#i don't even want to know how much that store would price those sets at if i were to sell them

[elvendoodles]

I saw this exact set at my local Bricks and Minifigs for $100 😱

we just went to a Lego store with old expensive sets/minifigures and it was so nostalgic

Anybody remember these

[cheapshrimpysheep]

2 Hot Chocolates & a Fortune Cookie

SUMMARY: “Never forget to tell people how much you love them. They may not know.” is what is written on the little piece of paper in your fortune cookie. But maybe the boy who gave you the cookie feels that these two phases applies to him too.

CHARACTERS: Deuce Spade / Kalim Al-Asim

TAGS: Fluff; GN Reader; Kiss

WARNING: Spoilers from "Sam's New Year Sale"

WORD COUNT: An average of 1.180 words per character.

COMMENTS: I like to write things based on the cards and I wanted to write something with the New Year's cards but I never thought of anything good enough. Until I reread the story looking for an idea and here it is.

I hope you all enjoy 🥠 And Happy New Year! 🎉

About the currency in Twisted Wonderland: From what I understand, on the JP server the Madols would be the equivalent of Japanese Yen while on the ENG server the Thaumarks would be the equivalent of US dollars. Which personally makes it easier for me to tell whether something is expensive or not in this world.

P.S.: In the second Sam's New Year Sale event, Vil is the one who says that the Mystery Bags cost 40 Thaumarks.

CONTEXT: You even thought about buying one of Sam's mystery bags, but when you saw all the commotion that there was every day in that store, plus the fact that the bags cost 40 Thaumarks (and it's not like you could afford to spend that much on a simple bag considering the money Crowley gives you), you ended up giving up on the idea and not even going to Sam's store to say hi to Deuce and Kalim.

It was evening and you were in the lounge of Ramshackle Dorm when you heard someone knocking on the door. You open it and see Deuce still in his New Year's Attire.

“Good evening, (Y/N). Sorry to show up so late, but I wanted to give you one of these.” He hands you one of Sam's mystery bags. “I bought one and saved it for you. You never went to the store, did you? Neither Kalim nor I saw you. I thought maybe you were too busy or couldn't make it because it was always full. But I thought you might like to receive one. ...Hm? Oh, don't worry, you don't have to pay me back. It can be a New Year's gift for you. Open it! I'm curious to see what you got.”

You thank him, take the bag and open it. You take out a large box that says ‘Hot Chocolate Kit’. In the box there is a bag of mini marshmallows, a packet of chocolate powder, a bag of cookies and two edible spoons.

“Did you like it? I'm glad. Since it’s random, people often receive things that have nothing to do with their tastes. But who wouldn't like a hot chocolate in this cold?”

You put that box down on the entrance table and take out a second box which is a set of matching winter themed mugs. You suggest to Deuce to use those new mugs with you and taste that hot chocolate together.

“I would love to!” He accepts with a smile. “I'll help you prepare it. I hope we can make a third mug for Grim too, otherwise he'll be mad at us.”

But you see something else inside the bag, it looks like shiny paper. You put the box with the mugs on the entrance table too, put your hand back inside the bag and take out a golden ticket.

“It can't be!” Deuce is shocked! “It’s an Amazing Ticket! So they really are true!” He is very happy and excited for you. “You don't know what it is? The students were crazy about Sam's mystery bags because of this. From what Jamil-senpai told us these are tickets you can trade for any one thing in the Mystery Shop. And there's no price limit. You can trade it for literally anything in the store! This is the first time I've seen one. You're so lucky! That’s awesome!”

You feel a little guilty because it was Deuce who paid the 40 Thaumarks for that bag. So you try to give him that ticket.

“What? No! The ticket is yours. I gave you the bag as a gift. I made enough money from this gig to buy what I wanted, don't worry. If you were lucky enough to get it, it means you deserve it. Really, keep it and buy whatever you want.” He gives you an encouraging smile. “Oh! One more thing.” He takes a small bag out of his pocket and takes out a fortune cookie and gives it to you. “Don't worry, these were free to any customer in the store.”

You take the cookie, break it in half, take out the paper inside, give one half to Deuce and keep the other for yourself.

“Never forget to tell people how much you love them.” You read the message on the paper. “They may not know.”

Deuce chokes on the cookie but quickly recovers.

“Y-yeah, I'm fine. Sorry.” He chuckles awkwardly.

You jokingly ask if he forgot to tell his mother that and he laughs awkwardly again.

“Ha ha, no, I always end my calls telling her I love her." He gets a little embarrassed by this statement, but he continues. "W-what about you?”

You say making Grim's favorite dishes is an ‘I love you’ enough for him. Deuce laughs with you and suggests that the two of you go make the hot chocolates. Even if you seem as flustered as he is, he's too oblivious to notice these things.

He thinks about that message a lot while he prepares the hot chocolate with you in the kitchen, to the point of getting distracted from time to time. When you're already putting the marshmallows on top of the hot chocolate, you make a heart with them and give the mug to Deuce. He blushes slightly when he sees the marshmallows heart, but maybe it was the incentive he needed.

“Hum... (Y/N)...” Deuce starts saying, a little nervous, but then he takes a quick and deep breath and looks at you with renewed courage. “I was thinking about the phrase in your fortune cookie and...” He looks away to the hot chocolate you gave him. “I know I always call you buddy and stuff like that but...” He starts blushing again. “The truth is... I think... I like you as more than a friend.”

He won't be able to say much more than this, it's all still very new to him. So, you are the one who takes the next step and tells him, just as the cookie advised you, how much you like/love him. He looks back at you, surprised and with a sparkle in his eyes.

Now knowing that you feel the same way about him, he no longer needs to hold back and attacks you with a hug that lifts your feet off the ground while kissing your cheek.

He puts you back on the ground but continues to hug you. He doesn't have the courage to kiss you on the lips even if he wants to. But if you do it, he'll try to reciprocate with the most affectionate kiss he can muster.

After that, you two will go to the lounge with your hot chocolates. Grim will start complaining that you didn't make him one and Deuce will reveal a third mug of hot chocolate for him.

While Grim burns his tongue because he tried to drink the still-scalding chocolate right away, you and Deuce sit on the couch together with one of his arms around you.

“Happy New Year, (Y/N).” He wishes you with one more kiss.

It was evening and you were in the lounge of Ramshackle Dorm when you heard someone knocking on the door. You open it and see Kalim still in his New Year's Attire.

“HI (Y/N)!” Kalim greets you with his huge smile. “Happy New Year!” He reaches out and hands you one of Sam's mystery bags. “I didn't see you at the store, so I thought maybe you didn't want to get in the meddle of all that crowd. These have been some really crazy days. Ah hah. That's why I bought a mystery bag for you. Here! I'm so curious to see what you've got!”

You thank him, take the bag and open it. You take out a large box that says ‘Hot Chocolate Kit’. In the box there is a bag of mini marshmallows, a packet of chocolate powder, a bag of cookies and two edible spoons.

“Wow! So cool! You have everything you need to make hot chocolate. It tastes so good in winter. Did you like it?” You say yes. “That's great! I saw many students who were disappointed with the things they got. It's great to see that it was a nice surprise for you.”

You put that box down on the entryway table and take out a second box which is a set of matching winter themed mugs. You suggest to Kalim to use those new mugs with you and taste that hot chocolate together.

“Really?! I would love-!” His overly enthusiastic smile fades, giving way to a sad one. “I... would love to... but...”

“You cannot eat or drink anything that has not been approved by Jamil first.” You finish his sentence.

He gives you an apologetic smile.

“Yeah... But I can keep you company and help you prepare it if you want. I'm sure it's great.”

However, you have another idea. You pick up your phone and search for something while asking Kalim if Jmail knew he was there. He tells you yes, that he told Jamil that he just wanted to give you a New Year's gift before going to Scarabia. You find Jamil's contact and call him. He answers immediately.

“Did something happen to Kalim?!” It's the first thing you hear Jamil say.

You say no, that everything is okay, and tell him about the mystery bag and the hot chocolate to ask if you prepare it and taste it before Kalim he can drink it with you.

“Hmm... I don't know...” You hear Jamil's uncertain voice say. “It's not that I don't trust you. I know you would never hurt Kalim but...”

“No one needs to know.” You add.

There was silence for quite a while.

“*sigh* Okay. But only because it's you. And if this came in one of Sam's bags it could have gone to any student, which makes it difficult for it to be something directed at Kalim... Still, be careful you hear!”

You thank Jamil and consequently Kalim also shouts a ‘thank you’ to him. Kalim's sunny smile returns and he is now more excited than ever to make this hot chocolate with you.

But you see something else inside the bag, it looks like shiny paper. You put your hand back inside the bag and take out a golden ticket.

“WHAAAT?! IT CAN'T BE!” He sees you looking at him perplexed. “Sorry. But you got an Amazing Ticket! Deuce and I were wondering if they were even real. And now you got one! Hm? You don't know what they are? It seems that it was because of them that so many people were buying Sam's mystery bags. Jamil told us that these are tickets you can trade for any one thing in the Mystery Shop. And there's no price limit. You can trade it for literally anything in the store! Isn't it amazing?! You’re so lucky!”

You would feel guilty for being the one who got that ticket and not the person who paid 40 Thaumarks for the bag. But Kalim was filthy rich, there was no reason for you to feel bad.

“Oh! Speaking of luck, I almost forgot to give you this.” Kalim takes a small bag out of his pocket and takes out a fortune cookie to give to you. “Sam was offering them to all the customers in the store.”

You take the cookie, break it in half, take out the paper inside, give one half to Kalim and keep the other for yourself.

“Never forget to tell people how much you love them.” You read the message on the paper. “They may not know.”

“Aww. That's a really nice message.” Kalim says as he eats his half of the cookie. “I love you, (Y/N)!” He tells you smiling.

“Aw, I love you too, Kalim.” That's what you felt was the best response back.

He said it so naturally that it seemed like something he would say to any friend, like Jamil for example. So you kind of responded the same way, even though you may really meant it.

You and Kalim went to the kitchen to prepare hot chocolates. Kalim looked like a child with a new toy, he was so excited to do something like that with you. He commented that the cookies were cute, the mugs were pretty, asked how to make chocolate with that powder, read the instructions on the back of the box with you, etc.

He was very happy to see the hot chocolate made, and all that was left was to put the mini marshmallows on top. He made a heart with them and gave you the mug with a cute smile. You do the same for him and he is very happy with your gesture, but something seemed to be bothering him a little.

“Hey, (Y/N)... When you said you loved me back, did you mean it? Because I did!” He smiles at you, blushing a little. “You didn't realise that? Why not?”

You explain that since he is always very affectionate with everyone, it is difficult to realize when he is not just being nice or considering the other person just a good friend, or if it’s something more than that.

“Really?! Ow, I’m so sorry. I didn't mean to confuse you. Looks like your fortune cookie was right. Well, I need to fix that now!” He comes closer to you and holds your both hands with his warm ones, looks you in the eyes and smiles affectionately. “You are the best friend I have ever had. Every second with you makes me happier and more loved than I could ever imagine. I wish I could do the same for you, if you'd let me. I love you (Y/N).”

He's not afraid that you'll reject him. Will it hurt him? Sure, but the most important thing is that he was honest with you and you deserve to know that you're loved.

You confess that the feeling is mutual. He is so relieved and extremely happy to the point of hugging you and lifting you off the ground while doing a spin. He gives you all the kisses on the cheek he's ever wanted to give you and can't stop hugging you.

He doesn't want to go too fast so he lets you kiss him on the lips first if you're comfortable with that. And if you do, you will feel all his love and passion for you in response.

After that, you both go to the lounge and sit together on the sofa. Grim appears, attracted by the smell, and starts complaining that you didn't make him a hot chocolate too. Kalim starts to apologize but that's when you reveal a third mug of hot chocolate that Kalim hadn't even realized you had made. Grim thanks you and Kalim praises you.

While Grim burns his tongue because he tried to drink the still-scalding chocolate right away, Kalim puts one of his arms around you and starts imagining and talking about possible dates and that he should give you the best quality hot chocolate in Twisted Wonderland next time.

If you would like to read more from me, you can find it in my pinned post: INDEX

[mushies-stories]

Our home

Drabble -Fluff

John Price X GN!Reader

Summary: your newly moved in and John has been spending a lot of time at work, so much that you were starting to really feel neglected. John will make it better though, he has too.

Warnings: crying?

Authors note: hiiii i adore super sweet and adorable price :D thats it, this is comfort and fluffy.

John had been working later the past few weeks and you were really starting to feel abandoned. He would come home after you were already fast asleep. Though you had tried to stay up later the first week, it became evident he was not going to be coming home anytime soon. He woke so early you barely get to have a sip of coffee with him in your plush robe and messy hair before he's out the door. Leaving you with a kiss to the forehead and a little pout on your lips. 

You were growing more and more fed up with not having a moment with him, you had moved in to be closer but he's been working so much you feel like you're living alone again. You try to convince yourself you're being dramatic, that he’s a captain and he's busy. His work was important and you shouldn’t feel like he's ignoring you… he’s not leaving you behind, no, never… right? You can't help but have those thoughts, that he has already grown tired of you. 

It was when you noticed it had been nearly a month, he had stayed late every night, came home to you sleeping and left before you hardly had time to wake up. The whole day you couldn't help the moping. You shuffled around the house on your day off with nothing to do. You had no motivation to call up a friend or even go to a store. All you wanted was for John to come home early for once or even on time.

You finally got tired, watching a dumb movie on the couch and fell asleep. A blanket half haphazardly slung over your middle while you curled up into a little ball. 

Hours later John was quietly closing the door and taking his boots off when he looked over and saw you. You were asleep on the couch with the movie's home screen lighting the room.

He smiles softly when he crouches in front of you, a hand coming up to stroke your hair. “Love.” he says softly, making you stir in your sleep. “C’mon love, lets get ya ta bed, eh?” his thumb strokes your cheek gently.

You shake your head a little and swat his hand away. “D’wanna.” is all you mumble. 

John cocks a brow at you. “Why not, what's wrong with our bed lovie?” he asks, his fingers continuing to try and soothe you awake.

You nuzzle into the couch a little. “To empty.” your voice is quiet, justice above a whisper. 

Confused John shakes his head before sliding his arms under you then lifting you to his chest. You let out a squeaky yelp and cling to his shirt. He takes you to the bedroom while you try and blink your eyes awake. “What ya talkin’bout? Cause yer pretty self ain't in it, that's why.” he retorts and sets you down on the bed. 

You can't help the tears that immediately form in your eyes when you look up at him. He didn't get it…”No that’s… it’s empty because of-” you hesitate a moment, a tear rolling down your cheek and look down at your lap, avoiding John's eyes.

He doesn't like that. Slowly long fingers are tilting your chin up so your eyes are locked with his. “What is it love, what's wrong?” he asks, voice smooth and calming. He didn’t understand why you were so sad all of a sudden but he didn’t like it.

You blink a few tears away which he swiped at with the pad of his thumb. You let out a shaky breath. “You… it's so empty and you aren't here John.” you finally confess. Your tears fall uncontrollably now and you can’t help the little hiccup that escapes you. You hadn’t even realized you had been this affected until you couldn't stop crying. 

John hates seeing you this way, he never liked when you cried and the fact that he caused it? No he couldn’t have this. You were his world, how could he sit here and watch you suffer because of him.

“Love, I'm sorry, ya know I don't mean to be gone so much.” he sank to one knee in front of you and placed his hands on your thighs, looking up at you. “I love ya so much doll, ya know i do, don't ya?” he asks, eyes focused on your blurry ones. 

You nod a little. “I know…” You tell him, voice hushed and shaky.

He mirrors your small nod with a little smile. “Sometimes i need a little remindin is all. Need you to tell me to slow down sometimes because my work has always taken everything over.” he lets out a short breath. “But i need ya too love, i think about you all day. Been trying to finish up this last bit of preparation and paperwork before this next mission. I'll be gone for a while and i just want to spend as much time with ya before i go.” he explained, the exhaustion and stress written clear across his face.

The way John looked at you, so much care and concern, you knew he didn’t mean to make you feel this way. You smile a little and bring a hand up to his jaw, caressing the softness of his beard. “I'm sorry, I just started to really miss you.” you admit. “i know you work hard, i don't want to add any more stress an-”

“Dove, please dont say stuff like that.” John cuts you off before your head can spiral too fast. “Ya’ve done nothin wrong. Ya need to tell me these things, tell me when yer hurting so i can help. I need ya to be okay above all else, got that?”

Your smile widens a little. “I will, I promise.” you say and lean in to press your soft lips to his, giving him a gentle kiss. “I love you John.” you tell him when you pull back to look into his eyes again. “I don't know what I'd do without you.” 

With his hands now traveling along your thighs, John smirks up at you. “Probably better off.” he jokes, a little. 

You swat at his shoulder and shake your head. “Don't say that.” you scold with a half-hearted scowl. “You're good for me John, you can't tell me otherwise.” you say adamantly. 

He smiles at you, big and genuine. “Well, how’sbout this, tomorrow i'll go to the barracks, delegate a little and come home early?” John offers, his hands now kneading your plush thighs. His calloused fingers

Your eyes light up. “Really?” 

He nods. “Really, the boys can handle it for one day.” He says.

You wrap your arms around his neck and nuzzle a little into his neck. “I'd really like that.” you say, voice going shaky again. Your tears were from joy and relief however. John was so kind and he listened to you, never blamed you and treated you so wonderfully. You were glad you were here with him, in his home and his life. 

John welcomed your embrace by wrapping his own arms around your back, pulling you into his lap on the ground. You giggled when he peppered the side of your head with kisses. “So, what do you want to do tomorrow, whatever you want, love.” 

You think for a moment but only one thought comes to mind. “I want to stay here, at home. I want to spend that day relaxing and enjoying some peaceful time together… maybe we could make dinner together too?” you offer, pulling back enough to look up at him a little. 

“That sounds wonderful love.” He agrees and kisses the top of your head.

Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough you thought.

[lanawinterscigarettes]

Love Quinn + an overgrown garden from the prompt list please

ofc!! thanks for the request for love btw <3

original prompt list can be found here for those who are curious

Grown With Love (Love Quinn x gn reader)

Warnings: very brief mention of murder but fluff other than that <3

The romance between you and Love, your newly-wed wife, seemed to happen in a whirlwind. It wasn't even six months after you'd met that you'd proposed to her, and naturally she'd agreed to it right away. You bought a house together not long after, one on the cheaper side that you could do some renovations on. She had very specific ideas for how she wanted the layout to be, which you of course gave her complete control over.

Where you lived didn't matter much as long as you got to be there with her, and besides, happy wife, happy life. You'd do anything to make her happy, that much was certain.

Plus, it wasn't as if you had to pay for it. She had her parents money to do that, so she could redesign the house however she envisioned it the be. If she wanted to gut the entirety of the kitchen and rework it to be on the other side of the first floor, who were you to stop her? The world was her oyster when it came to your new place, and that carried into the land it sat on, which included the backyard.

She told you she was planning on having a garden where she could grow all of her own fruits and vegetables, not wanting to rely on overly-priced produce from factories that pumped them full of chemicals from the grocery stores in the neighborhood. There were always local markets, but she wanted to try growing food herself for a change. You were never one for gardening, but if that's what she wanted then you were certainly more than happy to help.

(While it was true that she did want a garden, she also needed a fresh patch of land that wouldn't look suspicious for her to be digging up in case a body had to be buried somewhere. Not that she'd ever tell you about her little hobby, as it was her opinion that you didn't need to know.)

"Honey, can you come bring the wheelbarrow over here to me?" Love asked while pointing with a glove-clad hand in the direction of where the wheelbarrow sat on the other side of the yard. She was on her hands and knees trying to get rid of all the weeds and other plants that she was certain would try to choke out the life of her vegetable garden before it even got started.

"Sure thing, sweetheart." You didn't have much of a set job when it came to redoing the house and backyard. It seemed as though you were there for moral support more than anything else, but that didn't mean you weren't happy and eager to help out your wife whenever you could.

She beamed with pride when she saw you bring it over to her, immediately beginning to dump the weeds that were already dug up into it so they could be disposed of later. "Thanks, honey."

You beamed in response before speaking again. "I'm gonna go grab the lemonade you made earlier and bring it outside for you."

The smile on her face seemed to grow wider at that. You always knew exactly what she needed, and when. "You do that, sweetheart. I'll be out here."

While she continued messing with the garden, you went inside the house, making sure to watch out for the several building supplies the workers had left behind as you grabbed the pitcher of lemonade from the kitchen along with two glasses. You quickly returned outside and filled them up before carrying one of the glasses over to your wife. "Here you go, honey."

She removed her gloves and took the full glass from you as she thought about you looked adorable doing things for her. You were always so eager to please. "Thank you, baby. Why don't you come sit with me? I was just about to take a break anyway."

You immediately nodded your head at the suggestion, rushing to grab your own glass before returning back over to sit down beside her. The garden still needed a lot of work done on it, but it wasn't looking too bad so far.

"What do you want to plant?" Love asked you after a moment or so, watching as you gulped away at her fresh, homemade lemonade while she spoke. "I was thinking some tomatoes, maybe some corn and watermelons if we have the space for it."

"Whatever you want to plant is fine by me. I'll be happy regardless," you replied brightly before leaning over and pressing a kiss to her face. "They'll be grown with love no matter what they are."

"Oh, my God, you and your stupid puns," she said with feigned exasperation, rolling her eyes playfully at your words. "You're right, though. They'll be grown with love, indeed. The love between the two of us," she added in a playful manner.

You giggled at her addition before nudging her side with your elbow. "You're such a sap."

"Mm, only for you." She moved in closer and gave you a passionate and loving kiss, the lemonade soon left forgotten as you got swept up in the feelings you shared for each other, your wedding bands glistening in the sunlight. Everything would be done with love as long as you and her were together.

End notes: Love's so sweet when she's not murdering people

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[sgtcosmo]

under the weather - 141 headcanons

cw: none, just pure (established relationship) fluff <3 only pronoun used for reader is 'you'

a/n: i'm sick as shit rn and i've been laying in bed all day thinking about how the 141 would care for gn!reader while they're sick, so this is a lil bit self-indulgent hehe!! also, thank you for the love on my first drabble that i posted a couple days ago, it makes me so happy :') enjoy these!

gaz:

-he's an absolute sweetheart all the time already, but when you're sick? oh my god

-checking in on you every 10 minutes, even if it annoys you. he has to know that you're doing okay!!

-i hc him as being a great cook, so he definitely makes you some good ass homemade soups

-THIS ONE MADE MY HEART MELT WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT IT but he would absolutely read to you. it'd either be wherever he left off in the most recent book he's reading on his own, or he'd grab one of your favourites from the shelf and start from the beginning

-lets you use his lap as a pillow while he reads to you, holding the book with one hand and playing with your hair with the other

-rubs your back soothingly when you're having one of those god awful coughing fits

-when he goes to the store to get you medicine and such, he'll facetime you the whole time. he'll show you the medicine and snacks/drinks at the store and let you pick which ones you want (he also wants to make sure that you're alright while he's gone <3)

-gives you his warmest and nicest sweaters to wear, doesn't care if they get dirty

ghost:

-runs you a bath and lets you soak in the warm water while he washes your hair

-will absolutely make you a hot cup of tea with honey to soothe your sore throat

-canned soup kinda guy. he'd still try his best to make it as appetizing as possible though, adding in extra bits that he knows you like

-you're not lifting a finger once he finds out you're sick. your household chores? they're his now. those errands you were supposed to run today? oops, he's already got his shoes on and keys in hand

-will not let you out of his sight. always keeps a watchful eye on you, no matter what. he took over your duty of washing the dishes? he's bundling you up in 10 blankets on the couch in the living room so he can turn around every 30 seconds and silently check on you

-would probably set reminders on his phone so you take your medicine exactly when you're supposed to, even if it's 3 am. he's up and fetching everything you need before you can even complain about the reminder going off and waking you up

-picks you up and carries you around the house so you don't have to walk

soap:

-still cuddles and kisses you, despite your attempts to push him away to prevent him from also getting sick. he doesn't give a shit

-plays video games with you, or watches you play. i feel like he'd be a try-hard at games and wouldn't take losing lightly, but he'd let you win just because you're sick. if you call him out for it, then he'd probably just make some half-assed excuse and say he must be having an 'off day'

-i feel like he's a canned soup-er, like ghost. will make a bowl for himself as well though so he can eat it with you

-pillow fort? pillow fort. makes a huge one in the living room with a big nest of blankets in it for you both to cuddle in. he even makes a little window through the pillows so you can see the tv and watch your favourite movies

-will order your favourite take-out for you once you feel well enough to eat something other than soup

-would make you laugh so much that it sends you into coughing fits (laughter is the best medicine, after all ;))

price:

-much like ghost, he'd keep a very watchful eye on you and check in on you often

-definitely a homemade soup guy. if there's a specific canned soup that you want, he'll make it exactly how it is, but better

-cuddles with you under a pile of blankets as you watch shitty rom-coms together

-lets you lay on him while you sleep, even if it's for hours at a time. he'd keep his arms wrapped securely around you and kiss the top of your head occasionally

-is willing to do anything and everything you need in order to get you back to good health as quickly as possible. just say the word and he's got it

-would buy medicine in every flavour it comes in just so you can try them all and see what one tastes best so taking it isn't such a miserable experience (i feel like soap would probably do this too? but he'd treat it more as a fun taste test ranking kind of thing)

-will go on short walks outside with you in hopes that the fresh air will make you feel better. he's bundling you up like nobody's business if it's cold outside, though

[getvalentined]

The Big Patreon Breakdown

Okay, Patreon's Discord Q&A ended on the 16th, and I've been waiting to see if anything else happened—like maybe a a public announcement from Patreon instead of emails sent exclusively to creators and a video hidden on the CEO's personal YT page—but nothing has happened, so I'm gonna do a breakdown of what we're looking at.

This is an EXTREMELY long post. I am not putting it behind a cut. I'm not sorry.

Short attention span version here.

—

I. The iOS processing fees are a smokescreen covering up the actual devastating changes that Patreon is forcing creators into.

The iOS fees are trash, 30 percent is extortion and we all know it—but that's not the biggest issue at hand here. Patreon is using this event as an excuse to change the entire structure of the creator side of their platform, and blaming Apple to avoid getting backlash.

They tripled their platform and processing fees in 2017, passing it on to patrons without notice, and the subsequent hemorrhage of paying users forced them to walk it back. They tried to force everyone onto their rolling billing model in 2021, and the entire community pushed back so hard they were forced again to walk it back.

This time, they're doing both and insisting it's Apple's fault, and everyone is taking that at face value because Apple sucks. And Apple does suck, but Patreon is getting what they've wanted for years by catering to Apple.

Oh, also, they're forcing creators to notify their patrons of the billing model changes (with a suggested template that explicitly refers to it as a decision made by the creator, even though nobody is making any decisions here except Jack Conte) rather than doing it themselves.

II. Patreon is not going to change course for any reason. This is set in stone.

There are multiple proofs for this, including but not limited to:

One-on-one calls between the platform's top earners and the CEO, Jack Conte, wherein the vibe was apparently not "What can we do to support your business in order to retain your place on our platform?" but rather "We know that the only way this works is if we don't do it, but how can we keep you from complaining about it any more than you already have?" One creator explained in granular detail how they run their business through this platform and why changing their billing model would ruin literally everything, and Conte responded with "Is this an essential part of your offering?"

The Patreon Team on Discord has continued to shut down all discussion of alternative options with assertions that Apple won't allow it, even if those alternatives were suggested based on legal precedent set by lawsuits against Apple, and the declaration that they will not be allowing the app to be removed from the App Store no matter what because it's the single most important and integral avenue of creator growth on the platform. (Put a pin in that.)

The platform's top earner is on the pay-per-creation billing model, the one that is going to be hit the hardest; creators on this model stand to lose literally 90 percent of their income overnight. This creator and his team were as blindsided as the rest of us, and they've been offered no assistance except for a complex math equation to try to calculate how much they should be charging people on fixed-price tiers, and no assurance except "the iOS app is the platform's highest source of engagement and is necessary to help you continue to grow."

Pay-upfront (PUF) and pay-per-creation (PPC) billing is going away for new accounts and anyone who doesn't opt out via Patreon's convoluted backend before November 1 of this year, and anyone who doesn't manually switch over to their rolling billing cycle will be automatically pushed into it on November 1, 2025. This means that PUF creators no longer have the promise of a steady paycheck when they need it, early enough in the month to pay rent and bills, while PPC creators are losing their entire business model all at once, which has resulted in a loss of 75 to 90 percent of income for multiple PPC creators who have tried to switch to the rolling billing structure in the past. They are killing these people's livelihoods and they know it, they have seen the data to prove it, but they will not be swayed.

III. Patreon claims the iOS app is the highest source of engagement on the platform at 40 percent—but will not define what "engagement" means, and staff refuse to share detailed analytics or data on the revenue share coming from the app.

Several creators, some with a couple dozen patrons and some with thousands, polled their audience to get a feel for how many of them used the app. Consistently across every creative industry, genre, and form of media, the answer was 2 percent or less. The average across a dozen-plus polls of actual active patrons, numbering into the thousands, is that around 85 percent of patrons access the platform exclusively via the web, whether on desktop or mobile. The majority didn't even know there was an app.

Further, Patreon would not explain what "engagement" means, but did not deny the possibility that dismissing an app notification on your phone counts as an "engagement."

When Patreon was asked for data on how often people pledged to support a creator via the iOS app, the only response was the claim that information is "sensitive to [Patreon's] business" and can't be shared. In a creator-exclusive server. With the people who bring that revenue onto the platform in the first place. And have our own analytics that we can look at individually, which show an average of 0 to 0.5 percent revenue from the iOS app.

IV. Patreon does not have a refund policy in place to work with Apple, and has given no implications of intention to work with Apple to shorten the time it takes for funds from iOS purchases to be paid out to creators, which is currently 75 days.

Yes, you read that correctly: at the moment, it takes 75 days before creators can cash out funds processed via iOS. On top of that, Apple's refund policy is 60 days, and the creator is not involved in the process whatsoever—if a malicious actor pledges to your page, downloads all your work over the course of a month, and then pings Apple for a refund? Apple gets to decide whether or not they get that refund.

Patreon's general refund policy is that it's up to the creator 99.9 percent of the time, with very rare cases of fraud requiring Patreon's intervention. In the case of pledges and Commerce sales via iOS, the creator has no say, and Patreon currently has no policy to protect them. They've stated that they're working on a refund policy that will work with Apple's guidelines to keep everyone happy, but at this point we all know what that means—they're just going to use Apple's refund policy.

They also wouldn't say whether or not creators would be on the hook for Apple's added processing fees, as is usually the case with other big payment processors, but it sounds like we are! So if someone pays $14.50 on the iOS app, the creator gets $10, can't pay it out, and then the malicious actor can call for a refund weeks later and the creator will owe $14.50—in spite of only ever having seen $10 and never being able to pay it out because the 75 hold hadn't passed. Sounds great!

V. Patreon's own graphics meant to explain why this is necessary and how the new fees work are not correct.

I'm gonna let these mostly speak for themselves:

The sale price listed on this graphic is $10, but adding together the three fees listed gives a total of $11.35. This is likely a copying error, as 4.35 is clearly not 30% of 10, but the lack of attention to detail on one of the only two pieces of official material that we have which refer directly to the numbers on which Patreon is signing away our livelihoods is slightly concerning.

This one totals up to 103 percent! (Actually closer to 104, since I rounded Android and Mobile down by about a quarter percent each.) The 40 percent figure on the iOS bar is based on the figure given to us by Patreon staff, and was used to place the markers to denote individual percentages on the other three.

Patreon made these and gave them to us with the assertion that they were proof that the iOS app is indispensable—why should we trust anything they say about numbers if the charts they gave us are literally impossible?

VI. Patreon refuses to offer any promises to 18+ creators that they will not be removed from the app in order to adhere to Apple's content guidelines.

Instead, Patreon staff's response to this request for reassurance is "We have no plans to remove 18+ creators from the Patreon app." You may note that's phrased very specifically, and leaves a hole big enough to drive a freight train full of iPhones straight through. They have no plans to remove 18+ creators from the app. When asked for clarification on this, confirmation that they would not be removing us from the platform if Apple pushed them to do so regardless of whether or not they have plans, this sentiment was simply repeated in more words and with more apologies, along with a reminder that Patreon has had to change their terms for 18+ creators several times already in order to keep up with laws and competition.

VII. All the features Patreon is insisting are integral for creator growth are inaccessible to 18+ creators, and questions about this were either dismissed, redirected, or ignored.

Remember how the iOS app is the single most important and integral avenue for character growth on the platform? Well, 18+ creators are not discoverable on the platform, regardless of the avenue of access. We are not visible on the app unless you have it installed, are logged in, are already following us on the platform, and click an external link to be directed to our pages from somewhere else via a mobile web browser. There is no way to find us on the platform itself.

Other features that staff insist are necessary for growth to which 18+ creators do not have access:

Patreon creator search (on web, Android and iOS apps)

Mass post editing (now called the "Library," which reads as "Something Went Wrong" for me and other 18+ creators who tried to get to it)

On-platform video hosting

Built-in cross-creator recommendations

All on-platform "commerce" features (both digital and physical goods)

The ability to market ourselves by linking to Patreon from our social media and vice-versa (we're basically not allowed to do this or risk being banned)

Yeah, about that first and that last point. We're hidden from searches on the platform, and we can't link to our pages from social media or risk permanent suspension. We cannot grow in this fashion at all, and in fact 18+ creators are getting all the downsides of this switch (except maybe for the app fee, since you can't fucking find us to pledge on the app) with none of the benefits. Nothing they are doing here will help us grow, because they've kneecapped us already. Now they're going after our capacity to obtain a steady paycheck at the beginning of the month, too.

VIII. Patreon's iOS app is currently (as of August 18, 2024) in violation of Apple's guidelines for app ratings; staff did not state any intention to become compliant by raising the app's rating as needed to maintain their 18+ creator community.

The App Store guidelines on creator apps state that they must be rated equal to the highest rated creator content on their platform. In spite of hosting 18+ content, which requires a 17+ rating per Apple, Patreon is rated 12+ in the App Store. Increasing the rating to 17+ would cut out the entire market of wealthy teenagers with iPhones, and since everything else being done here is intended to please Apple, it's unlikely this will be the point that Patreon finally gives an inch for its creators. The exact response from staff on this was "We hear and acknowledge your inputs on the app rating and are exploring our options there." Their "options" on this are to increase the rating, or to remove all 18+ content from the platform. That's it. Those are their options. Why do those need exploring, if they really give a shit about the 18+ community?

I know a lot of people out there are going to say that it would be nice if Patreon would "get rid of the porn," but you need to understand something: 18+ content is not all sexual.

18+ content can and does also include:

Horror (particularly body horror, which is explicitly or implicitly banned on all current adult-specific creator platforms, leaving me nowhere to go when Patreon kicks me)

True crime (murder, violence, theft, etc., is all 18+)

Health (blood/discussion of blood is 18+ regardless of context)

Education (what if you learn about war? that's 18+)

Trauma recovery (the word "r#pe" makes everything around it 18+)

Profanity (ko-fi marks creators 18+ for saying "fuck")

Languages (because you might learn profanity)

Weaponsmithing (because weapons are dangerous)

Leatherworking (because leather can be a fetish)

Shoemaking (feet can also be a fetish)

...even more I'm not bothering to list here.

Implying that they somehow didn't know about this extremely important part of the guidelines—which are being used as an excuse to force the top earner on the platform to ruin his entire business model—is absolute nonsense. Patreon knows about this requirement, they haven't taken any steps to comply based on their current creator population, and I will be shocked if they do. Much easier to just kick us all off, since we can barely use the damn platform as it is.

—

The entire thing makes no sense. Patreon is losing out on so much money by doing this—they're crippling all their highest-earning creators to keep the iOS app running, and it's going to hurt everyone except for Apple. The only reason I can think that they would refuse to budge on this is that there's something else going on behind the scenes between Patreon and Apple. That, or the company is intentionally throwing itself into an extremely drawn out death spiral. But we all know which of those is the more likely scenario here.

[jaysgirlx]

Ok so I've noticed you don't have much of dick grayson writing on here!!! USUALLY i go to @kazzattack for dick grayson and you for jason but now that your requests are open, I'm craving a mall trip blurb with dick grayson pls 🙏☺️

you're so right anon but dw bc i have dick grayson waiting to be released in my drafts!! i just don't know how I feel about them rn. anywhooo dick obviously loves mall trips and not so he can shop, no no it's so he can spoil you.

dick loves watching you get so excited over something and plan to buy it at a later time when you can save for it. but he loves seeing how happy you are when he buys it for you even more.

here you are at this huge mall down in blüdhaven, with dick strolling behind you. he watched where your eyes would go, scouting out what the stores had. sure gotham had malls but dick wanted to take you somewhere new. plus he believed that if he were settled down with you anywhere it would be here. it was just like gotham but it wasn't and that gave him the sense of security and relief. that maybe you'd be safe there, with him.

you're still searching until you find this beautiful jewelry store, filled with gold & diamond jewelry. just from the size of the store, you knew they were the real deal. still, you couldn't afford even one item from here, not yet at least. it didn't hurt to look around though.

dick leans against the wall, watching you search all over the store. he expected you to show interest in something but he seemed to back away from everything once you saw the price tags.

there was one set of earrings that he knew would look gorgeous on you but when he saw you putting them back in the rack he gently put his arms around your waist, "why are you putting those back already love? you haven't even tried them on"

"dick these earings cost like-"

"i don't remember asking the cost sweetheart, if you like them we'll buy them"

dick told them out of your hands and placed it in the basket he had been holding, you hadn't even noticed him pick one up. he places his head on your shoulder, her face burying himself in the crook of your neck "now let's go get you one of those bracelets next"

[bloody-cupcakes]

Blair Waldorf x perv! reader; she finds out you stole her underwear and decides to punish you for it

Tw: yandere/dark content, gender neutral reader, nsfw/smut, perv! reader, panty stealing, degrading, dom/sub dynamics (dom Blair/sub reader), bondage via handcuffs, sex toys/penetration using a vibrator (reader receiving, they're obviously gn so it isn't specified whether it's vaginal or anal), overstimulation, multiple orgasms, the reader gets gagged using a pair of Blair's panties, aftercare (more implied than anything else)

A/N: some bits in this was inspired by this Blair fic by the talented and fabulous @sparklingbutterflies <3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're pathetic, do you hear me? Pathetic and disgusting."

Blair's harsh words swarmed around you like angry hornets that came from a knocked over nest as they entered your ears before finally landing themselves deep down in the crevices of your heart. It was hard not to take her criticism personally when you loved her so.

"I- I didn't mean to steal your underwear, I'm sorry-"

Obviously that was a lie. You knew exactly what you were doing when you asked a drunk Serena to take an equally drunk you over to Blair's house so you could rummage around in her panty drawer. What you didn't expect was for her to actually remember what happened and snitch on you.

She scoffed loudly while crossing her arms over her chest. "Pathetic," she reiterated just to put more emphasis on her point before asking, "What, you can't find a girl who actually likes you to borrow panties from, so you decided to take mine?"

"I'm sorry," you loudly sobbed as tears filled up your eyes, making you look pitiful. "I'm so, so sorry, Blair, please, please don't hate me-"

She was quiet for a moment as she watched you, almost as if she was trying to decide what her next move should be. "I should," she stated bluntly, those two little words only assisting in making you cry even harder. "But... I suppose I can forgive you." She sighed, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Really?" Your voice was shaky when you spoke, and it was clear you were in disbelieved shock. Out of everything you'd expected her to say, that was certainly not it.

"For a price, of course," she added with a sly grin, the one she always got to let other people know she was up to no good.

That's how you found yourself laying back on her bed with your legs spread and your hands restrained using a pair of the cheap handcuffs you could get from any kind of sleazy sex store. You didn't dare question why she had them, not wanting to get punished even worse.

"I'm going to put this-" She held up a purple vibrator while she spoke "-inside you, and I'm going to turn it on. I won't be turning it off again until I'm certain you've learned your lesson, got it?"

You obediently nodded your head in understanding, hoping the more complacent and well-behaved you were would convince her to go easy on you.

"Good. Now, stay still." She began to slowly insert the toy inside your already slick hole, and you found yourself grateful she decided to at least lube you up ahead of time.

A soft whine left you the moment she turned it on, the vibrating sensation causing your walls to flutter around the toy as it moved inside you. "Oh..." You moaned while closing your eyes.

"Well, you seem to be enjoying yourself," she sneered while turning the speed up to a higher setting. "Let's see just how long that pleasure lasts before it starts to turn into pain."

Not long ended up being the answer, your legs beginning to shake after the second orgasm you were forced to endure. "Blair," you mewled while wiggling around on the bed as if you were trying to get away from the vibrator. "It's too much-"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want me to tell everyone about the whole panty stealing incedent?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow, taking out her phone and showing you the tip to Gossip Girl that was already typed in, just waiting to be sent in.

Your eyes widened instantly as you began shaking your head. "No! No, no, I'll be good for you, I swear I will-"

"That's what I thought." She put her phone away before moving over to where her dresser was, opening up one of the drawers and pulling out a pair of her panties. "Open. I don't want everyone to hear the pitiful little noises you're going to make," she demanded.

Opening your mouth, you allowed her to shove the balled-up panties inside. They successfully did the trick of shutting you up, which was perfect giving how she turned the vibrator's speed up to the highest one a mere second later.

Blair watched with glee as your eyes rolled into the back of your head, your hands still restrained above you as a trail of drool began to slip down your mouth. You were completely expecting her to keep going despite your third orgasm, but much to your surprise (and delight) that was when she decided to stop, turning the vibrator off and pulling it out of you.

Muffled whines could be heard coming from you as she unlocked the handcuffs before finally pulling the pair of panties out of your mouth. "Next time you steal my underwear without getting my permission first, I'll personally make sure to it that your name is front and center on Gossip Girl's blog for the next week," she threatened even while carefully wiping down your dirty, cum-covered thighs with a damp rag. "Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," you muttered softly in response, far too tired to do or say much of anything else.

"Good. Now, get some rest. I'll be back in here in a little while to check on you." With that, she left, leaving you alone in the dim-lit room as you curled up in the blankets she had on her bed.

Your "punishment" was far more enjoyable than you'd expected it to be, there was certainly no denying that. It made you wonder what else you could do to push her buttons in a way that you'd benefit from.

[foxsoulcourt]

An unassuming cheese-monger

It's truly amazing how much you can learn by listening and observing.

Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today Javone. Can I get you a cuppa? Why don't you look over the cheeses and pick two or three you would like to try. I'll make us a plate and we can go sit over in that quiet corner.

As I said earlier, my name is Harriet and I’ve been a cheese-monger in this shop for many years. Before you ask me your questions, let me give you some context for why I contacted your office.

I'm worried. Several of my regular customers have not been in the store in over a week. If it was just one or two of them, especially that particularly handsome one with the gorgeous suits, I wouldn't worry. We often don't see him for weeks at a time. But the others? I'm not sure I can convey to you how unusual their collective absence is, especially for this length of time.

How do you like the Port Salut? I'm glad to see you chose it because it's one of my favourites. Understated, but consistently delicious. Such a lovely texture too.

Now, while many different types of customers frequent our shop, we are known by busy professionals in the area. They count on us for a reliable source of high quality meats, cheeses, beverages, biscuits, and breads. You probably know that type of customer. Those executives who work long hours and rarely set time aside for regular meals, yet still want to eat and drink well while working. We show our gratitude for their steady patronage with delicious goods, prices, and hours which match their needs.

Even though we are not supposed to know many details beyond their name, a career retail employee like myself learns to pick up subtle clues about even casual customers.

Therefore Javone, I can reliably tell you several SIS senior staff frequently shop in our store. Partly it's due to our quality merchandise and, frankly, because we open at the crack of dawn and don't close until very late. It also helps we are an easy ten minute walk away from their home office through Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. That's just the right amount of time to clear your head after a troublesome meeting, isn't it?

Excuse me young man, did I say something funny? Oh, is it that name? I know, it seems a bit silly, but no need to snicker. <clears throat> Now, back to our mutual concern. I believe I have information you want, is that correct?

Over the years both Mr Tanner and Ms Moneypenny have become particularly friendly. They're terribly kind, both of them and they work such long hours. It's been through helping them I've learned to separate out which cheeses Mr Mallory prefers from the ones he does not care for, the beverages that gentleman in the beautiful suits prefers, and which biscuits to keep in stock for the often distracted younger man with the ever changing hair styles and glasses. He's always so kind to me. I really like talking with him.

Which explains why when I didn’t see any of them come through our doors this past week, I became concerned. They rarely all come in on a daily or even weekly basis, but not seeing any of them this past week felt downright odd. I knew immediately something horrible had happened.

Now Javone, what can you tell me? What do you know? And how can I help you?

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Miscellaneous Monster Tales 2

This felt a bit more comically purposed than the last one.

Golems

I complained about how golems were only used for combat purposes and this ended up giving a justification for why they aren't used for general purposes. And it's an explanation I felt in my soul.

It was because of programming errors.

This is like the equivalent of writing "if (x = 0)" when you were supposed to write "if (x == 0)". The first will set variable x to the value 0 and then return true because the operation succeeded. The second will check the value currently stored in variable x and return true if the value is 0 and false otherwise.

This also reminds me of a personal story trying to debug an issue I had with a spreadsheet I needed to analyze. I wanted the program to run a certain task for every line in the file but it kept having some odd error where the first line worked correctly, but every other line would act as if there was an extra field at the beginning and shift over by one.

Eventually I found that the issue was certain versions of Windows defined a new line differently from the linux OS I was using. The end of every line in the spreadsheet had a "\r\n" that I could only find by converting the spreadsheet into ASCII and then I had to remove every "\r" in the file to get it working.

Orcs

Kinda strange how orcs have upward facing teeth in their upper jaws. That seems impractical. Also, the teeth sticking out of the chief's mouth when it's closed are the upper teeth.

I wouldn't be surprised if those upper canines were rootless similar to a boar's tusks. In a hand-to-hand fight, orcs probably prefer grappling and then slashing their opponents with those teeth. It would keep them safe from getting something in their mouth they don't want.

I've seen posts of people commenting on Ryoko Kui's artbooks and I have to strongly agree that she knows how to draw women of all sorts of body types. And this section is just her indulging in the beauty of large women.

And Laios being Laios, he didn't realize where the line talking about physical attraction becomes uncomfortable and ended up angering the chief because the chief thinks Laios is leering at his wives. He also made Marcille uncomfortable because he had to bring up people's attraction to ears.

Mimics

All the info we get here is stuff from chapter 0. These things are just hermit crabs that grow to cocnut crab size and will use anything they can find. The one using a bottle cap is adorable.

They probably ambush small bugs and lizards when they're that tiny.

Treasure Insects

Nothing much to say here. Turns out the party ended up not only throwing away super valuable jewels, but they also ate super valuable specimens. Maybe the value of a treasure insect is related to how similar to an actual jewel they are.

Just as a reminder, I offered a hypothetical exchange rate of 1G = $0.05 USD when talking about the price of a book in the last Miscellaneous Monster Tales. Even at that rate, those bugs would go for fairly high prices. The diamond one would end up at $2,500, which is what an actual diamond like that could cost.

Ghosts

I'd heard of the thing Marcille mentioned about the weight of the soul and did some digging into it.

The whole thing comes from a 1907 study by physician Duncan MacDougall who wanted to see if souls have weight. He measured the weight of six patients at the moment of their deaths and found that one of them lost 21 grams when they died. The study is considered utterly bogus since he had such a small sample size and only reported on the single sample that fit his hypothesis. MacDougall himself even said that the results he got shouldn't be taken as conclusive of anything, but the newspaper that released the story did a horrible job actually reporting it as they usually do.

Calling brewing a type of necromancy is definitely a fascinating way to think about it.

Living Pictures

If Living Pictures are just illusion spells, then Laios's attempts to get food from them were doomed from the start no matter what. Even though he got to eat in that third painting, the food wasn't real which explains why he still felt hungry after and why he couldn't pull food from the second painting.

This is supposed to be silly but this one is just an existential nightmare. Laios's self-doodle seems to have all the memories of the real Laios and is just trapped in that painting forever.

Love how bad Laios's artwork is.

Kelpies

This is more informative than anything. I'd heard of kelpies before this chapter and decided to do a quick look into them because I was curious about the liver bit.

Kelpies originate in Scotland and they can shapeshift, though they usually can't transform their hooves.

It's probably just one of those things parents told children to keep them from playing in the deep rivers. "Don't play there. You'll drown" implies that the child's incompetence will kill them. But children are the most overconfident, egoists you'll ever meet. So you instead have to tell them there's a monster that will lure you in and drown you.

Now I'm curious if there were native horses or horse-like animals in Scotland that inspired Kelpies. Maybe the general origin is horse-riders would try to wade through rivers on their horses only to drown when the horse panicked and it spun into the kelpie myths.

I never found anything about them not eating livers.

back

[maxiemclaren]

Heyy can you write some headcanons or a oneshot of charles dating an emo girl and she plays bass in a band too?

I Want Kandi

Pairing - Charles x Emo!Reader

Warnings - Fluff

Summary - Headcanons/little blurbs of Charles dating an emo girl who plays bass in a band, just cute little things!

a/n - I don't know much about emo culture so I tried my best.

Charles is the kind of boyfriend to love and support anything and everything you would do that brought you joy. So when he found out you could play bass and were in a band, he went to every single show he could, showing up with a black and red rose bouquet everytime to show his love and adoration he has for you.

Made a soundproof studio in your shared penthouse so you can practice whenever you wanted, whether you couldn’t sleep at night or just simply needed some independent time. 

Charles had noticed that you were looking for a new bass and had your eye set on this beautiful black and purple guitar, the edges were black and it had a sort of wispy design of purple in the middle. (inspo pic below) Now the only problem about getting this specific one is that it was twice the price of any other bass guitar. So Charles decided to surprise you after a particularly hard and long week with that beautiful bass guitar. “Oh Charles, you didn’t have to get me that!” you say tears threatening to fall from being overjoyed. “Well, you had a long and hard week and I know how much you wanted this one, so I got it for you” He answered honestly.

When first meeting you Charles instantly took a liking to you and wanted to do anything to get to know you better. So what did the monegasque do? Well he did TONS and I mean TONS of research about emo culture, he simply wanted a better understanding and to smash all of the stereotypes he had heard about the culture. He noticed these bracelets that you wore on your arms with all different kinds of patterns and one of them even spinned, which you wore on special nights. He found out that they were called Kandi and wanted to make you one, so what he did was go out to the store and buy all the supplies he needed. 

Then for the next 2 days he tried his absolute hardest to make you one, and by god he would watch every video and look at every pattern on earth to make this bracelet. 42 hours later he finally finished the bracelet and wanted to bring it to you, so you made plans. Meeting him at his place you noticed beads and string everywhere and him holding something behind his back, with a boyish grin on his face. “Soo y/n I noticed those really cool bracelets on your arms and I wanted to make you one” he says handing you what looked to be like a mangled piece of flowers. “Oh my days, Charlie I love it” you say with genuine joy at the thought and clear evidence that he tried his hardest to make you something that you enjoyed. So what you did was you put it on your left arm which was bare. He asked you why you did this and you simply said “well I won’t be trading this one, it’s a personal kandi bracelet now” reaching up to kiss his cheek he flushed red.

[arctic-hands]

Thirty minutes and 9 paragraphs into an excited list of alternatives to Spotify's monopoly re: music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, for weenies like me who are nervous about pirating, and my app crashes.

Well now I'm on a laptop and I swear to god if this crashes too I'm calling it a conspiracy.

LEGAL ALTERNATIVES TO SPOTIFY:

Music: There are virtually limitless options here. Buy music directly from the musicians/band! If they don't sell mp3s directly from their site, they almost certainly have CDs for sale, so buy those and rip the mp3s to your computer (if your computer doesn't have a CD slot, you can buy an external one for fairly cheap). Go to a new/used music store, they still exist!, and buy albums there. Buy old albums from ebay! Go to goodwill or other thrift stores and browse there collection of cast-off music for cheap, you never know what you'll find. Hell, browse their cheap vinyl if you prefer their sound and get a vinyl-to-MP3 conversion device if you like. They even have conversion devices for cassette tapes, if you find a treasure that was only ever released on tape. Once upon a time I would have said Bandcamp for MP3 or even physical albums (I once upon a time got an AUTOGRAPHED TO MY NAME CD of Lauren Ruth Ward's Well Hell album), but they recently union busted and a lot of artists pulled their stuff from them. I don't really know anything about 7Digital's business practices, but they are another seller of MP3 music, as well as MP4, FLAC, and WAV.

Music DEVICES: If you just want to manage everything on one device, your phone, get the free VLC app! It's open source and is absolutely wonderful. I only ever used it for music, but it's capable of much more than I realized, and it's open source and ad-free! And the audio files are tiny, even when I was running out of room on my sixteen gig old phone, I still had a substantial music library on it before before I got a dedicated music player.

Which brings me to my next point: MP3 PLAYERS STILL EXIST! I own two! My first one is a twenty-dollar SanDisk Clip Jam (an established and sturdy brand), my current is a thirty-dollar Phinistec Z6 (that just came out of nowhere it seems). Each have their pros and cons, and there are so so so many options out there. Some are smart, some don't even have wifi (neither of mine do). Some have expandable card slots for even more music. Some are extremely basic, some have a plethora of features. Some are cheap but still decent in sound, some are high-end for that true audiophile experience. Some have touch screens, some have buttons, some have no screens at all. Some only use wired earphones, some only use bluetooth, some (like the Z6) can use both! There are so many brands out there even in Twenty Twenty-four. Even the random brands cropping up online are some really good shit, and I bought both of mine used bc I have concerns about the lithium industry. Oh, and some are regular battery powered. And you don't need iTunes or anything, I just use the basic Windows Media Player to rip my CDs or put mp3s music on my player. In fact I've been avoiding Apple players because I'm worried they'd brick older devices, especially ones with wifi. But there are so many options out there, it's impossible to name them all.

Audiobooks: YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE AUDIBLE! Libro.fm has a similar business model (an optional subscription fee with a free credit every month, or the option to buy book without a subscription for a little bit extra price), and you can direct the profits to the indie bookseller of your choice! I have mine set to go to Baltimore's anarcho-feminist bookstore, Red Emma's. How to listen to the audiobooks you buy? Libro has an app you can listen to directly from! AND they have the option to directly download from the site (meaning no program you have to install) the book in non-proprietary mp3/mp4 files so you can listen to it on any device that can use those files! THAT INCLUDES MP3 PLAYERS! Almost every music player on the market now not only plays audiobooks, but has sections on the device specifically for them! Some, like the Clip Jam, are even proprietary audible-compatible if you still use or already have books there (check audible's site, and you'll have to go thru a registration process). I was listening to audiobooks on both my CJ and the Z6 (the Z6 doesn't have a section for them, but still played them), but I recently bought an e-ink/e-paper (meaning no backlit LED screen causing eye strain or insomnia) ereader, a Pocketbook Touch HD 3, and that is mp3/mp4 capable for audiobooks, and is easier to maneuver books with since it's meant for books. ALSO: the library apps Hoopla and Libby also have audiobooks you can listen to via phone or computer/browser, depending on your library's catalog. Some ereaders can even have the apps for them, and if they have audiocapabilities you can use the ereader for that too.

Podcasts: There are so many apps for this. I have Podcast Addict (I don't remember off the top of my head if it's on apple, I use android, but there are still so many apps). Literally I only had to sacrifice one podcast when I stopped using spotify, PodcastAddict has everything else I've ever listened to or want to listen to in the future. You can download them for offline use on your phone, and, you guessed it, MOST MP3 PLAYERS HAVE PODCAST SECTIONS TOO. MINE DO! There are still ads at the beginning and end, but I usually skip over them without care.

Video: This one is a bit trickier as YouTube is also a monopoly, but what I do is just watch yt on my phone's Firefox browser with UBlock Origins adblocker installed. Sometimes yt gets into a hissy fit with adblocker, but UBlock usually gets ahead pretty quickly thus far. And if in the periods Origins is losing, I just find something else to do. I'm sure someone else has recommendations for videos, they're just not a big part of my life right now.

Anyway, don't let the horrid beast that is spotify monopoloize the audio industry OR your time! There are options, and even if you're not a luddite like me that hates having everything on my smartphone bc I'm worried about privacy or companies yoinking their stuff off my devices via wifi (like Amazon did once with their copies of, of all things, Nineteen Eighty-four about a decade ago) at the whim of corporations. You HAVE OPTIONS! YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CONTROL YOUR MEDIA AND REJECT MONOPOLIES!

[ghostlyshellofapuppet]

141 x crafty gn reader

Ok it's only August but I've started thinking about what I'm going to make my family for Christmas to start early, and this fic mentions nothing about Christmas. Also I'm newer to writing so if you notice something weird or not good please leave something in the comments to help me get better

Price

• Doesn't know anything about crafts except how to make those ships in bottles, wood working and glueing things together. Can't even imagine being able to make the things you do, seeing the process and the finished results, Price wouldn't be able to finish it or think of that in the first place.

• Is very proud of you once he sees you finish something, still doesn't know how you do it, but very proud. Any paintings, knitted items, clay objects, wood burning pieces, anything you make he is complimenting. You put so much time, energy and thought into that and you made it, good job.

• If you need help with anything Price will try, he's not the most crafty person but he has very steady hands. But if you happen to need help with something wood, he's got you, it's in good hands. Price has been woodworking since high school and it's never left him since he used to make small things on missions when he had nothing else to do

• I feel like if he had to pick another craft to pick, he'd be decently good or pottery, give him a little bit to find what pressure to use when shaping but will eventually make a mug for you

Ghost

• As much as I want to say he's into crafts, I can't see it that well. Yes he can sew but anything other than that and it's kind of a mess, but he likes watching you work and your processes. Watching you being so focused on something you didn't even hear him walking into the room with a drink and food for you since you've been at this for hours, and he loves that you can just relax like this, ( if you have been on the edge of giving up on it), but please take a break, you haven't blinked in two minutes.

• Ghost will take you to craft stores and just wander around with you, he likes messing with those posable hand models. He will also happily buy you whatever you want/need, more wire, a cake decorating set or also long as you don't burn yourself a wood burning kit

•If you tend to have most of your best ideas at night he tries to stay up with you so you don't stay up too late, but he can be distracted if you try to make him help. If not he's checking the clock every five minutes trying to decide when would be a good time to stop you

Gaz

•Likes pottery but doesn't do it often, he doesn't have a place too. His mother has a pottery studio he can use if he's but most times he's on base or out on missions. He can do some designs on the pottery and has an eye for details but isn't great with a paint brush.

• Also likes seeing you make stuff, Gaz used to watch his mom make new mugs and plates for the kitchen and would sit with his grandma listening to her stories. He finds it relaxing.

• Would help you with anything, Gaz can do a good amount of small craft just from stuff he's picked up over the years. He can sew, build and design very well and would love doing projects with you. You want to build a new coffee table, he's already getting ready to go to the hardware store.

• Gets excited towards the end of projects, seeing everything come together after working on it is very satisfying for him, especially if it's something you or can use. Build a table, he can't wait to set his drink on it.

Soap

• Is very happy when he sees your crafts and will want to show you his drawing if your interested. You also paint/draw, he wants you and him to draw each other and trade them at the end.

• Probably ok at other crafts but still tries. Don't let him around hot glue or resin, he doesn't mean to make a mess but he does, resin is on the floor and he likes playing in the cooled down but still moldable hot glue.

• He's likes watching you make stuff if he's tired but would like to help if you're okay with it when he's more awake. If you want to do crafts without his help he's also good with just drawing in his book, probably drawing you.

• Will cheer with you when you finish a project, if you've been working on it for a really long time it calls for take out, a movie and possibly more art supplies.

If you made it down here thank you for reading and I hope you liked it

[lastleggysee]

Arcana M6 how do they act like in Ikea?

Thanks friend! I tried

Fun fact: never been to Ikea but damn does that store have lore

Asra Alnazar

Would absolutely go there just to hang out

Like "MC want to grab some tea and walk around?"

You agree because he promises "It'll just be an hour or two"

You should know better but you go with him anyways

Has no money but picks up every plant and piece of glassware and asks if you want it

Does the same things with the rugs

"Can't you just imagine this in our bedroom?"

You tell Asra that no, you can't, because it's way out of your price range of $0

Asra tries to bring Muriel along but Muriel declines because crowds

But Asra is persuasive and manages to get Muriel in the store one (1) time

The second Asra turns away Muriel has disappeared into the furniture

"Asra shouldn't we go after him?"

"It's a big store MC he's fine"

Asra wanders around for a while and finds Muriel sampling the meatballs

You've absolutely had to have staff call for Asra over the store intercom because he wanders so damn much

He's not even embarrassed by it anymore at this point so you've got to try and come up with a better way to keep him in your line of sight

You enter the store with him at noon and by the time you're leaving it's nighttime

Would also get the 5-finger discount on any and all items he could

Would also gift those same items to you later

Overall just wants to have a good time but has no sense of time management

Nadia Satrinava

Would normally send someone on her behalf to pick up whatever she needs but actually really cherishes running errands with you

So she comes up with a not 100% bullshit reason to go.

"The curtains are looking ragged, don't you think? I'd appreciate if you'd help me pick out a new set"

You know it's an excuse but you agree anyway because any excuse to go out with Nadia is a worthy excuse in your book

She stops for coffee on the way there and walks in like she owns the store because she probably could, if she wanted

Visits the section she "came for" first

Asks your opinion on everything and watches your face for reactions when she points out a piece she likes

Nadia just wants the home you two share to feel like it belongs to you both

That being said, she has standards.

You like picking out the ugliest pieces of furniture or art or whatever you can find and bringing it back to her like you've found your dream piece

"Nadia I can't believe they have it here! It's gorgeous, can't you just see it on the balcony?"

She plays along at first just in case you're being genuine

Like, asking legitimate questions about price and placement and what might go with it

When she realizes you're joking she doesn't stop either, she puts it in the cart and starts walking towards the registers

You run in front of the cart to stop her and she's already laughing

She would buy anything you wanted though, so you have to be careful about what you oggle at

HATES the meatballs

Hates that you love the meatballs

Tried to eat them once. Got about half a mouthful before declining any others and silently judging you for putting the rest down

Actually buys what she set out to buy so trip is a win

Takes you out for dinner afterwards

Julian Devorak

Let's be real he frequents there for the little jars and vases to put his leeches in

But he's developed such an attachment to all the furniture items he owns that he feels guilty about replacing them

His mattress has a perfect Julian-sized crater in it and that's how he likes it

Don't get him started on his desk chair

"I've had some of my best ideas in this chair, it's bad luck to buy another!"

You practically have to drag him into the store but once you're there he's fine

He does try to distract you from buying what you set out to purchase though

"MC, doesn't that desk look perfect for bending-"

You stomp on his foot and he gets the message

Has already put 3 bags of coffee in your cart before even getting to the mattresses

Not trying to distract you at all or anything

Absolutely picks up no less than 30 more jars because "You never know when you'll need them"

But eventually the time comes for you to look at the mattresses and for someone who'd rather swallow leeches than get a new mattress Julian really seems to be enjoying himself

He flops down on every display with his cape all spread out looking like an extra blanket

"MC, what do you think about this one? It's supposed to have cooling technology."

But this man has been tired for the past 20 years

Falls asleep on one of the mattresses but no one says anything because he looks like he needed it

You finish looking around at what you wanted to see and come back to him in the same position

You wake him up and let him know you're buying the mattress and there's nothing he can do about it

Maybe you're right sometimes, not that he'll admit it

Portia Devorak

Goes for the kitchenware, stays for the cat furniture

Half the cart is just things for Pepi

The other half are probably gifts tbh

She just sees things that remind her of you, or Julian, or Nadia, and wants you to have them

Gives the BEST, most thoughtful gifts by the way. From an IKEA. Don't know how she does it she just does.

When you go with her she tries to send you away to hide that and asks you to pick up something from the other side of the store

You get lost on your way to get it

But you know if you just hang out in the kitchen section she'll be back within the hour so you just wait it out

Sits on almost every chair to try it out

You legitimately feel the burn from getting up and down out of chairs after a while

"That one's nice, but you've got to check this one out MC" x 100

Some staff know her by name

It's actually kind of sweet because they bring her samples of food while she's shopping but not in a selling tactic way

Loves the food court

The sweets are her favorite

Anything chocolate is her favorite but the desserts have a special place in her heart

Brings home some of the fish for Pepi even though he's probably not supposed to have it

Spends the rest of the night arranging the things she bought in her home

Asks you to stay to do it all

You would've done it anyway

Muriel of the Kokhuri

Does NOT want to be there

Does NOT want you to be there

Would rather be almost anywhere else

Goes with you every time you ask

Mostly just follows you around the store while you're doing what you need to do

Will provide feedback if you ask but honestly mostly just likes watching you enjoy yourself finding new items to put around the house

Actually stops when you walk past the plant section

"Do you want to look at anything Muriel?"

"It's not important, I was just looking."

"It doesn't have to be important if you like it."

He just sighs and tries to walk away but you grab his hand and pull him to the plants

Knows the plant names without having to read the label

Walks away with at least 2 houseplants because you saw how he smiled when he looked at them

Thinks he's going to be too big for all of the chairs :(

You pass by a HUGE fluffy chair and sit in it

"There's enough room for both of us, come on!"

He loves the chair

He loves you

Likes that the store is so big that he can pretty much still stay away from everyone as much as he wants

He still wants to leave as soon as possible though

Lucio Morgasson

Claims to have the best way to navigate the store without getting lost or getting distracted by "extras"

Has actually been banned from no less than two (2) Ikea stores

Is also fond of the five finger discount

Spends most of his time in the stores he's not banned at in the food court

"It's better than most of the restaurants in the city you know"

If he sees you looking at something he's already trying to buy it for you

You try and tell him you just wanted a closer look but it's no use

"You should've seen how your face lit up, just let me get it for you"

You have to spend no less than 15 minutes trying to convince him that you honestly don't want it

He just wants to make you happy

Finds it hilarious that Ikea sets up a bathroom display in the middle of the store for some reason

Always jokes that he's going to head to the restroom just to stand near one of the display toilets

You still laugh every time because of the look on his face

Has tried to haggle with cashiers before

"Sir this is an Ikea, the prices are fixed"

Has tried to invoke the "Count's Discount"

"What do you mean you don't have that, it's in the name: dis-COUNT"

Asks to speak with the manager

[writernopal]

2024 Recap Tag!

I got tagged by @void-botanist here, for this one, thank you so much! I thought about doing a formal round up for 2024 but I just didn't get around to it so this is a good chance to do a mini one!

2024 Accomplishments

I finished the first draft of AASOAF 3 and got through editing 60% of it!

I put together the super secret companion material for the release of AASOAF 3. That was lots of fun and pushed me out of my creative comfort zone A LOT. I learned a lot from that project and I can't wait to share it with you guys later this year!

Not really writing related, but I read 26 books!

This one is kind of hard to quantify but I grew so much creatively. My writing got WAY better but also my mindset and approach to writing and specifically my understanding of what Art is and how it relates to people, grew so much. I could go on about it but I'm not sure how much sense it would make and that's not really what this post is about, so to sum it up, it was like finding some kind of long sought inner peace and freedom.

I started untangling a lot of things that I think are going to play a huge role in my life this year, creatively speaking. All of that is going to be a really long (and probably very painful lol) process but I feel like I'm getting closer to understanding what I'm supposed to Do.

I set up my own writing server in a little home lab I created so now all of my writing related stuff is in one place and I'm not paying someone else to store (and do who knows what else) with my data.

2025 Writing Goals

Finish AASOAF 3 and M.O.W. They were my goals from last year but I didn't quite get there due to health issues. But it will happen this year! I'm also not intending on starting any other WIPs this year once I finish them because, well, just keep reading and you'll understand why lol.

Migrate AASOAF 3 to my new writing server setup. This won't happen until I'm done with it because everything related to it is stored in Dabble and moving it now while its in progress would be the equivalent of trying to pick up a puzzle without gluing it down and I don't want to risk losing anything along the way.

I plan on overhauling my website. It's in need of some freshening up even though its pretty new still just because I want to do more with it later on, like hosting my own works there, instead of just linking out to other places for people to read.

Open up writing commissions. I made a post about this earlier in 2024 just to see if people would be interested and it got some pretty good traction so I've been working on commission pricing and TOS in the background of things. Hopefully I will be opening those up soon! (even though I'm terrified to do it lol)

Hone my craft. Until now I've been sort of flying by the seat of my pants, and I'm very proud of that, because there is a lot I instinctively know about storytelling and writing, but I think I'm at a point now where I can feel where my limitations are so I need to take a few steps back and do some formal learning. I'm hoping to join some writing critique groups, read books on writing, and also attend educational panels and talks.

Related to writing commissions and what I mentioned before about learning what I need to Do is freelancing. I haven't talked a ton about it here because I just haven't but it's been something I've been chipping away at and hope to start doing later this year. There are a few small seeds I need to plant first, one of which I started on earlier today so we'll see how it goes!

Get involved with/do more interdisciplinary art projects. I have a few in mind that I'll be collabing with @illjustpretend on and one really big one that I know we're not going to get done this year but that we will no doubt make headway on!

Tagging(gently): @tabswrites @paintedbutton @theroseempress @leahnardo-da-veggie @sarahlizziewrites and anyone else who wants to do this!

[thesoftboiledegg]

The "nerdy" store at the bigger mall never has Rick and Morty merchandise--I found a DVD there once, but that's it--and yesterday was no exception. I did find a cardboard cutout of Sersi, my favorite Eternal:

Am I the only one who liked Eternals? I think Marvel just marketed it badly.

I usually don't have much luck at Hot Topic, either. They sell bags of tiny figurines from other shows, and I always wondered why Rick and Morty didn't get in on that. Turns out, Adult Swim finally discovered that market!

When I first saw the characters on the back, I thought "Oh, cool, we're finally catching up to season five." Then I found a surprise: Crow Witch Rick!!

I wanted that little guy so badly, but the figurines are packaged so that you don't know what you get until you open one. I thought "He has a pointy hat, so maybe I'll be able to feel that inside the bag." I've heard of people using a similar method to find rare hockey cards.

But nope...no luck. Maybe I'll be able to find an opened one on eBay.

Also, it's funny how they're making "Rickdependence Spray" merchandise like that isn't the worst episode in the series. Admittedly, I did laugh at Morty's "dirty little doggy" line. But it wasn't worth it!

Hopefully, this means that more Crow Witch Rick merchandise is on the way because I would buy all of it.

Hot Topic also had another underutilized character: Philip J. Fry.

Futurama is weirdly under-marketed. The series has enough of a cult following that it seems like a cash cow, but merchandise is rare. I've always thought that Futurama is strangely underrated in general even though it's aired on two major networks and has one of the most famous cartoonists in the world behind it.

On to Spencer's. They didn't have Pickle Rick OR the Rick and Morty cube. Pathetic! But they did have a new wallet that looked like an old TV set, which is pretty clever.

GIF of the changing image:

Today, it was time for a trip to the other mall. As always, I gave Box Lunch a little tip. Someone else requested the "will to live!" I don't think the mall can help them with that one.

In the food court, I spotted a man wearing a Rick and Morty shirt. I said "Hey, your shirt is awesome! Can I get a picture?" He said "Yeah, sure." When I asked him where he got it, he said "Burlington."

So Burlington sells demonic Rick and Morty merchandise now? That's news to me.

The pile of Rick and Morty Funko Pops greeted me at one of the "nerdy" stores, but they're still slowly thinning out. I guess nobody wants the huge Snowball.

Similarly, I posted about this poor Froopyland Beth months ago, and she's still here. Nobody wants her!

And to make matters worse, there's an identical Froopyland Beth in a different part of the store who's lived there for months, too. They even lowered the price!

The store also has two identical King of Shit Rick Funko Pops, each with a different location and price.

Don't want either of those? You can buy Rick in his ship if you're willing to reach to the top shelf.

Look at him go!

THIS Spencer's location didn't let me down. Pickle Rick and the Rick and Morty cube were squeezed onto a shelf, albeit with a bat blocking the view.

They also had a couple of new shirts. I love the vibrant colors.

And a handful of comics in a different "nerdy" store.

No comics for me, thanks. Not unless they release a Crow Witch Rick one--and how has that not happened yet? Seems like an obvious way to expand on plotlines from the series.

Anyway, it'll probably never happen, but my dream is to get a Crow Rick figurine in this style. Maybe I'll hire someone to design and 3D print one.