#i want to find some real unique pieces but I haven’t been shopping in a long time

[liesandbrokenhearts]

Can I see ur jewelry?

I don’t have much but I definitely want to find more! The only thing that’s stopped me is time and money lol

[misdre]

misi's beyblade AUs masterpost

i like making AUs, i have many of them, here's a post of them from oldest to newest. (at least approximately) (the ones that got no art of them have photos from unsplash. i just enjoy setting the mood)

⸻⸻⸻

Magical boy AU takao is an ordinary middle schooler who one day gets dragoon the magical spinning top from a cute little azure dragon, seiryuu, and transforms into a magical boy to protect the world from evil for some cosmic reasons that i haven't come up with yet. the rest of the characters have similar powers from their holy beasts and takao needs to gather up his team to fight the evil and. you get the drill is there art of it? yes 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 is there a fic of it? no note: i originally created this just because i like designing the outfits so i haven't planned the story much (this used to be my main focus but then 4kingdoms happened GJSDHGHSDG) i'd want to though, i'll get back to it eventually...at some point...... one of the charm points of this AU is that the holy beasts are these digimon-like animals that hang out with the characters and each have their own personalities.

Fairy tale monster AU takao and gramps live in a cabin in the middle of a forest full of monsters and takao decides one day to venture out to look for a silver-haired boy he once saw, he meets up with the other BBA characters one by one in the grim woods. is there art of it? no is there a fic of it? yes note: my oldest halloween fic. the characters are all these different cute spooky creatures and it's intended to sound like a fairy tale.

One day, he determined that the time was ripe: Takao decided to leave for an adventure. For his grandfather was old, it was not at all unusual for him to lay down to bed before sundown. Once the hut had fallen in drowsy silence, Takao packed his one and only bag with what little he felt he needed, took his cap and jacket, and stepped over the doorsill. He had left the safe warmth of the hut behind.

Royal fantasyverse AU (the tale of four kingdoms) takes place in a fantasy universe with four kingdoms (east, west, south & north) created by the four holy beasts, in an era where each kingdom happens to be ruled by an exceptionally young king due to their respective circumstances. when the four meet for the first time, a snowball of events is set in motion that's going to affect all four kingdoms. is there art of it? yes 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 is there a fic of it? yes 1 / 2 note: like a period drama with magic and gay and tons of worldbuilding. probably has way too many mysteries for the boys to solve because i have no self control when it comes to creating twists. this is The one AU that i have crammed every usable canon character into, i need enough people to inhabit four fucking countries

After creating the four lands, the holy beasts created people to inhabit them. Because the beasts were celestial beings and couldn't but guard people and the world they lived in from far above, they needed human vessels to lead the four nations. Thus they created four kings who would rule over other people using the four beast’s powers. The four kings were neither human nor gods, but something between – they were messengers, or icons, of the four holy beasts.

Omegaverse AU a canon divergence AU (i guess??) where genders are replaced by A/B/O and everyone being either canine or feline. max is a late bloomer canine and finds out he's the only alpha of the BBA boys thanks to a certain feline omega. is there art of it? not really but i do have dog boy max and cat boy rei art (which are a bit too cute for this kinkfest. i mean they're obviously aged up for the real thing.) 1 / 2 is there a fic of it? it's been in the works for like, five years but i always shy away from finishing it note: it's omegaverse, it's exactly what you'd expect. the smut is so filthy i've been too embarrassed to even post it. hiromi is also an alpha by the way

Coffee shop AU highschooler rei goes on a venture to hit on a local Hot University Teacher and coffee shop owner judy in a cafe owned by her, ends up receiving a bunch of flirty cups of latte from barista max working there. is there art of it? no is there a fic of it? yes note: i mean, rei being into blonde MILFs is pretty much canon

Now that Rei looked at the boy more carefully, he realised his hair was just as fair and eyes just as blue as he knew Judy Mizuhara's to be. Maybe they were related? It wasn't that strange if Judy had hired a relative's kid to help out at the shop, right? He certainly looked American, but he had spoken Japanese. And then, all of a sudden, the boy turned to look back to him. Startled, Rei blinked his own golden brown eyes and shifted them back to his now empty cup. God, it was rude to stare at someone, wasn't it? He'd been too deep in thought to even notice doing it. Not that the boy had looked judgmental – he only seemed to wear a smile.

Soulmate AU max keeps having dreams with peculiar scenarios about a boy named rei. one day he borrows a book on soulmates from hiromi and finds a chapter talking about meeting your soulmate in the realm of dreams. is there art of it? no is there a fic of it? yes note: i don't even care for soulmate AUs, this was my own dare to myself to find a single soulmate trope that interested in me enough to write a thing of it.

Max was walking through a crowded airport, carrying a heavy backpack with him. He had never been to this airport in his life, but somehow he knew exactly where he was, and where he was supposed to go. And he was in a hurry, and Rei had at some point emerged from the crowd, as usual, keeping up with him without bumping into any of the people that should have blocked his way. “I'm sorry, this is probably my fault,” Rei said. “I haven't even travelled in ages anymore, but these dreams just keep coming back to haunt me.”

Chess player AU rei is a young chinese chess champion participating in the world junior championships, ends up falling for the american chess prodigy max somehow in the process and is determined to get to play against him again. is there art of it? no is there a fic of it? yes note: so this is one of the weirder ones i've done. it was inspired simply by me having a very vivid mental image of a scene of them playing dramatic chess together. this is probably my most underrated AU even by myself, i think the writing is pretty solid for such a short story of a topic i know practically nothing about

As a child, Rei had initially been taught to play xiàngqí, a Chinese game much more popular back in his home country; but chess with its refined, uniquely shaped pieces was love at first sight for the young Rei. He was a fast thinker and had amazing concentration skills once he set his mind on something, and he also had an outstanding memory, making it easy to memorise game patterns he once saw and then use them for his advantage. This all granted him natural talent in chess. But despite his skill, he had a bad habit of easily losing his temper and becoming indecisive once his focus wavered. Also, he was just a tad bit too sentimental. These traits often became his worst enemy in important matches, much worse than the actual opposing player. Keep your cool. Focus. Play well.

Flower shop + fake dating AU yuriy doesn't really know anything about flowers but is working part-time in a flower shop for the easy cash. he keeps getting a pair of weird customers who ask about flower language for hypothetical situations. is there art of it? not by myself and i don’t have a link to the fanart made of it unfortunately is there a fic of it? yes note: did i write this for valentine's day? i feel like i maybe did. this is my only AU (and fic in general) so far that's about a non-BBA character as the main lmao

“So, I need some advice for a particular situation,” the customer then began, idly tapping the counter with his hand. “I mean, not a real situation, of course – hypothetically speaking, if someone was just pretending to be going out with another person, but they weren't really going but it just needed to seem that way to everyone else, what kinda flowers would get the message through?” Possibly an idiot, Yuriy concluded his analysis. “So you need suitable flowers for a date,” he stated, shooting his eyes at his notes about common flower-usage.

Classical music AU (the heart that i love) max is a piano prodigy attending a classical music college that holds annual music competitions for the students. he's got some haters for being the son of a world-known pianist who's one of the teachers, but he also ends up having a budding romance with rei the mysterious chinese violinist. is there art of it? yes 1 / 2 is there a fic of it? yes note: the origin of this was my "max and mao are besties" college AU. then it got mixed in with my thirst for classical instruments and max being bullied.

Max isn’t exactly a synesthet, but he has always been able to see music as pictures – as entire sceneries, as great adventures. This tendency of his emerges especially strong whenever he’s learning to play a new piece on the piano; as he moves along the melody, the scenery is also being built around him like a jigsaw puzzle, creating a complete picture piece by piece; and once he has mastered the song, he’s able to freely traverse and immerse himself in the world inside that puzzle. Some pieces have a more relaxed or soothing scenery than others, some are exciting and thrilling – even deliciously sinister in the way that a good horror film can be. Setting himself down in front of a piano is always an invitation to a world of his choice.

Bakeneko AU after moving to a small rural town in japan, max hits his head and starts seeing things, such as a weird white cat following him around. after a while, he's convinced that he's being haunted. is there art of it? yes is there a fic of it? yes note: another halloween AU, a more surreal one where max is human and rei is. well. not

Max kept walking, his eyes still on the narrow road. He hadn't noticed while deep in thought, but it really was quiet that evening. The sun had nearly set by now, leaving the sky striped with the dusk of the approaching nightfall. There was no wind to rustle the treetops, no birds chirping, nothing. Only the sound of Max's own footsteps on the pavement, and the matching sound that followed. Followed. What if someone actually was following him? A sudden, violent chill struck down Max's spine, causing his hair to stand on end. He stopped. After a short delay, the steps also stopped.

Genderbend AU a canon divergence AU where everyone's a different gender from canon (duh). starts off as an alternate version of the g-revolution world championships where the girls meet for the first time and befriend each other. rei is a professional model in addition to being a blader in the baihus, and max from the PPB is delighted to be able to battle her. she has no idea that rei has fallen for her at first sight, though. is there art of it? yes 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 is there a fic of it? it's... in the works. note: i created this because i wanted to design attractive girls, what about it. absolutely partial to maxine's huge badonkadonks.

It wasn’t like Rei hadn’t already taken notice of her before, given that they were participating in the same world championship tournament, but the real turning point was the first time they stood on the opposing sides of a bey stadium. It was the day when the match-up roster signalled the match between the Chinese team and the American team, the Baihus versus the PPB All Starz; and despite both teams consisting of five players, it came down to, to Rei’s immense joy, the tag team of Rai and herself against the two most interesting US players, Rikki Anderson and Mizuhara Maxine.

Vampire & merboy AU rei is a starved vampire just about to end his own life when he meets merboy max at a forest lake. is there art of it? of max yes is there a fic of it? yes note: yet another halloween monster AU, this time they are both monsters though. this one’s a pretty grim one i have to admit

Rei succumbed into deep thought, considering his few options, when something grabbed his unsuspecting hand. Something yanked him forward in one mad splash and forced not only the rest of his arm but also his shoulders and head underwater. Half a second later Rei, so badly startled that he’d come close to slipping into insanity, found himself staring at a pair of bright blue eyes only inches away from his own face. His other hand and lower body still firmly on land, Rei pulled himself back with strength that he didn’t even know his weak body still contained. As he did, he also pulled up whatever was clutching his hand, which turned out to be another hand – a white hand with elongated, dirty fingers, so sharp at the tips that they looked like daggers.

Mafia AU max is the boss of the BBA mafia family, rei is a hitman and max's right hand man, the rest have various roles in the organisation. salima, mariam and some other girls (at least) are reporters doing investigative journalism on organised crime who get interested in covering the story of a group of russian elite detectives doing a thorough investigation of the BBA. is there art of it? of rei and max yes 1 / 2 / 3 is there a fic of it? it's in the works but it's just a gratuitous reimax smut note: this is a story i wish existed but this kind of police investigation action thing is so not my genre of expertise. that's why i'm just doing a PWP of my boys and the rest exists on conceptual level

“Did you know,” Salima said, perfectly peppy about it, “that there are secret underground auctions for stolen artwork that’s sold in the black market? Not just online auctions in the dark web but actual, physical events held somewhere in the city! Isn’t that so intriguing? Can you imagine how an event like that would look like, Max?” Max can – in fact, he doesn’t need to imagine. But he’d rather not think about it; the memories bring the familiar taste of bile in his mouth and make his gut curdle with a mixture of disgust and very particular guilt. The mere thought of it makes him set his coffee aside and bring a hand between his tightly shut eyes.

⸻⸻⸻

the next thing i come up with? who knows............

[not-xpr-art]

Art Advice #3 - Drawing tips!

Hi everyone!

As you may know, every week or so I’m writing blog posts with art advice hints and tips for artists of any skill level in the hopes of helping some people out a bit! The tag is here so feel free to check out some of my other posts!

This week’s post is going to be some drawing tips I’ve picked up over the years that could hopefully be useful for beginner artists! 

(this is about 1800 words altogether btw)

Drawings tips!

I’m going to split this post up into little sections which will hopefully make it easier for you to scroll to find certain advice you’re particularly interested in!

Part 1 - How to get started?

I’m a firm believer that anyone can be an artist, regardless of what materials or equipment they have. So when it comes to my advice on what kind of materials I recommend for beginner artists, I’d mainly say ‘whatever you have’. 

But if that’s a bit vague, I’d essentially recommend you have a set of pencils which you can usually get relatively inexpensive online or in craft/art shops which range from 6B all the way to 6H (’B’ being for softer, darker pencils, often good for shading, and ‘H’ for the harder pencil leads which are best for much lighter shading or if you want a really faint sketch. Something important to note about ‘H’ pencils is not to press too hard with them since they’re a lot more likely to leave indents in the paper than ‘B’ pencils! For general sketching I personally use 2B or 3B pencils since they have the perfect balance of soft & hardness in my opinion!) 

Of course, you can just draw with whatever pens or pencils you already have, so definitely don’t feel you have to go out of your way to buy something new or expensive just because your favourite artists use a particular brand of pencil or pen... Of course, often higher quality pens or pencils (especially colouring pencils) will have better pigment payoff than the cheaper alternatives, but as someone who’s been using the same WHSmith pencils they got when they were a child, I definitely think that as long as you have something to draw with, you’re all set to produce masterpieces of your own!

A lot of my art education got us using charcoal for a lot of our drawing practise. It’s not a medium I’m particularly fond of personally, but it is a great way to practise being a lot quicker and expressive with drawing, so definitely if you’re up for the challenge you can try some charcoal stuff! Only piece of advice is that I wouldn’t really recommend those ‘charcoal pencils’ you can buy in some shops, since they mostly just break apart every time you try and sharpen them... Regular charcoal is messy, though, and smudges very easily, so if you are interested in using it I’d say to do a little bit of research before hand! 

(Or feel free to send me an ask if you want any further advice on using it!)

If you’re wanting to get into digital art, I’m planning on making a post discussing my tips for beginners to digital so... keep an eye out for that in the near future lol!

~

Part 2 - Getting over ‘Drawing Anxiety’

Drawing can be a daunting thing, particularly when artists who are already pretty good at it can seemingly produce a perfectly proportioned face out of thin air. But these artists weren’t magically born with this skill, of course, so with practise and some perseverance, I can assure you that you’ll be at that stage one day!

So my first piece of advice here is to be patient with yourself. Don’t expect yourself to be perfect straight away. 

Second piece of advice is to sketch constantly!! I notice a lot of people who haven’t been drawing long are really careful about how they draw, almost like they’re afraid to be rough with the pencil. So I’d really recommend just starting to sketch a lot: be rough, be messy, draw things you can see and things from your imagination! 

Observational drawing is another thing I think is crucial in improving your drawing skills (and I’ll go into more detail with this in a bit), but honestly just sketching things you like is such a great way to help you grow as an artist! And yes this includes drawing anime fanart or drawings of your original characters! 

Below is some comparisons of my attempts at drawing Freema Agyeman from 2013 to 2019... Is the latest version of this perfect? Of course not. But I just want to show what constant practise can achieve!

~

Part 3 - Observational drawing

I honestly think that observational drawing was one of the most important things I learnt in my years of art education. 

Observational drawing can take on many meanings. Perhaps it’s drawing a still life of a fruit bowl, or a life drawing class with a naked dude in front of you, or even drawing from a photo. The point of observational drawing is to improve how you translate the world around you onto a 2D surface, essentially. 

And you don’t need anything fancy to do observational drawing either! Just placing an array of things in front of you and trying to sketch them (try and focus on a mix of textures and surfaces for the objects. So, for example, including a cup along side a woolly hat will help you get a handle on how to create texture with your drawing, and drawing anything with a reflective surface like cutlery is both challenging and interesting to do! Basically just use what you have around you!)

If you’re lucky (or unlucky, depending on how fond you are of seeing naked people lol) enough to have the chance to do life drawing, I would honestly recommend it! Often the final results aren’t great, but it’s a really good way of practising your observational skills! And even if you don’t have the opportunity, just trying to sketch a friend or family member from across a room, for example, is something that can really help you improve! 

Top tip: a teacher once told me that when you’re drawing something like a face, for example, a way to improve how you draw is to see the face not as a ‘face’, but instead as a collections of shapes. Because our brains have a preconceived idea of what a face looks like that we end up drawing what we think we can see rather than what we can actually see! 

There’s a lot of art snobs who believe that drawing from reference images is ‘cheating’ in comparison to life drawing, Of course, this is bs, and I’d say I’ve learnt just as much from using reference photos for the basis of my art as I have from drawing from ‘real life’. For more information about my thoughts on references and how to use them, see This post!

~

Part 4 - Drawing from references: Tracing, Grids and Freehand (which is best?)

Tracing in the world of art is a ... Contentious subject to say the least. And I’m not really interested in getting into the ‘moral’ implications of whether it is ‘cheating’ or not.

Instead I want to focus on the pros of using something like tracing when you’re starting out. I think particularly if you’re trying to improve how you shade things, colour things or how to get better at blending, then I do think that tracing can be a useful tool! Even I used tracing in the very start of my delve into digital art, but soon found that tracing wasn’t really something that was helping me in the long run so moved onto freehand stuff. 

Overall, I think tracing is good as a starting point when you’re still learning about art, and also if you’re not too comfortable with your freehand drawing skills yet. I’d also recommend you mention if you have traced a piece if you share art to social media. Of course, no one is obligated to do this though! 

This is an example of an artwork that I traced (it’s from 2013, hence why it looks... like That lol)

But if you’re someone who perhaps has used tracing in the past and found it doesn’t really work for you, or if you don’t want to start with tracing at all, then a good ‘next step’ I’ve seen other artists get into is using grids. 

Now I have to admit, I’m not the best person to talk about grids since I’ve actually never used them lol... But I know a lot of artists who do, particularly people who do a lot of traditional work, since it makes it a lot easier to translate the reference image to your piece of paper or canvas. 

And in a way I would recommend grids more for people starting out in drawing than tracing, and this is mainly due to the fact grids force you to use a lot more observational drawing skills than tracing! If you’re interested in getting into using grids I’d recommend doing a bit of research yourself! 

The final technique of drawing from references I want to talk about is freehand! Now this is the one I’ve been doing for the majority of my art ‘career’ and honestly is probably the most ‘difficult’ to do of the three techniques. 

But I find freehand drawing particularly rewarding with the ways it can make you reimagine an artwork in ways you never intended! Like what I mentioned in my Reference advice post, I have found that making ‘mistakes’ in freehand drawing can actually lead to more interesting and unique works of art than tracing or grid work could ever do! 

I also think that freehand allows you to create your own characters or concepts in a much more free way. For example, my Spirit of Somerset piece was something I created from a variety of references (I seem to remember I used Isak from SKAM’s mouth as a basis for the girls’ mouth?) and the dragon was based on a real mishmash of references, which is something that I I feel I couldn’t have done if I’d have been using grids or tracing!

With this I’m not trying to say that freehand is the ‘best’ way of drawing, it is just the one that I personally have found to fit me the best, which is the entire point of this post! All of my advice is just pointers I think could be useful for new artists, it is up to you to find which ‘path’ in art suits you best!

And of course, I’ve phrased these techniques as separate purely for the sake of explaining them easier, but the fact of the matter is that you can use a combination of these in your art if you wish! 

If you struggle with drawing the outlines of hands, perhaps use tracing as a way to get a handle of the shape and then maybe use freehand to fill in the colour of them! Use a grid to draw a tree but freehand the leaves and bench below it! 

Remember that your art is your art, and no one can tell you how to draw things! 

~

I think I’ll leave this here for now! But I may do a part two at some point in the future! & my ask box is always open for anyone who wants any specific advice!

I really hope you found this at least moderately helpful, and a massive thank you to everyone for the constant support of these posts and my art!

[b1ackcat3nergy]

I saw this and thought it would be fun 🖤

1. Are you solitary or in a coven?

I am solitary.

2. Do you consider yourself Wiccan, Pagan, witch, or other?

I just consider myself a witch. There are aspects of Paganism I follow and enjoy but if I had to choose a title I'd say "Witch".

3. What is your zodiac sign?

Sagittarius ♐

4. Do you have a Patron God/dess?

I don't currently.

5. Do you work with a Pantheon?

I do not.

6. Do you use tarot, palmistry, or 
any other kind of divination?

I enjoy tarot, pendulums, and reading tea leafs.

7. What are some of your favorite herbs to use in your practice? (if any)

Rose petals, elderberry, hibiscus, juniper, lilac and sage are my go tos.

8. How would you define your craft?to.

Oh that's a good one. I would define in as simply witchcraft. I practice my own gifts woth the gifts the Earth and God's provide.

9. Do you curse? If not, do you accept others who do?

I strongly believe in the rule of 3 so I try not to, and if I do I make sure I am putting out good to others. If others do that is their business, I am in no place to judge how other practice.

10. How long have you been practicing?

Since I was about 14.

11. Do you currently or have you ever had any familiars?

I do not currently no.

12. Do you believe in Karma or
Reincarnation?

I believe in karma, I believe in the rule of 3, I believe reincarnation can happen, but I do not believe it is the default for most beings after death.

13. Do you have a magical name?

Nope!

14. Are you “out of the broom closet”?

In-plain-sight yes.

15. What was the last spell you performed?

A spell to rekindle love that's gone cold.

16. Would you consider yourself knowledgeable?

Yes, but always learning!

17. Do you write your own spells?

On occasion.

18. Do you have a book of shadows?
If so, how is it written and/or set up?

I do as well as a hroloir. Both are pretty free form.

19. Do you worship nature?

I wouldn't say I worship it, I am thankful for it and make sure the Earth knows that.

20. What is your favorite gemstone?

Opal.

21. Do you use feathers, claws, fur, pelt, skeletons/bones, or any other animal body part for magical work?

I don't but I wouldn't say I would be opposed to it.

22. Do you have an altar?

Not a proper one at the moment (small apartment) but I have a shelf of my oddities

23. What is your preferred element?

Fire (it's my own). I like how it embodies both beauty and uncontrollable chaos depending on how you treat it.

24. Do you consider yourself an Alchemist?

I guess I've never thought about it. No?

25. Are you any other type of magical practitioner besides a witch?

Nope!

26. What got you interested in witchcraft?

My mother is a witch, as are many of my family members

27. Have you ever performed a spell or ritual with the company of anyone who was not a witch?

I have not no.

28. Have you ever used ouija?

Nope.

29. Do you consider yourself a psychic?

Psychic? No. Aware and ability to see potential outcomes better than most? Yes.

30. Do you have a spirit guide? If so, what is it?

I do not.

31. What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started?

There is no "right way" to do it.

32. Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite?

Yes! Beltane because ya boy likes to bone 😅

33. Would you ever teach witchcraft to your children?

Of course, it's in our blood

34. Do you meditate?

Often!

35. What is your favorite season?

Autumn.

36. What is your favorite type of magick to preform?

Anything consumable.

37. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life?

Devotions, prayers, using sachets and stones.

38. What is your favorite witchy movie?

Hocus Pocus (I'm a basic witch I know 🤣)

39. What is your favorite witchy book, both fiction and non-fiction. Why?

Funnily enough I haven't read that many.

40. What is the first spell you ever preformed? Successful or not.

Oh I could never choose just one!

41. What’s the craziest witchcraft-related thing that’s happened to you?

Accidentally setting something a blaze and it reacting as if it was untouched.

42. What is your favourite type of candle to use?

Taper.

43. What is your favorite witchy tool?

Wand! I love my platinum and clear quartz wand I use it daily.

44. Do you or have you ever made your own witchy tools?

I have not!

45. Have you ever worked with any magical creatures such as the fea or spirits?

Yes.

46. Do you practice color magic?

I incorporate it.

47. Do you or have you ever had a witchy teacher or mentor of any kind?

My mother and aunt.

48. What is your preferred way of shopping for witchcraft supplies?

Local shops when I can, personally owned online shops if I cat find stuff in person.

49. Do you believe in predestination or fate?

Fate, yes, predestination, no.

50. What do you do to reconnect when you are feeling out of touch with your practice?

Write in my grimoir.

51. Have you ever had any supernatural experiences?

Too many to count.

52. What is your biggest witchy pet peeve?

People who try to push their own rules, gate keep, or scare others.

53. Do you like incense? If so what’s your favorite scent?

Yes! Bergamot!

54. Do you keep a dream journal of any kind?

Nope!

55. What has been your biggest witchcraft disaster?

Using none organic roses to make rose water and poisoning myself with pesticides.

56. What has been your biggest witchcraft success?

I consider them all to be success because even if they don't go according to plan I learned something.

57. What in your practice do you do that you may feel silly or embarrassed about?

I always feel a bit silly speaking out loud 🤣

58. Do you believe that you can be an atheist, Christian, Muslim or some other faith and still be a witch too?

Of course. Gate keeping is fucking gross. You do you babe.

59. Do you ever feel insecure, unsure or even scared of spell work?baby.

Haven't we all?

60. Do you ever hold yourself to a standard in your witchcraft that you feel you may never obtain?

Nope.

61. What is something witch related that you want right now?

A unakite geode!

62. What is your rune of choice?

I don't have one.

63. What is your tarot card of choice?

Death because every good reader knows he is never literal

64. Do you use essential oils? If so what is your favorite?

Yes! I love grapefruit.

65. Have you ever taken any kind of witchcraft or pagan courses?

Nope.

66. Do you wear pagan jewelry in public?

Sometimes a pentacle or pentagram.

67. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your faith or being a witch?

Haven't we all?

68. Do you read or subscribe to any pagan magazines?

Nope.

69. Do you think it’s important to know the history of paganism and witchcraft?

Having an understanding of anything you are apart of or want to partake in is important but being a walking text book isn't helpful.

70. What are your favorite things about being a witch?

The connection with so many things normal people will never see or know.

71. What are your least favorite things about being a witch?

Being an empath can be so painful. Seeing the auras of evil people always hurt me too.

72. Do you listen to any pagan music? If so who is your favorite singer/band?

I have a Playlist, I wouldn't say I listen to any Pagab bands, more so Celtic stuff and creepy compositions.

73. Do you celebrate the Esbbats? If so, how?

Nope.

74. Do you ever work skyclad?

Yes. I prefer to meditate nude and do most things in just my underwear (hot wax/embers/sharp tools + my pens = no thanks)

75. Do you think witchcraft has improved your life? If so, how?

Of course. I have been exposed to so much most people will never enjoy.

76. Where do you draw inspiration from for your practice?

Call me basic but it's true: The Earth and Mother Nature.

77. Do you believe in ‘fantasy’ creatures? (Unicorns, fairies, elves, gnomes, ghosts, etc)

Can you call them fantasy if they're real?

78. What’s your favorite sigil/symbol?

One I created for impulse control.

79. Do you use blood magick in your practice? Why or why not?

Only my own to create magical ties.

80. Could you ever be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t support your practice?

I don't think so no.

81. In what area or subject would you most like your craft to grow?

Healing.

82. What’s your favorite candle scent? Do you use it in your practice?

Vanilla reminds me of my Nana baking in the kitchen. She's Chrustian but she inspires me to be a good person.

83. Do you have a pre-ritual ritual? (I.e. Something you do before rituals to prepare yourself for them). If so what is it?

Yes! I meditate naked, burn some blue sage and wash my hands.

84. What real life witch most inspires your practice?

My mother.

85. What is your favorite method of communicating with deity?

Offerings.

86. How do you like to organize all your witchy items and ingredients?

Alphabetically.

87. Do you have any witches in your family that you know of?

My mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great aunt, great grandmother, and probably everyone in that line of sucession. I also have a great uncle who was gay so I assume he was too being that I am one of the few males witches in my family and I am gay.

88. How have you created your path? What is unique about it?

I always put intention into things, you can carve a path through a mountain of you acknowledge the fact that as a magical being you can do it. Our biggest hurdles are ourselves.

89. Do you feel you have any natural gifts or affinities (premonitions, hearing spirits, etc.) that led you toward the craft? If so what are they?

Seeing auras, being an exceptionally heightened empath, seeing super natural creatures, and premonitions.

90. Do you believe you can initiate yourself or do you have to be initiated by another witch or coven?

I am a solitary witch my blood you tell me.

91. When you first started out in your path what was the first thing or things you bought?

Tarot cards! I still have them almost 10 years later.

92. What is the most spiritual or magickal place you’ve been?

Hmmmm. The house I lived in when I was in Kansas. But not in a good way.

93. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who is searching for their matron and patron deities?

Seek out what feels right. Do not listen to anyone who tells you that you "have to" praise anyone.

94. What techniques do you use to ‘get in the zone’ for meditation?

A bit if wine, some good meditation and honestly some good sex. Not mesacriky in that order.

95. Did visualization come easily to you or did you have to practice at it?

Practice practice practice.

96. Do you prefer day or night? Why?

Evening because I like times of transition.

97. What do you think is the best time and place to do spell work?

Depends on what you're doing.

98. How did you feel when you cast your first circle? Did you stumble or did it go smoothly?

I was young and stumbled. Don't give up though.

99. Do you believe witchcraft gets easier with time and practice?

Yes and no?

100. Do you believe in many gods or one God with many faces?

I am polytheistic.

101. Do you eat meat, eggs and dairy?polytheism.

Yes.

102. What is your favorite color and why?

Baby pink because it's my aura colour.

103. What is the one question you get asked most by non-practitioners or non-pagans? How do you usually respond?

"How does it work???" and "Oh so you're evil?"

104. Which of your five senses would you say is your strongest?

Taste.

105. What is a pagan or witchcraft rule that you preach but don’t practice?

Don't drink and cast. Ya boy likes mead sorry not sorry (that being said I don't ever do anything woth chemicals or fire while drinking).

[gizkasparadise]

cdrama rec/review: go ahead

KDRAMA AND CDRAMA MASTER LIST OF REVIEWS

Series: go ahead Episodes: 40 Genres: family, healing/melodrama, slice of life, romance Spoilers in the Rec: for the first 20% ish/set-up If You Like, You’ll Like: reply 1988, le coup de foudre, find yourself (same production company/main male actor), rain or shine/just between lovers, found family stories, meet again stories

Rank: 10/10** (see Drawbacks section)

PREMISE

widower hai chao and his 6 year old daughter jian jian live happily above his noodle restaurant despite the recent, tragic death of his wife. one day, dysfunction junction a married couple (he ping, a police officer, and chen ting, a real piece of work) move into the same building with their 7 year old son, ling xiao. immediately, jian jian attaches herself to ling xiao, who is unexpectedly grim for a small child. 

because ling xiao’s family is less-than-healthily grieving the loss of their youngest child, ling xiao’s sister who died in a terrible accident. The Apartment of Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms eventually implodes, ending with chen ting abandoning her husband and son. he ping, suddenly a single father, and hai chao come to a friendly partnership that is clearly alluding to gay marriage where they co-raise both of their kids--hai chao as the primary caregiver, and he ping supporting them financially through his job as a policeman.

meanwhile, the neighborhood busybody is dead-set on getting hia chao remarried. eventually she introduces him to a divorced single mother, he mei, and her son zi qiu, who is ling xiao’s age. they sort of start to date, but it culminates in he mei skipping town and leaving zi qiu behind. hai chao, man with a heart of gold, informally adopts him and zi qiu becomes jianjian’s foster brother.

from there, the trio grow up happily and become inseparable. but once zi qiu and ling xiao graduate high school, the bullshit parade their respective childhood skeletons reappear in their lives. circumstances lead to the boys moving overseas, leaving jianjian and their fathers behind. 

they reunite after 9 years, when the boys return to a home where they hope to pick things back up from where they left off. things are more complicated than that, as jianjian finds herself in a new life and surrounded by new people. 

MAIN CHARACTERS

li jian jian

hai chao’s daughter and the only girl in the family. she attended the required short-hair-low-grades training program required of all cdrama youth female leads. super positive and outgoing, as well as the youngest of the three pseudo-siblings, jian jian grows up spoiled and over protected by her father and brothers, and as a result is completely devastated once her family falls apart. it’s so sad.

after the time skip, she’s an on-the-verge successful artist who makes woodcarvings, and exudes big art bro energy. inhales sugar like it’s nobody’s business. she inherited her father’s disease called caring too much, and it’s incurable!! 

ling xiao

the eldest brother and resident fun police. ling xiao comes from a seriously toxic home that finally seems to improve once his mother leaves. but then she comes back. fucking great. introverted to the point of being withdrawn to anyone but his chosen family, ling xiao’s had to carry a lot of emotional weight that takes a larger and larger toll on him as the series progresses. please get this boy some therapy. 

becomes a dentist because jian jian needs one. wears a lot of monochromatic outfits with low necklines because heavy angst but make it fashion. has been in love with jian jian since high school and is still carrying that torch 9 years later.

he zi qiu  

the middle child who grows up in hai chao and jian jian’s home, and is her foster brother in all but paperwork. hotheaded, zi qiu and jian jian basically share two brain cells that ling xiao routinely takes from them for safekeeping. he spoils jian jian, sneaking her snacks and junk food and wants to become a pastry chef so he can open a sweet shop for her!!

my favorite character. just wants to be wanted 8( him and hai chao’s relationship is my favorite dynamic in the series. will sob while driving a pink moped. is too proud to beg

li hai chao (left) and ling he ping (right)

the greatest (hai chao) and okayest (he ping) dads in the world! noodle dad/hai chao has never done anything wrong in his life, ever, and we know this and we love him. he ping isn’t a bad person, but demonstrates pretty classic absentee parenting/isn’t as emotionally present in his son’s life as hai chao. hai chao is the heart of the family, and would do anything for his kids 8( 

SOME SUPPORT CHARACTERS 

tang can (left) and qiu ming yue (right)

jian jian’s #GirlGang and roommates. they, like literally everyone in this drama, have some severe mom issue hang-ups. tang can (left) is a former child actress who is struggling with her lack of success as an adult and gives well-meaning but absolutely terrible advice on the regular. 

ming yue (right) is jian jian’s best friend since childhood and as an adult is trying to break free from her mother’s controlling nature--she’s also had a thing for ling xiao for the last 9 years. raises fish for symbolism purposes.

chen ting

ling xiao’s mom and certified garbage human. unable to cope with the death of her daughter that was her fault lbr, she abandons her family and disappears for ten years. she forces her way back into ling xiao’s life when he turns 18, where it’s revealed that she’s remarried and ling xiao has a younger half-sister chengzi (”little orange”). shit goes down, and soon ling xiao is forced to move back to singapore to serve as primary caregiver to both his mother who abandoned him and the half sister he barely knows. 

emotionally abusive and basically hits every single square on the toxic parent bingo card. i just. i just hate her. even typing this out is making me mad.

he mei

zi qiu’s mother. after a few dates with hai chao, she ends up ditching her kid and disappearing for unknown reasons. is a slightly better parent than chen ting but that’s like saying some poison kills you slower. the show tries to bring us around on her but it didnt work for me. 

SOME OTHERS

zhuang bei, zi qiu’s best friend growing up who i would like a lot less if he wasn’t played by the same actor who played my beloved dachuan

zheng shuran, jian jian’s first boyfriend and fellow artist who’s got a weird thing for women’s waists and pretentious artists’ statements

du juan, jian jian’s friend who co-owns their woodworking studio. has absolute trash taste in men

chengzi, ling xiao’s half-sister who can be a brat but dear god does she need to be protected/saved 

**DRAWBACKS

so this is a weird one for me. what i didn’t like i really didn’t like, but what i loved i really loved. ultimately, the factors/uniqueness of this show and the loveability of the main characters outweighed the negatives and it’s one of my favorite dramas.

THAT SAID. i got some #thoughts on this one. 

first, there are literally no positive mother figures in this show. not a damn one. they are all negligent or controlling at best or down right abusive at worst. no woman over 30 is portrayed positively and that’s a big No from me. 

the last 10 eps have some pacing issues and focus on the wrong people. spending the remaining episodes focused on one of the most universally hated characters vs. the main family was a bad move 

the show tried to redeem or make us sympathize with characters that were, to me, completely irredeemable. one case is worse than the other, but both of them were terrible people that deserved to be cut out of the main family’s lives.  

REASONS TO WATCH

the main family. the characters are so wonderful and nuanced, and their dynamics with one another were amazing. you’ll fall in love with hai chao aka noodle dad and the trio. they go through so many trials but they still stick together and it’s ultimately a healing drama and i loved it very much.

the central romance was less in focus, but the pining is enough to make jane austen emerge from the grave. i loved the leads together, and while LOL ling xiao’s attachment to jian jian was not always healthy, they supported each other and it made me smile. i love me a tortured pining dude.

#Acting. everyone played their parts to perfection. the child actors in particular were so well-cast (esp baby zi qiu)

the soundtrack lmao. you watch the opening credits and know you’ll need to buckle up

idk it’s a very unique show, and i haven’t seen one like it. reply 1988 comes close, but it doesn’t tackle the same issues and it was all just very real and earnest. 

Final Thoughts.

GOODNIGHT, GOOODBYYYYYE MY CHILDREEEEEEEN

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 22

Surprise Appearances 

Summary: At the Masquerade Ball, Liam tries to spend time with Riley, and Eleanor gets herself in an odd place.

Word Count: ~5.5k

Warnings: none

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s book “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen​​​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite​​​ @gkittylove99​​​ @lovablegranny​​​ @loudbluebirdlover @mom2000aggie​​​ @kingliam2019​​​ @queenrileyrose​​​ @shanzay44​​​ @cordonianroyalty​​​ @hopefulmoonobject​​​ @hopelessromanticmonie​​​ @cinnamonspongecake​​​ @queenjilian​​​ @kuladekiwi​​​ @twinkle-320​​​ @iaminlovewithtrr​​​ @charlotteg234​​​ @amandablink​​​ @texaskitten30​​​ @tinkie1973 @louiseingram1208 @queencatherynerhys​​​ @pens-girl-87​​​ @missevabean​​​ @ladyangel70​​​ @sanchita012​​​ @cordonianprincess​​​ @liamandneca @cordonia-gothqueen​​​​ @pink-diamond13​​​

I don’t know if the tags are working or not, but I hope I got everyone down! If anyone wants to be added/removed, please let me know! :) 

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

- Eleanor - 

Walking into the palace felt like I had walked into a movie scene. I couldn’t believe that this would be where I would stay for the next few weeks, or as Bartie told me, possibly for the rest of my life. 

Aunt Rowan, Mama, and me drove over in a limo with Duchess Olivia and Countess Hana, while the Beaumont family went in their own car. We showed up around noon, and Liam was on the steps to lead us in. He had a wide smile on his face, and he walked up to our car to help Mama get out.

Gabe rushes towards Mama, slightly pushing in between her and Liam to hug her, and I go to hug Liam. Mama laughs as they lead us to her room, saying that it was very freeing for her to walk without a cast. 

Mama’s room is connected to my room, but Gabriel’s is a little far and closer to Liam’s room. I felt a little weird about that, since our rooms had always been right next to each other, but I calm myself down and hope that it’s not permanent. 

Liam disappears for most of the day, and Mama spends time with Aunt Rowan, Duchess Olivia, and Countess Hana. Gabe gives me a small tour around the palace, with Bartie trailing behind us. 

There were also guards following us, and Gabe told me that it was weird for him, too, but Liam had said that it was necessary. 

Everything in the palace was just a collection of extremely fancy things, and things that I knew someone would yell at me for if I touched them. There were chandeliers everywhere, and the light from the windows reflected off of them. We didn’t get to go in all of the rooms since there were a lot of people coming in throughout the day, but everything I saw made me more and more excited to live here.

Before we could have dinner, Mama called us into a little dress shop inside the palace. Her and her friends spent forever picking out what to wear, but finally Countess Hana walked out in a pink dress, Duchess Olivia walked out in a sparkly red one, Aunt Rowan wore a black one, and Mama walked out from behind the curtain in a silver dress. 

“Work it, blossom!” Lord Maxwell says, suddenly appearing. He stops suddenly, looking Aunt Rowan up and down. “R- Rowan... you look... great.” His suit has silver and black squids on it. Aunt Rowan blushes. He shakes his head and with a silly smile walks towards a drawer and takes out a black mask that covers the top half of his face. He picks up another one and hands it to Mama. 

It’s covered with glitter and diamonds, and covers all of her face. If I looked away and then back at her, I couldn’t even tell that she was my mother. 

She poses in front of us, asking how she looked. We tell her that she’s like a beautiful disco ball, and she turns to find outfits for Gabe and me. 

Gabe gets a white tux with a blue vest. Lord Maxwell says that we don’t have to wear a mask, but helps Gabe find one anyway. Mama, Aunt Rowan, Duchess Olivia, and Countess Hana shuffle through dresses, finding something that would fit me. 

I stand there and wait, watching Lord Maxwell fussing over my brother. I wonder if Liam would show up, but Drake walks through the door wearing his everyday outfit. 

“You’re not dressed up?” Lord Maxwell asks him.

“No,” Drake answers. He says nothing else. 

Lord Maxwell stares at Drake, while Gabe and I look between them. “Is Jessica coming?” 

“No,” states Drake again. He looks around at Mama and her friends sorting through dresses. He walks closer to Mama, who holds up a gray dress. “Liam’s wearing something like that tonight.” 

Mama glances between me and the dress. “Come here,” she tells me. Holding the dress against my chest, she determines that it’s too big. 

“Oh, what about this one?” Aunt Rowan says, holding out a blue one. “Gabe and Ella could match!” Again they hold the dress against me. Mama walks into a changing room with me, but it doesn’t go over my head. 

“Too small,” Mama calls out. 

“Try this!” I hear Lord Maxwell say as a white dress flies over the door. “You could both match!” 

Mama helps me into that dress, but it feels itchy with all the glitter.

Finally, Countess Hana calls out, “This should fit her perfectly!” 

For the last time, Mama helps me into a poofy purple dress. I come out of the changing room, and everyone compliments me. 

“Here.” My brother hands me a purple and black mask. It only covers my eyes, but I feel mysterious.

Gabriel and I pretend that we don’t recognize each other. Mama joins in and laughs with us, but then starts telling us to walk towards the ballroom. We hadn’t even noticed that other people had came in to start getting ready. 

The closer we got to the ballroom, the more people I saw wearing bright, fancy outfits. All of the hallways were lined with unscented candles. As we walked closer to the ballroom doors, people’s heads turned in our direction. Bastien shows up out of nowhere, and reminds Mama that Gabe needs to be at Liam’s side. 

I can’t see Mama’s expression under her mask, and over all the people talking, I can’t hear her either. Gabe and I look at each other, then around the room, silently searching for Liam. 

The more I look around, the more I see that there are many people staring at my brother and I. All of a sudden, I didn’t want to do this.

I wonder if it’s too late to go back home, but then I ask myself where home even is.

I feel like I’m about to cry, and I do my best to stop myself. I bite my tongue and blink as fast as I can. Gabe notices and grabs my hand. 

“Can Ella and I go in together?” Gabe asks Mama and Bastien. They turn towards us, and then Bastien whispers something to Mama again. 

We follow him to the front of the crowd, where there is an open door. There are already a lot of people in the ballroom, and everyone is talking. I see Liam near a piano, wearing a gray suit with a gray mask, in a conversation with two other men. I wave at him, but he doesn’t see me. 

Gabe and I are still holding hands. He begins to walk forward, and I follow him. 

When we walk through the doors, someone yells: “His Highness, Prince Gabriel, and Lady Eleanor Blaise!” 

Liam had already told us that our names would be pronounced like that in public, but the man’s loud voice interrupts the steady pace of people talking. I hear whispers and see everyone’s heads turn. Gabe walks slower. I turn towards Liam, wanting to run up to him and ask him to put the party for another day. Thankfully, he sees us and motions for us to come near him. 

“Good evening children,” a tall man says. The person next to him nods, and all those lessons Lord Maxwell gave us about people’s names become useless; Because of the masks, I didn’t know who anyone was!

But Gabriel flows easily into the conversation. “Good evening, gentlemen.” He turns to Liam and continues, “Good evening, Li- Father.”

I force myself to contain a giggle. Liam smiles at us. The second man asks, “How are you both enjoying Cordonia so far?” 

“We haven’t seen much yet,” Gabriel states. “But it’s gorgeous. I’m proud to call it my home.” 

I hear the smile in his voice. Something edges at me, wondering if those words were Gabe’s real feelings or not. But I mean... it’s not like Cordonia isn’t a pretty country. It’s not like I wouldn’t be proud to call it my home. 

The men turn their attention to someone behind us. “Lord Maxwell,” the two men greet in union.

“Your Majesty,” Maxwell says to Liam. I want to give our little inside joke and say that Liam wasn’t really the king, but the way that these men talk make me feel like making a joke would be stupid. That’s the last thing I wanted these people to think of me. “Duke Hakim. Duke Rashad.”

We turn to see Aunt Rowan at Lord Maxwell’s arm. She bows towards Liam.

“C’mon, baby blossoms,” Lord Maxwell says as Duke Hakim and Lord Rashad take Liam’s attention. “Let’s go get some snacks.” 

While we walk over, I start giggling again.

“What’s so funny?” Gabe asks me. 

“You said ‘Le Father’.”

“That was a close save. Imagine if I had called him by his name in front of those people?”

I roll my eyes at his lack of amusement.

On a table at the side of the room are small plates with snacks on them. The ones closest to us are cut up vegetables with toppings. I grab a tiny plate of pieces of celery with a dressing that smelled sweet. Gabriel follows me, and we both take bites of our foot. 

“I thought zayats like carrots?” someone says with a heavy accent. 

Gabe and I turn around to see Uncle Boris in all black, without a mask. His dark curly hair is pulled back with gel. He smiles down at us, and I jump into his embrace. 

“Uncle Boris!” Gabe says. He jumps into the hug. “When did you get here?” 

“Oh, few hours ago. Had to make pit stop in Cordonia, figured I should visit my zayats.”

Lord Maxwell holds out his hand, and Uncle Boris shakes it. Him and Aunt Rowan share a quick hug, and she asks him if he was on the guest list. 

“No,” he answers. “I tell them I am Godfather of heir and they let me in.”

“I’m sure Liam would love to meet you,” Lord Maxwell says. “C’mere, I’ll introduce you—”

“Thank you, no.” Uncle Boris wipes off Lord Maxwell’s hand from his shoulder. “I need to leave early. In few minutes I have meeting. Where is your mama?” 

“I’m right here, Boris,” Mama says from behind him. They hug each other, and Uncle Boris looks Mama up and down.

“Dressing up for Prince Charming?” 

I see Mama roll her eyes under her mask. She turns to Countess Hana and introduces her to Uncle Boris. 

He kisses her hand, and greets Duchess Olivia. I can see that she’s frowning. 

“Are you here for the Social Season?” Mama asks.

“No, but have been convinced to participate a little bit,” he answers. He glances at his watch, then turns back to us and continues, “Sorry, zayats, time for me to go.” Everyone wishes him goodbye, and he disappears into the crowd.

The orchestra starts playing music, and people begin walking off in pairs. I see Liam from across the room. He’s with a woman in a silky pink gown, but his eyes are on Mama.

We had to stay with the party until dinner, so while we wait, Gabe and I walk around for what feels like hours. We bump into Liam again. He’s talking to a man who stands with a woman and two children. When Liam sees us, his eyes go wide. The man he was talking to turns. 

“Hey there, you two!” I don’t know who he is, but I return the smile he sends us. “Want you to meet your cousins, Hunter and Heather.” 

I glance at Gabe, wondering if he knew who the man was. My brother smiles at the two children in front of me. 

They’re both slightly taller than us. They wear white masks, and their outfit matches with their mother’s.

“Hi!” Heather says. Hunter just nods. 

“Why don’t you guys go walk around while your dad has a talk with Uncle Leo?” the man says. I still don’t know who Uncle Leo is, but I nod and the four of us walk away. 

Eventually we end up near the snack table again. We stand there, and I don’t know what to say to Hunter or Heather. 

“So...” Gabe tries. 

“So.” Heater says. 

“Um... are you guys enjoying the party?” 

They nod. We don’t move or talk, but watch some people on the dance floor. 

I notice Aunt Rowan and Lord Maxwell dancing together. Duchess Olivia dances with someone I can’t see, and Countess Hana dances with Duke Rashad, whose outfit I remembered from earlier. 

“This is the most boring party ever,” someone says. There’s another boy and girl walking around the snack table. I think they’re the same age as Hunter and Heather, but I can’t tell. “Even the snacks taste like burning garbage.”

“You should try some of the shrimp over there,” my brother suggests, nodding his head towards the other side of the table. 

The boy and girl look at our little group. The girl wears a purple dress, a little lighter than the color I was wearing. The boy wears a deep shade of orange, and they both wear elaborate masks with different colored feathers.

“Didn’t you hear me?” she says, an annoying tone in her voice. “It. Tastes. Like. Garbage.”

I notice Hunter frown at her.

“I think dinner is about to happen soon,” I say to her, trying to lift her mood. The way she talked unnerved me, and I wanted her to go away. 

She takes a moment to look me up and down. Suddenly, her tone lifts as she says, “Your dress is so pretty!” 

I look down at my clothes, feeling special. “Thank you!”

“Prettier than mine,” she continues, the sour tone back. “And that’s not how it works. The Princess of Auvernal should be the one with the prettiest dresses.” 

“That literally doesn’t mean anything,” Heather refutes, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“And... who are you again?” The Princess of Auvernal asks. She scoffs. 

Hunter nudges his sister and begins to walk away. Heather looks back at us, and I want to follow her and move away from these two people. But the Princess of Auvernal speaks up again. 

“I want to go play a game outside.” I notice her turn towards Gabe. “You’re going to play with us.” 

“Um...” My brother glances at me. I wished that there was a silent way to tell him that I didn’t want either of us to go with them. But I know that we can’t be rude to them. “Sure.” 

She begins walking out the front doors, and we follow her. I notice security everywhere. Some lights from inside illuminate the dark night. I look up and see stars sparkling at me. 

Some people are outside, talking in groups or pairs. A servant comes out of the front doors and announces that dinner is being served. People walk back inside, but the Princess of Auvernal and her brother walk away from the entrance, and my brother follows. 

“Perfect,” the Princess says. “No one will bother us.” 

“Shouldn’t we go in for dinner?” I ask. 

She turns to me. “You can go in. You’re not supposed to be playing with us.” 

Gabe and I look at each other, trying to figure out what she meant. 

“Didn’t you hear me?” she questions, walking up to me. I want to run away. I don’t like her. “You don’t have the proper lineage to be able to play with us. Go. Away.” 

Gabe comes in between the princess and I. “She can play if she wants.” 

The boy gives a laugh, and I try to figure out what’s so funny. 

“Fine,” the Princess of Auvernal says. “You know what? She can be our little guinea pig for this game.” 

She grabs my wrist and leads me farther away from the entrance. 

Two guards speak up from behind us. One I recognize from the entrance. 

“Your Highness,” one says to the Princess. “Your parents would not like you to stray this far from the main party.”

“Oh, shut it!” she screams. “Leave us be, or I’ll have you exiled!”

Gabe looks back at both guards, but then follows me and the Princess of Auvernal. 

We end up in a garden. I smell and hear nature all around me, but it’s so dark over here that I can barely see what’s in front of me. 

“Here,” the princess states, finally stopping. “You will go into the maze and try to find the middle. And then you, Gabriel.” She lets go of my wrist and walks to my brother. “Will go to the entrance, close your eyes and try to get back to the ballroom!”

“What?” Gabe asks. “But... that’s not really a game. Why don’t we play hide and seek or something?” 

The princess scoffs. “Fine!” she screams. “Go back towards the entrance, Gabriel. Count to thirty, and then try and look for the three of us.” 

My brother begins walking away, but I notice him look back at me again and again. 

Once he’s out of view, the princess turns back to me. “Now, Isaac and I are are going to go hide over there, and you’re going to go hide in the hedge maze, understood? If you reach the middle, I have candy for you.” 

I wanted to tell her that I didn’t want candy, I just wanted her to go away from me. 

So to get her to stop talking to me with that mean voice, I agree. She pushes me towards the maze and I stumble in. When I turn around, her and her brother aren’t there anymore. I start walking forward, but everything was so dark. I thought that there should be lights somewhere, but there’s nothing. Maybe someone forgot to turn it on, or maybe I just wasn’t supposed to be here? I turn around to try and go back, but I don’t know which way is forwards or backwards. I put my hands in front of me and feel leaves. I start shuffling to my right, trying to guide myself. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I want to cry. I try to calm myself though, saying that if I got to the middle, everything would be okay. Maybe Mama was in the middle, or Liam was. If I got to the middle, maybe this lonely feeling would go away.

- Liam - 

The children do not show up to the dinner table, but neither do Lord Maxwell or Lady Rowan. Liam hopes that the children are with them, and continues chatting with guests throughout the meal.

Leo takes a seat near him, and Liam’s heart clenches. A few seats away sat Riley, chatting with Lady Penelope and Countess Hana. Liam planned on telling one of his guards to keep a close eye on his brother, and make sure that Leo didn’t get anywhere near Riley. 

There were more people at the ball than Liam had expected. Dukes, Duchesses, Earls, Countesses, Lords, and Ladies from countries all around the world. Liam had even overheard that there were more people expected to show up after the next few events. He wondered what caused the sudden increase in attendance, and hopes that it has nothing to do with Gabriel. He wants to keep the boy and his sister away from the political goals of foreigners for as long as he can. 

After dinner, people went back onto the dance floor. There were so many women asking Liam to dance with him that he wasn’t even able to walk towards Riley and ask her if she wanted to dance. Thankfully though, the ballroom was beginning to clear out a little as people retired for the night.

Liam manages his way across the ballroom towards Riley. Lady Kiara stands with her. 

“Your Majesty.” Kiara bows. She then glances between Riley and Liam, then excuses herself.

“I hope you’ve had a pleasant evening,” Liam says to Riley. 

“Yes, actually. People were much nicer than I thought they would be. And Penelope and Kiara said that they were glad to see me again.” 

“You were quite a fixation at court. Whoever forgot about you is a scoundrel.”

“And I’m assuming you are not one of those scoundrels?” she asks, humor in her tone.

“You have blessed my existence ever since I first laid eyes on you. My heart would not allow me to forget you.”

He can’t see most of her face from under the mask, but notices in the smile in her eyes. 

“Would you like to dance?” he asks her, holding out a hand. 

She takes it. “It would be my pleasure.” The words send a jolt of heat through Liam’s chest. He turns and leads her to the dance floor, which was less full compared to hours before, but there were still many people continuing the party. 

When the music starts, both of them flow into the dance. Liam felt self-conscious holding her so close to him, but is distracted by the way she looks at him. He’s surprised at the energy in her step, finding her movements more enthusiastic than his. He matches her tempo, and she laughs. 

“Didn’t know you still had those moves,” Riley says to him. 

“I could say the same thing about you, but I’m not surprised at the way you amaze me.” 

“Really? Tell me, Your Majesty, when have I amazed you?” 

“Like I said, from the day I first laid eyes on you.” 

“I amazed you by serving you and your friends during your bachelor party?” Riley gives a light laugh, and Liam’s heart flutters again. 

“You amazed me by caring about something I thought was foolish. It’s because of you that I trust myself to follow my heart.” 

She doesn’t answer him, and they continue spinning around the room. 

Liam sees a set of French doors from the corner of his eye. 

“Do you remember this?” he asks her. 

“Remember what?” 

“Follow my lead.” 

Liam begins to guide Riley across the ballroom floor, taking a little longer than he usually would have. When they reach the set of French doors, he leads her through and onto the empty balcony. 

“Ah, yes,” Riley laughs. “Our little private get-away. You do still have those moves.” 

“Of course,” Liam responds. “Though they were a little rusty. I’ve gone too long without practice.” 

“Whatever will we do about that?” 

They share a laugh. Liam watches Riley as she walks towards the railing and looks out. 

“Does this bring back memories?” Liam asks her. 

She’s silent for a few moments. “These memories never left me. I replayed the Social Season countless times in my head over the years.” Riley turns back to him. He loves the look of excitement in her eyes. 

“I hope you remembered us fondly,” he says to her, though he wishes to ask how she remembered him specifically.

“Of course.” She turns back around. “I haven’t asked you how you felt about Regina’s passing. How are you holding up?” 

Liam laughs to himself, thinking about the information that he had gathered these last few weeks. “I couldn’t care less, and that is because I do not care at all.” 

Riley turns back to him suddenly. “But... she was still like a mother to you. At least for a time.” 

“She was no mother to me, Riley. She kept my family away from me.”

“Don’t blame her for that,” Riley begins. “That was my fault. If I had come earlier, or tried to be more discreet... or even figured out a way to come back later...” 

He walks to her and holds her shoulders. “Riley, none of that was your fault. Regina has been working to keep us apart ever since she pushed me to marry Madeleine at my Coronation.” 

“Liam, please don’t lie to me.”

He falls back, wondering what she meant. “What? I haven’t—”

“You didn’t propose to Madeleine because Regina told you to, you proposed to keep us both safe.” 

“But wouldn’t you have been safer if you were besides the king?” 

His words resonate something in both of them, and they fall into silence. 

He stares down into her eyes, and she stares back up at him. He wants to ask her to take off the mask so he could see the full extent of her beauty, but again she turns away from him.

“I can’t see any lights in the garden?” Riley tells him. 

Liam walks to her side, looking out at the dark expanse in front of them. “There are some renovations happening. A few were trampled during the night of the theft. They turned off the lights so people wouldn’t wander there.”

“That’s too bad,” Riley comments. “I thought we could go play maze tag for old time’s sake.” 

“Perhaps we can, before tomorrow’s Derby.” 

“Sure,” she answers in a soft voice. 

Again they fall into silence as they stare out into the blank night in front of them. Liam occasionally glances at her, and even though she’s right next to him, he wants to be closer to her. He holds out a hand. She turns and places her fingers gently on his palm. Bringing her hand to his lips, he kisses her knuckles. 

When the music from inside starts up again, he pulls her closer to him. They sway lightly to the music, eyes glued on each other. He feels the warm of her skin, and curses the fabric that keeps them apart.

“The night is almost over,” Riley says. “And we were only able to have one dance together.” There’s a smile in her voice

Liam’s face falls. “If I could, I would have spent the entirety of tonight by your side, but—”

“Duty calls,” she finishes for him. “I know.” 

His obligations as King were keeping him away from spending time with Riley, and he feels a sudden anger pool in him for not remembering his new priorities.

“I heard people make some comments about Gabriel and I,” Riley tells him. The anger in Liam intensifies.

“Who? Tell me—”

“Liam,” she says forcefully, her tone still gentle. “Don’t. We both know the people probably have a lot of questions. Instead of pushing them to the side, we should answer them.” 

“Of course.” He tries to pull her closer to him. He leans down towards her ear and whispers. “My responsible queen.” 

“We should probably be more discreet about this, too,” she mentions. 

“Yes.” He leans back a little. “The last thing we want is another scandal. But let’s enjoy this time while it’s our’s.” 

“I would like that.”

Their noses were inches away from each other. “The moments in between belong to us,” he tells her. 

“So nothing’s changed?” 

Liam looks away for a moment, thinking. He turns back to her. “In a way, it hasn’t. My time will always belong to you.” 

“And your heart?”

“Your’s. Forever.”

Her calm voice sounds like gentle wind when she says, “As is mine.”

They continue to move with the music, their bodies flush against each other. Neither could stop looking into each other’s eyes. Liam asks himself what was stopping them from giving themselves to each other, but he knows that time hadn’t been on their side. A small panic runs through him when he realizes that he must make up for the ten years they lost, or at least show her what could have been during that time. 

But he focuses again on her eyes, and feels calm. She was here now, in his arms. All he had to do was not let go, at least for a few weeks, and she would understand. Their lives would be the way it should have been. 

The door to the balcony opens, but Liam and Riley do not part from each other’s embrace. Bastien holds the door open, and Gabriel walks out. 

The light from inside illuminates the boy’s face. His eyes are swollen and his face is wet. The skin around his lips is red. Riley rushes towards her son, and holds his head in her hands. Liam walks towards them, looking up at Bastien. 

“What happened?” Liam asks his guard. 

“Ella and I,” Gabriel begins, managing to speak between hiccups. “Were in the garden... with two other kids, and then... I think she went into the maze... and I yelled at her to come back... but I don’t think... she heard me, and I don’t... know where she is.” The boy falls into a crying and coughing fit. Riley pulls her son close to her with one arm, taking her mask off with her other hand. She looks up at Liam with a panic. 

Liam tries to control his heart rate, but he’s breathing too quickly. He had seen Gabe and Ella walk off with Hunter and Heather. Liam wonders if it was Leo’s children who had forced Ella into the maze, but he remembers seeing them during dinner. 

With his usual stoic expression, he walks back into the ballroom and makes a beeline for the front doors. People are on their way up to their rooms or to continue the party elsewhere, and servants have begun cleaning up. Liam nods at everyone who looks in his direction. After he steps out again into the cool night air, he takes off his mask. There are already multiple guards in front of the garden, waving around flashlights. 

Liam grabs one from the guard and goes straight towards the maze. He doesn’t even need the light to know where he’s going, but how was he supposed to find Ella? Did she make it to the center or did she stop? Which direction had she taken? There was nothing that could provide them with a clue, so Liam begins calling out her name. 

They were at a slight distance from the palace, so he wasn’t afraid of anyone hearing him. Liam notices other guards enter the maze and began calling out for Ella as well. 

As time goes on and Liam passes by the middle at least twice, his head pounds with anger, and fear for Ella. What if someone had been lurking in the dark and had taken her? Where the Hell was Leo? Had he done something to her? The poor child was possibly overwhelmed because of the party, and now there was this foolish incident that must be instilling fear in her. 

Liam begins running around the maze. Suddenly, he hears heavy breathing, interrupted by the shaking of tears. His mind brings him back to the night he found Riley crying at the Beaumont’s house... but this was the sound of a child. 

Ella. 

He walks backwards, and the crying gets louder. Liam flashes the light around him, looking into corners and behind bushes. Leaning closer to the wall, he realizes that Ella is on the other side.

Liam expertly finds his way around the wall. He moves the light in front of him, and sees Ella huddled in a corner, her knees pulled close to her chest and wrinkling her dress. She looks up at him, her chin quivering violently. 

Without even realizing it, he collects the child in his arms. She buries her face in his shoulder and continues to whimper, her small hands grabbing his clothes tightly in her hands. Liam runs a hand along her back and kisses her cheek, attempting to soothe her. 

He nods at the guards he passes, and they begin to follow him out of the maze. Near the entrance, they find Riley and Gabriel waiting. Riley walks by Liam’s side, guiding him to Eleanor’s room. The guards disband. Liam hears music playing from the ballroom, and is glad that they wouldn’t bump into anyone. 

Inside Ella’s room, Riley rushes forward to pull away the covers. Liam puts her on the bed, but she doesn’t let go of his suit. He leans down close to her, and whispers in her ear: “It’s alright, Ella. You’re back in your room. I’m here, aren’t I? You’re safe.” 

He kisses her cheek again, and she lets go. She pushes her face into the pillow, and before Liam fully pulls away, he catches her say, “Thank you, Daddyo.” 

“Good night, Eleanor,” he says to her, his heart fluttering in his chest. Riley has climbed into the bed next to her daughter. She gives Liam a thankful smile, and he leads Gabriel out of the room. 

After helping Gabriel to bed, Liam retires for the night. Besides the anxiety that arrived with Eleanor’s little incident, and not having been able to spend as much time with Riley as he wanted, he was still content with the way things were. 

For the first time in what felt like a century, Liam told himself things would be okay, and he actually believed himself. 

[purplesurveys]

1264

Who are you subscribed to on YouTube?  Oh man, I’m probably subscribed to over a hundred, if not 200. I’ve subscribed to channels relevant to interests I’ve had over the years, and since it’s not my habit to do spring cleaning on my feeds, the subscriptions have just keep piling up even if I no longer keep up with literally like 98% of them.

Do you like to go to the farmer's market?  I don’t think I’ve ever been in one yet. They aren’t very common here and the ones we do have are pricey and mostly inaccessible to the everyday consumer, I’m sure.

What will (or was) the color of your wedding dress be?  I wouldn’t want any other color than white.

What's your favorite melon?  I don’t like fruits.

What was the name of the last pet of yours that died?  Arlee. Technically my family mostly considered her as just Nina’s pet, but the sting was felt all the same when we learned she died.

When was the last time you wished the day would just get over with?  Yesterday, because it was Friday. Pretty self-explanatory, I wanted to get to the weekend so I can finally let go of work for a couple of days.

Name one person you've never had a fight with:  Andi. I think we’re both afraid of pissing the other off, which works out for us lol.

What are you currently listening to?  I can just hear the really loud whirring of my electric fan because it’s a grossly humid day today.

What would you rather have: cat or dog?  Dogs.

Who is your least favorite person in real life?  I have a lot of uncles I just don’t like.

Do you ever watch anybody's live stream of... anything, really?  Technically, yeah. I will sometimes tune in to livestreams of lofi music on YouTube, but I do it to listen, not to watch. 

Does your house have security cameras?  No.

If you go grey as you age, would you dye your hair or let it be?  I think I might dye it for a certain period of time, but I also think I would eventually reach the point where I’ll just accept it and slowly let go of the dye.

What was the last establishment you stopped going to due to bad service? What happened?  I haven’t run into much bad service, but I’ll never forget how long my order and bill took for Mad Mark’s. I never really vowed per se to never go back there again and I definitely didn’t confront the staff, but I haven’t eaten there since that incident.

What soundtrack do you listen to the most?  Not a big soundtrack listener.

Was there a family secret you weren’t told about until you were an adult?  Nah, they’re kept from us until now. The biggest one I’ve heard about was having a kleptomaniac in the family but we were never told who it is.

Do you have an opinion most people you meet seem to disagree with you?  Yeah, my dislike for fruits.

What’s something you like to have many options to choose from?  Clothes, I guess, like bucket hats. I don’t shop a lot and clothes aren’t a priority in my budget, so when I do pick out clothes, it has to be exactly what I want so that I don’t feel it was a waste of money.

What’s the strangest decorative object you own?  We have several quirky, disconnected decor in the living room from gifts we’ve acquired over the years. One object I can tell you about is the polar bear glass figurine we have on the coffee table.

What’s a thing you couldn’t imagine doing with your life right now?  Dating around.

What’s been your proudest moment?  Managing to stay alive this year and turn my life around for the better when I thought there was no hope.

What’s the filthiest non-pornographic movie you’ve seen?  Eyes Wide Shut, probably.

Do you know anyone who doesn't seem to be fond of animals?  I don’t think so. Like any animal...? I would find that quite odd, honestly. And I wouldn’t want to be friends with them if we weren’t already close .

Are you planning any outings or trips anytime soon? Whereabouts?  No, nothing set in stone. I do want to fly out to South Korea soon, though.

Do you know anyone who has a phobia of a certain animal?  I know a few people who are afraid of dogs.

Is there a particular brand of technology/electronics that you prefer?  Yeah, Apple.

Is there a singer whose voice gives you goosebumps/chills?  Hayley Williams and Jin, especially when he’s belting; and I don’t listen to her much, but I find that Billie Eilish has a unique voice that sounds really nice.

And is there a singer whose voice you simply can't stand?  Selena Gomez for some of her songs, Meghan Trainor for most of her songs.

Are there any authors that are particularly dominant on your bookshelf?  No.

Have you seen any photographs or videos that made you smile today?  Sure.

Which item in your fridge are you most looking forward to consuming? My aunt sent over this gigantic-ass slab of salmon that I can’t wait to eat as sashimi. I already had a few pieces last night and it was hea ven ly.

Has anyone you know got into a new relationship lately?  Hmm, I don’t think so. I know my coworker Dev got into a relationship a few weeks ago but it fizzled out as soon as it started because the guy was shitty.

If you menstruate, do you experience much PMS prior to it?  Only on the emotional side; I rarely get physical symptoms. I usually feel down or emotionally heavy a few days before my period.

Have you ever had a tattoo covered up or added to?  No, I don’t have any tattoos. Can you remember the last time you had a sudden change of mind?  Hmm, like last night. I wanted to stay up to maximize the weekend, buuuut I decided against it and slept instead since I had been up since 2 in the morning.

When was the last time you did something on a whim?  Two weeks ago when I impulsively dropped a thousand bucks to have cheese tarts delivered to Angela and Reena, hahaha.

Were you raised by both of your parents? If not, then who raised you?  My mom, grandma, and one of my aunts were the main people who raised me. Dad works overseas, so he was never at home much.

Have you ever began a relationship with someone you knew for less than a week?  No, I wouldn’t do that.

Has one of your friends ever tried to ‘hook you up?’  Mik tried to pair me with one of his friends just days before I finally implied on social media that I was no longer in a relationship. It was a cool ego boost but I declined, since my emotions were still super turbulent then. Andi tried to initiate sex with me once too, but I also declined.

What is your card game of choice?  I hate card games; I can never seem to understand them lmao, though that’s really more of a me problem than anything else.

What is your favourite books series?  Growing up, I really loved the Septimus Heap series. But the thing about it was that I got into it while the series was still ongoing; and with how bad my attention span is, I always forgot the events/plot whenever the newest book came out. 

So whenever that happened I had to read the entire series from Book 1; eventually the number of books I had to reread/revisit became too many (it was a seven-part series) and I simply just lost the time to read and I never got to know about the conclusion.

Do you prefer landmarks or street names when being given directions?  Street names – more precise. Landmarks to me can be pretty subjective – a green building might look blue to me, and I could just end up being lost.

Do you read the prologues in the beginnings of books?  Sure.

What was your favourite gym class moment?  If I genuinely like or already play the sport that was being taught. That’s why PE table tennis was a lot of fun for me.

Do you think that ocean boardwalks are fun?  I’ve never been on one but I imagine they are fun, yeah.

Do you dread when people ask you to sign their yearbooks?  That’s not a tradition here.

Do you have a favourite Scooby-Doo movie?  No. I was too young for Scooby-Doo in a sense that I do remember watching the movies as a 3/4 year old as they were kept on in the background at home, but I didn’t get any of the plots/didn’t really appreciate the films.

Do you think it’s cute when toddlers try to run away and fall down?  Sometimes, yeah. If the fall looked nasty I would obviously be concerned.

Do you enjoy listening to your grandparents tell stories of their past?  Honestly, only one of my grandparents would be the type to do this but he’s been dead for six years now. It’s a big shame he passed before I could bond with him the way I had always wanted to. My three other grandparents are either too closed off or too quiet to share stories from their youth.

Do you have a crush on someone? Nah, nothing more than a celebrity crush.

If so... what does his/her name begin with? 

What attracts you to them? 

Do they know that you like them? 

If they don't know, why didn't you tell them? 

Name two people that you miss:  Angela and Laurice.

Have you ever seen Titanic?  More times than I can count. I’m sure I memorize like 80% of the script, too.

Have you ever swam with dolphins?  No. I’m not so sure if I’ve seen dolphins, either. Maybe I have? Or maybe I’m confusing it with whales...idrk.

When was the last time you had a stomachache?  Wednesday.

What's going to bed early for you?  11 PM or midnight.

Do you want to have a big family in the future?  I used to, but I don’t think that’s the future I want anymore. One or two kids should be okay.

What was the last thing you did that gave you a rush?  Technically speaking, an orgasm, I guess?? Lmao idk

Favorite Nicholas Cage movie?  I don’t think I have one.

Have you had your Covid vaccine yet? Which one, if you have?  Yeah, I’m fully dosed. Sinovac.

If you've had your vaccine, did you experience any side effects?  I was suuuuuuper tired right after my first dose and I wanted to be knocked the fuck out, but I went right back to work after the shot because I am allergic to filing leaves hahaha. Second dose went smoothly.

What's the next item of clothing that you intend to buy for yourself?  A bucket hat or maybe one of the Fila x BTS shirts because the collection is actually quite cute!

What Facebook groups have you found the most helpful?  I join Facebook groups to be entertained, not because I actively look for advice.

Do you like your butt? Why or why not?  Yeah. It...has a good form hahahahahaha.

Have you ever personally been a victim of homophobia?  Yes, a few years ago I went to a food park with my ex-girlfriend. I was already not feeling my best that day to begin with, so having to see an old woman stare daggers at us for what felt like years really stung. I felt small under her look and almost cried, but in the end I felt angry that I momentarily felt shame about my relationship. I decided to just piss the woman off on purpose and do PDA right in front of her.

Do you think you’d be happier if you had a pet? I have two dogs at present and I know they make me extremely happy.

Who was the last person you went on a date with?  Gabie.

Were you ever hospitalized as a little kid?  No. The first and only time I was hospitalized (other than being birthed), I was about 12, I think.

What’s your favorite way to curl your hair?  I don’t do that. I rarely style my hair.

At what age did you start swearing?  I was 11.

What is something you physically can’t do?  Ride a bike.

What do like better, apples or oranges?  I don’t like any fruits; but in terms of flavored stuff, I like orange-flavored food, especially chewy candy, slightly more.

Around the holidays, do you hope for snow?  Well, no.

What are your top two favorite bands?  Paramore and Against Me!

How many people do you 100% trust?  There are a handful. I generally trust easily just because I like to believe all people are kind and loyal – but I can also take it away in the snap of a finger.

Do you care what others think about you?  Not so much.

Has anyone ever called you a bitch?  Sure.

Did you watch Teletubbies when you were younger?  Yeah but just super super faint memories. It wasn’t one of my main shows.

Do you have any licenses other than your driver's license?  I don’t.

Could you live the rest of your life without eating meat?  I doubt it. I could try, but I think I’d get cranky and start looking for meat way earlier than I would like to admit.

Have you ever had a rolling backpack?  Yup, if you mean a stroller. I think I’ve answered this on a previous survey.

Did you make any money today?  No, because it’s a weekend. What was the highest place you've ever jumped from?  Nothing dramatically high. I’ve had acrophobia-themed nightmares in the past, so even though I don’t actually have a fear of heights, the idea of jumping from a high place still makes me antsy.

Have you ever gone swimming in a river?  Not that I can recall.

What was the last souvenir someone got you?  I dunno if it counts but Andi bought merch from the AEW shop but made sure to also get a CM Punk sticker set for me :(

Do you have a favorite remix of a song?  Remixes have never been my thing. What do you think is the most saddest sounding instrument?  Piano.

Do you really pay attention to the ratings on movies?  Yeah they can definitely affect the level of appreciation I hold towards a film. For instance, if I genuinely enjoyed a movie only to find out it has average to bad reviews, it invites me to think more critically about the movie.

Do you have a favorite species of wild cat (tiger/lion/cougar/etc.)?  No.

If you had $500,000, what would you do with it?  Give half to my parents and let them do whatever they wish it. With the remaining P12,500,000, I’d probably get myself my own condo and have it fully furnished, then get braces, then get a new phone and laptop. I’ll have a bunch of money still left, I’m pretty sure – the rest of it I’ll save.

Did the last person you touched lips with have a kid?  No. I mean, I have honestly no clue what’s going on in her life now, but I know she doesn’t want kids so this is very unlikely.

"First loves are never really over." Is this true for you?  It’s true in a sense that she left me a lot of trauma and self-esteem issues that will irrevocably always be a part of me now even though I’ve worked hard to resolved most of them by myself.

Did you like Michael Jackson before he died?  Yes, because he has always been my favorite singer’s role model.

What are some things that would make you break up with someone?  I don’t know how to answer this question, honestly. All the red flags were thrown and tossed and slapped into my face and down my throat for six years yet I never left. I don’t actually know what my limits are, and I believe it’s because my coping mechanism has to just accept things and suck them up no matter how bad they get. That’s what I’m trying to change for myself now.

What was the worst breakup you've ever had?  I’ve had two breakups with the same person, and the second one was worse.

[meloncubedradpops]

Repo! The Corona Opera

For every rotation that Earth has completed around the sun since the dawn of humanity, humans have created art to cope with the realities surrounding our everyday life. We weave stories in songs, movies, plays, books, paintings, and so forth, that help digest the world around us and provide an entertaining escape from the cruelties we endure. Some stories take place in abstract universes or in the future, and we rely on what we know in our present reality to build upon these fantasy societies. My favorite movie, Repo! the Genetic Opera, certainly makes this list. We are currently experiencing perhaps the most surreal year of our collective lives, and with each passing day I argue that we find ourselves closer to the world crafted in Repo. I have seen this movie, at least 20 times. If you haven't watched Repo! the Genetic Opera or you haven't seen it in a while, I recommend giving it a view. The movie is unique in that it falls under three distinct genres: musical, horror, and sci-fi. And while the jury is out on whether our future society is going to go full on gothic aesthetic, I can say that the Repo! movie experience offers a glimpse into a dystopian fascist post-plague world wrapped in unapologetically hilarity with a heaping side of camp. It doesn't offer any spiritual cleansing that our souls collectively need, but it does show us what a new normal could look like if we really go off the rails.

As things stand, right now, so much of our daily lives and culture are impacted by the coronavirus. All of our institutions have been impacted, from school, to work, to family, to the way we interact with strangers, and especially our economy. We have all felt the effects in one way or another, and honestly? Most the impacts are of our own undoing, for better or for worse. I am going to write three pieces analyzing Repo! the Genetic Opera. First I will create the foundations that bridge our contemporary life and the world of Repo! Second I will explain how the Repo! universe operates under the definitions of fascism. And third I will weave together parts one and two into our contemporary world (particularly in the context of the United States) to highlight the dark path we heading towards. My viewpoints are of mine, and my own alone. Let's dive into part one.

Part I Repo! the Genetic Opera takes place in the year 2056. Humanity was on the brink of collapse as a result of a medical crisis that caused massive organ failure.

I never gave the premise much thought, at least not until recently. We aren't given much detail beyond the fact that entrepreneur Rottissimo "Rotti" Largo solved this crisis through his company GeneCo. GeneCo provides organ transplants that can be repaid through a payment plan. Witnessing the coronavirus unfold in real time and seeing its wrath, particularly on severe cases, honestly makes me wonder if the writers had some sort of "super plague" in mind when creating this universe. For the purpose of this analysis, I will assume that humanity suffered at least one infectious disease crisis. And just to reiterate covid-19 particularly, we really *don't* know what it's going to do to us long-term. Let the parallels begin. 

The world in Repo! the Genetic Opera, operates as normally as the citizens possibly can, which appears to be quite limited. I have noted how dated some the technologies look.

For a world 30 years in the future, it lacks cell phones and easy access to internet. When we enter Shilo's world (aka her bedroom!) she watched Blind Mag sing on a busted up tiny ass TV and the program itself looks like an ad on Home Shopping Network.

The Graverobber is shown reading headlines on a newspaper. The news reporters shown in the ribbon cutting ceremony during the 1st Italian Post-Plague Renaissance have old school cameras with flashbulbs.

The most contemporary technology appears to be a Wish.com version of an Apple watch, and even that looks like a leftover prop from Spy Kids.

Obviously the people who made this movie intentionally inserted these anachronisms, but why? This is a science fiction movie after all. I speculate that they reverted back because the impact from humanity's crisis resulted in an overall professional "brain drain" from the sheer volume of professionals that dropped dead. In fact every scene depicting medical procedures looks dimly lit and lacking in sanitation. We will see this as we struggle to contain the coronavirus, at least in America. Healthcare workers have already died from this thing, and I am sure many prospective college students will have second thoughts about a career in healthcare. I mean hell, look at no other than GeneCo itself. That company employs workers called "Genterns" who are most definitely not in full PPE. I don't doubt their medical expertise, but they appear to be disposable (please see: that time Luigi killed one for NO REASON in "Mark it Up").

On that note, it really was quite incredible how China built the pop-up hospital in Wuhan in under 4 days, but it was also not the most safe or structurally sound building by far (it collapsed, people were hurt!). Maybe at this point, the people in Repo! don't have much of a choice. I am sure there were likely legit hospitals, but the fact that the Renaissance had gross surgery tents is a bit unsettling.

This is a world that is completely built upon the social more of valuing your health above all else. There had to be a turning point in the GeneCo business model where they really played on up-selling organs for the benefit of "genetic perfection". "I needed a kidney transplant desperately. GeneCo showed this single mom sympathy. This makeover came for a small added fee. Now I look smashing on live TV!" Imagine signing the documents for your power of attorney while actively going into renal failure, when your doctor chimes in with an up-sell for breast implants. When all is said an done, your body is now not only functioning again, but you're hot! Even in a post-plague dystopia we are still holding value to having a nice rack. What's not to love about GeneCo? Obviously we know right away that GeneCo has a dirty side. Rotti Largo personally lobbied to make organ repossessions legal, and he does not hesitate to recollect his property. The concept itself is, of course, wild. In America, our healthcare system is incredibly broken and expensive.  You would wonder how it could get worse without us backpedaling many steps on the industrialization timeline. And in a lot of ways, I could see a company like GeneCo thrive here. We already hate the poor, and we have political think tanks that salivate over the idea of cutting social programs that keep people alive. Our president has wanted to repeal the Affordable Care Act while many people are unemployed during a pandemic. In Repo! we hear about those who don't pay, but obviously there are plenty of people who do. Those who can will happily pay, either for vanity reasons or to stay alive.

And while society cites Rotti as being a "hero" for humanity, we see more and more evidence that the crisis is both not under control and life is cheap.

His son murders multiple people, in front of others, with seemingly no repercussions. In the scene where Shilo meets the Graverobber for the first time, adjacent to the graveyard and tombs owned by wealthy families who could afford grave markers, lies a poorly constructed wall hiding thousands of corpses piled on top of one another. We even get a glimpse of a truckload pouring more onto the pile. I would not be surprised if there is a disinformation campaign there keeping the public in the dark (although you'd think the smell would be unbearable at this point).

There are multiple indications that propaganda works in society (still), and no one is getting the full picture of how much of a raw deal the people in Repo! have. We see poster after poster about GeneCo, in the literal absence of other corporations. 

And a lot of them bear resemblance to 20th century Russian propaganda. It would be a real shame if the goals outlined The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia were actually realized. Imagine going to visit your mother's grave and hearing commercials for hardcore analgesics play through the cemetery. Also, there's a police presence too. Apparently the police are called Genecops and have authority to execute any assumed graverobbers on site.

Imagine the hellscape it would be to live in a world where your loved ones may have died from a terrible pandemic, and you face a non-zero chance of an over zealous cop murdering you thereafter, and because their qualified immunity bypasses the judicial system entirely...oh wait. Anyways let's circle back to the Graverobber character.

Graverobber's role in Repo! appears to be minor on the surface. Rotti's daughter, Amber Sweet, appears to almost despise her relationship with him. And that relationship involves him supplying Amber with what he describes as the "21st Century cure". This cure you ask? A super effective painkiller with the clinical use to accompany GeneCo surgeries. This drug is called Zydrate, and it has a street version that he acquires and sells, with clients including Amber Sweet.

Graverobber makes his living sucking the glowy blue brain corpse goo and injecting them into people on the streets. Yum!

Not everyone who needs an organ transplant can pay for it all upfront. Luckily for them, GeneCo provides payment plan options! The caveat to this is if you fail to make those payments, legally GeneCo can come and repossess your newly acquired organs. If you find yourself past due, you will soon see the last face before your doom, the Repo Man. He will harvest GeneCo's property, and it won't matter where you are or what you are doing. There is no anesthetic, and you will likely die! This was all made legal through Rotti's lobbying efforts.

Society, as it's set up today, allows for property repossessions. This can be as straightforward as a repossession of your vehicle to as heartbreaking as a foreclosure on your home. At the end of the day, the impacts of that are difficult and life changing. Currently millions of people in America are out of work, and the threat of losing everything is at stake for many. We could lose our homes, our vehicles, and our sense of purpose. And while many government bodies have created temporary moratoriums, they have not provided any substantial financial relief to keep the proverbial repo man at bay. What went wrong in this dystopia to normalize the concept of death due to nonpayment? Fascism! Ah yes, the dreaded f-word. In my next essay, I will outline the 14 characteristics of fascism and how it relates to the universe in Repo! After I will relate that to our modern world so that we can try and stop this from becoming our reality.

[ao3porcelainstorm]

poison ivy & stinging needles 27

On Ao3

Masterlist

Pairing: Sherlock/OFC

Rated: M

Warnings: eventual violence, torture, swears, adult themes (no explicit smut)

Chapter 26 - Chapter 28

Chapter 27 - Unwell

I might be okay, but I’m not fine at all.

(—)

A month after Sherlock’s death and Amelia found herself standing at the front of his grave with a single pink carnation dangling between her fingers. 

“It looks nice,” she commented to John, studying the newly erected grave marker. “Very... him, I guess.”

The friends stood in silence, staring down at the ground, each juggling their own complex emotions about the whole situation.

“I’ll let you-,” John cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his coat pockets, shuffling away to give her some privacy. 

Others had clearly come to pay their respects since the funeral. Notes of gratitude and blooming bouquets covered the sleek obsidian stone. 

“This one means ‘I’ll never forget you’,” she mumbled, feeling a little foolish talking to a rock. “I thought it was a little more appropriate than bringing a sprig of aloe to symbolize ‘grief’. Granted, I ended up digging through an old farmers almanac for reference since I left my books at Baker Street and well-.” 

 She stepped up to the grave and draped the carnation over the top. Stepping back to her spot, she tugged at the sleeves of her coat anxiously. 

“I dropped out of therapy,” she confessed quietly. “I think John knows, because he’s been asking about my appointments. She just kept bringing you up and I just couldn’t- it still really hurts, you know?” 

The stone didn’t reply, though a small sparrow did hop near the carnation and poke around its petals. 

“I swear I saw one of the nurses who was there the other day,” she continued, biting her bottom lip and staring up at a nearby tree to try and blink back some tears. “John swore it was just some lady from your homeless network, but she was wearing this bracelet that I swear-.”

“Maybe I should go back to therapy,” she muttered under her breath. “I just have this overwhelming feeling that this isn’t... it’s never this simple with you. It just doesn’t add up. I can’t talk to anyone about it because they think I’m this crazy grieving mess- which is true but- come on. We both know I’m right.”

The sparrow pooped on the stone and fluttered away.

“Right,” she nodded to herself, laughing at how ridiculous she felt venting to a grave. 

(—) 

Amelia found herself at the grave again the next day. 

It was raining, so she’d bundled herself in one of John’s old rain coats and huddled under an umbrella. She was alone this time, but brought another flower. 

“Purple hyacinth,” she held up the small flower to the stone. “It’s means ‘sorrow’. Pretty apt, don’t you think?” 

She moved to place it next to the carnation from the day before, but found the flower was missing. A quick glance confirmed the weather hadn’t knocked it astray, so she assumed it was snatched up by a bird or passing mourner. 

“Maybe they needed it more than you do,” she reasoned before telling him a funny story John had told her the day before. 

(—)

Amelia wanted to visit a third day in a row, but before she left for the graveyard, she wanted to pick up another flower at the small flower shop near the site. 

It was while she was debating between a violet and a blue salvia when she noticed a familiar face parting the graveyard. 

Replacing the flowers into their displays, she darted after the person. Against her best judgement, she called out and flagged her down, throwing on a smile when she greeted her. 

“Uh, hi,” she started, catching her breath. Amelia knew she needed to play this subtly. She thought back to the ways Sherlock had explained how to pull information out of people. “We’ve met before, haven’t we?” 

The woman blinked at her in confusion a few moments before her expression lit up with a brief recollection. 

“You’re Holmes’ lady,” she noted with a nod. Her expression immediately fell somber. “I was just paying my respects. You know, before he died, he helped land me a job over at the DVLA? Just said he owed me for all my help over the years.”

So John had been right, Amelia noted, giving the woman a once over. She must have been part of his homeless network. Though not that she was face to face with her, Amelia was even more convinced she was the same nurse she’d seen that day. 

Amelia continued idle chatter a moment, more formally introducing herself and inviting her to a late lunch at a diner up the street. 

Sarah, Amelia later learned, was quite clever. 

She’d shared a bit of her sad tale, of addiction and a string of abusive partners that landed her locked outside her flat one day with no where to go. 

“Holmes helped cover some basic living expenses,” she explained, sipping at a mug of tea. “He knew I’d made some connections in the streets and the work was easy to come by. Even once I’d found a flat, I helped him. Nothing easier than dressing in a mess and watching all day.”

“You said he helped you get a job at the driver’s licensing agency?” Amelia inquired casually. 

“He mentioned his brother could pull a few strings,” she shrugged. “I’d been trying to find more stable employment for a while now. Go back to school. That sort of thing and he offered to help.”

“Just out of the blue?” Amelia chuckled in disbelief. “That hardly sounds like him.”

Sarah laughed, her lips smiling in an unspoken agreement. 

“You know him best,” she hummed. “He needed a little help with a case. Just some eyes and ears. I found a few people I trusted and I had an interview the next week. Just a shame what happened, the poor man. I don’t believe a lick of it.”

“It’s a bit sad the jurors came clean after the fact,” Amelia agreed bitterly, the sweetened tea she’d sipped going sour in her mouth. “I’m glad I ran into you, Sarah, truly. I haven’t had the best time talking to anyone about this and well... thank you.”

Sarah seemed moved by the confession and took Amelia’s hand tenderly. 

“Oh it’s no problem, you seem like a sweet girl,” she sighed before reaching in her purse and pulling out a piece of paper and pen. “Text or call me anything. We can do lunch again or I’d be happy to visit the grave with you.” 

She scribbled down her details, passing the note to Amelia with another genuine smile. Before long after that, she had to leave, citing a meeting with a cable installer. 

“I lived under an overpass,” she stated, sighing. “Now I’m scheduling services like a real adult. It’s something, isn’t it?” 

“You never mentioned what Sherlock needed help with?” Amelia chuckled, helping her toward the exit and holding the door open. “Was it a recent case?” 

Sarah paused, hesitating slightly before that disarming smile flashed back on her features. 

“Kind of,” she answers cryptically. “Got to play a little dress up, which was a nice change of pace.”

“Huh,” Amelia shrugged. “Sounds like Sherlock. Be safe.”

They parted and Amelia fished the small paper out of her coat pocket to enter in Sarah’s information into her phone. She was almost confident her suspicions were right, though almost switched to definitely when she flipped the paper over and realized with was a business card. 

A business card with Inspector Greg Lestrade’s name and contact information printed on the other side. 

(—)

Later that night, Amelia brought the subject up to John who chalked it up to coincidence.

“But how could it be a coincidence? She had to have been there,” she insisted. “Maybe I mistook her clothes for scrubs. We both know Greg hands out his cards to witnesses in case they remember something.”

“You said she was homeless, right?” he asked tersely, glaring up from his newspaper. “Maybe she was offered some help? Or witnessed some other crime? Greg is a very busy man, his world doesn’t revolve around the great Sherlock Holmes.”

“You have to admit it’s weird,” she challenged. “I knew I recognized her face and sure enough, she said she’d been visiting Sherlock’s grave!”

John tensed and folded his paper under his arm, standing abruptly. 

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you, or why you’re so preoccupied with all of this, but it’s not like you’re going to find any answers,” he snapped at her, retreating toward his room. “It’s just going to lead to more hurt. Sherlock is gone, Amelia, it’s time we move forward with our lives.”

He closed the door to his bedroom on that note, leaving Amelia standing in the middle of the apartment with her mouth agape. 

He’d called her Amelia. 

John never called her Amelia.

She wasn’t sure what to do. Deep down, she knew John was hurting as much as she was, perhaps even more. They’d been as close as brothers, and she could imagine the betrayal he felt at his friends final decision. Maybe even guilt. 

She certainly felt it. Everyday she felt it. 

Moving toward the door to his room, she knocked lightly and listened for a response. 

When none came, she decided to just apologize and let him know she was going out for the night. 

“Don’t wait up,” she added with a mumble, grabbing her things and leaving the apartment. 

She wandered through the neighborhood a while, collecting her thoughts as nighttime began to fall over the city. London had such a unique air to it that varied so much from her home in New York. 

Her home. 

She supposed London was her home now, or at least Baker Street. Now she wants so sure. Amelia had put her home in a person, rather than a place, and now she felt unbearable lost. 

Hands stuffed in her pockets for warmth, her fingers touched Lestrade’s business card. She pulled it out and frowned at the office number listed. 

It wasn’t too late. Maybe he was still on duty?

But what could she ask him? That some random woman named Sarah was at the scene of Sherlock’s death? 

It was probably like John said, a big coincidence. It wasn’t like Sarah had shoved the detective off the rooftop. Amelia had seen enough to know he leapt of his own physical will- his emotional notwithstanding. 

The was no way Lestrade would even let her access the files either. Thatd be ridiculous. A total breach in protocol-

“Looks like a Sarah Patterson was interview the day of the suicide,” Lestrade bit into the sandwich Amelia had brought and plucked the file out from one of the boxes stacked next to his desk. 

Tossing it toward her, he focused on the meal, thanking her again for offering to pick something up on her way over.

“You’re just going to let me read this?” she asked, eyeing the folder suspiciously. 

“I think yoI forget I’m used to dealing with your dead boyfriend,” he replied bluntly, cringing when she frowned at his words. “Sorry. Still fresh. I know. I get short when I’m dealing with- it’s why my wife- just open the damn thing, get what you need and let me know if you’re going to do something stupid. Least I can do is make sure you don’t get yourself killed.”

Amelia snorted back a laugh in response, flipping through the file and skimming through the details. 

“It says you interviewed her,” she noted in surprise. “Do you remember what she looked like?” 

Lestrade huffed out a sigh, leaning back in his chair. 

“You’re aware I talk to a lot of people, every day,” he explained. “Just give me her ID number and I’ll pull her up in the system. I’m sure there’s a driver’s license on record with a picture.”

Amelia listed off the numbers in the corner of the file and after typing in the sequence, Greg turned his computer monitor around to show her the woman’s face. 

Sure enough, Sarah, the woman she’d met earlier, was staring back at her. 

Amelia looked back down at the file and noted the details. 

Sarah was apparently a nurse who’d witnessed the fall and responded immediately. She’d taken the pulse of the subject and was able to describe the state of the body with somewhat harrowing medical detail. 

“Get what you need?” he asked, turning the computer back toward him. 

“I think so,” she closed the folder and passed it back to him. “Any chance I can get a copy of that license?” 

“It’s on the printer on your way out,” he nodded toward the photocopier outside the office. 

“You’re a gem, Greg,” she smiled up at him appreciatively. 

“Let’s do dinner with everyone or something soon,” he called after her. “You look terrible and I know Molly misses you.”

“Right,” Amelia answered absently, snatching up the paper and typing the ID’s address into her phone. 

(—)

Amelia stirred to someone nudging her foot. 

“Dr. Brenner, this isn’t exactly the best neighborhood to take a nap in,” Mycroft’s voice stated dryly. 

Eyes snapping open, she jolted awake, disoriented from her dazed state. 

“What are you doing here?” she yawned, double checking her wallet was still safely tucked away in her coat. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” he replied, gesturing to a waiting car. “It’s nearly 4 in the morning.”

“I was waiting for a friend,” she lied, and Mycroft quirked a brow. “Why are you on this side of town?”

“Your phone’s GPS went offline,” he answered. “This was its last location.”

“Why are you tracking my phone?” she asked, trudging toward the car and sliding inside when he opened the door. 

“Because I had an inkling that you would go off and do something irrational like sleep on a bench in an unsafe area in the middle of the night,” he stated. “There is still an ongoing investigation into Moriaty’s holdings and you are a prime target now that my brother has... passed.”

“Aw-,” she hummed, leaning back into the comfortable interior and closing her eyes. “You’re like my guardian bureaucrat. Did you volunteer for the job? Or does someone in your office have a twisted sense of humor?”

“Would you believe me if I said both?”

“And here I thought you hated me.”

“Hates a strong word.”

“Dislike then.”

“I was under the impression that was how you regarded me.”

“I’m a little ambivalent given the fact you traded your brother’s life for some ill gotten victory on a maniac.”

“His death prevented thousands more down the line.”

“Thanks Spock, cool motive, still killed him.”

“Are you still living above the flower shop?” he asked, changing the subject.

“It’s not really a flower shop. Burnt down remember?” she replied, opening an eye to peek at him. She supposed if he was tracking her phone, he probably knew all about her and John’s move to the new flat. 

“Have you considered reopening? It might be a nice distraction from your internalized rage,” he suggested, crossing his arms.

“Is that your interpretation or John’s?” she challenged, opening her other eye and glaring at him.

“Mrs. Hudson’s,” he answered with the smallest smirk. Amelia could have smacked him for finding any sort of amusement from this, but god if the Holmes’ brothers didn’t share that identical grin. “She’s concerned. John hasn’t been answering my calls, but apparently he’s been sharing quite the stories with her.”

“Internalized rage is a bit of a stretch.”

“Grief is a complex emotion, we all handle it in different ways,” he continued. “I know my brother was… special to you.”

Amelia let out a dry laugh at his words. Special. As if Mycroft wasn’t well aware of the relationship between the two of them. As if he hadn’t found her shaking on the roof, meters aware from where the detective had leapt to his death. 

“And let me guess,” she saw they were approaching the street of her apartment. “You handle it by being a total jackass? Or is that just how you normally deal with the deaths of siblings?”

“In my position, you have to take the positives in even the most devastating of circumstances,” he murmured and Amelia caught him glance down at his lap. Was that a little emotion she spied? “I regret the loss, but he was my brother and I have to respect the decision he made to protect others. Certainly that hasn’t been lost on you?”

The car came to a stop at the curb and Amelia reached for the door, pausing as she considered his words.

“It wasn’t,” she answered. “But I firmly believe the world would have been a better place is he were still in it.”

“I think we can both agree on that.”

(---)

Chapter 28

[revisionaryhistory]

Three Days ~ 52

~*~Emma~*~

It's been a very long time since I've had a panic attack, but I remember how weak and out of control I felt. The only way through is to let it have you. The more you fight the worse it gets. Diving in, letting the cycle run its course, letting the adrenaline fade, is scary and difficult. I hate for him to have to deal with this. I know all I can do is support. I can't find the miracle fix for him and anyone else trying to talk you down can interrupt your process, your coping skills. Depending on someone else to pull you through is dangerous because no one can promise they will always be available. We're still learning each other. Hell, everyone is, so we're not unique. My instinct was to give him permission to take care of himself.

I wish I could say his fear that me waking to a note wouldn't have made me wonder if something was wrong.  After what Kirk and Alissa had said last night, I can't be sure a note wouldn't have scared me. But I was awake and happy when Sebastian took off out the door. We were going to have to talk about what they said and what the conversation was in the room he was in.

Sebastian started laughing right through the door, which was what I was going for. I'd taken a shower, dressed, and sat on the couch reading with a cup of coffee. As soon as I heard him unlocking the door, I flipped around where my crossed legs were up the back of the couch, my back on the seat, and my head hanging off the edge. I said, "Hey, baby." and started to sit up.

"Don't move." He threw his keys on the table near the door and ran over, dropping to his hands and knees when he got close. Crawling the last few feet, he kissed me upside down. It's harder than I expected, but we worked it out. Sebastian sat on the floor, adjusting his position until my head on his shoulder wasn't fucking with my neck. He ran his fingers through my hair, combing it down his chest. He made a contented sound; part sigh, part moan, and part hum.

I turned my head to kiss the side of his neck. "How you doing?"

"Good. Back to normal. Sweaty." He turned to kiss my temple. “Thank you."

"Not needed."

"Yes, it is."

The tone of his voice, the seriousness, told me while it was no big deal for me to let him do what he needed, for him it was. Kind of how our first night him making sure I knew he'd stop if I said to meant something different to each of us. I said a simple, "You're welcome" and added, "Anytime, Sebasti-an."

I didn’t know “anytime” in Romanian, but I wanted his name anyway.

"Oricând." He turned where we could see each other.

I repeated, "Oricând, Sebasti-an."

"I believe you."

We smiled into a crazy intense yet sweet kiss, ending with him kissing my nose. "I'll go de-stink myself then we'll hit this cafe I ran by."

"Yum."

He turned halfway to the bedroom, "Did you rearrange anything while I was gone?"

"What fun would it be to tell you."

Twenty minutes later Sebastian reappeared in black shorts and a heather gray t-shirt. I wore green shorts and a cream t-shirt. We were walking so we both laced up our shoes and headed out.

It was a gorgeous day. Bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds. I pulled down my sunglasses, "Lead the way."

Sebastian took my hand and pointed, "Two blocks north, one east. I put my name on the list. Our table should be ready when we get there."

Like yesterday we walked slow and close. The three or four inches he was taller than me made a difference in our strides, but we got in sync quickly where it didn’t look like I was being drug down the street or trying to pull him back. I like holding hands. I like the innocent familiarity of it. It's nearly impossible to walk with your arms around each other. Plus, that looks clingy. Standing still with arms around is ok, but walking is awkward and too try-hard. We could walk down the street separate from each other. We could, but what fun would that be. Besides we're in the first blush of a new relationship. Touching might be a rule. It certainly seems it is for us. I can understand where people see holding hands as an adult as clingy. For me, I want to feel his warmth. I want my touch to let him know I’m attracted to him and want to touch him. If that's what clingy means, so be it. Not like I have any control over what other people think anyway.

I could see the sidewalk tables when we turned the corner and seconds later the smell hit. Fresh bread, rosemary, and something sweet. Maybe banana pancakes? We had to wait for our server to finish clearing our table. We leaned against the railing by the hostess stand watching people and looking at the food. I leaned in toward him, "I love this already."

Sebastian nodded, "I've been here twice, both times amazing."

The hostess came back to take us to our table. Sebastian took my hand and lead the way. He pulled out my chair and kissed me before moving to his chair. Tables were packed rather tight and there was a near constant rumble of voices, pieces of conversations, some you could follow and some were too hushed. It was easy to tell who wanted to be heard. We were on the side next to the railing with a good view of people passing by.

I was excited to see guava juice on the menu. It was my favorite in Hawaii, but hard to find other places. Fingers crossed it was good. While our server, Kim, was off getting our drinks I leaned back in my chair and looked out onto the street, "I forgot how much I love the city. How different things feel even on the same block. Boutiques, grocers, restaurants. There’s always something to explore. I miss it. I haven’t been exploring in a long time. When I come down to see Ang and Eli, he’s usually playing so it’s mostly nightlife. Not a Sunday brunch and stroll around the neighborhood.”

Sebastian laid his hand on the table, motioning his fingers for mine. He waited until my fingers were in his before speaking, “That makes me happy. Us doing something you haven’t in a while.”

“Me too.”

“Feel free to load me down with bags if you wanna do some shopping. Lots of clothing shops around here.”

I smiled, “I’m more of an impulse shopper than a browser. Something in a window may catch my eye and pull me in.  I’m not much for searching racks.”

“I search. Never know what hidden gem is shoved in between crap.”

“The exception is galleries like last night.”

“We should go back sometime when we don’t have to be anywhere.”

The food was delicious. We talked and laugh through our meal, sharing bites of what we liked best and as usual finding the other had something we liked better than our own. Kim took our empty plates away and we sat finishing our drinks and waiting for her to bring back the check. Something behind me caught Sebastian’s eye and he looked at me, “We’re going to have company.”  I didn’t turn to check. A few seconds later two teenage girls were beside our table on the opposite side of the railing. Sebastian smiled, “Good morning, ladies.”

They smiled, one of them chewing nervously on her lip. The non-chewer spoke, “We didn’t want to interrupt your breakfast and were going to wait until you left, but we’ve got to meet our moms in like five minutes.”

He nodded, “Thanks for trying.”

I knew he didn’t like being approached during meals, but we were done. I couldn’t help but smile with the way they shifted from foot to foot and looked ready to either scream or burst into tears.

The same girl continued, “We love Bucky and have seen Endgame about five times. We can’t believe Cap gave Sam the shield and not Bucky. It looked like they left out a whole conversation between Bucky and Cap where he explained he was going back in time to Peggy. Bucky looked like he already knew what was going on when they hugged and then when Cap came back old.”

Sebastian made a face and bobbled his head, “I think Sam’s going to be a great Captain America.” He talked to both of them, but he kept a closer eye on the nervous one. “I think you’re right; Bucky knew what was going on. They probably did talk it out and Bucky’s always going to do what he needs to for Steve.”  He stood up, moving to the railing, and reaching for the girl still chewing on her lip, “Come here.” She got closer and he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re ok.”

I heard her slightly muffled voice, “I don’t want you to be mad ‘cause we came over.”

He squeezed her tighter, “Not mad.”  He let her go and looked at the phone in her friend’s hand, “You want a picture?”

They both nodded, “Please.” She handed her phone to her friend and put her arm around Sebastian.

I watched the girl shaking. She was never going to get a picture that wasn’t blurred and moving. I touched her arm, “Here, I’ll take it.”  I took the first and waited for them to trade out. Sebastian pulled them both in for a hug and I took a picture of that too, because for real, that’s the picture you really want. When he let them go, I handed the girl back her phone.

Sebastian had kept his arm around the nervous one, “Can you do me a favor?” They immediately nodded, not even knowing the favor. “Don’t post this for a few hours. Some people would try and find me from your picture.”

“No problem.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you on a date?” said the brave one.

I didn’t care what he answered, but I was amused. Sebastian made a face at her, “You know I’m not going to answer.” He glanced at me then back to her, “Besides if you’ve been watching us have brunch you don’t need me to answer. I’d appreciate you keeping her out of any pictures if she was accidentally in them.”  That made the brave one blush. She nodded. “Thank you.” Sebastian gave the nervous one another squeeze before returning to his seat, “Thanks for coming by to say hi.”

The nervous one waved to me. I smiled and waved back. I watched them walk away, making sure they were out of earshot before I looked back at Sebastian. “It pays to be nervous around you. She got all sorts of snuggles.”

He laughed, “She looked like she was going to pee her pants.”

“I’ll have to check your tags on the train home and see if they did as you asked.”

“They usually do. Most of my fans are respectful. The minority just happen to be more vocal.” He looked in the direction they’d walked off. “I’m sure they took sneaky pictures of us. Hopefully, they’ll edit you out. I don’t care if they say I was on a date, but I don’t want to see pictures of you.” He smiled and repeated my words from the festival, “Privacy shouldn’t be the price you pay for being with me.” He signed the check and took my hand, “Ready to go?”

“Yep.”

We wove through several blocks looking and windows and ducking inside. I broke from habit in this amazing boutique clothing store we found. I could have stayed there for hours. They had everything from comfy loungewear, bottoms, tops, outerwear, and dresses. Style ranged from cute to sexy. Sebastian was a good sport and I kept what I tried on to a reasonable number. He seemed to enjoy the fashion show and his expressions made his opinion clear. His favorite was a sleeveless hot pink mini dress with an embroidered collar and details. I was surprised. He just shrugged and said it was fun and flirty. Like me. It went home with us.

Sebastian showed me his favorite places and where he shopped. We added bags of his purchases too. We reached max shopping at the same time and headed back to his place. He dropped the bags on the chair and headed to the kitchen grabbing a couple of bottles of water. I kicked off my shoes and slouched down on the couch, “I’ll be visiting that shop again.”

“There was a lot in there that looked like you.” He handed me a bottle and sat down beside me.

“I like bright colors.”

“You look good in bright colors. You look good in black too. And muted colors. Pastels.” He leaned in and kissed me, “I guess I just like how you look. Among other things I like about you.”

I smiled my thanks and savored another kiss. I unscrewed the bottle top and took a drink. “I wanted to talk to you about last night.”

“Which part? There was a ton of shit going on last night.”

“True. I meant the part where Angie drug me out of the room with Kirk and Alissa in tow.”

He nodded, “The meeting about me.”

I laughed, “It was more about me, although you came in at the end.” I turned on the couch, pulling up one leg where my calf rested against his thigh, and I draped the other across his lap. He screwed the top onto his water bottle, laying it beside him before his hands moved to my legs. I wrapped my fingers around the one on my bent leg. I liked us being tangled together. This wasn’t a comfortable conversation. “Angie was butthurt because she thought I hadn’t talked to her about you to the degree she thought I should have.”  I could tell he didn’t understand. “We don’t act like we met two weeks ago.”

His laughter interrupted me, “Will said the exact same thing to me.”

“It threw her when we showed up being more comfortable than she’d expected. I filled in Alissa and Kirk and they kept looking at each other and Alissa was repeating things slowly. Like “he threw you over his shoulder and carried you out of the park” and “you call your dad Ed.” I imitated her slow pauses. “I got a little protective and defensive. Went on a rant.” He smiled and I rolled my eyes. “Might have been a little drunk.” He scrunched up his nose and nodded. I had to kiss him. “I said the touching and kissing is just you.”

Sebastian kept eye contact and shook his head back and forth, “Not at all me.”

“That’s what they said. Even raised their hands to be called on.” That part had been funny.

“What did they say?” He didn’t seem angry or anything other than curious.

“There’s not many pictures of you being affectionate with girlfriends. A couple of pap walks. You with friends is different than you with women. You have lots of feelings, but keep them on the inside, not letting them out. Thinking too much makes you emotionally unavailable.” Those words made him wince. “I had another rant about how I don’t know the person they were talking about. I’ve never felt kept outside. We’ve always had intimate conversation, often with you initiating. I would never say you were emotionally unavailable. And after calling me a drunken cow, Alissa said the you last night was the fun, unguarded, happy Seb you are with friends.”

Sebastian looked straight ahead for a little bit and did things with his mouth. He scratched his cheek and looked back at me, “I think I’m pissed at a couple of my friends.”

I smiled and ran my fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. He didn’t pull away, he leaned back into the touch. “I don’t want you to be mad. Had you gone for a run this morning and left a note I would have been freaked out. What I know doesn’t match with what they said and I don’t want to have those thoughts in my head. It’s not fair to either of us.”

He took a hand from my leg, placing it on the back of my head to pull me closer. His kiss was deep and tense. “You are one hundred percent to right to talk to me about this. We’re about to be apart almost as long as we’ve known each other and I don’t want you doubting me. Us.”

I kissed him. Soft. I didn’t move away until I felt him relax. “It’s me being brave and vulnerable.”

“You know, I think about that conversation a lot.” He smiled again, a sweet tender smile that made my stomach flip. “It was day three and we were talking about how it’s hard to be open, honest, and vulnerable with another person. Only it wasn’t all that hard. I mean, I might think “oh shit”, but it’s never been enough to stop me.” He looked like a piece had fallen into place. He looked to the ceiling, “Which might be why I had a panic attack in the middle of the night.” His eyes returned to mine, “I don’t know if this is going to make any sense. Not because I’m scared, but because I’m not. I’m still overthinking and still have the same anxieties, but it’s different because I don’t feel like I need to cover it up. You take my shit in stride.”

“What’s different?”

He frowned and shook his head, “Besides you? No idea. Which might be why I had a panic attack in the middle of the night.” He smiled and kissed me, “I’ll read back over what I wrote this morning and figure it out.”

“And there’s always Thursday with the therapist.”

“Good point, princess.” This time he squeezed my hand, “So . . . while I’m pissed at them for dropping all that on you, nothing they said is wrong. Girlfriends and dates in between would tell you they can’t read me and they never know what I’m feeling. I don’t show it and I won’t talk about it. I run hot and cold. I get insecure and pull them closer. I get insecure and push them away. I’m different with my friends. I have intimacy issues. Commitment issues. I’m a mess.” He lifted my hand to his lips, “Except I’m not. With you. None of those things is true. With you.  I don’t mean that in some unhealthy co-dependent way, it’s just different with you.”

“Did you ever think you might be different too?”  I question it being all about me. I don’t have some magic wand that takes away all his “issues.” I’ll agree I may respond differently and that does make a difference, but I don’t think he’s giving himself enough credit.

“I don’t know what would be different. I may respond differently than with someone else, but you react differently. Like this morning. I can tell you how that would have gone in the past. It would have been a discussion about what was I anxious about and why didn’t wake her up and why I don’t let her in. A million questions and suggestions, but never asking what it was I needed to be ok. It played out very different and not because I did anything different.”

“I’m sorry.” I ran the back of my fingers over his beard.

“Why are you sorry?”

“I’m sorry no one asked you what you needed.” I could see my words hit him, see him feel them. It was a subtle catch in his chest and breathing.

“We’re going to pause talking for a few minutes.” He pulled me into his lap. “Because right now I need to feel you.”

[blushdressshop]

God Made Scots A Wee Bit Better T-Shirt

That Essential Work so That All of Us Can Keep Moving for Even When It All Feels so Overwhelming Working Parents Are Somehow Piecing It All Together with Our Childcare Features and Didn’t Created so That Our Kids Can Still Learn and Grow Our Young People I’d Desperately Fighting to Pursue Their Dreams and When the God Made Scots A Wee Bit Better T-Shirt Horrors That Systemic Racism Shook Our Country and Our Consciences of Americans in the Background Rose up to March for Each Other for the Release Are Shipping Your People Whose Fortunes Are Bound up with One Another As Well past Time for Our Leaders to Once Again Reflect Our Troops so Our Voices in Our Votes to the Course of History and Going Heroes like John Lewis Who Said When You See Something Right You Must Do Something Is the Truest Form of Empathy Is Feeling and Doing Not Just for Ourselves or Our Kids Everyone for All Our Kids If We Were to Keep the Possibility of Progress Alive in Our Time Would Be Able to Look like Children in the Selection We Have Got to Reassert Our Place in American History. A national effort to expand access to convalescent plasma donated from the blood of those who of recovered from the virus the blood of these donors contains antibodies that can potentially reduce the severity of the illness and those who are sick and frankly those that are very sick nearly 3000 patients are now enrolled in the expanded access program receiving transfusions nationwide and I want to thank all of the people that recovered for what they’ve done is I said yesterday they raise their hand when they barely can walk in there saying I want to donate blood I want to donate whatever it is that you want because we want to help people really quite incredible convalescent plasma will also be used to manufacture a concentrated antibody treatment that does not have Debbie match with a particular blood type this concentrated antibody treatment could be used as a preventative measure to keep healthcare workers and other high risk pop populations from contracting the virus in the first place very big deal clinical. Suburban women to see what be watching for tonight I’ll start with MSNBC’s international course on presenting Alanna and Chris again is about is a claim there undecided and a lot of us i

Source: God Made Scots A Wee Bit Better T-Shirt

God Made Scots A Wee Bit Better T-Shirt, Hoodie, Sweater, Longsleeve T-Shirt For Men and Women

God Made Scots A Wee Bit Better T-Shirt

See more: It's Ok To Be Different Flamingo Autism Awareness T-Shirt

Premium Trending This Summer Season will Presents Who Love:

This country because America uniquely holds the promise of a God Made Scots A Wee Bit Better T-Shirt place where everyone can belong we know that for too many and for too long that promise has been denied but we also know America is at its best when we make that circle of belonging wider just over 10 years ago I joined the military where firing me because of who I am was just possible it was policy now in 2020 is unlawful in America to fire someone because of who they are or who they love the very ring on my finger away we celebrated here where I’m standing reflects how this country can change love makes my marriage real but political courage made it possible including that of Joe Biden who stepped out ahead even of this party when he said that marriage equality under the law of the land there is a long way to go but if this much can change between 2010 and 2020 imagine what could change between now and 2030 imagine what we could achieve this coalition we are building this very season gathering progressives and moderates independents and even what. Tony catfight theory meets up with themand Bruce Banner black widow continue to have a bit of a romance that is destined to fail is the both very damaged in different ways anyway in South Korea Ultram is building the perfect library embodied himself with the my stone from Loki scepter in its head over the twins find out Ultram is planning on killing everyone in the world not just Tony Starks that I like well Tony Stark is probably better than the entire will be destroyed so they team up with the avengers even just vital Tron in South Koreaand let us get away with that perfect body he made stuck in banner try to put Jarvis into this perfect body all the avengers alike K you try this beforeand this happened so maybe don’t but they do it anyway what’s alighting from Thor’s hammer the body comes to lifeand becomes the vision where she is a good guyand is also kind of invincible he proves his intentions by lifting Thor’s hammer saw speak plan is to lift up’s cobiaand drop it like a meteor onto the earth killing everyone the venture shopping fight with help from war machine who actually got the memo this timeand experience Ella carrierand if he all Tronand all is all shallotsand save the day now without any repercussions though Pietro maxima dissecting Hawkeye also a kid who’s in Segovia doing charity work is killed in battle as is the family of helmets IMO a succumbing soldierand not terribly nice guy Simon was so angry over the avengers indirectly killed his family is planning on how to get revenge he realizes he can’t defeat them directly as if a robot army can do that I was a sad strange little maggot to do it instead takes a page out of the Loki bookand decides to tell them apart from the inside also during the battle Bruce Banner hoax outand decides to fly off the Quinn jet which eventually ends up in space somehow after while it crashes in the planet of scar that junk plaintiff before because being a form planet is pretty stressful banner staysand hope for him he’s done by Valkyrie who remember is now a drunk who scavenges stuffand she brings into the Grand Master this very weird eccentric guy whose brother is actually the collector from earlier he runs in arena gladiator fighting thing on this planetand the whole becomes his number one champion over the next two years Houck fights in the arena learn some basic speech becomes closer Valkyrieand overall is really just loving life after all this store still weirded out positionsand goes up to look for the infinity stones goes around the universe for two years looking for them which for the record is a marvel one shot I would love to see but is completely unsuccessful the managers back on earth now set up base in New Yorkand move away from ledgers tower with this big new fancy facilityand Blackwood are going train scarlet which falcon war machineand vision to become real avengers why the indestructible laser shooting hyper intelligent robotic in the Thor’s hammer needs training I’m not entirely sure on Tony’s also there but he’s a little preoccupied with the relationship problems he’s now having with pepper which leads to them taking a break while in space status is getting real sick of everyone failing to get his stones so he decides he’s gonna do it himselfand by that I mean he’s going to wait three years to do it but he start planning now which most in getting a bigger glove called the infinity gauntlet that would let them hold the stones once he finds them unearthed the shield team gets to the human campand shield was to register all been humans on a big list so they’re all accounted for something like a human’s version of the Scobee Accords which will get you over the humans at the camp predictably don’t like this also people start realizing that Daisy’s mom is kind of evil so a big fight ensues in the war which is really more of a battle between shielding humans he follows his nonskilled anklesand loses his arm also those chargingand human crystalsand up in the oceanand spend the pillsand also to stuff so now in human start popping up moreand more around the world also Mays ex husband Garner egrets in humidified enter into this horrible monster called flash also grant one was to try to start by Dragon even though the avengers just fishing that Daisy also says about her dad who wasn’t such a bad guy after all he gets his memory erasedand start a new life may decides to take a break from shieldand Fitzsimmons finally start dating however risingand going Simmons is in the same room as the monolith which shield has occasional memory that’s the portal through which you go to this terrible ugly planet with an original inhuman monster hive lives she was the inspiration for Hydra away quick positive video here I really hope it doesn’t feel like I’m talking down you guys by saying in case your memberand that’s her stuff a lot I genuinely does make this as easy to followand not confusing as possible is especially for people who are defense of the stuff that haven’t washed all this already of this information is slightly hard to keep track of you a second thatand gets into that placeand he said last night was abandoned there a long time ago they become friendsand survive together after many years of service Frank S returns home to his family from his militaryand shady servers daysand it’s super niceand emotional however around this timeand Cerberus leaks with Cerberus was actually about including the video that it is a guiding shot to this guy called David whose nickname micro will be back in a sec agent orange transfer for doing this because he’s not a big fan of Frank’sand so with the help of the Cerberus squad including Frank supposed best friend Billy Russo he sets up a three way gunfight between three gangs in a park to kill Frankand his family Frank’s wifeand children are brutally murderedand Frankish on the head but survives after this Frank is enragedand devastated answer decides take matters into his own hands he uses his military trainingand pure anger to hunt downand kill everyone in the gangs involved with his family’s death he does this under the vigilante guys of the punisher first just make a plan though so that takes a little time now micro is a hackerand NSA analyst these to help a Daisy when she was working as a hacker’s analysis info that Cerberus doing legal stuffand he starts leaking it so agent orange triesand killed his men shoot microand think they killand really the bullet his phoneand so survived because phones are bulletproof in this world Michael doesn’t hidingand pretends to be dead even from his wifeand kids who he watches from security cameras Scott Lange has finally finished serving his time in prison for his crime that really was not badand is released going to stay with his old cellmateand pal Luis he wants to see his daughter but his life is moved on to another guyand so that’s difficult in its with Luis his new friends Kurtand Daveand try to get a job at Baskin Robbins but Baskin Robbins always finds out tech is having run by Darren cross hang pencil protégé along with Hank’s daughter hope while Hank is on the world they some old tales of Hank’sand process about his own version of the suit called the yellowjacket only this one is way deadlierand fliesand shoots lasers cross also plans to sell this tech to Hydraand the 10 ringsand just the worst people thanks not too happy about thisand try to think of a plan to stopand even where Scott Lange ever since the very public Vista quick job I think Scott could be a good choice to take on the object stuff before gets into the wrong hands through a series of people think it’s got a tip about as mentioned Rob Casillas to see how good Scott really is what Scott eventually does only to find the entrance to he takes it tries it onand is terrified by the experience Hank is impressed with the skill cc but when Scott tries to return the suit he’s caught by the policeand cost breakdown in jailand tells of his pregnant with cross help is not awfully happy with how things are developing as she was to wear the MS student takedown cross but Hank does a letter because of how her mother died all those years ago so they trained Scott until he becomes great at the shrink tricky stuff even to friendsand called Anthony very good Scott also starts to get romantically involved with hopeand Hank reveals to help our mom diedand she is all well I totally understandand forgive you know dad even though you really could is only sooner I’m an adult you know they’re good now Scott needs advice from an old avenger space to steal the yellowjacket suit is there only to discover that it’s been renovatedand it’s now the new venture space is not by falcon who fights in man is defeated but also impressed by Scott’s abilitiesand less just called Scott’s good fortune that it wasn’t patient who was on patrol that day also by the way crosses going crazy because pen particles mess with the brain after all this Scott goes in to steal the yellowjacket suit but gets caught so him across FIFO while in a helicopterand then a briefcaseand in Scott’s daughter’s room to save his daughterand kill cross Scott go subatomicand saves the day but is temporarily trapped in the quantum realm where Hank’s wife Janet was left however he manages to get outand it’s all good after all this Hank believes that hope is finally ready to become a heroand so gives her the lost barber Scott is back his familyand his daughter Anna’s dosing hopeand never once happy now go back to the moon real quick a place we haven’t been for a while where the go inhumanand potentially the most unlikable character in this entire universeand human arguing about this American flag I am only mentioning this to see him forget that there’s an entire inhuman civilization just living on the moon while all this is happening back on earth the tomb salvaging company shows up in the area were scurvy’s to beand picks up small font Exceland some of this ends up in the hands of Hydra uses it to build a giant robot called ultimo but the manager show up at least those are leftand defeated now were getting into the Netflix world for a while first off Jessica Jones gets new job from Joy Meacham the sister of one Meacham was running red Enterprises will be manipulate it by’s dad was being controlled by the hand I give it a second to sink in again anyway she is Jessica to investigate the people around so she can blackmail them later if need be also Wilson Fisk is stilland by his he I mean jail because he such a big crime boss he start making connections there that Frank Castle has finally gotten all the resources he needs to kill the gangs he thinks were solely responsible for his family’s murder so starts going around doing that in the most brutal way possible starting with the Irish Mafiaand a gang called the dogs of hell is all happening in or near Hells kitchenand that Murdoch starts noticing the stuff so he starts investigating eventually as daredevil in a newand improved suit by the way he comes face to face of the punisher which ends with a bullet to the face that is seriously injured but survives fighting keep fighting that the vigilante stuff while Cassidy is going around the city killing pedophiles in such an entry castle manages to kidnap daredevil Jenny into a chimney where they learn about each other’s pastsand ideologies Castle takes a gun to daredevil’s hand pulse of the criminaland hasn’t had to shoot the criminal or he’s can do it because castle things killing your enemies is the way to go hello I thought a lot of the people daredevil Scott daredevil to try to kill anyway daredevil breaks outand has to fight through some angry bikers Castle unleashes on them later on Frank it’s kidnap by the Irish who brutally tortured him but eventually he gets out with their troubles help explain the situationand himand daredevil cool now but that is arrested that the craziness is now over but nope just now Electra shows up his old girlfriend then ninjaand potentially secret weapon for the handand she’s like a let’s find together because I see her doing that nowand so they do if I think he was a mainly with franking space to Karen what happened to his familyand the bondand become best is so daredeviland Electra are going around fighting the accuserand ultimately come across this giant pit the hand is digging in order to get Dragon bonesand to become immortal that still going on their tax by handand just until state shows up to save the day meanwhile on the lower side of things the punisher trial happensand during that Frank saw like an Angus into jail where he meets Wilson Fisk Fisk is like Frank nothings working everything but my biggest rival this person helped kill your family soand Frank Sykes say no more so he takes a that guy that this double crossesand try seven killed by Frank is just too good for that so Fisk lets them goand Frank tells Fisk to kill him when if he sees them again Frank it’s a geland mean wild animals like snow but again then ninja he thought he go before was brought back by the hand also their little kids being drained of their blood also for resurrection purposes through similar shenanigans the punisher keeps going around killing guys involved with his family’s murderand I will still have conflicting ideologiesand punish ends up killing an old Marine buddy of his Electra stick have a falling outand cystic trust tablets are killedand she didn’t like that so she tries to kill him will saves the dayand sticks kidnapped by the hand so Matt goesand save steak but while he’s doing that nobody reveals that Electra is a black skyand should be leading the hand she almost does but ends up joining their double insteadand the five images together real lasted I’m on right there after a hostage situationand Electra go up against like an infinite supply of hingesand Electra ends up sacrificing yourself for daredevil the punisher also shows up at the last minute to get daredeviland assist which is a pretty awesome moment not to lie no booze killed for real this time by stickand the good guys win except the hand takes Electra’s bodyand uses their Dragon magic to bring her back to life so she can work for them one of the five leaders of the hand the main one Alexandra comes to oversee her resurrection fog equatesand hours for Hogarth from Jessica Jones reveals he’s daredevil to Karenand the punisher goes off to kill everyone was involved with his family’s murder micro also wants answers about the whole Cerberus thing as a goes into Frank’s houseand puts the disk there with the video on it Castle’s unit in Afghanistan tortureand killing that innocent guy which Frank findsand takes with them tiny little break from the granite stuff here a witch just straight up which shows up in Londonand steals a magical artifact called the dark scepter however long case aliasand more masters of the Mystic arts show upand stop her a reminder that there’s magic in this world back to the streets now the gauge is now working at Pops barbershopand I know people disagree on what years these Netflix shows in particular take placeand they are confusing but based on the research I did this seems to check out anyway Luke also works of the barand one evening because he such a player he starts floating with detective Misty Knight the club Lucas working is also my cottonmouth now is a big shot crime boss’s cousin Mariah is a City Councilmanand is also pretty shady just more low key than enough strike is a hammer check from Justin Hammer for some good money but the operation goes wrong look secret half brother Willa striker is also involved here at the highest level is a big criminal now is now called diamondbackand is cottonmouth’s boss basicallyand so he sends in his body shades to make sure everything is running smoothly godmother still cool because these be friends back in the day but because the guy because the deal to go wrong is involved with pop one of cotton’s goons goes against disordersand shoots at the barbershop killing pop through this link in contrast to fightingand looks all like I really care for but not my radar so stop doing illegal stuffand calmness like know so we can start messing up his operation Luke also teams up with Claire Temple daredevil hotel buffet crimeand start a romance energy gets his hands on some bullets I can actually penetrate Luke’s impenetrable scan forand use them thoughand up having an argumentand so she murders him with a mic standand because the new big crime boss with shades help diamondback decides to team up with their setting out a plan to run the crime will do Harlem well Mariah does all the boring political stuff diamondback also shoots a cage twice with those magic bulletsand reveals that he’s actually his brother Claire takes her to the doctor who originated the experiment on themand they send an asset or boiling water something painfuland basically he’s restored to full strength while diamondbackand Mariah are running like a spear campaign against the cage to turn the people filed against them they do this through politicsand super shock loves Lucas backand FaceTime back in the police eventually diamondback shows up in a terrible super suitand even the punch each other for a bit is the end against diamondback partly with helping New York Spiderman style despite all his heroicsand proving himself a good guide to the policeand the people Harlem Lucasand back to prison because been discovered as Carl Lucas back in the day with your call despite being innocent broke out of prisonand so still needs to service time however one of Luke’s barbershop friends is a file that proves his innocence so he’s getting out soon also diamondback is taking them but I doctor who did this experienceand Luke so he’ll probably have some modifications the next time we see them there is a little bummed out that Luke is in jailand that they can’t get a cup of coffee for a while but she keeps itself occupied by starting martial arts training with help from Colleen way that martial artist to statically buy land but doesn’t really know that the hand is evil a bunch of little stuff happens here now firstly that kid who Iron Man said a while back Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider which gives in special abilities like superstrength the ability to climb the wallsand having a dead uncle because he’s a genius kid he also designs web shooters that shoot superstrong webs also because he’s a good kid he realizes if you help people using his new powers he’s responsible for one bad stuff happens so he designs a pajama looking costume takes a living Spidermanand starts fighting little crimes in Queens now over with the Masters of the Mystic arts page 1and Margot find a group called the Dragon Raiders just FYI also falcon is still pretty impressed by thatand I guys a while back I think she could be a valuable asset to the team so he finds a way to contact with them through Luis about potentially joining the avengers Scots like well I cannot stay with my daughter right now but if you really need me yes give me a call we had about the shield team in a while but they’re still doing stuff around these husband Andrew turned into an inhuman call mile he did that is now a giant monster whose sole purpose really is to hunt other humans with humans popping up around the world now shields main mission objective is protecting in humansand training them is made harder because the government treats a group called the ATC you which is designed to track down superpowered people like humansand take them then basically they’re designed to replace yield now that shield has had to go underground in the ATC you is this guy called Malik once again is a big secret Hydra guy said he thought we were done with Hydra you were sorely mistaken the reason this ATC you exists is so Hydra can get a hold of all these in humansand use them you guessed it to make a super soldier army is not getting that seriously 99 of Hydra’s plans so shield in the ATC are fighting for to try to get Simmons off at alien planet which eventually doesand what is still working on rebuilding Hydra I guess Marilyn Stucker’s weightless cool son Werner to join him in a nutshell the main thing is shield us to start up a team of humans the inhuman hunting monster is out there going after them thing of lash is like a less strong or cool version of the book he changes in this monster at different times Olson is asking pretty close to one of the higher ups at the ATC you who isn’t actually evil but then worksheets are in the throat cycles is like I just have to crush discussed just Hydra also wants to get to the matter because they want to bring Benjamin back because they think will be a big secret weapon for them so word fits in Colson end up on an alien planetand cousins like mandatory wordand he crushes Ward’s chest with his robot handand then goes back to think that’s the end of Ward but then the superpowerful clinical human eye possesses corpseand then makes its way back to earth I was now leading Hydra through Ward’s bodyand he’s observing people for strengthand you know typical evil villain stuff so that any rent is still in and now going to basket CCI festand that’s what the iron fist does ever he starts missing homeand gets bored because he’s kind of a spoiled brat so just ramp runs away when the pass is open his eyes to go back to New York to take packs company because that’s I think it works because he’s also kind of a thundering dumbass doesn’t work focuses old friends join Ward Meacham if it were just go with it think is a crazy homeless person understandably wards think that that Harold is still kind of running the company while being controlled by the hand which he started to get kinda sick of becomes friends with Colleen at the dojo he also meets Claire Temple bananas put in a mental hospital he breaks out there with the power of the iron fist stocking 30 with Colleenand Bruce’s friends that it actually is an is coming back with the help of Jerry Hogarth he kinda sucks a business though because he’s been living among city in another dimension for the past decade ends of meeting Harold whose IK we should work together can sometimes take a controlling me so you can go kill themand I like gathers the main purpose in life I had to hand them gal the hand is still selling heroinand Denny’s unhappy about that science of beating herand agreeing to a series of challenges the loser has to pack upand get out of the city anyways but Manga breaks the promise but she’s got ancient society superpowers so there’s not much you can do about it Danny keeps consistently sucking a ring’s company so he’s married now by the board along with the Meacham’s words also super pissed at is that Harold is he took all of his money so he tells Harold bio comes back thanks to the hand Danny Colleenand Claire go to Chinaand take them gal realizes that Ward killed him so he frames them for drug possessionand so Ward gets locked up in the asylum Harold of its joy to be his new number two Danny also made potato Colleen so teacher was also secretly when the 5 m of the handand find out about thisand is in the fan now this guy called divers who isn’t that Dallas is days old friend from and he shows up to help Dannyand Colleen Joyce into saying that the hand probably his neck in the end after helping Dallas is like take the path to come on is open right nowand you’re supposed regarding it what the hell manand I was like well you know is boringand decides to team up with Haroldand joy to take on handand the Kudo but the kudos now working with wordand long story short is defeated but runs away Dallas is not a Danny but they work it out kind of data gets frame for drug stuffand goes in the runand Harold is the bag on the endand tries to take over the company Danny Lord in the big final battle team up kill Haroldand burn his corpse so he will come back to life now Ward is running the companyand Dallas teams of joyand maybe not out to kill Danny down the lineand then sends a team led by lecture to come on which again has no iron fist protecting it they kill a bunch of the monks there it’s pretty brutal the entrance is then close for safety so no one knows when it’ll open up again because back to check out the passand find the city is goneand some abilityand he realizes he probably should state to protect it also Luke Cage sends Claire letter from prison because there still thing overand cover Taj at this point Casillas is starting to get kinda pissed with Angel on it if you like his training isn’t getting him what he wants to start having some friction with most the Masters there also finds out that the angel on his drawing power from the dark dimension which he thinks is pretty have a critical because he must use the dark dimension to see his dead family againand to gain immortality but the angeland told him no because a bunch of people that the ancient one is withholding informationand they should bring tomato from the dark dimension to earth to golf it in eternity forms to rise up against the ancient one they break into the libraryand cover tiesand steal some pages from the ageless book about the dark dimension one tries to stop them but they get away in the end one point Rogers well the shielding goes to Mexicoand meets the human called yo yo who has superspeed who eventually joins the ranksand eventually becomes next girlfriend also Bobby Hunter leave the team because they were so staff spent off but that didn’t happen somewhere venturesand Sue Shield has an inhuman team but highest the inhuman Hydra God takes control of Daisy’s mind because he can do thatand turns against the team just as a vision of the future where one of them diesand other important detail there’s this group called the watchdogs which is basically inhuman racist who are going around killing humans as they plan by the way is to make every human in the worldand in human goes against Dr Ratcliff a scientist who he thinks can help them re create the original Cree experiment that native humans in the first place he realizes he needs actual Cree blood to do it so he sends a signal to the Creed to get some to come downand they do in a fight ensues they’re both taken out but also rendered useless however some Cree blood from daisies used from when she was saved without original Cree corpse long story doesn’t really matter experience go half rate asand it turns peopleand these gross disfigured mindless things meanwhile Scott laying after successfully cross job is still training is at man with Hankand hope that at some point here he upgrade to suitand test out new tech that allows him to become giant he tries it onceand passes out but hey it works Peter is continuing to Spiderman around the city at one point stopping a car crashand getting caught on camera the footage is uploaded to YouTubeand catches the eye of Tony Stark who keeps it in his watch later until he really needs it he’s got bigger stuff to think about right now is right around this point people are starting to take more notice of how much damage the superheroes have actually caused in their superheroand the guy who’s all over this is unsurprisingly general Ross from the days he needs of the presidentand his appointed Secretary of Stateand start talking about how they can keep the stuff moreand check the start of on the ideas for the Segovia cords basically a way of regulating superheroes with more oversight by forcing them to register with the government while this is happening Frank Castle continues his killing spree of people who were involved in this family’s murder going from truck murder to sniper murder to the bathroom murder is getting what he thinks is all them in a decides to move all of his life is the whole point the punisher was to avenge his family so that’s done now or so he thinks also after lectures not has stopping daredevil for a few months now because he’s just too sad things are not bad though foggy Nelson get some helpand I got in the barbershopand clears the cages nameand Lucas at a prison loop is up with Claireand they get that coffee they’d wanted Jessica Jones comes across lecture during one of her cases is still doing whatever the hand once rememberand objective Dragon bones under New York immortality the only problem is those Dragon bones are essential foundations for the city so the removal of them is causing serious earthquakesand could eventually to the whole city collapsing is also hiring a bunch of Harlem kids to help them kill and or clean up the mess is left behind by their enemies cages about this news like I got to protect the people of Harlemand Danny Randy is about this is like I gotta take a hand saw this lease to them crossing pathsand having a bit of a fight every day become friends because of their mutual friend Claire through fortuitous circumstances Jessica’s tracking guy connected to the handand that Murdoch ends up being her lawyerand also gets interested in the case so all four of them end up at the hands buildingand start fighting their ninjas electro sent into daredevil surprise but doesn’t remember him remind you of anyone but they all managed to get out of thereand go hide out in a Chinese restaurant where the become more acquainted state gets kidnapped by the hand but gets out of there by cutting off his own hand get itand goes to talk to the team Alexandraand had followed to see Alexandraand the hand is a whole knee iron fist alive because his iron fist is the key to open the gate to the sweet sweet Dragon bones if I happens electro starts remember who she isand that offenders get their hands on one of the hands main leaders also have their superhero team name is the defenders this guy is not of much help thoughand so stick to set off is not happy about this because they’re running out of there immortality juice the defender starting though because they’re like if the hand need you Danny we should probably had your wayand then he does what he does bestand is a whiny baby so they’ll punch him for a whileand then time however stickand typical stick fashion thinks that he might in the world so I’m getting kill him but lecture shows upand kill stickand tasty on fist to the hand she also kills Alexandra as she wants to be in charge I guess Jessica Jones find out more about that whole get it will found a while back with hands digging for Dragon bones after Lilith over the police that offenders minus Danny fight the hand plus the got Colleen to help Danny accidentally opens the gates of the Dragon bones because of course he doesand other defenders are fighting to hand in a lecture while also trying to block building so the hand can destroy New York the kudos guild Misty Knight loses an armand the offenders whenand get out of there butback to talk to Bucky I mean Electra yesterday heard the building collapses on the master kissingand that he saved by some nuns think look that they savedand that doesn’t actually die thank God it’s time to introduce another very important character very late in the game a Stephen strange is an amazing surgeon but he’s also super arrogantand kind of addict’s ex girlfriend also works with him called Rachel McAdams one day he’s drivingand textingand he crashes his car crushing his amazing surgeon hands in his life because he can’t be an awesome surgeon anymoreand he somehow even more awful to sex than usual really his life is just falling apart he starts to find ways to heal himself however ridiculous eventually he comes across Jonathan born the guy who trained with the ancient oneand was cured so strange has two Taj is there more to one of the masters takes into the ancient one because of all the crazy ultra dimensions there are at least the trip used ones he’s like help me learnand she’s like no your grossand sad in a terrible person but he pleadsand stays her door so she reluctantly changes her mind so strange that’s learning how to control the Mystic artsand other dimensionsand make hologram shieldsand whatnot with the help of Moto the ancient oneand the bookkeeper Wong who he befriends is about the different symptomsand how they protect worldand trains for several months along the way he also stumbles upon the times done sitting in a handy necklace the INI tomato figures out how to been time with it more unwanted like you don’t do that you could get stuck in a time loop anyway at one point you stuck to Mount Everest restraining just while all this other stuff is happening remember Stephen strange is getting great a magic this whole time so U ventures all trained upand going on missions also still looking for Bucky the next hydrogen in Lagosand think it might finally be Bucky but as they get there they realize it’s actually Brock Romo crossbones who understoodand is planning on suicide lineup himselfand Capt. From the capital nation to be only the abandoned government found wanting to you is down for lack of probably racial stories are for slavery would like we enjoyed helping our countries pushed the right from overcorrection Levi Roberts reports be noticeable degree for nearly a century was to story one of America’s years and will grow as he never heard her needs needs degree beating my hair as See Other related products: God Made Scots A Wee Bit Better T-Shirt

[imhereforbvcky]

Vivid - Part 5

Masterlist  -  Series Masterpage

Summary: Have you ever met someone who completely embodies a color? Not an aura, not synesthesia. Just… They walk into the room and when you spot them, you think to yourself, “Wow. That is a walking hurricane.” When Clint Barton serendipitously meets a free-spirited stranger, he sees red. Chapter: After you turn up unexpectedly on Clint’s mission, he tries to set things right, despite the risk.

Warnings: Swearing, mission violence.

Word Count: 2595

A/N: Okay, guys! I’m out of town still so I’m including the tags here on the original post, hopefully they work. Also, sorry this is all one big chunk. 😬

“What about him?” you asked, nodding toward a guy who passed by you with an acid wash black denim vest and a mohawk so tall you didn’t think you could reach the ends of it on tip-toes. “Is he cute?”

One friend shrugged, leaning a little to follow his path through the crowded warehouse. Another pulled a face: somewhere between a scowl and distress. Mostly scowl.

“No honey, you’re not a teenager trying to piss off your parents.”

You shrugged and nodded, chasing the bright red straw of your vodka soda. “I can’t tell. Concerts cloud my judgment. I get to having fun and I just… I don’t know, that anything-could-happen feeling takes over, ya know?”

“Yeah, that has nothing at all to do with the vodka,” Nina rolled her eyes.

This was not her scene. She was reserved and structured and liked her evenings well planned – guaranteed enjoyment.

You, meanwhile, were all spontaneity and effortless near-chaos. Nina wouldn’t even know what a pop-up concert was, much less consider attending one. But you’d dragged her along because you loved the idea and you damn well needed a night out.

The ongoing silence between you and Clint had grown into an icy dagger. You hadn’t heard from him since you’d run out of his apartment in a whirl of ice cream and shame. You wanted to be angry, but mostly it just hurt.

“Anyway, why are you prowling for punks?” Nina asked. “I thought you were seeing that guy? The midnight coffee guy.”

A more exaggerated groan had never been heard. Your head hung back on your shoulders just a moment before you dropped your forehead heavily onto Nina’s shoulder.

“No,” you grumbled. “You were right.”

“Oh, honey…”

You pulled away and began digging in your pockets, unwilling to meet her eye while you divulged another rejection, another failed leap into the dating pool.

“I was very ready to be ‘seeing’ him,” you grumbled, tearing open a little black aluminum envelope and stuffing your fingers inside. “But it turns out he’s already ‘seeing’ someone. Like… an amazing someone. A literal fairy-tale superhero!”

“I don’t… I don’t think that’s a thing…” Nina tried to slow your downward spiral.

“Oh trust me!” you nodded with raised eyebrows, dropping little granules from the black and neon packet into your drink. “It is. She’s like if a funny, caring, air-brushed version of a human come to life as an Avenger. And she was standing right there in his kitchen at two a.m. making him healthy fuckin’ food and being just… generally perfect for him. And apparently they ‘go way back.’ I just stood there like an idiot.”

You watched the little candies fizz and pop in your drink and took a sip, enjoying the distraction of the bubbly sweetness on your tongue.

“Honey, stop comparing yourself,” your friend’s comforting hand patted your shoulder. “It’s not about her.”

“No, I know.” You pouted, taking another sip and leaning against Nina as she pushed her arm over your shoulders. “It’s me. I get in too deep too fast and they never want me like I want them.”

“Okay, harsh truth time.”

“Already?”

She squeezed your shoulder.

“You are all about effortless,” she observed. “It’s great. You laugh effortlessly, find your way effortlessly, and you fall for people effortlessly. But, you expect them to match it and, honey, that’s just not how people work. Relationships aren’t effortless. Some people need time.”

“But nobody’s promised time,” you complained.

“Nobody’s promised a happy ending either.”

“Ouch.” You honestly hadn’t considered that unpleasant alternative. It left you silent and poking at the ice in your cup with the stupid red straw.

“I’m not saying your big open heart is a bad thing,” she was quick to soothe. “It’s what makes you, you. You’re like a big red hot air balloon. Most of us don’t know how you float through life like you do, with these highs and lows. Most of us are too scared for that. And honey, some people have been hurt. Some people just don’t know what they want. Give it time. Next time.”

You swung loose clumsy arms around Nina’s waist and hugged her tight to your side. “You always know just what to say. I’m glad you came out with me.”

“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” she teased. “Next session I’m charging.”

“Therapists,” you rolled your eyes, “Always on the clock.”

“Shit! There you are!”

His voice was breathless and frantic but you’d learned to recognize it in the dark of night looking at the stars, or with a mouthful of pizza, or laughing over a tower of creamer packets. You’d know it with your eyes closed.

“Clint? What are you doing here?”

“I was…” he leaned over for a moment, catching his breath with his hands on his knees. “I w—Wait, that’s my line.”

Even if you’d wanted to, you couldn’t have helped responding to the grin that quirked lopsided across his face. It was just so easy with him. Effortless in every way.

You chuckled and looked at your feet, feeling that familiar shiver rising over the back of your neck. Finally, you let your gaze flicker over him, knowing it was a bad idea. Knowing you’d give in.

But you were startled by what you saw. No soft comfy sweats, no lived-in jeans with holes in the pockets and dirt on the knees. No perfectly fitted t-shirt that you knew would be well-worn and soft against your cheek.

No. He stood before you all sharp angular lines. Dark leather, black neoprene, and heavy zippers, like an armored motorcycle jacket trimmed in a dark dusty violet. The same leather armor cut in sharp lines down his legs to sturdy boots. Oddest, one glove covered only three fingers.

He stepped closer, reaching quickly for your hand. He looked hurt when you stepped back, frowning.

“Are you… are you with a band?” you asked, giving him another quick once over. “The opener?”

“What?” he chuckled. “No, why would you…?”

“Well, I don’t know,” you laughed right along with him like it was the simplest thing in the world, like right here with him was exactly where you were supposed to be and what you were meant to be doing. “I’m not judging… that’s a look though… the leather and…”

He glanced down at his suit. His Avengers uniform, his armor, and he outright laughed.

“I like it,” you shrugged, a sheepish smile insistently beaming over your cheeks. “It… you look good, but you um… you stand out a bit.”

“Yeah. I guess I do.” Something like a snicker, more like a snort accompanied his reply. It was so uniquely Clint: funny and absurd and so disarming. His eyes met yours again and you could read the smile all over them. they were brimming with it and you were practically swimming.

Nina’s arm eased from your shoulders and squeezed your hand. A reminder. A message: be strong, be patient. He’s not yours. She let go and stepped a few feet away, leaning on the bar within your sight if you needed her. Friends don’t abandon friends to almost-somethings come back to haunt you.

“I’ve been looking for you,” he blurted the words before he could think to soften them.

“One night only pop-up concert’s a strange place to look,” you joked.

“What?”

“The concert,” you squinted at him. “It’s a pop-up. They message a list of people like 3 hours before with the address. I assume you got one?”

Suddenly Clint’s comlink erupted with activity he struggled to attend to: It’s a set up. The concert isn’t real. Something about hostages and Clint get your ass out of there…

Bucky’s voice in his ear was nothing but noise, noise, noise when you were right here, bright and alive. You were always the midnight calm. The surest dance. Nothing could go wrong if he just stayed near you. He knew that wasn’t true, but for a minute he stood still in the center of the storm.

“No,” he shook his head, “No, I meant… I haven’t seen you at the bodega. Or the uh, the coffee shop, or—“

“I know.”

You swallowed hard, a crease deepening between your brows.

Clint was shocked by the silent push of the dagger of regret. He’d let you walk out of his apartment that day with a lie in your head and it hurt – physically hurt – to see you so pained by it. He felt like a kid who’d held the brightest, most buoyant red balloon and let it slip away into the sky.

“I miss…” you. A part of him screamed to finish the sentence, but that piece of him – sharp and poisonous – that knew he’d ruin things, had already ruined things clapped down on his tongue. “I miss talking to you. And Lucky misses you. And Marco, the uh, the pizza guy, he gives me a hard time when I turn up alone, and—“

“I miss you too, Clint.” The words came so easy to you. Like every emotion lay just below the surface, brimming, glowing, ready to burst, sometimes ready to break. To break you in two. Like right now as you swallowed another batch of tears. “It just… didn’t seem like a good idea anymore.”

“Barton! Let’s go!” the comlink squawked. He was rooted to the spot.

“I’m sorr—“

The moment he’d opened his mouth a blue streak ripped across the sky through the window behind him and landed against the building with a burst. He was close enough to feel the heat on the back of his neck in the same instant the boom reached his ears.

Pitching forward, his body crashed into yours, but he managed to recover enough to keep from crushing you. On his knees, with an arm curled over your back, his sharp eyes scanned the room.

“You okay?” he hollered over the roar of automatic gunfire and the frantic cry of the crowd.

You merely nodded, clinging tightly to the shelter he provided. Your fists curled in the smooth leather of his jacket. Quickly, he guided you behind the nearest bar – the faintest modicum of safety. Nina was there, clamoring for you, shouting your name in a wretched mixture of terror and relief.

Clint hated this about the job. How people sobbed through small victories, how fear colored everything thereafter. He wondered how it would color you. Would you still be red and bright? Would you be a fire engine, screaming for help? Would you be a red brick wall, graying in the dust of an explosion? Or the deep loathsome red of bloodshed over concrete, opaque like the muddied edges of raw garnet?

“Barton! We need you in position out here!” Bucky stood just inside the massive room, shoulder pressed to the thick steel door of an emergency exit. For a moment he gave Clint a look and a rueful frown. The very next moment, his steel blue gaze turned to the sliver of an opening he’d left at the door and began returning fire.

Clint closed his hands around yours and squeezed, gently extracting your frightened grip from him. He hated it. Every second, he hated it. But in order to protect this thing he’d found with you, he had to risk it. He had to turn into the storm.

“What are you doing?” you demanded panicked and grasping at his arm. “Where are you going?!”

Nina tugged at your arm, eyes locked on Bucky beating back the enemy at the gate. Then snapping to the room full of people: unarmed and frantic with no safe way out. It was chaos. Her eyes settled on Clint just in time to see him reach for his bow and flick his arm at the elbow, with enough force to snap the bow into shape.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he promised, hoping he wouldn’t break it. “Stay here, stay low.”

“Barton!” Bucky hollered again, “Priorities, man!” Then he disappeared through the door, expecting his mission partner to follow. To get his ass back into position.

“Clint!” you shouted as he turned and jogged through the mess toward the door. “What the fuck is he doing?” you asked Nina voice frantic to the point of shrill breaking. You weren’t really expecting an answer. “He’s gonna get murdered. He’s just a guy! He hardly sleeps, and he drinks more coffee than a camel does water! And his cholesterol must be through the roof from all that greasy pizza! And he’s… He’s…!”

“When were you going to tell me you’re buddy-buddy with the Avengers?!” Nina balked.

“I’m not!” you snapped. “I told you, it was so awkward. She was just in the kitchen when I strolled in like I owned the place, when really she and Clint have been toge—“

“No! Him!” Nina pointed, wide-eyed.

“Hi.” Clint was slightly out of breath again. He’d sprinted back and knelt to face you with a nervous smile flickering over his lips.

“Hi.”

“Bucky said priorities, so uh,” he looked down for a second. Took a deep breath and then leapt head first into the deep unknown, head blaring red alert and hoping it wouldn’t hurt too badly when he crashed into the water. “I’m Clint Barton, I—“

“I know that, Clint. I sit on your stoop like 3 nights a week.”

He held up a hand to stop you. God he just needed to get this out. “I’m an Avenger. I go by Hawkeye.” He held up the bow as proof. It was the most elaborate piece of man-made weaponry you’d ever seen. “Natasha is my best friend. Good and bad and… worse than bad, she’s there. And I’m there. That’s not gonna change, but we’re absolutely not… a thing. Okay?”

You nodded, chewing on a smile because it was definitely not an appropriate response to the current mayhem. But it was the only response you’d ever really had to Clint Barton. The midnight coffee guy. The bodega dance partner. The shitty night fixer. The can’t say no to a dog, pizza hoarder.

“I like you a lot,” his eyes were firm on your own now. Unwavering for once. “And I miss you. And I’m probably gonna need a lot of coffee and half the pizza in New York City when this is over with.”

You laughed, and it drew out a big smile in him, and a little courage too.

“And a really long nap.”

“And probably an ice pack,” you added.

“More than probably.”

You gently let your hand fall over his; the one holding the bow. You had fallen effortlessly and happily for Clint Barton, just Clint. But this Clint: bold and recklessly brave despite all the odds and all the reasons to fear... This Clint, Clint the Avenger was pretty damn incredible too.

“Can I call you for all of that? Like we did before? Once the dust settles?”

“You better.”

He nodded, resolute, determined to get to work, but with a grin lighter than he’d felt in a week. Without another thought, he kissed the tip of your nose. He chuckled to himself as he sprinted back to the door. It had been a thoughtless move, driven purely by the swelling feeling in his chest. It was all spontaneity and life. You must be rubbing off on him.

“You better! I miss that pizza dog of yours!” you hollered after him, leaning out from behind the bar with a cheeky grin.

Maybe he was rubbing off on you a little, too.

Chapter 6 >>

[tardigraded20]

Witchy Questions

1. Are you solitary or in a coven? -solitary, you think i have time for humans? 2. Do you consider yourself Wiccan, Pagan, witch, or other? -Idk someone who said fuck other religions and said revive the old gods 3. What is your zodiac sign? -Gemini 4. Do you have a Patron God/dess? -I don’t, but I am open to it 5. Do you work with a Pantheon? -No, but I am looking into the norse pantheon  6. Do you use tarot, palmistry, or any other kind of divination? -tarot and rune stones 7. What are some of your favorite herbs to use in your practice? (if any) -bergamont and I use incense 8. How would you define your craft? -idk i diy religion  9. Do you curse? If not, do you accept others who do? -No, i haven't tried but I would if i was motivated for it 10. How long have you been practicing? -5 years? I guess? I don’t count 11. Do you currently or have you ever had any familiars? -lmao i wish 12. Do you believe in Karma or Reincarnation? -Karma yes, I am not sure about reincarnation 13. Do you have a magical name? -how do you find that? 14. Are you “out of the broom closet”? -Yeah, but im not sure how much my dad thinks im serious   15. What was the last spell you performed? -A positivity jar  16. Would you consider yourself knowledgeable? -about mythology yes but actual witchcraft? Kinda.  17. Do you write your own spells? -im not that original lol  18. Do you have a book of shadows? If so, how is it written and/or set up? -I do but its kinda just a book i occasionally write in  19. Do you worship nature? -somewhat, but its not a focus  20. What is your favorite gemstone? -umbalite and labradorite 21. Do you use feathers, claws, fur, pelt, skeletons/bones, or any other animal body part for magical work? -feathers and naturally fell from a bird  22. Do you have an altar? -yes 23. What is your preferred element? -fire 24. Do you consider yourself an Alchemist? -no 25. Are you any other type of magical practitioner besides a witch? -idk  26. What got you interested in witchcraft? -lmao percy jackson 27. Have you ever performed a spell or ritual with the company of anyone who was not a witch? -no 28. Have you ever used Ouija? -Yup, at school in the hallway  29. Do you consider yourself a psychic? -pfft no 30. Do you have a spirit guide? If so, what is it? -no, but I am looking into it 31. What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started? -Not everything is black and white, you can do your own thing 32. Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite? -Yeah, although mildly. My favorite is Samhain 33. Would you ever teach witchcraft to your children? -yes but i would never force it on them 34. Do you meditate? -I try too but not often    35. What is your favorite season? -autumn 36. What is your favorite type of magick to preform? -Nature based magic 37. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life? -Appreciate nature  38. What is your favorite witchy movie? -Kiki's Delivery Service 39. What is your favorite witchy book, both fiction and non-fiction. Why? -The Raven Boys because it is fucking amazing 40. What is the first spell you ever preformed? Successful or not. -some shitty rain spell from a childs book 41. What’s the craziest witchcraft-related thing that’s happened to you? -when i was in Senior Kindergarten I saw a “fairy” 42. What is your favorite type of candle to use? -beesewax 43. What is your favorite witchy tool? -candles 44. Do you or have you ever made your own witchy tools? -I use a rock to grind shit because i dont have a pestle and mortar  45. Have you ever worked with any magical creatures such as the fae or spirits? -I want to try working with fae but I need to learn more 46. Do you practice color magic? -yes, a bit 47. Do you or have you ever had a witchy teacher or mentor of any kind? -No, I think? I have older online witchy people I talk to but no mentor 48. What is your preferred way of shopping for witchcraft supplies? -In person, but somethings you can only get online 49. Do you believe in predestination or fate? -I guess? I think that life has a story that gives you options and a new story starts on what you choose, kinda like an RPG 50. What do you do to reconnect when you are feeling out of touch with your practice? -Read into it and appreciate it more 51. Have you ever had any supernatural experiences? -yes, at my grandmas funeral     52. What is your biggest witchy pet peeve? -”I CAn PrAcTiCe CLoSEd ReligIoNs If i aM rEsPeCtFul” 53. Do you like incense? If so what’s your favorite scent? -bergamont    54. Do you keep a dream journal of any kind? -no but I should 55. What has been your biggest witchcraft disaster? -spilling wax on myself    56. What has been your biggest witchcraft success? -not burning the house down    57. What in your practice do you do that you may feel silly or embarrassed about? -chanting shit in my room    58. Do you believe that you can be an atheist, Christian, Muslim or some other faith and still be a witch too? -yup    59. Do you ever feel insecure, unsure or even scared of spell work? -of course, its dealing with things that dont have 100% safety measures    60. Do you ever hold yourself to a standard in your witchcraft that you feel you may never obtain? -lmao I one day want to be a teacher but I never feel knowledgeable enough for that     61. What is something witch related that you want right now? -my own pestle and mortar    62. What is your rune of choice? - Hagalaz   63. What is your tarot card of choice? -the empress    64. Do you use essential oils? If so what is your favorite? -Lemongrass 65. Have you ever taken any kind of witchcraft or pagan courses? -no   66. Do you wear pagan jewelry in public? -Yup, I have a cheap ass pentagram necklace    67. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your faith or being a witch? 68. Do you read or subscribe to any pagan magazines? -no because I am poor and where would I find one?    69. Do you think it’s important to know the history of paganism and witchcraft? -yes 70. What are your favorite things about being a witch? -those scared looks that karens give you, even though you are eating cupcakes and smiling    71. What are your least favorite things about being a witch? -the amount of people who keep on trying to make you christian      72. Do you listen to any pagan music? If so who is your favorite singer/band? -heatherdale    73. Do you celebrate the sabbats? If so, how? -yes, by lighting candles and making tea 74. Do you ever work skyclad? -I want to be but nooo 75. Do you think witchcraft has improved your life? If so, how? -makes me happier 76. Where do you draw inspiration from for your practice? -other witches and what makes me happy 77. Do you believe in ‘fantasy’ creatures? (Unicorns, fairies, elves, gnomes, ghosts, etc) -The fae yes, but like celtic like ones 78. What’s your favorite sigil/symbol? -I have none    79. Do you use blood magick in your practice? Why or why not? -No, because I am not ready for it   80. Could you ever be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t support your practice? -Hahahaha no, if you dont respect my religion I dont have time for you    81. In what area or subject would you most like your craft to grow? -meditation and divination     82. What’s your favorite candle scent? Do you use it in your practice? -beesewax 83. Do you have a pre-ritual ritual? (I.e. Something you do before rituals to prepare yourself for them). If so what is it? -have a bath 84. What real life witch most inspires your practice? @spellchased 85. What is your favorite method of communicating with deity? -meditation and a yes-no pendulum 86. How do you like to organize all your witchy items and ingredients? -in jars and by aesthetics    87. Do you have any witches in your family that you know of? -my mom is interested in druidry but doesn't call herself one    88. How have you created your path? What is unique about it? -I dont know? I just did what felt right.    89. Do you feel you have any natural gifts or affinities (premonitions, hearing spirits, etc.) that led you toward the craft? If so what are they? -No    90. Do you believe you can initiate yourself or do you have to be initiated by another witch or coven? -with closed practices you need to be initiated, but with open religions thats not the case 91. When you first started out in your path what was the first thing or things you bought? -incense tray and incense    92. What is the most spiritual or magickal place you’ve been? -The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul     93. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who is searching for their matron and patron deities? -Read. Just read a lot.    94. What techniques do you use to 'get in the zone’ for meditation? -Silence and deep breathing 95. Did visualization come easily to you or did you have to practice at it? -I need to practice it     96. Do you prefer day or night? Why? -night because i dont sleep 97. What do you think is the best time and place to do spell work? -My best time is the full moon at midnight  98. How did you feel when you cast your first circle? Did you stumble or did it go smoothly? -It was okay, nothing special     99. Do you believe witchcraft gets easier with time and practice? -old practices become easy, but you learn more complicated things 100. Do you believe in many gods or one God with many faces? 101. Do you eat meat, eggs and dairy? -I eat cheese, eggs and fish 102. What is your favorite color and why?  -purple, blue and yellow because its pretty 103. What is the one question you get asked most by non-practitioners or non-pagans? How do you usually respond? -why dont you respect Jesus? Because he did nothing for me Susan.  104. Which of your five senses would you say is your strongest? -sight 105. What is a pagan or witchcraft rule that you preach but don’t practice? -Karma, I keep on doing shitty things 

@prettyalice13

[haxorus-imp]

Seasonal Sensations - Alien Affections Halloween Spin-Off

The streets around the roundabout were alive with the chatter of random civilians as they walked to and fro from their respective destinations. Each civilian was wearing a unique costume of certain creatures, beings, and real idols. Some were with children, others were teenagers or adults their age. Attending parties, haunted houses, country side mazes, and Halloween festivals! It was amazing how another planet other than your own celebrated a holiday that behaves just like the one on your own planet. They even called it the exact same thing! The lovely season of Halloween. One of your most favorite holidays of the year! You watched the dressed up townsfolk walk by the manor from the foyer window, which was decorated to look like a horrifying abandoned mansion. False gravestones, spiderwebs, fog, and eerie scenery lights really made the environment around the house much more ominous. Along with a few props that were littered around the property. Some were 'hanging trees', Skeletons poking out of the ground, and eye-lights that were hidden in the darkness around the property. You can even tell how effective it was from the unnerved expressions some of the townspeople would give the house. You're even wondering if some of the people outside could see your lone figure in the window. Just watching them from inside like a creep. Yet, the real terror and sinister feeling of the house would intensify when the sun finally left the sky. It being about 3:40 PM, currently. Early parties were beginning to start and haunted attractions were beginning to prepare to open. You and your housemates, however, were gonna go out and see the town. Which made you excited! You haven't been out of the house that much, it would be nice to visit shops, attractions, and buy some candy. You might even take little Hat-Bot trick or treating! You chuckle lightly at the thought and move away from the window and begin to head back into the kitchen from the foyer. The real fun begins later, when you all dress up in your costumes and set the pumpkins out. You're so excited! But, first, you have to finish carving your pumpkin. Everyone else had managed to get up earlier than you and finish up before lunch. That just leaves you and Hat-Bot left. After that, dress up time and everyone will reveal their costumes! Currently walking into the kitchen with a pep in your step, an eager cry from a familiar robot made your heart swell when you fully entered the kitchen. Looking at the kitchen table, you could see large orange pumpkins sitting on the table, a few with knives sticking out of them. Present in front of one of them, was little Hat-Bot. Who was attempting to carve his very own pumpkin. The first one he has ever attempted to carve since he was built. He was waving at you, dangerously waving the knife around in his hand, and he was beaming with pride at his creation. You approach the table, which was covered with protective newspaper and pumpkin seeds and guts. You steadily wave at Hat-bot and examine the designs on the others' pumpkins. You look at them all and notice that Dementias' carving was a mess of erratically cut shapes, Flugs' pumpkin had an atom symbol carved into it, and Black Hat had a typical top hat with devil horns carved into his. 5.0.5 didn't carve a pumpkin, because the poor bear was so fearful of handling a knife. He also probably didn't want to get pumpkin guts in his soft cyan fur, which is understandable. You haven't carved your pumpkin with your chosen design yet, but it seems that Hat-Bot was working on his own at the moment. When you approached he happily tuned his pumpkin to face you, which revealed a crude carving that showed guidelines of you, Flug, and himself together as a trio. You couldn't help but smile at the little bots' effort. "Look, other creator! I'm carving me and my creators together! Isn't it perfect?" Hat-Bot happily said, griping his metal claws tightly, tightening his grip on the carving knife and squishing some pumpkin pulp into his free metallic palm. Not in rage, but in giddiness. You laughed and patted his head, brushing some pumpkin seeds off of his bowler hat while you were at it, and nodded. "It's coming along great, Hat-Bot!" You cheer, taking a seat next to the robot at the table, to carve out your own chosen design. "I'm glad! What's yours gonna have, other creator?" Hat-Bot asked curiously, to which you picked up the paper guide with your chosen design on it and showed it to him. "Ooooo! I like it! Nice choice!" Hat-Bot happily nodded in approval at the design you picked. "Thank you!" You smile, setting the design down and pulling over a  nearby tape roller. You watch as Hat-Bot went back to carving the pumpkin with absolute precision. Following the lines flawlessly. You won't lie, you're kinda jealous of his ability to track and cut lines effortlessly. That's probably some of the pros of being a robot, you guessed. You decided to get working on your own pumpkin. Taping the guide for your design to the nicest and cleanest side of the pumpkin. You pull over the carving tools from the others' abandoned stations and you begin to work on your pumpkin. It was about 30 minutes later. The design was finally poked into your pumpkins body. You twist your hand and exercise the stiff muscles and you stretch a bit. Hat-Bot was still working on his design. Concentrating hard on his pumpkin and such. You're actually pretty happy that it was just you two. Dementia has been bothering Black Hat all day, guessing over and over again that he was gonna be a groom. Which obviously put Black Hat in a bad mood for most of the morning, just until he finally got to his office and found refuge from Dementia's bothersome ways. 5.0.5 has been fairly uneasy from the talk of monsters, pranks, and scares. Flug has had to calm him down more than once, mostly because Black Hat has been spooking the poor bear on purpose. And, as for Flug, you don't really know what he's going to be doing for Halloween. He doesn't seem bothered by it in anyway. Nor has Black Hat been pranking him as bad as he's been pranking the bear. Flug will probably stay indoors and work. Speaking of your housemates, you're actually fairly surprised that Black Hat would go out of his way to celebrate Halloween. He's not apposing anything that involves the holiday. He's allowing everyone to dress up, he has decorated his own house, and even the inside of the house was decorated with Halloween decor. Color you surprised, you actually think Black Hat LOVES Halloween! You can't really blame him. You love Halloween too! I mean, you've been working on a special costume for Halloween for about a week now. It's a full suit too! Many movable parts and such. It was pretty hard to make!

Hopefully jaws will hit the floor when you show it off.

But first, this pumpkin needs to get finished up! Without anymore mental distractions, you continue to work on the pumpkin. Along with Hat-Bot, who seemed to be completely in the zone as well. You both began to work hard to get the pumpkins done in time for the sun to set. -- You panted out in brief exhaustion. You admired your pumpkins' finally finished carved design. Which took you about 2 and a half hours. The design you picked for your pumpkin stood out and was almost perfectly executed. Hat-Bot was also finished with his design, which he eagerly showed you and you congratulated him for it. Now that it was complete and not so crude, you realized that it was a nice family-esque picture of you, Flug, and Hat-Bot. The sides were expertly trimmed and the placing of the cut out pieces made the design all the more vibrant. The remaining pumpkin pieces giving the design an outline and allowing the darker pieces to stand out. For a first timer, Hat-Bot could carve like a champ! Maybe Flug could enter him in a contest next year. You sighed in relief as you looked at your gunk covered and sticky hands, finally relieved that the pumpkin was done. Maybe next year you'll just do a typical shape face. "It looks wonderful, other creator!" Hat-Bot squealed. Bouncing on his wheel as he stood next to you. You grinned in pride. "Thank you, Hat-Bot. But, we really should clean this mess up. It's about time for everyone to get ready to dress up in their costumes~!" You sang, standing up from your seat and taking some of the bowls that were filled with pumpkin guts over to the trash and throwing them away. You and Hat-Bot cleaned up the kitchen table and carefully cleaned the pumpkins clean of any sticky pumpkin remains. Then, you bunched up the newspaper and threw it into the recycling bin. With the table cleaned and the pumpkins perfected as well, you begin to look for the respective candles that you and Flug designed for this exact moment. After searching through some supply drawers in the kitchen, you found the said candles. You asked Hat-Bot to assist in carrying the pumpkins out to the front entrance, to which Hat-Bot happily accepted. With a little bit of extra extension to his arms, Hat-Bot had managed to carry the four pumpkins. You carried the last one, which happened to be yours. You grabbed up the candles, a safety lighter, and your own pumpkin. Then you both headed into the foyer and out the front door. Once out there, you sat your pumpkin down and began to take the others from Hat-Bot. Setting Black Hats' pumpkin front and center, obviously. Flugs' to the pumpkins' right. Dementia's to the pumpkins' left. You and Hat-Bots' pumpkins were placed on the opposite side of the doorway. Putting yours farthest from the door and Hat-Bots' closest to it. You both stood back and observed your handy work. Finding the places suitable, you popped the lid off of them all and started to set candles in each of the pumpkins. A bright blue one for Flugs', a bright pink one for Dementia, an eerie green one for Black Hats', a bright yellow one for Hat-Bots', and your own personal color for yours. Once all of the candles were placed, you allowed Hat-Bot to light them all. Once lit, you placed the lid on them again and stood back. The candles that you and Flug designed were to act like botanic sources of light. As in, when place in a fruit or vegetable, the light would stay lit until the plant eventually rots away. The specific fire that is made also doesn't produce heat, it's more of a luminescent light source rather than a heat source. For a simpler term, these lights are fueled by the plants they are placed in and function like glow-in-in-the-dark objects. Just brighter and more concentrated. Not only that, but the color of the specific wick can also change the color of the 'flame'. Which was being demonstrated by the pumpkins, as the wicks from within were giving the pumpkins their own natural colored glows. Black Hats' design was lit up an eerie green and not a typical orange-red. Same with Dementia's, Flugs', and your own. The only thing that looked normal was Hat-Bots'. Yet, even if it was yellow, it was still too bright to be natural. It looked like colored sunlight was pouring through his pumpkin. Even so, you looked proudly down at your housemates and your own work. Flug will be happy to hear that the candles function correctly, just like they were designed too. "Aren't they wonderful, other creator!? They're glowing~!" Hat-Bot shouted, spinning in place on his wheel in excitement. You smiled and nodded. "Yep! We all did a good job this year! Especially with the colored bio-candles!" You said, nodding in agreement. Then, you look up toward the sky. The sun was finally going down and the streets were becoming more and more lively as families and teenagers begin to file out into the streets and down the sidewalks. Many of the children were dressed up as superheroes or super villains. Some were dressed up as classic monsters and there were a few...questionable costumes, but it was the time for it, so why not? The city was tinted a reddish-orange as the sky was being painted an autumn pallet of colors. Reds, oranges, and yellows were mingling and blending in the sky above Hatsville. A nice, but slightly chilly, breeze was blowing through the city from the nearby ocean. You took in the sight and recorded it to memory. The sight, the smell, and the just sheer aura of the holiday was all around. It made you feel good. Then, you came back to this Earth when you felt tugging on your arm coming from Hat-Bot. To which the little robot looked excited. "Other creator! Now that the pumpkin carving is done, can we go get our costumes on now?!" Hat-Bot eagerly bounce on his wheel, giving you a pleading expression. You couldn't say 'no' to that face of endearment. "Of course. The sun is setting and people are active. Lets' get ready to hit the town in our outfits!" You exclaim as you and an excited Hat-Bot go back into the house. Once you were back inside, you caught sight of Flug looking for something as he came down the stairs, judging from how his gaze locked with your own, you could'ave guessed that he was coming down the stairs to look for you. You both met up at the bottom of the stairwell and Hat-Bot greeted Flug with a wave, to which Flug returned. "So, how did the pumpkin carving go?" Flug asked. "It went off without any difficulty! The candles even functioned as well! So, chalk that up as a success, Flug!" You said as you gave him a thumbs up. Flug looked much more excited and relieved as you told him the good news. "That's great, (Name)! So, are you both going to get into your outfits?" Flug questioned, to which you nodded. "Yep! I hope you guys like my costume. I worked really hard on it! What are you going to be Flug? Wait! Don't tell me! Is it gonna be a mad doctor costume~?" You tease, bumping Flugs' shoulder slightly. Flug grew flustered and huffed. "Of course not! That's too obvious! I designed mine based off of a hobby of mine." Flug explained. "It's something I do and I'm skilled in." "My creators are going to dress up~! I hope you both approve of my costume as well!" Hat-Bot said, rolling around you in a circle. "What's Black Hat and Dementia doing, Flug?" You ask, to which he flinched a little. "W-Well! Black Hat is getting pestered by Dementia once more. She's trying to get him to go with them as a pair. A...bride and a groom. Black Hat is obviously refusing to abide to those demands and he's getting pretty frustrated with Dementia's persistence." Flug sighed. "She has been like this before you arrived. I don't know why Black Hat puts up with it every year." He continued. "Yeah. I kinda figured that she would be like that. She's not really secretive of her costume, isn't she? Everyone could predict that she was going to be a bride." You said, shrugging and shaking your head. "Well, I don't recommend going up there right now. But, if you have your costumes up there, I think it would be best to not go near the office for a bit." Flug suggested, before walking forward a little and getting off of the stairs. "My costume is in the lab. I'll get it on and we can all meet up here in the foyer." Flug said. To which you nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me! Come on Hat-Bot, lets' go get your costume on!" You say, to which Hat-Bot excitedly bounced up the stairs ahead of you. "W-Whoa! Hey! S-Slow down, Hat-Bot! Hahahaha!" You shout as you zoom up the stairs after the speedy little robot. Flug shook his head and continued to the lab, determined to get his chosen outfit on. The house was alive with the preparations of Halloween. As you hurry after an energetic Hat-Bot through decorated hallways and into your room, which was left the same as always. Unlike the foyer and hallways, which were decorated with various Halloween-themed items and decor. You bend down and pull out a box from underneath your bed, Hat-Bot eagerly looming over your shoulder. Once the box was opened, it revealed a ghoul costume inside that was about Hat-Bots' size. Said robot made a delightful whirring noise as he caught sight of the costume. "Ready Hat-Bot?" You tease, pulling out the outfit and showing it to the giddy robot. "Yes! Yes, other creator! I wanna dress up and look scary!" Hat-Bot spun in place and reached for the costume. "Haha, okay then! Lift up your arms and I'll get you dressed." You say. It took a bit of effort and such to get Hat-Bot into his own personal costume. Some things were a little too loose for Hat-Bot and had to be tightened up. But, it was worth it! Hat-Bot just couldn't stay still when he was finally dressed in the black robe and hood. His glowing eyes peering out from under said hood gave him an edge. Though, you had to cut a little triangle-like opening in the front and the back of his outfit, as the cape would'ave caused him to repeatedly fall on his face. Him having a wheel and not a pair of legs like you normally wood. As well as instead of throwing the excess cloths away, you used it to hide any exposed metal from his body and even draped the cloth over and around his usually exposed metal neck. Like a long flowing scarf. He really appreciated the fluid mobility and the extra additions to his outfit. With a lot of energy and affection for his costume, you told him to go back down and wait for the others in the foyer, like Flug said. He questioned about your costume, to which you just stated that is was a lot more complicated and it was going to be a surprise. Hat-Bot, while curious, decided to obey you and make the journey back downstairs to wait for the others. He inwardly wondered what your costume was going to be! -- Everyone, except yourself, was gathered in the foyer. Each one of the housemates were dressed up in outfits that seemed to fit them perfectly. Hat-Bots' ghoul outfit seemed to impress only Flug and 5.0.5, but Black Hat and Dementia didn't seem all that impressed. Flug himself was wearing a WW2 wartime fighter pilot outfit. Having a scarf covering the lower half of his face, a leather hat concealing the top, and flight goggles to allow him to see without exposing too much of his face. Along with the iconic leather jacket and thickly stitched  brown pants. Dementia was obviously a corpse bride, with a torn white dress, spider webbing stockings, long-sleeved gloves, zombie make up, and a withered bouquet to bring it all together. 5.0.5 was attempting to pull off a werewolf costume, but it seemed that he fluffed up his cyan fur too much. As he resembled a super fluffy cat instead. Black Hat was dressed up as a regal vampire. Decked out in some ruby themed jewels, a long silk cape, a thick long-sleeved red Victorian outfit, and with extended two front upper canines, that didn't seem to be fake at ALL. He was currently tapping his foot in impatience at your extended absence. "Where are they?! We were supposed to be out of here by seven! What could POSSIBLY be taking them so long?!" Black Hat complained. "I-I...uh...I don't know, sir. I mean, they did say that it took a while to make." Flug reasoned. 5.0.5 just made a slightly-worried whine, while Dementia made an absolutely bored version of a whine. "Other creator said that it was secret too. I don't get what would be so secretive about a costume...but I guess they must'ave really worked hard on it! Other creator is so determined and persistent~!" Hat-Bot sang, twirling around again and allowing his cape to flow out and around him. Much to Black Hats' annoyance. "Well, they either get here in the next ten minutes, or we leave without them. There are civilians ripe for the scaring out there! There's nothing better than scaring a child and taking their candy~! Hehehehe!" Black Hat cackled. Then, the sound of heavy footsteps came into hearing distance and everyone fell silent. Thump.

Thump.

Thump. Then, a large figure appeared at the top of the stairs. Hat-Bot let out a cry of shock as a large monster came into view.

An alien like creature, walking on its' hind legs, a large flicking tail, extended arms, claws, and an intimidating set of teeth were present on it. It had a weirdly shaped head and no eyes were present on it.

It turned its' head when it heard Hat-Bot cry out, showing its' full body when it walked out in front of the stairs. Everyone at the bottom of the stairwell was either staring in awe or shivering in anticipation. Then, the large creature began to descend the stairs, it's feet clutching down on the stairs and it's nails hooking over the edges. The group backed off a bit to allow it to come down onto the floor. Once down and safely on the floor, the large monster looked over toward Flug. To which he and Hat-Bot, who was taking refuge behind his creator, jumped in surprise and shock. There was a brief silence. Then, the creatures mouth opened. "Is this suit cool or what?!" Your voice echoed from within the confines of the suit. To which everyone immediately relaxed. "Oh...my stars. (Name)! You scared us!" Flug chided. "Them. You scared THEM." Black Hat quickly interjected. To which Flug just nodded along. "Wow! That costume is more eerie and complex than mine!" Dementia squealed, eagerly going over to investigate your outfit. "I know~! It's a costume I have been working on for a while! It's a full biped suit of a Xenomorph. A fictional alien from my planet! What could be a better fitting costume for an alien than to be an alien!" You cackled. "Wow! It's really impressive, (Name)!" Flug said, intrigued by the design. "I hope it is! I blended some engineering aspects and some cosplay skills together. The engineering makes my hands and feet move, the others are the tail and mouth. It's like a large puppet from within here. Squeezing levers and pressure sensitive mechanics makes the body parts move and shift. It's a piece of art, I tell you what." You cheerfully added. A clearing of a throat caught everyone's attention. Black Hat was standing alone, giving you an impatient glare. "It took you forever! We need to go out, right NOW!" Black Hat demanded. You waved the suits' arms in a 'calm down ' motion and nodded. "Okay! Okay! I'm here, we can go!" You caved, making your way to the door. "Is 5.0.5 going to stay here?" "Yes, he is. He gets spooked easy on Halloween and will stay here and watch the house and give out candy to treat-or-treaters as they come by." Flug explained, to which you nodded. "Yes, yes! The bear is staying here, hurry up you slouches!" Black Hat ordered, walking over to the front door and opening it. Then, he walked out onto the patio. Dementia quickly followed along and Flug made his way outside, Hat-Bot still clinging to him, and you begin to make your way out the door and into the chilly night. "Be good, 5.0.5! If Hat-Bot gets any candy, I'm sure he'll split it with you when we get back!" You said. After your brief farewell to the bear, you closed the front door, and turned around to face the street. You could see many houses decorated with pumpkins, bats, skeletons, and witches. Some had inflatable mascots out in their yard and others went about as full out as Black Hat did. Fog and fake gravestones littered one yard and the screams and cries of joyful children were bountiful in the chilly night air. The sky was barely illuminated with the fading lights of the sun, becoming an autumn twilight. A few stars were visible and not a cloud was to be seen. Looking forward again, you could see large and small groups of people walking up and down the streets. Some stands were set up for certain festivities and a couple of roadblocks were preventing any cars from coming through. They have probably rented the streets out or closed them off for the festivals. Most likely to keep the pedestrians safe. Then, you could hear menacing laughter coming from next to you, which caused you to look over and see Black Hat with a mischievous grin on his face and he was also wringing his hands in a typical impish manner. You gave him a disapproving stare from within the confines of your suit and you shook your head. You guessed that Black Hat loved this holiday for the fact that he could torment other people other than his minions for an entire day. Figures. Then, without another word, you could see Black Hat dart off the patio and out the iron gates in front of the house. Dementia then immediately followed him shouting- "Wait for me, husband!" as she too exited the iron gates and followed the fleeing Black Hat. "For the LAST TIME, Dementia! I am NOT your 'husband'!" You hear Black Hat yell in the distance. You would'ave face-palmed if you weren't wearing this suit. So, you just sighed. "I will never understand those two and their relationship." You say. "Ditto." Flug agreed. "Anyway, what do you wanna do first, (Name)?" Flug asked, which surprised you. "Wait, what? What do I wanna do? I mean...um...I was gonna take Hat-Bot trick-or-treating. He even has his robot-themed pail for the occasion." You reply, gesturing to Hat-Bot and his trick or treating bucket. "Well. I have nothing to do and it isn't even 7:30 yet. Lets' hit some of the nearby houses then!" Flug suggested as he walked out in front of you and Hat-Bot stayed in between you both. Now calmed from the earlier scare that your costume gave him. "Okay then! Next, we can partake in some of the festivals and events happening around here!" You eagerly state, following after them with ease. Thanks to your extended legs. Once you all passed through the iron gates, Flug seemed to close the gates back and flip over a sign that was hanging on the iron gates. At first, it said 'Beware! No candy pass this point!' with a skull and crossbones under the words. But once Flug flipped it, it said 'The courageous will be rewarded with candy...IF THEY SURVIVE!' with a sugar skull that was crossed with chocolate bars instead of bones. "There we go! House is ready for trick-or-treaters!" Flug declared. "Now, lets' go find some houses for Hat-Bot to get some candy at." Flug said, walking with you and Hat-Bot. You looked back and the moment you all cleared the entrance, some young trick-or-treaters had stopped in front of the iron gates and seemed to be nervous to go up to the house. Thankfully, the only scary thing there is the atmosphere. 5.0.5 will do a good job at calming the kids and giving them their well-earned candy. But, now is not the time to sluggishly lag. It's Halloween! Time to have some fun~! -- You have no idea what time it was, but one things' for sure, you wished this night would last forever. The first thing you did was trick or treat with Hat-Bot, the poor little robot didn't know what to do at first. But, with a guiding hand from Flug, the robots' first house was a success. Then, you all went to about 5 more houses. One which loved Hat-Bots' costume so much, they gave him two pieces of candy. Though, there was the common misconception from a few houses that Hat-Bot was a human child and that you and Flug were his parents. Which caused both of you and Flug to get flustered. You didn't really bother to correct them either. Maybe it was just easier to go along with it. You took him to plenty more houses, before Hat-Bot got bored and wanted to partake in some of the activities that were stationed around the city blocks. Haunted houses. Horror Attractions. Stand Games. Hay Rides. Pumpkin launching. Pumpkin squashing. You name it! You have to admit, the scenery, the feel, and just the sheer enjoyment of being out and about seemed to quell your homesickness temporarily. It just...FELT like you were home. Like you were back on Earth and celebrating Halloween with some friends of yours. The holiday spirit was holding off any grief or pain that lingers from being away from home for so long. This is probably what you needed. Just a calm night, being out and about and seeing other people having a great time. You felt great! So, in the end of decision-making, you all decided to try out a haunted house. Which provided some hilarious results. You wound up scaring the actors with your costume! When they would jump out, Flug and Hat-Bot would jump in surprise, but you would look toward the actor and making a hissing noise. To which the actor would break character and freak out. After the scare, you would just bust out laughing. Effectively making the actor realize that it was a suit. It wasn't the worst experience or haunted house, but it was hilarious to see the actors get scared of your costume. However, that wasn't the only experience you had with your costume. As some people actually were in such awe of it, that they personally asked you to take a picture with them. To which you happily obliged. Poses ranging from eating the persons' head, to wrapping your tail around them, them petting you 'How to train your dragon' style, and both you and the person giving the camera a thumbs up. Some people even wanted to 'feed' you candy. So you would open the suit mouth and allow people to throw in store-bought candy. After a certain amount of candy is collected, to which it begins to obscure your vision, you would motion for Hat-Bots' bucket and 'puke' all of the candy into his bucket. Any witnesses of the situation would make grossed out noises, obviously. But, you just found it pretty funny. Hat-Bot didn't trick-or-treat much, since he was a robot and wouldn't be able to ingest any of the sugary treats, not unless he wanted locked up gears and functioning problems. I mean, sugar can kill a car engine, no telling what they could do to poor little Hat-Bot. He did it for the experience and claimed that the 'experience' is exactly the same thing, just a different house. Hat-Bot doesn't get why it's so amusing to kids. You just told him that if he could eat candy, he would understand why kids love this holiday so much. To which he just replied that it was a human thing. But him, Flug , and yourself did have a great time with the other events. Shooting pumpkins at artificial targets on the side of a windowless buildings' wall, buying seasonal juices from a stand (curtsy of Flug), going on a hay ride (which you couldn't do because your suit was too big), and getting Halloween grab-bags for prizes! You all were carrying a fair amount of stuff and your energy had been mostly drained. Moving around in this suit can be quite tiring. But, hopefully, once you all get back. You'll have a nice fall-oriented dinner. "Did you have fun, Hat-Bot?" You asked, looking over your filled hands to the little robot that was carrying bags of goodies and his candy bucket. At the mention of his name, he looked up at you and nodded. "I did, other creator! I have grown fond of this...Halloween! I already can't want for the next fall festival and Halloween! I wish it was like this every day!" Hat-Bot cheered and you let out a bit of joyful laughter yourself. "I understand the feeling. Halloween is such a good time of year. It's like the exact same holiday on my planet!" You joyfully said, noticing that you all were approaching the manors' roundabout. "I had fun too. It was great to get out and experience these traditions and events." Flug spoke up, as he was a little ways in front of you and Hat-Bot. "It was a nice change up. I'm glad that you approve of our holiday, (Name)!" Flug looked over his leather-clad shoulder, and you could tell that he was beaming from behind his pilot outfit. "I do! Thank you for letting me know and allowing me to attend it, Flug~!" You sang as you all crossed the street. The stands and crowds of people have long since cleared out. Now it was just officers removing the roadblocks and cleaning crews cleaning up litter and getting the roads back into prime condition for the next sunrise. It was a strange feeling. Seeing the streets once so full of people and now so barren of a single human being or party-goer. It was like for those few short hours, monsters came out to play and wrecked the city by partying. Now that the early morning is coming around, they all retreated, waiting once more to come back out to party for next years' Halloween event. Upon reaching the gates, you could see that the sign was flipped back onto its' beware side. Meaning that the candy bowl was empty and plenty of trick-or-treaters had stopped by the house. Hopefully. You haven't got a clue where Dementia and Black Hat are, but you figured they went out and had a wild night too. Much to Black Hats' discretion. You all passed through the iron gates, passed all of the intimidating decorations, and entered in through the front door. The nice warm atmosphere of the manor was welcomed. Warming up your suit and any of your partners' exposed skin. Then, a heavenly scent wafted in through the foyer from the kitchen. The sweet smell of cinnamon. "5.0.5! We're home!" Flug called. To which the cyan bear appeared from around the corner from the kitchen and greeted you all. "Baw!" The bear cooed, walking over to you all and helping you guys with your goodies. "Ah...thanks 5.0.5." You say, finally able to put your suits' arms down. "Say! What's cooking? It smells great!" You exclaim, sniffing the air. "Arooo!" 5.0.5 called, as he put all of your goodies and treats by the stairs. "I can't speak bear...but I'll just assume its' dinner." You say. "I'm gonna take a shower and change! I'll be down shortly!" You exclaim as you go up the stairs. "I'll do the same. 5.0.5, can you please watch Hat-Bot and give him some purple brand oil? He's getting low on battery and needs to be put to bed." Flug suggest, walking up the stairs to his own quarters. The bear nodded and held out his paw to a sleepy-looking Hat-Bot, which yawned and took his paw without much hesitation. You and Flug disappeared up the stairs and 5.0.5 tended to Hat-Bot. It was such an exhausting night. -- Later on, you come down the stairs and the smell of cinnamon, butterscotch, sweet potatoes, and a fowl of some kind was wafting through the air from the kitchen. You exit the foyer and some into the kitchen to see Hat-Bot nearly shutting down at the table, three empty cans of oil were present and it seems your nose was right. 5.0.5 was in the process of making dinner. An oven-baked turkey, sweet potato casserole, chicken stuffing, turkey gravy, and a cinnamon-butterscotch cake was currently cooling on the rack. "It smells WONDERFUL, 5.0.5! You are such a great cook!" You praise as you walk up next to Hat-Bot and he barely responds to you picking him up. "But, I'll be back in a few minutes. I have to put Hat-Bot down for his recharge." You explain, carrying Hat-Bot like a child and leaving the kitchen with him in tow. You disappear into the lab, just as the front door is opened and an agitated voice could be heard coming from the first figure that walked in through the door. "Dementia, you bloody idiot! I was going to have a good night out ON MY OWN and you just HAD to keep pestering me! Why must you be so stupid?!" Black Hat snapped, licking some blood off of the edges of his mouth. "Aww~! Come on, Blacky! I did hold that person down like you ASKED me to!" Dementia whined. "I asked for NO SUCH THING! I had that situation completely under control! You BLEW MY COVER  by shouting out and attacking from my position!" Black Hat growled. "The human screamed so loud, someone obviously heard and called the cops! Even if you WERE my partner, stealth is OBVIOUSLY NOT YOUR FORTE!" Black Hat continued. Dementia gave him a saddened expression before her attention was suddenly drawn elsewhere. She began to sniff the air and her hungry stomach obviously made itself known by growling. "Ooohh~! The bear made dinner!" Dementia cackled and scurried off to the kitchen. Black Hat just made an angry grumble and noticed Flug approaching the stairwell. "Flug!" Black Hat shouted, causing the timid scientist to flinch and focus all of his attention on his boss. "E-Er...yes, sir?" Flug squeaked. "Is everyone in the house? (Name) and that useless little robot, I mean." Black Hat grumbled. To which Flug nodded. "Good." Without another word, Black Hat turned around and locked up the house with his own personal pair of house keys. "The house is locked up. We shall all meet in the kitchen for dinner." Black Hat ordered, before going into the kitchen himself. Flug sighed as he made it to the bottom of the stairwell and walked into the kitchen as well.

At least they didn't come home with wounds like they did last year. It was a little bit later and all of you were settled down around the table and eating the seasonal meal. It was delicious like you imagined it would. You have basically stuffed yourself full of food and you could feel your abdomen swelling painfully from the amount you consumed. But, it seems that the others had the same ideas. Gorging on the meal until they were ready to pop. Dementia would let out a whine every now and then, Black Hat was picking his teeth with his sharpened claw, Flug was sitting slack in the chair, and 5.0.5 looked like he was ready to hibernate. For once, nothing was chaotic. Nobody was fighting. It was just pure silent bliss. Then, shortly after, everyone began to let out yawns and seemed to allow their tiredness to catch up with them. Black Hat was the first to get up and depart, mostly without saying anything. Then, like a loyal dog, Dementia got up and followed him, seemingly going to bed too. Then, 5.0.5 began to yawn and picked up the rest of the departed dishes, putting them in the dishwasher and throwing the leftover bones of the turkey and half-eaten food away. After that, he made a little squeak-like sound and left the room, probably going to his dog bed to sleep as well. Flug then began to let out unseen yawns of his own, he stood up from the table, wished you goodnight, and began to make his way back to his room to turn in for the night. Shortly after all of your housemates went to bed, you began to make headway to your own room as well. Checking on Hat-Bot one last time, finding him slumbering soundly, you then make your way up to your room. Once there, you collapsed onto your bed and wriggled under the covers. The soft sheets encased you in warmth, cool fresh smelling silky sheets welcomed you and at that moment, you couldn't be happier. You had a fun night. Halloween on another planet was actually...fun! It felt like home all over again. The feeling of autumn and all of it's wonders graced you with a temporary feeling of homeliness. For which, you are grateful. You still left all of those goodies down by the stairs, but they can wait till tomorrow. With your stomach full and your mind at ease, you had the easiest route to sleep than you have had in a while. The last thing on your mind at that moment, was that you were grateful to celebrate Halloween with Aliens this time. 'Happy Halloween, guys.' You mentally cheered. And with that thought, you drifted off to a comfortable and undisturbed sleep.

[forgedwild-arch]

@dcschain​ done reckon’d : [chinhands] tell me more abt gus' folk stories pls!!

unprompted asks | always accepting!

thank you so so much for this ask! so i’m gonna be honest --- i love this aspect of August’s character. so much. i can’t wait to explore it more and I say that because.....well, I haven’t done it a whole lot of justice yet as far as development goes lmao. forgive me for that, as time goes on i should def have some specific examples of the types of stories he creates and tells to his clientele. but i’ve only had this boy since late april of this year, and developing all aspects of my muses so they resemble a multi-faceted, nuanced person has always taken me some time. took me five years with my last muse n i’m still not even all that content with him hsjdns.

ANYWAY! ALL THAT ASIDE. i do have some lil headcanons about Gus and his storytelling / creative process, so here’s a quick lil list of random bits n bobs about that ! :

August puts a lot of time and thought into his stories, especially re: his audience and the kind of mood he’s in. does he want to instill a moral lesson in the more impressionable youngsters? does he want to captivate kids with a sense of immersive adventure? or does he want to HORRIFY and INTRIGUE the adults who are seeking a little entertainment, and get a little ego stroke from watching them JUMP in their seats? for a gentle giant, he does have a deep fascination in the macabre and the frightening. whenever he has an audience of teens and adults, it’s a real treat for him. he loves telling horror stories!

he’s very organized about the aforementioned considerations. he has stacks upon stacks of journals in his bedroom where he writes down notes on his tall tales and sketches the people and creatures featured in them, be they wholly original works or his own twists on stories passed down from each generation. and he separates them all on the shelf by genre! 

true to traditional spoken-word form, he’ll usually modify the tales a bit each time he tells them, to better connect with his given audience that day.

he loves using any medium he can to tell his stories --- spoken word being the most obvious. but Gus has even been known to write and perform songs which recount the tales, or cook any mentioned food to serve to his forge’s guests while they gather around his anvil to listen. and he especially loves to make grand, symbolic metal sculptures of the characters or beasts featured in the stories as he spins them. he wants to make the whole experience feel as physically present and real for his audience as he can, no matter what age they are.

Gus draws a lot of inspiration just from people/ nature-watching! there’s not a day that goes by where he isn’t sat outside his workshop on a lunch break, taking notes on whatever he sees. he uses the “and then” approach for drafting his stories a lot. for example, he’ll just jot down anything simple he sees, like a man drinking coffee, and let his imagination run wild with it until he’s got the bones of a plot. it’s not very cohesive at this stage and definitely lacking a lot of substance, but it’s a very fun start for him. honestly? even if he ends up scrapping the whole concept that day, he loves seeing just how far he can push the boundaries of believability with his stories, how grand he can get away with making them when they sprout from such an everyday premise.

storytelling even takes shape in his weaponry creations, although these focus much more specifically on the individual. Gus’s guns and blades are purely artisanal designs, and therefore he makes it MANDATORY that anyone commissioning him for weapons shares a drink or two with him first. he never knows who he might be making a firearm for --- the next great american bounty hunter? an infamous outlaw forever immortalized by history? an unarguable hero to mankind itself? but even if they just end up amounting to a simple farmer protecting his land from coyotes, he designs his works with the hopes that they’ll be a FEATURE in that individual’s life. hopes that the weapon crafted by his hand will be just as renowned as its wielder. they’re highly personal pieces, tailored with the commissioner’s life in mind. and being a man who creates and retells folklore himself, Gus knows that it makes storytelling much easier if the guns are as unique as the characters. and have names. he will also require that you name the piece before he gives you your purchase lmao.

in verses where he has partners, and even kids? they’re definitely the first to hear his story ideas so that he can get some feedback. he also creates personal creative works for his lovers/ spouses/ babies/ friends and honorary family. meant only for their eyes and ears.  

he’s as avid a reader as he is a writer. on his days off, you won’t find Gus at the saloon, but at the bookseller and printing shop asking the owner (and his longtime buddy) Barney what new works he’s got for sale.  by the late 1800s, public libraries were also popping up all over the US! and chances are, if he’s not at Barney’s making conversation about his most recent purchase, or at the hardware shop scouring the stock for dying discount plants to bring home and nurture back to health? yeah. he’s at the library.

[eyessharpweaponshot]

I really enjoy your fics and the fic recs you’ve done in the past, but with all the new ones for Big Bang and bingo I really don’t know where to start! Any pointers?

Hi nonny.

Wow, tough question. Bellarke Big Bang had so many wonderful fics submitted for its challenge (some that are still on my ‘marked to read’ section on ao3) and mine and @pawprinterfanfic challenge (Bellarke Bingo) has submissions almost daily so again, I haven’t gotten around to reading them all yet.

But I will try to form a fic rec for you based on the ones I have read. I’ll add the links, pop in the summary and then give a brief commentary (in italics) of what I thought/why the fic needed to be included in this rec list.

We’ll start with @bellarkebigbang:

1. Paint me in Trust by @pawprinterfanfic

Clarke is on the run. It’s 1997 in Britain, during the height of the Second Wizarding War. Voldemort is running rampage through the Wizarding World, fear is weighing heavily on everyone, and anyone who doesn’t side with the Dark Lord is in danger. Clarke was expected to side with him. She’s from a pureblood family that has decades tangled with the Dark Arts, after all. But, she didn’t.

So, she ran. Somehow, she finds her way to a safe house where she meets with other wizards and witches on the run.

All Bellamy wanted to do is to keep his sister safe. Instead of saving her, he’s stuck in a safe house with her. She’s a Slytherin, and she’s the daughter of a Death Eater. He doesn’t trust Clarke; why should he? Now, he’s stuck with her as they roam around the country, looking for places to stay safe and stay hidden. He quickly realizes that things could be worse. And… maybe Clarke isn’t as bad as he thought.

A Harry Potter world AU, written by my magnificent friend Essie. I’m not just putting this here because she’s my friend, this fic is actual gold. It’s so well written, like everything she writes, and I cannot get enough of it. Brilliance.

2. We were in love (now we’re strangers) by @raven-reyes-of-sunshine

Bellamy stares at his phone in concern. Asking him to fake date Clarke would be a weird thing to ask even if they were still friends. But they’re not. They hardly even talk anymore. But for Raven to be asking, practically begging, there must be a fairly good reason that Clarke needs a fake boyfriend for this wedding. It’s just not something she would be asking otherwise. Especially not something she would be getting Raven to ask him. It’s a lot and it has him concerned.

He’s not agreeing to it. He’s just saying that he’s going to need more time and more information and maybe a face to face conversation before he makes a decision. He and Clarke might not be friends anymore. But he’d known her forever. He can’t help caring. He cares with his whole heart. He can’t stop that. And he won’t lie. He’s a little curious. So he sends Raven a message that says they’ll discuss it when she’s sober and switches off his phone so he can sleep.

This girl was born with heaps of talent. I actually got the opportunity to pre-read a little bit of this fic before it was posted and it was agony waiting for the rest of it. It grips you from the opening line and I can’t sell this fic enough. READ IT.

3. Take Me to Your River (A Waltz in Three Parts) by @chase-the-windandtouch-the-sky

After the events on the Ground, Clarke and Bellamy no longer feel like the team they once were. They’re puzzle pieces that don’t fit, languages with no connection, and worlds with no peace. So when they venture out into the new planet to scout before waking everyone up, they have an opportunity to relearn who they are after all the time apart, discovering the people they’ve become.

Except when they stumble across an abandoned mansion in the woods from a distant piano, they discover this world has hidden traps that Earth never had. Now they’ll have to survive their own ghosts. Except what will they do when the real ghosts are each other?

The Day Trip 2.0 fic no one asked for.

I adored this fic from beginning to end. It had to be part of my rec list because it’s one fic that stands out in my head when I think of this challenge. And I also love the girl who wrote it too - such a sweetheart.

4. In A Pitch Black World (Anything Goes) by @talistheintrovert

Bellamy and Clarke fell in love in Cairo in 1943, and then Clarke broke his heart. In 1949, Bellamy is working as a Private Investigator in London when Clarke turns up on his doorstep claiming her grandfather was murdered. No-one is above suspicion and the killer is poised to strike again.Or, the Crooked House AU that I’ve been *dying* to write for months.

Is it really a fic rec if Talis isn’t apart of it? The artwork of this fic combined with the story is so so beautiful and I always remember it. It’s such a gripping plot and I’d re-read this until I die. Yeah, this has to make the cut!

5. A Watch With No Hands by @kinetic-elaboration

Bellamy has lived his whole life in space, in a series of 300-year old space stations known as the Ark. When an oxygen crisis sends the stations down to Earth, he flees the beginning of a military dictatorship, and discovers that his long-abandoned home planet isn’t as deserted as he believed it to be.

Clarke lives in peace with her people, making art that celebrates the beauty of the Earth. But a recent discovery by her best friend has opened up the possibility that the world was not always this peaceful, nor this beautiful. Wells’s subsequent disappearance, the surreptitious experiments of her neighbors, and the inscrutable silence of the village’s leader, all contribute to a growing sense of unease in her community. When she encounters a stranger in the woods, they give each other the answers they’ve each been seeking: about history, peace, trust, the Earth’s violent past, and its hopeful future.

This was one of the most intriguing and unique storylines that I read in the Big Bang challenge. The way everything was described, the detail - ugh, it’s just a masterpiece. I wonder why I bother writing when I read fics like this one, how could I compare?

6. Hung up on You by @eyessharpweaponshot

Bellamy Blake does not get hung up on girls. It just doesn’t happen. It’s probably why he’s out of his depth when his easy ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement with Clarke Griffin turns into something he can’t control. He’s heartbroken when she leaves town, leaves him, and he thinks he’s made a good effort to move on. However, upon her return, it only takes the mere mention of her name for the crushing realisation to hit: he never got over her at all.

I’m gonna plug my own fic submission to Big Bang here guys. Because, well, why not?

***

Okay. Onto @bellarkebingo. This challenge is obviously close to my heart as myself and Essie are hosting it and I will eventually get around to all the fics on there.

I, myself, haven’t even had time to complete anything off of my own bingo card yet but I’m so excited to do it. The talent that has come out of this challenge already is off the chain and sign ups are always open, so come on over and request a card to start writing.

Here are some of the fics I have been loving so far:

1. Melt Into You by @icantloseyou-too

Clarke might have underestimated the blizzard. What was supposed to be a late finish at the clinic to catch up on paperwork turns into a storm-stayed night with the last person she would have expected, but as she’s about to find out, a lot can happen in one night.

Wow guys, just wow. What people are doing with the tropes on their cards - I can’t deal. I have no fingernails left after this fic - I was hooked, obsessed, invested, heartbroken, intrigued and outrageously happy. I love this girl to death and she created thee most magnificent piece for bellarke bingo. Bravo!

2. guess it’s never really over by @captaindaddykru

“You want me to put a kitchen supply up my—”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he interjects, shoulders shaking with a chuckle. It fades and a heavy feeling of resignation settles between them. “Imagine how many diapers we could buy with that kind of money.”

Clarke crosses her arms over her chest, almost petulant. She knows he hates it when she gives him an attitude for no reason. “Well, what do you expect we do?” Does he wanna blow it off? He never used to be a quitter. She lets out almost this nervous chuckle, tongue darting out to wet her lips as she thinks of the most ridiculous option of them all. “The old-fashioned way?”

He half-shrugs, cool expression on his face. Still, she knows him too well to not realize he’s being completely serious. “It worked out pretty well for us last time.”

Or: Clarke and Bellamy think it’s a good idea to try and have another child together even though they divorced three years ago.

Right, for those of you who know me well, seeing ‘exes, angst and smut’ in a bellarke fic just basically shoots the fic into my favourites/will read again pile straight away. This fic more than lived up to it. The plot was awesome and something I’ve never read before and even just describing it makes me want to go back and read it again right now. Amazing.

3. dance away your fear of love by @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold

Life for Bellamy Blake hasn’t changed much in the past few years, not since his mother’s death and he took over her coffee shop in his hometown of Stars Hollow. That is until he receives a phone call from his ex, his high school girlfriend Clarke Griffin. Motherhood brings Clarke back home and from there they slip into new roles, while he battles old forgotten emotions.

This was everything I never knew I needed. The characterisation, the plot, the FEELS. This had to be on the rec list, there was no way I’d consider leaving it off of it. It was honestly perfect, from every angle. Not to mention that the author is a complete and utter babe.

4. to save a life I didn’t have by @kombellarke

Post 6.08 Speculation. Bellamy drags Josephine through the woods in search of Gabriel. He is confronted by a manifestation of his darkest fear and deepest desire, Clarke Griffin.

I have read other fics from this author and honestly, she just gets better and better each time she writes. Such an amazing, heart wrenching fic. It was one of the first submissions I read and it brought the biggest smile to my face to see such talented fics coming to our challenge.

5. Would Roses Bloom by @icantloseyou-too

Clarke was totally fine with being ‘just friends’ with Bellamy, honestly. Even on the nights they kissed they were just friends. Even on the nights they fell into each other’s beds they were just friends. So when Bellamy starts dating Echo it shouldn’t sting at all. It shouldn’t.

Another fic submission by this girl and honestly, I can’t tell you which one I like better. They are both phenomenal but this fic stands out majorly to me. I can relate to it on a personal level and reading it makes me feel like I’m actually living in the plot. My heart races and I feel the shame, the worry, the pain - EVERYTHING.

6. Sick of Losing Soulmates by @pawprinterfanfic

Clarke and Bellamy talk after the events at Gabriel’s. After almost losing her again, Bellamy intends to not let emotions go unspoken.

I don’t think Essie has wrote a fic yet where I haven’t shed a tear over it. This was incredibly beautiful and so well written. I’m so lucky to know such inspirational, incredible writers.

7. hanging all her hopes on the stars by @carrieeve

a month ago, Bellamy and Clarke slept together. a one-time, drunken thing and now they are very much not talking about it. in fact, they are not really talking about anything because Clarke is sure Bellamy doesn’t want it to mean anything and since she’s been in love with him for years now, this all feels pretty much like the world is ending.

the world, not one to be outdone, decides to show off and actually ends.

I just read this fic this morning and I couldn’t leave it off the rec list. It was so good, so interesting and a great concoction of tropes off of her bingo card. I’m very fond of Karolina’s fics and this did not let me down. So good and a perfect fic to end the fic rec with.