll come up are gonna be pretty damn graphic. tread carefully!

SO i’m gonna be going off this ask here, and running with the assumption that raygun burns probably both bleed and burn. thats important since thats gonna affect how youd do treatment. it also means that raygun injuries are messy. most burn injuries in the real world can cauterize - theyre unique in that the site of injury is usually sterile at the time of injury. however, since the rayguns in this world are capable of making someone bleed (rather a lot too, if the comics are any indication), that means that these wounds can get pretty gnarly.

the important thing about how rayguns in danger days seem to work is that they are not pure laser bolts! if they were, they’d be able to pass through something and cauterize it pretty neatly, like a lightsaber. the raygun blasts have an obvious physical component - they can physically knock someone back, for example, and we see sparks shower when people are shot in the music videos. so rayguns in danger days have an apparent kinetic component to them: you are basically applying heat to the human body at high velocity. 

ONCE AGAIN, THIS GOT LONG. THE REST IS UNDER A CUT. mind the content warnings above!!

other than that, we’re not sure what specifically the makeup of the lasers like...are. electromagnetic radiation? plasma? heat? electricity? i doubt its pure electricity since that would be more consistently fatal, but it is some kind of bolt that has both heat and velocity on its side to be sure, but thats the extent of what we know.

now logically, this would actually cause the human body to like. explode. cause thats what happens when you apply that much heat to something made of mostly water. getting hit with a bolt of something that hot would cause all that water to boil off abruptly and then the steam would fucking parboil you. not a fun way to go though it is funny that the steam would be the thing that causes the most damage. so yeah actually a very gory kind of injury.

obviously thats not what happens in danger days, since no one to my knowledge Fucking Explodes when theyre hit with a laser bolt. but lasers from rayguns can make blood FOUNTAIN OUT OF A DUDE’S GUT in the comics so obviously they can do a hell of a lot of damage (the mvs are way less explicit but they also werent allowed to like, swear in the mvs and had to tone down some of the violence and shit so im taking the comics canon as the more “realistic” one wrt rayguns here) the science here is kinda...eh, cause laser bolts don’t appear to be a penetrating injury but rather a messy “burn and blister” kind of injury that are nonetheless capable of making someone eat it pretty quick.

but this is danger days and this is kinda where science goes to die so here is how i view laser injuries in the universe:

danger days laser bolts have a kinetic or explosive quality to them.

what this means is that the injury is twofold: first, the heat damages the external layer of skin. i’d hazard that we’re talking second-to-third degree burn levels of injury on immediate contact. second, the kinetic energy released at that velocity and force generates an explosive impact that does damage to surrounding tissue.

what’s left is an injury that both burns and bleeds. my take on it is that the bolt impact creates the open wound, while the heat intensifies that damage and disseminates it. you need a temp of maybe 300ºF and higher to cauterize a wound so lasers would have to burn at least a little bit lower than that since the injuries do consistently bleed. but since the human body is pretty sensitive to high temperatures that works out in our favor seeing as if you heat things too much, again, the risk is that we would Fucking Explode.

lots of burn injuries, especially third degree and higher, tend to bleed. since thats the closest thing i have to compare to a laser wound in danger days, thats going to be my basis here.

treating a raygun injury is likely to resemble burn treatment in a lot of ways

burn treatment stuff varies a lot and i will spare you guys from googling this and going “oh thank you google images thank you for showing me what a graphic third degree burn looks like i am so glad that i know this and that this is in my search history and keeps popping up in my search history im SO GLAD.” 

burn injuries go by degrees. first degree is like mild sunburn basically, and only affects the epidermis or external layer of skin. second degree affects the top and middle layers of skin and can leave blisters. third degree burns go all the way to the subcutaneous fat layer and can leave the skin white and charred. fourth degree burns can go through nerves and muscles and even down to the bone and can cause permanent damage that requires amputation. at fifth degree you have significant risk of organ injury and at sixth it’s basically like “fifth degree, but with the common side effect of Death.” 

again im not linking to anything here because pretty much every information article you get on this stuff is gonna have some nice graphic images. so if you look this stuff up on your own do it at your own risk or have an image/media blocker extension ready if that kinda thing squicks you out

the main takeaway is that any burn from like the third degree downward can be very brutal and hard to heal over - they can cause swelling and severe scarring and the destruction of the epidermis and hair follicles means that new hair won’t grow. add to that the idea of raygun blasts tearing open that external layer of skin that means that you can get burns that go in pretty deep which would go a long way to explain how it is a weapon that doesn’t appear to have a lot of “penetrating” energy is capable of killing someone relatively immediately, especially if theyve got that initial kinetic impact thats capable of tearing open the dermis and making the injury go deeper.

im going to tentatively say that raygun injuries are basically full-thickness burns with a few bells and whistles. basically, they destroy the epidermis and the layer of skin below it, the dermis. thats the level of third/fourth degree burns and worse, essentially.

so, serious burn treatment usually goes as follows:

clean! that! wound! it’s best to do this in a sterile environment, cause otherwise youre gonna end up blistering the injury and agitating it further. you wanna get all the dead tissue and gunk off the burn.

pain medication. with most burns the nerve endings can get pretty fried and you might not immediately experience any pain, but since raygun injuries go a little harder than your average burn, thats probably not the case. people definitely consistently react in pain after theyre shot with a raygun in the both the mvs and the comics. so yeah, its painful. pain medication is nice to mute that feeling.

antibiotics and/or tetanus shots to make sure that you don’t get an infection

intravenous fluids containing electrolytes as well as a diet high in protein and nutritional supplements

antibiotic ointments/creams for the injury

skin grafts to close the injury since a burn of that severity would have difficulty closing completely on its own. yikes.

continuous monitoring of the patient to prevent sepsis and eschar from fucking with the blood vessels and healing tissue.

obviously killjoys do not have the benefit of a fully stocked hospital. if youre in bat city youre probably gonna be in more luck. but if youre slumming it or if youre in the zones, heres what i imagine the killjoy diy procedure would likely be:

application of water over the wound. cool water is best, not ice-cold (alright alright alright alright alright etc)

cleaning the injury comes next to prevent infection. ideally you would use soap. do not scrub as youll agitate the wound

pain medication might be helpful here, but who knows if thats common out in the zones - and i imagine city-born killjoys might have some hang-ups with taking meds, so who fuckin knows there.

bandages, ideally clean ones, would help cover up the injury and keep it from the elements in time for it to heal. that will also cover up the skin while the bleeding heals up. keep the wound as closed from infection as possible.

check up on the injury consistently especially since the burn probably wasnt sterilized on impact the way most burns are. a messy injury like that one can go south very very quick.

realistically i doubt that skin grafts are readily available. its recommended that you stay out of the sun and avoid lots of exercise that might risk reopening the injury. and that...is going to be nigh impossible if youre a zonerunner lol. its likely that improper treatment can lead to infection and then death. it is also likely that too much agitation of the injury can lead to the wound reopening, infection, and then death.

if you get stuff like light grazes, where the bolts clip you but dont fully impact you, that means youre like to get some surface-level burns that cover a larger surface area. theyll heal quicker if you treat them right, but thats a larger area thats open to infection. burns that go deep into the skin have more immediate fatality risk. there could be variation here as well! maybe a laser gun with a lower or dying charge will do less damage. maybe some guns have fancy “stun” settings that don’t do permanent damage.

the human body is surprisingly resilient and can recover from a lot. but burns are no joke and a raygun blast can easily be fatal either immediately or a little bit after the fact. even if you survive the blast, there are likely to be a lot of repercussions to taking a serious hit, which im again basing on the noted consequences of major burn injuries

likely consequences of surviving a raygun hit in the zones:

scarring. especially without skin grafts, this ones gonna be a gimme, and likely permanent. serious burns can leave lots of color changes to the skin as well as keloid tissue (which is a raised, lumpy kind of scar tissue. you can google it if you want but as i warned before: images might be pretty grody). this would also prevent the growth of new hair in those areas. most hospitals try to excise this and replace it with skin grafts to speed healing but like i said thats not likely to be an obvious solution in the desert.

nerve damage. burns that go super deep can permanently remove the feeling from the affected part of the body. this is likely to be permanent. deep contact usually remains intact but stuff like subtle pressure changes can be outright impossible to sense. this can also cause contractures in the affected area.

weakness in the affected area. related to the above point, damage to muscle tissue and nerves can reduce range of motion, strength in that area, and more.

itching and pain at the site of injury. pretty self-explanatory. that one might get better as you go on depending on how good the medical treatment was at the time of injury.

inability to sweat. the destruction of sweat glands in affected areas are possible if the burn goes deep enough. in the desert this can be very bad news lol

psychological trauma. a given. any traumatic injury can have long-term psychological effects.

my main takeaway here is that killjoys who’ve been in lots of serious firefights are gonna have a sHITTON of scarring, some of it obvious. lots of killjoys looking pretty fucked up. lookin wiped out. my other takeaway is that surviving a raygun blast is pretty dependent on getting care for it as soon as possible, cause the infection/hemorrhage risk seems pretty high.

ofc this is just me analyzing this shit to hell and back and it’s probably nowhere near that scientifically DENSE im just detail-oriented as hell. so take or leave this answer, whichever you like lol. i like writing the nitty gritty details of injuries since i generally wanna emphasize how rough life in the zones can be so this is something im interested in exploring.

[valkyrieofsmut]

At Your Service, Alpha   5

Alpha!Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) x omega!Reader

Descriptions:   Kurt is apartment sitting for his friend and the last thing he expected to find was his one true omega, but there she was. Except she can’t seem to tell they belong together. (Y/n) has dreamed about the day she would meet her one true alpha her whole life. A new, blue, alpha comes to see her every day, and she hates him! Until she starts thinking about him all the time. Her allergies make it so she can’t smell anything, but she knows that her alpha will let her know when he finds her. Won’t he?

A/n- Aww, Kurt’s trying to make up for being an Alpha... by turning up the charm. lol.

Masterlist

Story!

(Y/n) stood at the counter the next morning, sliding the pastries from the tray in her hand onto the tray in the cabinet when she saw a figure sit at a familiar table. 

She sighed and closed the case, taking her things and a menu and going out to see what he was going to put her through today. “Good morning,” she greeted cheerfully, even if it was fake cheer. 

“It’s always a good morning when I get to see you, Liebling,” he answered with a smile. 

(Y/n) felt flustered, first because, why was he talking to her that way? Second, what was he calling her? (Y/n) felt her cheeks heat slightly, but didn’t let it distract her from handing him the menu. 

He looked it over, and folded it, handing it back to her. “Unfortunately, what I truly desire doesn’t seem to be on the menu. I guess I will just have a cup of coffee.” 

(Y/n)'s brow crimped as she opened the menu. “What is it? Is it close to anything we have? I bet we could-” 

“Nein, I fear that it is a rare and precious thing, something that most people would trade a lot for…” He smiled at her again, and she just looked at him in confusion. 

“Kopi Luwak coffee?” She asked absentmindedly. 

“What?” 

“Kopi Luwak coffee, it’s- never mind it’s kind of gross…” She blushed. 

Kurt just smiled at her. 

“I’ll go get your coffee,” she said, turning and leaving to get away from the weird tension. 

For as strange and demanding as he had been before, he was now nice and calm. 

“If I may, Liebling,” he asked as she was wiping a table down during a slow moment. 

(Y/n) turned, expecting some sort of weird flirting, trying not to look too irritated. 

“Are you originally from here?” 

(Y/n) paused, still expecting him to be up to his old tricks. “No.” 

“What is it about this place that drew you here?” He asked. 

(Y/n) tilted her head as she questioned his motives in her mind for a moment. “I liked how the town was not so crowded,” she answered. “And working here is very nice. As well as the people.” 

He smiled, giving a flash of his fangs, and she felt a shiver run up her spine. “I am finding that the people here are quite nice as well,” he agreed. 

(Y/n) walked away, into the cafe, washing and wringing out her washcloth. 

“What’s he doing now?” Alex asked at the confused look on her face. 

“Hm?” She hummed, looking up. 

“That man, what was his name? Is he harassing you again?” (Y/n) shook her head and Alex waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t. “So, what is it, then? Why do you look so irritated?” 

“I’m not irritated,” she complained, though she was now a little irritated at her friend accusing her of being so. Alex stared at (Y/n) until she shrugged. “Nothing. He’s not doing anything.” 

“Nothing?” She asked in disbelief. 

(Y/n) shook her head. “He’s being… Normal, nice…” 

“Normal, nice- Oh no! Now you’ll have to watch out for that!” She laughed as (Y/n) rolled her eyes. 

As the morning turned into afternoon, (Y/n) noticed that Kurt was trying to involve her in conversation more, starting to ask more about her, and demanding that she do things less. 

(Y/n) left the check on the table for him and went into the cafe to put the dirty dishes on her tray into the dish room. She turned back around the corner and nearly bumped into a solid wall of muscle, a chest that she strongly suspected of being covered in fine blue fur, hidden behind the shirt her eyes are drawn to, in her way. Was it her imagination, or was he flexing? 

Her brow rose, her eyes widening a little as she realized that he had her trapped next to the dish room, which was empty, out of anyone’s line of sight, and could back her in and- she’d rather not think about it. “Um- customers aren’t allowed back here-” (Y/n) started to choke out. 

“I’m sorry, no one was by the register. I was just trying to pay my bill,” he explained, taking a step back. 

She caught her breath and lowered her hands from where they had pulled her tray up as a shield. “Oh… Yes, I can help you with that, sorry for the inconvenience…” She apologized automatically as she gestured to where the register sat on the other end of the counter. 

The door closed behind him as Alex appeared from the back room, a goofy smile on her face and roses in her cheeks as she ran a hand through her hair, Jared following her, a similar grin on his mouth. 

(Y/n) rolled her eyes at them and faked a cough, waving her hand in front of her face. Alex looked at her in question and she leaned away. “Could you be any more obvious? I can smell it,” she teased, and her face turned red. 

“And you could feel the elation, too, if you’d pick an Alpha to pop that cherry!” She returned with equal torment in her voice, and it was (Y/n)’s turn to turn red. (Y/n) couldn’t say anything to that, and Alex nodded. “That’s what I thought.” She teased further, turning to Jared and giving him a farewell kiss. 

“Or you could split an alpha,” Jared teased, winking as he passed, and (Y/n)'s blush darkened while Alex laughed. 

.

The next morning, (Y/n) was placing the refilled salt and pepper shakers on the tables when Kurt strolled to his usual table. She dropped off a menu, turning to leave, but his hand touched (Y/n)'s elbow. 

“(Y/n), I want to apologize again, I didn’t mean to startle you yesterday.” She smiled and nodded, turning again, but his fingers wrapped around her elbow. Not grabbing, but asking her to stay. “I want you to know; I’d never do anything to hurt you, Liebling.” 

(Y/n)'s smile became more sincere at the genuinity in his voice. “Thank you.” She turned again and this time, he let her go. 

(Y/n)'s expression must have shown her inner turmoil, because Alex stopped her as she grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“He- Kurt’s back.” 

“Kurt- oh, yeah. What is he doing?” She asked, thinking it must be something big for (Y/n) to be so quiet. 

“He’s… He’s being decent, nice… I don’t know what his angle is.” 

Alex sighed dramatically. 

“What?” (Y/n) asked. 

“You can’t have it both ways.” She told her. “You complain that he’s being a creep, and now you complain that he’s being nice? Pick a side and stay on it!” She told her, rolling her eyes. 

(Y/n) sighed at her, making fun of her dramatic sigh as she put creamer and sugar on her tray with the coffee. “It can be both!” She said as she left the cafe. 

(Y/n) placed the coffee in front of Kurt and took his order, ears catching his lilt as he called her Liebling again. 

.

A few days pass, and (Y/n)'s suspicions about Kurt’s motive for the change in his behaviour gradually leave her. 

She is actually smiling at him, not just the smile that she gave customers, but a real smile. 

As she took the dirty dishes from his lunch from his table, turning to go, his fingers touched her arm, and a shiver passed through her body, making her freeze for a moment before turning back to him. (Y/n) smiled and he smiled back. It’s a warm, inviting smile, and it makes her ears feel a little warm. 

“Liebling,” that word sends a shiver down her spine, “would you bring me something… perhaps sweet? Whatever pastry you recommend, your favorite.” 

(Y/n) nodded, but hesitated to leave, soaking in the warmth from his fingers still on her arm. 

Another customer cleared their throat to get her attention, and she realized that she’d been staring back into his golden eyes, not moving, for a moment, or maybe two- longer than necessary, anyhow. (Y/n) blushed as he took his hand back and she quickly moved to the other customer. 

Tag List!

@otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore  @racheo91  @tephi101  @lilypalmer1987  @pingu89  @gifsbysimplysonia  @omnomsauruswrites  @keldachick  @Randomfandompenguin  @mannls  @screeching-student-unknown  @lizfawn  @ya-lyublu-tebya  @their-bibliophile  @the-fifth-marauder03  @Jbstans

[writeroftheprompts]

Back to School Tips

A lot of you might be going back to school soon (like me) or have just started. Since I’m starting my fifth year of uni (it’s a six year program 🙃) I figured I would share some of my findings. These things have gotten me through four years of university so far while working part-time with a great GPA, decent sleep, and time for myself. School is damn hard and I’ve made plenty of mistakes and had plenty of break downs but it doesn't have to be as bad as it seems.

Plan. Your. Shit. Listen, listen, I know this is what everybody and your mother tells you to do but there’s a reason. The thing is you need to plan ahead as much as you can in the best way that works for you. The next four points are about planning and getting organized and it’s what works best for me so maybe it can help you or you can incorporate some of those points in your own technique. But whatever you do. Plan your shit.

Use a calendar. If you are in college/uni you probably have a syllabus from your classes that breaks down what your readings will be and at least roughly when assignments and tests will be. In September an essay that is due in mid October seems like a far away problem, and realistically it is, but that doesn't mean it can't help you plan. Go through the syllabi and mark down when each things will be due. I like using the calendar app on my phone/laptop and make a different “calendar” for each subject with a different colour so that I can see everything easily. This can help you see things better at a glance and help you plan other things that pop up in the future.

Break down your time. If you can break down your time into specific chunks of time it will help you focus on that task and also allow you to rest. For me, I plan what I’m going to work on during my commute to campus (I take transit) and depending on my schedule I’ll also plan out chunks between classes or specific chunks when I’m at home. The key is SPECIFIC chunks, not just “On Tuesday I'm going to do X”. These chunks keep you accountable to yourself so you don't keep procrastinating it later in the day, help get your mind set on the task, keep you organized, make the task seem more manageable by creating a limit, and also help you allow yourself to relax. If you tell yourself “I’m going to work on my paper between 11am-1pm” and you buckle down and do it for those hours, then you can rest easier and not feel as guilty during your down time that you aren't working on something else now. You planned what needed to be done, assigned the chunk, and now it’s time to relax. Breaks. And. Rest. Are. Necessary. 

Build a routine. I like to plan out 1-2 weeks ahead of time. On Sunday I will plan out my studying for the next two weeks, as best as I can because there are always unknowns and things that pop up, and then the next Sunday I’ll plan out the following week. This means that things won't sneak up on me. It takes a little trial and error at the beginning of the semester but eventually I find a routine where, for example, I will do the weekly readings for one class on the Monday commute and another after lunch on my day off etc. Extra chunks are left over for assignments and things that aren't regular weekly tasks. Sometimes those chunks are left free (or for getting ahead if I want), sometimes on really busy periods I have to create more study chunks, but at least I have a routine to know what needs to be done when. 

Be realistic. So how do you actually assign these chunks? Underestimate yourself. Seriously. You think you can create that whole presentation in two hours? Give yourself more time. Maybe it actually takes less time in which case, congratulation, but if not you may be putting yourself in unnecessary stress. I actually like to make my own due dates for assignments a day or two before it is actually due. For example, if I have a research report I will plan out chunks for outlining, a few for writing and researching, editing and then actually write in the plan, highlighted, FINISH REPORT on the chunk I intend to finish so I can make sure I’m on track. Then I’ll add an extra chunk just in case but I don't actually expect to need it. It’s a fail safe for when something goes wrong or there’s something unexpected. Again, breaking down your time like this will keep you organized and on task when you need to be, but also help you see that all work you have to do isn't as all-consuming as it seems. You’ll be okay.

Here is a post I made a while back about research tips.

Use the library. Duh, right? But this is more of a money saving tip. This might not be too helpful to everyone but since I’m in English and History a lot of my readings are from novels and books that are readily available at the library. Rather than buy all the books, I try to find them at my university library or even my local library. I still have to buy a lot, especially textbooks that I’ll actually be using all year or in the future, but for that $20 novel I’ll only need one week I get it from the library. Those little books really add up and I save a few hundred every year. You can even use OverDrive which will connect to you free ebooks and audiobooks you can access through your local library. Best part is it is completely legal and you can download them on your phone with the app so you can read whenever you have time and the book will automatically be returned when the loan is over. 

Find the study environment that is right for you. This will be different for everyone. For me, I work best when I’m alone and with background sound. This is why working on a bus, in a noisy student centre or with instrumental music works well for me (music with lyrics is distracting). Some people need silence. Some people like study partners to bounce ideas or even just sitting at the table with them, but for me I know that sitting with friends will inevitably lead to chatting. Sometimes it’s nice just to talk over ideas but when I really need to focus I know being alone and with an instrumental playlist is the best way to go. Be honest with yourself and others about the environment you need to be successful.

Don’t be afraid to speak up when you need help. Your professors, teachers, and TAs are not evil (usually) and they usually do want to help. I won’t lie, going to office hours can be a little nerve-racking and it isn't always super helpful but when it is it has made a huge difference. These people have been learning, working, and teaching in this field way longer than you have and they can help make sense of your jumbled paper thesis or unravel a lecture you didn't really understand. Also, if you go to them with work done and they can genuinely see you are trying to take the course seriously, they can help you with due date extensions if you really need them. Be honest when you aren't understanding something because, trust me, the confusion and stress will just keep building. If the person you go to is worth anything as an educator they will help you and will understand that this stuff is hard and appreciate that you are trying your best. (Sometimes they’ll even give you the inside scoop on future assignments or test 😉)

Also, speak up to work managers or other people you are accountable to. It’s best to book off time ahead of time when you know you’ll be busy but it doesn't hurt to respectfully ask when you need help. Sometimes you’ll get a no, which sucks, but sometimes you’ll get a yes. Talk to friends or family too fi you have commitments that you know won't be good for you. Be respectful and honest about what is happening and they’ll understand. They may even be able to help out.

You can’t write a real paper in one day. Yeah, I’ve seen the memes and videos of people being like “Lol, teachers always say I can’t write an essay the night before. Challenge accepted!” You can’t do it. You just can’t. Maybe in high school but I don’t recommend it. Or maybe you are a superhero and can properly come up with an interesting thesis for a 12 page paper and organize all your points and find the minimum required seven outside peer-reviewed sources and write the damn paper, cite, and edit in one day but...I sure as hell can't. Just don't do this to yourself. See above planning tips and research tips to do this properly and with minimal stress. 

Colour code. Having organized notes can go a long way. When I’m actually writing them in lecture it can hard to make them look as clear as I want but I try to at least make subheadings and bold if I can. When I have time I might go back and clean them up a bit. When I’m studying I colour code. Most profs and teachers will give you an idea of main course themes and topics maybe in the syllabus or in outlines at the beginning of lecture. Some even give Key Terms! Take note of those and keep them mind while studying so you can colour code pieces of information by topic or theme. This will help you later on when you are trying to find a piece of information and also make links between the information that will give you a deeper understanding of the material. 

Learn to forgive yourself. Like I said in the intro, I’ve made mistakes. I’ve gotten grades I’ve been disappointed with or been late to something important or overworked myself or a bunch of other things. You are trying your best. School is HARD. If you are starting post secondary now it is very common to have your grades drop and it’s not because you are terrible at what you’re doing or not trying hard enough it’s because this shit is fucking hard. You’ll get there, you’ll get the feel for all this newness and you’ll realize that you’re doing okay. When you make a mistake, do what you can to correct it and learn from it, but then accept that what has already happened can't be changed and you can only forgive yourself and move forward. 

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. I can probably physically eat five full bags of salt and vinegar chips in one day but it will probably burn a hole through my stomach. I can work myself to the bone and pull all-nighters and keep studying through the tears but I shouldn’t. You might think you can work yourself to the brink repeatedly but you can't. You will burn out. If you wouldn't do something physically unhealthy like downing an obscene amount of salt and vinegar chips just because you can, you shouldn't do something that is going to break you down emotionally and mentally. Ask for help and do the best you can while still maintaining some healthy boundaries. 

[a-travels]

taken: 27 may, 2018 Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon, Iceland

empty and alone

Yeah, I’m finally posting a color photo, though it still has a muted color palette. I gotta find some more color photos and photos of non-solitary animals to upload. Unlike the horsies, there were no other seals around, though I’m sure they were underwater or something. 

I was recently talking to a friend about stuff and the topic of relationships and love lives popped up, despite my very blatant inability to contribute anything meaningful to such a discussion. And this was, in fact, one of the four people who read the dumb stuff I post on here, and she encouraged me to make a post on “love” and that sort of thing. I initially tabled the idea, because while it’s something I have my own thoughts on, I didn’t really know what to actually talk about or what to express, much less what picture to pair it with.

I realized later that day, in my traditional 3am moments of clarity (since my mind has pretty much shifted to a nocturnal cognitive cycle), that this photo fits fairly well with what I think is a less talked about aspect of “love” and relationships. So this post is for that friend, who probably knows who they are.

In the ever inspirational words of Ron Swanson talking about his ex-wives and love life, he says, “If you don’t believe in love, what’s the point of living?” I agree wholeheartedly. I think the human experience and life itself is about, among other things, building relationships and connections with others, not even just human beings, but even a pet. I won’t go deeper than that in terms of the philosophy of love or life (as far as I want to right now), but I think foundationally, it’s important to understand my view on that regard before moving forward.

That being said, I think neither connections or love is something that should be rushed, forced, or inorganic. Maybe it’s simply my idealism, privilege, and choice talking here. Idealism because I like to think love finds its way and people will find each other through organic means; privilege because I’ve never been placed in any position (so far) that I’ve been forced to be or not be with someone for any reason; and choice, not because I have hoards of women running after me (lol please), but more that I have to ability to find and ask out anyone I want to (not that they’ll say yes, but I have the option to at least ask), which not everyone can claim. It’s the same sort of freedom I found myself in terms of career paths, college choice and more. To that end, my parents get a lot, if not most of the credit in never really pigeonholing me or forcing me down any one path. But I realize my fortune in freedom is not something afforded to everyone. 

So in that vein, I think looking at relationships and love from the lens of choice and freedom is particularly interesting, because I think now than ever before in my life, I’m seeing the start of marriages and long-term relationships, or rather the push towards that direction. I mean it's around that age where people are young, in love and want to do something about it. Or, they see their friends around them in a relationship and want to don’t want to be left out or stuck third- or fifth-wheeling. And whether cuffing season is actually hitting my friends directly, it certainly seems to be affecting people’s parents. 

In my family, there’s a very strict “no dating till you’re settled” policy, which I guess, good luck to them. I sure as hell don’t know when I’m gonna be “settled”, as in a stable job, good savings, and a good house. I think the same rings true for a lot of Asian parents⸺strict anti-dating policy in the house...until there suddenly isn’t. It’s something I’ve heard from so many of my Asian friends, in particular, the sudden interest and goading from immediate or extended family to find a significant other, a boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s pressure I see affect so many of my friends in such negative and unfortunate ways, and to what end? What is the benefit of seeing your child in a relationship suddenly? Now that they’re out of college in a job, what makes the time so ripe for love? I definitely don’t know and I don’t know if I ever will. As someone who personally values individual liberty, especially in regards to relationships and love, in particular, I am vehemently against the idea of forcing anything on anyone, particularly a relationship. It’s like how you’d feel weirded out being forced to be friends with someone, it is exactly the same thing. A significant other should be your friend in some regard, only closer. 

And yet, it seems in some confounding way that some parents are pushing their children towards the next “landmark” or checkbox on their journey of life. It’s literally like they’re the player piece on this sick, messed up board game of real Life (which in part is why I can’t play that board game anymore, bc of how meta it gets sometimes, especially this copy I saw in the store the other day advertising experiencing “crippling debt” and “quarter-life crises”. Big yikes). In turn, I see how it affects people’s outlook and philosophy towards relationships and finding a boyfriend or girlfriend. It becomes less about fostering an actual connection and more about this dumb rat race of finding someone to say you found someone. Someone I know in particular speaks regularly about his parents pressuring him to find a girlfriend, and when he doesn’t, I see how superficially he talks about women on dating apps or on facebook or social media. And yes, it’s tough to gauge someone’s personality on a platform when you only have pictures and usually a half-baked bio associated with it, but it’s also in large part why I’m against the idea of a dating app like a Tinder. On the other end, I have a male friend who is clearly very thirsty and stressing out my female friends, either hitting on them or hitting on other women around them. And while I can’t say for sure it’s a push from the parents' end, it certainly seems that way in its intensity and brazenness.

I don’t really know what to say to help people afflicted with that kind of parental pressure. I get my own share of parental pressure on other things outside of relationships, I see in my own family that pressure to get my older cousins and family members “married off”. I see my parents occasionally talk about the benefits of arranged marriage, and how the “stress of finding someone” is taken away and you can genuinely build a relationship with someone over time, and it’s kind of shocking considering my parents were not arranged. 

I don’t know what the rush is or what the motivation is from a parent for that kind of push. This may just be my idealism talking, but I think that “emptiness” people feel or parents think their kids will face from a lack of relationship is not a square hole for a square peg. I think for all my lukewarm attitude towards Disney Princess movies, I think one of my favorite things from Frozen (which overall is still just ok imo) was how “true love’s kiss” to save Anna wasn’t a kiss from a boy, or someone she would marry, but the love from her sister Elsa. If you think your child is lacking in “love”, you can provide that love, they can find it from other siblings, from friends, a pet, even a toy (like when you’re a kid), not just from a boyfriend or girlfriend. And barring the whole “evolutionary goal of a species is to propagate their genetic info” and that nonsense, it’s ok to be by yourself (hehe old post). And if you don’t find anyone now or later, there are still so many ways to find love that doesn’t require a traditional marriage or relationship. 

At the very least, don’t be your own impediment to choice or freedom to be with who you want. You obviously can’t control other people, your parents, your friends from pressuring you, unfortunately, but ultimately it’s your life and not theirs and you deserve to be happy, no matter the form that takes, even if it means seeming “empty and alone” at times to them.

tl;dr - you alone should be able to choose to be alone

[musicallyy-inclined]

2017 Year End Ranked (90 - 81)

Yay for more list! I’m not sure I’ll actually get this done by New Years at the rate, but I’ll try my best. Anyway, today’s list is mostly songs that suck, but never really made an impact on my year, with a couple notable exceptions. Also, fair warning, there are a lot of rap/trap/hip-hop songs here. Since I don’t listen to rap, I’ve tried my best to give a fair review, I don’t have a lot of feeling towards most of these songs. 

Anyway, here’s 90-81 after the page break!

90. That's What I Like – Bruno Mars

I would guess that this is probably my most controversial opinion in this whole list, but I can't stand this song. It's not that it sounds awful or was overplayed (although it was, but so were songs much higher on this list). It's just that this song is one of the sleaziest things to make waves on pop radio this year. Also Bonner Bolton (more on that later). Anyway, the main premise of this song is that Bruno is giving this girl all kinds of fancy things. Which seems harmless right? Nope, because there is a condition behind his gifts, that being that the girl in questions must “pop” and “drop” it for him. Yup, Bruno's basically paying for sex here, or at least headed very quickly in that direction. Now, at this point, it's still not awful right? Stripper anthems are common, so why hate this one in particular? It's the chorus that reveals why Mars is willing to drop this much money on this girl. See, he's not feeding her lobster and champagne because he's trying to satisfy her. It's because that's what HE likes. So basically, he's telling this girl to come perform for him and she'll get lots of nice stuff, but not because she's special or anything, just because that's what he happens to be doing. The girl is basically an afterthought in yet another braggadocios power trip.  And while songs like Uptown Funk pull of the bragging, this falls so so flat. The framing is just straight up bad. And Bruno sounds like the worst time of player. So yeah, this song is nowhere near as good as people think it is and I'm not sure why it's getting a free pass. Also, Bonner Bolton did a “dance” to this on DWTS and it was the most sexist thing I've ever seen on the show. Shame on Sharna, but with this song to work with, I'm not surprised.

89 Juju On That Beat (TZ Anthem) - Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall

This song is real bad, no question, but I can't bring myself to hate it enough to put it on my worst list. I mostly just feel bad for these two kids because someone told them that this was good idea. And yeah, I think most of what needs to be said about this song has already been said. The beat is a rip off, these kids sound awful and the lyrics suck. But let's look at some of these lyrics, because they are so bad they make me laugh. First, they insult “you” and “your daddy”, a great way to get started. Next, they try to rhyme “else” and “fun”, which like in what universe? Also, they make up a word, comparings. Which should mean comparision, but why use the word that's already there? So yeah, this is so bad it's funny, which is why it's not lower.

88. T-Shirt - Migos

Oh Migos. I thought Bad and Boujee was the first Hot 100 they had, but apparently they made a song called “Fight Night” at some point in 2013, so I guess I was aware of that. But yeah, I think that this song is my least favorite of the ones they released this year. It's just a choppy stilted mess, and I don't like the way it sounds. And that's basically my whole opinion on this one. These next few write-ups will be pretty short mostly because I don't really care about this style of music.

87. Bank Account – 21 Savage

Oh yes, the great song where 21 Savage shows that he can indeed count to 8. And actually, I don't mind the beat on this one. At least the piano sounds good, although it's kind of drowned out. But 21 Savage sounds so bad here. He's just completely uninterested in anything that he is saying. And it's repetitive also, so that's two strikes. And yeah, that's all I have to say about this. It's just kind of there and I'm not sure why anyone likes this or cares about it.

86. Rake it Up – Yo Gotti ft. Nicki Minaj

Time for forgettable trap song #3 in a row. But this one has Nicki Minaj, so that's at least different. Not that she's any good here, because I don't get her flow on this song at all. Also, trying rhyming different words, then maybe I'll give your verse a chance. And Yo Gotti sucks too. Another song where the chorus is a repetitive mess. Why this is appealing I will never understand. And yeah, this is another stripper anthem, and it does okay at being that I guess? Idk really. Also the menstruation reference really ruins the song for me. Not sure why that was necessary.  

85. Bad Things – Machine Gun Kelly ft. Camila Cabello

LOL, I think I'm just now realizing how bad this song actually is after seeing Camila succeed with Havana, a song she sounds great on. But yeah, it's real bad. First, Camila sounds one bad note away from a voice crack the entire song, and the range of this song is way too much for her to handle. Oh and she doesn't sell it at all. Although Fifth Harmony released some pretty sexual songs, they were never the “bad girls” and Camila's only other solo song at this point was a duet with freaking Shawn Mendes aka Vanilla boy. So she doesn't sound convincing at all. And MGK just sucks, plain and simple. He is not a good rapper and probably shouldn't even try anymore. His flow is very plodding and notD appealing at all. I guess he sells it better than Camila, but he sounds worse. The instrumentation of this song is it's only saving grace and has always been the best part, even when I tolerated it. It sounds like Pachabel's Canon, which is a good sample is that's what they were going for. But everything else is awful, and that's why this song ends up here.

84. Caroline - Amine

Ummm, so again I don't have much to say about this song. It's also has a kind of beat and delivery, which seems to be a commonality here. As for the actual performance, Amine sounds okay, but the content is very confusing. First, I don't like songs that use specific names, especially when they try to generalize them to a greater audience. Also, it seems like the girl here might be interested in a genuine relationship and getting to know each other, which is a noble thought. But Amine just wants to get on with it, and makes it quite clear what “it” is. So that's a dissonance which I'm not particularly fond of. But yeah, not good overall.

83. Magnolia – Playboi Carti

Um so this song didn't seem relevant at all to me. I at least remembered most of the other songs charting in the top 30 or so for a significant amount of time. And look at this chart run, I guess this did too, but it's just so unmemorable. I think that the part of this song that annoys me the most is the rhyming scheme. Something about the “op” and “ock” sound irritates me for some reason. Also, the beat just kind of sounds like a one measure loop. But other than that, this song is completely forgettable.

82. Slippery – Migos ft. Gucci Mane

Didn't take long for Migos to show up again, and with another song that I don't really care about. The flow on this is a little better than on T-shirt, so that's why this is higher, but I still am not super into the random words that seem to make up most of the bars here. The beat is kind of weird too, I'm not sure if I like it or hate it. Either way, this is annoying and I still don't really like Migos.

81. Treat You Better – Shawn Mendes

Ah, Shawn Mendes, or Vanilla Boy, as I called him earlier. I honestly like most of his music, but this is kind of awful in two main ways. First, the lyrics are pretty manipulative and whiny. Secondly, when Shawn tries to emote, his enunciation goes out the door and unlike someone like Ariana, he doesn't sound good enough to make up for it. I honestly don't have a ton to say about this song other than it's a typical “nice guy” anthem. WAIT, I just had an idea. Shawn Mendes should get with Daya, whose just looking for a good boy. lol. Anyway, this might make my worst list for last year, so if it does I'll go into more depth about it there. We'll see.

[audreysl0ve]

Signed Sealed Delivered: Jealousy

Written for a prompt SSD: Robin is jealous (actually ended up filling at least one other prompt too).

And okay, you guys know that my fics are usually a bit raunchy but i’m letting you know that this is VERY raunchy.

Thanks SO MUCH to everyone for keeping me going on this fic and telling me not to delete all the porn and make this PG rated. @somewhereapart, @repellomuggletum15, @the-alpha-incipiens, @starscythe, @brookeap3, you guys are the best.

special thanks to bea for being my beta, and to Jen for great sex toy advice, lol. The toy featured in this fic is the womanizer and everyone should have it.

He hadn’t been snooping. Truly.

He’d just been using her computer to check his email, just to make sure nothing pressing was happening in that full week between Christmas and New Year’s. He’s taken the whole week off after Christmas Eve, and despite it being a verryyy last minute vacation, his employer had understood, assuring him it would a slow week, and it would be unlikely any clients would call with pressing needs. Besides, as his boss Carmella had conveyed, he needed another mini-honeymoon with his wife.

So he had just been reading over his emails, calming any anxiety about his impromptu holiday. And then the chat window had appeared out of nowhere.

Hey, beautiful. Long time no chat! I texted you but I didn’t hear back. Just checking— are we still meeting next week?

His breath is still caught in his chest, heart still racing as he pours over the message for the fifth time..

He shouldn’t click that chat — he really shouldn’t. But he does anyway, because he’s a weak, sad little man.

It takes him to Regina’s profile.

He can’t breathe. Good god on high, she’s so bloody beautiful in the photos she picked. It’s nothing sexy, just these very natural, candid shots of her — two of which he can remember taking himself — and she just looks, well, perfect.

Roland is not pictured on her profile but she mentions him, and the fact she’s a package deal and those who cannot love children need not contact her.

It seems this requirement has done nothing to take down the amount of suitors, however.

He should not be looking, but he’s so hurt and scared, he can’t help him himself. He goes to her inbox and checks recent messages. Of course her page is full of messages from men. Of course it is.

He swallows down the bile rising up his throat as he reads messages from men to his wife, his, dammit.

It cuts deeply, and it’s terrifying. He knows Regina is a catch, he’s never lost sight of that fact.

But these men, some of them aren’t really bad men (he shouldn’t be looking, shouldn’t be looking at this). They are good looking professionals. Doctors and engineers and architects, a vice president of a large tech firm… wealthy men. Powerful men.

Men who might be able to give her a better life than he can.

It’s strange, though. She doesn’t reply all that often. He can see a day or two where she responded to a couple of men, with something short, but there are no long conversations (he should not be looking at this, should not at all, the voice repeats in his head like a dull drum beat he’s set on ignoring, apparently). She’s very selective. But there are a few men she’s responded to, and this guy who recently messaged her appears to be one of only a handful that she’s ever written back. Someone she talked to quite a bit (he sees the string of messages and resists reading it and pouring through every last word).

Robin snoops on this guy’s profile (his name is Andrew, but the man doesn’t deserve a name at all in his opinion).

This is a man who, he recalls, has Regina’s phone number, fuck, she trusted him that much. He’s a pediatrician who works in the city and lives in Mclean, Virginia. He’s has dirty blonde hair and these bright blue eyes and has a six-year-old son of his own.

Robin hates him. Hates him, despite the fact that on paper they seem like they would get along just fine. They both enjoy rugby, a good lager, and activities Robin has come to enjoy in the states like whitewater rafting, skydiving, and mountain climbing. And he loves his family, two brothers and a very loving mother and father who love their grandchildren.

He thinks of his wife going on long camping weekends, his child playing with this guy’s child, and it’s enough to send him into a mini-panic attack.

He almost lost everything.

Everything.

Almost, but he didn’t.

Right?

It’s been three days since Christmas Eve, and Regina and Robin have… been a little preoccupied. Each day has been filled soaking up every activity they can milk out of Roland, and quite frankly they have fucked each other into exhaustion every night (not that he is complaining).

They haven’t really talked too much about the future yet, besides the little talk on Christmas Eve where Regina made it clear she wants him to live with her. She made her choice, he knows she did. She’s not leaving him. They are together.

But some deep rooted insecurity inside him has him wondering why the ivy-league, all-American doctor with a mansion in McLean and a beautiful family isn’t a hell of a lot better than Robin. He won’t be able to afford that, he can’t give her first-class trips to Rio and Peru and Tokyo. He can’t give her a picture perfect family right out of a Hallmark movie. His family is broken and messy and complicated and not what she deserves.

And it sounds silly but he worries maybe she didn’t make the right choice.

He closes the browser and deletes the browser history, his mouth dry and his stomach flip flopping.

He should not have seen this. It’s an invasion of her privacy, and shamefully pathetic that he even looked at all. He should just pretend he never saw it, right?

He shouldn’t talk to her about it. He has no right to be upset or hurt. She did nothing wrong.

But frankly he promised her honesty and the thought of keeping this from her seems worse than confessing.

He’s still trying to work out what to do when she comes into the den, oblivious to what has just happened.

“Hey, babe,” she leans over to kiss his cheek. “Roland is out like a light.”

He swallows thickly, tries to put what he’s seen out of his head. “He had a busy morning,” he replies, trying to keep his voice steady and nonchalant. But she can tell something is off right away, raising an eyebrow and looking rather concerned.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen with work?”

“No, everything’s fine at work,” he says. He’s still sitting at her little desk, laptop opened to his work email. He shouldn’t tell her, it’s just going to start a fight, she’ll be so mad at him for this, and she has every right to be so, yet…

He takes a deep breath and turns to her, swiveling the little chair away from the laptop.

“I… uh, saw something I should not have,” he says, motioning back to the screen.

She looks genuinely confused, searching her mind for what he could have seen.

“A message for you popped up, and I know I shouldn’t have, but… I looked, and…”

“What message?” she asks. She sits on his lap and motions at the computer, and okay, this is a good sign. She doesn’t seem terribly upset.

He sighs and types in the address of her profile. He doesn’t look at her face, so he misses the way she frowns at the sight of it.

She takes his hand off the laptop and replaces it with her own, and checks her inbox.

“Oh. Andrew.”

He grimaces. He doesn’t like hearing that man’s name out of his wife’s mouth.

“Yeah…” Robin says dumbly, not sure how to voice exactly what he’s feeling.

She sighs and turns to him, looking a bit defensive as she reminds him, “Robin, we were broken up. And you fucked Marian. And at the time I thought you two were still dating and this is none of your—” she starts to get off his lap as she speaks, but he is a weak man and the idea of her leaving him is awful, so he reaches out for her, urging her to sit back on his lap. She does.

“I know, I know, I’m not mad at you and you had every right to move on. I mean, you have every right to… you still have that right.” His voice sounds high and pitchy, and he hates it.

“What are you saying?” Her head tilts as she stares at him half-annoyed, half-curious.

“I… looked at his profile,” Robin explains, holding his hand up as she stiffens and opens her mouth to protest, “I know, I have no right, but it happened so fast, and I just…” he shakes his head. “I have no excuse. But he’s a good man, it seems, with a good family, and plenty of money, and…”

She furrows her brows. “Are you jealous of Andrew?”

“Not just Andrew,” he says before he can think better of it. “There are so many guys who want you—”

“You looked at other messages?”

“No, I just… I saw them and looked at the profiles of some—”

That’s enough, it seems. She gets off his lap, putting her hand in her head as she walks away. He feels the loss of her immediately, and it leaves him cold and anxious. Shit, this is a mess. “You read those, oh god…” She sounds less angry than he expected more… upset. The way her cheeks pink and flush he’d almost swear embarrassed is the emotion she feels, but that can’t be it. She has nothing to be embarrassed about.

“I didn’t read them, I just…” He sighs. God, herself ’s an ass. “I visited some of the profiles of those you wrote back to but I didn’t read the conversations, I swear, and I’m not accusing you of anything, that’s not what that is about.”

“Then what is this about?”

“I’ve always known that you could have anyone you wanted, never doubted it for a second, but seeing it, it’s just…”

A shy smile spreads over her face. “Oh. I was quite popular on that site.”

“Of course you were,” he says emphatically. “You’re a catch in every way. And those are men who… they can give you things I can’t.”

She sits down on the couch, that smile splitting wider across her face. “You mean like a summer home in Tuscany and a six-bedroom home in an exclusive neighborhood right outside of D.C.,” she surmises.

He nods.

“When have I ever cared about that sort thing?”

Never. If she had cared, she would have married one of those men her mom kept trying to set her up with.

He knows this, he should know this, but hearing her say it brings him more relief than he would care to admit.

“You still deserve it. And I want to be the best for you.”

“You already are,” she assures. She walks back towards him and takes a seat back on his lap. “You give me things no one else can.”

She’s too good to him. She knows he needs affection now and she gives it freely, nuzzling into his neck and cuddling him as if he were a child (he is, at this point). His fingers skim down her back.

“Like what?” He cannot help but ask, insecurity bleeding into the question.

“Do you want to read the conversations?” she asks. “I feel like all jealousy you have will be gone if you read them. Though I’m dreadfully embarrassed of my flirting skills in text form.” She cringes, and so does he, but for different reasons.

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