#hidden surprise and all that

[fuckmeyer]

if smeyer wasn't a coward vamp!Bella would have immediately eaten her daughter Rensesmem whole-hog like Saturn Devouring His Son

[north-noire]

you cannot convince me otherwise that your william and henry designs are literally so pretty they’re so handsome especially in their purple and brown business suits hallelujah (i feel like an orphan holding their hand out for scraps when i ask for more drawings and dialogue of them like that) cause what do you mean im gonna have to face these men for business ventures and meetings? i have to convince them with stuff? oh they’re lowkey intimidating (cough especially henry sorry i love u tho) live laugh hidden hands 💋

Thank you so much for the lovely compliments! :D I agree that both of their presences in those suits can be quite overwhelming/overpowering in the sense that they sorta take the entire room. If you want something interesting, William was the one who bought Henry the brown suit, because Henry was just going to go in his "formal" attire (aka just him in a coat and flannel shirt combo) and William just straight up tells him: "No Henry. You are not coming to our business meetings and proposals like that." Cue fashion montage with Henry at the local mall and William buys him a suit that suited him nicely. I'm glad you like my designs for them with those outfits! </3 Here's a some memes of them in said suits for you (and everyone else!) <3 It makes me happy that you like them! (love that last quote aaaa)

[grimalkinmessor]

Not to keep harping on it but Death Note has plenty of fridge horror to go along with the unintentional humor and romance.

Like,,,the ENTIRETY of Wammy's House is such a fucked up concept. An orphanage where they crank out genius kids into the world by...what? What are they doing with those kids? What do you mean one of them died in there? Wait—and the second one is a serial killer? And one joined the mafia? What—WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THOSE KIDS—

Not to mention the intricacies of L and Watari's relationship. He's seen as a butler/father figure until you find out that he's an inventor/war vet who took in an orphan with the express purpose of making him useful. No wonder Wammy's runs the way it does when the og, the man it is named after sees children as tools and means to an end. And, given that L has already made them so much money playing stocks that it doesn't even matter anymore (Mr. Builds A Skyscraper To House Five People), why is Quillish still with him? To keep an eye on him? To make sure L doesn't forget where he came from? Out of some sort of guilt for never teaching him how to take care of himself because those weren't the skills that Quillish thought it important to cultivate? Or maybe even to keep him dependent on Quillish to keep functioning properly.

And then there's the horror of L himself. Not even the implications of him, but the proof of who he is and what he can do. The thought of a man with so much money and power and influence that if he wanted to make you disappear, if he wanted to torture you or hold your loved ones hostage or kill you and everyone that's ever shaken your hand he could and no one would fucking bat an eye—that's fucking terrifying. (Where the fuck is Beyond—) And, not only does he have the power to do all that; no one would question it because he's part of Law™. His every action can be excused as being part of the Greater Good, despite the fact that L himself has admitted that everything he does is for his own benefit and/or entertainment.

Light, of course, is an obvious horror—but one of the most horrific things about him is glossed over. I'm not someone who personally believes in the Death Note's corruptive powers or aura or whatever, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the fact that, once you give up the Death Note, your memories of it are erased. All the people you've killed, all the things that you've seen, you've still seen and done all those things, you just don't remember it. There's a hole in your mind, and all that prickly, thorny mess that grew in you when you were a killer is still there, choking you—you just don't know why. Why are you so unfazed by death? Why don't you cry when your mother dies? Why are you so afraid of being something that looks like you? Will you ever be certain of anything again? Will you ever, truly, know yourself when you can't remember all the atrocities you've committed? Can you ever change and grow again if your roots are gone? Or are you stuck in stasis forever now, your mind stalling in one place in order to keep you from remembering the people you've killed?

[violetlunette]

So, it's canon that when Silver was a baby he actually managed to sneak away from Lilia even though Lilia is supposed to have super fae senses. And even after he went searching for him, Lilia wasn't able to find him. Sebek's parents had to. I wonder if that means Silver had the ability to hide his presence in the past or Lilia was just really out of it that day. (He's shown to be fairly observant in the present. I wonder if that's because he lost Silver a lot.)

[lulublack90]

Prompt 22 - Rule

@rosekillermicrofic September 22, word count 739

Previous part First Jegulus part

The day came for their little heist. Barty fired up his crumbling van and collected Sirius from his flat before making the short journey to Grimmauld Place. The dark house loomed above them. Barty had no idea how it looked so much less inviting than the identical houses beside it, but it did, and it sent a shiver down his spine. 

He looked over at Sirius, who was frozen in his seat, staring at the building. Barty put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

“I’ve got your back, mate. Burger Face and Lord Twat are on their way to Wiltshire for the Malfoy ball, which, as we both know, is a total fabrication and will give us the time we need to steal all those damn books Regulus is so fond of. Now, come on, I refuse to carry them all out while you have whatever crisis this is,” Barty huffed at him, but it had the effect he wanted, and Sirius got out of the van.

Together they walked up the narrow steps to the front door, and with a bit of jiggery and the right tool, they were in. As a rule, Barty didn’t usually use his skills for actually breaking and entering, but this was a special case, and Regulus had left his keys behind when he’d fled, the ones with his and Evans's flat keys on them. This was something he needed to rectify. He spotted them on the hook just inside the door and deftly pocketed them on his way past.   

Regulus had slept in the same room since birth and they both knew where it was. Sirius opened the door and whistled. 

“There are a few more books than the last time I saw his collection,” He said, his mouth gaping. Barty snorted. Regulus’s collection had been steadily growing over the years. He had nothing else to spend his money on or any other joys in his life. 

“Well, let's get stuck in,” Barty grinned, pulling the first lot of books off the shelf and stacking them on the moving trolly they’d brought with him. It took hours to move all the books. But finally, the job was done. They brought in empty cardboard boxes and emptied Regulus’s drawers into them. Soon, the room was completely cleared. They did a final scan before Sirius checked his watch. 

“We’ve still got a bit of time, do you fancy a bit of mischief?” His grin split his face in a way that reminded him of Regulus when he had a dastardly plan.

“Always,” He answered, intrigued. Sirius and his friends had been known as the school tricksters, and he wondered what the elder Black Brother had come up with. Sirius’s hands suddenly held two glass jars of sliced pickle pieces and Barty’s face lit up. “Oh you beautiful bastard,” He cackled as he took a jar. 

“I’ll take the top floor, you take the bottom, and we’ll meet in the middle. Okay, ready set go!” And Sirius was racing off to the level above. Barty, fully onboard, ran down the stairs and straight into Walburga’s sitting room. 

He hid pickle slices everywhere. In drawers, under cushions. He even put a few inside the sofa cushions. The kitchen was fun. One went into the sugar bowl, another in the odds 'n' ends draw. He stuck one to the fridge like a magnet. By the time he got up to the middle floor, he was running low.

“Here,” Sirius said when he spotted the near-empty jar. Barty held it up and Sirius poured more of the slices into it. “I had a second jar,” He explained when Barty gave him a look. He didn’t really think that the man had gone easy on his mother's bedroom, but you never knew.

They planted the last few pickles and then made their retreat. Barty carefully re-locked the door with his pilfered keys, and then the van was rumbling down the road and on its way to the café. Sirius let out a laugh, and Barty followed. Soon the van was full of gasping laughter. 

He pulled the van up beside the side door of the café where Evan and Remus were waiting for them. James had very kindly got Regulus out of the way for the day so they could surprise him.

Now the real work began, trying to find space in that poky flat for all Regulus’s books. 

Next part

[lbhslefttiddie]

ruminating once again on the concept of murdering shen yuan for fun suspense and ghosty reasons and like. i like the concept of trying to write a murder mystery but fanfiction doesnt really Work for murder mysteries because you know what everyone is about before you read the first paragraph. there's very little mystery to be had in guessing between a set of likely candidates, and a lot of it has less to do with logic and puzzling things out and more to do with judging how the author interprets 7 and also 9 so ive been stuck ruminating on it for ages.

and then earlier i had a stroke of what im not going to call genius because i thought "the best way to add a twist to a scum villain murder mystery!!! would be if the person who murdered shen yuan!! was also shen yuan!!!"

[impossiblepluto]

hi this is random but since you enjoy the dynamic between jack and Mac so much I thought you might enjoy the dynamic between two characters Ty and Jack from a show called Heartland. it is a horse show but it’s very wholesome and they have one of my favourite dynamics in the whole show

Ahhh! Okay, so! A while back, probably like 4 years ago now, there was a gifset that I think was from The Curse of Downer's Grove and because I have never once scrolled past a gifset without being seized by the fatal need to drop some angsty, fic-adjacent thoughts in the tags, I rambled on about troubled teenage Mac who ends up in Jack's care on the ranch.

After the latest round of fights and explosions, Mac is looking at spending some time in a detention center. Grandpa Harry (with probably James pulling strings behind the scenes) is able to make an appeal and send Mac off to a ranch in Texas with an old friend, Jack Dalton Sr who has experience working with at risk youth. However, prior to Mac's arrival, Jack Sr. passes unexpectedly and Mac shows up about the same time Jack Jr. comes back to Texas for the first time in over a decade.

Jack has no plans to stick around in Texas after his handled his father's affairs, and he certainly isn't about to take responsibility for some punk kid from California.

Apparently there are quite a few similarities to Heartland! And I have now seen a couple of episodes. It's also sort of similar to "Bravetown" and if you check out the tag "bt in texas" on Anguish's blog, you'll probably find some gifsets the capture the vibes

Anyway, that's more than you were expecting but I should probably check out Heartland again and maybe that will spark me into finishing this idea because realizing that it's 4 years old kind of makes my heart hurt a little bit

[mewiedragon]

DAY TWO OF THIS SILLY SERIES WHERE I DRAW TWOMP BACKGROUND CHARACTERS!!!

Here is the heart shop guy @worm-brainzz :]]]

From: Valentine’s Day with Mr Plant (First and last appearance)

Status: Dead, his decapitated head is hanging on Argos’ wall (AT LEAST IT WAS ROMANTIC-)

<- day 1 || next day ->

[ellraiser]

i can't beelieve that people actually say "woke mind virus" like out loud for real unironically? it's like hearing someone say skibidi ohio rizz in the wild

[skellavelva]

so much bird Sirius, so here's him in the Sans form finally. Still messing with the outfit so it's a little off putting. Especially since still working on getting back into art

[braceletofteeth]

— I thought about how you would feel, so I didn't dare say anything.

— Shutting me out like this doesn't make me feel better.

[harbingersecho]

some short felix stuff. also price is there for a second

[sylvia-forest]

[CN] Shaw’s Know His Unrestrained Nature Date

⚡Warning: This post contains detailed spoiler’s for a Date which hasn’t released in EN yet!⚡

[Released Date: 16 June 2023]

[This date was translated with the help of Google translate and by my lovely friend!]

[T/N]: Before proceeding further, it's very very important that you understand the hidden meaning behind his karma name!! 

知我疏狂 is an idiom, derived from a Chinese literature work 诗经

the term is used to describe a person’s uninhibited/unrestrained nature/ temperament, while it can also come from a pov of stand-offish and careless nature

The karma name is Shaw’s invitation to the MC to “know his unrestrained nature” as well as experience the color and youth of life!

—

[Section 1]

Knock knock.

I retracted my hand after knocking on the door expectantly, heard the faint sound of footsteps, and quickly cleared my throat.

The moment the door was opened, I raised the small party popper in my hand, and the light-colored strips exploded and “snapped” between me and Shaw.

MC: Ding ding! Mr. Shaw, congratulations on being the only customer of "MC Birthday Customization", Happy birthday!

Amid all the colors, Shaw silently blew away the sticky ribbon from his lips.

Shaw [snorts]: Birthday customization? What new tricks are you playing?

MC: Didn't I say last week that I want to give you an interesting and creative birthday?

MC: So after careful consideration, I’ve decided to do an openly private customization for your birthday.

As I spoke, I patted my backpack mysteriously.

MC: I guarantee that every part of the process will leave you with something you never expected!

Shaw: Unexpected?

Shaw looked at my "professional smile" for a while, and then at the bulging backpack behind me.

Shaw: It sounds very attractive.

Shaw: But unfortunately, I have to go out for a while. For now, I can't see what kind of treasure you have stored in your backpack.

MC [horrified]: Right now?

I opened my mouth wide in surprise, and the curvature of my lips immediately collapsed.

MC: What's the matter this time? Did Professor Shen call you to do labor work? Is your thesis on deadline again?

Shaw: Don't make a fuss, your shouting will make me deaf.

Shaw: It's my private business.

I couldn't help but kick the ribbons under my feet as he tugged his ears indifferently.

MC: What's so urgent? Today is your birthday......

A soft laugh came from overhead, followed by a pop to my head.

Shaw: I didn't say that today isn't my birthday.

Shaw: After all, there's someone who racked her brains for a week, and I have to show some sincerity to appreciate it, otherwise I don't know how many times this matter will be turned over by her.

MC: Who's going to bring up the old score ......?

Although I wasn't convinced, this explanation reassured me, and he opened the door completely as if he had seen through my mind.

Shaw: Alright, if you want to celebrate my birthday earlier, we should finish the work quickly.

MC [excitedly]: Huh? You're gonna take me there?

Seeing his "otherwise" expression, I grasped the straps of my backpack tightly.

This bag is full of preparations for his birthday, so it is safest to carry it with me. Thinking of this, I nodded firmly.

MC: I'll carry it on my back!

[Section 2]

String music surrounded the antique tea house, fresh smell filled up my nose.

I followed Shaw through the open-air Chinese-style corridor and tugged at the hem of his clothes in surprise.

MC: Are you here on business?

Shaw: What is the problem?

MC: No, just a bass player who loves graffiti and skateboards doing private affairs in such a quiet place feels out of place.

Shaw raised his  "oh" tune a bit, and shook our clasped hands meaningfully.

Shaw: And that's out of character? Isn't it more incongruous for me to hold a silly you?

MC [angrily]: Shaw!

Seeing me gritted my teeth, he smiled cheerfully and turned his gaze to the corridor.

Shaw: This place is opened by a highly respected old expert in the antique world. He is an old friend of the old man.

I froze for a moment, then followed his pace closely.

MC: Then what did you come to see him for?

Shaw: He contacted me this morning and asked me to come pick up an item.

I wanted to ask more but Shaw stood in front of a private room, knocked twice on the door, and walked in.

I looked behind him, and the elegant private room was brightly lit, surrounded by exquisite mahogany shelves on three sides.

But there was no one in the private room. Shaw seemed to notice something and picked up a note from a tea table.

Shaw: "Please help yourself"?

MC: What does it mean…

He shrugged, took out his phone, and dialed a number, and after a while, he put the phone back and raised his eyebrows with great interest.

MC: What's wrong?

Shaw: Ah? He told me to fetch the things myself.

MC: I guess the old expert doesn't plan to come.

Shaw: The old man's character is perverse, and has an unpredictable style of behavior. I heard that he also likes to do some small inventions, in short, very strange.

MC: ... You mean, he's weird enough to call you and then stand you up?

Shaw: That's not the case.

Shaw raised the note again and looked at it.

Shaw: He has probably already put the things in this private room.

MC: What is it?

Shaw's nonchalant eyes froze for a moment, and the sunlight shone in his eyes as if swaying a certain long-term memory.

Shaw: A jade bead.

I nodded, took a step forward and searched for the tea table and chairs, and inquired about this Jade bead's information while searching.

MC: Jade beads...is it one of your antique shop deals?

Shaw [angrily]: Do I look like someone who would temporarily stand you up for a deal?

Through the reflection of the window, I saw his sharp eyebrows raised high as if expressing his dissatisfaction.

MC [tries to smooth things out]: Hey, hey, of course not. I just can't figure out what the origin of this jade pearl is since you're in such a hurry to get it.

Shaw lightly grunted, and walked to the mahogany antique shelf, focusing his gaze on exploring the layers. After a while, he opened his mouth.

Shaw: In a sense, this jade bead is my master's thing.

I was dumbfounded for a moment, I didn't realize that what he came to pick up had such a deep meaning.

I walked up to him unconsciously and wanted to continue asking, but saw a bright light on the first floor of the shelf where several copper coins were placed.

My heart moved slightly, and I quickly poked my head in through the shelf, and I saw a delicate small jade bead in the corner.

MC: Found it!

[Section 3]

The moment he held the jade bead, there was a faint mechanical sound in the air. The next moment, as if the mechanism was triggered, there was a huge "clang" sound from the mahogany shelf.

Before I realized what happened, a figure strode towards me and took me into his arms.

Shaw [shouts]: Watch out!

Crash—— something seemed to fall to the ground, I instinctively huddled in front of his chest and glanced out, and found that there were several cabinet doors hidden behind the antique shelf!

And densely packed jade beads fell from the cabinet to the ground, immediately flooding the small open space.

I couldn't help but lift the jade bead I just had picked up, and was surprised to find that these jade beads on the ground were exactly the same as the ones in my hand!

Shaw's expression also flashed a bit of disbelief, he took the jade bead from my hand and threw it in the palm of his hand, frowning.

Shaw: Counterfeit, the weight isn't correct.

MC: Huh? What's the situation?

Shaw lowered his gaze, and after a while, he seemed to have figured something out, and let out a light snort.

Shaw: It is estimated that this weird old man is giving me a problem. He wanted to check whether I could bring back my master things.

I followed his gaze and fell to the jade beads on the ground, feeling like crying.

MC: So many beads ....... It'll take half of the day if we start weighing them one by one!

If it takes too long, then Shaw's birthday... I tried my best to swallow the second half of the sentence and looked at him steadfastly.

MC: Then you tell me the weight of the correct jade bead, me and you finding it together should save a lot of time!

As I said that, I was about to bend down, but he grabbed my arm.

Shaw: That jade bead is priceless, how could he throw it into this pile of rubbish?

I blinked and understood what he meant.

MC: Are jade beads so expensive?

Shaw [amusingly]: Of course, it was brought out from the ancient tomb.

His calm tone made a sound in my heart, and I stuttered for a while.

MC [nervously]: This, isn't this a tomb robbery?

Shaw gave me a funny look and sat lazily by the tea table with his legs crossed.

Shaw: Yes, but it wasn't my master who stole it. It's a long story. I only found out about it by accident after the old man left.

[T/N]: If you've read his bday R&S then you'll know about this “long story”!

As if reminiscing an old memory, his gaze fell unhurriedly to the tree shadow outside the window.

Shaw: When a few foreigners who were selling antiques wanted to enter the ancient tomb to steal this jade pearl, my master and his friends took the initiative to stop it.

Shaw: After finally getting the jade beads, because the old man injured his leg, he was robbed in the end.

MC: …and after that?

Shaw: Later, the jade beads were resold abroad, presumably to avoid the limelight, and it didn't take long for them to disappear.

Shaw: Until today, this strange old man contacted me and said that he found it since he still has to fulfill the agreement he made with my master decades ago.

MC: Agreement?

Shaw: Yes. Whoever finds the jade pearl first will donate it to the museum under my master's name, so we can't let him suffer for nothing.

Hearing such a tumultuous story, I felt a little emotional.

MC: I can't believe your master was a sentimental person...... In addition to collecting antiques, he was also a pioneer in protecting cultural relics.

Shaw [snorts]: He was stubborn.

He smiled, and his voice lowered unconsciously.

Shaw: He stubbornly believes that these cultural relics contain not only material value but also historical weight.

Shaw: And history must stay in a specific environment to be the most original, so cultural relics must stay in the local area.

He was talking about his Master's stubbornness, but there was no trace of negation in his tone, and there was even a bit of yearning in his eyes.

I couldn't help but raise the corners of my lips and go along with his words.

MC: I can tell that your master is very powerful, and his knowledge is very broad

Shaw: What broad knowledge, just a stiff old man.

Seeing him muttering, I wanted to laugh a little, when I accidentally glanced at the copper coins on the mahogany shelf out of the corner of my eye.

Something seemed to pop up in my mind, I blinked and remembered the situation when Shaw was doing divination for me during New Year's Eve.

MC: ….. Shaw.

MC: Do you think the "divination" can tell where the jade pearl is?

Shaw was stunned for a second, and the corners of his lips slowly curled up.

Shaw [teasingly]: You're something, wait.

He got up and took the three copper coins from the shelf, enclosed them in his palm, and threw them on the table.

After repeating this act six times, he looked at me sideways, and the conviction in his eyes was obvious.

MC: Found it?

Shaw: If what the old man taught me wasn’t a jack of all trades and master of none, then it should be there.

Shaw walked to the southwest corner of the room, bent down, and knocked on the wooden floor which made a clear and hollow sound.

In the next second, he quickly pried open the floor and took out an exquisite wooden carving box, in which there was indeed a round porcelain white jade bead.

The sunlight outside the window reflects it brightly, and it wasn't difficult to see the subtle wear marks on it as traces of ancient years.

So with just one glance, you can see that it was completely different from those jade beads on the ground.

MC: So is this an antiquity? It's not the same as the jade I saw on the market.

Shaw: If you are curious, pick it up and have a look.

MC: Can I? This is a cultural relic......

I turned my head in surprise and met those willful eyes.

Shaw: Although it is a cultural relic, it isn't delicate.

Shaw: It has resisted the erosion of a hundred years, and it is more tenacious than we imagined.

As he said, he picked up the jade bead and put it in my hand, and held my palm with his hand.

Shaw: And my master once said this— —

Shaw: “History is not as old as we imagined, as long as you see it, touch it, you will also become a part of history.”

Shaw: However, I don't think he's quite right.

MC: ….hm?

He chuckled and poked my palm with his finger.

Shaw: Man does not become history, because man himself is history.

Shaw: And history is not the distant and obscure existence that people think it is.

Shaw: To an individual, where’s the need for so many heavy meanings -

Shaw: Everything that happened in the past, present, and future has its own history.

Shaw: Unique and cannot be reproduced.

MC: ……

Looking at the heavy jade bead in my hand, I was inexplicably touched.

At this moment, this jade pearl, which has spanned countless years, has become one of my own histories.

Seemingly seeing me in a daze, Shaw gently pinched my cheek.

Shaw: Well, with that out of the way, it's time to get started on your birthday plans.

His eyes flicked around my face in a joking manner, before landing leisurely on my backpack.

Shaw: For the sake of helping me find this Jade bead, I will fully cooperate with all your plans today.

[Section 4]

Shaw: Birthday elements?

After putting away the jade beads, Shaw looked at the notebook in my hand and raised his eyebrows.

MC [cheerfully explains her plan]: That's right.

MC: Now there are a lot of "birthday element" keywords in this book, you can pick any five.

MC: As for me, I will give you a customized birthday party based on the keywords you choose!

Shaw: Oh? Seems interesting.

He opened the "Birthday Elements" book and read page by page— —

With his subtle movements, different words such as "lively", "quiet", "campfire" and "music" flashed one after another.

It wasn't until the end of the last page that he raised his eyebrows and looked at me.

MC: Have you decided which five to choose?

Shaw: Nope.

Shaw: But I intend to make this random surprise even more unexpected.

He closed his eyes as he said, and tore off five pieces of paper blindly. I hurriedly looked over and found that they were— —

"Lively, indoor, party, music, formal dress."

MC: Ok!

Just when I was about to implement the plan according to these words, Shaw raised a familiar smirk again.

Shaw: Wait, I want to add another one.

He tore off another piece of paper with "private" written on it and shook it in his hand.

Shaw [not missing a chance to make things difficult for her]: Make it a little harder for you. That's what makes it more interesting, isn't it?

Seeing his somewhat sly smile, I hummed softly in my heart twice, this man really underestimated me too much.

I have already imagined the preparation plan for all the permutations and combinations of this element book.

Yes ....... I need to contact someone to help me up!

—

MC: Mr. Shaw, please~

Under my pretentious invitation, we both got out of the car and came to a hotel— —

The lines of the singular architecture were sharp and simple, the matte black definitely added a mysterious temperament.

Seeing Shaw's scrutinizing expression, I happily set my sights on his white shirt and black tie.

This is the costume I specially prepared for Shaw after he finished choosing the keywords.

MC: How's that? Did I mention that my preparation is foolproof? Even if you make it extra difficult, it's not a problem.

Shaw: Well, it's a good start.

Shaw: Then, how can I cooperate with you next?

I smiled and held out my hand.

MC: Of course, hold my hand tight and don't let go.

Soon we walked into the lobby, through a long corridor, and came to the door of the banquet hall.

Listening to the rhythmic music coming from inside, my heart that was hanging in the air was completely relieved.

It seems that all the "preparation plans" have caught up.

I raised my eyebrows at Shaw, signaled him to take a look at it, and pushed open the door.

[Shaw's bgm started playing]

The moment we pushed the door, music and many eyes with blessings came to us in unison.

?.?: Yo, the big birthday star is finally here.

Adam standing in the center raised his chin at us, and Jensen and Randal next to him also raised their glasses at us.

Jensen & Randal: Happy birthday Shaw.

Fitch: Happy Birthday.

Fitch put away his phone and nodded toward Shaw. Immediately afterward, other Live House employees also waved to us.

?.?: Shaw, Happy birthday!

?.?: Wish you to get more handsome! Extra handsome to the next level!

(LMAO whoever gave this blessing to Shaw sure has a good eye! This is one of my favorite blessings!)

For a moment, the blessings overshadowed the music, and they came towards us enthusiastically. Shaw glanced at me, with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Shaw: Well, it is really lively.

MC: That’s right—"lively, indoor, party, music, formal attire, private" nothing missing~

MC: However, the keyword "music" is more than just that.

I raised my chin toward the stage ahead, and three mavericks walked up with musical instruments on their backs.

One red-haired foreign man was extremely conspicuous, in addition to his thick smoky makeup, his lips were also painted with oppressive black.

Shaw [the excitement in his voice]: You also invited them here?

The surprise in Shaw's eyes shone brightly, causing me to half-smile with pleasure.

It's a small indie band that he likes, and I had to do everything I could to get them.

MC: In order for the birthday boy to have a happy day, of course, we have to use our brains.

MC: Of course, the most important thing is that I have a heart for you~

Shaw: Oh? What if I don't pick up these elements, what will happen to them?

MC: Of course, the performance was performed as usual, but it was enjoyed by other predestined people~

Boom— the heavy melody of the drums beating swallowed my last note.

Shaw didn't say anything, just smiled and clasped my palm tightly, moving slightly to the music in a good mood.

The light swayed, and the lawfulness pleasure at the bottom of his eyes poured out unrestrainedly. I also raised the corners of my lips and secretly took out my phone to see the time.

There are three minutes left.

Hope to see a happier look on your face.

Thinking of this, I counted down the time in my heart and took a deep breath at the last second.

Click—

All the lights in front of the eyes were extinguished with the climax of the music, and the cheers of the crowd in the dark became more enthusiastic.

I held Shaw's hand tightly and pulled him to run quickly in the direction away from the crowd.

MC: Shaw, follow me!

The clenched hand seemed to pause for a moment, but soon there was a familiar chuckle.

In the increasingly intense music, we are like two lovers running non-stop in a movie, only feeling each other's heartbeat in the noisy world.

Finally, we were far away from the crowd, and I pulled him to squat down in front of an empty dining table.

MC: Big birthday boy, now it's my turn to give you my blessings.

I smiled and took out a small cake box hidden in advance from under the tablecloth.

After carefully taking it apart, I held the palm-sized cake in my palm and lit the top candle.

The small shimmering light illuminated us, and his golden eyes were especially bright.

Looking at each other, Shaw suddenly smiled.

Shaw [there’s clearly a hint of amusement in his voice]: Oh, now it's time for the "private" element.

MC: Well, this shouldn't count as cheating, right?

Shaw: It does count, but it doesn't matter.

Shaw: You've managed to surprise me.

MC: Of course, you must know that I have made a lot of preparations that you can't imagine.

Shaw: What have you prepared?

Shaw: I'm curious as to what other interesting things I've missed.

I looked at the burning candlelight in front of me, and my voice softened.

MC: As for me... I have prepared countless possibilities.

MC: In these possibilities, we will sit by the sea, and watch the sunset around the campfire;

MC: Will have a candlelight dinner at a high mountain top restaurant;

MC: Or go to have a hot pot meal, after eating and drinking. Then, play games all night together.

MC: All in all, no matter which one you choose, I will try to make the day interesting. Be full of surprises.

MC: — Because you are Shaw, you deserve all the interesting and unique moments.

I looked at the person in front of me sincerely, and my heart was surging repeatedly, wanting to give him all my sincerity at this moment.

MC: In fact, when I heard you say today that people themselves are "history". I am even more sure that I want to make every minute and every second of the present moment unique.

MC: No matter how time passes in the future, no one can change this moment.

MC: Because this is the "history" that belongs to you and me.

After I finished speaking in one breath, I fixed my eyes on the person in front of me.

MC: Shaw, happy birthday.

He smiled recklessly, but the warm yellow candle seemed to blend the casualness and dash into the gentle light.

A rare strand of drowning poured from the bottom of those bright eyes, filling my heart with dots.

Shaw [the softness in his voice]: Fool, that's why you try so hard to celebrate my birthday?

Shaw: If you want me to say, our present is already unique, and no one can match us.

He looked at the candlelight with a bit of softness hidden in his eyes.

Shaw: But I have to admit, this heart, these countless interesting "possibilities"...

Shaw [lowers his voice]: It really does make me more like myself.

I didn't hear what he said, and when I tried to ask, he smiled, showing his familiar joking expression.

Shaw: You know what? It's been said that people can often see through things as to what has happened in the past.

Shaw: It is also possible to see in people what will happen to them in the future.

He came closer to me, his eyes tracing me a little bit. Fragments of light faintly glow in the bottom of his eyes, only reflecting my face.

Shaw: So I see a lot of that in you too.

MC: So what do you see?

Shaw [tries his best to hide his excitement]: Stupid and stubborn.

Shaw: But it often surprises me, and even makes me admire it a bit.

Shaw: This is the future I see.

I couldn't help but laugh and follow his lead.

MC: You seem to see quite accurately, then let me also take a look ~

But before my eyes could settle down for a second, he suddenly blew out the candle and we plunged into embers of darkness.

Shaw [whispers]: I won't let you see it.

Shaw: Wouldn't it be boring to let you know all about it?

MC: What's that?

The soft-touch passed over my lips, and all the feelings in the darkness were magnified and engraved in my heart together.

And his voice slipped out from between his lips.

Shaw: However, one thing is certain about my future.

Shaw [lightly whispers]: And that you’ll continue to be interesting with me.

—

🎉 Call

🎉 Moment

🎉 Epilogue

[jrueships]

negligent mother

[mazojo]

2022 Anime Recommendations

In no order in particular, anime I enjoyed that were aired in 2022 ^^

Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru

Spy x Family Part 1 & 2

Blue Lock

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Season 3

Cool Doji Danshi

Tiger & Bunny 2

Kaguya-sama: Love is War - Ultra Romantic

Heroine Tarumono! Kiraware Heroine to Naisho no Oshigoto

Fantasy Bishoujo Juniku Ojisan to

Sasaki to Miyano + OVA

The Little Lies We All Tell

The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting

Dr. Stone: Ryusui

[quirkle2]

oh nooo that's quite a bummer :( but i'm very glad that i helped brightening up your day :") tbh your writing brightens up my day too (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

AND WAIT I'VE BEEN ACTUALLY QUITE THINKING ABOUT WHETHER ZOMBIE MOB HAS FOUGHT OFF A ZOMBIE WHEN I ASKED IF HE HAS EVER BITTEN SOMEONE and since you brought it up, well, would be okay to ask about the details of how it went 👁️👁️ (also him fighting off a fellow zombie to protect tome got me sobbing)

- 🪻

aww im glad my silly little words brighten ur day!! ur so sweet :]

and yes, it went horribly <3! tome prolly wasn't paying attention as closely as she should've been and got herself surrounded by a crowd. to be clear, that's not Always dangerous, since zombies arent like,, after ur brains in this constantly. but these zombies did look quite hungry, and human or not, she looked like a good meal,,

she had wandered off a bit from mob n ritsu, but mob heard the commotion first. tome has a big fucking baseball bat in this au that she likes to swing around, but a baseball bat can only get u so far in terms of self defense. she thins the horde but there's simply too many of them

mob lets exactly One zombie grab her and yank her toward them before he goes ballistic

watching zombies fight is a lot closer to watching wild animals fight than anything else, and it gets quite horrid sometimes. since their bites aren't rly "dangerous" to each other beyond the typical Oh No a Chunk of Flesh is Gone (not even painful for them, since their nerves r.. less than functional), the fight is a lot more close up and gruesome than a fight against a zombie and a human would be. humans usually back away from zombies immediately and try not to touch them at all in fear of getting bitten; zombies don't need to care abt that

most of the horde realizes that this meal isn't going to be easy and they wander off, but a few more hungry, more desperate ones try to rip into mob's throat at the first sign of defiance. it's not exactly a fair fight; it's like 1 against 4, so he's sorta bound to lose

thankfully ritsu shows up and shoots two of them down (he's Terrified of shooting mob by accident, but either way he'll probably die, so) and tome gets the last one with a good swing to the head. ritsu rushes to mob and is horrified by the amount of blood dripping from his neck and his arm; tome is equally as shocked, but she's mostly thinking, "ive Never seen a zombie defend a human before"

mob's neck is thankfully mostly just scraped up and clawed, but there Is some gruesome punctures where canines sank in and tugged. it's a lot worse along his arm that's bitten and gouged beyond belief. he loses a lot of blood here, but the whole nerves-no-longer-work thing is a blessing in disguise atm; he'd be in a lot of pain otherwise. while ritsu and tome are patching him up w shaky hands he simply glares beyond their shoulders like he thinks he's still in danger, even when they tighten the bandages. it's like he barely notices what they’re doing

his strangely alert behavior makes them think abt the possibility that maybe mob Knows he could've easily been shredded apart there, and he's a little scared and worked up abt it. the only reason he managed to fight as long as he did without dying is prolly bc the other zombies weren't as well-fed as mob—they were kinda weak and shaky from days of no food, but mob has humans taking care of him and keeping him fed 24/7

they're all shaken up by it pretty good.. tome is still reeling from the fact that mob defended her so valiantly, and ritsu is quietly horrified by the idea of another zombie killing mob instead of a human. he doesn't know which is worse