#i think my favourite part was figuring out how to do all the little accessories

[the-surreptitious-albatross]

Been working on these for a while and they’re finally done - crochet dolls of Li Lianhua, Di Feisheng, and Fang Duobing!

As my starting point, I used a pattern by CreacionesColly, and then made modifications as needed.

Pictures of details below the cut

[nottsangel]

here‘s finally my favourite ts4 mods list <3

general:

mccc by deaderpool — idk how to explain this one but it gives you a lot of options to set up different aspects in the game, like relationships, careers, pregnancy, and more. it‘s reeeeally helpful

ui cheats by weerbesu — you can use this one for different cheats in the game (like immediately fixing the needs of your sims)

cas:

more traits in CAS by thepancake1 & mizoreyukii — gives you more options to add traits in cas & build mode on your lots, which is so helpful. but definitely read through the description & how to install it

100 base game traits by vickysims — this is a pack with 100 new traits for you to add for your sims. gives you an overall more diverse experience with the sims. but you also have to read through everything very well, i think

aesthetic traits by simwithshan — i recently found this one and i like it a lot. it gives you a few traits for your sims which are inspired by different aesthetics. like baddie, old money, cottagecore and more

cas no makeup & no accessories on by simplyanjuta — the game won’t randomly add any makeup or accessories when you‘re creating sims. it‘s so helpful because for me i always hate the random makeups or accessories soo it‘s very nice

gameplay:

lgbtqia+ mod by lumpinous — gives you more options to customise the sexualities & genders of your sim. you can add individual pronouns, add different stuff and more. you can even decide that their identity gets randomly chosen. i really like it because you can do a lot with it once you figured all out

life manager mod by Sacrificial Junior — this is not necessary if you‘re not into the big family gameplay. i use it whenever i make a new sim and want them to have a family already (parents, grandparents) because whenever you make a new sim they don’t have any family members and it adds at least a bit more realism

control any sim by titannano — gives you the opportunity to control any sim in the game you want. it‘s very useful for sims that aren’t a part of your family.

grannies cookbook by littlbowbub — it‘s a cute detail for more options to cook. it‘s a little cookbook. you have to read through the instructions as well, there‘s a few options you can download

simda dating app by littlemssam — it‘s a dating app. that’s it lmao. your sim can sign up to a hookup service as well or go on blind dates and the sim you go on a date with gets randomly chosen by the game. or you decide the sim you want to go on a date with on your own.

————

soo that’s it i‘m dead lmao that was a lot 💀 i still have a few more but these here are my faves as they add a bit of realism to the game. the links are either from patreon or cursefrog. some or at least one is directly from tumblr! have fun 🤓

(i hope i added all the correct links)

THANK U SM !!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭😭🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

[siriusblack-the-third]

Boredom, Flustration and Love Confessions part 1

Hdjdjd my very first non- Percy Jackson fic djsgdkd i hope you like this little drabble

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

It starts like this:

Sirius is bored.

A bored Sirius, James knows, is never a good thing, because the boy will whine in James' ear and poke him in the ribs or bite his shoulder or tug on the fringe on the back of his head that's a bit longer than the rest of his hair (he had a munj ceremony when he was eight and he still keeps the evidence at sixteen) till James is sighing and giving in to Sirius' demands of chaos.

And honestly, James is way too fond of Sirius to be even remotely annoyed by his antics. Also doesn't hurt that he thrives off of chaos just as much as the other boy does.

However, there are times when Sirius doesn't bother to wheedle James into causing mischief, and simply goes off to do it on his own. On those days, he is dead set on giving James a heart attack.

Days like today.

It's a beautiful Saturday, really— the sky isn't too blue but it isn't cloudy either, and the breeze is just this side of cold. Perfect for Quidditch. James is sitting in his favourite seat in the Gryffindor common room, where he is far enough away from the fire that his skin isn't burning and he can stare at the Quidditch pitch through the open window. He and Remus are getting their homework over with between the exchange of sarcastic barbs, prank ideas and wicked smiles. Peter is off at detention and Sirius... come to think of it, where is Sirius?

The Fat Lady's portrait opens, but James doesn't look; he turns to Remus with the question of Sirius on the tip of his tongue, but is cut off by the werewolf lifting his head up and catching sight of someone.

"Oi, Pads," Remus hollers, "fuck've ya been?"

James whips his head up and grins widely at his best mate, who is sauntering up to them with a lazy smirk and an effortless elegance to his long limbs that James never figured out how to imitate. His grey eyes harbour that perpetual devilish gleam that is unique to Sirius, and James' gaze catches on the few stray waves of pitch black hair that are slipping out of his bun. Sirius walks close enough to get a ray of sunshine across his face, and silver glitters at his ears.

See, here's the thing: Sirius has piercings. A fuckton of piercings, ranging from the generic lobe piercings to the playful helix to the risque belly button to the roguish eyebrow to a downright sinful industrial. In total, he has nine piercings, compared to James' simple lobe piercings that his parents got done when he was a baby. Sirius also has a huge collection of earrings and ear cuffs, and he is never seen without at least four accessories in. Today, he's wearing all of them.

James resolutely keeps his eyes away from that attention-grabbing jewellery.

"Cheers, Padfoot," he chirps, and Sirius chuckles as he plops down next to him, lifting a hand to ruffle James' hair. The younger boy squawks and swats at his hand, making Sirius and Remus snicker.

"Alright Moons, Jamie?" he nods at the both of them, leaning back and spreading his legs so that his left one is thrown across James lap. The black ripped denim jeans stretch obscenely across his thick thighs, but James keeps his smile on his face.

"Just the Arithmancy essay," he answers, but keeps his quill down and drops his head onto Sirius' shoulders. "The one about the compression of space-time in Apparition. Where have you been?"

"Oh y'know," Sirius shrugs, and James shifts back to follow the line of his broad, leather-clad shoulders before he catches himself and looks away, heat crawling up his cheeks. "Getting a piercing."

Oh, no.

James notices Remus perk up out of the corner of his eye (the lad has his own impressive collection of piercings) but he is more invested in scanning Sirius' ears for the new addition. A second later, he frowns; all the piercings are old ones.

"Where is it?" he asks, curious. (The poor boy forgets– curiosity killed the cat.)

Sirius' grey eyes flicker with mischief, and James is given barely a second to register the foreboding feeling that suddenly fills his guts before his best friend is sticking out his tongue, a sly tilt to his lips. A flash of silver hits James' eyes.

"Holy shit!" Remus crows, and Sirius laughs, but James' mouth has gone dry. He stares at that tongue, at the sneak peeks of the metal ball he gets when Sirius starts a rapid-fire conversation with Remus, gaze drawn to the full, pale pink lips as they curl around words that James cannot be bothered to listen to.

Oh, fuck.

A tongue piercing.

Sirius has a tongue piercing.

Fuck.

[melisusthewee]

WIP Wednesday!!!

Pretend there’s a cool graphic here.  Perhaps I’ll have time to make one some day soon.  Or if anyone wants to whip one up for me, I’ll draw your blorbo as an exchange of goods and services.

Anyways!  On to the sharing!  I was really pleasantly surprised with last week and how many people shared with each other what neat things they were working on and kept the chain going.  So I’m doing it again!  Remember, there’s no pressure, but show me what you’re working on!  What neat things do you have cooking in either the Dragon Age or otherwise fandoms?

I myself don’t have a whole lot this week.  I’ve been suffering from an overwhelming number of ideas and brain bugs and can’t really sit down to complete any of them.  Instead I’m bouncing from idea to idea like a ping pong ball.  I did a little more work on my Inquisitor’s character sheet this week, focusing on his post-Trespasser design as head of Divine Victoria’s honour guard.

(Art and discussion of concept ideas, as well as tag list are below the cut.)

For context, this was the original “design” which was done last year and mostly on a dare after making the joke that the Divine’s bodyguards in Trespasser were just wearing recoloured versions of Sebastian’s outfit and “lol wouldn’t Quinn look dumb in that.”  I added a few elements of Divine Victoria’s armour - mainly with the red fur mantle but it’s pretty basic.

This was my first pass at the redesign for Quinn’s new reference sheet done a couple months ago.  I kept the shoulders the same, but tried to lean into Divine Victoria’s armour more.  Unfortunately, I don’t think it suits a male figure or it just didn’t really translate well for me.  The addition of texture/embossing on parts of the armour also made it feel a bit too busy for me more than looking decorative or elegant.  It also didn’t look like it allowed for much movement in the torso and while I make the dark joke that Quinn is so drunk and depressed at this point in his life that it’d make sense to strap him into armour that forces him to stay upright, compared to the other outfits I’ve redesigned this just... didn’t feel it.

Here is my more recent pass at the redesign!  Again, the shoulders are largely untouched.  I like the idea of the armour completely covering what remains of his left arm, plus it has the added practicality of likely having a strap at the bottom that wraps around the bottom of his sleeve securing it into place.  The bracer on his right arm has also largely been left alone - it’s a hold over from some of his Inquisitor gear in one of my designs and I like carrying bits over... like a wardrobe evolution.  It also shows that Quinn has personal attachment to articles of clothing and accessories.  The fur mantle of the Divine is still there... never gonna get rid of it, but it’s sort of combined/blended with the in-game body guard appearance.  The chest has also been flattened and simplified, going back to resembling the body guard/Sebastian chest piece but a little larger and more protective.  Plus the hint of plate layering too.  The scaled coat is still there as the under layer, but it’s less prominent or visible.  There is a vest between the armour and the scale coat to give the breast plate a little more friction to stay in place.  It will likely be red with gold accents.  All the embossing on the armour has been removed.  I am unlikely to bring it back.

The waist design was also re-worked, taking inspiration from one of my favourite artists’ character design work in Fire Emblem.  The Roman-esque belted skirt is more of a half-skirt, with a fabric skirt draped over part of the belt.  I’ve blocked out a section where I am going to experiment with embroidery patterns similar to what I’ve done on previous outfits to give this more of a my-idea-of-the-Trevelyans feel.  I haven’t done a colour test yet.  But I do think I like this better overall.

Close up of his face, if you like.  He’s so sad.  He’s so tired.  He needs a beard shave and a haircut.

Tagging with absolutely no pressure: @rosella-writes​ @roguelioness​ @potatowitch​ @cleverblackcat​ @noire-pandora​ @darethshirl​ @kittynomsdeplume​ @little-lightning-lavellan​ @little--abyss​ @plisuu​ @blarrghe​ @inquisitoracorn​ @morganlefaye79​ @knuttydraws​ @knightdawn​ @n7viper​ @sulky-valkyrie​ @drag-on-age​ @oxygenforthewicked​ @bluewren​ @nirikeehan​ @effelants​ @greypetrel​ @scribbledquillz​ @transprincecaspian​ @transfenris-truther​ @jellydishes​ @absyntthe​ @idolsgf​ @terencessong​ @internetdoashouting​

As always, if you would like to be added or removed, please let me know.  Don’t feel shy or bad about it!  You can even DM me privately and know one else has to know!

[pies-writes-and-more]

the first time saying I love you p. 2

Warnings: nothing! Maybe some swearing but all fluff!

Characters: Iwaizumi Hajime, Oikawa Toru, & Tsukishima Kei, all with a Fem!Reader

A/N: Thank you so much @livy384​ for asking for a part 2 of this idea!!! I was so excited to see someone wanted to see more of one of my headcanons haha. So here you go lovely!! A big thank you as usual to my inspiration babies @thisnoodlewritesao3​ and @satan-ruler-of-hells​ <3  Also I’m sorry I know Oikawa’s is shorter than the others but I’ve never written for him or thought about writing for him so i’m so very sorry if it sucks xD

pt. 1

Iwaizumi Hajime Who says it first: Neither of you

It was supposed to have been a really cute date - Iwaizumi had remembered you telling your friend that there was a market near by that you’ve always wanted to go visit, but never had anyone to go with. Naturally, Iwaizumi tucked that information in the back of his brain and planned.

It was a Saturday and Iwaizumi had somehow managed to get himself away from practice, making you smile wide when he asked if you wanted to spend the day together. You knew he felt a little bad lately, being so busy with volleyball, and as much as you never blamed him for it, you were happy to be spoiled with his presence. When he started walking you towards the market, your eyes went wide, looking at all the cute stalls that you wanted to visit and the items you wanted to check out.

“Iwa!” You grinned up at him, shaking his arm excitedly. “How did you know I wanted to go here?”

He just shrugged and gave you a smile, patting your head gently, “Let’s find some cute things for my cute girlfriend hm?” You beamed and happily took his hand, the two of you going around to each stall.

There was too much to look at honestly and you wanted nothing more than to carry bundles of everything home. Iwa managed to sneak away from you for a second while you talked to a stall owner, picking out a necklace for you and holding it close to his chest for a moment, just thinking of you. Meanwhile, you managed to find a beautiful lucky charm to give him for his next game. He never really needed it but you always liked the gesture of being the one to give it to him anyways.

It was a perfect date so far.

And then Oikawa showed up.

“Iwa!” He grinned, waving from afar. You laughed, realizing that Oikawa had most likely followed you guys here. You never minded him tagging along on your dates (though the girls that followed him were sometimes a bit extreme), but Iwaizumi on the other hand... never seemed too happy to see his best friend.

Iwaizumi groaned loudly, annoyed at himself for casually mentioning that he’d be bringing you here this weekend, “Why are you here?” He grumbled, glaring at his friend as he made his way over.

Oikawa just pouted, “I just wanted to make sure you were being nice to Y/N!”

“When am I ever mean to Y/N?”

“I dunno, but you’re mean to me and I’m your best friend so I just assumed it was how you show affection,” Oikawa chuckled and gave you a wave, “Are you two having fun?”

You nodded and glanced around at all the other stalls you still wanted to visit, “There’s so much to look at! Are you looking to get anything, Oikawa?”

The boy just smiled and looked around, “I dunno, I’ll have to look around some! What did you two get?” He asked, nodding at the little bags and packages you were holding.

“Oh! I found this cute little decoration for my parents’ kitchen,” you explain, showing off some of the little knickknacks you found. “I wanted to find some sort of accessory for myself. Maybe like a barrette or a bracelet,” you admitted, eyes drifting away again as if you would be able to find something from where you were standing.

“Like this?” Oikawa asked, peeking into Iwaizumi’s bag and pulling out a little jewlery box, opening it to see the necklace that Iwaizumi had bought you.

“You asshole! Give that back!” Iwaizumi’s eyes went wide, realizing he had had his eyes locked on you the whole time you were talking because you were just so cute, he hadn’t even noticed Oikawa practically pickpocketing him.

Oikawa’s bottom lip just stuck out again, huffing and holding the item farther away from his best friend, “Why are you so mean? If you bought it for her, shouldn’t you give it to her? What, were you just going to let her buy something else for herself and waste her money?”

Iwaizumi’s whole face was red. He didn’t want to yell out his whole plan to the market, let alone to Oikawa when you were standing right there, laughing at the whole encounter.

“Stop being so shy, Iwa,” Oikawa cooed, smiling as he looked at you, “I’m sure she thinks it’s really cute that you buy her things to show her you love her!”

“Shittykawa, please shut the hell up,” Iwaizumi glared at his friend, still trying to grab the box away from him.

“Aw don’t put words in his mouth, Oikawa,” you giggled, smiling up at your boyfriend and his friend, “I think he just does it cause he’s sweet.”

Oikawa noticed the way you were so quick to dismiss his words, glancing between you and Iwaizumi, completely confused, “What do you mean?”

“Oikawa, I swear to god, please go before I kill you,” Iwaizumi was practically clawing his hands up to Oikawa’s neck, his whole body feeling flustered.

“Iwaizumi, did you tell her you didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of your friends? It’s okay! She can know I know! It’s not like you don’t talk about it all the time.”

“Talk about what?” You asked, growing more confused as the conversation went on.

“About how much he loves you! He talks about it all the time with the team!” Oikawa beamed, finally letting Iwaizumi grab the jewelry box from his hands.

Your eyes go wide, looking over at Iwaizumi, who seemed suddenly very concerned over kicking some dust on the ground. His whole face was red, eyes looking literally anywhere but at you.

“You love me?” You squeaked out nervously.

“No! I-I mean, yes but- hang on,” your boyfriend groaned. He had the whole thing planned out, he had wanted to tell you a whole speech about how much he loved you and now that whole plan was absolutely ruined.

Oikawa’s body froze as he watched the two of you, sheepishly laughing, “Oh... I spoiled it didn’t I? That’s what the necklace was for hm?”

“Shittykawa, if one more word leaves your lips-” Iwaizumi huffed, punching his arm with an annoyed look on his face.

“I’m sorry, Iwa! I didn’t mean to spoil your first love confession! But honestly, I’m such a big part of your life, maybe it’s better this way-” Oikawa grinned, obviously trying to lift up some of the tension.

“I’m going to count to three, and if you’re not gone by the end of it, I will literally bury you alive.” There was something different about this death threat, a growl in Iwaizumi’s throat building with his anger.

Oikawa’s smile tensed and he just turned to you with a little wave, “I suddenly remembered I have to be literally anywhere else but here. Have a nice date! Please convince him not to kill me!”

You had never seen Oikawa dash away so quickly, his figure gone almost immediately after waving goodbye.

Iwaizumi seemed so angry, all you could was offer a small smile, “You okay?” You asked softly, touching his arm gently.

He seemed to relax a bit at your touch, sighing and just turning to look at you, “Yeah. Please don’t listen to anything he says. He’s literally an idiot.”

You smiled shyly, rocking on your heels awkwardly, “So... you don’t love me then?”

Iwaizumi’s eyes widened immediately, shaking his hands in front of him quickly in denial, “N-No. I mean. Yes. Just don’t listen to him. But yes, I love you.” He hesitated for a moment, seeming to watch your eyes. “Unless you don’t love me back, then we can just pretend none of this happened,” he mumbled shyly, rubbing the back of his head.

You couldn’t help but giggle, pushing his arm playfully, “You idiot. Of course I love you.”

He blinked in surprise, staring at your face and trying to make sure you weren’t just joking with him, “Oh. Well in that case, this is for you.” He handed you the small box holding the necklace, watching as you open it to find a small pendant of your favourite animal. “The heart ones just seemed so cheesy,” he admitted with a shrug. “But I hope you think of me whenever you wear it.”

Your heart literally grew three sizes, this boy was being so cute and sweet. You nodded up at him happily, still admiring your new necklace, which was exactly what you had hoped to find at the market, “I will.”

He whispered another “I love you” to you as he helped clasp the necklace behind your neck, pressing a kiss to your cheek from behind and sending a tingle down your spine. 

He said “I love you” to you every hour after that - if his surprise was going to be spoiled, he was going to spoil you with those words over and over again, never wanting you to forget how he feels about you.

Oikawa Toru Who says it first: You

Oikawa was literally the worst person to study with - he was always so distracting. How could someone who barely looks at his notes during your study dates be in Class 6? He was always busy with volleyball anyways, so how was it possible that he had any other time to do work?

“Hurry up and finish your work so we can go do something fun,” Oikawa hummed with a smirk on his face, having already finished his homework. He refused to let you look at his answers, or even help you, because “how are you supposed to learn, Y/N?” Smug ass look on his face how rude. “I might just have to go on some adventure on my own while I wait for you to finally finish.”

You just roll your eyes and mumble something about hating him making him laugh.

“Aww, is someone pouting?” He teased, ruffling up your hair happily. “I’m sorry, baby, I just love looking at your cute concentration face!”

You rolled your eyes, glaring at him playfully, “You’re refusing to help me because you want to look at my face? Take a picture why don’t you.”

“I already have,” he beamed, showing you the new background for his phone. You did not look the least bit attractive in your opinion, but Oikawa was smiling so happily at the photo, how could you argue?

“You’re an idiot,” you mumble with a huff, scribbling a half-assed answer on your sheet of paper.

“Aw come on, Y/N,” Oikawa smirked, sliding closer to you and tilting your chin up with a singular finger so you were forced to look him in the eyes. “You know you love me,” he teased in that fake sultry voice of his.

Normally, you’d just get a bit flustered - there was just something about those bedroom eyes of his eyes that made you squirm. But here, just sitting here with him and realizing that even when he took ugly pictures of you, this perfect pretty boy still wanted to be with you... you realized there wasn’t a single person you’d rather be with right now. Or ever.

“Ya you’re right,” you smiled up at him, pulling away from his teasing look and turning back to your homework. “I do love you.”

The expression on his face was probably photo worthy and later, you’d wish you had snapped a picture of it. The utter shock was enough to send all the blood flying out of his face, a nosebleed soon ensuing.

“Oikawa! Are you okay?” You asked with wide eyes, rushing to get tissues.

“F-Fine! I’m fine!” The fact that all the blood was rushing to his rosy cheeks probably wasn’t helping his nosebleed, only making it flow faster.

The two of you laughed when his bleeding was under control, Oikawa blushing enough to look like a marker colour, “You can’t just say stuff like that to a guy, Y/N! That’s so mean! Teasing me like that.” He pouted, crossing his arms like a child.

You tilted your head slightly, watching him for a moment before saying, “Teasing? What do you mean? I meant it, Oikawa, you idiot.”

His eyes would just widen and suddenly homework wasn’t all that important anymore.

“Oikawa! it’s due this week!” You insisted as he dragged you out of the house, your hand firmly held in his.

“Too bad! We’re going for ice cream!” He declared with a grin. “Oh and Y/N?”

“Hm?”

“I love you too. Idiot.” His smile was as wide as ever but there was a genuine love in his eyes as he looked at you, soon leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek.

But don’t worry, later he’d help you with your homework. As long as you said “I love you” to him one more time.

Tsukishima Who says it first: Him

Tsukishima says he loves you in actions more than he does words at first, throwing you snacks that he carries with him specifically for you, when he notices you getting hungry. He’ll bring an extra hoodie or wear one when he knows he’ll get too warm for it, because he knows you like to be comfy and warm. He offers to come over and study with you when you’re getting nervous over a test, holds your hand and squeezes it gently if he notices you getting anxious over something, and he walks you to and from home every day.

He loves you. And even though you can feel it through his actions, you weren’t quite sure if he was ready to hear that you loved him too.

Honestly, you would’ve been fine just going about your relationship the way that it was. But of course, what good would having upperclassmen in his volleyball team be if they didn’t annoy the shit out of him and talk about your relationship?

Tanaka had been going on and on in the club room about how badly he wanted a girlfriend, pouting to himself because he was still unsure of how Tsukishima, a salty brat, managed to get a cute girlfriend like you before he did.

“God it must be so nice to have someone to hug and hold hands with and tell them ‘I love you’ every five seconds! If I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t let her leave my presence until she knew how much I loved her!” Tanaka was saying, Noya nodding aggressively in agreement.

Tsukishima’s ears perked hearing this, pulling his gym shirt over his head as he got ready to head home for the night.

“How did you do it, Tsukishima?” Noya asked randomly, a grin on his face. “I bet you’re secretly super romantic aren’t you? You got her flowers and chocolates and stuff huh?”

“How did I do what?” Tsukishima asked flatly, glancing back at them. The second years shared a look and then looked back at him, both tilting their heads simultaneously.

“How did you first tell Y/N you loved her,” Tanaka explained, his eyes narrowing as he watched Tsukishima’s eyes move away from them. “Wait a minute, you haven’t told her yet?”

“Tsukishima! You asshole! Don’t you know how lucky you are to have such a cute girl on your arm? Always doing cute things for you like that time she made you a bento box? Or when she comes to our games and always cheers the loudest for us?” Noya’s yelling was soon turning into a tearful whine, still upset that he didn’t have these things that Tsukishima did.

The blond boy just tried to turn away, packing up his things as his upperclassmen moaned.

“Tanaka, Noya, leave the boy alone,” Sugawara scolded. “I’m sure Tsukishima’s going to tell her on his own time! Aren’t you, Tsukishima?” His voice was so sweet, as if he was only trying to help him out, but Sugawara’s eyes told a different story - one where he was really trying to pry an answer from the first year.

All eyes were on him once again and Tsukishima was silently wishing he had left earlier without getting dressed. The question loomed over the club room like a raincloud, pressure on Tsukishima’s answer building the more the silence lasted.

“Sure,” he answered finally before leaving the room, shifting his bag on his shoulder slightly. He hadn’t really thought about it before. Why hadn’t he told you yet? He knew he loved you, it’s not like he was an idiot in denial over it. He had spent a good year in denial but he wouldn’t admit it. He knew he loved you but why hadn’t he said anything yet?

The idea of telling you made his whole face feel hot but why? It’s not like he hadn’t sent you songs about love, or watched those sappy romantic movies with you and thought about you the whole time. So why hadn’t he said it? It was just three words after all, wasn’t it? Three little words.

There you were, waiting for him again outside of the gym. You had that cute little smile on your face that you always had whenever you caught his eye. He loved that smile.

“Ready?” You asked happily, him holding out his arm for you slightly and you link yours with it and just look up at him with those gorgeous eyes. He loved your eyes.

“How was practice?” You asked as the two of you walked and he told you all about how annoying Hinata and Kageyama was, you always laughing when he expressed his annoyance. He loved your laugh.

At some point while you two were walking home, Tsukishima felt himself stop. He could feel Tanaka and Noya’s words starting to get to him, an uneasy feeling in his stomach making him feel... different. He knew if he didn’t say it now, he never would.

“Tsukishima?” You blinked up at him, noting the way he stopped so abruptly. “Are you okay?”

He took a breath - if you were going to reject him, that would be fine. Everything would be fine. No it wouldn’t, he heard that little voice in his head say. What the hell would we do without you?

Despite his conflicting thoughts on the matter, Tsukishima pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to silence them as he managed to get out weakly, “I love you, Y/N.”

You just stood there for what felt like forever. Why weren’t you saying anything? His heart fell a little as you just stared at him, your face not betraying any of your emotions.

“What?” You squeaked.

He sighed frustratedly, unsure if you were trying to give him a way to go back on his words, or if you were really this deaf. “I love you,” he repeated himself, his voice louder and firmer this time. If he was going to get rejected, it wouldn’t be because he backed down. He would make sure of it.

But soon your lips were curling into that smile that he loved, your eyes were sparkling up at him, and a giggle fell from your lips, “I-I love you too, Tsukishima!” You beamed, hopping a little where you stood in excitement.

He couldn’t hide how happy that made him. His lips turned into a smile and he reached up to pat your head, his arm wrapping around your shoulders, “Alright, stop looking at me like. It’s late, we should get you home,” he told you, scolding you as if you had been the one to stop first.

But it didn’t matter. Because Tsukishima Kei said he loved you and those were the last three words you had ever expected him to say, even though you had felt the same all this time.

For the first time ever, Tsukishima actually took the advice of his upperclassmen and made it his promise to himself that he would never let you leave his sight without telling you “I love you”, even if it had to be over text because he wasn’t quite ready to say it in front of everyone else yet. But he would tell you over and over again, because even when he was annoyed at you or in a bad mood, Tsukishima loved you and he didn’t ever want you to think otherwise.

Haikyuu taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added!)

@scphiredrafts​ @aurumk​ @devilkittymusic​ @thisnoodlewritesao3​ @satan-ruler-of-hells​ @trashy-simp​ @jeppiet​ @lucyheartfilias-wife​ @darkvadeeer​ @haikyuutothetop​ @wolfishwriting​

[realcube]

'you're..you're wearing that-' he hesitated, swallowing the lump forming in his throat, 'for me?'

navi | taglist | nsfw part two

summary ➵ on your first date with tamaki, he’s already wondering why you romanticise a guy like himself

content warning ➵ reader wear make-up, a dress and the accessories pictured above, very insecure! tamaki, mild angst & fluff

credit ➵  thank you to @suneater18​ for the request and the pics belongs to hippieartesanatos

the moonlight penetrated through the sombre clouds which waved overhead, creating a picturesque night sky for you to admire on your date; as if the heavens were smiling down upon you, congratulating you for scoring such a nice guy.  

well, at least, that is what you would’ve thought if your date was sooner to start. currently, you were shuffling on a park bench, fidgeting with your phone as your eyes flickered between the screen and the gorgeous sight above you, anticipating when your date will finally arrive so you can admire it together.

however, twenty minutes had passed since nine o’clock — the time you had both agreed to meet each other at — yet you were still sitting alone, tamaki no where to be seen. what make it even worse was that he was ghosting all your messages and calls. 

perhaps it was the first-date jitters speaking but there was a voice lurking in the back of your head, whispering that you have been stood-up. however, you were too ashamed to just get up and leave now, so you figured that you may as well call your friend and ask them to join you.

your eyes burned with tears which you choked back as your fingers worked on their own to search your contacts for your friend’s number. there was a part of you that believed you were being to hasty but you truly couldn’t bare to just sit here and act ‘hopeful’ any longer. with shaky hands, you tapped your friend’s contact as your thumb hovered over the phone icon.

“(y/n)!” 

you froze upon hearing your name called from a distance, your immediate reaction being to whip your head around to see who — or what — was in such desperate need of your attention that they were willing to yell your name from half-way across the park. 

and of course, it was none other than tamaki amajiki himself; dashing towards you at full-speed in a torn suit, muddy shoes and..his hair seemed to be unevenly cut. he wore a determined yet petrified expression as he came hurdling in your direction, a single stray tentacle dragging behind him as he ran.

a smile of both confusion and relief tugged at your lips, the pads of your fingers dabbing lightly under your eyes to rid of any puffy skin or dampness while simultaneously ensuring that you wouldn’t mess up your lashes or eyeshadow. 

“tama! you’re here!” you squealed, your hands automatically clasping together in excitement as he approached the bench, about to fall into the seat beside you due to how tired he was but pausing as he watched you spring to your feet and open your arms for a hug. his lips slowly curled into a weak smile, his expression softening and he didn’t waste a single second before throwing his arms around you, pulling you in for as tight of a hug that his worn biceps would allow him to.  

despite the fact he reeked of an ungodly amount of body spray, you still basked his embrace since this is the moment you spent the last three hours or so preparing for. you were quite shocked at how shabby he looked but you decided against questioning it, out of courtesy. but on the bright side, it really made you feel better about the outfit you had spent hours styling, yet you were still not completely sure about.  

tamaki suddenly pulled away from the hug so he could fall back onto the bench, letting out a hefty sigh and momentarily zoning out in order to catch his breath. you weren’t too sure whether it was appropriate to giggle or pout at the sight so you chose to not do either and instead, just awkwardly stand and stare at him.

a sharp inhale was all tamaki needed before he was finally able to sit up slightly and bow his head, folding his hands to you before blurting out, “i am so sorry i’m late, (y/n)!” and before you could even get a word in, he began his breathless explanation, “i got a small tear in my shirt and mirio said he’ll fix it but he made it even worse. then nejire said she’ll style my hair but she only knew a few male styles and said my hair was too long and before i could say anything she was chopping away at my hair-- and somehow mirio’s dog got ahold of my suit and it made the tears even worse! i was so stress and y’know when i’m stressed i stress-eat, so i began eating fish snacks and before i even knew what was going on, it was nine o’clock. so i ran here as fast as i could and i tried to manifest tentacles to help me move faster but it turns out i didn’t eat enough fish snacks so i only have one tentacle and i can’t even move it properly- look!”

the fact he said all of that in seemingly one breath left you stunned in place, with you eyes fixated on his rapidly moving lips until they instinctively shifted onto his single tentacle, laying dejected by his feet until it started squirming around. however, that was all it seemed capable of doing — squirming. 

“uuh,” you hummed, trying your best to stifle a snicker as tamaki was clearly in genuine destress. “it’s fine, tama! i was a bit worried that you wouldn’t show but it doesn’t matter, you’re here now so let’s focus on that.” 

your words somewhat calmed him down as his shoulders visibly relaxed, his red eyes tearing off the concrete ground to meet your kind gaze. a slight gasp escaped his lips as he noticed how gorgeous your make-up was, but before he could utter a compliment, his eyes went further downwards as he tried to process the whole of your outfit.

his cheeks immediately burned red at the sight; your stunning purple dress, shimmering heels and matching crystal accessories which were evidently worn to complement his own aesthetic. a certain piece which he was drawn to, was the golden, gemmed ear cuff you wore with pointed tips to form a similar shape to his own ears — one of his biggest physical insecurities.

“you look..” tamaki mused, momentarily cutting himself off to think of a word that would do you justice, “perfect.” his voice was hushed, hardly above a whisper but you were still able to make out what he said and a sheepish grin crept onto your features.

“thank you, baby!” you chirped, perking up slightly and giving him a little twirl, causing a burst of red to explode on his cheeks which he was quick to try cover with his hands. it was moments like these when he wished that hoodies were first-date appropriate, that way he could just sink back into his hood and pretend he doesn’t exist.

“you look really nice too.” there was nothing wrong with a little white lie every now and again. however, it wasn’t even said with the intent of being a lie as you secretly thought that the scruffiness kinda suited tamaki, like, he looked badass! like your prince charming who accidentally fell into a ditch.

your compliment didn’t help the increasing temperature of tamaki’s cheeks either, causing him to slump farther back in his seat as he muttered garbled speech under his breath. it took a good few seconds but eventually he was able to peer at you with a single eye through the inbetweens of his fingers,  “a-and i like your little ear cuff thing.

everything he said only widened your beam and make you feel more giddy, to the point where you were practically bounced in place, “thanks, tama! i saw it and immediately thought of you, so i bought it.” you stifled a squeal at how observant tamaki was being, praising all the small details of your attire which you thought would go unnoticed. “i decided to wear it today because remember how you showed me the tie you bought for our date?” you explained, vaguely gesturing at said tie which hung in tatters around his neck, “yeah, so, i thought we could match.”

it took him a few moments to process what you just said and while his brain was running on overdrive, you were met by his rapid blinking and frozen stature. having known tamaki for a while now, you knew how this was a fairly common occurrence when was truly stunned by something, so you allowed him some time in silence to consolidate. 

“so..” he started, trembling hand dropping from his face and onto his lap so you could see his whole bashful appearance. his gaze seemed to be trained on the floor, until he finally looked up to reveal the twinkle in his eyes, “you’re..you’re wearing that-” he hesitated, swallowing the lump forming in his throat, “for me?”

the thought that you were ashamed to be with him was something that constantly taunted him from the back of this mind. you were heavenly in a way that his words simply could not describe, though that didn’t stop him from trying. it was beyond him how a person as divine as yourself would even give him the time of day; let alone insist that he was beautiful, leave encouraging notes in his locker, comfort him when he shows even the smallest sign of being upset, give him praise on all the thing he was insecure about and so much more.

when he looked in the mirror, he did not see what you see. he viewed his ears as creepy and not a feature he should put on display, hence a part of the many reasons why he’s so fond of his hood. but here you were, all dolled up in his favourite colour just to showcase that you were with him. your ears decorated with pretty cuffs that made them look a similar shape to his, at first glance.

when he’d walk beside you through the corridors of the school or under the shade of the trees in the park, he’d feel the eyes of jealous passersby burn holes through his skin; despite the fact you weren’t even dating him yet, people just hated seeing a guy like himself by your side, apparently. 

he stopped eating before meeting up with you so he wouldn’t have any weird manifestation that could draw attention to himself. he started wearing his hood up at all times so people wouldn’t judge him for his elven ears. he refused to touch you just in case people thought you were dating and became envious of him, which would quickly turn to hatred. 

so why would you want to look like him? why would you want people to know that you are on a date with him? why did you act proud to be with him?

you quirked a brow at how confounded he sounded, thinking over your answer with a hum; you wore this outfit for tamaki and yourself because you thought it was pretty and it suited you. however, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that there was no need to give tamaki the full truth right now so instead you allowed him to enjoy his rare surge of confidence by replying with simply, “yeah, for you.”

you weren’t going to be surprised that he was flattered, by now you were well aware that tamaki held all your opinions on him in high esteem so that’s why you always tried to be as nice to him as possible — that, and it was just in your nature to be kind towards him when he’s been nothing but respectful to you back.

however, what you didn’t expect was to hear faint sobs from behind his hands and watch as crystalline tears poured escaped from the inbetweens of his fingers, racing down the back of his hands. “tamaki..” you murmured, reluctantly taking a seat next to him to wrap your arms around, rubbing comforting circles in his shoulders like you usually did when he was sad. although, you weren’t even completely sure that he was disheartened by your statement. 

“i’m sorry.” you spoke in a hushed voice, leaning in close to his neck until your nose brushed against his skin, resulting in him tilting his head so it rested upon yours. “are you okay?”

“please don’t apologise.” he croaked, stifling his snivels to try show that he wasn’t upset. “you did nothing wrong. in fact, you’ve done everything right. i’m the one who’s been messing up.” he felt your hand ghost over his own and without a second thought, he intertwined his finger with your own, freeing his other palm to place it on your shoulder and exposing his pale, tear-stained face is the process. 

“i know it’s hard but you should tell me what’s on your mind, tamaki.” you hummed, gently caressing the back of his hand with your thumb and planting a kiss on the damp skin of his cheek. his cologne was still suffocating strong but if you were to die, it would ideally be while cuddled up to him, under the celestial night sky. 

opening up had never been an easy task for tamaki; especially about a subject that concerned his physical appearance and emotions. but there was a knot in his chest that would simply come undone when he was with you. he couldn’t explain it, but all the barriers and walls he had established to avoid getting his feeling hurt or heart broken would come crashing down whenever he was with you. perhaps it was a familiarity, maybe it was your reassuring presence or might just be pure love and adoration. 

either way, he found him himself babbling on about anything and everything that bothered him with little regard for his own pride or secrecy, he voiced every thought that came to his mind in the moment. he told you just about it all — all his problems and insecurities —and you listened, offering him encouragement whenever he’d cut himself off, saying something along the lines of, ‘i-i’ll stop now, i sound silly’ or ‘you’re probably tired of hearing me prattle on’. though, of course you didn’t want him to stop until he had gotten everything off his chest as it was a rare sight for him to talk for such lengths at a time so the last thing you wanted to do was discourage him.

“i just..” tamaki stammered, coming to the end of his passionate ramble, “don’t understand why you want to be seen with me, let alone wear those.” he raised his shaky hand from your shoulder to gesture to your ear cuffs, “don’t get me wrong, they look cute on you, but i just don’t get why you’d want to have ears that look like mine.”

“because yours are beautiful!” 

he winced at the compliment and at how sincere you sounded, “well, i’m glad you think that, (y/n).” he muttered, not even having to finish his statement as the dejection in his voice made it obvious that he did not view himself in the same light. his gaze dropped to his feet which were shuffling uncontrollably,  “i don’t know why i’m making such i big deal about this. aren’t you annoyed?” 

your let go of his hands only to slip them around his neck and pull him into your embrace, you felt him tense up in your arms but slowly allow himself to relax his cheek onto your shoulder. “i’m not annoyed, baby. i get what you mean and it’s horrible that you feel that way.” all tamaki could do would tick his tongue in agreement. 

“i know i tell you this all the time but i honestly think you’re so attractive, inside and out. i was so excited when you agreed to date me, i could’ve died of happiness on the spot!” you chirped, momentarily jerked your head backwards so you could peck the tip of his nose, giggling as he scrunched his face up cutely at the sudden touch.

your angelic laugh rung through tamaki’s head, forcing his lips into a smile as he gawked at your adorable action. “i love you..” tamaki uttered, raising his voice ever so slightly to ensure that you heard what he said, “so much.” thanks to you, his sobs were now just mere sniffles into the crook of your neck. 

you inhaled sharply, eyes-widening at his words; you would’ve never thought he would be the first on to say ‘i love you’, but you were far from disappointed, in fact you felt yourself melting further into his touch.

you felt his grip on you tighten, his breathing slowly retuning to it’s regular pace as he squeezed his eyes shut, cancelling out all his other senses so he could focus on the way your body felt against his own. 

he wanted to be confident. he wanted to take pride in himself for you. he was tired of restless nights filled with tears due to his worries berating him for simply existing in your presence. 

it wasn’t going to be easy but he needed to start acting on everything you said. because eventually, it wouldn’t just be for you, it’d be for himself.

and of course, it didn’t go unnoticed by you when he started wearing his hood less often, when he began holding his head up higher as he walks by your side, the way he now shoots warm smiles at people who try to glare at him.

and five years later, how he didn’t bat an eye at deadly glare that the waiter — that had been subtly flirting with you all night — shot at him as he got down on one knee, in front of the whole restaurant. 

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Ginsei K Stage 4* Card Story

he cute

chapter 1 -in break room-

saki: What are you doing Ginsei-san?

ginsei: Oh, Princess. I thought I’d ought to do some maintenance on my accessories. I noticed some dirt had gotten caught in them before rehearsal, I got pretty worried about it. I figured I’d just clean them up a little during my break but... I’ve ended up not wanting to stop.

...It’s calmed me down though. I like this sort of simple work. It’s been quite a while since I last polished them, since I’ve been so busy lately.

saki: All of your accessories are so beautiful, where do you buy them from?

ginsei: I make them myself, it’s a hobby I sometimes dabble in.

saki: Wow, that’s impressive!

ginsei: Not really, as long as you follow the instructions in the kits anyone can do it. Once you get the hang of it though you can get more creative with it. Like changing the design a bit, or adding your own extra parts. If you tried it I’m sure you’d make something great too. I’ve always thought that you have a good sense for which accessories you wear.

...Ah wait sorry, I might’ve just said something arrogant.

saki: No it didn’t come across that way. I’m flattered to hear you think that, Ginsei-san.

ginsei: Haha, I’m glad then. This ring I’m polishing now is one of my early creations, I made it while constantly double checking every step in the instructions.

In the past I used to spend a lot of time inside, so I wanted something I could do in my room. I soon began wondering if I’d gotten all the small details right and was quickly absorbed in the hobby. After that I encountered a lot of struggles while making things, but it gave me a huge sense of accomplishment afterwards. Maybe because once the accesory takes it’s shape, it stays that way. You could say I gained confidence.

...Yeah, wanting confidence, I may have been making things that could become my good luck charms.

saki: If it’s a handmade charm then it’s sure to have a high effectiveness.

ginsei: That would be reassuring. Ah it’s already gotten this late? The second half of rehearsal is about to start. Will you come watch Princess?

saki: If I won’t be in the way then of course.

ginsei: Nah you’re fine. It’s a deal then. Oh I know, I’ll wear the newly polished ring. It’s a charm that makes my performance even better than usual.

-

chapter 2 -backstage-

saki: The show should be starting soon but no one’s here yet?

???: Hm, I can’t seem to get the latch...

saki: ...Ginsei-san?

-cg

ginsei: Huh? Oh, Princess. You’re here early today. Well, so am I huh. I’m feeling a bit restless since it’s been a long time since Team K last performed all together like this. It’s a similar feeling to how I was before K’s first ever show.

Wondering how the show will turn out, whether the guests will enjoy it or not... I was also both nervous and excited about Starless being back in business.

—Alright, there we go, it’s on.

saki: You wear that necklace all the time don’t you?

ginsei: Yeah, it’s my favourite out of all the things I’ve made. I’ve been wearing it ever since I joined Team K. So I wanted to wear it today no matter what. I made sure to give it a thorough polishing last night.

saki: It’s catching the light beautifully. I’m sure today’s show will be a great success.

ginsei: I hope so. Oh right, could you wait for me in the restaurant area after the show’s over? I’ll come see you ok, it’s a promise.

-after show, in restaurant-

ginsei: Thanks for waiting for me Princess, sorry I took a while.

saki: Today’s show was really fun! Good work!

ginsei: I’m glad. I had thought the response from the audience had been good, but I’m even happier to hear it from you. Um so... the reason I asked you to wait here is, will you accept this gift?

It’s a phone strap, they’re easy to change out. I made it using materials for men’s accessories so it’s not the cutest looking but...

saki: No no, it’s wonderful. This is...

ginsei: It’s a shooting star. They have a meaning that they’ll guide you to your wishes. It’s said to give a shining power to those who possess it, which wards off evil.

saki: Thank you, I’ll treasure it.

ginsei: I’m sure it can become your own good luck charm.

—end

[sleepymoozie]

Drugged up slut

Suzy had always been scared of drugs, she seemed to be scared of a lot of things sex, intimacy. Now at 19 years old she was still a virgin. It had only been last year she started drinking alcohol and that was only in small amounts, so whenever she went out to a bar with her friends she’d always be the designated driver. And she was going to do that again, until she saw someone, oddly attractive. She figured she could get a beer out of him, she’d be there all night after all the alcohol would’ve worn off by then anyways. “Heyyyyyyy mister” she tried putting on her best ‘flirty’ voice. The man briefly looked at her tits and then stared straight ahed. “Would you mind buying me a beer... I seem to have forgotten to bring money.” “Cunts don’t drink beer, I’ll get you something that suits you.” The man bought her a cocktail it was pink and fruity and god it made her sick. That comment aswell gross. Suzy still thought she won though, she got a drink and some money out of a gross disgusting old man, she had a single sip

Suzy woke up somewhere unfamiliar, her blond hair resting on her soft tits. Her blond hair?! What happened to her curly brown hair. Why does she have tits now aswel! Looking down, She realised what she was wearing. or how little she was wearing. Cow print panties and a cow tail but plug, she needed to think she needed a breath of fresh air, she breathed in, she absolutely reeked of piss?!? She needed to get out, of here she couldn’t stand up her legs were tied to the chair and she couldn’t move. After struggling for five minutes, she heard distant voices. Female voices! Her friends!! oh yes she was free! One by one her friends entered the room, on their hands and knees. Each one had a different animal based accessory, Stacy had a piggy nose, belle had a puppy mask and Beth had some kitten ears. Followed by a man, top half fully clothed bottom half without clothes. His dick swung as he entered. “Everyone say hi to moozie” his tone more friendly, condescending. They all made their respective animal sound and then moved to the back of the room. Suzy tired to protest about her name, but she realised she was gagged. “My..my I didn’t know i had an hierarchy with my animals, but last night we now know our newest is at the very bottom your even below the pig you cum rag” he spat on her and she couldn’t even move to wipe it off. “This part of the process is our favourite. we give the animal it’s brain back for a brief few minutes to tell them of all they’ve done in one night before we turn them into their true selfs. Permanently” Suzy cried but the wet wasn’t just coming out her eyes, it was mostly leaking from her pussy. The man described it all and although a little fuzzy and colourful it came flooding back. She stayed in the bar all of 5 minutes after she had the drink she was immediately forcefully taken by her “friends” to the public toilet so they could assign her as a cow. The next thing she was told and remembered was that she was getting pissed on by all her animal friends a image of 5 cunts circling her all pissing on her while she begged to be a toilet came to her head. She then remembered eating cum from the pig asshole. Master... no the man told her that is the only was she can have access to cum. She could never remember having access to masters dick she always had to get its salty wonderful cum from the other animals. Her wet leaked off the chair. “Say bye bye to your brain moozie. For forever” master put what looked to be a pink gas mask over her face. She held her breath for as long as possible but then finally gave in..... mooooooo!

[pynkhues]

Hi, 8, 17 and 48 for Annie

Hi! Thank you!

8. Favorite indulgence and feelings surrounding indulging

Annie loves indulging, haha. She's very much an 'enjoy now' person, and yeah, okay, she might regret it later, but in the moment, nothing quite beats the feeling of sinking into your worst impulses. As for her favourite indulgence, they're many and varied, but in no particular order I'd say a wheel of soft cheese she probably can't afford, cheap tequila and, despite herself, probably Greg.

17. Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dress

I headcanon that Annie didn't really have a lot of agency in the way she dressed as a child. That her wardrobe growing up was some mix of Beth's-then-Beth-and-Ruby's hand-me-downs and whatever Beth was picking up for her from thrift stores, and when she was a teenager, it got bulked out by whatever she stole from the boys she was dating and make up and accessories she shoplifted.

Then getting pregnant so young, she was in maternity wear Beth bought or Judith lent her, and after that it was just some weird amalgamation of whatever she could get her hands on.

In that sense, I don't think it was really until Ben was a little kid that Annie really started to figure out her own style of dress, and I kind of like the idea that once she started working and having her own income, she experimented a lot. That maybe a part of her wanted to look like the other mom's in Ben's class for a minute, and another part of her wanted to dress like Alex in The OC, and another part like a Fall Out Boy scene kid, because you know Annie would've been into them, haha.

And I love the idea that it was messy and imperfect and her experimentation with style and clothes was something she had to come to on her own, when she had a kid of her own, but that it feels like hers because she's made it herself, and for all Annie's insecurities, the way she dresses isn't one of them.

48. How do they express love?

Definitely through gestures and acts of service. We saw it with Beth with the gun, but I think a lot about Annie's relationship with her son and how much she really sacrifices and gives to him. She's an immature, unfair and often demanding mother, but she also is always trying with Ben and works so hard to show her love through what she does for him, from letting him go to climbing in that birthing pool with Nancy, and honestly, it's one of my favourite things about Annie. She's a mess, but man, her heart's just an open door.

Excessively detailed tumblr headcanons

[caravaggiosbrushes]

For the fic prompts, "quick, kiss me!" or "you weren't supposed to hear that!" for fitzier? I couldn't decide which to pick so I'm leaving that up to you 💜

I chose “Quick, kiss me!” ;-) Modern AU fitzier (my jam!!)

The end of the semester party is one of the celebrations Francis never looks forward to. He loves his job and likes most of his colleagues, but he already sees them every single day of the year, is it really necessary to be together even on one of their free nights? His idea of a great night is not exactly watching Little and Jopson courting each other with increasingly colourful drinks, like two animals of the gayest species, or Harry Peglar and John Bridgens being sickeningly perfect together, and it's most definitely not being forced to stay in the same room as Fitzjames for such a long period of time without interruption.

That's the worst part of this: for some reason, at every one of these bloody parties, Fitzjames looks his best. He always looks good and he bloody knows it, and Francis knows he knows it, which makes his blood boil with envy for both him and the people who have him.

This year is no exception. Fitzjames showed up wearing a long black coat, embroidered in golden thread, its cut sharp and elegant. Francis can tell it's high fashion just from the way the fabric melts on him and highlights his strong figure at the same time, as if it was designed exclusively for his body. And his pants— don’t even get him started on the pants. He's trying not to look in that direction.

It’s going to be a long night.

What is even worse, and absolutely incomprehensible to Francis, is that, for some reason, he and Fitzjames are now in decent terms. They’re not friends, not exactly, but if their colleagues would leave them alone in a room together, they wouldn't find them yelling at each other anymore, as it was until Francis finally got into rehab.

Now, the problem would be reversed: if he would be left alone in a room with Fitzjames, they would probably end up yelling at each other again, but because Francis would do something very stupid, like kiss him, or stay out loud how much he likes talking to Fitzjames every morning when he gets to his favourite Cafè right next to campus, and he knows Fitzjames will be there too, as if waiting for him.

So being in a dimme-light room with alcohol all around and a shining Fitzjames next to him is torture, but such a sweet one, especially since Fitzjames apparently decides he’s going to spend his entire night right here, talking to Francis and sipping his sugar free Coke, because “you don’t drink, I don’t drink. Don't worry Francis.”

Francis is trying to maintain his train of thoughts away from how beautiful Fitzjames looks with his hair tied up in a artfully messy bun, two locks of it cascading at the sides of his face, by teasing him about his outfit (“You look straight out one of those high fashion weird-looking runaways, where models have 3D copies of their heads as an accessory”, “Did you just say I could be a high fashion model? Oh my, I wonder what else you’ll say by the end of the night”) when suddenly, Fitzjames stops talking mid-sentence to stare in horror at something behind Francis.

“Fuck.” He says, with emphasis, “No, don't turn around!”

“What is it?” Francis asks, worried about the sudden change of mood. Fitzjames' brows are pinched, his mouth tight in a disappointed line with its corners turned downwards.

“Just keep talking to me," he says, urgently, still looking behind Francis, "say something funny."

“I can’t do it on command, I'm not a dog.”

Fitzjames snorts a laugh, "Dogs tell jokes on command?" Then he quickly shifts to the right, actually trying to hide behind Francis.

Him. One meter and God only knows how many centimeters of a man, with heeled boots and everything. Behind Francis.

"This is not working," Francis says, "What's going on? Are you losing another bet?"

(Fitzjames and Le Vesconte from the Media and Cinema department are always betting on this or that. Always.)

“Not a bet,” Fitzjames says, then smiles so tensely it's painful to watch. “It’s Graham.”

Oh, Graham. Right. The handsome, cool looking, professional baseball player, Graham Gore: Fitzjames’ most recent ex.

Francis hates being in the middle -quite literally as it is right now,- of other people’s business and he would normally run away from a situation like this, but Fitzjames looks deeply uncomfortable, all his usual nonchalance gone, so he can’t just leave him to himself like this.

“What can I do?” Francis asks.

“Keep talking with me, don’t turn around. If he sees me with someone else he won’t come here,” he doesn't sound so sure, “hopefully .”

“Things ended up badly between the two of you?”

“It wasn’t nice,” Fitzjames says, lowering his gaze, clearly embarrassed, “He cheated.”

“What?” How can someone in their right mind cheat on James Fitzjames? “That sucks. I’m sorry, James.”

“Yeah.” He weakly agrees, “whatever. I don’t want him to see me and think I’m still thinking about him. Because I’m not.”

“Right.” It feels a bit weird to be here talking about Fitzjames' ex boyfriend who cheated on him, with the man himself, but he's not going to abandon him if he needs help. “Talk to me and keep smiling like you always do, you know how to do that well.”

James gives him a somewhat hurted glance, “Right, you think I can do that exclusively.”

Oh no, not back at their usual bickering, please, not when Francis was actually trying to pay him a compliment.

“I meant that you're always nice and smile to everyone," he forces his voice to remain steady, "even to people who are not very nice to you."

Fitzjames actually stops obsessing over what's happening behind Francis and brings his attention back on him. They both know what Francis is referring to.

He shrugs easily, "It's not like I'm always right, either. Plus, smiling helps easing the tension for me as well."

He opens his mouth to offer a comment to that, like a normal person who knows how to interact with his hopeless crush would do, but his mind goes on its own.

"You look good when you smile.”

James fixes his eyes on him, looking equally shocked and delighted. His cheeks may actually have turned a bit red, but perhaps it's just the semi darkness of the bar.

“Thank you, Francis.”

“You know that, it's not like—”

“Oh fuck, he’s coming this way,” James interrupts him, eyes back over Francis' right shoulder, “Fuck, fuck, I don't want to see him, I'm not prepared.”

“Calm down, we can—”

“Oh shit,” Fitzjames hisses, and with one last, desperate glance behind Francis he whispers, “Quick, kiss me.”

“Wh—”

Something absolutely out of this world happens: Fitzjames’ mouth is on Francis’.

It feels like it goes on for an hour, Francis feels everything: Fitzjames’ perfume, James’ lips -soft, made to be kissed,- Fitzjames’ big hands gently framing his face, not forcing him into the kiss, just caressing him; he can feel Fitzjames’ breathing against his upper lip and nose, the way his lips part slowly and how he waits for Francis to make the next move, leaving him a choice, which is to gently push his tongue on Fitzjames’ lips and feel him take a heavy breath in return. Fuck, he tastes so sweet, like Coke and himself, it's like drinking his scent.

Francis didn’t even notice he put both hands on Fitzjames’ hips, bringing him closer.

“Sorry.” Fitzjames whispers on his lips, once they part (barely). "I panicked."

“Would you like to panic some more?” Francis says, brushing his lips against his with every word, “At my place?”

Fitzjames does a little high pitched laugh, pure adrenaline and charm, and whispers, “Please.”

.

.

-james’ outfit

( send me a prompt and I’ll write you a short fic! )

[spacetwiga]

leave c!phil out of bullshit 2k21 -- a not so tiny post by a new enthusiast

As someone who finds both common fanon and actual canon to be quite fun, I really think the general DSMP fandom would benefit greatly from a few things in general: the greatest, in my opinion, is learning to accept that popular fanon won’t usually be the canon you receive. Another, of course, is that POVs are golden, but with these two things being flimsy in being accepted, they are the major flaws that cause about 90% of the absolute messy takes that gain traction, oftentimes poisoning a canon character's ability to exist in the story.

My biggest beef regarding this comes from how y’all treat c!Phil, so here I am, being annoying on main side! 

TL;DR... Just because someone acted like like a guidance to others, doesn’t always mean that they'll want to be the father figure role for everyone that breathes. Similarly, pinning down a character on a single trope is wack, so don't be surprised if they grow away from it.

Baby’s first little dsmp rambling below!

(Warning: it's long as hell)

The Dream SMP plotline is not written out like most popular media. With so many moving parts in the form of daily streams and the wonderful tool of live improvisation, it makes perfect sense that such a giant cast would not always be on the same page. Adding onto that, it also makes more sense that a vast majority of the cast will be placed into supporting roles, as the story needs to have characters that serve as narrative anchors and others that function as the links in a chain, all weathering the storm that is the plot.

Screentime, of course, plays a major factor into canon exposure -- in terms of the Dream SMP, POV matters equally, if not more, too. 

It’s a pretty neat way of showing things, but in the end, the fanbase has a lovely (read: godawful /lh) way of analysing characters, particularly when it relates to how they interact with others from their fave character’s POV. The tendency to analyse things from a single character's POV is fine, but not when attempting to critique the greater whole of a conflict. Both sides, no matter how wrong they may seem to be, matter.

Adding onto the fact that everything is live, there are things that will spiral out of control, casual words being skewed and thus having the potential of a single line seemingly contradicting the entire ‘story’ that the fanbase has made. If it directly affects a fave's POV in particular, one is more likely to take offense, as bias immediately bars one from trying to see the other person's side of things.

POV is important. 

Which brings me to c!Phil, and how critics tend to ignore his perspective to prop up another character, or justify the tearing down of another.

Improvisation is both a blessing and a curse; the fanbase, however, loves to test out the latter. With it, the fanbase starts crafting tales to justify it...And so begins the mess that is c!Phil discourse.

Say it with me, folks: c!Phil is not supposed to be your fave’s fluffy father figure... unless you’re c!Wilbur!!!

😃☝🏾Dadza is good...👉🏾😎👉🏾 But fandom wants the excessive, idealized version.

-- birb 2k21

Family dynamics are generally loved for their potential for comfort, particularly those of a found family nature. Fandom in general tends to lean into them wholeheartedly, with most major bases having at least one prominent group present; SBI, of course, is no different. From fanart to popular fanfiction, it's arguably the biggest group dynamic alongside the Dream Team, and for that, a precedence was set. 

c!Phil, if he ever joined, would fix everything! All of the ‘kids’ would turn to their new mentor and everything would turn out fine! This all knowing, morally just character will chuckle at their antics and wacky hijinks will follow! Fun times, right? /s

The hope for it, however, has long since been shattered, and frankly, good for him!

To go a little ooc, cc!Phil has stated multiple times that, while he was friendly with a lot of the cast as c!Phil, his only paternal link (at least biologically) lies with c!Wilbur. Simple, right? It should be -- there are multiple clips of him saying this -- but fans choose to ignore it in their critiques, generally citing favouritism or downright neglect for the character’s flaws. From 'favoring' Techno (who, in canon, holds the highest link in friendship outside of c!Wilbur's familal link) to 'neglecting' to visit Tommy (who he barely knew, and also assumed, like many others, that he was fine), these critiques weigh heavily on the scale that judges Phil’s so called father figure trope. 

The story, however, has only leaned into (and persisted with) that for c!Wilbur alone, and adding onto it, there is an established acknowledgement from both ccs. That confirmation should hold the most weight, especially since both Phil and Wilbur seem alright with it. Even so, that familial has yet to be explored much for both characters, particularly regarding c!Phil, who has his debut (at least narratively) in a scene that feels opposite to the classic fatherly role.

c!Wilbur denounced accepting that helping hand to fall entirely into his explosive end, setting a precedence unlike most fatherly types arriving to save their kid. Usually, fandom narrative would love a close save, father and son uniting to heal and build up what was broken, but c!Phil’s entrance inks his story in failure. Angsty, right? We love angst!

And yet, as the story ticks on, the bad takes pile up.

Why? Well, I’l used to think that it is a “funny haha” type thing; a way to grieve for a character that was lost, as Alivebur was genuinely a great character. However, with the plot slowly progressing c!Phil’s story to evolve away from the ‘mentor the kids’ trope , I should have seen a storm on the horizon.

It should have been seen from the moment he stabbed c!Wilbur in the chest, but optimism is one hell of a smokescreen.

Built up fanon, however, is probably the greatest fog to ever exist.

There are lines before the button room confrontation that paint a picture of Wilbur seeking out the approval of his father (who seemed distant, at least from his POV), as well as hints to the SBI dynamic, but with the countless dismissals/retcons from CCs involved, as well as little to no consistent canon acknowledgement of this team dad role...Why base an entire hate piece of c!Phil just because popular fanon isn’t real? 

Why, for the sake of building up a well rounded character, would one place the title of a communal parental figure on a grieving father who has little attachment to the community involved, especially when most of them are too busy delving into their own issues?

Furthermore, why go for Mr. Philza Minecraft: Angel of Death, CEO of KEKW, Functioning Immortal????

It’s madness, luv, and frankly, antis cannot let c!Phil process any of his grief (or flesh out his character) without his contributions being fatherly. His role has been idealized to the point where he is not a character on his own, but an accessory to the happiness of other characters. That is not how the world works, and in a conflict riddled server like the dsmp, arguing that it should be like that is counterproductive.

c!Phil had his own shit to deal with, and as he slowly uncovers how fucked up the server actually was, he merely adapts to it. He learns to play the game by his own rules, and people become mad that he’s succeeding in his own way. It's as simple as that, particularly when referencing his initial exposure to the world he now inhabits.

c!Phil is a man who used to hear of his son’s success from the letters he received, words spinning tales of won revolutions and newfound friendships. To a father, those letters are more than enough to assume that all is well, and with it, he had no reason to check on his son, who was already old enough to be carving his path alone. For him to arrive and see just how broken his son actually was, and then, in front of faces he only vaguely knows, kill said son... There's a lot to take in.

He shouldn't have had to care about L'Manberg in those moments, not when he had his son in his arms, dead by his own goddamn weapon; his son who, to his knowledge, was doing pretty well up until he caught wind of his plot. Yet, he does.

He gives them the benefIt of the doubt, even ignoring the one person he has shown to have deep history with (c!Techno) to assist the nation in defeating the withers and rebuilding what was lost.

c!Phil stays in a nation that has seemingly brought his son right into his demise, holding in that grief to help people who he assumes have the chance to rebuild, to reform. For a moment, he trusts that the system can turn into something positive, offering to hunker down and do what he can to help. That’s the start of a fatherly type role for most -- with many expectations rising from fans to ‘fix’ all these traumatized characters.

In another plot, perhaps critics could have gotten the tropes they want from c!Phil, but to blame the character for reacting negatively to a world he barely knew, right after seeing it ruin his son and target a friend...Maybe the need for a "father figure" only stems from making their faves happy.

Characters that don't directly support your fave are not inherently awful characters. Critique based on that alone is...flimsy, really, but honestly, you can use to to show how they process things.

Which brings me to the events leading up to Doomsday, and with it, the steady rise of c!Phil’s defining traits.

Say it with me, folks: c!Phil is one of the most loyal members on the server, but loyalty doesn’t mean he's blindly following along!

😃☝🏾Butcher Army take this L👉🏾😎👉🏾 Found it in the L’Mancrater

-- birb 2k21

The butcher army arc, while nestled among the mainline story of Tommy’s exile (which I will not even mention, because those dadza takes about visiting may deserve a post on their own), allows for c!Phil to see into the minds of those who had once been with (or even against) his son’s plans. Sure, he may be witnessing them after the eve of their newfound traumas, but this is an important observation to make when comparing how easy it was to denounce his affiliation to them and side with c!Technoblade.

Unlike the new Administration, slowly dipping deeper and deeper into their own form of power hunger, c!Technoblade’s base desires had never wavered. His trust in others, however, had, still nursing the sting of a betrayal, but with no conflict in sight. He is reforming, finding comfort in his solitude, and still maintaining contact with those he trusts.

Techno's Compass, for one, is a major example of their mutual trust. Despite being on opposing territories, they are civil enough to trust each other, just like old friends.

Thus, when you take two old friends who are more than used to conflict -- one grieving and one betrayed, but both seeking neutrality -- it shouldn’t have surprised the antis that c!Phil would place c!Techno’s whereabouts (and life, mind you) over some government he barely knew. 

And yet, above all else, c!Phil starts off as a neutral party for everyone's sake, forgoing potential conquest for peace.

To c!Phil and c!Techno, it’s like fighting back to back, knowing that one can always trust the other to fend off those just waiting to take advantage of your blindspot, while also quelling the need to imagine your partner turning around and doing the same. That sort of friendship is forged through many, many hardships.

They betray what little trust he had built in them. That’s on them.

c!Phil is aware how untrusting c!Techno is, and while c!Techno feels safe enough to give his all for c!Phil, he never exploits it to get ahead, which is something L'Manbergians felt okay with doing.

They take a book out of the playbook used on c!Techno, for c!Techno.

They went after yet another person who was close to him, using their power and influence to hold an execution under the guise of seeking justice. If c!Wilbur, at least pre-corruption arc, sent letters to his father, one would at least expect some of his old ideals of freedom and fairness to leak through into his friends, right? To see those c!Phil assumed would hold similar ideals immediately skew towards a darker, brutal side, particularly in threatening others to get what they wanted...Well, shit hit the fan.

c!Phil does not have that strong relationship with any former L’Manbergians, and despite there being potential for such, it didn't work out that way; instead, however, those characters manage to mistake his kindness for weakness. They take his preferred neutrality as a way to exploit him, to gain in such a way that he lost agency...

No more Mister Nice Dadza, and honestly, he’s justified in that notion.

They’ve lost his trust, time too short to have gained that strong link like c!Techno’s or c!Wilbur’s, and with it, came the inevitable association with Doomsday.

c!Phil knew c!Techno’s intentions from the beginning -- which had only wavered into dormancy because he had grown tired of fighting, understanding that the cycle he wishes to break is not worth his efforts -- so the agreement in participating is effortless. 

c!Dream was there too, of course, but in their mutual quest for eradication, it’s made canon that c!Techno and c!Phil hid away most of their arsenal, despite seeming overprepared. They have no loyalty to c!Dream; they’re smart enough to play along, however. He was a means to an end.

There’s no lies present in their relationship; c!Phil needed someone who didn’t try and pull wool over his eyes, and c!Techno let him see.

c!Techno needed someone who wouldn't stab him in the back, and c!Phil stayed true as his hidden sword.

Which is why, as the two joined forces, ideals aligning and power synergized, they didn’t think twice about nuking the nation to bedrock. Mutually agreeing that the system needs to die, they did what they could, and they succeeded.

How cool of them, tbh LMAO.

New L’Manberg tugged too hard at the sleeping tiger’s tail; they shouldn’t have expected it to roll over.

Their openness to each other was known.

There was no need for underhanded plays, for hidden betrayals, for undisclosed words.

Their loyalties were strong.

They were in sync.

In conclusion (maybe, maybe not...this shit is long holy heck)

😃☝🏾 I may hate this analysis in 30 minutes👉🏾😎👉🏾 Or I may make a part 2. Fuck it!

-- birb 2k21

And that’s what makes c!Phil an interesting character: He tends to be critiqued in reference to chatacters who have very well wronged him, have no affiliation to him or get associated to him through popular fanon. There's a lot to cover that I haven't (from Ghostbur to the whole Tommy 'dilemna') but overall I'm digging what I have now and if I ever get more energy, I'll continue!

c!Phil enthusiasts, I hope I did you proud LMAO. It's my first forray into this side of tumblr 👉🏾👈🏾 I'm a lurker.

c!Phil antis, you can either act respectful or go argue with a wall. I got experience dealing with antis on Tumblr; I am immune to BS.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Signing off!

- BIRB.

[lilypixels]

all of them 👑

I really should’ve seen this coming smh

Aight here we gooo

belle: why is your favorite book your favorite?

I can’t choose just one book, but Rick Riordan is my fav author cause I like the whole idea of taking myths and monsters and then putting them all in a modern setting. Tbh I’m just week for anything relating to mythical creatures or gods/goddesses so there’s also that-

rapunzel: how would you like to change your hairstyle right now?

I’m actually looking at getting my hair cut soon, maybe sorta something like a wolf cut(?) but I’m still figuring it out. I just know I want a haircut and then put some pink dye back in

ariel: favorite mythical creature?

Ok so mythical creature, I suppose supernatural creatures would count differently...dragons or fairies...I think...I’m bad with favorites but I liked to pretend those two in particular existed when I was little and sometimes when I feel particularly whimsical I still like to think fairies exist

tiana: what’s your dream job?

I want to be an anthropologist! I’m still figuring out exactly where I want to go with it but working in a museum is my main goal rn; being able to restore and document ancient artifacts or even piece skeletons together just sounds really awesome (if I could handle it, I would be more tempted to do Egyptology since I loveeee mummies and just ancient Egypt is fascinating but...I couldn’t be there for months on end like many are; all that sand wouldn’t be nice to me)

snow white: name the oldest film or book you like.

Oh uhhh I guess for book I likes The Odyssey well enough and then Secret Garden or Little Princess was favorites of mine when I was little

cinderella: what’s the most unusual item of clothing or accessory you own?

Hm...do I own anything unusual..? I think all of the things I wear are pretty normal ?

aurora: describe your favourite color without using its name.

It is the sky on a clear and sunny day, and it is the calming sound of the ocean as waves crash upon the shore

merida: what is your favorite hobby?

Bruh idek if I have proper hobbies anymore- I like my games ig

pocahontas: do you enjoy learning about history?

Yes yes yes!! But mostly ancient history, I usually started to tune out of class when getting to ww1-

jasmine: if you could wish for one thing, what would it be?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh idk my mind is overwhelmed with the various choices-

mulan: what is one thing in your life you would be willing to fight for?

My family (friends included)

anna: do you believe in love at first sight?

Might be strange but I sorta do, or rather I like the idea of it existing even tho I barely have a crush once in a blue moon myself

elsa: winter or summer?

I guess summer cause I hate the cold💔

kida: are you adventurous?

Probably not, I’m boring and cautious as hell

giselle: what fictional world would you love to live in?

...too many

megara: is there anything you would sell your soul for?

I don’t think so?

nala: what is your favorite animal?

I really like foxes and red pandas !!

vanellope: what is your favorite kind of candy?

Do peppermints count? If not, I like smarties, twizzlers, and skittles (the original kind)

moana: do you enjoy the journey or the destination more?

Journey I suppose?

esmeralda: what’s your favorite part of your appearance?

My eyes I think, they’re pretty blue/sorta blue gray

eilonwy: name an underappreciated film you love.

Uhhh Underworld movies or Dracula Untold, are those considered underappreciated ?

[judylicious]

“I’m glad we both have found back to you.”

     ____________________________________________________

Preamble: Sooo... our BluesBrothers Discord Server made me do it. I wrote my first very own fanfic. 😊 It has gotten a lot longer than I intended it to be, so please bear with me, if there’s not too much going on in part 1 but part 2 will follow asap :)

      ____________________________________________________

Alan Rubin x fem!Reader (chapter one)

Word Count: 2.060

Fandom: Blues Brothers

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Blues Brothers characters or movies.

Warnings: none

The story takes place before the movie and before Jake went to jail for sticking up a gas station.

It was one of those afternoons Kelsey spent at the Soul Food Cafe at West Maxwell Street. She was sitting at her “regular” table at the window, sipping a cup of coffee and listening to those beautiful tunes from John Lee Hooker and a few other musicians who were performing outside in the streets. Occasionally she took a look at the opened book in her lap but couldn’t seem to focus on anything she read. If only he would stop staring.

Across the room 2 guys were seated dressed like Hasidic diamond merchants, black suit and tie, black hat, black boots, they even wore their dark sunglasses inside. Kelsey wondered if she had seen them before, surely they must have caught her eye. In any case one thing was certain. The taller one was permanently watching her. Although he was wearing his glasses she could feel his eyes on her and it annoyed the young woman to no end. She usually came her after work to relax and calm down but being watched certainly didn’t make that any easy. From the corner of her eye she saw the tall one getting up and walking over to her table. “Hiya, how are you doing? I’ve seen your face a couple of times before.” Slowly the girl turned her head from looking out the window to the man who, without asking, took the seat at the other side of the table. “Err… Hi, thanks I’m… doin’ good?” Was that a question? Get a grip girl “I spend quite a few afternoons here, that’s right. What about you?” As the man spoke the blonde girl took a closer look at him. He was actually kinda cute, well, from what you could see under all those black accessories. “Same here. Me and my brother play in a band”, he said as he pointed to the shorter guy who still sat at their table but gave Kelsey a small nod. “The two guys in the kitchen are also in our band, they work here for some side cash.” She chuckled “Sounds like your band isn’t in great demand then.” He gave her back a little smile “You know some times are easier and some are tougher on us. It ain’t easy out there. But perhaps you’ve heard of us…? The Blues Brothers?” The girl shrugged her shoulders. “Well, one more reason to come by when we’re playing our next gig. This Saturday we’re at the…” He got interrupted by his brother, who was standing in the door, followed by a slightly pale, thin man with long, blonde and fluffy hair and a dark skinned, very muscular guy in a tight shirt. “You comin El?” “Yeah s-sure!” He assured the three men then turned back his attention to Kelsey. “Listen I gotta go, we’re on our way to rehearsal. Can I meet you again sometime? How about tomorrow, same time, same table?” And before Kelsey could agree or disagree the strange dressed man was dragged on his collar and out of the cafe by his brother.

“Jake we weren’t finished you know?” His brother sighed “I love you Elwood but you’ve been working up the courage to talk to that girl for what feels like weeks now. Thought you’d speed it up just a little once you finally did make a move.” Elwood looked shyly to the side “Yeah.. it’s just, you know I’m looking for something serious, that takes some time.” “I do. And I do want you to be happy. But I don’t wanna be late for rehearsal, everyone will blame me again, when it clearly was your fault.” Jake joked and gave his brother a soft bump with his elbow. The next day Kelsey left work, as she checked the time she still felt unsure about what to do. Usually she would go to the cafe but then again there could be that guy waiting for her. Was he even coming? Kelsey never agreed on meeting him again though. Did she even want to meet him again? He definitely was cute and I barely know any people in this city beside my coworkers, so why not? And so she found herself sitting at “her” table again, waiting for the man in his suit to show up. When the doorbell of the cozy dine up rang she was torn from her thoughts but greeted with a friendly smile by him. “I wasn’t even sure you’d come but here you are, I’m so glad.”, the handsome man spoke as he took a seat. “My name’s Elwood by the way.” “Hi, I’m Kelsey. Yeah you got torn away rather quickly yesterday.” “Sorry for that, today I’m all yours. We only rehearse on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So.. you enjoy music?” “Oh absolutely. I adore jazz and blues and cannot do much with today’s music to be honest. I don’t know anyone who feels the same so this feels like my sanctuary. Did you grow up in Chicago” And so Elwood told Kelsey about the St. Helen orphanage where he and Jake grew up, how they became interested in music and founded the band. And Kelsey told him how she was raised in NewYork and only moved to Chicago a couple of weeks ago since she needed to leave NY and her past behind, to make a fresh start.

A couple of days later Elwood and Kelsey met for their 2nd date. They agreed on Kelsey picking him up right after rehearsal and they’d go out for dinner. Fortunately there was enough time for her to go back home after work and before her date. She took a shower and made sure to take extra care of her blonde, curly hair. Typical. When it matters those curls do what they want. She decided on her favourite dress, a black sleeved gown with golden ornaments, tied around her waist with a cute matching belt, ending just above her knee and a pair of black laced boots. Kelsey rarely felt self-confident. Over the years she did realise that she was pretty but her figure always made her feel unsexy. She wasn’t much overweighted but simply curvy, with a wider hip and some bigger thighs and butt. That dress though made her feel pretty, so she was satisfied with her look in the end as she left the house with a few butterflies in her stomach.

The young woman took a glance at the note the musician gave her and looked rather insecure at the building in front of her. No doubt this was the address Elwood had written down for her but this looked nothing like a place for rehearsal. Well, how does Bo Diddley state so well in one of my faves songs “Can’t judge a book by it’s cover” She started humming the tune as she entered the old, abandoned-looking building. Not having a clue in which room the band was practising she simply followed the sound of music and as she got closer and the sound become clearer she could identify the song. It was “Green Onions” by Booker T and MGs. Wow. She hadn’t heard that one for ages but she instantly started to feel the vibe. When she finally found the boys, their rehearsal had already came to an end. What a shame, I’d love to listen to some more songs, they sound quite talented. “Kelsey! There you are!” Elwood yelled from the other side of the room, raising one arm. The girl felt uneasy being on display but as she let her gaze wander through the room she noticed that aside from Elwood, Jake and one of the man she had seen in the cafe before no one else as giving her great attention. Most of the band members were busy with their instruments, they were either cleaning or doing some maintenance work on it. Elwood took a few big steps to catch up with the blonde girl “Hi, glad to see you!” He seemed to be pure excited for her to meet the guys. “C’mon I’d like you meet the rest of the band. You know, they became like family to me. Hope you like ‘em too. I know you will!” he said eagerly. “So you already know Jake of course and I believe you have met Blue Lou and Matt before.” “Yeah I have, nice to see you again.” Kelsey stammered. Wouldn’t say I “met” them but rather took a short glance at them. “Sure, we know ya’, a regular at our diner. 2nd table at the window…” Matt started “A chopped cheese and one big white coffee.” Lou finished for him. Yeah okay that’s crazy. The girl laughed nervously “Haha, alright, you scare me! Think I might order something different next time.” She then got introduced to Tom Bones at trombone, Donald Dunn at bass guitar, Murphy at keyboards, Steve at lead guitar and Willie at drums. One man was left, he was standing with his back to Elwood and Kelsey and seemed incredibly deepened in whatever he was doing, looked like the zipper of his instrument case was stuck. They approached him when Elwood continued “And last but not least of course we have Mr. Fabulous…” The man quickly turned around as he heard his nickname when not only his jaw dropped a few inches.  “Alan?” “Christ Almighty! Is that the McAllister girl? I didn’t know you where in Chicago!” “Well right back at you!” Kelsey grinned. “You.. two know each other?” Elwood asked confused. “Yeah, Alan was my trumpet teacher back in NY.” “Oh didn’t you tell me you had just started learning since you moved here?” “Err.. right, I.. err.. quit and picked up playing again”, Kelsey stumbled somewhat embarrassed. She felt strangely awkward admitting that she had quit at some point in front of Alan. She swore she could see some disappointment in the trumpeter’s eyes or perhaps it was the disappointment in herself. “Well if you need a brush-up I’d be glad to help.” Alan smiled. “Really?”, Kelsey bursted out and tried not sounding too excited as she went on. “I sure would appreciate that.” “How are Mr. and Mrs. McAllister doing?” That question caused a sudden change of the girl’s mood, Alan could read her facial expression immediately. “How about we catch up over coffee sometime? Guess you might be pretty interested how I ended up with these lunatics!” He laughed and gave Elwood a little flick against the brim of his hat. She gave him a little smile when Elwood grabbed her hand “Shall we?” Before neither one of them could say anything, he twisted her around, leading her to the door. “He really has a talent to kill the mood, hasn’t he?”  Elwood joked. “Nah, everything’s alright”, she assured the handsome man at her side but turned around to meet Alan’s gaze who was looking after her.

The trumpeter closed the door and threw his keys at the table, letting his instrument bag slide off his shoulder onto the sofa. He then grabbed a bottle of beer, a cloth and the tube of polishing creme from the drawer, unpacking his horn. He couldn’t believe he stumbled into her today. It had been ages. Back in NY her parents had hired him as her trumpet teacher. That was over 10 years ago, she was only 14 back then. A teenager. Not the kind of girl that stood out in the crowd to be honest but that girl today, that woman - looked nothing like the teenager from NY. She really had grown into a looker. He remembered how she used to straighten her hair when she was younger, what a shame after seeing those beautiful blonde curls today, she looked like an angel. That dress perfectly hugged her curves and loosening it up with those black boots suited her a lot. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, that smile simply didn’t want to disappear from his inner eye. We was torn out of this thoughts when he’d realised he almost put the entire tube of polishing creme on the cloth  - and into his lap. He sighed in annoyance and went to the kitchen to clean himself up. After getting rid of the mess, he made a couple of sandwiches and slumped in front of the telly… with a certain young woman on his mind.

chapter 2

chapter 3

chapter 4

[mahou-furbies]

Magical Girl Raising Project Limited - character design ranking

Captain Grace

An alright pirate design with enough little details that keep it from being forgettable (I especially like the anchor buckle on her belt, and the earrings and hooks on her hair). The spikes on the coat are what stands out most to me; makes me think of a Mario enemy or something. However I’m not sure how much of a Magical Girl design it is. Like pirates and frills already go together, so the well tested formula (put a miniskirt and frills on it and it’s a magical girl look!) doesn’t really do much. Maybe it’d be better if she had some cutesy detail in there somewhere? Also is that an tail again or what, or some kind of blunt hook? What is it with these unnecessary tails in Magipro designs. 6/10. 

Funny Trick

I’ve always liked Funny Trick’s look, and it’s probably because of the pleasant colour palette, unique eyes and two-tone hair (I’m easy to please with two-tone hair). The nail polish and colourful glitter on her fur are also good little details. But apart from that I guess this is only barely strange enough to be any kind of “magical” look rather than just an anime stage magician, but at least that’s pretty close to magical girls already. Also is that a frigging tail again?? At least it goes well with the hair I guess... 8/10.

Kuru-Kuru Hime

It’s a cute design, but when I think of a ribbon magical girl I somehow expected more ribbons? Like this feels like an the higher end of an average magical girl amount of ribbons? Or maybe it’s totally over the top and my perspective is just skewed since I love ribbons and want them everywhere. Either way I like her outfit from neck down, but I’m not that into the headgear, the combo of the bonnet thingy and the weird crown just sitting on top if it looks strange to me. Nice hair tho even if it could use more ribbons. 6/10.

Weddin

I absolutely love Weddin’s design. The muted and light colour palette is very appealing to me, and the dark chains break up the mostly monochrome design so it doesn’t look dull and faded and also give the otherwise super frilly appearance quite a lot of edge. There’s repeating elements (braids in her hair and veil, the same kind of flowers everywhere, flower yellow also appearing in her eye makeup) so it doesn’t get too complicated, and all of them go well with the wedding theme too. The flame... is a bit of an odd touch and I’d rather associate it with a birthday party or Christmas than a Wedding but I guess you can have candles at weddings too, and I don’t find it too distracting.

I’m not a huge fan of the lingerie like look though, but at least visible garters go with the wedding theme and she’s so covered in veils and frills that it doesn’t look so bad. Also the back train looks kind of lazy. But overall still one of my favourite Magipro designs. 10/10.

Rain Pow

A tail again! However this time I actually like it, since she has that rainbow hoop behind her it looks good to stick something through it, and at least it somewhat resembles her twintails. 

As for the rest of the design, it has zero frills and ribbons and looks more like some kind of scifi spacesuit than a typical magical girl design, but somehow I still really like it. I think the weird heart hair is just enough to pull it into magical girl territory for me so my impressions are more on the “an unique take on an mg look” rather than “not mg enough” side. Then all the rings keep the look consistent (I absolutely love the rainbow halo) and the suit itself looks alright enough. I also find it interesting how muted the suit colours are for a rainbow magical girl and even the rainbow is pretty pastel, but I figure this is a better choice than all the expected seven colours in all their eye-strainy glory. 9/10.

Postarie

Please put on some pants, that is a shirt and not a dress.

Not too interested in this one, but I find it a commendable effort on making a design on the idea of “postal delivery girl”. Still lots of repeating elements so that’s a plus, especially the back epaulette is such an absurd idea but somehow it works and its wings and the wing hairstyle add the required fantasy touch. Bonus points for the cute birds. 7/10.

Tepsekemei

An inoffensive genie design but I struggle to really have emotions towards it. Butt flower is silly and I have no idea what the things hanging from it are, but at least they’re consistent with her head decoration. Don’t care for the shoulder spikes in an otherwise soft looking design. Huge earrings and multicoloured nails are a nice touch. 6/10.

7753

Also one of my favourite Magipro looks. It feels like the design philosophy here was “gakuran jacket and some frills, and then some hearts. And more hearts! More! Even more!” and I think it’s a great way to go with when designing a magical girl. Using just hearts everywhere makes the outfit cohesive, but since they’re all implemented in different ways it doesn’t get boring. I especially like the little hearts on her hands and under the eye, and the one in her pocket.

Two-tone hair in twintails is also one of the best design elements out there and the hairstyle is quite memorable (and also manages to incorporate the heart motif) and I’m always a fan of caps too. The green eyes and the little bit of green nail polish which you unfortunately can’t see here go well with the otherwise reddish look. Maybe the hair looks a bit too clunky (I only just realised it appears to be tied in a hoop behind her) but I won’t let it bother me. 10/10.

Mana

A solid witch design, I especially love the dimensional cape and hat. I also like the huge collar with the lace detail, but I’m not sure if it works with the hat brim. Not a big fan of the hair, I think it clutters the design. The snake leg accessory feels weird and a bit out of place but I do appreciate the asymmetry and also having something dark to break up the otherwise plain bottom part of the design.. 7/10.

Gekokujou Hana

I tend not to be a huge fan of kimono-based clothes, but this one is an exception I guess. The great colours must play a part in it, and the bottom part is fun. Then the dangly decorations add the correct amount of strangeness so it’s not just a bunny girl in a mini kimono Also, another tail, but this time it’s almost a requirement and I love how ridiculously huge it is (and also repeats elsewhere in her outfit). But really I can’t think of anything to dislike about this, must be the colours and the tail. 10/10.

Archfiend Pam

I believe this is the record on how little clothing you can wear in this franchise... At least she has the personality to pull that off. But that is not a top! At least it’s something new...? The wings fit the description in the story, but I don’t think these blank rectangles look very aesthetically pleasing. I like the tail best, the fur edge makes it a lot more interesting than just the usual demon tail. I don’t know, if the theme is a sexy demon girl this design definitely accomplishes it in a unique way, but also I don’t care for this fanservicey designs. Also not a fan of the hair. 4/10.

Pythie Frederica

Before drawing her for the chibi series I thought she had some kind of a helmet but upon closer inspection of course it’s a veil. But what are the horns? 

Upon closer inspection this one is also very fanservicey, in that her “dress” is actually see-through and the only thing covering the critical areas look like thin belt-thingies. At least she doesn’t look like she’s ten... But a major issue I have is the bottom part of her outfit, like how is it supposed to work? Is it one big piece of cloth, or multiple thin ones? What is the “fire” behind her? Is the dark part her hair, or the clothing, and is it supposed to be black or just shading? I do like the stars; otherwise the design gives a more mature “sexy” air, but the little stars everywhere adds a cute element. The colour palette is pleasing, but as much as I like multicoloured hair it doesn’t grant points this time, because the wiggly stray strands look very out of place here and the colour change makes them even more noticeable. 2/10.

Tot Pop

This one really isn’t my aesthetic, I very much prefer the cutesy style and there isn’t really anything ‘magical girl’ about this design. And it doesn’t really evoke the supposed image of ‘pop star’ to me either, like if you remove the guitar I’d think her theme was a prisoner or halloween. Though I don’t really know what a ‘pop star’ should look like anyway, like can’t they wear anything they want, I know Lady Gaga had a meat dress or something. But as of this design, I don’t think there’s anything specifically wrong with it, the colours are pleasing, the details are consistent and it’s not bland or boring either, but it just doesn’t do much for me because of the theme. I like the blood-stained hair and the spiky hair accessory, the long hanging part makes for a nice silhouette. Meanwhile the skulls on her shoulders feel somewhat tacked on, and in general I don’t care for piercings in anywhere else than ears. 5/10.

Pukin

And it’s a tail again. What is it with the stupid tacked on tails on every other design in this franchise? Sometimes it’s not so badly out of place, like if you have an youthful cutesy design, a fluffy animal tail can still add to the cute effect even if it’s otherwise out of place. But Pukin is supposed to be this dangerous and majestic authority figure and a cutesy tail very much doesn’t fit that image. And while we’re on the topic of animal features, the story describes that she has a feather decoration in her hair, but the way it’s drawn as a tiny feather jutting directly up in the middle of her head gives me more the impression of a character whose theme is a baby bird rather than a fantasy prince.

Now that we’ve dealt with the tail let’s get the biggest issue out of the way: I’m aware that there was a time in history when people used to wear these kind of giant ruffled collars but I really don’t care if there’s some kind of history based reasoning. It looks like your head is on a plate and it’s something I can’t ignore. I don’t feel even clowns can pull that off. There is no way getting around this.

When I first read Limited I thought Pukin’s appearance was an absolute mess and an instant 1/10, but upon closer inspection there is stuff I like about it too. She has a good colour palette, great shoes and gloves, and as a friend of multicoloured hair I welcome the yellow hair tips. The big heavy cape balances the small top and pants, and I really like the fur. Earrings go well with the pants too. The theme is a bit confused, or at least I don’t know of any fairy tales about pumpkin prince, but it’s not like I would complain about pineapple or cauliflower princess so that’s not really a problem. 3/10.

Sonia Bean

And we end Limited with yet another excellent design. I like how this manages to look kind of tattered and messy without actually being gross and dirty with the patchwork dress, dustball-like thingies, newspaper clippings and asymmetry. Even her hair looks disheveled. The headgear gives the design an old-fashioned vibe which suits her well since she’s so old. The light palette, soft design elements and ribbons give the look a cute feel, but at the same time she feels suspiciously pale, and the manic expression screams danger, like you can’t reason with this girl. She’s like a ghost of a Victorian era child who wants to play with you but you know you definitely should not follow her.

The design only works if I don’t think too much about it though, like dust is gross and newspaper paper is crinkly and not soft at all, but since we’re magical girls here I can ignore that and enjoy the image the clothing evokes. 10/10.

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

Limited average: 6,9.

[mimssides]

Life on Crow Avenue: Part 17

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___

Remus checked himself out in the mirror. Lime t-shirt with the motive of a red rose being stabbed with an intricately carved knife. Black washed-out jeans. His favourite khaki jacket with the anarchist patch he sewed on it, next to it the Mexican flag. His worn-out converse with the rainbow laces and the black beanie with the white stars stitched on it.

With a sigh he turned away from the mirror and joined Roman in the kitchen. He was in his usual casual weekend wear; grey sweatshirt, light-blue jeans and red sneakers. The jeans were one of Remus’s most hated pieces in Roman’s wardrobe. It was an ill-fit for Roman’s body type, too big and the colour was just terrible. He had more than once tried to kidnap and then destroy the hideous abomination which called itself jeans. To his chagrin Roman had always caught him before and stopped his attempts at pant assassination.

Yet right now Remus did not worry about the jeans. He exchanged a look with his brother and they simultaneously let out a sigh.

“We’re doing this?” Remus made sure, as Roman grabbed the keys for the delivery van.

Roman shrugged and opened their door stopping for Remus to follow him.

“Apparently we are. Virgil was very insistent on going to buy furniture with us. He even did not open the store for his emergency service, so we kinda have to. Right?” Roman answered sounding rather unsure but walking down the stairs with his brother anyway.

This time Remus just shrugged as they left the building and walked onto the sidewalk. He wasn’t sure what the correct protocol in their situation was and he just hoped everything would turn out to be alright. And before either twin could muse any longer, they were spotted by Patton and Logan, who had been dragged along by Virgil to join the whole let-us-buy-furniture-for-the-twins operation. Both seemed to be in a rather good mood and greeted them, while waiting for Janus and Virgil to show up.

After five minutes the two joined them and the six men split up with Remus, Logan, Janus and Patton in Patton’s car while Virgil would go with Roman in the twins’ delivery van. Like that both groups had someone in the car who knew where the place was where they would go and buy furniture.

With them all split up they set off to the thrift store which belonged to a friend of one of Janus’s brothers.

“So, which one of your famed uncles has recommended this place we’re going to?” Roman asked Virgil as soon as they had hit the road.

“Mars. He’s not my favourite but he knows a lot of people and I’ve actually been there before,” Virgil answered as he typed the street name of their destination into his phone.

Roman hummed and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

“I thought you knew the way?”

“I do!” Virgil said defensively. “It’s just- Rather safe than sorry, am I right?”

Roman chuckled and looked over to the younger man with a smirk when they halted at a stop sign.

“No need to fright, Virgey. I’m messing with you,” Roman told Virgil with a wink and watched him pout before he continued driving.

After a few minutes Roman began to ask what he had bought at “Bottom Drawer” before and what kind of stuff they offered. Virgil told him that they were focused on second hand furniture but also sold some new stuff, which they had been able to buy cheaply from bigger stores because pieces were slightly defect or they just hadn’t been able to sell it in time. Roman listened closely and Virgil didn’t notice how he started to talk about first moving into the flat with Janus, when they had opened Zookeepers two years ago.

Roman was a little surprised by Virgil’s openness. He had assumed that Virgil was rather reserved and generally only seemed to talk more when Janus was around. It was what he had gathered from the meals and the few Friday nights he had spent with others but around Roman alone the younger man opened up quite a bit. Roman was grateful for it even though he didn’t quite understand. While Patton, Logan and Janus were great people, and he liked all of them a good bit, Virgil was a little different from them. He had something that Roman had missed, a quality he had hoped to find in his friends again for a long while. He was not quite sure yet what it was but he was not in a rush and kept contently listening to Virgil talking about the shenanigans with his uncle and sometimes telling him in which direction to turn.

After an hour and a half, they had reached their destination and the six men found themselves in front of an older-looking storage hall. Janus took the lead after stretching his back for a bit and led them into the “Bottom Drawer”.

“So, we are looking for two bedframes, a couch, a coffee/side table, a dining table and matching chairs as well as decorative accessories. Is that correct so far?” Logan said while looking on the notes on his phone after they entered.

Roman shot Remus a look and the older twin shrugged with a grin: “He was trapped in the backseat with me. So, he started making conversation after the front seat people got annoyed with me commenting what I saw outside.”

“It wasn’t annoying!” Patton protested as Janus visibly rolled his eyes.

“Just- a little distracting in the way you did it,” the tattoo artist added sheepishly.

Roman pressed his lips together to keep a grin from spreading and glanced to Remus who looked exceptionally proud of himself. Quickly Roman shook his head and confirmed Logan’s list. They decided to first go for the bedframes and started with their search for a bedroom section.

The hall was quite big and there were a few people walking around and looking through the aisles. From almost vintage looking chairs, over to weirdly modern looking lamps they seemed to have everything. There wasn’t really an obvious system behind the setup and it was comfortably disorganized with leaving the customers enough space to walk by the furniture and knickknacks on the shelves.

After a few minutes of searching and then debating if they should ask a someone who worked there where to look for bedroom furniture, Virgil caught a glimpse of a bunk bed and the group made its way to the bedframes. As they wandered around Janus pointed a few bedframes out to Roman and eventually both of them stopping in front of a simple frame out of redwood. Roman checked the measurements of the frame as to see if his mattress at home would fit, when he heard an excited yelp from behind.

Confounded both he and Janus turned and saw Remus quickly jumping on the spot before he actually jumped over the edge of a bed to get across it. With furrowed brows Roman watched his brother for a second until he spotted the traitorous object of Remus’s interest and let out an annoyed groan.

“What is going on?” Virgil asked with slight panic creeping into his voice, while Roman walked past the others and followed his brother.

Roman shook his hands over his head and said without looking back: “Noting! Nothing but stupid neon orange!”

That confused Virgil so much that he forgot his panic and just blankly stared at Roman’s back until he finally lifted his gaze and saw what he was walking towards. And that was indeed neon orange.

Very loud neon orange.

Baffled Virgil and now also the rest of the group stared and Remus hopping onto a neon orange bedframe, smiling widely and enthusiastically as Roman approached. Quickly the others got out of their shock and followed the younger twin.

“Really? It has to be this one? This hideous orange?” Roman asked in an irritated tone.

Triumphantly Remus lifted his chin and wiggled his eyebrows.

“We both know the answer and I’m winning.”

Dramatically Roman shook his hand over his head and turned around with a look of lost faith in the gods above. The sheer dramatics of this display led Virgil to snicker and Roman shot him an annoyed look before he announced he’d go and look for a side table. Remus just snickered and got up from the bed, checking for the price tag and the number on the thing, so they would find it later when they would go and buy all of it.

The group rummaged a little longer in the bedroom section, both brothers having found a side table and Roman also a little desk and matching chair for his room. They then went on to the dining and living room stuff. It was there where Roman suddenly let out a happy sound and hurried up to a rather big round table made of walnut. The foot in the middle was round and had a little rose pattern carved in the bottom. Fascinated Roman touched the tabletop and joyfully realized that it was extendable.

“I need to see how big this one gets,” Roman mumbled under his breath and perked up looking around for someone who worked there.

“Seriously? Don’t you think that’s enough table for us? Like it already fits 8 people at least!” Remus said while Roman waved somebody over.

Roman just shot him a look and said: “You get a neon orange bedframe and I get to have a table for huge get togethers. Also, we have the space and I let you choose the chairs.”

Remus rolled his eyes, as the retail worker came over and helped Roman figure out how to extend the table. Childishly happy Roman shook his hands for a moment and then turned to Remus to check if they could afford all of what they had seen so far. After a shockingly short moment Remus had added up all the prices in his head and confirmed that they still could look for chairs.

“And a couch,” Janus pointed out when both brothers already turned to look for some chairs.

They shot Janus a look, exchanged a short glance and promptly walked over to where they had seen a few couches standing around. Not thirty seconds passed when they both steered towards a dark grey three-seater and plumped down on it simultaneously.

“This one,” they agreed in unison and got back up to look for chairs.

Baffled from the sudden agreement of the twins the others exchanged a few startled looks before they followed them again for the search for chairs. Luckily, they were rather at deciding on a few rather simplistic looking white chairs and then went to the next retail worker to help them get all the pieces they needed. The young woman who they had approached seemed a little surprised at first when they told her what they all wanted to buy but quickly got hang of herself and got a trolley and they collected most pieces but the bedframes and the table. For Roman’s bedframe and the table they got a separate bigger trolley and as for the neon orange bedframe; they still had models of it in storage, so they could get a boxed one and put it together at home.

The whole ordeal took quite a while and somehow Roman managed to recruit another worker of the ‘Bottom Drawer’, as well as two guys who had been browsing through the store to help them carrying everything to the van after paying. With a flashing smile he thanked them and told Janus almost within the same breath: “Can you take one of the chairs? Or can’t you do that?”

Confused Janus blinked and said: “I could take one but isn’t it more efficient if someone would carry several chairs? I do not see how me taking one would contribute to the whole thing.”

“Bah, bah, bah! Just take one, so you have something to do as well. Otherwise you’d just stand around and like that you’ll have contributed to all of this. Now, take the chair and stop arguing with me. This was your idea as well and you’re going to help!”

A laughing Remus walked by Janus’s side and the man with the bowler hat huffed and pouted picking up one of the white chairs. Soon after they had everything packed up and drove back home again.

___

It was pushing 6 pm and the old furniture of the twins was standing on the sidewalk, the new one upstairs and Roman was kneeling on the living room floor beginning to assemble the most orange piece of furniture the twins had ever possessed. Originally, Patton had offered him some help but after watching him looking at the Allen key with dread in his eyes, Roman took it upon himself. Well, Remus had helped him unpack at first but got distracted when Logan had asked him about their flower encyclopaedia and abandoned his brother in favour to talk with the nerd. Roman didn’t really mind, especially not when he watched Patton join them and ask if he had also one with flower meanings since flowers were a quite popular motive with his clients lately.

No, Roman was happy with Janus commenting on him reading the instructions and making small piles of all the different screws, chubs, nuts and chubs that had come with it.

“Stop being so cocky, Janny,” Roman said with a smirk and pushed his hair back out of his face. “At least I know how to read an instruction and put together a bed frame. I would be far more embarrassed if I couldn’t do that despite being the one initiating this whole operation.”

Janus let out an appalled gasped and Roman laughed heartily. Meanwhile Virgil sat down next to Roman looking at the little instruction booklet and the piles Roman had made. He wanted to help. After all, this had been his idea and even though he did not know how to assemble a bedframe and was quite honestly a little scared of it, he wanted to try and help.

“Uhm, so,” Virgil mumbled with a testing glance at Roman, “where do you start? I never, uh, did this before?”

Roman laughed a bit and told him to scoot over to his side so he could see the booklet from the right side. With a gentle jab then and there Roman explained Virgil what to do, while also bickering with Janus when the latter made a snide comment. Slowly, but steadily they put the thing together and when it was around seven and it looked like they were almost about finished, Roman sat back for a moment and stretched his back.

Roman was tired. He was clammy and hungry from all the work they did. He was also a little worn out from the chatter, the people, the interacting and directing all these people as much as he had done today. And he hadn’t felt so much at peace since –

He didn’t remember anymore and exhaled lengthily with a dopey smile.

“You eat cheese?”

Virgil almost dropped the screw driver when Roman asked him that and turned to him in confusion.

“Yeah? I’m vegetarian not vegan,” he answered and observed Roman grin a little.

“That’s great. Rem?”

Remus sitting at the new table with Patton and Logan, turned on his seat and quirked his eyebrow up in anticipation.

“I assembled this monstrosity which will be your bed, so could you make mac and cheese? Otherwise, I’m going to faint soon,” Roman whined.

A grin curled up around Remus’s lips and he got up, made a dramatic bow and answered: “As you wish, príncipe!”

Remus disappeared in the kitchen and Roman told Patton, Logan and Janus to come help him and Virgil hold the last part and then carrying it into his brother’s room. There was some swearing and complaining (latter mostly from Janus’s front) but eventually they got everything in place and they all felt satisfaction wash over them. It was done.

“I’m done soon! Change your shirt Ro! I don’t wanna eat next to a stinky prince!” Remus shouted from the kitchen.

With a huff Roman walked out of his brother’s room, already beginning to pull his sweater over his head. A bit scandalized Janus watched the warm beige skin which was suddenly exposed and felt something drop within him, as the made out the lighter markings of a burn just above his hip and a few light cuts above it.

But he did not get to linger too long on the look of Roman’s exposed back, as he soon disappeared in his room and shouted to his brother annoyedly: “I’m sorry that I worked so hard on your stupid bed! I better half-ass my job the next time!”

“Stop being a diva!” Remus shot back from the kitchen and the two brothers bantered for a while.

Amused the four other man walked back into the living room. Patton went to help Remus with the cutlery and plates, which he should bring over to the tv, while Janus sat down on the edge of the couch. Logan joined him and Virgil said he’d step out for a second to make a call home. Irritated Janus looked after him but did not comment on it. Roman waked into the room soon after, now wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants. With a grin he planted himself next to Janus and then asked him if he was less concerned sitting on this couch than on their old one.

“I do. In fact, I am very positive that it will not give me a deadly disease like the last one very certainly would have,” Janus answered.

Roman snorted and laid his head against the back lean watching Janus unmistakeably fondly. He was so exhausted and happy. Everything was a little blurry but in a good way. He could be quiet and not listen for a bit. He saw Virgil coming back inside, taking a seat on the beanbag next to the couch and how Janus talked to him. He saw how Logan turned to see Remus and Patton come into the living room, bringing them all their plates and food. He ate his mac and cheese happily, just as the others did and gave the plate back to Remus and Patton when they all had finished. He noticed the tv being turned on in the background, and that there was some kind of movie running, when his eyes fell shut and he dozed off.

He was holding something. It was warm. It smelled nice. It had the potential to become home.

He felt a flick on his knee and opened his eyes. For a moment the buzz was still there and then it was clear. He let go of Janus’s arm and apologized despite not feeling very sorry and got up from the couch with a stretch.

“Sorry guys, ‘m beat. Thanks for today, I’m gonna test my bed now,” Roman said nudging Janus’s shoulder and then walking towards the bathroom to brush his teeth before going to bed.

In his tired state he had not noticed Janus utterly flushed face nor Remus’s snickering or Virgil’s shyly hopeful grin. He just knew that he wanted to lie down in his bed for the first time in a few years and sleep in the next day.

___

@varthandi

@sickeningly-deceitful

@sammy-is-obsessed / @exhaustedfander

@unoriginalgayboyalex

@alexisrealgay

@softie-sushi

@wolfs-feder

@just-a-neoclassical-painting

@winter-jay-official

@a-ghostlight-for-roman

Tagged for this fic:

@frawkeye

@arodynamic-enby

@espepspes

@bullet-tothefeels

@fukindork

@shadeofadye

@magic-but-its-green

@croftersjam15

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #405

“today i went to therapy, told him the embarrassing issues that i’m having with my life  /  he told me that i need to change; life is not a video game, so stop playing & open up your eyes”

What was your favourite sweet as a child? Things like Baby Bottle Pops, Ring Pops, Airheads, etc. Do you like to wear socks to bed? NOOOOOOO. I don't wear socks unless I have to. What’s your favourite berry? Strawberries. If you have a job, how long is your shift? I don't. Do you like sunflowers? Well yeah. Are you counting down for anything? No. Are you watching TV? What’s on? No. Do you have make-up on? No. I haven't worn makeup since last October. Are you any good with kids? People have told me I am, but I beg to differ. What if you had a baby with the last person you kissed? We're both cisgender women, we physically couldn't. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years time? It'd be nice honestly, but I kinda doubt I will be. What is your favorite card game? Magic: The Gathering. What is the weirdest thing you’ve done in public? Ha, probably the times I've gotten down on the ground beside the road to photograph roadkill... More than once has someone stopped and asked if I was okay, haha. Favorite sleeping position? Twisted half on my side and stomach with my legs just sorta splayed out. What is your dad’s name? Ken. Have you ever been on a diet? Multiple times. Do you own any jersey shirts? No. Are you proud to be of the nationality you are? There are two moods I have on this: I'm either neutral or embarrassed. Can you remember what you last clapped for? Omg the woman who facilitates my TMS treatment was telling Mom and me about this one time a tiny snake got in the lobby and I did a lil squeal and clapped a bit because I was just excited to hear about a little snake, haha. What is the geekiest part of your music collection? *shrug* Maybe game soundtrack music. What do you eat when you raid the fridge late at night? Well, not really the fridge, but w/e. I'll usually get a granola bar or something of the sort. What is the little physical habit that gives away you're insecure moment? Kneading/wringing my hands together is a dead giveaway. Do you have too many love interests? No. How much money would it take to get you to give up the Internet for one year? If you want honesty... probably no amount would lmao. I rely way too heavily on the Internet for so many things. Do you talk a lot? It depends on my mood and who I'm around. Do transient, homeless, or starving people sometimes annoy you? What a fucking awful question. They don't annoy me. It can be awkward driving past them, but they're in no way annoying. Do you consider yourself to be a nice person? I definitely try to be. What is your ideal marriage location? Either a gothic-looking mansion or something of the sort or a wooded area in the fall. Do you tell your friends about your sex life? I don't have one to talk about. Would you ever admit to having done plastic surgery of any kind if confronted? Yeah? No shame. What kind of watch(es) do you wear? I don't wear watches. What do you cook the best? My family likes my scrambled cheesy eggs... basic as that is, haha. When my sisters would go to Taco Bell all the time and save the hot sauces for later use, I would use some packets in the eggs I cooked. Honestly amazing. What's one car you will never buy? "Anything that is two door, or low to the ground." <<<< This right here. On the other end of the spectrum, I also won't ever buy a car that's high up. I need a good medium so I can actually get in with ease. What's one thing you're a sore loser at? Hm, I dunno. What kind of first impression do you think you give to people? "Wow, she's awkward." What's one thing you like to do alone? Draw. When's the last time you cried? Not long ago at all because I was just so exasperated over my weight gain. Do you think you're cute? God no. Do you have problems changing clothes in front of friends? I don't change in front of anyone if I can avoid it. Did you like kissing the last person you kissed or the one before that more? The last person. I gotta say I was not a fan of kissing Girt because for whatever reason his lips were ALWAYS wetter than lips naturally should be and I just didn't dig it, man. That and every kiss with him was awkward. Whose bed other than yours did you last lay on? My mom's. What turns you off immediately? Acting sexist, to name one. Which city do you particularly enjoy visiting and for what reasons? I don't like going into cities. Do you often take pictures with the camera on your phone? No. I don't like the camera on my phone. In the past year, have you lost weight or gained weight? How much? Gained. You don't need to know. What year was the last car you rode in/drove? I have zero clue. What’s your worst/funniest experience with one of your neighbors? "Worst" and "funniest" are very different... but I can tell you the worst easily. At my childhood home, our next-door neighbors had a pair of Rottweilers in their back yard within a chain-link fence, and we had a LOT of outdoor cats at the time. (I will emphasize every time I bring it up to NOT keep cats outside.) Somehow the dogs got loose and went on a rampage trying to kill our cats; one young one was killed, while our fearless mother cat, Chance, literally fought them off to defend her new kittens. More were maybe killed, I honestly can't remember. My mom was hysterical and threatened to call animal control if it ever happened again. I was absolutely, utterly heartbroken. The last time you burned your tongue or mouth, what were you eating? Ummm I want to say it was some sort of pasta that I didn't let cool long enough. Honestly, are you shallow? Far from it, honestly. Can/could your parents tell when you were lying? Not always. Besides clothes, shoes, and accessories, what’s your favorite thing to shop for? I love window-shopping at Morph Market, haha. AAAAAAAAAALL those ball python morphs, man... *drools* Does/did your parents ever go through your computer or cell phone? When I was younger, Mom was very intent on figuring out why I was always so secretive about what I did on the computer (mostly RP-related things) that ohhhh yeah, she'd do some digging. The night she finally snapped, demanding I tell her my passwords to everything, and she ultimately found out about me being a forum RPer, was literally almost traumatic to me, I think. I know, that sounds INCREDIBLY overdramatic, but I'm not fucking joking. I was in my room SOBBING on my best friend's shoulder, who was spending the night. I was just so embarrassed, and I *still* am when I share that fact with people I know, even though I have no reason to be. Like I don't do any weird or kinky RP shit, it's just genuine, artistic writing with actual, well thought-out plots, but I still feel like people would think it dumb, childish, and just weird. What song reminds you the most of a particular day in your life? Why is that? "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. I've talked about it a few times before and really don't feel like doing it again. Do you have any close friends that were adopted? I don't think so. Who, in your opinion, is the best thriller writer? I don't know. Does your mom eat meat? Yeah. Was your dad ever on a sports team? Lots in high school, I believe. Do you prefer thick or thin crusted pizza? Thick, by a long shot. What do you have in your fruit salads? Not a fan of fruit salads. Have you ever spent more than two weeks in a wheelchair? I've only needed a wheelchair once in my life, and that was just to get inside and maneuver around the doctor's office when I tore a ligament in my foot. So no. What are your favorite word? Serendipity, tranquility, lucid, etc.; pretty, peaceful words like those. Is there a lot of drama in your life? Nope. I don't do enough or have enough people in my life for there to be. What are you listening to? An extended version of "Nightsong" from WoW. Do you hear any animals right now? No. I'm sure I'd hear birds if I didn't have my earplugs in, though. Have you ever played fetch with a dog? Yes. Have you ever pet a stingray? No. Who is the last baby you held? Emerson, my youngest niece. Do you have any scars from an animal? Yeah; I've got looooots from my cat playing too rough. Have you ever seen an Igloo? I don't believe so. Do you like Korn? They're high on my list of faves. Are you more afraid of tornadoes or hurricanes? Absolutely tornadoes. Do you like mushrooms? Ugh, NO. Have you ever been on Omegle? No. So do you have a favorite M&M? Just the regular ones. Have you ever snuck out? No. Do you currently feel like you have pretty stable career goals/a pretty stable life plan? Have you ever felt this way? I don't know, man. I know what I WANT to do, I just don't know if I'm ever going to get there. Or if what I want will be financially supportive enough, now that I'm really losing interest in photographing people. I might just have to if I want to be financially stable with photography, which would be okay, but bleh. I'd much rather just work with nature. If you could buy an android that was was convincingly human and could be tailored to be your perfect partner, would you want one? No. I don't want to build my own partner, nor do I want my romantic partner to be an android. I want life to just introduce me to a person who is uniquely themselves, who have built themselves from their own life experiences, and not just have a perfect spouse tailored to everything I like. If you do not identify as being “straight,” can you remember back to your childhood some things you did that were, in hindsight, possible indicators of your future sexuality? Yes, especially in middle school. I thought women were prettier than probably a straight kid would, and looking back, I definitely found the natural curves of the female figure to be attractive. When you consume media (movies, books, etc.) with a romantic element, what sort of romance scenarios interest you most? Hm. I know I prefer serious ones over silly; like I'm a sucker for Nicholas Sparks' style, if that says anything. If you are female, do you feel connected to other women as a class? What sort of things make you feel a strong sense of sisterhood or female empowerment? This is too big of a question for me to feel like delving into right now, haha. But I can say it more so depends on the individual than the gender when it comes to feeling connection over anything.