#i have one that’s overall pretty good BUT it can’t fit my lunch box

[neixins]

why is finding a good bag literally an impossible fucking task

[alpacaparkaseok]

Could you repeat the question?

pairing: Taehyung x reader, oc x Yeonjun (TXT)

premise: a joint interview with your group, BTS, and TXT two months after you met your soulmate.

word count: 2k

[2/2] continuation of Can’t Keep My Hands To Myself

requested by anon - a picture of your request will be at the bottom of the post! 

------------------------------------------

“Please don’t tell them.”

“Me? Why would I say anything?”

“You...you have that look.”

Yeonjun whirls around to face Taehyung, who just entered the room. “Do I have a look?”

Taehyung winks at you in greeting, something that nearly makes you swoon and your group members snicker. 

“A look?” He frowns for a moment before giving his dongsaeng a pitiful smile. “Oh yeah, you do. Definitely.” Taehyung smiles at Jiwoo, my band member who is busy sending death glares at her soulmate. “He’s gonna spill it.”

Yeonjun jumps up from his seat at the same time Taehyung settles down beside you, placing his arm on the back of the couch and brushing your hair off to the side. It’s enough to make goosebumps rise on your skin, which of course he notices. 

Oh, how you’d like to wipe that knowing little smirk off his face right now. 

“I can’t believe this! I’m not going to say a thing-”

“Yeonjun, and I’m saying this with love, if you say a single thing about it, I will personally unplug your refrigerator when you least expect it.”

Your attention is pulled away when you feel Taehyung leaning in to whisper something in your ear. “So, do we know what they’re arguing about?”

You can’t help but giggle. “Nope. Jiwoo won’t say anything.”

“Neither will Yeonjun.”

The smitten couple have been teasingly arguing for the entirety of the morning, leaving the rest of us in complete and utter confusion. 

Oh well, I suppose it’ll help make the broadcast a bit more exciting. 

It’s been two months since Jiwoo and I first *ahem* teleported to our soulmates at the MAMA awards. Or rather, since I landed in Taehyung’s lap and Jiwoo was nearly knocked unconscious when Yeonjun was thrown into her at full force. Of course, Jiwoo claims that it was horribly embarrassing, to which I’m always quick to say that she should feel lucky that at least she didn’t end up in a grown man’s lap. For all to see, no less. 

Ari, our other group member, just rolls her eyes and tells us that beggars can’t be choosers. 

Yeah, whatever that means. 

The past two months have been busy, with hardly enough time to spend with my soulmate. Between the busy schedules and BTS and TXT and our own schedule, we’ve had to settle for late-night FaceTimes and the occasional lunch at the Bighit building. I’ve become really good at sneaking in and out of that building in broad daylight - so far I have yet to be discovered. 

Today, however, is an important one. It’s our first official schedule together as soulmates. Naturally, all three groups have come together for the interview/variety show. 

“Alright, time to head on!” A manager shouts into the room, and suddenly there’s a flurry of movement as we all head toward the door. “I need all the soulmates to stick to their own groups, ok? We don’t want to be causing a riot today.”

Right. With a gloomy expression, Taehyung parts from me to head back to his members. Jiwoo and I glue ourselves to Ari’s side, much to her chagrin. “Ready?”

Both you and Jiwoo respond simultaneously. “Nope.”

Ari just sighs, feigning annoyance. Together, the three of you await your cue as one by one, your groups are introduced. 

TXT goes first, the hosts making a big deal out of swooning over Soobin who now has a cult of his own due to his MC abilities. They make a show of handing the microphone over to him, begging him to take it over from there. He politely declines, while the rest of the boys bicker and chat in the background. 

Then your group is called out, and you find yourself walking out before a huge crowd. You didn’t realize that many people could fit in this building, but here they are. And all of them are here for the same reason: to get a look at the soulmate couples that have newly formed. 

And that have been trending on Twitter and Tumblr for two solid months, breaking all kinds of records. 

As BTS is introduced with an almost reverent tone, you understand why you’ve been trending for so long.

It has a lot to do with one of the men walking out right now, smiling at the crowd and waving, graciously bowing his way across the stage. 

Taehyung wears a gray casual suit which has him looking like he just stepped off a photoshoot. Hair perfectly styled and eyes glowing with adoration for the fans that roar and wave, he commands the entire room with a single raise of his eyebrows. 

Your soulmate, ladies and gentlemen. 

Today is the day where you prove to the rest of the world how much of a perfect match you are for this man. The notion is terrifying. 

“Wow!” The host, a jovial man named Donghyun shouts out, exaggerating how amazed he is by the crowd’s reaction to all three groups sharing the same stage. Indeed, it’s a rare sight. “Ok! Should we get started?”

After a few minutes of more introductions, a few cursory questions (he asks Yeonjun what he’s been up to recently and you’re pretty sure Jiwoo manages to telepathically threaten him, because he chooses the most vague answer imaginable), and instructions on how to begin the next activities, you’re off to the races. 

Painting races, that it. 

Donning a frock and eyeing the empty canvas before you, you glare at your opponent across the way. Taehyung, to his credit, refrains from winking at you. He thinks you’re adorable when you’re flustered, but now’s not the time. 

“Taehyung-ssi!”

Taehyung blinks up at Donghyun. “Yes?”

“Are you going to let your soulmate win?”

The game is simple: paint the listed object with as much detail as possible in a sixty second period. The others will have to guess what it is. 

Taehyung pouts his lips a bit, glancing over at you with a glint in his eye. “I’ll have to see, I think.”

Donghyun chuckles into the mic, turning to face you. “What about you? If Taehyung-ssi falls behind, will you help him win?”

You wiggle your eyebrows at your soulmate, heart soaring when he delivers a boxy grin. “Oh, of course not. I came to compete, not hold hands.”

The crowd bursts out laughing, and someone yells out, “I’ll hold his hand for you!”

You all dissolve into a fit of laughter at that, your cheeks blushing madly. “Yeah, thanks for the offer,” you say between giggles. Readying your paint brush, you wait for the signal. 

You’ve been given the word ‘Iceland’, which you figure shouldn’t be too hard. 

What you failed to account for was the fact that you’re perhaps the worst painter you know. What should look like a globe looks like a basketball and what should be a cube of ice instead looks like nothing more than a cardboard box. 

In the end, you’re pretty sure you laugh more than you paint. Your team members, consisting of a mix from both teams, look utterly confused at the end product. Eventually it’s Jin - who happens to be on Taehyung’s team - that accidentally calls out the answer. 

The rest of the games pass by in a blur of laughter and covert glances toward Taehyung. He always manages to find a way to make you laugh, even though he remains on the other side of the stage for the most part. You don’t miss all of the fans that look at him dreamily, and you can only hope that they’re happy with your overall performance today. 

At the end, you all squeeze onto a couple of couches. Donghyun makes a fuss over allowing the soulmates to sit together, and you can’t hide your smile as a beet-red Yeonjun sidles down to the couch to sit beside Jiwoo, placing his hands in his lap and trying not to do anything that will go viral. 

Taehyung sits on your right, crossing his arms in a way that pulls on his suit jacket enough to expose the outline of his biceps. You catch your eyes wandering, snapping your attention back to the front where Donghyun reads some questions off of a card. 

“I believe that this was the first time soulmates have met while performing at MAMA, is that correct? What were your first thoughts when you suddenly found yourselves face to face with your soulmate?”

The four of you that now have all the attention riding on your shoulders look to each other for help. Finally, with a racing heart, you answer first.

“I think the obvious answer is that I was shocked,” you smile as knowing chuckles ripple through the room. “But I was also really grateful, because Taehyung was so kind and understanding. The staff were very professional and helped us quickly. Overall, I really can’t imagine it having happened in any other way.”

There’s a few ooh’s and aww’s that greet your ears, but you look down at your lap as you blush. Taehyung slightly nudges your knee with his own, and in that simple movement you feel the comfort that he’s trying to give you. 

“I’d actually been talking to Jiminie earlier about soulmates,” Taehyung pipes up. 

“Oh, yeah! That’s right!” Jimin says, giving his friend a slap on the shoulder. “What are the odds?”

Taehyung flashes a shy smile. “I told him that I felt like I was ready. It can be strangely lonely sometimes, and there are times when I just felt like I was missing something. Now, all I have to do is pick up my phone and my missing piece is on the other side, ready to talk with me.”

Now people are really swooning, you included. You dare to peek over at your soulmate, heart nearly melting when you see that his shy smile is paired with pink cheeks. You wish that you could snuggle up to him right now, but that would definitely not end well. Instead, you lightly nudge his knee with your own, returning the little slice of comfort he provided you earlier. 

“And you two?” Dongyun asks after wiping fake tears away from his eyes. 

Yeonjun chews on his bottom lip, Jiwoo too lost in thought to notice that he has that look again. 

“I, er...” Yeonjun begins, squirming a little in his seat. “I was...really happy.”

Donghyun urges Yeonjun to continue. “Of course you were! What about finding Jiwoo made you so happy?”

Jiwoo looks up in horror, but it’s too late. Yeonjun has already opened his mouth and begun to speak. 

“I was so happy because the first thing she said to me was that she thought I was so hot.”

Radio silence. 

And then-

“Oh-ho!! Yeonjunnie you’re so dead!” Hueningkai laughs, and soon everyone follows suit. Even Donghyun has to throw his hand over his mouth to keep himself from snorting with laughter. 

Jiwoo looks at Yeonjun, who completely avoids her gaze as he stares unblinking at the floor. Then, quietly enough for nobody to hear except for you who sits beside her, she whispers, “Say goodbye to all the perishable items in your fridge.”

In the chaos that ensues, Taehyung discreetly traces circles against your arm and mumbles, “Why didn’t you say that to me when we first met?”

You smack his shoulder. “I should be asking you the same thing!”

Just before everything calms down again, Taehyung leans over to grab the abandoned canvas on the ground. Taking the still-wet paint and dipping his finger into it, he draws something out on it. Nudging you to get your attention, he flashes the canvas for you to see, hiding it from the cameras. 

It’s hard to keep a neutral expression as you see his handiwork. It’s just six words, but they’re enough to have your entire face flushed a moment later. 

I think you’re hotter than Yeonjun ;)

Stifling a laugh, you roll your eyes. “I hope you know I’m keeping that,” you mumble. Taehyung grins.

“Great. We’ll get it framed.”

A few days later, you do. It hangs in the front room of your apartment, for all to see. And for Jiwoo to loathe, as it serves as a constant reminder of her embarrassing first words to her soulmate.

Oh well. In the words of Ari, “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

masterlist

[jadedxrealityw]

-Amortentia- Blaise Zabini x Female Reader

   ☼-☪-☼

   Kody: BLAISEEEEEEE DADDY- im sorry. yeah yeah i’m changing the canonical storyline- cry about it. I’m also fully aware  Amortentia does not work like this lmao. 

   Request: you can make the summary short and less revealing for more fun hehe. Also it's totally up to you, dear! Only if you feel comfortable with it and no pressure! I hope you had a great weekend and drink more water ily <3 - 💐

   House: Hufflepuff

   Possible Triggers / Warnings: Slight slut shaming in the beginning, Draco being a little shit, 

   ☼-☪-☼

   you had been alone most of your life with your parents being on constant business trips from the ministry that would last for months on end. You were practically raised by your nanny, but she couldn’t teach you everything. You became socially awkward.

   you never had any friends back at home which meant you had no experience  communicating with people your age. You were walking awkwardness basically. It came at no surprise when you were sorted into Hufflepuff, even though both your parents were Slytherins- they weren’t disappointed in you though.

   you had just managed to scramble by through your first four years of school. Four long years without any friends, but you didn’t mind. You could get by just by yourself. You were a strong independent woman and knew how to get yourself out of sticky situations. 

   unless it was stuck up Hufflepuff’s- then you were screwed 

   one fine day in your fourth year you were heading to the quidditch field so you could go watch the game. Slytherin against Hufflepuff. They were both tied at two wins against each other so you were eager to see who would win. You wore a brown buttoned sweater with a nice pear of tan overalls. 

   the fallen leaves under your foot made a satisfying crack noise as you walked along the field. The cheers and other various sounds of students were definitely drawing nearer. You popped another flavour bean into your mouth when a harsh push came to your shoulder, causing the box of flavour beans to fall.

   you watched as they spilled out onto the grass with a look of solemn in your eyes “Dang- that was my last box” you mumble before a couple of snickers were heard in front of you. You look up to see three students wearing their regular Hufflepuff robes with there own casual clothes underneath.

   “Drop something?” one asked. A girl with light brown bobbed hair and green eyes spoke. You nod once “Uh yeah, just my flavour beans. I- uh i can just buy new ones” you spoke, already starting to clam up “Your a hufflepuff aren’t you? Why aren’t you wearing yellow?” the girl asked somewhat accusingly. 

   alert alert. Confrontation detected. Activate escape protocol 17B

   you didn’t answer and went to walk past them when another one of the three, a blond boy with blue eyes pushed you back to where you were standing. Shit. You fold your arms over your chest, looking at the ground “Your one of those Slytherin groupies are you, a house traitor?” the brown haired girl accused. 

   you opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out. This made the two Hufflepuffs more annoyed “What? Cant speak? Let me guess, your like those Draco fangirls. Sweetie. Your def not pretty enough for him” she adds, making the boy aside her laugh. 

   did she just say def? Have you ever even talked to Draco Malfoy? Not the time to be thinking about that. “I uh-” before you could speak anymore the girl held up her hand “Don’t even try to defend yourself, Slut” you went wide eyed. No one has ever been so nasty to you.

   “I’ve never seen two Hufflepuffs go at one of their own, before” a girls laugh came from behind you. She had black shoulder length hair and bangs with brown eyes. Pansy Parkinson. In front of her was two boys dressed in Slytherin Quidditch uniforms. 

   You quickly identify the platinum blond boy with pale skin as Draco Malfoy. The hair was always a dead give away and the other boy was slightly taller then him with dark skin. He was very handsome for a boy your age. What was his name again? Oh! Blaise- Blaise Zabini. 

   “For Hufflepuff’s you two are quite nasty” Draco spoke, a grin playing on his lips. The boy Hufflepuff rolled his eyes “Yeah whatever Malfoy, what’re you going to do. Tell your father?” that struck a nerve in the young Malfoy as he went to lunge at them until Blaise put a arm out, blocking Draco.

   “Now, Now. Let’s not get physical. You see, me and my fellow housemates overheard your very deplorable conversation with this what seems like sweet girl. Honestly, how can you bully someone who can’t even get a word in?” Blaise spoke in such a proper way that you almost couldn’t tell he was insulting them.

   the girl and boy were silent as he spoke for a while until the girl spoke up once more “Oh so she’s one of your play things, Zabini?” she questions with a smug look. Blaise’s neutral expression switched into a disgusted one “I don’t have play things. I actually have respect for other woman”

   Blaise didn’t let them get another word in before he stepped in front of you “Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you did they?” he asked, using his hand to lift your chin and inspect your face. Touching- “No” you say in a meek voice. He nods once with a small smile “Good, now let’s go”

   you tilt your head sto side. Go? “Um- go where?” you ask. Blaise gestures towards the quidditch field “The game of course. Me and Malfoy here have to get ready and you and Pansy will meet Theo in the Slytherin bleachers to watch the game of course.” as he spoke, Pansy skipped to your side, linking arms.

   “Yeah! We can watch them make fools of themselves. Now lets go new friend!” Pansy said excitedly before practically dragged you towards the bleachers, leaving Draco and Blaise alone. The young Malfoy turned towards Blaise with a puzzled look “Since when did you involve yourself with Hufflepuffs?”

   Blaise rolled his eyes before walking off, not answering his housemate

    ☼-☪-☼

   7th year

   after that day you became part of Blaise’s friend group. He’d talk to you as much as he talked to Theo, Pans, or Draco. Ask you how your day was, invite you to sit with him at lunch and even sneak you into the Slytherin house at times. 

   some people found it strange. A slytherin spending so much time with a Hufflepuff, but as stated Blaise didn’t care much of opinions hat didn’t come from his friends, but all his friends adored you. Case closed. It was around the end of sixth year is when your feelings changed from platonic to romantic.

   you no longer saw him as your best friend that saved you from a bunch of nasty Hufflepuff’s all those years ago. You now saw him as someone you wanted to be with, all the time. To hold his hand, have him hold you, for him to just call you his. You fell hard. 

   but there was this fear, this fear that it would ruin everything you had with him. It was too great a risk, so like any normal person. You kept quiet as mouse and refused to let anyone know your feelings. Except for Pansy of course, but she found out on her own. Then told Draco, who told Theo.

   everyone knew except Blaise actually

   it was lunch and the Slytherins were waiting for you to arrive, Draco cleared his throat, getting the attention of the rest of them “I have a terribly good idea” he says, making Blaise look at him curiously “And that is?” he asked, leaning in to here what his housemate had to say. 

   Draco reaches into robe and pulls out a pink heart shaped bottle. “What in the hell? Why do you have a love potion?” Pansy asked with a amused chuckle. “Well- Y/n confessed to me that she had a crush on someone, but was too afraid to tell them. So i’m going to slip this into her drink to move her along”

   Pansy and Theo both look at each other knowingly. They know full well that little ferret was lying. Y/n told Pansy first. What was he playing at? “That is so wrong on so many levels, Malfoy” Blaise spoke up first, looking at him in distaste. 

   “Hey! She told me that she wished she was more confident so she could tell this person there feelings. I’m being a good friend!” Draco retorted, another lie. Blaise face drops a little “Who even is this person she’s confessing to. It better not be some low life Gryffindor” Blaise grumbles.

   Pansy’s eyebrow wiggles “Is that jealousy i here, Zabini?” she teases. Blaise rolls his eyes before looking back at his plate “Y/n can like whoever she want’s” he grumbles. “Really? ‘Cause your stabbing your steak” Pansy asked, leaning over across the table. 

   Blaise was indeed repeating jabbing at his food with his fork “I will use the slug-vomiting charm on you” he spoke, gritting his teeth. Pansy just smiled innocently “Cursing Pan’s i see” a voice came from behind him. Blaise turned his head around to see you, holding a textbook “Sorry i was late, got caught up”

   you take a seat next to Blaise, seeing a full plate and water put out for you “Thanks for saving me some food?” you say with a small smile. “I did actually, because i’m your favorite” Draco gives you a sweet smile, one that you laugh nervously at “Uh- sure?” you reply. 

       ☼-☪-☼

   once finished your food, you reached for the cup of water and took a sip. As you go and place it down you notice that they were all staring at you? “What?” you ask and Theo gives you a smile “Feel any different?” he asked. You purse your lips together and slowly shake your head “No, i feel alright”

   Draco huffs and places his head in his hand. You look over at Blaise who had went back to eating his food. You notice something on the corner of his mouth and grab the napkin on your table. Reaching up you wipe away the food on the corner of his mouth. 

   Blaise flinches and grabs your hand “What’re you doing?” he asked, gazing down at you. You snicker a bit at his reaction and gently tug your arm out of his grip “You had something on your mouth, didn’t want it to mess up your handsome face” you reply.

   Pansy chokes on her water, which turns into a coughing fit. Blaise stared at you blankly, just blinking mindlessly while Draco punched the air. 

    ☼-☪-☼

   now, mind you. A typical love potion last up to 24 hours, but Draco being the idiot he was accidently poured half the bottle into your drink. So it was safe to say it was going to last more than a day. “Your a bloody fool, Malfoy!” Blaise exclaims. 

   “I didn’t mean to pour half of it! Someone bumped into me!” Draco retorts while both Theo and Pansy eat a box of flavour beans they were sharing, just casually watching the chaos unfold. “That my be true, but you still served it to her! You took advantage of her vulnerability!” Blaise shouts back.

   Draco’s face fell, yeah could be a little prick sometimes, but he also cared about you deeply. He couldn’t tell Blaise he was your crush, but he could try to make it right. “I’ll make the antidote, but it will be a couple days” Blaise nods “Sorry for shouting” he says. Draco nods once before leaving the hallway.

   “Hey guys” jeez- you just snuck up on people. Blaise steps towards you “Shouldn’t you be heading to charms class?” he asked, crossing his arms “What? Do you have her schedule memorized?” Pansy questions with a small laugh. 

   Blaise exhales deeply “I have a copy of it actually. Anyway-” he says and turns his attention back to you. “What do you need?” he asks, his tone changing to a more calm one. “Can you walk me to class?” you ask. Blaise raises a brow “Why?” he asked, not that he would have a problem.

   “I want to spend more time with you” you spoke very nonchalantly. You almost wondered how you even spoke those words yourself. Blaise looks stunned for a moment, before a smile made a way to his face. This was just the potion talking, you were spewing nonsense he thought   “As do i? Let’s get going shall we”

   you smile brightly and grab his a=hand, interlocking your fingers. Blaise gives you a small nod before covering his mouth with his hands. Both Pansy and Theo watch them walk away “5 galleons Blaise confesses to Y/n by the end of this whole ordeal” Pansy points, chewing on a flavour bean. 

   Theo watched along her and nods “Your on, 10 galleons they both end up being friends again”

    ☼-☪-☼

   it has been TWO days and Draco still hasn’t made the antidote. He claimed it was because he had to gather all the supplies without Snape around, which was probably true. Blaise had started to kind of- sort of- maybe- like the attention you were giving him. 

   oh yeah- surprise! Blaise had had a crush on you even longer then you did, he just knew how to keep his composure around you. It was easy for him, but it didn’t make him any less terrified of what would happen if those feelings were revealed. 

   currently, you were both sitting in the courtyard, studying on a bench, your choice. “I think that’s enough for the day. I’m surprised you asked me for my help. You usually never ask me for any academic advice” Blaise spoke, knowing full well why she asked him. The love potion. 

   you look up at him, closing the textbook in your hands “Well, you and Draco are the smartest people i know, but i prefer your company more” you smile lightly as you begin to cram the textbook into your bag. Blaise feels his heartbeat pick up once again. 

   It’s just the love potion. It’s just the love potion. It’s just the love potion. Think rationally Zabini! “I’m glad to hear that” he nods once. You both stand up from the bench and the curiosity gets the better of him. “So, what people have you’ve been talking too the past couple days?”

   he wanted to know if you had actually been talking to your crush. So he could murder them talk to them man to man/woman. You shrug your shoulders “Just you guys, who else would i be talking to?” you spoke “Oh! i have an exam to take in potions! i’ll see you at dinner!”

   you spoke with haste before leaning up to kiss his cheek “Bye Blaise!” and with that you ran off towards the entrance. Blaise held up his hand for a moment before exhaling “She’s- been only- talking to us? Who the hell is her crush then?” he thought aloud before picking up his things and walking away.

   both Pansy and Theo pop up from behind the bushes “For a genius student, he sure is a idiot” Pansy spoke, eating the last bit of her cauldron cake. Theo nods “I thought Draco would be done with the antidote already?” he says. Pansy grinned evilly.

    “Yeah...he should, but i keep hiding the ingredients. Blaise needs more time to realize she’s into him” she spoke, wiping her mouth off. Theo gasps and wacks her shoulder “That’s cheating! and you ate my last cauldron cake!” he sighs, crossing his arms. 

    “Yeah? Cry about it Nott”  

    ☼-☪-☼

   “It’s done!” a loud shout came from the dorm hallways of the Slytherin house towards the common room. Draco came running towards them, panting like a dog. “What’s done?” Pansy asked, sitting next to Theo eating a bowl of popcorn. No- they don’t know where she got it either. 

   “The antidote for Y/n’s love potion. It took so long because i kept misplacing everything. All we need to do is sneak it into her drink at dinner tonight” he explains. Blaise shot up from the loveseat he was sat on reading a book and snatched the vile from Draco. “Hey! What the hell?!”

   “I’m not lying to Y/n anymore then i have to. I’ll catch up with you guys later” Blaise said before walking out the portrait door. “Alright that’s our cue!” Pansy and Theo stood up “What’re you guys doing?” Draco asked with a confused expression on his face. 

   “Spying on Blaise and Y/n to make sure they confess to each other” Theo explains, walking away with Pansy. Draco blinked a couple times before shaking his head “Guys that is such an invasion of there privacy and trust, they are our friends and we should be respectful......i’m coming with you”

   bestie things i guess

    ☼-☪-☼

   Blaise had just made it out the dungeons when he bumped into someone “Watch where your- oh Y/n. Why are you down here?” he asked. You chuckle and push away from him “I was going to see if Pansy wanted to have another sleepover, why are you out here? Dinner hasn’t started yet”

   Blaise thinks of his next words before holding up the vile “I need you to drink this Y/n”

   “What why?”

   “Just do it”

   “But-”

   “If you trust me you will. I would never harm you”

   “...Okay”

   you grab the vile from his hand and pop the cork off. You look at the vile then Blaise who nods once. Exhaling, you pour the strange liquid down your throat, twinging at the unfamiliar taste. You feel almost a swirl around your chest before you look at Blaise again “What was that?”

   Blaise places his hands on your shoulders, your face heating up slightly. Once again you were back being unnerved by this guy, but you didn’t notice “How do you feel about me Y/n?” he asked, making your E/c eyes widen a bit. “I’m sorry- come again?”

   he sighs deeply and looks you in the eye. Ooo eye contact, scary. “the same i did yesterday?” you say vaguely. because who the hell asks that kind of question. Blaise lets go of your shoulders and rubs his face with his his hands. He was frustrated. “Y/n, how do you feel about me?”

   you shrink at his gaze. The first thought that ran through your mind was that Pansy had snitched to him that you were in love with him “I’m so sorry- i didn’t want to tell you because i thought you would think i was weird!” you spurt out, confusing Blaise just a tad more. 

   “What are you talking about!?”

   “Pansy told you about my crush on you didn’t she!?”

   “Your what!?”

   oh if the world could swallow you whole now “Oh merlin- i thought that’s what she told you!” you shout before trying to activate escape protocol 17B again and walk away. Blaise almost thought about letting you leave but you liked him! he was terrified you didn’t! but you do! So, why would he let you leave!?

   he reaches back and grabs your arm, stopping you from walking any further “I get it. You don’t want to be friends anymore” you spoke sadly. Blaise stepped towards you, but you looked down at your feet instead of him “Your right, i don’t want to be friends anymore Y/n”

   you felt your heart shatter. That was until one of his long arms wrapped around your waist and other pointed your chin up to look at him “I want you to be mine and i, yours” he spoke, a slight grin on his lips. Say what now? did Blaise Zabini just confess to you?

   “Oh...”

   “Is that all you have to say to that? I just spilled my heart out to you”

   “What- what should i say?”

   “Yes?...No?”

   “Oh! yes- yes. Definitely yes! ”

   “That’s a relief. I thought i had just made a full of myself”

   “You are no fool Blaise Zabini”

   Blaise gave you a small smile before leaning down. Oh shit. He stops midway, lips centimeters from yours “It is okay if i kiss you, correct?” he asks. We love a consent king. You nod slowly, making his smile grow wide before he presses his lips to yours. 

   “5 galleons you little shit, hand it over!” you both pull apart as three idiots come falling out a nearby broom closet. Pansy spilled her popcorn all over the hallway floor in the process. “Screw you Pansy, you cheated you pig!” Theo snaps back, Pansy hitting the back of his head “I am no pig!” 

   Draco was just lying face first on the floor, hoping no one would notice his presence. “Oh right pug-face!” Theo smirks. Pansy gasps before pulling out her wand “You are dead you queer!” she shouts. Theo pulled out his wand as well “You have a girlfriend, homo!” he shouts. 

   Pansy sputters for a moment “That’s besides the point!” they both circle each other as Draco picks himself off the floor “I shouldn’t have come” he mumbles, dusting off his robes. Both you and Blaise look at each other before bursting into laughter. 

    ☼-☪-☼

   Taglist: @the--queen-of-hell @sonbelleame @dracosathenaeum @pxroxide-prinxcesss 

    ☼-☪-☼

   Kody- I have no words for this other then- what the fuck did i just write? Anyways, peace!

[madswritingvoid]

Afternoon Delight

Pairing: Max Phillips x f!reader

Words: 1.7k

Warnings: 18+ SEE YA MINORS, smut but like soft smut, oral sex (m), masturbation (f), unprotected p in v sex, cockwarming, blood, vampire stuff, Max Phillips is a warning lol

A/N: Yes I 100% think Max would want his name in your phone to be Vamp Daddy and no I will not be taking questions about it at this time. BUT here’s another smut piece about my vampire husband, because I love him.

(Tagging @jettia because apparently she likes pain and wanted to read this if I ended up posting it)

Max Phillips is annoying. Not a joke, or an exaggeration, just a fact. He’s smarmy, sleazy, sneaky, manipulative, seductive, exhausting, and all yours. As much as his “management style” (re: turning everyone into vampires), may seem unethical or out-of-the-box, he really knew how to turn a company around. Surprisingly, when he isn’t being a total frat boy asshole, he’s also a pretty awesome boyfriend. 

Yeah, sometimes you gotta remind him that no Max that isn’t funny or say that again and it’s a stake to the heart and the dick, but overall you know you love him and he loves you. He’d kill for you, literally. So when you hadn’t received your morning “show me your boobs, babe” wake-up text, you knew something was up.

With his cocky attitude and air of self-assurance, you’ve never seen anything really make Max sweat. Not until two nights ago when he said his bosses, the big bag vamps, were coming down for a branch visit today. You glance over at your phone to check the time and saw it was almost lunchtime for you both and decide to shoot him a quick text.

You: I know yours came in today but how’s my big bad vamp doing? xxx

Vamp Daddy🧛🏻‍♂️:   :(((((((((((((

You: Is someone in the need for......

Vamp Daddy🧛🏻‍♂️: yes

You: an afternoon delight?

You: You could have let me finish, but okay.

Grateful you were working from home today, you sent off a final email and decided to take a half day, knowing Max would really need some help to relax. 

You slinked off to your bedroom and changed out of your work-appropriate but very casual matching sweat set to slip into one of Max’s favourite sundresses you have- a deep cranberry with black lace around the bottom and on the chest highlighting your boobs, Max’s favourite, and the length hitting just above your knees made it “easy access” in his words. You keep your natural Zoom meeting makeup on and opt for a quick swipe of your favourite deep red lipstick to match the dress, ready to make Max’s afternoon.

Walking into the familiar office building you can immediately feel the energy is off. Not that it wasn’t always weird, since almost everyone in here was dead, but today it was even worse. Too quiet, too cold. You almost wanted to crack a “jeez, who died?” joke to lighten the mood, but you got the feeling today was not the day and walked right into Max’s office.

“Awww baby, what’s all this?” You coo as you glide over to him. What a sight he is. He’s sitting in his big office chair with his head right on the desk, long arms splayed out in front of him making his big hands hang over the desk’s edge. A total look of defeat. Hearing your voice Max’s head shoots up and immediately you’re hit with a classic Phillips pout, puppy dog eyes in full effect. “Baaaaabe,” he whines while making grabby hands at you until you’re finally within reach. 

Pulling you into his lap, he buries his face in your neck, rubbing his nose up and down the column of your throat as your hands make their way into his hair, massaging his scalp. “Maxie, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” You’re only met with a heavy sigh as he takes his head and burrows between your boobs, “Everything,” he mumbles against your chest. “They loved my presentation, but hated the office,” he grumbles.

“Well, that’s easy to fix, we can go out this weekend and get some new decor to liven up the place,” you grin and start really going to town on his scalp making Max almost purr and lean into your touch more. Before you could offer more support he started shaking his head, motorboating you but you could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

“No babe,” he sulks, finally lifting his head up to meet your eyes again, “they hated everyone in the office. Said Andrew was weird and Dave had an ‘offputting’ quality. He’s dead! Almost all of us are dead! What do they expect? And that’s not even the worst part!!!” He moans, “he hated everyone, but liked Evan?” You actually gasp, no one likes Evan. He’s so mopey and annoying, especially after Max bounced back from Evan almost murdering him, showing up to work the following Monday as if nothing happened. “Oh baby, that doesn’t make any fucking sense, I’m so sorry,” you soothe him as your hands move from his hair and start to make their way down to his belt.

Realizing what you’re doing, Max’s whole mood changes. Smirking, he puts on a much more playful pout, “yeah baby,” he coos, “it’s been real hard. But now that you’re here something else has got real hard too, and I think I know how to fix that.” You slide off his lap and onto the floor quickly, Max lifting you up for a moment to slide his now folded suit jacket under your knees in a surprising moment of kindness. Pressing a kiss to his knee as a thank you, you make quick work of his belt and pants and pull out his hardening cock. As you begin to stroke him slowly you make eye contact and spit right on his dick, making him groan.

“Love you baby, let me make you feel good,” you say before taking the tip of his cock in your mouth, swirling you tongue around him and licking the salty precum that was already leaking from him. As you continue to work more of him into your mouth, you can feel Max absolutely melt into his leather chair and take whatever you give him. “That’s it baby, always so so good, always know what I need,” he praises and you moan around his length, the compliment going straight to your core.

Not being able to take it anymore, you snake the hand not pumping the part of him you can fit in your mouth, you slide your hands underneath your underwear and start circling your clit. You moan around his length again and Max slightly bucks his hips, sending him farther down your throat. “Fuuuuuck yes, sweet cheeks, that’s it,” he can’t stop it now as his hips start a shallow bit steady rhythm as he fucks into your mouth. Letting him take what you need you slide two fingers into your dripping pussy, using the heel of your hand to keep rubbing your clit while you pump your fingers.

The only sounds filling the office are Max’s groans and the wet noise of you fucking yourself on your hand. You can tell Max is close because his pace quickens and you can hear the chair arm rests groan under his tight grip until he gives one final thrust, shooting his load right down your throat. Making sure you don’t waste a drop, you continue softly sucking the tip of him as you start to chase your own high until Max uses his vampire speed and strength to take your hand out of your underwear and move you back into his lap. You whine at the loss of your orgasm and stare with lust filled eyes as Max takes the hand that was just inside you and cleans your fingers of the slick covering them.

“Now sweets, you’ve been so good to me, I figured letting you cum on my cock would be an appropriate thank you,” booping your nose he gives a little tug to rip your panties right off and sink you down on his still hard length. Your eyes roll back and you let out a high pitched moan at the stretch, you were already so wet from earlier he was able to push in with no resistance. “There it is champ,” he chuckles, “here’s your reward.” Putting his hands firmly on your hips he starts to move you up and down on his length, his hips meeting you with each thrust. All you can do is throw your arms around his neck to hold on, chanting his name as he hits that sweet spot over and over.

“Had s-such a bad day baby,” he growls, “but this- this pussy always does the trick,” you clench at the praise causing him to thrust a little harder. Knowing your so close to falling over the edge, you decide to give Max another treat, “B-baby,” you whimper, “f-feels so good. I’m so close, b-bite me,” his hips stutter before his pace resumes again. Grabbing your jaw he makes you meet his eyes and asks, “fuck, I love you, but are you sure? You don’t have to-” he groans as you clench around him again, your walls fluttering as the coil continues to tighten. “Yes! Fuck,” you babble, “I’m gonna come baby please,” you run your fingers through his hair and pull his face into your neck.

Feeling how much you’re gripping his length, Max licks across your pulse point and gives the area a little kiss before sinking his teeth into the soft skin. Once you feel his fangs break through, the coil snaps, and you absolutely gush all over his cock. You continue to moan as Max works you through your high as he continues to drink from you. Tugging on his hair twice to tell him to stop, Max stops thrusting into you and licks over the bite marks, his spit healing them instantly. Kissing your neck again you hear a mumbled, “thank you baby,” as Max wraps his arms around you.

You sit there for what feels like forever, him still seated inside of you while you go back to massaging his scalp. Noticing the time you attempt to get up, “Max! Honey, your lunch break has definitely been over I should go home,” his grip tightens around you as you get hit with puppy dog eyes again. “You could go home,” he agrees, “or you could just stay right here with me inside of you while I finish this report. I’m the boss, I can always leave early for my baby,” he gives your ass a gentle slap causing you to clench around him again. Groaning, he leans down to press a kiss to your temple, “besides I’ll definitely want to have you at least one more time before we go. Why don’t you have a little nap on big ol’ me?” He jokes, but you can’t bring yourself to make a come back, already feeling your lids grow tired from what just happened.

Nuzzling into his neck, you give his skin little kisses, “sounds good baby,” you slur, “sounds real good.”

[amelee23]

Vintage Kiss, Nearly Missed | Park Minhyuk

Pairing: Female reader x Rocky (Park Minhyuk)

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Warnings: None

Length: 2k words

Summary: MJ loves to mess with her by putting her in situations that don't fit her nature. She tried getting used to it, but this time around MJ hit the jackpot when it came to a dare that would change her relationship status with Rocky.

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Becoming friends with the members of Astro was the start of a tireless journey. She couldn't believe how many things came to fruition because of Myungjun's jokes - and considering his wacky mind, it wasn't a normal day if she didn't feel the rush of adrenaline at least 5 times. The stupider it was, the stronger the temptation to make it true; costume parties, comedy skits and competitions of all sorts. Life with them was always exciting, Myungjun made sure of it from the get go - as they were extremely different in nature, he had a knack for turning things in her life around. Although getting used to such fun was pretty heartwarming - it wasn't what suited her best. She came to love the thrill but calmness was her motto. And well, it ended with her getting a 'boyfriend' because of it. 

It happened through the mystery drink challenge - whoever got the most bad ones was to be punished by receiving a ridiculous dare from Myungjun. (As if the drinks weren’t enough of a punishment by themselves.) As much as she prayed to the angels above for her opponent, Moonbin, to be the one to grimace - the oyster taste hit her tongue and she knew she was done for. As for the loser, Myungjun made sure to hit her where it most hurt - he made her become a 'nurturing girlfriend' to one of the members of Astro for 3 days. (Originally it was a two weeks but she fortunately had amazing negotiation skills.) They were all staring at her expectantly so she would choose who she wanted to take care of - but it was as if Myungjun knew that she had taken a liking for a certain someone.

Minhyuk's eyes widened out of their orbits when he was chosen. He was good at cooking, independent and strong, so why feel the need to nurture him? She could have chosen anyone else, like Sanha for example, kid can't cook to save his own life-

He couldn't understand it no matter how much he thought about it - perhaps she chose the lesser evil, or she just wanted to hang out with him. Either way, he couldn't refuse the dare so he was just another one of Myungjun's victims. 

---

She couldn't pretend like she had made lunch boxes before - she really hasn't, and making them for Rocky was extremely embarrassing. The cute sausage octopi failed her, and she gave up without even trying on making anything fancy. She made a heartfelt steak (she could never do wrong with meat when it came to men) with some salad on the side. She also bought some snacks they could enjoy when they're together. The girlfriend act had to be perfect or else she would have to feel Myungjun's wrath. 

Minhyuk was, in one word, impressed. He didn't think she'd go through with the joke, less be hugged the moment he opened the door and given free home-made food. Myungjun made sure to spy properly and evaluate the merch and remind them they need to go on a cute date too.

"Date? That wasn't part of the conditions!" She suddenly snapped completely out of her calm state, her brain going in a frenzy. 

"It is now!" Myungjun rebutted with a laugh. Minhyuk was standing in between them, confusion written all over his face. 

"We can watch a movie?" He suggested, to have an easy getaway from what his hyung suddenly wanted. 

"No 'lets watch a movie and not actually pay attention to each other', yeah? It better be a real date, yeah? And it better be cute!!" Myungjun's tone increased in volume with every following question. 

"Got it, got it, sheesh." Minhyuk once again had to jump in to clear the waters, as things were getting a little too heated. "We'll go on a date… do you know how to roller skate?" 

Caught off guard, with Minhyuk looking straight into her eyes with such intensity, she furrowed her brow and thought back if her parents ever took her out to do such a thing. 

"I don't think so. Just ice skating, I guess."

"Great, then we'll go try it out together." A flash of something unknown to her occupied Minhyuk's eyes for a second. She had no idea what he was thinking - or where the idea even came from. Maybe it was in the attempt to save her from Myungjun, or he simply wanted to go roller skating and had no one to tag along with him.

In a nutshell, Minhyuk didn't understand why he was chosen and she didn't know why he was so willing to take her on a date. The answer was staring both of them straight in the face, but perhaps they had something more in common besides calmness - they were both thick headed. But they had no time to think about that as Myungjun was yelling at them to cuddle on the couch. The 'nurturing' part wasn't even there anymore. Not that the girlfriend part was - MJ was basically making two friends be awkwardly close to each other physically. Even if they had crushes on each other - thing which they both denied - they felt too cramped and forced to enjoy it. 

Evening came by eventually, after about 10 different incidents when they had to dodge each other and pull away as if burned because Myungjun was pulling pranks. But right when they saw the waters had calmed and they could sigh relief, Dongmin proved them wrong. The look on Minhyuk’s face hearing Dongmin ask “So are you guys gonna wear cute matching outfits tomorrow?” was of utter betrayal. Of course Myungjun loved the idea, and the unfair number of conditions to the losers punishment only kept increasing.

“What about those cute overalls you bought with me?” Moonbin suddenly asked her. “Since Minhyukie likes that type of stuff too, maybe you can both dress vintage? It would fit with roller skating, honestly.” she looked at Moonbin as if an Angel just descended on earth to save her. She ought to thank him later.

“That doesn't sound half bad.” Minhyuk commented, but Myungjun didn’t really look satisfied with Moonbin’s solution. Nevertheless, they just shut him up and proceeded with planning ahead some cute vintage outfits. They were excited about it, almost alike kids.

They said their goodbyes when dark came over the streets, and she headed home to put together the outfit that she promised Minhyuk she would wear. A slight palpitation took over her chest and she clenched the clothes close, as if she was a teenager all over again, even if this date wasn’t even real to begin with. Still, she knew she had to catch a blink of sleep if she didn’t want to be a zombie tomorrow, even if the emotions got the best of her with the moon up high.

Minhyuk had no fancy car to pick her up with, and no fancy facial expression either. Their greetings were very friendly and normal - but an unfamiliar awkwardness overtook them as they walked side by side to the skating rink in the city. Minhyuk indeed matched her blue jeans overalls with high waisted baggy blue pants - but he chose to wear a white shirt while she wore pink. They stole glances at each other the whole way -  as if to check if the situation they were in was even real. It very much was, but they only realized it when they had arrived and were getting their skates at the reception - the workers there were very much treating them like a couple. A wave of warmth crept up her face, but also a bit of paranoia; because Myungjun was always there to check on them if they were being lovey dovey, and now he wasn’t even there, but she felt the tingles of romance in her belly. Perhaps it was strictly because he wasn’t there that the feelings felt free to surface.

Minhyuk tried to act all knightley by letting her hold on to him as she stepped into the rink -  but he was the first one to lose balance. Trying to flex his years spent in ballet, he acted as if nothing happened and didn’t even try holding onto the railing like she was - perhaps he was trying to impress her. She, on the other hand, had no thoughts of impressing anyone. Her legs were wobbly and she didn’t seem to get along with being on so many wheels.

They were supposed to have a romantic date but eventually Minhyuk separated from her and she only noticed when she felt him whoosh by her - that he caught onto the trick of roller skating way before her and he was just showing off by that point. Even all of the other couples were staring at him.

“Are you gonna do a triple axel next?” She jokes, but Minhyuk just smiled like a kid in response.

“I’ll even do a quadra.” He boasted, a dimple showing on the right side of his face. Right as she was about to stop him - because she knew from the beginning it was a bad idea -  she saw him start skating faster so he could try and go into a turn. She braced for something that would end up in even a trip to a hospital, but thankfully the speed made him lose control and he just ended up slamming into the side of the rink he was heading towards. Slowly, along the railing, she headed towards him to check if he was okay, and saw he was cursing under his breath and holding his hand tightly.

“Sh*t, I hit my hand on the railing.” He mumbled, and she spotted the red spot he was talking about.

“That’s what you get!” She rebutted. “I don’t know what got into you.”

“I thought you liked people who do crazy weird things?” He asked, a childish curiosity in his eyes. His gaze was a lot more serious, though.

“Me? I like chill and calm, honestly. That’s why Myungjun steps on my tail so often. He can’t stand me being so passive and getting overly sentimental about my plants.” Minhyuk took in her words with pure thirst, a light suddenly coming on in the shine of his eyes.

“You get sentimental over flowers?” He asked, the smile he once wore reappearing on his lips. It was extremely charming, and one of the reasons she found herself often swooning after him. “That’s so cute.” As if the air got knocked out of her lungs, she couldn’t say a thing as Minhyuk approached her silently. She dared look up into his eyes and was met with a happiness that was hard to describe. They would have had the most movie-like romantic kiss, if Minhyuk didn’t once again lose balance on the skates when he leaned in to kiss her. She caught his torso and stabilized him, giggling with her entire heart. Softly grabbing onto his hand, she placed it on the railing next to them so they both be supported, and stole a quick kiss from his lips before dashing away to the exit of the rink.

“Let’s grab some shaved ice on the way home!” She told him from afar. “Both to eat and for your swollen hand.” Minhyuk shook his head but continued to smile, carefully following the railing to catch up to his now girlfriend. It was foolish of him to believe he needed to change anything about himself to be liked back by her. All that became apparent as her soft calming voice filled the ice cream shop they nestled at to enjoy each other’s company - her body was finally relaxed, her gaze filled with love and affection. From now on he knew to stick to his own ways around her, even if they were old fashioned - or he would be missing out.

[starcrossedyanderes]

(Rygel Reboot) Day 5: Three Wise Men

You guys clearly did not like Rygel and so I listened. He has been completely and utterly rebooted but admittedly still has a few of the same personality traits. Other than that, a complete rebrand. His looks are different as well considering I have another OC with white hair now as well. I’ve been waiting for a while and decided there isn’t a better time. 

This piece is heavily inspired on many alien tropes but specifically the cult classic cartoon “Invader Zim” and some inspiration comes from the hit indie game “Among Us”. Also I was inspired by one character that was important in like one episode of “Batman Beyond” if you know, you know.

Also Rygel may or may not have darker skin..

(Please keep in mind Rygel is literally alien. This is not to say anythting about people who skin are of the similar color. I just honestly thought with the character design implements I was changing that darker skin would fit better with his hair color. Also I figured it was about time I brought in some diversity.)

Summer glow ups were a somewhat common thing in high school but main did it make people jealous.

Some of the shortest people in the world leave school 3 months and all of the sudden they’re towering over Lebron James.

It happens.

But you had never seen a case as extreme as Rygel’s.

Rygel was a regular run of the mill student. He was smart you guess. He had a relatively okay voice and seemed to be of Caribbean descent with a slight darker skin tone than most Caucasians.

He got bullied a bit you supposed. He had braces for a tiny bit but pretty much went unnoticed, off the radar.

He was a regular, run of the mill kid. The most interesting thing about him is his name you supposed. It was apparently of Filipino descent based off the internet so your guess was that he was from one of the more island or polynesian based countries.

You knew him okay enough. You would pass by and say hi and that’s pretty much it.

But then Summer was over and he came back.

He used to be of average height but now he’s more so towering of a good bit of people. He seems even taller now that he walks with more confidence and with larger strides.

It seemed with puberty his body has produced more melanin which has caused his skin to darken more along with probably the sun he got over summer vacation.

His voice deepened a bit and had a slight bit more of an accent that somewhat reminded you of British although it didn’t exactly sound like any singular accent.

He seemed to have gained a lot more knowledge and his hair also seemed to grow a good bit along with his body becoming much more lean. His face lost fat and he seems to now have been born naturally with a highlight on his cheekbones.

His eyes that were once a basic brown sort of hazel color have now seemed to liquify into that of gold.

But the weirdest part of all is hair is now a deep purple color instead of the basic brown he had before. 

As you could imagine his popularity intensely spiked along with his grades. 

He also seemed to be a lot more prudish and generally stuck up. He could commonly be seen scoffing as a response. He also just seemed overall much more charming and a lot more sociable than previously which is quite the leap and bound.

You honestly couldn’t care in the least as you just wanted to finish with your last years of high school but some of your acquaintances did not want the same.

Whenever a nobody suddenly becomes a somebody people can become rather jealous and determined to bring a person down or find out the ‘secret’. And some of your acquantinces wanted just that.

The 3 main culprits could simply not believe that a nobody like Rygel over the course of less than 3 months become so different. And their main piece of evidence was his hair.

“He can’t be natural! It is physically impossible for any human to naturally get purple hair!”

You took a break from your sloppy joe.

“Why does it matter?”

Your friend, Mel, gaped like a fish as his mouth constantly kept opening and closing.

“Why does it matter? Why does it matter? Why wouldn’t it matter!? Something isn’t right here (Y/n).”

Mel’s other 2 members in the self dubbed Rygel Conspiracy Club, and friends, Caspar and Bal (it’s a nickname) spoke up as well.

“Look, I was looking over the evidence and some pictures of him during the Summer and notice that throughtout these pictures he just didn’t suddenly have completely purple hair. You can see it starting at the roots and slowly growing a stronger color and slowly spreading downwards! Who dies their roots first? That has to mean his hair is actually growing that color!”

Bal spoke up this time,

“Also there’s rumors about some shady events involving him. Cathy told me she saw a book by him move on its own. But it moved on the table towards him where he nonchalantly picked it up,”

You just gave them the “really” stare.

“There’s plenty of reasons why I guy would dye their roots first. My dad did because he started graying at a really early age. That could be the case for Rygel. Also if he is graying a lot of older women with grey or white hair commonly dye their hair fun colors. He might have been wanting to dye his hair for a while but never wanted to bleach it so he took it in stride. 

Also he might have just made the book slide or asked someone to slide it over to him. You guys are just jealous and need something to complain about cause one of your insane conspiracies got busted.”

You then  got up to dispose of your lunch scraps but held onto your empty little box of milk to wash out in the sink. As you walked back for your bag and headed towards bio you decided to ignore Rygel’s golden eyes watching you.

And I think that’s it for this episode of Dragonball Z. At least enough for the reboot at the latest. Hopefully you will all be inclined to request for him more. Also I haven’t gotten any ideas from you guys from the Christmas Prompts with N/A so when I get to one where I don’t have an idea it will simply be scrapped. Thank you and I hope I did all of you good.

[rivalsforlife]

i'm holding myself back from asking commentary on almost every scene from the catch up game bc i love so much how you wrote phoenix in that fic!! that said, could u do commentary on the last 2 scenes from the first chapter (party + gumshoe), if that's not too long or on parts of it if it's too much?

Sure thing!! The scenes on their own are already over 2000 words so I’ll put them under a keep reading for everyone’s peace of mind.

Alright let’s start then...

The bachelor party was beyond Phoenix’s expectations. He’d been expecting Edgeworth to be much stingier with the spending, considering his general attitude towards Gumshoe’s salary. But he’d agreed to rent the bar out and pay for one drink for everyone, plus transportation home for those who couldn’t do it themselves. Phoenix… was surprised, actually. He’d known for a long time now that Edgeworth appreciated Gumshoe much more than he let anyone know about, but it was still surprising to see in action.

this paragraph brought to you by My AAI2 Feelings, particularly the parts where Gumshoe really does come through in the investigations, so much that Miles actually gives him a salary raise at the end... it did a great job developing their friendship, I loved it a lot.

(Also I headcanon that after aai2 but possibly before that... every “I’m going to cut your salary!!” that Miles says does not actually result in a salary cut. poor gumshoe can barely feed himself as it is. but Miles can’t be, like... Nice about it so he’s just going to pretend. Gumshoe understands. it’s like an inside joke now.)

And honestly figuring out this whole party scene was such a pain. I still feel like it could be better but I’m not sure how? I just had the goal of “get someone to let it slip that Miles is in love with Phoenix” but then there was the issue of a) who knew Miles well enough to know this, and b) who knew Phoenix well enough to talk about it, and c) what circumstances would let them slip up and say it. The answer was Gumshoe because he can’t resist leaking information to the defense... even when it’s information about his boss’s personal life. oops.

Athena dropped by for a movie night, since Pearls was too young to attend. Phoenix wasn’t worried about them; he was sure they wouldn’t get into any more trouble than he and Maya could at the party.

OOF AWKWARD PARAGRAPH this is a remnant from when I shifted a lot of scenes around in this chapter. I thought it would be cute if Athena and Pearl were friends. And I think there was more to this but then it was distracting from the overall topic so I cut it out... resulting in this.

“Pals!” a familiar voice boomed at the entrance to the bar, and Phoenix soon found himself and Maya swept up in a bone-crushing hug. “I’m so glad you both could make it!”

“Gumshoe!” Maya returned the hug enthusiastically. “It’s been forever, man!”

“Sure has!” Gumshoe released them, allowing Phoenix the opportunity to wheeze and clutch at his ribs, while Gumshoe ruffled Maya’s hair. “Been keeping yourself out of trouble?”

“You know it!”

“Uh, I had several sleepless nights last year suggesting otherwise,” said Phoenix.

“Shut it, Nick.” Maya elbowed him, not helping with the situation with his ribs, and beamed.

a little bit of banter that really just serves as a transition thing. most of the party is actually both “transition scene to indicate that the party did, in fact, happen before I get to the important stuff” and “introduce some important character stuff while I have time to fill”. 

and of course these sleepless nights are in reference to pretty much the whole plot of SOJ... 

One last note that I think Gumshoe probably gives great hugs, if you can survive your ribs potentially being crushed in the process. he doesn’t mean anything by it. he’s big and strong and likes hugs so much he forgets how big and strong he is.

... ps I love Gumshoe

“But congrats, Gumshoe! Seems like just last decade Nick and I were wandering around trying to pass your lunches over to Maggey.”

“God, it’s been that long, hasn’t it?” Phoenix reminisced. It was odd, thinking back on cases he took before he was disbarred, before he became a father to a daughter who wasn’t even with him today.

Gumshoe chuckled. “Guess so, pals. You two’ve really been there since the beginning, huh? Maggey and I wouldn’t be here today without you.”

Phoenix smiled. “Aww, Gumshoe…”

“And that’s why I get to be maid of honor, huh?” asked Maya with a sly grin.

“Maid of honor?!” Phoenix looked to Gumshoe, who didn’t object, before rounding back on his best friend. “You didn’t tell me that!”

“You didn’t ask!” Maya sighed. “If it weren’t for me eating Gumshoe’s beloved bento box in front of Maggey, who knows if we’d be here today?”

“I don’t think that was a deciding factor at any point…”

Gumshoe clapped Phoenix on the shoulder. “Sorry, pal. Would’ve made you the best man, but, y’know… Mr. Edgeworth.”

“Yeah, of course, no hard feelings, pal.”

“What’d I tell you about stealing my trademark, huh, pal?” Gumshoe laughed before stepping back into the bar. “C’mon in, you two.”

REALLY just more awkward transition scenes haha. Maya is the maid of honor in this fic mostly because I went to Maggey’s profile page and she was the only woman listed under the “friends” list... and we don’t know much about Maggey’s personal life. plus more “Miles and Gumshoe friendship” agenda pushing in here!

There were more people there than Phoenix was expecting, and many of them he hadn’t met. Edgeworth had mentioned that he would let Gumshoe select the guest list, but he’d kind of expected this to be people the two of them knew. Or, at least, that Phoenix knew — Edgeworth seemed to recognize more, which was rare, and was currently speaking with someone Phoenix vaguely recognized as an Interpol agent he’d worked with on a few cases back when Phoenix would help him out in Europe.

Ema ran up to them and made small talk before she and Maya got caught up in discussion about some show Phoenix had never heard of, so he wandered off to find someone else to talk with.

And there was… no one, really. Gumshoe and Edgeworth were talking with strangers, and Phoenix didn’t want to butt in on that conversation — he thought he saw Larry lurking about but couldn’t find him right now — and anyone else Phoenix recognized he either hadn’t talked to in years or was sure didn’t recognize him.

Phoenix hadn’t realized just how much his disbarment affected him, in these little ways. He looked out over the crowd of people Gumshoe or Edgeworth spoke to and had no idea who they were. It had been eight years out of touch with the rest of the legal world — eight years to fall behind.

It was… oddly lonely. Eventually it was just Phoenix standing there at the bar with a glass of grape juice in his hand. He was beginning to wish he’d ordered some more euphemistic “grape juice” instead.

You know that feeling when you go to a party and your one (1) friend leaves you and then you have no one to talk to and don’t know what to do -- maybe? That’s kind of the thing. slight Lang cameo in there.

ORIGINALLY Ema and Maya were going to talk about Lana and Mia and kind of hint at some Lanamia stuff in there, but then I thought about it and really why would Phoenix pass up an opportunity to gossip about his boss’s past relationships. 

And this also tries to kind of go for one of the general... “themes” of the fic? More of an exploration into Phoenix’s loneliness/how he copes with not having people around him. RFTA and JFA in particular kind of really entrenched that he Does Not Do Well without people to take care of -- which comes up a lot during this fic. And part of getting to explore those issues is essentially me trying to make Phoenix as alone as possible. ... sorry Phoenix! 

Also in here is a lot of “disbarment should have messed up Phoenix more than DD and SOJ would lead you to believe” -- he essentially spent seven years completely disgraced, it’s unlikely he made a lot of notable legal connections, aside from maybe Miles and Miles’ social circle. He probably missed out on a lot.

The last paragraph there is just referencing the “grape juice” thing - I do believe it is literal grape juice and not an alcohol euphemism, and I believe it was also literal grape juice in the original, so that’s what it ends up being.

“Hey, Niiiick…”

… But Phoenix supposed that just when you’re feeling down, the Butz arrives to drag you down further. “Hey there, Larry.”

Larry slumped against the bar beside him with a sigh, a glass of what definitely wasn’t grape juice in his hand. “Y’know Franzy didn’t even show up to this?”

“I’m not surprised. Being whipped half to death during your own bachelor party isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, y’know?” In truth, he knew Franziska couldn’t make it down until just a few days before the wedding because of work — or so Edgeworth had told him — though he couldn’t help but wonder if Gumshoe was grateful for it.

Larry muttered something under his breath that sounded like it might’ve been contradicting Phoenix’s last statement, which Phoenix decided he was certainly not going to press further on, before Larry cleared his throat and continued. “But why’re you out here by yourself, Nick? Maya ditched you?”

“No, not at all,” Phoenix lied. “Just… taking in the scenery.”

“... Huh. Never took you for the wallflower type.” Larry frowned. “I mean, we did use to spend school dances in the corner by ourselves… guess some things never change.”

“Please don’t remind me of middle school ever again.”

“I’ll drink to that,” said Larry, who then did. “But I get it, dude. I was kinda hoping for some more excitement here… more ladies…”

“Don’t worry Larry, I’m sure you’ll find someone else to pester tonight,” Phoenix commented dryly.

... enter Larry Butz.

I really did try to explore the relationships of all the important people in Phoenix’s life... Larry though is so insufferable in canon I didn’t really have the heart to fit him in, so he falls out. (Apollo also doesn’t show up much, aside from the bit in chapter 5, that’s because he’s in a different country and I couldn’t come up with much of a role for him.)

And I also do believe that Larry and Phoenix were super unpopular in school. Larry was... Larry, and Phoenix was probably very sensitive up until the Dahlia Incident, and together they had enough unlikable traits that anyone who could spend time with one wouldn’t want to hang out with the other, but the two of them were loyal to each other. It’s my headcanon that Phoenix’s only real close friends throughout his childhood were Larry and Miles, which is part of why he got so attached to Miles to change his career for him.

“Yeah.” Larry’s eyes scanned the crowd before landing on a woman with dark hair in a high ponytail, and his face brightened. Phoenix cringed preemptively.

“Little miss Kay!” Larry called out, as the woman looked their way. “Looking as cute as ever! And more grown up, too…”

Phoenix tensed, suddenly feeling the wrath of hell creeping up behind them.

“Larry Butz,” a deadly voice boomed, “if you go anywhere near her, I will sue you for everything you are worth, little though it may be.”

Larry jumped and spilled half his drink over his jacket. “Geez, Edgey,” he grumbled, scuttling off to find a napkin. Phoenix, hoping it was safe now with the target gone, turned back around to meet the glare of his other childhood friend. “Hey, Edgeworth.”

Larry being gross but more importantly: me pushing the Dadworth agenda! 

“You didn’t have to do that, Mr. Edgeworth,” said the woman with a laugh. “I’m an adult. I know how to effectively break someone’s kneecaps if they bug me.”

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. “Though I don’t necessarily disapprove, do we need to talk about avoiding criminal records again, young lady?”

“Sheesh, you’re still treating me like a kid,” she huffed, before noticing Phoenix and extending a hand. “Sorry about that! Kay Faraday. I’m Mr. Edgeworth’s assistant.”

Edgeworth gave an exasperated sigh, though Phoenix could detect a note of fondness to it. “You haven’t been my assistant for over ten years, Kay.”

“So you finally admit I was your assistant at some point!”

“Ngrk…”

Phoenix laughed and took her hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Phoenix Wright, attorney at law.”

Kay grinned. “Oh, I know! Gummy debriefed me on you, Mr. That Man.”

“Kay,” Edgeworth warned.

“Plus I kept up with the news,” Kay continued, before Phoenix could say anything. “I’m a big fan of your work! Anyone who can take Mr. High-and-Mighty over there down a notch or two is a hero in my book.”

“Ha, I appreciate that.” Usually the first thing people said to Phoenix after saying they saw him on the news was much more negative.

I really still can’t believe Kay would be 27 here. that’s just so weird. she’s permanently seventeen in my mind. --- said by miles, probably

Even though this was supposed to be a fic about Phoenix’s important canon relationships Kay just wormed her way in here. I love her so I didn’t make any particular effort to take her out of this. Plus it gives me the opportunity to write my favourite things: Dadworth, and also Kay bullying Miles.

And yeah the part about people seeing Phoenix on the news is a reference to disbarment... can’t imagine anyone would have had anything particularly nice to say to him, especially those first few years.

“Kay has been assisting some of the prosecutors and myself through some tricky crime scenes lately,” Edgeworth informed him.

“Technically I’m a P.I., but Mr. Edgeworth said they’re really short-staffed these days, so I thought I’d lend him a hand,” Kay elaborated.

“Oh, so I might be running into you at the crime scene someday.”

“Probably!” She grinned. “Though I’m not gonna go easy on you just ‘cause Mr. Edgeworth likes you.”

“Kay.”

“Oh is that Ema over there?” Kay said loudly. “I’ve gotta run, see you around!”

She dashed off. Edgeworth sighed.

At first I made Kay just a straightforward detective, but I changed it pretty last minute. I feel like she’d want to do her own thing, plus this way she can assist from the outside when dealing with Dark Age of the Law Corruption-type stuff. Miles hires her because canon says he was left pretty short-staffed in SOJ. I’m not... totally sure what the laws are regarding private investigators working with police, but this is a fictional universe with fictional laws so I will do what I want.

Aside from that... more Kay making fun of Miles.

“She seems energetic,” Phoenix commented.

“Indeed she is.”

“... Why did she call me ‘Mr. That Man’?”

Edgeworth coughed. “I’ve not the slightest idea,” he said, turning his head to the side. “That aside, this whole affair is going much smoother than I expected, aside from that slight mishap.”

“Yeah, murder’s not really the best way to kick off a bachelor party, huh? Even if it is Larry. But I think we did alright.”

“Indeed.”

As if on cue, a loud cheer rose up from the crowd at the far corner of the bar.

“... Do you smell something?” Phoenix asked, and true to form, the swaying form of Larry crawled on top of a table.

People making fun of That Man is one of my favourite tropes regarding the AAI characters.

I don’t actually know how bachelor parties work, but if anyone can make them into an overly dramatized super wild party... it’s Larry.

Edgeworth groaned and began to storm off, but Phoenix grabbed him by the hand to hold him back. “Edgeworth, it’s a party, let them have their fun.”

“I… suppose so,” Edgeworth relented, but his hand was still tense in Phoenix’s.

Phoenix released him. “C’mon, we can chaperone from a safe distance.”

Edgeworth nodded wordlessly, but Phoenix could sense that same feeling of unease from him again. He opened his mouth to ask about it but a loud shout took up his attention — this was something that could be dealt with later, he thought, as he and Edgeworth rushed over to the scene.

Miles internal monologue: Wright is holding my hand. Wright is holding my hand. Wright is holding my hand writgh is holding my hand wright is holdin g my ha--

Phoenix: uh. edgeworth?

So in this fic... Miles is gradually working up the courage to confess to Phoenix. He finally worked out his own feelings at some point prior to this fic starting but can’t quite admit them yet, so every time Phoenix does anything that can be remotely construed as romantic he just goes “!!!” and it’s probably all he can think about for a week. Poor guy! I’m sure that when he finally confesses all will be well.

Hours later, as the party wound down and various taxis came to take people home, Phoenix found himself crowded in a booth with a tipsy Maya and a drunk, gushing Gumshoe.

“... and I know she’s gonna just be so beautiful, pals, and what if it’s too much?” Gumshoe asked, lying sideways against the table. “What if they don’t let me see her and then the day of the wedding I look’t her and… I die?”

“People have gotten married without dying, Gumshoe,” Phoenix consoled him.

“But they don’t marry Maggey, pal…”

Maya snorted. “With her luck, I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that happened.”

“Hey, don’t tell him that!” Phoenix hissed.

really this wedding should have had way more disaster than I wrote about... probably at least one murder.

“No, no, don’t mention her luck, she’s already so worried,” said Gumshoe. “We’ve checked off every good-luck wedding charm in th’ book… but she still thinks somethin’s gonna go wrong. I love her, I really, really love her, pals…” A far off look crossed his face, and Phoenix wondered if anyone would ever speak of him like that, “... but she worries so much…”

“What’s she worried about?” Maya asked, slumping over against Phoenix’s shoulder.

“Ceremony, reception, if people’re gonna show up, if we’re gonna lose somethin’ important… even ‘s far as the bouquet toss. I told her, if you’re not sure, just toss it in th’ direction of you,” he pointed at Phoenix, “or at Mr. Edgeworth, and maybe it’ll work.”

Phoenix frowned. “Why me?”

Gumshoe let out a burst of hearty laughter. “I’m thinkin’ if you or Mr. Edgeworth catches it, it’ll give ‘im the courage to finally ask you out, pal.”

Maya shot straight up. Phoenix froze. “... What?”

probably not the smoothest way to get to the entire reason why this bachelor party exists, BUT. 

Also it’s implied that Miles DID actually talk to Gumshoe about this at some point. probably Gumshoe caught him pining at a bad time haha.

“Y’know the old tradition, whoever catches it is the next to get married and all…” Gumshoe stared at them for a moment, before his eyes widened and a look of absolute horror crossed his face. “O-Oh! Crap! Pal!”

“Edgeworth wants to ask Nick out?!” Maya shrieked.

“FINALLY! IT’S ABOUT FREAKING TIME!”

originally Gumshoe used a much stronger word than “crap” but idk Gummy doesn’t seem like the type to curse much...? Maybe it’s a stretch haha. also “pal” as an exclamation is my favourite little Gumshoe speech tic

“Shh, shh!” Gumshoe reached over to clamp a hand over her mouth but fell, collapsing on the table. “You heard nothin’ from me, pals, got it? Mr. Edgeworth’s gonna kill me if he finds out… worse, stop funding the wedding…”

Death is one thing but the WEDDING...

And I can’t remember if I mentioned at any point that Miles was also funding the wedding haha but it’s probably also something he wouldn’t want to tell anyone. Gumshoe with his perpetually terrible salary (which is also Miles’ fault) plus Maggey with her inability to hold down a job before being fired in a murder-related incident probably means they don’t have a lot for a nice wedding so Miles offered. secretly and evasively. because he’s a nice person but also doesn’t want anyone to know that.

Maya stared at Phoenix, her mouth agape, as Gumshoe continued mumbling to himself under his breath about the various consequences of Edgeworth’s hypothetical wrath. Phoenix, meanwhile, felt like his brain had short-circuited.

That wasn’t possible. He must have heard Gumshoe wrong. Edgeworth didn’t think of him that way. Edgeworth didn’t think about anyone that way, Phoenix had thought, for the longest time.

Little do you know, Phoenix! 

Touching on the aroace Miles headcanon here because it’s a very valid interpretation of his actions even if it’s not my own...

… Even if Edgeworth had been acting strange lately, even if something in his expression softened when he looked at Phoenix, even if…

No. Phoenix quickly shoved that thought to the back of his mind. There were many things he knew about Edgeworth, and one of those was that Edgeworth saw him as a part-time friend and part-time annoyance, but never a romantic interest of any kind. The thought of it was just… just unbelievable.

Phoenix craned his head around, catching sight of a familiar pink jacket across the room and watched Edgeworth in the middle of some phone call. He would know if Edgeworth was interested in him that way… wouldn’t he?

At first “the back of his mind” was “the overflowing mental trunk of repression” but that seemed a little too on the nose. Just know that’s essentially what he’s doing.

Another thing I wanted to establish throughout the fic was how close Phoenix and Miles are now -- they essentially know each other really well. And thinking about that part in Turnabout Goodbyes where Phoenix declares that “I’m the only one who knows the real Edgeworth”, I kind of interpreted that Phoenix Knowing Things About Edgeworth is an important part of their relationship to him. And the occasions where Miles did surprise him (with some aspect of his personality) weren’t always very good things... realizing he’d turned into a “demon prosecutor”, then the “choosing death” part... it’s a lot of my headcanons running away from me haha. Basically in this fic, Phoenix thinks he knows Edgeworth so well because he’s so close with him so an indication that there’s something about Edgeworth he doesn’t know or has completely wrong kind of... connects to him /not/ being as close to Edgeworth as he thinks he is? Maybe? And being close to him is something very important to Phoenix.

(This is not my personal opinion though haha, people can and will surprise you no matter how well you know them... but this fic is Phoenix’s Relationship Issues: The Fic, so.)

And no one else has mentioned the scenes where it comes up yet so I’ll talk about it here -- a lot of my editing process involved going through the fic and cutting out every instance of Phoenix either talking about him hypothetically being in love with Miles, or of Miles being in love with him. I just ctrl+f “love” and cut out whatever fit the criteria. Phoenix’s interpretation of Miles’ actions up until the end of chapter 5 isn’t exactly that Miles is Capital-L In Love with him, more that it’s like... a little crush? Mayyybe some physical attraction. Misconstrued admiration. Not anything so severe that Miles would willingly initiate a conversation about Feelings. so “He would know if Edgeworth was in love with him” changed to “He would know if Edgeworth was interested in him that way” because part of Phoenix’s issue here is that he can’t actually directly acknowledge the possibility that he’s in love with Miles or that Miles is in love with him. It’s a whole complicated thing I’ll probably talk about in the next commentary I do?

This got long but there’s the end of the chapter! I’ll answer more later...? These take up a lot of time haha.

[designer-dad]

Peak Design Everyday Backpack 30L - The Review

So we’ve arrived. The culmination of years of fine-tuning and honing in what I look for in a bag. Years of tastes growing, becoming uber-specific and demanding. And 6 months of searching for a very good bag that won’t (totally) break the bank. Something that a frugal person can still say is worth every penny.

Behold, my EDC choice: The Peak Design Everyday Backpack in 30L, Charcoal.

Peak Design first caught my eye when they developed the Everyday Messenger Bag. I was thoroughly taken by how a bag could be so simple, yet powerful. It didn’t require very specific pockets for every possible item. What it had was a thoughtful and novel approach to organization that, while based on camera gear, worked exceedingly well for EDC. With thoughtful and useful pockets, the ability to expand, and those awesome gear dividers, I knew they had a winner. But I was already getting past the stage of messengers and looking at backpacks. if only they did a backpack...

... And then they did. And what a backpack. It was very hard as a designer not to fall down the rabbit hole of videos on the features and uses of this bag. There really isn’t a whole lot you’d wanna do with this (as an EDC/typical travel bag) that you can’t do. True, it’s not submersible, and I don’t think it would do well with a hydration bladder, so it won’t really work as a hiking pack. But aside from that, this thing really can do it all. Drone carry? Check. Tripod? Check. Yoga mat? Check. Lots of giant water bottles? Check. Laptop and tablet? Check. Camera gear for days? Check. Room to grow? Check. Slinging a days worth of purchases from the Mahane Yehudah Market in Jerusalem? Check.

There’s no shortage of reviews and videos breaking down this bag, so I won’t get into all the nitty gritty of what makes it awesome. It’s pretty much unanimous that it is. So I’ll go through why it checks my particular boxes, and then run through how I think it could get even better.

1) Masterful Organization Major pros here, a few cons. Overall, Peak addresses my biggest issue with backpacks, which was really the main sell for me. They employed a way for me to subdivide the giant big pocket into smaller chunks that are easy to reconfigure in both immediate ways (simply flipping a flap one way or another) or more semi-permanent ways (removing/adding a divider, or simply moving one). This is epic. This scratches my organization itch SO SATISFACTORILY. 2 side water bottle pockets (more on that below), handy soft-lined kinda hidden zipper pocket at the top of the laptop compartment, interior hidden passport pocket, and 2 side panels of smaller organization which expand to hold FREAKING ANYTHING. Seriously, I’ve never not been able to fit something in there, even things that obviously should not fit. And it’s got hidden loops and tethers all over the place for carrying literally any kind of weird thing strapped to the outside as well. It covers all the bases, some better than others, but certainly covers them all. I can store big stuff, little stuff, weird stuff, and more, and know it will all have a place, no matter the size or shape or fragility.  Other than documents. More on that later. And it’ll grow to add more. YES. 

2) DSLR/Camera Carry This is what Peak Design focuses on, and this is what they do exceedingly well. Taking cues from many other DSLR carry inserts, their origami style dividers have flaps that allow you to move a portion of these semi-rigid dividers to the side to make way for larger camera grips, or lay long lenses across. But that’s an understatement. These movable flaps give an excellent combination of structure, flexibility, protection, and modularity to allow for nearly any kind of setup you’d like. They pretty damn well near nailed this aspect of bags.

3) Travel Buddy/EDC Buddy Yeah, it’s more or less a joy to use this bag for travel and EDC. It flexes nimbly between what I use everyday and the particular items I carry for travel. It grows to carry my extra gear for travel (prayer paraphernalia, books, cable pack, snacks), yet shrinks back to a reasonable size when all I’ve got is my lunch and collection of way-too-many EDC knives. 

And no matter the kind of trip, it can tackle it. Overnight stay to get away from the kids? Done. 3 day work trip to North Carolina? No problem. 3 day winter break with the kids in Louisville? Got it. Week with the boys in Scotland? Yup. 10 days with the wife in Israel, along with day-pack use? Check. 2.5 day Design Show in Milan? Sure.

It’s a great airport companion, as the quick release strap adjusters and swing-to-the-side move make backpack carry almost as easy to access as messenger carry, and always stymies TSA just enough that they tend to give up on it quick and leave me alone. And I love being the only guy on the Metra in Chicago with this bag. Other than that one time I sat next to another dude with the same bag, and proceeded to make a new friend.

4) Backpack Carry Now almost any backpack could theoretically satisfy this requirement, but Peak does it in a pretty special way. The straps are fairly comfortable, very ergonomically sculpted, and have a giant swiveling rivet at the top that allow it to fit my 6′2″ 230 pound frame, as well as my 5″4′ 120 pound wife, all without issue. It has a somewhat ventilated back panel, to ease comfort a little (but still doesn’t quite measure up to a serious hiking pack like an Osprey), though it will still yield a pretty sweaty back with prolonged wear. But for a bag that’s rigid, holds its shape well, stand on its own when you put it down, protects your gear, and has a water-resistant coating, it’s a pretty dang comfortable bag. 

5) Water Bottle Carry YES. This bag does this better than almost any I’ve seen. The side pockets are deep, fit even GIANT bottles, and somehow tuck flat back against the bag when not in use. It looks fitted empty, with my slim travel umbrella, or a 750ml bottle in it. And it has a pocket on BOTH sides. 

6) Laptop Carry Do you carry a giant 17″ CAD Mobile Workstation? Then you’re out of luck. Anything else, and you’re covered. It fits my 15″ Mobile Workstation just fine, and that’s massive. The 20L would fit a 15″ standard laptop as well. It’s got a soft protected pocket with top access, keeping it separate from the main compartment, and it expands to the inside of the bag when occupied, so the bag does not physically grow when you add a laptop. I find it nice that the bag always maintains the same profile. I don’t have to readjust on the train to avoid hitting people if all of a sudden my bag is really full. It also has a tablet sleeve, but I find it hard to keep one in there if I’m toting my beast laptop. Admittedly, this is a problem for very few people.

7) Svelte but Spacious As I said above, I love the fact that the profile of this bag pretty much never changes. Yes, it gets slightly taller when it’s crammed, but front to back, side to side, it’s always the same, semi-rigid structure. It’ll always fit under the seat in front of me on the plane. I won’t accidentally hit people with it because I forgot I added a pair of shoes. Yet it looks sleek, and not gargantuan, even though it can hold up to a generous 30L. It’s more like 22L when not fully expanded. Granted, it looks on the larger side when my wife is carrying it, but on a, uh, fully grown male such as myself, it looks just fine. Not too large for EDC.

8) Generally Awesome Designers like toys. We love novelty. Cool features. Little pleasant surprises. This bag is full of them, and they continue to provide joy on a daily basis. This is how products should be. From the unique magnetic latch and bar system, to the hidden magnets for the water bottle and hidden pockets (everyone loves magnets), various hidden tethers, stretchy expandable pockets, lovely detailed hardware, plethora of carry handles that don’t look like luggage handles, this bag just delights over and over. Even with it’s few frustrations.

Ok, so now I want to share my wishlist for the next Everyday Backpack. Nothing is perfect, and this bag is no exception. So here are the VERY FEW issues I have with this bag, after about 2 years of use for both EDC carry and frequent travel, both domestic and international.

1) I wish there was a small, quick access pocket. Not big, not deep, but a pocket on the outside of the bag that I can stick the boarding pass, earbuds, train ticket, spare change, passport, or whatever single random small thing I need to stick somewhere that's not in my pants pocket, but can quickly take it right back out without undoing 2 zippers or a flap. Like the Timbuk2 Napoleon pocket. 

Maybe along the seam between the side and back panels. A little 6 inch zipper. I like the pocket in the laptop pocket, but can't access that with the quick sling to the side move. I would like to get at that pocket using that move.

2) I wish there was a dedicated spot to clip a carabiner onto the shoulder strap. Gotta keep my keys somewhere quick. They include a tether for keys in the water bottle pocket (that uses the same clip as their strap system, oooOOOooo), and I like the tether, but it's not the fast access of a carabiner. This is a couple ways I've been doing it, but it took a while to figure out these solutions. I could use a couple loops on the strap to do it.

3) I wish I had a good document storage solution. I have a hulking laptop, so that pocket won't work if my laptop is in there. I need another thin vertical sleeve. I’ve seen a YouTube video with a workaround for that, but it’s inelegant, and renders a divider and a lot of space much less useful.

4) I wish I had better writing implement organization. Maybe 5 dedicated pen slots. I know I'm not most people, but as a Designer, I have a handful I need with me. Sharpie, pen, pencil, Xacto, felt tip, pocket scale. They scratch against each other in a shared pocket, and the material is too thick for the clips to clip onto for most of them, so they tend to slide too far down to reach quickly. I also don’t like that it’s not quick to pull out a pen. It’s swinging the bag to the front, opening a zipper, opening a flap, opening another zipper, pulling out the pen, then reverse. Nah.

5) Sweat. So. Much. Sweat. I’ve worn this for hikes, all day shopping in markets, at trade shows, in giant airports, and the back sweat is measurable in inches. Not as bad if there’s a coat and it’s cold, but if this is on the shirt on my back, I will be wetter than I care to be in normal attire.

6) While I like the little pocket at the top of the zippered laptop compartment, it grows into the main pocket, and right at the top. This pocket is the natural place for sunglasses, keys, etc, but as it grows, it greatly interferes with access into the main compartment, and can also crush stuff in that little pocket.

7) I’d love to see other kind of dividers or organization options that can attach to that velcro-ey interior of the bag. I wanna get their tech bag that fits nicely, but would love to have some more specific options available to mix and match with.

There's a part of me that hopes they never put these into play, because I don't wanna drop another $280 on a bag. But if they do, I happily will. 

[tsukkiscookies]

self ship hcs :3

@cupofkenma​ I HAD NO IDEA / I COMPLETELY FORGOT YOU TAGGED ME UNTIL NOW D: SO ENJOY SOMETHING I WHIPPED UP IN TEN MINUTES BECAUSE I CANNOT RESIST

general hcs because :D i forgot how to write :D

psst. blacklist #kagsrisse if you don’t want to see me and my self indulgent self ships, but i guess this post already sums everything i have to say, unless 😳

(everything under the cut because i got too carried away)

-getting over the initial stage of awkwardness would take a bit of time tbh, considering how the both of us are just shy babies who want affection but would not outright ask for it 

-but once that stage is over you bet i'm going to hold those pretty setter hands of his 24/7 and thrive in his cuddles

-he would probably be the big spoon? he do be a whole 20cm taller than me ehehe but he wouldn't mind being the little spoon either

-his cuddles are warm and natural, but his muscles do be fine as hecc, they're not that big but they just perfectly fit his figure, so find me subconsciously tracing his muscles because i don't have any :( 

-baby is touch starved because of his lack of experience, so he secretly loves all the little gestures like me initiating to link arms with him, or pulling his hands, or tracing random patterns on his lap 🥺

-omg like, setter hands? please don't get me started i cannot stress this enough :( the amount of care that goes into making sure that his hands are in the perfect condition is mwah *chefs kiss*

-i envision that his hands are a little on the more rough and veiny side because of (surprise surprise) volleyball, but his nails would be well kept as hecc (i would paint them for him tbh)

-he's the kind to mindlessly, subtly fiddle with your fingers while doing seemingly ordinary things, and the way our hands fit in each others despite the size difference is mwah *another chefs kiss*

-i can also totally see him giving hand kisses because he's too shy to kiss anyone on the cheeks or on the lips (in public)

-i think he would be a fan of back hugs? like,, the size difference is low key cute :( imagine him wrapping his arms around my torso from behind as i feel his p e c c s on my back? and if he whispers sweet nothings in my ear? b o i oh boy 

-in private, he would probably go with cuddling and kissing, the soft, sweet kind and nothing more. because i have a feeling he doesn't have a lot of experience in this area, rip our awkward milk baby

-n e ways, i think he's the kind to be into really subtle actions of love. like, he's the kind to religiously leave me a box of milk on my table, or the kind to send casual texts asking me if i had my lunch already etc and i find it so cute 🥺

-this boy is trying his best 

-he isn't really good with compliments, can't give one without being a stuttering and blushing mess. but i love hearing them from him anyway 🥰

-he's the kind to take me on cafe study dates, i really love cafe aesthetics + my boy really needs to study :( he's lucky he's good at volleyball

-like i said, he probably wouldn't really be into pda, so i'd expect hand holding under the table as he traces my hand with his fingers

-blueberry boy probably can't stay concentrated though, he has a really limited attention span so i would (probably) give him smooches to keep him motivated? sounds like a pretty great incentive HHHH

- i guess he would drag me to the gym sometimes and we would just workout together and chill? taking two birds with one stone 🥳 we can be your local gym couple 

-he gives me "blink and you will miss it" vibes, so if i don't pay attention he would give me a quick peck on the forehead and mind his own business as if nothing ever happened

-risse.exe has stopped working

-like sure, we would probably be doing this kind of stuff in private that it isn't abnormal, but something about him doing it in public and marking his possessions? that's kinda 🔥

-i bet his sister would tease him all the time because she's really the only person he can go to for general dating advice, so sometimes miwa and i would plot stuff against him and he would pout 

- へ[ •́ ‸ •̀ ]ʋ

- it's honestly so adorable aaa i love this man so much 

- i also think that he owns a lot of sports brand stuff like hoodies and sweats because of volleyball, and he would always wear them out even if he isn't doing any sports? so yeah gym couple looks +1 

- i would totally steal his hoodies and wear them and treasure them like it's a family heirloom or something. i think he would smell like fresh laundry with a hint of fresh minty-ness to it? as well as a subtle earthy scent that i really don't know how to describe

- tbh, i wouldn’t just steal his hoodies, i would steal his entire wardrobe because i can 

-overall i really love this human sized blueberry, definitely rating “i would marry him” out of 10

(omg these hcs are all over the place lol)

edit: fixed a few grammatical errors because my fingers were flying too fast

[shy-magpie]

RQG 142

I used up all my delayed gratification avoid spoilers and not listening to a season a day; so in an act of optimism over evidence I am going to listen before bed instead of waiting for my lunch break at work. Come on dead!Shoin! It would be the perfect punchline to Zolf refusing to play, if Yoshida was killed by his own trap. I think I was wrong about Zolf's spell sobering up Skraak but we've got to be nearing the 24 hour mark in the next couple episodes. They have to sleep sometime. Eep! Streaming promo! Rusty Towers has to be doing well if they can branch out, good for them! What can I say I like rituals? Thank yous followed by the theme and intros make my brain light up. Alex went 3rd person over the stress of the series being up to 142? Time to poke the corpse. Exploding 20s sound fun but a pain to plan for. Body is in a state of disrepair. Panel open in the room indicates the bolt came from a trap Body is gross Adventurer not Shoin? We can't search the corpse? Not even for Alex's traditional wallet of backstory? Can't picture the layout (ETA  Babs you are amazing, and your map is my RQG post for tomorrow.) Explanation for this area having power, I just like hearing Cel talk. Locker by each door. No Alex, we don't trust them to be normal lockers. Fire ax, weird wrench, box. Box contains: Solvent, glue, a dead potion, means of applying glue/solvent Cel sounds like they are consoling themself for this not being a puzzle Zolf is not a public speaker, but I think I got the gist of it. Take the tool kits: we will need them whether this is a puzzle or not. Another dead trap. Thanks for the careful wording, Alex *Foul water pool surrounded by a walk way *2 dead kobolds :( *Killed by acid in the face from a creature I am tempted to mark the turnings but given the weird layout I don't think I could track it right even if I could juggle my MP3 player, this post, a pen and paper. Once again just going to trust them to spell out what's important. Yeah they would check for traps at every door. Ooh active trap. Its a well balanced team, nice to hear them give eachother credit for their respective strengths so readily. Dark hall way of options They are honest, and admit they are probably not checking for traps as they walk. Oh good Zolf doesn't actually have a Thing about Dancing Lights. It really was just a "could we not make it easier for people to shoot us?" coupled with a possibly IC trouble relating to how much moving around in the dark stinks without Dark Vision. Ha they immediately spot a tripwire they would have missed if they just had Zolf & Azu lead them in the dark. Chalk marking, ensuing discussion of what it means. Is that Zolf or Ben who is losing it over the puzzles? Cel, do you need a variation on the "a live dog is better than a dead lion" speech I nearly wrote when Hamid went after that ooze? Because dead scientists can't write up their findings. Love ya both, if you have to die, please not to something you could have just walked away from. Of course Zolf is going to indulge them; he took to Cel fast as Sasha and Cel is less squishy than L1 Sasha. Oh darn I have to be fair, learning what the symbols mean could be life saving later on. The glaive really is a 10ft pole, I was joking when I asked that. I hate the word "seemingly". Alex, don't break Ben. Hmm, this is actually pulpy fun. Getting us back to base levels after really intense beginning of the season or being readied for more emotional content? Most of the beats I'm expecting can't hit until they get off the island; could be the answers to the what's going on around here are intense. Final bets on it being Mr. Ceiling mark 1? Weird room with weirder floor. Clearly another puzzle. Once again how rich is this guy? That's a lot of money to go "I'm smarter than you are". Genre savvy is rewarded Dead wizard "I'm giving you this for free" is Alex implying that other info given without rolls has a price normally? Other room is completely flooded? Zolf suggests we mark the door.  Kinky Azu. Hamid switches mark to clearly writing the issue. This team backs a play,  so its now a Rosetta Stone of warnings Partially flooded room but no real danger? Ah Zolf catches that we could lose our path back if we keep doing letting water out. Flooded & trashed lab Speakers burst to life Break time Its Yoshida, arguing with himself. Cel is a delight. Azu is "going to shake" Yoshida Swimming sounds like a bad idea. Oh, caught that tone from Zolf, does he think Poseidon would mess with them? Worrying since Alex keeps tossing water related potions at them. Zolf and Hamid are making decisions as equals. Hamid no longer sounds nervous and Zolf still isn't pulling rank crap. Even Skraak is worried about Zolf. Oh right, better is a relative term. Still pretty depressed (mechanicaly grief stricken). Ok not to get to into it, but Zolf's mental health arc is really good. Like no show is perfect but Zolf going from the Paris breakdown to clearly putting the work in on changing how he talks about himself and relates to the team, but it not being a cure all? All while still being a fully contributing member of the team? Pretty damn good to see. Back to first room. Cel does not understand where Zolf is coming from. Cel, Azu, and Zolf have a brief conversation about Zolf's mood. Have I mentioned how great Azu is lately? Player vs Character thing? Because even without Alex lamp-shading it, Lydia doesn't strike me as the "you must be chipper" type. Zolf and Cel interaction. Zolf wants to put a pin in this and have a proper conversation later. Not sure how I feel about promising to "keep a lid on it". On the other hand its hard to balance expressing the emotion vs ramping yourself up vs the needs of the rest of the team. So much for me not getting into it. Flip-side: hey, turns out I can acknowledge an actual flaw in Cel while still thinking they are awesome overall. Crates of potions, including the stuff from the syringe spears. wanna grab a sample this time? Because I'm thinking the stuff in the spears is the stuff that makes the Kobolds so docile and may be a prototype for the alchemical side of the blue veins. That sounds cathartic for Zolf. (looting the place then letting Zolf smash the rest) Azu smashes too. Good for both of them. Ah point Cel, stuff could have airborne effects. Point Zolf, 2 way street, Cel should let people know that kind of thing. Speakers, what is up with Shoin? Assuming this isn't a pre-programmed contingency (which I wouldn't have thought possible until watching Alex), why is he using the script from the puzzle party while half of the traps are broken? Getting meta again Well maintained nasty trap with really obscure poison 2nd trap?! Isn't going to kill anyone, thank Alex. What in the Magnus Archives? Dancing mannequin room with weird heavy gas? Going to crawl on the conveyor belt. Its trapped too. Acid damage to Azu. Into initiative.

Skraak got a nat 20

Azu was hit with a syringe arrow of acid. 

Azu backs out past Hamid & Skraak

A second trip wire drops a grate! Hamid and Skraak are trapped on the conveyor; everyone else is back in the room.

Zolf sees Cel dithering and directs them to deal with the grate. No effect

Azu takes 7 damage

Hamid uses acid splash on the grate.

Oh cool, there is an actual rule for how long it takes to get armor on and off. It makes sense too, the better the armor is the longer it takes. From what I picked up, better armor would have more straps for better fit and have more thick overlapping bits rather than gaps

All Zolf can do is a heal check and help Azu get her armor off.

Cel offers the antidote potion, but we don't know what it does.

Hamid reassures Skraak, continues to splash grate

Cel can't really do anything

More damage to Azu

Sweet out of initiative

Zolf cleans Azu off, Azu takes a couple healing potions and that’s dealt with. The acid splashes didn't do anything to the grate. Lift the grate attempt one. Ah "come on Skraak,  we're going to help" so wholesome Zolf wacks it with his glaive, it has some effect but not a viable plan Speakers again, Cel points out they might need to meet Hamid on the other side. ...long story short lever attempt has no chance of working. Zolf: Hamid, mate, you're on your own Hamid: I've got Skraak. (winks at Skraak, Skraak blinks at him) Is it having little brothers? He is good with Skraak! Zolf: chin up, don't die on the conveyor belt. Hamid: yup gonna try Zolf: cool anything we can give you? Hamid: I'm pretty well equipped I think. Zolf: all right well we'll see you on the other side. Azu: Yeah, we'll meet you there alright. We'll see you soon Hamid: yeah Azu: alright Hamid: stay safe Azu & Zolf: you too And the end of the episode out takes are always fun

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Doki Doki April 19

You guys don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for a chance to review this. Right after I got the box, one of my cats got ill... I had to throw the box away, so I’ve been having everything sit in a tightly sealed bag, just waiting to come out!

Today is that day!

Also, I finally got a chance to use my Pikachu mold set I got from a box some months ago:

Unfortunately I wasn’t prepared going into it... so I didn’t have everything I would have liked to have. But I tried, and it still tasted good :P

This months theme: Mythical Mori

“Forest critters awake as the leaves turn green and the flowers begin to bloom, marking the arrival of spring. Ready yourselves with this month’s crate, featuring items around the theme, “Mythical Mori”. We have curated a box of items to enjoy during a spring picnic with some of your favorite forest friends.“

This month, the back page features a description of the Mori Girl fashion style:

Mori means Forest for anyone unfamiliar with the word. The look is very natural and sweet, with nature being its inspiration. I didn’t really know much about Mori fashion outside of it being one of the clothing categories in Love Nikki, so I liked being able to learn a little more about it. I wish they did these more often.

Meanwhile, the prize for the photo contest is an adorable My Melody lunch set.

Suteki Crate

For this month we have a lot of cute goods inspired by the various characters in the box, nature, and things you would take with you outside or on a fun stroll for nature.

I love the totoro nesting dolls, don’t they look like fun~?

Sumikko Gurashi Purse

Our first item is perfect for outdoor travel, an adorable apple-themed Sumikko Gurashi purse. It comes with a pair of straps to connect to the loops, but you could also adjust it to attach the purse to other things if you wanted.

It’s made from smooth material and has a squared piece of Styrofoam in it that I took out, and it’s shape was perfectly fine the whole time, it didn’t smoosh down or anything. But I decided to keep it in there when not in use.

It also has a double-sided image:

Which side is your favorite?

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

In order to test this out, I took it with me to the county fair this past week. I was able to fit a handful of items in it, including a hand-sized/pocket medical kit, my inhaler, lip gloss, a can of foaming hand sanitizer, scrunchies, and a set oil blotting sheets. That pretty much filled it completely, it barely stretches out to allow more inside, but the items I had were decent sized. I would have room for a lot more if they were smaller. But I had pockets for my phone, tissues, money, so it wasn’t an inconvenience.

I really like this ♥ not only is it a cute shape and size and have cute designs on it, but there’s a lot you can do with it and usually a problem I have with purses is that they like sliding down my shoulder- which gets on my nerves when I’m out. I don’t know if its them or if its me; but anyway, I didn’t really have that problem with this. It would shift a teensy bit in comparison to other ones, but it wasn’t bothering me at all.

I can’t wait to use it again, and it’s perfect for the upcoming fall/autumn weather~

Rilakkuma Sakura Cup

Next up is an adorable, clear cup featuring Rilakkuma and friends enjoying the pretty cherry blossoms. The flowers completely cover the cup, and it features two sets of images of the group, Rilakkuma’s name, and the text Drawn out by the spring day, Rilakkuma collects cherry blossoms.

It’s a typical plastic cup but it features a very sunken-in bottom and ridges around the inside.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I have a bunch of cups from these boxes, but besides the My Melody glass I got, this is probably my favorite. It’s so pretty to look at, definitely perfect for a spring day, or maybe an early morning. It would be fun to bring out for a picnic~

Totoro Bento Box

To go with the outdoorsy, nature theme what better companion than a bento box? It’s always nice to bring along a snack or meal whenever you’re going to be out for a long period of time, or just for work or school- or you could probably use for food storage too. So for that we have this Totoro colored, inspired box.

It features a single, deep layer with a removable divider piece, and it has a rubbery piece on the lid that can be removed to release steam and heat from the box. It has two clasps on the top and bottom of the lid to securely hold it shut.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I haven’t gotten use for this just yet (only because it never really occurred to me until now while I’m looking at it), but I’ve used the other ones I’ve gotten previously so I am very excited for that chance. This will go well with the upcoming season too, so maybe I’ll put something together and go to the backyard and have a picnic.

However, I’m rating it highly because it has a cute design, the quality is there, you get room for a decent amount of food, removable pieces... it seems really well thought out, and now I have enough containers to make a full meal!

Sanrio Ice Pack & Animal Food Picks

Everything kind of has a unified theme here, have you noticed that? Next we have an adorable, rectangular-shaped Sanrio ice pack. I got Cinnamoroll, and in the booklet I can see Pompompurin, so I assume there was a couple different ones?

Anyway, these are mainly for things like packing away with meals or drinks to keep them cool. But I think you could also use this when you’re not feeling well and need to cool down a little, I mean look at it, doesn’t that just look forehead perfect? 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

So with any ice packs... they’re pretty much all the same. So quality wise it’s perfect. I like how it’s the opposite of my previous ice pack I got (it was round), so I can choose them depending on the need or item now :3

------

Our last item is an adorable set of animal picks! We get 2 panda, a froggy, and a lion, bunny, and elephant. According to the image in the booklet the coloring of the lion and elephant can differ. As you can see, the elephant also has longer “legs“ than the others do.

Picks are those cute little plastic decorations people put into bento, usually when its based on a series, or for children lunches, or just to add a touch of color. They come in many styles and shapes and are pretty popular, a lot of people use them.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Again, this is an item I haven’t gotten a chance to use, but I definitely will. They’re so cute and colorful, I’m very excited for an opportunity to make use of them and I think they go great with this theme we have.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 5 out of 5. I know I’m going to use everything, and I don’t feel like anything will go to waste. The items are nicely sized and detailed, the quality is there, I really like them! I did have a minor complaint though, and that’s that I felt like this box didn’t have much variety. Like the only thing different between subscribers would be the Sanrio icepack and maybe the coloring of a few picks?

Theme: 5 out of 5. Okay so initially I wasn’t sure what to rank this, due to not really seeing a mythical sense to the items. I feel like the Mori theme is also a little loose, but as Mori translates to forest, and you see natural things like animals in the forest. I also think the Suteki Crate did a good job, so overall yeah, I see the theme.

Total Rank: 10 out of 10 Cuties. For spring or summer or fall or even winter, these items are great! They’re all practical and very cute, I feel like even if you think you might not use an item, you probably will at some point. As much as I love stuffed animals sometimes I think they go to waste because you don’t do anything with them, so I like that I didn’t feel that way with this box.

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Sumikko Gurashi Purse - Next to the cup this will get used the most, I just know it. The quality and material is amazing, it sits on my shoulder comfortably, and it fits everything I could need while I’m out (give or take). Just looking at it makes me feel happy~

2. Rilakkuma Cup - It’s so pretty, I love looking at it~ I can’t wait to put all sorts of different drinks in it to see how they look. It screams spring too, and it gives me a cooling feeling when I look at it.

3. Sanrio Icepack - It’s a bit plain in comparison to the other items, but I love how clear and pretty it looks :3 I’ll probably use this a lot, since I tend to get sick and get headaches a lot.

4. Totoro Bento - It’s a bit bland in colors to me personally, but I love the drawing on the lid x3 it’s so precious. My favorites in Totoro was always the little white and blue one.  

5. Animal Picks - As cute as they are, I know they won’t get as much use as the other items. As much as I love the panda though, I kind of wish they went for a more realistic forest, like... the frog and bunny are okay, but maybe they could have added squirrels, a bird, deer?

[xreaderbooks]

To Light: Chapter IV

(Sirius black x reader) series

Summary: Sirius takes you somewhere to distract you from what you had just found out and the time for the black ball finally arrived.

Warning: mentions of abuse and cursing

Masterlist

°°°°

I grabbed his hand as he took me to, the astronomy tower?

"What are we doing here Black?"

"Well you were just crying in the hallway, I just thought maybe you'd want to have some privacy I could leave if you want." He suggested,turning around about to go down the steps from the astronomy tower.

"How do you deal with it?" I asked, he turned around.

"Deal with what?"

"Oh c'mon Black you really think that I don't know about your stand in blood status making things difficult at home, you're in bloody Gryffindor surely your parents give you shit just for that and I do live in the same house as your brother" I stated, realizing that I shouldn't be prying into his life "It's none of my business really"

As I continued to babble on he tried to stop me from talking "you don't have to to tell me- I mean obviously you don't have to tell me that's your own personal information...which I wasn't trying to get into."

"(Y/n)!" I looked up at him, catching my breath. "It's alright I don't mind, you've probably heard enough anyways." He sat down in front of me, we looked like children who were telling each other stories. He told me All the gory details of his mother treating him in ways a child shouldn't be treated and the rest of his home life. I could relate, my mother being the not so forgiving person, could be the most kindest person you would ever meet. For a high society pure blood, of course it was for appearance most of the nicest things she's ever done was to gain more attention and to keep the family name from being tarnished. In my family doing anything, even the smallest little thing wrong, she'll throw a full on fit, casting spells and curses making sure I'd never dare do it again.

It hurt how confusing she could be, but she was my mother and in the end all I can do is try to please her until I'm old enough to move the hell away from the prison that is the (l/n) manor. You even entrusted him with the newfound news on which you were crying about.

"Looks like we have more in common than we thought except for that last bit." Sirius responded to your confession.

"I guess we do, but don't go spreading all my secrets around now"

"As long as you don't go shouting out mine, Godric knows you yell a lot" he replies cheekily, jokingly pushing you.

"I do not!" You shouted making your voice echo around the tower, he raised an eyebrow smirking at you. "Whatever, how would you know anyways we never even had a proper conversation til today?"

"I happen to be very observant" he said proudly

"You happen to be very annoying" you replied

°°°°

That day was the start of a new routine; one that was similar to what you and Flora would always do. You and Sirius would sometimes meet up at the astronomy tower at late hours in the night to talk. Most of the time you would go at random times whenever you wanted to just catch a breath, at times he would be there, and others he wouldn't be making you slightly miss him for the company. You had become good friends, which made you friends with the marauders (this made your 1-3rd year self very excited since back then, even sometimes now you thought that nobody you thought was cool to hang out with would ever be friends with you; at this point you really couldn't give a shit about anybody.)

Throughout the next few days though, all you and Flora were thinking about was the dresses you both were gonna wear to the black ball, that was in a few hours.

"What are we going to do?" Flora groaned dramatically, both you and Flora plus a bunch of other slytherin pure bloods had gotten permission from your head of house to go to diagon alley and hogsmeade to buy dresses and such for the ball in the time period of those days. You and Flora as the procrastinators you are found nothing there this morning which had led you both in distress.

"I have no idea flor" right as you spoke an owl landed on Flora's window with two packages, it was obvious that they were two dresses, Flora immediately starts unboxing them.

"Godric (y/n) you know I hate dresses but these are beautiful" you glanced her way rolling your eyes after you saw what she was gushing at. "I would honestly love your mom if it wasn't for all the things she's done!" Picking up the note that was attached to the boxes it had your mothers signature.

She grabbed the royal blue dress that was clearly meant for her pressing the dress against herself, looking in the mirror, the loose yet skin fitting dress made her look elegantly wonderful.

you grabbed your green dress and did the same, throwing the dress on the bed after. You sat on her bed running your hands down your face.

"This is stupid" you groaned, you looked down to the green dress your mother had sent in disgust.

"You just have to get through the night it can't be that bad." she responded starting on her makeup.

After her 'reassuring' words you got ready for the nightmare to come.

°°°°

Getting into the carriage the parents of all the pure-blood students have sent to pick us up, you couldn't help but feel nervous. Someway, somehow your mother was going to find a way to make you feel unhappy, ugly and overall just inferior no matter how hard you try to ignore her.

Several hours have gone by in the carriage when you finally arrived to the location where the black ball will be held. Everyone but you felt excited to see their parents and have fun at the party all the while you felt as though you were going to throw up your lunch from earlier.

When the carriage door opened Evan was there, with one hand opening the door and the other holding his hand out to help you out of it. 'Like the gentleman he's pretending to be' you thought grabbing his hand getting down from your ride. He put his arm through yours leaning down to whisper in your ear.

"Our parents are expecting progress in our relationship"

"We have no relationship" you glare, reaching the door you prepared your best smile to greet your mother.

Walking in it was breathtaking, everything was golden; literally the chandeliers, the lights, the curtains. Of course it was to show their wealth, as if they even needed to everyone knowing their practically royalty. All of us pure-bloods were but that obviously didn't stop them.

Your mother was the first to greet at the door, hugging Evan with a bright, wide smile. She hugged you next smiling just the same but while she hugged you tight she whispered secretly.

"We'll talk about your mistakes later, behave and we'll see about your punishment" gritting her teeth together as she spoke.

She told you and Evan to join the party and have fun before leaving, staring up a conversation with Mrs.Goyle.

"At least look like you're having fun" Evan said next to you "How are we supposed to sell it to the people if my fiancée looks like she's about to kill herself hm?"

In your defense you actually might but you just responded saying "well I'm pretty sure other people in my position of engagement have thought about it"

He gave you a look "It could be worse"

"What could be worse than having to marry a future psychotic follower of an also psychotic murderer" you spat, he grabbed your arm roughly dragging you to a corner looking around while talking lowly.

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you, you're lucky nobody heard you or they'd all be on your ass"

"I'd like to see them try"

"If you can't protect yourself from your mother what makes you think you can defend yourself against people who didn't give birth or care for you" you winced

"You have no right"

"I hope she succeeds you know" you look up at him near tears but you refused to let him see you hurt. You knew what he meant. He knew, no doubt he knew about your mother trying to torture you into changing your point of view of blood status, and he hoped your mother succeeds. The prick.

"I hope you know I will never love you or marry you this whole arrangement will never happen and your kind, you sociopaths are all going to hell!"

"Soon enough you'll see the way things are supposed to be and your two little friends will be dead like the rest of the filthy mudbloods"

"Don't you dare call them that" Seeing red you slapped him, picking up your dress and running far into the castle like place coming across a balcony falling on the concrete bench near the side. You took off your heels glad for the night breeze, the heat from being inside and what just happened brushing off your shoulders you took a deep breath.

You enjoyed the little bit of fresh air for 5 minutes before fixing yourself up to look presentable again, joining the party again.

Coming out the outside (*facepalm*) you heard the voice of Orion Black make announcement.

"I hope you all enjoying yourselves, I need to make an announcement: will all children retreat to the next room your parents need to talk about business. Thank you."

You entered the room where the adults were talking, the "children" were all shuffling into said room mumbling about what they thought their parents were going to speak about.

You felt uncomfortable walking in with all the people your age and slightly older, you tried looking for Flora but couldn't find her. She most likely left with her parents, they weren't like the others they didn't mind muggle borns and only came to these type of events to see what was going on. You saw Evan with his friends Avery and Mulciber talking. You found a seat at a far corner and starting to walk over there pushing past people, when a person grabbed your arm in the crowd.

The person spun you around to face them. It was Sirius Black, 'of course' you thought, not that you minded at least it was a person you were acquainted with but you were really looking forward to sitting in that corner for the rest of this cursed night.

"We meet again!" He said smiling

"We didn't exactly meet per say you saw me and grabbed me" you stated in an annoyed tone, he not noticing or rather not caring about you comment continued the talking.

"How are you enjoying the night?" He asked

"It's...been interesting"

"Oh?"

"I don't have time to talk right now I have a chair that's-" you glanced at the seat you were planning on sitting on and noticed somebody now had it occupied.

"You weren't actually planning on ditching me for chair were you"

"As a matter of fact I was until you ruined that for me" You huffed

"Dance with me"

"What?"

"Dance with me" he repeated extending his hand.

"I couldn't"

"And why not"

"My fiancee is right over there, he could see us and think somethings going on"

"It's an innocent dance what could possibly go on?, unless its a different type of dance" he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh get off it Black" you pushed him, laughing "alright one dance and then after I'll go to my lovely seat in the back"

Placing your hand on his, the other on his shoulder you danced to the song you recognized as muggle song 'my girl' covered by the weird sisters. You and Sirius swayed to the song peacefully.

"You look beautiful tonight (y/n)" Sirius admired looking deep into your eyes. It was intimidating having his piercing grey eyes look into your soft (e/c) eyes.

"Are you implying that I don't look beautiful everyday?" You responded with a smirk.

"No I just meant that today especially you look even more beautiful"

"Oh so now you're hitting on me" you joked

"Now you're just being difficult" he threw his head back groaning, the song had just ended and you decided you still wanted to sit down.

"Be that as it may" you bowed dramatically "I did say that after this one dance I'd go to sit-"

"Wait!" He grabbed your arm. People seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, yet you didn't seem to mind when Sirius did. He spun you around like he did the first time but this time held both of your hands to prevent you from leaving. "Please don't go, we could have fun dancing like we did or even just talking like usual" He pleaded.

Someone came up behind you putting an arm around your waist pulling you back "Is there a problem, sweetheart?" Evan asked his sly undertone being seemingly obvious.

"Not at all we were just talking" you replied as he pulled you away, you sent an apologetic look at Sirius.

“Great, we'll just be heading back to our parents now then."

"That was rude" you told Evan, you pulled back from him.

"Listen closely, you can be slut whenever you want at hogwarts in secret but when we're in a public area where our parents are around you stay close and be a good wife, yeah?" He forcefully grabbed your face making you look at him, you nodded.

You shuddered, while walking to your parents when the 'children' were allowed to go back with the adults. You couldn't shake off the bad feeling you felt about this arrangement It got worse with every little thing he did,him calling you a slut couldn't be any more untrue, grabbing you the way he did. If he treated you like this when you weren't married, you could only imagine how he would treat you when you were.

Both Evans and your parents find you both, hugging you and him asking you how everything is going between you both.

"Good" you said internally scoffing 'this was a nightmare'

"We thought we should discuss when you would be getting married" Evans mother said to you and Evan.

"Should we discuss this another time mother, (y/n) is quite tired and we really should be heading back to hogwarts"

"Yes, yes but this will only take a second... now we don't have an exact date but we've decided during Christmas break in your seventh year you will be married.

And this was the part where you threw up.

~~~

Word count: 2,483

[robustcornhusk]

i have things to do today, all of which i’m putting off for some reason

group A: i need to message my doctor and ask them to get... an order sent in for me to get re-vaccinated, because apparently MMR didn’t work on me very well the first two times. need to message my therapist and tell them i’m a dumb fuck and i have to be on a ferry when i would usually have my appointment.

group B: i need to clean out the fridge; i need to do the meal planning.

group C:i need to shave.

group D: i need to pick up cat food. i need to pick up the farm box. i need to pick up anything else we want at the farmer’s market.

group E: i need to put the bike mount on the phone and the phone mount on the bike.

group F: I need to go on a bike ride with some friends.

group G:  i need to get ready for a camping trip this weekend. 

group A: It would have been better (convenient, responsible) to have done these two weeks ago. i have to ask someone to do a thing for me. i had to reschedule an appointment three weeks ago with my therapist on similar near-notice and i feel bad about it, because i know that therapy is incredibly low-margin for how much of an unpleasant thing it is. i need to do it, because either (i don’t do it, i just don’t show up, they ??? at me for it being my second absence ever) or (i do it, they reschedule me, i maybe have to pay because i didn’t give much notice) or (i do it, they reschedule me, it’s all fine). i feel like an ass being apparently not-immune to mumps and rubella, and apparently the way i want to deal with it is not write a one-sentence email and then walk my ass three blocks to the doctor’s office but instead ignore it. 

group c: i get super bored shaving, and i irritate my face if i do it too often, and also i fucking hate facial hair. testosterone is overall great, but the hair is garbage. i am strongly considering getting the hair zapped, but i’m held back by: what if it doesn’t work? i don’t hear about testosterone-powered humans doing this frequently; what if the people doing it think i’m weird for wanting it/oh god i have to deal with a human for this; it’s probably sorta expensive and i feel bad wanting to spend money on a ... literally superficial thing. but also it’s scratchy and pokey and it *hurts* to be anything other than clean-shaven and i can’t sleep without wearing a scarf unless i’ve shaved within a few hours of going to bed, and i can’t eat certain foods, and i can’t sweat, ... and this is ridiculous. and it takes 15 minutes and i spill water everywhere and generally make a mess. and i need to not put off everything else to do research on this because now is not the time.

group D: these are all located on the same quarter-block, but each is sufficiently heavy that i need to make at least three trips for it. 

group B & D: we get a box of produce every week from a farm; i like it because it’s comparatively very cheap, and it’s all really nice (not buggy, not muddy, lots of weird vegetables that i enjoy and know how to cook but wouldn’t think to get on my own or isn’t even available at the nearest groceries). but the quantities are kinda weird; we get more of one thing than i could possibly use in a week (or even two), or just enough of something to serve one person as a side dish, and i have to get extra; and in either case the fridge gets nearly completely full on wednesday afternoon, to the minor dismay of my housemates. (and the damn fridge is slowly filling up anyway, because we panic and turn all the leftovers at the end of a cycle into syrups and shrubs and pickles and stuff.) so i have to plan out the week ahead of time, to be sure we’ll use it all up. and some weeks i can cook every night for 7 days, and lunch on the weekends, and some weeks i can’t, either due to scheduling constraints, being sick, stuff coming up. so i’m loathe to look at this last week’s failure (i’ve been sick since saturday night), and i’m not excited about trying to plan this next week (because i’m going to be gone friday night and assuredly tired on saturday). 

group E:  if i fuck it up i have wasted 30 dollars on a phone case and the nice mount that everyone likes. i can’t be sure i haven’t fucked it up until after i’ve done it, because there’s not a good way to test the placement. oh, i might be able to hold it on with like shitty double sided tape or something. but also i have to be in the garage to do this.

group F: we were planning to go on sunday, but i was sick; last night, but i was still sick and cohuman had an appointment. so today, but i need to do the phone mount and i feel weird about wearing normal clothes to bike in (too hot!) and weird about cyclist clothes (i’m too slow! they’ll be too cold at the coast! i can’t carry a jacket on this bike!). i’m going to be slower than usual because i’m still a little sick, or i’ll push myself and be wrecked at the end. but also i know i like this route and i like biking, and i’ll get stronger if i go, so i want to...

group G: today’s the last chance to be sure i have all the gear (and to replace it if i don’t). i need to get stove fuel & figure out food that tastes good with minor prep that doesn’t need refrigeration and that can be carried by bike for 20 miles. i need to be sure everything fits in my interim panniers, and how we’re packing it to make it not a disaster every time i need to get something. i need to be sure it’s light enough that it doesn’t make my decidedly-non-touring bike handle weird. i need to make sure of the route. i need to be sure that the bike site will allow us even if it’s full.

okay; a lot of these are part “unreasonable anxiety” and part “justified anxiety, because i know it takes just one oversight to fuck it up”(1).

the second i can fix with more adhd meds, though i don’t think that much i’m planning to do today particularly has that failure mode. for the first, i need to make sure to use non-stimulant med; i also have the intervention of getting High Enough That I Can’t Think Very Far Ahead, if it turns out i need to.

(1) one small bad decision can be an expensive/unfixable mistake: cohuman’s bike probably would’ve been fine if i hadn’t suggested taking the seatpost out to stick it in the car. i broke a book a few weeks ago when it slipped out of my hand and hit a hard object on the spine. i shifted wrong on my actual touring bike once and twisted the chain 90 degrees(2). i ran the blender with the lid off the other day and sprayed cashews all over the kitchen. mad with power, we bought couches that were too big, and the living room has been cramped this whole time. i bought a graphics card that didn’t play nice with linux, and for three months my machine crashed on average every other day (it seems an update fixed it? i’m not actually sure.) one time i didn’t pay attention and ran a shot glass through the garbage disposal. one time i fucked up and put drano in a clogged dishwasher; this makes soap. i dented a doorframe by putting a too-large over-the-door rack and shims on the wrong side. i broke a paper towel holder by grabbing it too fast when i knocked over a cup when i was on the phone, and also nearly fucked up scheduling surgery because of it. i cut the door on the litter box too low and pico constantly flings cat litter out. we tried to make rice in the rice cooker and forgot the water.

(2) very fortunately, despite it being on a road some distance out from the nearest town of barely 7k, and having not seen a single person for half an hour, barely a minute after i’d pulled off to the side, a guy in a pickup passed me, turned around, and offered me a ride back to town. 

i feel like i don’t have enough time to do all this, but i’m pretty sure i do. messages will take < 20 minutes, shaving < 20 minutes, meal planning and fridge 90ish minutes, phone mount < 30 minutes; so i could be done with all that by 2:30, or at worst 3. cat food and human food will take 90 minutes or so, and part of that can’t happen til at least 4pm. bike ride will probably happen at 6; we’ll be home by 8:30. packing list can occur after that. 

so despite spending 30 minutes writing this out, it’s probably fine, and i probably want to get started nowish.

i guess “dinner” isn’t really anywhere in there. i think i can find a < 20 minute prep one for to happen after biking.

[prevsapphism]

make chronically ill characters you tepid fools.

another Interesting thing i’ve noticed in my time on here in the rpc is that the rpc is mostly peopled by able-bodied characters. in my almost decade ( Lorge Yikes ) on this site, i’ve only seen two ( 2 ) Actually Disabled characters. in all of the hundreds of thousands that exist or have existed here. two. Count Them. Two. 

i’ve also noticed, in fic, when characters are disabled, they usually seem to have their disabilities ignored or erased ( fanon alana bloom, anyone? she was pushed Fairly Violently out of a window? and most fanworks of her have her Completely Upright And Fine as though the injury were very minor and not. You Know. Life-Threatening? ) or, we serve as Inspiration or a Sad Pitiful Comparison to make Shiny Ablebodied people look better. ( looking at you, fanon charles xavier. ) if i didn’t know any better, it would seem as though the rpc is doesn’t want to write disabled characters because they find us repulsive, cumbersome and generally gross and undesirable. 

but since so many of you don’t know what ableism is when it’s not right in front of you, i’m going to be nice, give you all the benefit of the doubt and show you how to write us better.

first of all, you, the presumably abled writer and / or character, need to heed these four ( 4 ) factors before i continue:

please remember your character is disabled. i can’t tell you how many times in fanwork that i’ve seen disability acknowledged once and never come up again, which is especially disrespectful to real live disabled people because we don’t get to forget. neither should you lmfao.

disabled characters are usually written with very little or no insight into the disability itself, which makes for a shit portrayal. this post should not be your only character building source for disability. as you should with every other foray into a subject you’re unfamiliar with, do ya research and do it thoroughly. i’m not saying look at medical textbooks five hours a day, but don’t just spend five minutes on webmd and then call it a night holy fuck.

if you have a Gasping Need to make your disabled character exist alongside an abled one and have them ( the abled character ) look better, do it, i suppose ( sarcasm, ) but think about where your decision for making them disabled comes from and why you want to do it.

don’t use person-first language. don’t use person-first language. don’t use person-first language. don’t use person-first language. don’t use person-first language. your character does not have a disability, ( ie they’re not a ‘person with ____,’ ) they are disabled. they are a disabled person. disabilities aren’t some Wicked Cool Limited Edition Skin you get in your Human Person Loot Box that you can take off whenever you want. they are very often integral parts of our identity and you demonstrate a very superficial knowledge of what disabilities actually are when you phrase them this way.

but queen morgaine, how am i going to make my disabled character good and compelling? fear not, reader-- here is a list of disability and chronic illness things you can and are encouraged to apply to your character to make them more realistic and nuanced!!!!!

able-bodied people can and are encouraged to reblog, other disabled people are enthusiastically encouraged to add on. 

sleep. sleep is a very loaded subject in disability. a lot of us, like those with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, sleep a lot. being incapacitated by your own Flesh Enclosure all the time saps so much of your energy you Would Not Believe. we also very often do not feel Refreshed or Energised when we wake up because of our pre-existing conditions. we sometimes take naps in an attempt to assuage our fatigue, but they’re usually hit or miss-- i like to say that We Do Not Take Naps, Naps Take Us. on the other end of the scale, a lot of us don’t sleep at all or sleep very little because our disabilities keep us from falling asleep for long stretches, whether it be from being in pain, being sick, or being Overall Uncomfortable. here’s how this could look in your disabled character:

cancelling plans to take a nap or lie down.

leaving plans early to take a nap or lie down.

erratic fatigue-- not being tired when they should be ( ie in the middle of the night ) but being overwhelmingly tired the next day. 

like i said, not feeling refreshed, or even more tired when they wake up.

feeling pain in their sleep.

sleeping an entire day or very long stretches.

being kept awake for long stretches by their illness. 

physical aids. this isn’t a given for every disabled person, but i’m putting it here because characters that are disabled don’t often have them in fiction. for openers, they should absolutely be portrayed in a positive, or at the very least neutral light. most of us irl are happy to make our lives easier as much as we can, so it doesn’t make much sense to have them suck in fiction. ( except for . You Know. Ableism, but like i said. benefit of the doubt. ) a physical aid can be as simple as a fidget toy that keeps us grounded in our brainfog or something as complex and noticeable as a service dog or a wheelchair. here are some ideas:

Ever-Present water bottles and especially electrolyte drinks like gatorade, vitamin water and my Personal Favourite, sobe lifewater ( not sponsored. ) very useful for those of us with vitamin imbalances, or those of us with pots or vertigo that makes getting dehydrated very easy and very unpleasant.

also taking supplements in or with our food for these deficiencies. 

canes!!!! canes!!!!! canes!!!! canes!!!!! especially on younger people!!!!! people under 40 use canes!!!!! give us cool canes!!!! give us canes that match what we’re wearing!!!! give us canes that fold up to fit in our bags that we carry round all the time!!!!! give us canes!!!!!

service dogs!!!!!

crutches!!!!!

meds we carry round all the time!!!!! i know very few chronically ill people that don’t take meds throughout the day or at least once!!!!!

also, if your character uses mobility / household aides or prostheses etc they'll need maintenance or replacing at some point! maybe even multiple points!

variability. chronic illness is an extremely mutable subject. this means a few things-- one, our range of ability, whether it be mental effort, physical limits or otherwise differs from day to day. sometimes even from hour to hour. two, our ‘okay’ or ‘personal best / Weekly High Score’ may not match up with your ( able-bodied ) ‘okay.’ your ‘did okay today’ may mean ‘went to class, did homework and tidied desk,’ but our ‘did okay today’ may mean ‘changed our clothes and / or took a shower’ or ‘ate [ a decent ] lunch.’ and that was The Most we accomplished all day. chronic illness saps all your energy and your motivation. this is especially important if your character is mentally ill as well. this also means that some of us can go out dancing one night when we were bedridden the day before, but going down a long flight of stairs the next day or earlier that day can be too much. anyway here’s how this can look:

like i said, getting excited about or talking about their Little Victories to other people-- how they ate breakfast, washed their clothes or hair, looked after their pet, and that was it. ( please congratulate us / them for these, by the way. it means a lot. )

being able to do one thing but not another, like being able to clean a set of dishes or walk a dog, but not being able to walk four blocks or clean a bathroom.

conversely, being fine earlier, but not being all right now-- like being pretty okay with walking four blocks, but feeling terrible an hour, or even ten minutes, after and being in too much pain to walk. 

getting too hot and needing to go somewhere to cool down, or being really cold and needing a sweater within a very short time period.

being nauseous from not eating or drinking but being too nauseous to eat or drink.

new symptoms or issues popping up out of nowhere or periodically-- ‘oh shit, my hips are aching again. what have i done now.’ ‘great now i have headaches for some g-dforsaken reason. are you kidding i only get those when its cold.’ ‘uGh why the fuck am i shaking all over? i thought i stopped doing that!!!’ 

appearance. many of us have the energy to keep up with a personal style or Aesthetic. some of us don’t. this is kind of self explanatory, but here’s how it could look in your character: 

wearing the Lowest Effort outfit-- a shirt, some leggings and a sweater.

wearing a Really Nice Outfit, but having their range of mobility for the day compromised due to having to set aside some energy to look nice.

not combing or brushing their hair.

messy living spaces. we don’t have the energy to be tidy all the time. we barely have the energy to get out of bed most of the time. your character should probably follow suit.

The Medical Debacle. doctors can often do chronically ill people more harm than good. a lot of us are treated as Medical Mysteries™ due to having rare illnesses or having symptoms that don’t make sense, whether it be because they conflict with other symptoms we have-- for example, it took, and is taking, ages for me to get a proper fibro diagnosis because i’m chronically anaemic and have a fluctuating but pervasive eating disorder as well, so it’s very hard for medical professionals to distinguish which illness is causing what. Or Something. also, a lot of our insurance companies may not cover certain procedures or meds, which we often learn by surprise when we go to get checked out or treated. doctors can deliberate on giving us a diagnosis when everything we’ve told them we have matches up with that illness because it doesn’t ~fit us~ or some bs as well. they will also suggest or prescribe things that we’ve already tried and don’t work ( i can’t tell you how many of my hypermobile friends have been told to try yoga. ) sometimes we have to Actively Battle for certain types of treatment or for a certain diagnosis. here are some more examples for characterisation. 

health scares that end your character up in the hospital.

multiple urgent care, doctor or hospital visits.

having to fight for or argue with a doctor for a diagnosis.

The Hospital Smell. You Know The One. we have nightmares about this smell.

ambient Hospital Noise in a setting. 

The Debt They’ll Rack Up for being in and out of the Medical Circut all the fuckening time if they don’t have good insurance. sometimes even if they do. Chronic Illness Is Magic. 

your character’s meds getting switched round a lot while the doctors try to figure out what they have and their reaction to those meds.

getting annoyed with ( a ) doctor( s ) for not diagnosing them with something they know they have or not prescribing them a treatment they know they need.

your character getting an mri or some other screening / evaluation and getting a wrong diagnosis that’s much worse than or not enough for what they actually have.

your character not having a diagnosis at all or having their symptoms overlooked and being frustrated about it.

some nice touches you should also include in your characterisation:

please consider making your character the protagonist of their story. so often we are sidelined and eclipsed by abled characters, so it would be very much appreciated if we got to drive the narrative for once.

a lot of us are mentally ill as well-- i can’t think of a single one of my physically ill friends who isn’t neurodivergent too. please consider making your physically ill character mentally ill, or even autistic, in combination to their physical illness. a lot of us are also self-deprecating to cope with all that we go through every day, so a few jibes at themself every once in awhile is good to include in your character too.

disabled people date and fall in love. aro rep is well and good or whateva, but ( head )canoning a disabled character as aro is not at all revolutionary in any respect and it contributes to the Undesirable Cumbersome stereotype you want to stay away from.

Disabled People Have Sex. we often have to have sex Around our disabilities, ie circumvent them before, during and after sex, But We Have Sex. ace rep is well and good or whateva, but making a disabled character ace is not revolutionary and again, makes us look incapable of being worthy of sexual desire, as well as having pretty Nasty Implications overall. disabled. people. have. sex. i encourage you to make your disabled characters have sex.

don’t make your supernatural monster character disabled unless you make your monster’s disability and their Monsterhood mutually exclusive, and better yet don’t do it unless you have a good disabled character too. it reinforces the stigma that disabled people are to be ostracised and othered for something we can’t help. your monster is not a monster because they’re disabled, your monster is a monster because they eat people or whatever the fuck.

Anyway Thats It Bye send me an ask here or over at @trustawitch if you have any questions and @ me or send me an ask here or trustawitch if you end up making a disabled character! i’d love to see them!! xoxo

[welcometophu]

Not Your Destiny: Chapter 38

Marked Book 1: Not Your Destiny

Chapter 38

[ Previous | First | Next ]

“Oh, good, you’re here.” Gabi grabs Ángel and yanks him through the door, into the house. He stumbles on the first step, catching his balance in time to close the door behind himself. “Maritsa’s not exactly a bridezilla, but at the same time, she’s a completely anxious bride, and maybe having an ounce of testosterone in the house will help. She’s not good with only girls around.”

“Where are Luca and Tony?” Ángel goes with the flow as Gabi manhandles him to the stairs and pushes him to head up.

“Zita’s house, with Danny and Cleto. Zita’s here. Maritsa’s room is just past mine, go on in,” Gabi instructs. She stops at her own door, pauses just as Ángel tugs the door open. “Don’t worry if she’s naked.”

“She’s not naked,” Zita says, pulling the door wide. Maritsa stands in the center of the room with an oversized flannel shirt on, and very possibly nothing but underwear beneath it. There could be shorts, but Ángel can’t tell, and it’s not like he’s going to ask. She’s chewing on one pinky nail, and Zita turns around to smack her hand so that Maritsa drops it.

“See?” Zita says. “He’s here. He’s even early, and we have plenty of time.”

“What if the tux doesn’t fit?” Maritsa asks. Her hair is in curlers that move as she looks from Ángel to the closet and back again. “What if Tony’s upset that—”

“Tony knows, and he’s fine with it,” Zita says, her hands on Maritsa’s shoulders. She waits until Maritsa looks at her.

“I could just have Tony walk alone—”

“Hush.” Zita speaks, and Maritsa falls silent, licking her lips with her brow still furrowed. Zita gently rubs her thumb across Maritsa’s forehead, smoothing out the crease. “Relax. Everything’s going to be perfect. The weather is gorgeous. People are coming, the food will be here in a little while, and we’re going to get your hair and makeup done. You’ll be ready in plenty of time, and Ángel will fit right in.”

“He wasn’t here for the rehearsal,” Maritsa worries.

Ángel’s beginning to get the idea he isn’t going to be an usher. “How hard it could be? And don’t you usually have the rehearsal the night before?”

“It’s not hard,” Zita says at the same time as Maritsa tries to explain that the rehearsal was three weeks ago. Ángel gets lost in the explanation of why it was so early, and focuses instead on what Zita continues to say.

“All you need to do is wear a tux, walk on Tony’s left and hold his arm, and split to stand with the girls,” Zita says quietly. “There will be flowers, yes, don’t argue this. Just go with it and be a bridesmaid, Ángel.”

“Bridesman?” he suggests as an alternate title.

“I like that. Let’s go with it.” Gabi walks in the room, drops two carefully packed dresses on the bed. “Do we really need to get dressed this early, Maritsa?”

“Hair and makeup,” Maritsa says firmly. “Light lunch at one, then we get dressed and make sure everything’s perfect. Guests start arriving around four, and the wedding’s at half past. Which won’t take long, and we’ll be able to do pictures at twilight, and the reception starts at five thirty, and we’ve got the lights set up. Moonrise is at quarter past six, so we’ll all be feeling it.” She glances sideways at Zita.

“But we stay in control,” Zita says softly. “We celebrate with your family, and your traditions. They leave by ten, and then we will call for the cats.”

It’s later than Ángel thought it would be, but then, how could it be earlier? “So you’ll have all the Cuban traditions, under the full moon for your Lince side?” Ángel asks, and Maritsa nods.

“The only magical tradition is the wedding arch,” she says quietly. “Because it’s the one where Cleto and I won’t have to do a ritual. But we’ll walk through the arch, and that will make Tía happy.” She hesitates, then says slowly, “Cleto is completely Lince. He has been, ever since his cat came running for them. He can’t do magic anymore.”

Which explains why Tía was so angry, and so worried about the Lince taking Maritsa away from her heritage. “You can,” he says.

“It’s not easy.” Maritsa sits gingerly on the edge of the bed, holds her hand out, palm up. Sparks form in the center, shift to a gentle flame that sputters out in moments. “Some days it’s easier than others. The full moon is nearly impossible.”

“Do you think it’s possible to split between the two?” Ángel crouches in front of her, cradles her hand in his, taps her palm. She manifests tiny flames as he does so, chasing his finger across her skin.

“It’s easier when I’m around another Mage,” she admits. “And it’s actually much easier around you.”

“Interesting.” The flames fade as Ángel watches them thoughtfully. He should write this down. Take notes, save it for that possible thesis. It’s fascinating to think how the Talents might intertwine, and how just having someone else nearby could affect things. This isn’t like any other Talent Ángel has ever looked at before.

“Sometimes I miss it,” Maritsa admits quietly. She clasps Ángel’s fingers, glances over at Zita. “Is that weird? I love being Lince. I love being part of this family, and I love Cleto. But I miss my magic.”

“Since Ángel’s magic hasn’t been affected by us at all, if anyone can help you figure out how to use yours again, it’s probably him,” Gabi points out, patting Ángel’s shoulders. “But in the meantime, let’s start getting ready. You have hair to be done, and I’m going to drag Ángel off into another room and make sure he fits in the tux.” She tugs lightly at his shoulder. “Which is in your room. Come on, let’s go.”

Ángel follows her upstairs, gets the garment bag out of the closet of the room that’s been designated as his. The charcoal tux looks like it’s probably the right size, and the shoes definitely are. They’ve thought of everything, from the shirt to the socks that he’ll wear. Gabi brings out a small box and sets it on the bureau. “All of the groomsmen have matching cuff links,” she says. “We had to scramble to get another pair made, but they were willing to rush, so you’ll match the rest of the boys.”

She gestures impatiently as the clothes on the bed. “Come on, Ángel. Strip. Dress.”

“I take it I’m taking Daphne’s place,” Ángel says. He pulls up the pants, and they’re a little loose, but Gabi grabs a small plastic case of safety pins and makes tucks in the seams on the side of the waistband so they fit.

“The belt will cover that up. Shirt.” She tosses it at him as soon as he strips his own off, and that fits perfectly.

He buttons it up, but doesn’t bother with the cuff links yet, holding his arms out for the jacket. It’s a little broad through the shoulders, but otherwise hangs fine, and it’ll do for one evening at a wedding. He takes it off, grabs the vest that Gabi hands him and puts that on to make sure it fits.

“You clean up nice.” She pats his backside, then points at the bed. “And now strip again, because if you get anything on it before the wedding, Maritsa’s going to kill you.”

He changes back into his own clothes, and takes the time to empty his wallet and tuck a small wad of cash in his jacket pocket, along with safety pins. The wallet is left in a drawer for later.

Gabi stops him before they head back downstairs. “And yes, you’re part of the wedding instead of Daphne,” she says quietly. “We never wanted Daphne to be a part of this, and we were relieved when we realized you would be. I’m just glad everything got sorted out with plenty of time. You’re part of our family, Ángel, don’t forget that.”

They linger over lunch, toasting with mimosas until Maritsa is flushed, happy, and laughing. Everything begins to move quickly once they clear the table. Ángel gets back into the tux, and since he’s the first dressed and ready, he ends up helping Martisa into her gown.

She stands there in a sticky bra and a pair of underwear, staring helplessly at the gown as Ángel holds it open. “Step in,” Ángel encourages her.

“Don’t say a word to Cleto about this,” Maritsa says, one hand on his shoulder for balance. She takes a cautious step forward, over the skirt of the gown, into the opening. She manages to get her other foot in, and Ángel helps her find the holes for her arms. He draws it up, fluffs and tucks it so that the shoulders lie perfectly, as she reaches in to make sure everything’s positioned just right.

The low back plunges down to just above her waist, and Ángel ties the corset bottom, leaving the lace bow hanging. There’s a short train, and overall, it’s somehow sweet and elegant and sexy all at once.

“You look gorgeous,” he tells her, and she hugs him, kisses his cheek.

“Better than prom?”

“Much.” He tugs on his sleeves, realizes he left the little box with the cuff links upstairs on the bureau. “Maritsa, I had no idea that this would be where you were right now. But you and Cleto—”

“We’re perfect, I know.” Maritsa’s smile is soft and slow. “He’s the only one. There’s never been anyone else.”

“You forgot something, Ángel.” Gabi brandishes the box as she barges in, skirt swirling around her legs with her quick steps. “Gorgeous, Maritsa, but you know that. Ángel, pick your jaw up. Honestly, you’d think you’d never seen a girl.”

“Maritsa’s not the only gorgeous one.” Ángel kisses her cheek. “If it weren’t for Tony.”

Gabi rolls her eyes. “Pretty sure Luca’s still in line before me, if Tony didn’t already have you. But that’s okay, thank you, I know I look good.” She poses and blows a kiss. “Now, cuff links.”

Ángel shrugs out of the jacket, holds out one arm so she can put the cuff link through. He only catches a glimpse of the design before she’s reaching for his other arm.

“That’s your gift for being part of our wedding,” Maritsa says. “Cuff links for the guys, matching pendants for the girls.” She reaches across, flips over the pendant that lies twisted at Gabi’s throat.

Engraved against the silver circle is a full moon, with a cat leaping across it.

Ángel’s gaze narrows. “What?”

“We had the first ones made months ago,” Maritsa says. “Gabi designed it.”

Ángel has no words for that. None.

He sits down on the edge of the bed. Maritsa starts to sit next to him, but Gabi moves her out of the way to take her place. “Don’t you dare sit in that gown,” Gabi orders. “Go find Zita.” At the sound of honking, Gabi winces. “And that’s the boys. Find Zita, send her out to coordinate, because guests are going to start arriving soon if the boys are already here. Just go.”

“You designed that,” Ángel says. He twists his wrist, looks at the matching image engraved on the cuff link. “It’s my mark.”

“Yeah,” Gabi admits. “I knew that right away. And maybe I should’ve said something, but there’s a lot that wasn’t being said because well, magic.” She shrugs slightly. “It’s all worked out in the end, and honestly, if we ever needed proof that you were ours to start with….” She touches his ink, slides her thumb under the cuff of his shirt. “You may not be a cat, but you’re Lince in your own way, Ángel. And you’re family.”

His heart thunders hard enough it feels like it’s going to beat out of his chest. He presses one hand against it, trying to hold it in. “And Tony?”

“That’s a conversation for you and him.” Gabi nuzzles his cheek. “Later, though. After the wedding. And hey, you get to walk down the aisle with him today.”

Ángel gives her a dark look. “Please don’t rush things. I’m not even entirely sure where we stand, Gabi.”

“Mm.” She makes a low noise, nuzzles him again then kisses his cheek. “Let’s go get Maritsa and help keep her calm. We’ll be starting the procession once all the guests are settled. I’m thinking another mimosa that’s really light on the champagne.”

“Orange juice as a placebo?” Ángel raises an eyebrow, a smile starting.

“Exactly.”

It works remarkably well, as Maritsa sips through a straw while Gabi holds the glass. Every time there’s a noise outside, Maritsa turns her head, and the curls hanging down around the side of her face bobble. She inhales roughly, smiles just a little when the rumble of the Mustang pulls up.

The door opens, and Tony stands there, the Mustang still rumbling in the background. The top is down, and the car shines as if it were just washed that morning.

Tony’s gaze flicks across Maritsa and Gabi, pauses for a long moment when he reaches Ángel. The corner of his mouth quirks up. “Having fun, Ángel?”

“I make a great bridesman,” Ángel tells him.

“He’s been perfect.” Zita pushes past Tony, walks behind Maritsa to flick her train, laying it out neatly. “Cleto’s waiting outside,” she says quietly. “Everyone’s sitting. You ready to make your entrance?”

The moment Cleto’s name is mentioned, Maritsa looks to the door. She takes several steps closer, then pauses on the threshold, the tension slipping from her body. “I am so ready,” she whispers. “More than ready.”

Cleto meets her at the door, takes her hand to lead her to the Mustang. Tony helps them both climb into the back so they can sit on the back shelf, Maritsa’s gown arranged neatly. When Tony gestures at the driver’s seat, Ángel isn’t sure at first what he’s saying. Then he catches on.

“Seriously?”

Tony nods, gestures, then gets into the passenger seat. Ángel slides into the driver’s seat, settles his hands on the wheel. Tony touches his arm before he can shift into first and start moving.

“Go slow. We’re part of the procession,” Tony cautions, as Gabi and Luca stand in front of them, and Zita ahead of them, with Danny.

Ángel waits as the others walk. It’s a slow procession around the house, the music joyful in the background, the rumble of the Mustang underlining the bass. Zita and Danny walk down the aisle, Gabi and Luca trailing behind them. Maritsa giggles from the back of the Mustang, waves enthusiastically as the crowd turns to look. Tony reaches over and honks the horn once to get the attention of anyone who hasn’t already turned.

Tony picks up the bouquet that lies on the center console, arches one eyebrow as his mouth quirks. “Ready?” he asks.

“Were you going to let Daphne drive the car?” Ángel asks as he slips out, meets Tony at the front. He carries the flowers in his left hand, rests his right on the crook of Tony’s elbow. No one looks at them, all attention focused on where Cleto helps Maritsa down from the Mustang, kisses her gently.

“Hah,” Tony says dryly. “You are the only person other than me to sit in that driver’s seat. And trust me, Luca’s tried.”

“I feel honored,” Ángel murmurs.

“You should be.”

They part when they reach the front of the aisle, Ángel standing next to Gabi, while Tony takes his position next to Luca. As Maritsa reaches the end of the aisle, Tía stands, steps out.

Maritsa pauses, Cleto’s hand on her back.

“You are a beautiful bride,” Tía says softly. She motions for Maritsa to bend, kisses both cheeks. “He will make you happy,” Tía tells her, before offering a quick hug. She sits then, quickly, quietly, her hands clasped in her lap. She’s not happy, but she’s happy for Maritsa, Ángel thinks, and it’s odd how those two can be different things.

The ceremony itself is short and sweet, surprisingly quick compared to other weddings Ángel has attended. At the end, when Cleto kisses Maritsa, they linger to the sound of friends and relatives whooping.

Tía wipes a tear and closes her eyes.

Zita directs the extended Mollicone family, along with the combined Martin and Cruz families, into rearranging the yard for the reception. Once she has them moving, the wedding party relocates to stand under the orange tree for pictures.

Most of the pictures are of Maritsa and Cleto. For the first time, Ángel understands what it means for a bride to be glowing. He can feel the joy radiating from her, suspects that if he were to touch her skin, sparks would fly, lit by her pleasure in the moment. The pictures with the entire wedding party take time for the photographer to arrange them exactly as she wants them. Gabi leans in close to whisper nonsense to Ángel, making him laugh.

In the shot with just the girls, Ángel has Gabi on his back, her arms looped over his shoulders as she presses her cheek to his. Maritsa leans in to kiss his cheek, while Zita watches with her arms crossed in mock disapproval. Ángel thinks it’s going to be his second favorite shot.

His favorite series are when he and Tony stand beneath the tree, striking the same poses as Zita and Danny, or Gabi and Luca before them. First one with Tony behind Ángel, arms wrapped around his center. Then one with them facing, hands clasped; Tony raises them to press a kiss to Ángel’s fingers just as the photographer snaps the picture.

They forget the camera for a moment after that, Ángel pushing forward into Tony’s space, hands around Tony’s head as he claims a kiss.

“Don’t upstage me!” Maritsa calls out after whistling.

“You can come over here and kiss your husband!” Ángel calls back. “We’ll get out of your way.”

Cleto grins wickedly, scoops Maritsa up, cradling her in his arms. He nudges Ángel and Tony out of the way and stands in the shade of the orange tree and kisses his wife.

As the pictures end, they rejoin the crowd on the other side of the lawn. There are tables, where most people sit, eating and chatting. Another section of the lawn has been designated as a dance floor, and a few couples already sway to the music.

The meal is a lavish buffet of Italian and Cuban food, and there are no assigned seats. Papi waves from the table he’s claimed with Joey, Mary, and Abuela. Ángel waves back, points to the buffet.

If he ever gets the chance to get to the buffet, that is.

“One dance,” Zita says, ushering the entire wedding party to the dance floor. “First dance, then everyone goes to eat. Especially you, Maritsa.” She gives her a look, waits until Maritsa nods. “No passing out on your wedding day, that’s not a good look for any bride.”

“I don’t know if any of you remember, but Zita forgot entirely to eat when we got married,” Danny leans past her to tell the story. “We made it to our room that night, ordered three meals for room service and she ate most of it. We called her mother, and she sent Tony up with two huge pieces of wedding cake, and a box of cannoli.”

Zita pats his cheek, her smile thin and stormy. “And that’s why I’m making sure Maritsa eats now, so that she can do something more than eat everything in sight after the reception’s over. Besides, it’s full moon, and we have the ceremony tonight. We’ll all be burning more energy than usual, so be prepared. Eat.” Her voice carries that sensation of an order; Ángel feels it wash over him, but doesn’t take the involuntary step toward the buffet that everyone else seems to, before they’re rerouted toward the dance floor.

“One formal dance to open the festivities,” the DJ calls out. “Cleto and Maritsa Reyes, everyone!”

As Cleto and Maritsa dance to familiar strains, Tony touches Ángel’s elbow, nods at the floor. Danny leads Zita out, and Luca spins Gabi around the floor. Ángel puts his hand in Tony’s, allows himself to be led out to take their place with the rest of the wedding party.

It seems a particularly public and potentially awkward coming out. But as Tony’s arms go around him, Ángel doesn’t care any more, and nudges a small kiss in response. He relaxes as they sway there, people cheering in the background when Cleto kisses Maritsa. The song is over all too soon, and as the music increases in tempo, other guests come out to the dance floor.

“We should eat,” Tony says; Ángel’s stomach rumbles his agreement.

They sit with Papi to eat, but Tony is pulled away before he finishes his plate. The reception is chaotic; without assigned seats, everyone is constantly on the move. Ángel loses track of Tony, despite wanting to talk to him. Eventually. He hopes.

Ángel touches the cuff links as if they’re a touchstone, something that links him to this family. Whether conversations are had or not tonight, this is, in some way, proof that he belongs.

“Come on.” Gabi leans over, both hands on his shoulders. “We need you for this cake thing.”

“Cake thing—oh, you mean the ribbons? You don’t need me for that.” Ángel can understand Gabi’s confusion, it’s a Cuban tradition, not Italian. “Only the single girls.”

“Were you, or were you not, a bridesmaid?” Gabi asks archly. When she pulls, it’s strong enough that Ángel stands up, stumbles a step along with her. “You’re one of the girls for today, so I say you get to pull a ribbon.”

Maritsa cheers when Ángel steps up, along with all the single cousins, aunts, and distant relatives from both sides of the extended families. There seem to be more people than there are ribbons dangling from the bottom layer of the wedding cake, and Ángel is hopeful that they might run out of ribbons before it’s his turn. But in the end, there are two ribbons left to pull, and only him and Gabi remain, and no one has yet found the ribbon with the ring.

“Pull a ribbon!” Maritsa calls out, clapping.

There’s nothing to do but give in. Ángel grips the tail end of a blue ribbon and tugs it free from the cake. For a moment it snags, and his heart skips, but when he lifts it up, there’s only a knot at the end and nothing dangling.

Cheers, and someone calls Gabi’s name.

She pulls the last ribbon quickly, and holds it high, the ring dangling from the purple strand. She’s flushed and grinning. “If I’m the next one married,” she says, “you are all going to be waiting a long, long time. I’m not even dating!”

“Maybe your true love is here!” someone yells, and Gabi flushes brightly.

“Doubt it,” she mutters. “It’s just a tradition, anyway.”

“From a magical household,” Ángel whispers. “You never know what’s predictive.”

Gabi hesitates. “But nothing would force—”

“Nothing can make you fall in love,” Ángel reassures her. “Only tell you that maybe the time is right.”

She touches his wrist, fingers lingering for a moment. “And magic can be surprisingly right about things like that, sometimes, too.” Gabi gets her hands on Ángel’s shoulders, turns him toward the dance floor. “Money dance next. Can girls dance with the bride?”

“I’m pretty sure that if you have cash to give, anyone can buy a dance this round.” Ángel heads straight there, determined to get his turn and give his gift. Besides. He wants his chance to wish Maritsa well.

He readies his bills before he goes out. He doesn’t have much money; not after working for Helga’s repair. But he hasn’t gone out to eat, and he’s managed to save a little. Ángel waits until he sees that Papi’s done pinning a hundred dollar bill to Maritsa’s shoulder, then cuts in.

He flashes the small wad of bills, murmurs, “You’re going to have to be patient with me if you want your gift.”

Maritsa leans in close, whispers, “You helped me fluff and primp and do things we won’t mention to Cleto, so I think I’m okay with you poking my boobs to give me money now.”

This conversation could go downhill so fast. Ángel smirks, and starts pinning as they dance.

“I’m really happy for you,” Ángel says quietly as they sway on the dance floor. “You and Cleto are perfect together. You’re going to be happy, and you’ve got the perfect family in the Lince. You fit in, and you seem so much more confident, more settled in yourself than you did when we were kids. I’m glad to see it.”

Maritsa frames his face, kisses his lips quickly. “We love you too, Ángel, and believe it or not, we missed you. We’re still family.” She straightens up, takes the remainder of his money and neatly folds it, tucking it into her bra. “There are more people lined up behind you, so I’m just going to let one of them cut in.” She spins them past Danny, and Ángel relinquishes her.

She blows a kiss as she dances away. Ángel’s life has changed so much since they graduated from high school, but he’s glad that Maritsa and Cleto are back in it.

Ángel spots Tía sitting at a table off to one side. He swings past the bar, picks up two glasses of water, and brings them over. He settles into one chair, nudges the glass to her. “It’s getting late,” he says quietly.

“Are you saying this old lady should be home and in bed?” Tía asks.

Ángel is quick to shake his head. “I think Abuela has danced more with Papi than Joey has,” he says. “I’m not going to tell anyone they’re too old.”

She pats his hand. “Thank you.” Tía drinks from the glass, considers him across the table. “Do you go back to school soon?”

“I do.” Ángel’s gaze drifts to where Maritsa still dances, a wreath of bills around her neck. She laughs as Gabi steps up, brandishing a pair of bills and a straight pin that Ángel can see even from this distance. “I’m going to be staying in touch better with my old life, now, though. I don’t want to let them all go again.”

Tía follows the direction of his gaze, lingering for a moment before she looks away. “Things have changed.”

“It’s not all bad.”

Tía purses her lips. “Isn’t it? They’ve stolen her, Ángel. Have they stolen you as well?”

Ángel huffs. “Complicated question. I’m studying Talent—how it works, all the different kinds there are out there. The Lince are something different than I’ve seen before. I don’t think I’ve got a cat to be called, Tía. If I did, though, I’d be okay with it. I’m proud to be part of their family, and I’m proud to be a Mage. And Maritsa’s still proud to be a Mage, too. She doesn’t want to walk away from you, and I don’t think Cleto does either. But if you push her away, she’ll go.”

“Nothing’s going to bring either of you back.” Tía touches his hand, and when he flips his wrist to show her the mark on the inside, she touches that as well.

“We’re not gone,” Ángel says firmly. “She’s not gone. And if you stop treating her as if she has to pick one or the other, you’ll see her more. You might want to think about that before she starts thinking about having a family someday. If you want to be in her life, that is.”

Tía’s fingers close over his wrist, hold on tight. Ángel has no idea how to interpret that.

He leans forward, speaks just loudly enough to be heard over the music, but low enough not to carry. “The only way there can be a wrong choice here, Tía, is if you make there be a choice at all. Abuela knows that me being with Tony doesn’t make me any less of a Cruz, or a Mage. I can be both a part of the Mollicone family, and a part of my own. We’re stronger together.”

She withdraws slowly. “Tell Maritsa I would like to speak with her.”

Ángel reaches into the pocket of his jacket, pulls out his last ten dollar bill and a pin. He offers it, then offers his arm. “Tony’s dancing with Maritsa right now, and I don’t see anyone else in line. Why don’t you cut in on them, and I’ll claim my boyfriend, and you can tell Maritsa you still love her.”

They move slowly through the crowd. Ángel thinks Tony spots them coming, because he spins Maritsa so that her back is to them. So it’s a surprise when Tía reaches out, taps Tony on the shoulder and slides between them to take Maritsa’s arm.

Tony puts an arm around Ángel’s shoulder, draws him in close and kisses him. Ángel catches a glimpse of Maritsa’s head bowed, as she listens to Tía, and he hopes it goes well. Maritsa deserves to have both her families, going forward.

“Boyfriend?” Tony says, and Ángel pulls back, flushing.

“You heard that?”

“I may have been paying attention to you.” Tony kisses his forehead, spins him around. “It’s okay. It sounds right to me.”

Ángel would reply, but it’s lost in the noise as the tempo changes to something upbeat and Tony whisks him around. And after that, everything is just lost in the celebration.

[ Previous | First | Next ]

[sevenclowds]

ang's epic adventure 2k17

The extremely long-winded, full director’s cut, bonus edition of 4 days spent chasing round the country after Frank Iero. I don’t expect anyone to read all of this, but I wrote it for my benefit bc I don’t want to forget any details of my epic adventure. Warning: very long and emo. Scenes of crying & general fangirling.

LIVERPOOL Sept 21 2017

I got the train down from Edinburgh to Liverpool in the morning and arrived around lunchtime. It felt weird being on my own so far from home yet this area is where I grew up so I was both home and far from home and it was the oddest combination of feelings. I wandered around the city listening to the scousers and enjoying hearing that accent again. My hotel for the night was Parr St Studios, a really cool place that is still a working recording studio that has been used by the likes of Coldplay, Pulp, and The Smiths, but still manages to find space for a few hotel rooms. I have to say, even though I was forewarned about the noise on the website, it is without doubt the loudest, least restful place I've ever stayed in. Imagine trying to get some shut-eye on the floor of a night club and you might have some idea. I still loved the place, don't get me wrong and would stay there again in a heartbeat because it was so cool. I sat in my room that afternoon listening to the same guitar riff being played downstairs over and over and over for 2 hrs. It was pretty catchy until they added some autotune vocals which, if they want my opinion, sorta spoiled the vibe. But I was in Liverpool, the home of good music, in a literal recording studio, looking out at The Arts Club, where Frank and the boys would be playing that night. I was happy and buzzed. Life is good!

View from my window:

The Arts Club is that building with the checked brick design. From my perfectly placed spying window, I could see the band coming and going out the side door. Matt came out for a cigarette, Frank came out to make a phone call, Derek Zanetti came out in his floral sweater and hugged some random person, one of the Paceshifters crew paced and shifted. It was compulsive viewing. (If you zoom in really far you'll see Matt outside smoking.) I see you, Matt Olsson.

At 7pm I made my way down in the rickety lift (one of those old fashioned ones with the grille and concertina door that gives you a workout just trying to get in the damn thing) and walked next door to the Arts Club.

THE SUPPORT BANDS Paceshifters This Dutch trio consists of a pair of super-cute brothers with nice hair and a half-naked drummer. They've obviously listened to a lot of Oasis/Smashing Pumpkins bc the lead singer has a similar grungy nasal voice. Some of their songs go on a bit and have quieter contemplative moments that are probably great to listen to at home, but make the folks at the show head for the bar. Overall, a promising act. I liked them a lot but I think they were maybe just a little too nervous to project their presence fully.

The Homeless Gospel Choir Derek Zanetti, aka THGC, arrives onstage and instantly owns it. With his flowery sweater, slightly out of tune acoustic guitar, big earnest blue eyes, large glasses, and his heart on his sleeve, he proceeds through his set of "folk punk protest songs" like an endearing steam train, gathering speed and the audience's attention as he goes. "This is a protest song!" he yells before every single song, and we can't stop smiling and laughing and cheering him on. He's the very definition of punk: an outcast, no longer trying to fit into any mould, proud to be different, and reminding the room that we're "never gonna be normal cause you're a punk!" I luff him.

Dave Hause & the Mermaid So after all that excitement, on comes Dave Hause and his mermaid friends. I'd love to like this band, but for some reason they offend my musical sensibilities. To my ears, their sound is very middle of the road rock, the kind of thing I used to listen to in the late 80s/early 90s before Frank & co were old enough to invent good music. Perhaps that's my problem with them, they remind me of past times, and I've moved on from the Bryan Adams phase of my life and don't particularly need to revisit it. The band is competent enough, but I just wish they had some songs that made me feel alive and want to clap my hands of my own accord, rather than being forced to clap by a frantic Dave Hause whose sole purpose in life seems to be to make every single audience member clap along to every single second of the show while singing 'Oh-oooohh", which incidentally, seems to be the chorus of every song. Two identical blokes near the front pumped their fists and sang to every single word, so obviously my lukewarm opinion wasn't shared by everybody. Plus, Evan clearly enjoyed them, because I spotted him up on the balcony taking some video during their set:

FIATP Finally, to the dramatic strains of the Interstellar soundtrack, our heroes took to the stage. As the first guitar chords rang out, they were completely captivating as usual. Their set consisted of a mix of old and new, BFF and No Fun Club from the new EP, and Helter Skelter to please the Beatles fans in the audience. Frank told us, "We're going to play some songs tonight that we haven't played in a long time. There's some songs that we don't normally play. There's some songs that we do play a lot so, uh, you can just pretend to be surprised by all of them!" At one point someone shouted, "Matt Olsson is sexy as fuck!" to which Frank shot back, "That might not be true!" Nice to see some Matt love :) The crowd, although very enthusiastic, wasn't quite as lively as I'd imagined a scouser crowd would be, and nothing like as rough and bruise-inducing as the Glasgow crowds I grew up going to shows with. I think a lot of that was to do with the stage being so wide which made the audience seem a little sparse. Even at the back, there would be only about 10 people in front of you. Overall, though, it's a wonderful venue for being able to see the band because everyone is close and I got some great pics and video :)

Videos: BFF | I’m a Mess | Helter Skelter | Matt Olsson love

After the show, I wandered among the merch booths. The Paceshifter boys were looking a little sad and lonely so I signed up for their mailing list, took a sticker and told them I liked their stuff. I felt like a mother trying to give encouragement to her kids. You did great! Keep up the good work! I made Paul Paceshifter smile so my work was complete. Then I bought a 5 quid patch from the Homeless Gospel Choir and Derek was so appreciative you'd think I'd just paid off his mortgage. He asked my name, took my hand, looked at me with those piercing blue eyes of his and thanked me profusely for my generosity. I got a photo with him. "We're two peas in a pod!" he said. I'm not sure what he meant but I just laughed and agreed...

Then I noticed Evan on the stage, coiling up cables, and figured I'd annoy him next. I shouted his name and he came over and we chatted about the fact that I'd met him in Baltimore (I don't think he remembered me but whatever, I still consider him to be my friend dammit!) and that we'd had a conversation about Nando's being his fave British restaurant. I asked him if he'd had his Nando's fix yet and he said yes he'd eaten lunch there and then proceeded to natter about how good their chicken is and how he can't get it back home. He said he'd felt really off tonight because of jet lag and that he'd played probably his worst show ever. I told him I disagreed and that I thought he did great (again with the parental pep talk wtf). Then I remembered that @phantomseverywhere would kill me if I didn't get a pic of Future Husband™ so he came and sat on the edge of the stage and we got this pic:

He said he was so exhausted that he didn't think his image would show up in the photo. Bless. Poor Evvie.

I went outside and there were so many people out there. It's a busy night club district and apparently Thurs night is party night for Liverpudlians. I went back to the hotel briefly to get some wifi so I could send updates and pics. Then I came back down at midnight to see if the band were out yet. There were a fair number of fans standing around waiting but gradually they all trickled away until it was just me, a 14 yr old called Mia and her dad, and a small group of maybe 6 people. I struck up a conversation with Mia because she was sweet and had X's on her eyes. This was her first time seeing Frank and she was super excited. Then Frank came out, wheeling a box of equipment down the road and across the cobblestoned street (they must hate Europe!). Mia was like, "It's Frank! OMG it's FFRNAK!" and we got to shake his hand and get some photos and he said he'd come back out and chat after they'd loaded the van. He looked very cold with at least 3 layers, hood, hat and thick gloves. It wasn't actually very cold at all. Bless our Frank and his lack of circulation.

All the bands were loading their own equipment into the van. I guess I thought they might have crew to do that for them but they only had a skeleton crew. (So very proud of that joke! Sorry, couldn't help myself.) I kinda felt like asking them if they needed help (again, mom mode) but would they find that weird and I expect they're very protective of all their expensive kit and wouldn't want the likes of us touching it. A group of drunk girls walked past, and asked if they were famous. "Who are you? Have we heard of you? Are you famous?" To which Alex replied, "Yes, we're all famous!" but the girls obviously didn't believe him and walked off. I said, "Alex! I know you're famous. Can I get a photo with you?" and his little face lit up. He complained that no one ever recognizes the bass player, to which I reminded him that I did indeed recognize him and here we were taking a selfie and could he please shut up and smile ;)

Then Frank wandered over to us, clearly ready to sign things and chat. Mia had a sharpie so we all got stuff signed. Someone said they would be at the Glasgow show in Oct and he said that show is on the year anniversary of the accident. I asked him how his shoulder was and he said, "It suhks! I'm in constant pain." :( I asked him if he was getting massage therapy and/or physical therapy and he said he was getting PT. He told me he'd torn the tendon from the bone, so it sounds like a rotator cuff injury, which are notorious for taking many months and even years to heal :( He said he'd been offered surgery to fix it but didn't really want to go under the knife. "I don't want them to cut me." (OMG could he be more vulnerable and lovable?) He said, "Is it getting any better? No. But is it getting any worse? No. So I'm just going to wait it out for now." I left feeling so immensely grateful that he puts on shows for us and plays that damn guitar even though he's in pain. Props to you, kiddo! You're amazing!

I went back to the hotel and spent 2 hrs coming down from the high of meeting Frank. I'd finally met him. Bloody hell, it's been 12 years and I got there eventually, due to a gargantuan effort, meticulous planning, and much expense  in plane fares and hotel bills. Totally. All. Worth. It. I messaged my husband and he was so excited for me. He posted to Facebook, “If your wife’s going to run off with someone, it may as well be Frank. No shame in that.” Love that man and his tolerance of my weird hobbies :) At about 3.30am I eventually figured I might be calm enough to sleep, but the noise was un-fucking-believeable. My window was locked open which meant my room was freezing and all the nightclub sounds from outside in the adjoining building were so loud. I might as well have been outside. Even with earplugs, a hoodie, and a pillow over my ears, it was hopeless. I maybe got 3 hrs of low quality sleep and at 7am figured fuck it I might as well get up and go to Leeds.

LEEDS Sept 22 2017

Took the train to Leeds and checked into the hotel right next to the Key Club. I love a venue right next to a hotel. Makes things so easy :) It was a trendy hotel and I wasn't sure I liked this cricketer in my shower who freaked me out every time I used the bathroom.

I had too much nervous excitement to eat but I forced myself to have a bowl of soup for dinner. I wasn’t feeling that great tbh. The sleep deprivation was starting to get to me and I wondered if I'd be able to stand for the 4 hr show again that night. What was I thinking? Teenagers can do this night after night but can old people? Do I have the stamina? Was this all a big mistake?

I made my way to the Key Club and Paceshifters were already on stage. The venue was small (tiny!), long and narrow so that only a few people could be at the front. It was dark, cosy, and welcoming. Instantly, I was home again and I tucked myself into the crowd, all tiredness evaporating. I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather be. I was living! How stupid I'd been to think I needed sleep! Nope, what I needed was 4 hours of live punk music. Yes!! I saw lots of familiar faces from the previous night. The two identical Dave Hause enthusiasts were there, fists pumping and heads banging during his set, and I got chatting to a couple of girls who had come from Canada and Germany to this show. Then FIATP came on and the room went fuhkin WILD!!! Congrats, Leeds. You definitely won the prize for most energetic crowd. Bloody. Hell. The room moved in waves and I didn't really stand a chance of doing anything but go with it. I impersonated flotsam for a couple of songs until I managed to extricate myself and get to the side of the room. Frank later informed us that it was a sold out crowd. Go Leeds! We were treated to Helter Skelter again, and also It Ain't Easy (a Bowie cover). Loving the covers, guys. During the encore break the crowd started chanting "Oh Jeremy Corbyn!" which was the greatest thing ever tbh. It was obvious that a bunch of Americans weren't going to know who Jeremy Corbyn is and Frank came out looking amused and confused. "To be honest," he said, "I have no idea what you guys are saying but it sounds fucking awesome!" Haha omg.

Videos: Oh Jeremy Corbyn! | It Ain’t Easy | Remedy

I didn't hang around to meet the guys after the show because 1) I didn’t want to bother them every night and 2) because I really needed to get an early night. The show finished at 10.13 and I was back up in my hotel room by 10.15. Get in!

THOUGHT BUBBLE Sept 23 2017

So this was going to be my day off. All I had planned on my itinerary was "Hang out in Leeds". The next show wasn't until the next day so I thought I'd have an easy day wandering around before getting the train to Manchester. But then I found out about Thought Bubble, a comic con which was happening. In fucking Leeds. The actual place I was already in. That day. The actual day I had off. So what's a girl to do but go see Gerard Way. Might as well meet half of mcr during this trip. I purchased a day pass and wandered off to find where Gee was. I found him in Leeds Town Hall, right in the corner, sort of trapped there signing things all day. Not sure how he does it, but it didn't look like the most fun a guy could have. I'd already decided not to stand in line to meet him because I'd heard someone say the queue snaked though 4 rooms in the building and down the stairs outside (I was hearing 5 hrs wait) and I'd already met him 2 yrs ago at NC Comicon. So I just snapped a couple of pictures from a distance, content with just seeing him in person, reassured that he was still real and alive and well. I wandered around some of the comic tables but I wasn't even in the mood for it. Turns out a comic con isn't much fun on your own. It didn't seem right to be there without my comic-loving hubby and kiddo.

There was still 5 hrs to go until the Young Animal panel. Why was it scheduled so late? If I went to that then I would have to get a later train to Manchester and would arrive in the dark, which isn't the best plan for a girl on her own. What to do? I debated for ages with my buddy @gerardwaay. Should I get the earlier train, arrive in plenty of time and get some much-needed rest, or should I attend the panel which ends late and travel in the dark and risk getting killed horribly in Manchester? So of course, I chose Gerard over my life. You would have done the same, right?

There wasn't exactly a queue for the panel yet, but I could see a crowd of what were clearly "my people", waiting outside the panel venue. I recognized about half of them from the Leeds and Liverpool shows lmao. There was a guy with a Black Parade jacket, so many girls wearing fishnets, people with FIATP and Umbrella Academy patches. Yes, I was in the right place. These were my people :)

After about 2 hours of waiting we were allowed into the auditorium and we all spent a very happy hour in the company of Gerard and co. The girls next to me in the queue had been laughing about the fact that they'd spent all day at the comic con and hadn't seen any of the comic stuff at all. All they'd done was literally queue up to meet Gerard and then queue up again to see Gerard. That man is single-handedly propping up the comic book industry lmao.

MANCHESTER Sept 24 2017

I spent the day catching up with an old friend of mine who I hadn't seen for 13 yrs. We had a great time comparing fandoms: she's into One Direction and Harry Styles. She's never heard any MyChem songs, but then again I've never knowingly heard a One Direction song either so it's all good. As we wandered around Manchester we saw many more of "my people" and I trained her how to spot them and inducted her into the secret world of the Frank symbol. This is how we communicate with each other, I said. Through the use of this symbol and the initials "FIATP". Does Harry Styles have a symbol, huh? Huh? I actually don't know the answer to this.

At 6.30pm we parted ways and I headed down to the venue. I had had very little to eat that day and was feeling hungry-sick but literally couldn't eat anything. It was a good job this was the last night because being on the road is tough. I honestly don't know how the guys do it, and once again I’m enormously appreciative and in awe of all they do for us.

The Manchester show was so nice. It felt like a big party. So many familiar faces, people starting to know all the words to The Homeless Gospel Choir songs, the Jeremy Corbyn chant popping up again, Dave Hause doing a tribute to Oasis by doing a few choruses of Wonderwall. I think this was my favourite show of the 3. I was getting into the swing of being on my own and I had an absolute blast! The only thing is that it was so HOT. Frank said he had trench foot because his shoes still hadn't dried out from the previous show. I don't think they'll be drying out anytime soon tbh.

Videos: Blood Infections | They Wanted Darkness | World Destroyer | Joyriding

After the show, I got a taxi back to my hotel and as I walked to the lift, a sudden wave of emotion hit me. By the time I reached my room I was a sobbing mess. I stood in my room crying, big wracking sobs, not of sadness, but of joy, gratitude and love for these special few days I got to spend with my band. I am so immensely grateful to have them in my life. Do they know how much they mean to me? DO THEY KNOW???! Thanks to @phantomseverywhere for letting me cry at you until I calmed down :) I was just processing a lot of emotions at once. It had been an intense trip, traveling on my own, trying to keep myself safe, meeting my hero and his lovely friends, and partying to my favourite music every night whilst surrounded by my people. Thank you thank you thank you. I am the luckiest girl in the world :D