#if no one's there to help i'll try online check-in again on my phone

[nordic-language-love]

So many people saying online check in isn't reliable but literally I have never had issues checking in online before which is why I'm stressing to high heaven lmao

[bonbonly]

No bon its fine, i do also see oscar as the sweetest thing, thats why i maybe thought he always forgives you for not paying him with sex, until one day, after like 6 months of not doing anything, snaps and just comes to you and gives yoh an ultimatum either you ride his cock or leave entirely

anon you absolute slut i love you for this, because for the longest time i couldn't even see oscar as a sugar daddy and now im seeing the vision, you genius i am going to pull you onto my lap and make out with you for this ;alsdkjfasldkfja;sldkfjasd;lf LMFAO bon's thoughts (18+)

sugar!daddy oscar piastri who really isn't that entirely older than you. he understand how university life is, and he helps you sometimes. he asks some of his buddies for opportunities for you, and he definitely sends you big checks to help you buy whatever you need, and whatever you want. but there are some days where he really really wants to touch you, just to know what it's like to be inside you. you're absolutely stunning, you're always smiling at him and so he feels awkward bringing this up into a conversation because you seem content, everything's working out fine and he feels a bit too selfish for wanting to ask this of you. so he lets it slide. he's not your boyfriend, necessarily, so he keeps his boundaries and nods his head whenever you talk about sex to him. it's a normal topic, you say, but you're unaware that he's biting his knuckles not because it's a habit of his, but because his cock cannot stop craving to be inside your sweet cunt.

and you can imagine months later when he overhears a phone call with your friends about how one of your classmates invited you to the library to study only to eat you out, oscar's standing there in shock because all this time he was waiting and waiting only to realize that you had just completely ignored him. if you wanted to have sex with someone, he was right there for you! you're in his bedroom, giggling with your friends about masturbating to some porn videos you found online and that's his final straw. when you come down to tell him that you were heading back to your dorm, you see him sitting there with crossed arms and a glare on his face.

"what's wrong?" you ask.

"i'll tell you what's wrong," oscar scoffs, "here's how this is going to work, because i've lost all my patience. either you come over here and ride my cock that's been aching for you for months, or you step out this door to get back to your dorm and you never come back. everything stops between us."

and you raise an eyebrow, a grin on your face when you realize your sugar daddy's feeling jealous that you weren't giving him the attention he deserves. so like the good girl that you are, you straddle him, taking off your clothes and sinking down onto his cock which causes the both of you to moan out loud. all restrain is out the window, the man has his arms wrapped around you just in case you try to leave him without having his cum inside you, and he's thrusting his hips upward to meet your bounces. he's having you cum again and cum, relishing in the feeling of your walls clenching around his cock that just keeps gifting you wave after wave.

"fuck, from now on, you wanna fuck someone you tell me," he groans, "and when i want to have my dick inside you, you better have your cunt spread wide for me. oh my," he throws his head back, slapping your ass as you continue to ride him. you nod your head, telling him that you'll never leave him unattended ever again. he's wrapped around your finger, permanently.

[rwshfordgirl]

KENAN YILDIZ IS YOUR FIANCÉ?

where her students discover that kenan is her fiancé

pairing: kenan yildiz x teacher reader!

a/n: i want to thank 🪐 anon, you helped me improve this story haha but a few years ago i wrote a story similar to this one with ben chilwell, but those were pandemic times :/ unfortunately i no longer have the original post, but rewriting it was really cool.

requests are open | check here my masterlist

The mayor decided to hold classes remotely for a day due to an event that would leave the streets of Turin busy. You don't mind teaching and being at home, and the children wouldn't mind changing for one day either, in fact they are curious. When they received the news that they would have online classes, they shared loud and clear that they wanted to see what your house was like.

"I'll only show you my house if you show yours."

You made your 9 year old students laugh.

The office on the third floor of your house was made for events like this. In fact, you teach Italian classes remotely to people from all over the world. However, a leak must leave the space closed. And today, you will have to teach on the kitchen counter.

"Kenan, love. It'll take me an hour in the kitchen, if you need anything, text me."

Your fiancé appeared in the room, he seemed to be looking for something.

"It's okay, I won't bother you."

Yildiz gave you a kiss on the cheek after grabbing a drink from the fridge and going up to his room, he intended to make the most of his day off from training. Since he couldn't stay with you, he decided to watch whatever was on TV.

"Signora, your kitchen is very beautiful." Your student's high-pitched voice was the first thing you heard when you entered the virtual classroom.

"Thank you, Amelia." You smiled at the screen. "I'm glad to see you guys with the camera on, I thought you guys would be embarrassed."

"You said you would only show us your house if we showed us ours."

"You guys really took this seriously." You chuckled subtly. "But come on, we have to start studying."

You heard countless sounds of children snorting, which made you laugh out loud. They turned on the microphone just to do that.

"You guys are very lazy. But don't worry, we're just going to practice what we saw in class yesterday."

Out of the corner of your eye you quickly saw a figure pass by. Which made you jump back slightly. It was Kenan, he looked at you with an awkward smile.

"I forgot my cell phone." He whispered, but not quietly enough.

"How is there with you, Signora?"

His gaze was divided between the computer screen and Kenan smiling embarrassedly, knowing he couldn't be there.

"Stop taking care of your teacher's life."

Someone who shared the same room as one of the children, screamed.

"Oh my God." Your student said as he kept his eyes peeled for Kenan's figure passing behind you trying not to be seen, "Kenan Yildiz. Do you live with Kenan Yildiz?"

The children began to talk together, some wondering who Kenan was and others almost crying.

You turned your head back a little to look at Kenan. "Sorry." He mumbled.

You gave the Turkish man a reassuring smile. "It's okay."

Not enough reason to be mad at Yildiz. You knew that the kids would find out sooner or later that Kenan was your fiancé. In fact, you don't know how they didn't find out before, your photos wearing the Juve jersey at the stadium on match days appear on several gossip portals.

You reached out to gently pull Yildiz by the sleeve of the long shirt he was wearing. Seeing the children's reaction to seeing him up close made you laugh out loud, again.

"I want you to meet someone very special to me." You saw Kenan's cheeks flush "My fiancé."

"I can't believe my favorite teacher is engaged to my favorite player."

"Kenan please, come visit us at school."

Like you, Kenan laughed at their reaction. What’s more, he felt proud knowing that the children felt so much affection for you. Seeing you becoming a teacher, as you always dreamed of, makes Yildiz feel happy.

"I'll visit you only if you pay attention in class today, okay?"

Total silence. The children just nodded.

"Great. I'll leave you guys alone now." He walked away smiling and waving at the computer camera. "Love you, good job." You read his lips and blew a kiss in his direction.

Your students were in awe, you laughed at their reaction after Yildiz's cameo. They couldn't believe.

"I can't believe my teacher is Kenan Yildiz's fiancée."

The days passed, and they couldn't get Kenan out of their heads. You even tried to get Kenan to come to a cultural event that was going to be held at the school, but the busy schedule didn't allow them to go.

But Kenan was eager to meet the school, the staff, and the kids. After all, you always speak so highly of them. Why wouldn't he enjoy meeting the people you like?

And it was on a random Thursday that he decided to pick you up at the school where you teach. Kenan arrived a few seconds before the bell rang and the children were released. He was outside the car, leaning on the side of the vehicle and smiling as he watched you say goodbye to the students.

"Miss, your fiancé is here." One of the girls warned you and you saw him waving as you looked up.

The children crowded around you. "Call him to come here, please." The sly voice made you smile and do as asked.

Yildiz was happy when he saw you waving, calling him to come in. And he promptly followed towards you.

He was hugged by several children, even those who weren't even his students. He looked at you with a smile that took up almost his entire face.

"They were waiting for this moment anxiously."

"I imagine, I promised them I would come."

[muddyorbsblr]

my whole life in a moment

'one look and they'll know' collection masterlist See my full list of works here!

Placement: pre-dating era; years before the events of 'one look and they'll know'

Summary: Your boyfriend presented you with a challenge to "walk a mile in his shoes"…imagining what life would be like if you weren't in a relationship with him

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader (but not quite yet); OC x Reader (toxic…and soon to be ex)

Word Count: 2.6k

Warning/s: toxic boyfriend with more than questionable loyalty; condescending side characters (hissss); language [let me know if i missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: Reader in her sad era

It doesn't mean anything, everyone does it, your boyfriend's words tauntingly echoed in your mind. Right before you two had gone on to attend separate conventions for work, yours in Anaheim, and his somewhere closer to Big Bear, you'd caught a glimpse of his phone, seeing all the pictures of half-naked influencers in the making that he was liking and commenting on like his life depended on it.

And somehow it was your fault that you found out about how he moved around online, "because if you trusted him, you wouldn't even have reason to look". Even if he was the one who just left his phone face up and unlocked for anyone to see.

Joshua even made it seem like you were the "weird one" for admitting that you never have and you never would do that. You would never imagine what life was like with someone else because you were already in a relationship. Loyalty meant something to you, and his actions were borderline maliciously blurring the lines to the point that you had this sinking feeling in your gut.

That one day he'd blur the line so much that he would feign innocence even if he was caught with his whole three and a half inches inside someone else.

Shouldn't the only thing that matters be the fact that no matter what happens, we come home to each other? His words practically had you seething. Of course not. What mattered was that even if you were far apart, you could still manage to feel secure enough in the relationship that he would never do anything that might betray your trust.

He presented you with a challenge for this weekend, to try it out, even if just to yourself. You didn't have to talk to anyone, like anyone's posts, you just had to imagine. To just meet eyes with a random stranger and imagine what life with them would be like, how the story would play out.

To walk a mile in his shoes, he said. Which bothered you more than you cared to admit. How many lives did he already envision with other people? How many times did he look at some random stranger, or God help you, someone you already knew, and fantasized about how life would be if he were with her instead of you?

"Iced americano for Y/N!" the barista called from the counter. You had to resist the urge to roll your eyes at the way he shamelessly checked you out. "Pretty girl like you, you're probably here for the Marvel thing upstairs? Let me guess, you got the hots for a certain blond super soldier? Or maybe a blond god?"

You gave him a tight-lipped smile…or maybe it was a grimace. "Yeah no…I'm actually here for the convention next to theirs."

Joshua's challenge began to rear its ugly head in your mind again, almost daring you to assess the leering man and what life would be like if you entertained his cheesy quips. Of course, all those thoughts were shot down immediately after he opened his mouth a second time, snorting before letting out a condescending laugh.

"The stuffy nerd assembly? What, you got a thing for rickety old men with pocket protectors talking about loop-the-loops and conditioners?"

Wouldn't even get past the first date. I'll happily waste a glass of Balkan and pour it on his pants and light the fucker on fire. But then of course I'd get arrested, probably assault, possibly attempted murder. Not worth it, you thought to yourself. Damn I hate this game already.

You gave him an equally condescending smile, shifting your stance to one you were much too familiar with, having to stand up straight and square your shoulders so that the men with over-inflated egos would actually shut up and listen to what you had to say. "I'm guessing you were a jock in high school…a popular one. Maybe even Prom King. Best four years of your life?"

His smile immediately dropped, looking like you injected pure ice into his veins. Good. "H--How--?"

"You're too easy to read," you said dismissively. "For the record, it's loops and conditions. If you're gonna make fun of an entire profession, at least get the words right so you don't look too much like an idiot when words come out of your mouth. And also, I'm one of the stuffy rickety old bats presenting in the 'nerd assembly'. Have a day."

You walked away from the coffee kiosk shaking your head in disbelief. You couldn't fathom how visibly unremarkable people found the sheer audacity to pass judgment the way they did. Especially to people who worked in the very industry that was steadily taking over the world.

The very websites these people used to poke fun at people they deemed lesser to them were quite literally built by the nerds they were talking down about. With the way the world was advancing, it wouldn't be long before scams started popping up left and right that would drain people like Mr Glory Days back there of every cent of his life savings.

Hell, with the skills you had, it would just be a few keystrokes away.

You decided against playing the challenge on passing strangers, considering that the glimpses that you were getting from your two to five second eye contact with them already unsettled you.

Two dates maximum, then he'd lock eyes with someone prettier and way out of his league and stop replying to texts. Not worth it.

Clingy, mama's boy that probably wants me to quit my job and my career and all my hobbies so my life revolves around morphing into some sexualized version of his mother. Definitely not worth it.

Would beg me not even six weeks into dating to try anal, and leave me on Week 7 for his male best friend. Week 8 if I peg him. For sure not fucking worth it.

All of them led to you internally yelling "absolutely not" in the solace of your mind, and ultimately opting out of the game altogether. It was steadily turning you into a cynic, and that was the last thing you needed to be considering how you chose to spend your free time.

If you kept at this path, the next time some random actor or musician or public figure reached out to you in the dark recesses of the internet begging you to keep their debauchery secret and protect them from the scrutiny of the public eye, you might just choose to leak it yourself. That particular part of your life needed you to hold on to compassion. Needed you to remember that just because some people chose to be extra freaky behind closed doors, it didn't necessarily make them deserving of being exposed.

The only time you needed to step in was when they were actively doing harm.

So instead of the strangers passing you by, you turned the challenge on its head, in Joshua's direction. With what you knew about him, how would your life play out?

You had just moved in with him last month, although most of your belongings still remained packed in boxes because he couldn't find space in "his place" yet for some of your "girly shit". He set aside about half of one of his dresser drawers for your clothes and your instincts told you it was wise to keep a police baton there for easy access.

Just in case he'd come home a little too drunk, a little too disorderly, and a little too wishy washy on consent.

The near incendiary conversation that you two had just before you parted ways on your separate conventions served as the largest red flag that you weren't in the right place. It wasn't just the likes and the comments to the bikini-clad women, it was the text message notification that popped up before he could swipe the phone off the desk and guilt trip you into apologizing for "snooping".

It was from Tracy, one of your coworkers that was assigned to the same convention as him. I can't wait to see you later! x

Seemed innocent enough, if you hadn't known for a fact that she'd been putting the moves on him for the last few months. If you hadn't glanced upon his desk at just the right second while they were talking and you saw her hand on his leg.

His words played back in your mind again. Shouldn't the only thing that matters be the fact that no matter what happens, we come home to each other? If that was his mentality, then perhaps you had every reason to be suspicious about the times when he wasn't home.

And right in those thirty seconds that you placed your relationship under that big of a microscope, the conclusion made itself crystal clear. "I have to leave him. He's gonna betray me and I have to leave him," you said with a defeated sigh.

At least I haven't unpacked yet, you quipped at yourself. You decided to go into the large function room that was booked for your event, carving out a few minutes to make sure that your resume was in order. That was the next logical step, leaving the company. Working with him wasn't going to be an option; you knew he would twist everything to make it seem like you were belligerent and someway somehow the downfall of your relationship fell squarely on your shoulders.

And people would believe him. Why wouldn't they? He put in insurmountable amounts of effort -- not to mention money -- to shower everyone in praises and gifts and free coffees to make sure they remembered him when promotion season rolled around. He was the self-proclaimed king of small talk, and you preferred silence over menial conversation.

Of course you would have to leave the company, too. Your self-respect all but demanded it.

You pulled out your little flashcards once you finished your coffee, mentally going over your points and anticipating any jabs from Nick that might throw you off. He was the unfortunate soul that was assigned with you, and he seemed hellbent on making sure you "knew your place" being one of the younger developers on the team.

As if it was age that had anything to do with experience.

It was in having your head buried nose-deep in the cards that had you violently bumping into someone walking straight into you, knocking the cards out of your hand and nearly making you fall off balance.

"I'm sorry I wasn't looking--" you sputtered, already moving to pick up your cards.

You didn't expect for the other person to crouch down with you and lend a helping hand. "Neither was I, luv, I apologize."

Good God, what a voice, your inner whore was practically moaning in your head. That voice turned into an all out scream when you looked up and realized who you bumped into. No one could scroll on any website the last few months without his face popping up on the page at least three times in five minutes.

The knowledge that the actor actually dyed his fucking hair and now the sharp angles of his face were even more prominent being framed by the onyx curls nearly took you out. And then he looked at you, stormy blue eyes widening just the slightest as he took your own features in and you could hear his breath hitch.

"I'm terribly sorry," he said again, offering his hand to you once he stood to his feet.

Once you placed your hand in his, you could feel sparks spreading up your arm, and then quickly through the rest of your body. You couldn't help but keep his gaze with how there was this tenderness in his eyes, only breaking when he looked down to place your cards back in your hand.

"You're speaking in the convention next door, I see?"

"I uhh…" Dammit Y/N, pick your panties off the floor and use your big girl voice, you're embarrassing yourself. "I am," you told him. You couldn't fight the urge to smile, even if part of you was still bracing yourself for a reaction similar to Mr Glory Days earlier.

"Fascinating, perhaps if there are still some available seats I could stop by."

Your eyes nearly bugged out your head. "Really?" you blurted out. "You don't think they're boring and stuffy?"

He didn't miss a beat in telling you, "Not when they're facilitated by interesting people. It's always rather enlightening to get to see intelligent people in their element." He placed his hand over yours, holding them for just a moment before stepping away, as if he had to break himself out of his own thoughts. "Well erm…best of luck with your speech."

Play the game, your inner whore taunted you. Come on, it's the hot actor from Avengers, play the fucking game. You're never gonna cross paths with him again.

"You, too. Good luck, I mean. I mean you'll do great, of course you will, y'all have so much training for this--" You bit your tongue, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "I mean, thank you."

Come on, Hiddles, your pessimistic side reared its ugly head. Give me a red flag, I can't be swooning over you and your stupidly pretty face, seriously what the fuck that face with that voice shouldn't be legal.

A moment passed, and another, before his eyes flickered for a fraction of a second to your lips. But never lower. He took another step back once he broke eye contact, letting out a nervous chuckle. "I'm Tom, by the way."

"I know." The words burst out of you like you had zero filter left between your brain and your mouth. "I mean, I'm--"

"Dammit, Y/L/N, now how did I know you're dawdling about out here trying to score with an actor?" The shrill sound of Nick's ornery voice broke the moment. "Your generation really doesn't know the first damn thing about being a professional, huh."

You took a breath, clutching your cards to refrain from reaching in your bag and giving in to an intrusive thought of stabbing your coworker with a dull pencil. When you looked back at Tom, he was slowly taking a few steps backwards, pointing to the much larger hall room of the convention center. "I'm this way."

"That way," you shot back, jabbing your thumb in the opposite direction. You'd given each other an awkward wave goodbye before you finally turned and walked toward the comparatively quieter room.

Play the game, that whorish inner voice pleaded. You know you want to.

The images you allowed yourself to indulge in painted a decadent future. Picturesque date nights balanced with perfectly blissful quiet nights in. Constantly checking in on you when you were in social gatherings to make sure you were still doing alright. Goodnight and good morning and "just because" calls throughout the days, especially when you were apart.

And sweet mercy, the sex would have probably been something out of the filthiest books you'd ever read. You knew what stories about him were floating around in the forums. No stone unturned, no corner unchristened.

And he sure as shit would be packing more than three and a half inches, the voice finished off. Conclusion? Absolutely would have been fucking worth it. Now look back and see if you can check out his butt.

You decided to indulge the voice one last time, looking over your shoulder to see if you could still make him out among the crowd. And when you found him, your heart jumped straight to your throat, rendering you speechless.

Because he was looking back at you, too.

A/N: Who's gonna tell these flirty babies that they reunite again in a few years and get married? 🥹👀 Also I've been thinking on what Reader's backstory before crossing paths again with Tom at the set of Ragnarok would be, and so some of the bits that I'll write for the series will be Reader-centric, kind of building on her character and touching on the ways she was constantly going "Yeah no way I get with someone like him" only to end up with Tom at the end of her sad meow meow era 💖

Also…Tom's basically the only male character in here that I didn't want to pummel with a baseball bat, and I can confirm that I have had "men" in my life that treated me the way Joshua treats Reader, scoffed at me the way Mr Glory Days barista did, and belittle me the way Nick the coworker did. It's been a rough 8 years 🤪

Ooh, also this is the song that inspired this story:

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @lovingchoices14 @lunarnights95 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th  @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie

@superficialdomina @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog @peaky-marvel @lokiified @dryyoursaltyoceantears @herdetectivetheorist @alexakeyloveloki @lulubelle814 @jaidenhawke

[notfreetoday]

WOWOW on Demand Sign Up Tutorial

Hello, I am back (?)

Quick tutorial in case anyone wants to sign up (and later cancel) for a WOWOW on Demand account in order to watch Justice in the Dark when it airs at midnight JST on the 7th of March (aka Thursday night going into Friday morning).

Under the cut to reduce spam!

Before you start, please know that whilst you will sign up on the website, you will only be able to watch the shows using the phone app itself, because the website blocks VPNs.

You will need:

The ability to install the WOWOW on demand apk on your android phone (for iPhone users, it's available on the Jp app store, but I can't help beyond that)

A VPN (I used surfshark)

Access to a JP phone number (I used the number given on my forwarding service)

A credit card

2530 JPY per month (JITD is expected to end sometime in June 2025)

STEP 1: Set your VPN to Japan, go to the WOWOW website as shown, and click on the blue tab circled in orange

STEP 2: This just informs you that the service costs 2530 JPY/mth. Click the blue tab again.

STEP 3: Key in your email and click the button to receive a 4-digit OTP (it will be the first and only string of 4 digits you see in the mail). Major email domains should work.

STEP 4: You should receive the OTP within 3-5mins. If you don't receive the email, check your junk folder etc I lost patience after 2 mins and clicked the button 😅

STEP 5: This is all pretty self-explanatory. Don't ask me to translate the T&C/privacy agreement because I didn't read it either 😬

Congratulations! You have successfully created a WOWOW Online account (this is the normal account which lets you watch free videos/livestreams for eg, Spirealm Ep 1 is free to watch for now).

Next, you want to create a WOWOW on Demand account, which is the service that will give you access to JITD, the rest of Spirealm episodes, and if you are in Japan with a BS Cable subscription, the ability to watch and record WOWOW shows on your TV.

STEP 6: FINALLY we get to the most important bit, so of course I forgot to screencap it. For your Surname and First name, you will need to type it in Japanese text, so go ahead and google translate your name. For the phone number, I used the number from my Jp forwarding service (tenso), but I did try again by changing a few numbers, and it actually went through to step 4 so... if you don't have a forwarding service, you could try random numbers following the 03-1234-5678 format? Don't quote me on that.

Click the blue button at the bottom (which I accidentally cropped out) to move on.

STEP 7: A confirmation window will pop up, keep clicking the blue button...

STEP 8: Almost there. Ignore all the blue buttons and choose the credit card payment option.

STEP 9: Scroll down and key in your credit card details (doesn't have to be Japanese), agree to the service agreement and then hit the blue button again. You will not be charged yet.

STEP 10: Confirm you really do want to spend 2530 JPY x per mth (which for JITD would be 3 months = 7590 JPY = USD$50) and click the blue button again. Your CC will be charged here.

Congrats! You're done (and broke)! Now, using your log in details, log on to the app and search 光淵 or こうえん (you will need to use your VPN on your phone too)

HOW TO CANCEL WOWOW

You will be able to watch shows for one month from that date your subscription was charged. Ie, if charged on the 3rd of July, and you cancelled on the 31st of July, you would be able to access WOWOW on demand till the 2nd of August (1 month from the 3rd of July). Hence, please remember to cancel a few days before your subscription is charged, just in case the application takes a few days to be processed.

STEP 1: Log in and go to My WOWOW

STEP 2: You'll be brought to your profile page, choose the 2nd option from the left (right next to the word TOP)

STEP 3: Look for the 解約 button

STEP 4: Look for the same word, and confirm cancellation

That's it! (When july comes, if there are extra steps required, I'll post a follow up 😅

Happy watching everyone!

[wolfjackle-creates]

Bring Me Home Arc 2 Part 20: FINAL

So guess what I realized this morning. Today, November 13, 2023 is the one year anniversary of me posting my first DPxDC fic to tumblr. It was the original fill for this very fic. (Which you can find here.)

So I decided I just had to finish this arc and get it posted. This year has been amazing and so much fun. I've become a much better writer and joined a community that has brought me so much joy. I'm glad to be here and I'm glad so many of you like to read what I'm sharing.

I noticed I got a few new readers over the past week or so, so welcome to all of you! Hope you enjoy this early update!

In personal news, my nephew was born and he's adorable and I'll be meeting him tomorrow! (As soon as I'm done posting this, I'm off to make food for his mom.)

Story Summary: Tim and Danny are both neglected by parents who care more about their work than their families. They deal with this by spending too much time online and find each other playing MMORPGs. They keep up their friendship as Tim becomes Robin and Danny becomes Phantom and don't bother keeping secrets from each other.

Arc 1

Arc 2: Part 1, Previous

Word Count: 1.2k

-----

In the end, it ended up taking several hours for Danny, Sam, and Tucker to escape their families and converge on the park. In that time, Tim had called Bruce to let him know he’d be back in Gotham by tomorrow and finished most of his homework.

While he worked, Wulf and Bart were having an animated conversation in Esperanto.

Tim was pretty sure Wulf would be bringing Bart to the Ghost Zone for a tour sometime and started making plans to learn Esperanto himself and bribe Bart to get in on them.

Cassie was helping Conner sort through some of the music Sam had given him. Tim was jealous as he solved more banal trig questions. Why did school have to be so boring? He tapped his pencil on the paper in time to the beat of whatever music Conner had playing.

Tucker was the first to arrive. “Danny and Sam not here yet?” he asked as he plopped down next to Bart and Wulf.

“Nope. Haven’t heard from them, either,” said Tim. He opened his phone notifications again just to be sure, but there was nothing new.

Tucker shrugged and pulled out a stick of jerkey to munch on. “Not surprising. The Fentons will be all overprotective after the mayor was kidnapped by a ghost on live TV. And Sam’s parents are just as bad. Only they smother rather than check the weaponry.” He turned to greet Wulf in Esperanto.

An email came through on Tim’s phone and he groaned. “Our evening interview was canceled. No one wants to hear us try to defend Phantom anymore.”

Cassie cursed. “Course not. Bet the paper won’t publish our editorials either.”

Conner looked over, confused. “Won’t they? Clark works for the Daily Planet. They publish stuff like that all the time.”

Tim didn’t look up from his math as he answered, “That’s the difference between a big, Pulitzer winning publication and a small-town op-ed.”

Tucker sighed. “Well maybe someone will remember your interviews from this morning in a positive light.”

Bart rolled his eyes. “Come on, we can’t change it. So let’s move forward. Next step, make friends with more ghosts! Wulf says there’s a bunch of cool people in the Realms.”

“Realms?” asked Tim.

“It’s what he says the Ghost Zone is actually called. The Infinite Realms.”

“Huh. I’ll have to check JL databases, see if they have any information on them.”

Tucker asked something in Esperanto and Bart burst out laughing as Wulf looked on in confusion.

With Bart’s help, though, he rephrased until Wulf was able to reply. And then the three kept to Esperanto. Tim really had to find time to learn it.

Sam was the next to arrive. She grinned and sat down next to Conner. “How you liking the music?”

Conner grinned and showed her the sheets where he ranked the bands so far based on which songs he’d listened to. She then took over the speakers and searched for specific tracks to try and change his mind about some of the bands he liked the least.

Tim let his eyes close as his friends’ voices washed over him.

After some indeterminate time where he dozed between sleeping and awareness, a foot nudged his hip. Tim grumbled out what was supposed to be a, “What?” but was too mumbled to really be understood.

“Come on, Secrets. You can do better than that.”

Tim cracked an eye open to see Danny grinning down at him. He pushed himself up slightly and blinked heavily in the sunlight.

“Finally got away from your parents?” asked Tim.

Danny collapsed on the ground next to him. “Ugh, don’t remind me. They’re freaking out over everything that’s happened the last few days. Jazz and I are basically going to be on lock down until they feel confident the ghosts are gone.”

“Did you have to sneak out to get here?” asked Cassie.

Danny shook his head. “No, I told them I was going to find you guys to make sure you were all safe. You’re welcome to come back to ours tonight, by the way. Mom and Dad basically insisted on it.”

“What do you guys think?” asked Tim. “Spend one more night here at Danny’s and head out in the morning?”

Cassie sighed. “My mom’s already freaking out that I’ve been gone longer than planned. I should get back tonight.”

“I’ll stay,” offered Conner. “I’m your ride home, anyway.”

“Why don’t you come to my place, Conner,” offered Sam. “Your nails need a fresh coat after fighting today. And I need teach you about the different brands of makeup and what to look for in terms of cost, quality, and ethicality. Plus I can get you more music.”

Tim laughed when Conner looked to him. “Go for it. Have fun.”

Conner grinned. “Then yeah, let’s do it!”

Bart shrugged. “Wulf is going to go back to the Realms soon. I’ll head out after. Wally and Linda want me over for a family dinner tonight.”

“Well, looks like that’s it, then,” sighed Danny. “Been fun having other heroes around.”

Tim nudged his shoulder. “Join the Young Justice. You could join us and we'd help out whenever you wanted. Get you around people who actually appreciate what you do for them.”

But Danny was already shaking his head. “I have to stay here. And now Amity trusts heroes even less. I want to improve that, not make it worse.”

“Even if you don’t join,” declared Conner. “You’re not getting rid of us now.”

Bart nodded his agreement. “Yep. We’re gonna be stopping by all the time. You’re in the group chat.”

“Exactly,” agreed Tim. “And we’ll figure out ways to help you. Starting with how to minimize property damage. That seems to be the big thing people focus on. You can make shields, right? How big can you make them and how much power do they take?”

Danny smiled wryly. “Can’t say I’ve really tested it.”

Tim laughed. “Well, I know one thing we’re doing tonight. We’re going to go back to Nasty Burger—” Tim looked around at the whole group “—all of us. Then Cassie and Bart are going to go home. Danny and I, at least, are going to take a nap. Then we’re gonna test the current limits to Danny’s powers.”

Danny bumped their shoulders together. “You know, this is just like gaming with you all those years.”

“Yeah, well, it’s best to be thorough.”

“We’ve measured, like, his top speed and stuff,” said Tucker, pulling out a PDA. “Want to see what we’ve got so far?”

“Absolutely.” Tim took the device and looked through it. “You’ve a decent amount of information here. Maybe instead of taking a nap, I’ll help you organize it and come up with a testing plan.”

Conner flew over to him and pulled the PDA out of his hand. “Not after pulling an all-nighter you won’t. We’re going to get some food, then the two of you are going to sleep for at least four hours.”

“I’ll set Jazz on you, too,” threatened Sam. “Don’t think I won’t.”

Tim pouted as the device was given back to Tucker. And grumbled more when Conner picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

“Come on, food time.”

“I am going to put kryptonite in your phone,” threatened Tim.

“Bingo!” shouted Cassie.

Danny laughed as he stood. “Does this mean I can join the next round?”

Tim scowled. “Traitors, all of you.”

-----

Next

And that's the end of this Arc! Arc 3 will pick up where the original fill did. (Only this time, Tim won't be the only DC character there to help Danny.)

I'd say something like I can't believe it's only been a year, but so much has happened to me in the last twelve months that it feels like a lifetime ago, to be honest. But it's been a good year and I'm glad this community has been part of it.

Please follow the subscription post if you want updates for when I start transferring this arc to AO3 or begin posting Arc 3.

[kairiscorner]

ok but imagine miggy with a perfectionist/overachiever/burnt out gifted kid reader

(tw: mentions of light self-starvation, keep yourselves fed babes, you deserve to eat)

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

...

summary: you really wanted to keep your number one spot, but at the cost of your well-being? miguel refuses to watch you do this to yourself any longer and takes matters into his own hands.

word count: ~1.7k

it was 2 in the morning, and you were still burning the candle at both ends. you were hard at work memorizing concepts, diagrams, easily mispronounced words and acronyms you'd never use or find useful ever again in your life unless you were on a trivia gameshow.

you were hard at work trying to understand what little was entering your mind already, a little overwhelmed by the concepts flooding your brain, but not ready to get to bed yet, out of fear someone will push you off your throne as one of the top students of the class.

you were intelligent, you had a gift; you heard those words all your life, every tine you came home with a new certificate, medal, trophy–or all three at once. you couldn't help it, school was just too easy for you back then; you could take the tests with your eyes closed and without even studying the night before.

but soon, it got harder for some reason. you originally didn't mind, you still passed with flying colors and with minimal effort–but at the cost of your sleep schedule and eating habits. you convinced yourself it was fine, it was okay, so long as you were on top.

that was all you could think of, "i just need to stay on top, then i'll be fine. nothing's better than showing them all i'm better, i'm smart, i'm... worthy of this, all this."

your mantra worked, but it worked too well that it backfired horribly.

hence, here you were, on an empty stomach that was growling, begging for you to fill it with sustenance, as the clock soon ticked to 2:15 am. the constant ticking of the clock irritating you, and thoughts of getting a digital clock to lessen distractions filled your head–ironically becoming a distraction in itself.

you groaned, you had to face it, you weren't going to get anything done at this rate. you decided to check your phone for something that might help stimulate you, maybe motivate you, even, to get back to studying.

you went online for a little, laughed at a few videos, got interested in some rabbit hole videos, found yourself singing along to some songs that you clicked on from your feed. it was peaceful.

but soon, you were greeted by a flurry of messages from your concerned friend, miguel o'hara.

you opened your latest message notification from him and read it as soon as it flashed on your screen. "what is so important that you should be up right now?" he asked.

you bit your lip as you tried to think of what to say. you knew miguel was the unyielding type of person, if you gave him a bullshit answer, you were going to get bullshit from him. you typed, erased, retyped and re-erased your message over and over again. but you finally came to the conclusion to type out, "why are you up rn?" you texted, sending him a duck emoji afterwards. he hated when you did that.

"it's 2:20 am," he argued. "correction, 2:21 in the morning," you responded. "are you even doing anything worthwhile right now? maybe rethinking which direction your life's headed before graduation?" he texted back, to which you giggled.

"you didn't answer my question," you replied, with a duck emoji again. "i was up because i saw your online status. don't think you're slick, you didn't answer my previous questions, either." he replied. "and what relevance does the duck serve in this conversation? i seriously don't understand."

you laughed aloud at his blunt answer, and in your half-tired daze, you accidentally pressed the call button. it wasn't until you heard his voice on the other end that you realized you accidentally called him.

"hello?" rang his voice from the other end, a little groggy. "um, hi." you responded as he groaned. "why the... shock are you up?" he asked, a little irritated. "we have our finals tomorrow." you replied curtly. "so? that doesn't answer my question. why are you shocking up?" he asked in a more annoyed tone as he shook off the grogginess in his voice.

"por el amor de Dios..." he muttered under his breath. you were a little taken aback by how... captivating he sounded when sleepy. a little grumpy, yes, but you felt like you could listen to his voice be like this every day. maybe you would stay up a little late just to hear him like this.

"go back to bed." he told you, trying to sound commanding. "and why would i ever do that? you know how important the finals are." you remind him. "...and how important being the top student is for me." you murmured out that last bit, to which he raised an eyebrow at.

he breathed a sigh. "i seriously can't believe you'd prioritize being a top student over giving your body a much needed break." he berated you as you hunched your shoulders, a little disappointed that he had a point. before you could say anything to retort, your stomach sided with miguel and let out a deep, rumbling whine.

the sound of your stomach complaining about how poorly you've been keeping it fed alerted miguel as he sighed yet again. "what time was it when you last ate?" he asked you, his voice soft as he tried to keep himself calm and composed.

"ah, well, maybe around... i forgot." you answered honestly. "you forgot?" he asked in a concerned voice. "you really can't live without me, huh?" he asked as you heard the shuffling of bed spreads and his big footsteps as he walked around his room. "what are you doing?" you asked him.

"more important question is where i'm going, and if you must know, i'm headed to your dorm right this–" and before he could even finish, there was a rapping of knocks on your door. you got up as you wondered if the person knocking was who you feared it was.

"–my phone died." he said in a low voice. "hope it rests in peace." you joked in a straight, nonchalant tone as miguel sighed at the bad joke. he entered your dorm without another word and set on your table the big white plastic bag he brought with him.

he didn't change out of his white shirt, dark and light blue striped pajama pants, and wore the jacket you bought for him on his birthday. "sit down." he commanded in a soft voice. "what is th–" "sit. down." he repeated himself in a more solid voice, which shut you up and got you to sit down immediately without asking any questions.

before you could get another word out of your mouth, miguel handed you an empanada. it was a little soft and limp, but it was warm. you could tell this wasn't made by just anybody. no, you recognized this style of empanda wrapping, the way it was golden brown on one side, slightly browned on the other–the abundance of meat in the filling with hardly any vegetables, just the way you liked it.

the only person who knew how to make it this way was...

"well damn, miggy, didn't think you were gonna make me anything." you said as you took a bite of the empanada. he shrugged. "i was going to give them to you today, but you were holed up in the library all day. if not the library, then in your dorm, locking yourself in your own misery." he said as he ate his helping.

you chuckled. "hey, don't laugh. i worried about you all day." he scolded you lightly with a half-full mouth. "oh. is that why you were online earlier?" you asked him, eating your empanada to satiate your starving stomach.

"i... i couldn't sleep." he admitted. "why not?" you asked him. "...a part of me thinks it was because i couldn't stop worrying about you. i didn't see you the whole day and i really, really wanted to know if you were okay. you know it kills me every time when you don't talk to me, let me know if you're alive, at least." he said as he looked up at you, his expression softening.

"oh, mig, i'm... so sorry." you said as you realized the weight of your actions, how it affected not only you, but miguel, and possibly other people who cared about you. miguel put his non-greasy hand on your cheek. "you should be." he said promptly. "but don't beat yourself up over it, you've been beating yourself every day since you were on top, not wanting to lose." he went on as he rubbed the side of your face.

"it's admirable, but please don't lose yourself over it. i think you're good enough already at second, third, or even no place at the top. you'll always have a place in my heart, that's the only thing no one can take away from you. that's the only place you'll always be number one in." he said with a small smile. "please promise me you'll take care of yourself, even if you can't accept losing once or twice or many more times in your life to someone else. i'd rather see you lose at everything but yourself. but i know you're good enough already, you don't have to overdo it anymore, okay?" he reminded you, to which you nodded and rubbed away at your eyes.

tears formed and rolled down your cheeks as he spoke, tears you never realized you were holding in, which suddenly came flooding right out when miguel talked to you. "ah... sorry." miguel apologized as he wiped away your tears with a napkin. "i promise, miguel." you sniffled out. "i'll... i'll try to take care of... myself." you promised as miguel held your face in his hands. "and if you can't... i'm right here for you. i've always got you, no matter what." he said as he kissed your forehead, a gentle and loving reminder that you can be number one at everything all you want, you already are his number one, but never forget that you have to be number one for yourself, first.

a/n: I NEEDED THIS WHEN I WAS 1 POINT AWAY FROM A 98 GENERAL AVERAGE ON MY CARD I SWEAR /cries HOPING YOU BABES LOVED THIS

tags !! @miguelswifey04

[bloomingpresent]

FERRO ROSSO CHAPTER VIII

Pairing: Charles Leclerc/Female reader digital artist older woman

Summary: in your mid 30’s you never imagined you’d be divorced. To help with the healing process you decide to return to your first love: digital illustration. Posting videos of your art online leads you to work for Ferrari. But you never thought it’d lead you to find somebody who’s going to bring you back to trust again in love.

Warnings: NSFW! 18+, swearing mention of sexual words, consensual sex, penetration, cheating, sexually themed. IT’S ALL ABOUT REVERSE AGE GAP HERE. Older woman with a younger man. They are both adults, don’t be judgemental. 

Disclaimer:

I don’t mean any offense to Mr. Leclerc. 

English isn’t my first language so all mistakes are my own. My Italian is basic so be gentle, please.

All the previous chapters are here

The sound of your cell phone wakes you up the next morning. You turn towards the nightstand and pick up the phone without looking.

"Hello?" You answer with a sleepy voice.

"Do you want to tell me what this email I'm reading?" Your agent's voice speaks on the other end of the line.

You barely open your eyes. "It's pretty clear," you answer, trying to adjust your vision to the morning sun that barely enters through your bedroom window.

"Do you want to end your contract with Ferrari?!" she asks. You can hear the sound of cars in the background.

"Yes" you answer dryly.

"Why the hell do you want to do that?!" Your agent sounds agitated about the topic.

“I…” you try to sit up on the bed. You know that if you are not honest with her, she will never understand why you want to stay away from Ferrari. "I have an affair with Charles Leclerc and I'm not able to handle it," you answer, almost whispering.

The silence on the other end of the line is worse than yelling at you.

"Hello?" You repeat, rubbing your eyes.

"I'll see you in the office in 1 hour. If I'm going to do this, you’d buy me coffeeat least" she answers on the other side.

An hour later, you're walking up the stairs to your agent's office in central London.

You can almost hear her lecturing you about being professional in your work.

You let your agent know what happened. Her reaction ranges from anger, to surprise, to understanding you as a woman.

"I'm going to talk to Ferrari's agent. It's not easy to get out of a contract like that. But you have to show up for the restart of the season, otherwise it would be a breach of the contract, at least until I can pass on my proposal to them, okay?" " she tells you as she plays with the pencil on the desk and drinks the Starbucks coffee you bought her.

You don't want to, you don't like it and you don't feel like doing it. But there you will go again, into the den of the wolf again.

What motivates you the most is that you don't know Baku, so from now on everything will be work and if possible, get to know a new city. Which is what you're really going to miss about working with Ferrari.

You have everything planned scientifically. Your agent will release you from this contract and you will be able to return to your studio to create your art in peace.

Just one more time.

Baku shows you right away that it is the capital city of the modern world. Maybe you wouldn't have seen places like these if it weren't for F1.

Everyone on the team has renewed energy after the mini vacation. But you are not.

From the moment you check in at the hotel you are alert. Or ready to avoid all contact with a certain driver.

The first day on the circuit, when you arrive at the hospitality area, you receive a video call from your agent.

"I'm afraid I don't have good news for you," she says as soon as you answer the call.

You walk outside the Ferrari hospitality area while talking. "What are you talking about?" You answer her, already agitated, fearing the worst.

"Ferrari is not willing to terminate your contract" she tells you with a strange smile on her face.

"That's funny?! Why can't I end my contract with them?! I'm just another designer" you try not to raise your voice but you're flustered.

Your agent's smile is bigger now. "They actually offer you a promotion, and from what I'm seeing it has already been made effective."

Your heart stops for a few seconds. "What?! Effective promotion?!"

"You are now Charles Leclerc's PR agent, dear." Your agent laughs openly.

She tells you that out of the corner of your eye you can see the movement of photographers and cameras at the entrance to the hospitality area. That means a driver is making the entrance.

You move out of the way, holding your breath, hoping it's not him. "What the hell?! Why?! How?!" You spoke to your phone screen in complete shock while walking through the group of people.

"Apparently he asked for you." the voice on the other end of the call tells you.

This can not be. It's the only thing you can think about while you hold your phone with your mouth open and ignoring what's going on around you.

"Be careful what you let into that open mouth," someone tells you from the middle of the group of people.

Of course it's him. With his big smile and his winning attitude. And continue walking towards the hospitality area.

You want to kill him.

You just sigh and close your mouth. You put on your best smile of commitment and walk away.

What follows is an open discussion between you and your agent about the topic. She explains why you can't get out of the contract, you tell her why you won't accept it, she tells you again why not and why you shouldn't do it. Then follows another long sermon about how good this is for you professionally.

Again.You want to kill him.

You don't understand why, how and what he wants from you.

Your agent convinces you after half an hour of your arguments and tantrums.

You just sit on the floor between the giant equipment trailers trying to prepare yourself for this.

In minutes you'd have been in front of your new boss to start working at Team Leclerc.

You are completely stubborn and you are not going to let it affect you. IF he wants you to be the person who is stuck to him throughout the season, that's how it will be. And you will be the most professional person in the world.

This is your plan, it is decided. Whatever he wants with this. He's not going to make it.

It takes you more than 1 hour to introduce yourself to your new superior and get up to speed on your new tasks. The questions from your colleagues do not wait. About how and why you were promoted. Silvia Hoffer, your new direct boss, is an experienced person and surely smells something of what is happening. But she doesn't tell you anything, she just tells you what you should do and she makes it clear that "this is a test, if it doesn't work for us, we can let you go."

Only she knows what she means by "make this work." But you're as stubborn as Charles, and you won't let whatever her reason for doing this ruin your resume.

You take a deep breath, steeling yourself as you step into the bustling Ferrari hospitality area. The adrenaline from the chaotic morning lingers, and you can’t shake the image of Charles from your mind. He’s a magnet, and somehow, you’re drawn to him even when you want to run in the opposite direction.

As you navigate through the sea of team members and journalists, you catch a glimpse of him across the room. He’s laughing with a couple of reporters, his charisma radiating like sunlight. You can’t help but feel a twinge of longing mixed with annoyance. Why did he have to complicate things?

Silvia appears beside you, breaking your thoughts. “You’re going to have to talk to him eventually. Remember, professionalism.”

“Right,” you murmur, forcing a smile. “Professionalism.”

“Let’s start with a plan,” she suggests, her tone businesslike. “We need to establish clear boundaries.”

You nod, trying to focus. “Okay, I can do that.”

“Good. And just so you know, the media is going to love this. They’ll eat it up.” She glances over at Charles, who’s just spotted you. “Looks like it’s time for your first introduction.”

Your heart races as he strides over, that effortless confidence in every step. He stops in front of you, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Well, look who it is. My new PR agent.” 

“Don’t get too excited,” you retort, crossing your arms. “I’m not your personal cheerleader.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he smirks, his gaze steady on yours. “Just think of me as your biggest project.”

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. “Let’s just stick to the work, shall we?”

“Of course,” he replies, a teasing lilt in his voice. “But I hope you’re ready for a little chaos. F1 isn’t exactly quiet.”

“I thrive in chaos,” you reply, matching his playful tone. Inside, however, you’re a bundle of nerves. This is going to be a test of your patience—and your heart.

As the day progresses, you find yourself following him around the paddock, taking notes on interviews and media obligations. Despite your best intentions to stay professional, there’s a chemistry that crackles in the air, leaving you breathless. 

During a break, you find a quiet corner to gather your thoughts. You pull out your sketchbook, a habit from your days of digital illustration. Drawing was your escape, your solace. But today, even that isn’t enough to ease the tension.

“Hard work?” Charles’s voice interrupts, and you look up to see him leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

“Just… organising my thoughts,” you say, trying to sound casual. 

He steps closer, glancing at your sketches. “You’re really talented, you know?.”

“Thanks,” you reply, suddenly feeling shy. “It’s just a hobby—was just a hobby.” You set the pencil down, meeting his gaze. “But now I guess it’s part of my job.”

He tilts his head, studying you. “You seem conflicted about all this.”

“I didn’t want this role, Charles. I’m not sure I can handle it, especially with… everything.” 

He hesitates, the playful spark dimming. “You don’t have to pretend with me. I know it’s complicated.”

“Complicated is an understatement,” you say, frustration bubbling up. “I’m trying to get my life back on track, or was trying to get my life back on track, and being around you makes that difficult.”

“I get that,” he says softly, stepping even closer. “But maybe this is a chance for both of us. To redefine things. To… figure it out.”

Your heart races as you look into his eyes, seeing a sincerity that makes you want to trust him. But your walls are high, fortified by past hurts. “I can’t just jump back into… whatever this is.”You look around, clearly this isn't a subject to be talking around people. 

“I’m not asking you to,” he replies, his voice low. “Just take it one step at a time. We can keep things professional, but I can’t help the way I feel about you.”

Feel about you. He said that you did not imagine it.

You swallow hard, feeling vulnerable under his gaze. “It’s not that simple, Charles.”

He takes a breath, looking momentarily pained. “I know. But I’ll be here, whether you want me to be or not.”

Before you can respond, Silvia appears, breaking the moment. “Y/N, we need you for the next briefing,” she says, oblivious to the tension. 

You nod, glancing back at Charles, who offers a small, encouraging smile. As you turn away, you feel the weight of the decision hanging over you. Maybe you’re not ready to dive back into love (or whatever this is), but with Charles, it seems like you’ll be navigating a whole new kind of chaos. 

You take a deep breath and head towards the briefing, determined to keep your focus on the work, even if your heart has other plans.

PS: I'll post the next chapter tomorrow! It's Charles POV. Thank you for waiting on me!

Tags: @janeh22 @elenizacharop @h-jpg

[okminer07]

A Match Beyond Measure Pt 13

I've decided I'm going to keep posting parts of this story and if or when I actually try and publish it, I'll just be deleting the online versions. Anyways, hope you enjoy.

The next few days went by rather quickly. Business at the cafe was booming with teachers and students coming in before classes started, leaving little time during her shifts for Cecilia to think about anything else. Though on her breaks, she was happy to find the others primarily left her alone. Everyone but Maddie, but luckily she would just search her out to complain and gossip about Rebecca’s boyfriend.  

“I’m telling you. It’s because of him she changed her hair, “ she ranted as the two began to lock up, “Remember what he said at my party? “That hair makes you look like a weird-looking dandelion and I’m just looking out for you when I say that” Oh please, we all know he didn’t like it because he thought it made her look taller than him.” 

Cecilia nodded along, sliding her jacket on, “It’s the leather jacket problem all over again.”  

“I know!” she exclaimed, “Bullshit. I mean if your ego is that easily bruised then I don’t think there’s any help for you.” When the doors were locked, Maddie followed Cecilia out back to her bike. “So, any plans for the weekend? I was thinking of going to get my nails done at the mall and maybe do some shopping around. I could use some company.”   

She tensed a bit, her cheeks flaring, “Oh well, sorry, but I’m busy tomorrow”  

“Ooo, what do you have planned?”  

She rubbed the back of her neck, “Garret and I are hanging out.”    

When Maddie heard this, her face split into a grin, “What are you two doing?”  

“Just… going to a park for lunch.” 

Maddie patted her on the shoulder “Aw well, you have fun then.” She looked like she was restraining herself from asking more as she began to walk to her car. Cecilia watched her pull out of the parking lot before she hopped onto her bike and headed for the back alley she used to get home.   

By the time tomorrow came around, Cecilia had already gotten dressed and tidied herself up a whole hour before they were supposed to meet. She had actually spent time ruminating on what to wear. Would it look bad if she showed up in something casual, this was supposed to be a casual… meet-up? No, date, it was a date. She was still getting used to that. 

She ended up slipping on one of her nicer sweaters along with some tight jean pants she hadn’t worn since she had bought them. As time passed, she kept finding herself poking her head into the bathroom to look herself over again. Her hair looked fine… she guessed. It looked neat enough, though Garret probably wouldn’t notice a few minor tangles.   

Her eyes drifted down to the counter top and she eyed the opening of her small makeup bag where an untouched golden tube lay. She tentatively pulled the lipstick out, turning it over in her hand before popping off the lid and raising the red tip to her lips. When she finished, she looked back in the mirror, a little put off by her thin and small lips looking vibrant for once. She kind of liked it.   

Why was she acting like this? Why was she all of a sudden wishing someone else was around to confirm she looked alright? Why did she care how she looked?    

Shaking her head, she put her questions aside and picked up her phone to check the time. Her eyes widened, time had flown by and now she had about twenty minutes until she was expected to be at the park.  

Scrambling over to the door, she threw it open and charged down the hall to the elevators. Maybe she was getting too worked up, but there was no telling what traffic was going to be like. People in this city had no time to wait for bikers to cross the street. One time she had almost gotten mowed down by a semi-truck when she had thought the coast was clear.  

As she biked, her eyes scanned the street signs. Of course, she knew the general location of the mixed park, but for obvious reasons, she had never visited it.   

To her relief, it was pretty easy to spot. Up ahead was a seventy-foot-tall iron fence, the bars surrounding the beginnings of an enormous patch of grass with blades at least half her height. It never failed to amaze her how far science had come, and just to help both races exist side by side. That thought was further emphasized when as she got closer, she spied a couple of trees that could have been mistaken for skyscrapers, so tall she had to crane her neck to even glimpse the tops.  

She approached a wide opening. Seeing no bike racks, Cecilia in her rush, opted to just leave her bike leaned up against the fence. She pulled out her phone and muttered a swear, seeing it was three minutes past the time when she was supposed to be there.   

Hurrying through the opening, she found herself gaping at her surroundings. The park appeared to be miles long. It seemed to have no end even as she strained her eyes to look for it. In the distance, she could make out the immense forms of giant parkgoers, all of them doing things you would expect any other person to do at a park. Jogging, yoga, cloud gazing, and reading under the shade of the trees and on benches.    

Cecilia breathed and continued down the long carved-out path. As she walked, she noticed much smaller paths, human paths, occasionally popped up along the sides and weaved through the tall grass. Every time she passed one of these paths, she’d poke her head over and see that they led to areas made for just humans. She passed paths leading to sports fields, small forests, golf courses, and a playground which had a huge sign planted next to it to alert everyone of its location.   

At this point, she realized there was no way she would be able to track down Garret unless she wanted to waste the entire day and walk a few miles. She pulled out her phone and texted him, asking where he was. He quickly replied.  

“ I’m worried that it might be a pretty long walk for you. What if I just come to you?”  

“Sure, that does sound easier. I’m by the playground.”  

“Which one?”  

“The human one. There’s a big sign next to it that you can’t miss.”   

“Got it.”   

She stowed her phone back in her pocket and began to fidget with her fingers while she waited. Not a minute later, she felt the ground beneath her tremble and looked up to see a massive silhouetted figure approaching. It got closer and was confirmed to be Garret, sporting a dark blue t-shirt and a similar pair of dark jeans. Swinging at his side, was a picnic basket the size of a small house.   

He stepped onto the paved path, which he completely took up with just one foot, and peered down. A smile spread across his face when he spotted Cecilia. “Hey!”   

“Hi.” she waved up at him, taking a few steps back so she could almost look him in the eye. Her body was hit with a small wave of uneasiness but it was suppressed by the warm feeling that arose from seeing him smile down at her, “Thanks for packing the food.”  

Garret chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, it only made sense for me to, you know, since…” he gestured down at her, “So, where’d you wanna set up? There’s an open space by that tree over there if you want some shade.”   

He pointed and Cecilia pretended that she could see above the tall grass, “That works.”   

“Right… uh,” he averted his gaze, “You want me to carry you?”   

Her heartbeat spiked, “I uh… I mean I guess it would be faster.” even though she had done it before, she still felt uneasy about being… being up so high up while also having to put all her trust in him.   

“I mean, I’m not worried about speed or anything and I think you’re perfectly capable of walking on your own and have no problem waiting for you but I just wanted to offer,” rambled out Garret, his cheeks turning a shade of pink.   

A smile played across Cecilia’s lips and began to balance out her nerves. It would probably be beneficial for her to start getting used to being carried if they continued to be around each other, “Sure.”   

His eyes filled with relief as he grinned and began to bend down. It was still taking some time to get used to watching him move so fast. Most likely due to fairytales and whatnot, there was this assumption that they would be slow and lumbering. That was clearly not the case as Garret’s body folded over and his hand thumped down right in front of her.   

She took a quick breath before climbing on. Even though they weren’t going very far at all, he waited for her to get comfortable in the center of his palm before he straightened up. 

Cecilia squeezed her eyes shut as she rocketed upwards yet kept her breathing even. She kept them closed as they began to move, finding it easier, even relaxing, to focus on the swaying motion and not the world moving around them.   

Not a minute later, Garret stopped and lowered his hand down onto the grass. She slid off, her nose immediately being assaulted with the strong smell of grass and earth. The blades of grass came up to just above her waist, making her feel like she was standing in a field of oddly colored wheat, rather than a well-maintained lawn.    

Garret set down the basket and began to rummage around within, “I don’t have any sort of picnic blanket or whatever, but I thought this might work, for you at least.” He withdrew his hand, holding up what looked to be a yellow dishcloth.  

Cecilia blinked, and then let out a quiet giggle, “You brought that for me?” she immediately regretted laughing as Garret’s face fell as he averted his gaze, “No no! I mean that’s really nice of you, I think it will be perfect.”    

He smiled at her words and promptly laid the dishcloth down on the grass, giving it a small beckoning pat. She made her way over to it while he returned to digging through the basket. There was the faint smell of dish soap as she sat down, but other than that, it was basically a blanket. It was incredibly soft and she was quite tempted to lay down but thought that might come off as rude.  

She stiffened as a massive hand lowered down in front of her, holding something. It tilted and her eyes widened as at least a dozen different dishes of food tumbled onto the cloth. There were salads, sandwiches, even slices of cake.    

“Is… is this all for me?” she looked up to Garret who had just filled his hand with even more food.   

He went slightly pink, “Well, I didn’t know what you liked, and you said you haven’t really tried many things so I thought…” he gestured down to the food surrounding her, “I thought it would be good to come prepared.”   

She stared at him for a moment, still ogling at the amount of food he had bought for her, “You really didn’t have to do all this, I mean how much did this-”   

“It didn’t cost much at all,” he quickly interjected, seeing the panicked look on her face, “Only cost two or three Lumens.”  

Cecilia looked back down at all the plates of food, “This is… this is amazing. But I don’t think I’ll be able to eat all this.”   

Garret laughed, “Well I didn’t expect you to. Anything you don’t like or don’t finish, I can just take off your hands.” He lowered his hand and dumped out another dozen dishes, “Let me know what you like, I might have more of it in here somewhere.”     

She smiled,” Thank you… you really… you really didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”  

He waved her off, smiling to himself “It was no trouble at all.”   

While he continued to rummage around in the basket, Cecilia surveyed all the food in front of her, still slightly in awe. Where was she even supposed to start? She reached over and grabbed a plastic bowl of some sort of soup. Popping off the lid, she gave it a sniff before bringing it to her lips.    

The ground beneath her suddenly gave a great jerk, followed by a rumbling thud. She gasped, bouncing where she sat and fumbling with the bowl of soup. It fell out of her hands and in a fraction of a second, she managed to dodge out of the way just in time as it spilled, instantly staining the makeshift blanket. She laid there, frozen, staring at the fibers of the washcloth as her heart pounded within her chest.  

“Sorry! Sorry.” rang out Garret.  

Cecilia heaved herself up and looked to where she had heard his voice. It seemed he had found what he had been rummaging for in the basket since he had now plopped himself down next to her, a large plastic container resting atop his knees. She didn’t say anything, still feeling shaken, probably because she had been literally shaken.   

“I uh… you okay?” he suddenly began growing closer, his shadow falling over her as he leaned over. His eyes landed on the spilled bowl of soup, “Oh! I’m so sorry, I uh… I think I might have another one of those” he whipped his massive body up around, peering into the picnic basket.  

As she watched him, her heart began to slow, seeing him all frantic and desperate to please. Not unlike her.   

“Hey, it’s okay,” she called up to him.  

He stopped and peered over his shoulder, “You sure?”   

She nodded and gestured to all the food surrounding her, “I’m not short on food. Not going to miss a cup of soup that I don’t even know if I like.”    

Garret turned away from the basket and sat back down, considerably more slowly and carefully. The ground still trembled as he sat down, but it was much less harsh. Cecilia situated herself again before picking up a sandwich, which she quickly and discreetly picked off the lettuce on it.  

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Garret raising something to his own mouth. Her stomach gave a nauseous jolt and her heart rate began to quicken once more. She quickly looked away. You’re fine. Just… distract yourself with something. Her eyes landed on the bits of lettuce she had discarded. 

“So… Do you like vegetables?”     

The moment the words left her mouth, she wanted to slap herself. What kind of question is that?! Why would you ask that? That’s so stupid!   

“Well, I guess it depends. I don’t love them on their own, but they’re pretty good like, on a burger or something like that. You?”   

She paused for a moment, still processing that he had actually answered the ridiculous question and had reciprocated it as well.  

“Oh, I… I don’t really like vegetables, at all.”  

“Really? Not a single one?”  

She shrugged, “I like potatoes, though I’m pretty sure everyone likes those in some form or another.”  

Garret let out a short chuckle, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

Cecilia wracked her brain, trying to think of another question to ask. Is that how dates work? Do you just ask questions and try to keep the conversation going from there? She wanted to keep talking, she just wasn’t sure how to do that.    

“Work been treating you okay?”  

A wave of relief washed over her as Garret filled the silence, “Yeah, it's been fine. How bout you?”  

He shrugged, “Meh, the boss is growing more tolerant of me I think. Haven’t gotten any complaints from him… well, except when my brother wouldn’t stop calling during my shift.” 

“Oh, how is he doing? What was he calling you about?”  

“He was fine, just was rushing to find a sitter for Eliza.”   

Cecilia looked up from her sandwich, “Is she your niece?”  

He nodded and smiled to himself, “Yeah, best niece anyone could ask for. You’d like her I bet.”  

She kept her eyes on him, even as he took another bite. Her curiosity was once again outweighing her anxiety, “What’s she like?”   

“Oh, well…” he thought for a moment as he chewed his food, “She’s really sweet, and talkative. One of those kids who waves at strangers. She’s currently obsessed with everything having to do with princesses.”  

Cecilia laughed, “How old is she?”  

“Six. Just started school a few days ago I think.”   

“I think when I was around that age I had a princess phase too.”  

Garret chuckled, smirking down at her, “I think almost every girl has a princess phase. Eliza’s though, whoo, I almost never see her dressed in anything other than an all-out ball gown.”   

She smirked herself, “does that mean a lot of your time spent watching her is-”  

“Playing princesses, yup. Luckily though, she stopped trying to get me to wear dresses after I ripped a few of hers. Not on purpose of course, though I am glad she’s got me playing other roles that she doesn’t have costumes for.”   

“You must be close with her parents if they ask you to babysit so often.”  

He smiled, seemingly to himself, “Yeah. My brother’s offered to pay me but I’d just feel wrong taking more from him.”   

Cecilia thought for a moment, “What do you mean taking more?”   

Garret let out a short laugh, “Richard is… well he can be quite generous.” he looked away for a moment and muttered something he must have not wanted her to hear, but she heard anyway due to his thundering voice, “Even to those who don’t deserve it.” She tilted her head, wondering what he could have meant by that before he continued, “He was the one who bought me a phone, probably because he’d heard me rambling about how cool I thought they were.” 

“Are… are phones uncommon among giants?”   

“Yeah, mainly because they’re so expensive and a bitch to make at a reasonable size. Lots of human commodities can be pretty pricey.”  

She looked down at her sandwich for a moment, “I never really thought about that.”  

“Most don’t. I didn’t even know that phones existed until I was in my early teens and one of the rich kids brought one to school.”   

“You didn’t even know about them?”   

She saw the smile on his face flicker, “No, I think I mentioned that I… I didn’t grow up around many humans, so I never really got to… you know… get to know your kind’s world I guess”  

There was a hint of sorrow on his face as he turned away and stared down at his feet. Cecilia felt her stomach begin to tie itself into a knot. Had she brought up an upsetting topic? She hadn’t meant to.   

Garret’s mouth suddenly turned back upright. The ground shuddered as he laid down and gave a harsh bounce when he flipped onto his side so that he was facing her. She ogled for a moment, staring at just the amount of space that his body took up. Not only did his frame cast a large shadow over her, but his legs seemed to stretch out forever. He peered down at her with that energetic, puppy-like look, “Enough about me. I wanna hear about you. What’s your family like?”   

She froze, struggling to maintain eye contact without her thoughts being revealed on her face, “Well uh… I think I mentioned that I’m an only child and that I grew up on the coast…” She thought hard, what else could she say?   

When she remained silent, Garret continued to pry, “What’re your folks like?”   

Oh… oh no. How was she supposed to describe her parents? How were parents supposed to be described other than yup, those two created me. Thinking about them, no clear-cut things about them came to mind, other than the lack of things to say. 

[errihaienx]

Hello!! Can I have a request hq characters reaction on being prank by their girlfriend. The prank will be the girlfriend will be fake texting someone while laughing while they are doing something on their phone. Thank youuu, love ur works btw. 🫶🏼

Hiii i am not quite sure who among all of the hq characters shall i write reaction on. so i applied multiple characters(characters who i am familiar with, i can't include everyone T^T) by the reaction that i think they will have during the prank! thank you for loving my works ( ๑ ˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و ♡

(REQ!)

quick disclaimer: these scenarios don't affect the original plot of the series. any information or events that contradict the original plot are purely fictional. (i do not own any of the characters) (I did not proofread this)

⠀:¨ ·.· ¨:⠀ ⠀ `· . ୨୧⠀HQ MEN REACTING TO YOUR 'FAKE TEXTING SOMEONE' PRANK

SUNA, Tsukishima, Kenma, Kunimi

"I KNEW IT BUT WHY AM I SO GRUMPY"

Actually saw and knew about the trend, but he didn't expect you to do this, so when he found out you were following the trend, he was taken aback.

though what he couldn't understand is why the hell is he grumpy and displeased about it even though he knows that it is just a prank

"Heyy, your mouth could reach the ground, stop pouting! you knew it was a prank, so why are you acting like that"

"You're such a child, why are you even doing those things?" he said sharply.

If you've just been his girlfriend for a short time, his remarks will hurt you, but at this point you just know that it's either his love language or he was born that way.

"So who's the grumpy one because I did some 'childish stuff'?" you laughed

You returned to the prank and began typing random letters while giggling, and then your phone was taken away in a matter of seconds.

"Hey! what are you doing!"

He checked your phone with strained brows, then handed it to you, his countenance considerably calmer now.

"What did you do?"

"I don't usually check phones coz that's your privacy but I can't help it, stop that antics of yours and just cuddle me that would've been better"

"I don't want to!"

"oh trust me you do"

OIKAWA, Atsumu, Kuroo, Terushima

"YOU DID ME SO DIRTY, I'LL BE DOIN' THE SAME >:("

It was a typical day for you and him; he was busy packing for an international match, at the same time you were laughing on your phone.

"What's the matter, babe?" He asked

He stopped doing his thing while his gaze fall upon you.

"N-nothing! I'm j-just talking with a friend.."

Your nervous chuckle made his eyebrow shot up. When he's packing his belongings, you usually help him, but he thinks it's strange because you're texting and giggling with someone else instead.

You snickered as you swiftly glanced at him, seeing his brow furrowed while stiffly folding his clothes.

That caused him to stare at you again, and this time he can't help himself.

"Babe."

"y-yeah?"

"Who are you texting."

"he's a-"

"He?! I haven't left yet and you are replacing me right away??"

You turned your phone off, trying not to giggle, and reached out your hand to him, which he ignored while looking at you.

"Explain." he sternly said, with his arms crossed.

"It was nothing! I just saw a video online about fake texting and I decided to-"

He interrupted you by laughing dryly. You handed him your phone and told him to check it himself if he was doubtful.

"I don't have to, I believe you. I can't just believe that you did this to me!"

You hugged him because he looked betrayed.

"Just wait until I start giggling and kicking my feet while texting someone!"

His childish words made you roll your eyes; he'll certainly never do this ever. He is totally committed to you.

SAKUSA, Kageyama, Ushijima

"UH YEAH OKAY GO ON, I'M HURT BUT I WON'T BE SAYIN' THAT TO YOU"

Your boyfriend arrived at your shared condo late at night. Tired and feeling a bit drowsy, you knew exactly what he needs. yourself

But, for the time being, he will not be getting that. You're busy pretending to text someone.

"My hugs..?"

You ignored him as you shifted your body so that it looked like you were hiding what you'd been doing.

"Love.. what are you doing?" he asked again

His voice was soft and desperate, so you kept typing random letters and let out a quick giggle that drew his attention.

"Oh are you talking with Sana-san?" he concluded

You finally looked at him with a grin on your face, finding his conclusion amusing.

"No, babe, I was talking with a male friend.. have you eaten?" you returned the question

You could see his eyes widen a little; he knew you didn't have any close male friends, so you expected him to question you. He, however, did not.

"Oh, okay.. go on continue talking to him."

His cold, trying-not-to-sound-jealous voice was hilarious, his ears growing red, and the way he acts in the next minutes confirms his jealousy.

He's always been this way; he's not the very jealous type, and when he is, he attempts to hide it and fails miserably. He'll be stiff and irritable, as though he doesn't know how to act.

After a few minutes had gone and you had not heard from him, you stood up and provided him a back hug.

"Hey baby, I was just kidding.. I missed you so much.."

He shifted his weight and is now facing you with a less tense manner, but his brow wrinkled clearly indicates that he needs a little clarification.

"You preferred to play some pranks on me rather than give me my hugs."

AKAASHI, Iwaizumi, Kita, Hinata, Sugawara, Osamu, Daichi

"I UNDERSTAND YOU MWA (ɔˆ ³(ˆᴗˆc)"

He got confused when he called you for dinner and you were still on your phone, texting and laughing constantly. especially since you had a motto "food always comes first!"

"My love? I called for you, you can continue that later.." He called again

He got your attention, and you acted annoyed by turning your phone off in a tetchy manner.

"Eat first, you were doing what?"

"I was messaging a friend, and he invited me to watch a movie with some of our mutual friends."

You assumed him to question you, but knowing your partner's personality, he didn't. You finished your dinner, but he's still all smiles!

What you expected did not come around, and guess what? He even insisted on driving you to the place you were going.

Because of how things played out, your prank was reversed, and you are now the one who is grumpy.

"Hmmm, why are you acting this way?" he gently asked as he kissed the furrow in your brow.

"Nothing!"

He laughed at your defensive tone, still holding you in his arms;

"I love you.."

THE BOKUTO ( my baby ! ‹𝟹 ) TYPE

he'll be so whiny lol

will be saying these for sure;

"heyyy who are you texting?"

"oh you're talking with a boy, okay! — WHAT A BOY????"

"baby you don't love me anymore??!"

"baby are you happier with him?"

"bAbY dOnT LeAve mE:("

please stop the prank and cuddle this babieee! ₍ᐢ._.ᐢ₎♡

HI EVERYONEE!!!! It's almost been a week, i am clearing up my requests and I have a post lineups that will be out very soon! I also got addicted creating dividers lmaoo. anyways, thank you for appreciating my works! see ya in few days! ₍ᐢ⸝⸝› ̫ ‹⸝⸝ᐢ₎

[siomae]

lessons learned ☕ winter 2024

i have completed the winter quarter!! yay!! i want to reflect on some lessons that i learned during the winter quarter.

🍞 do!! not!! procrastinate!! — i say this to myself every quarter, but this time, i am properly addressing it so that i can avoid procrastination in the next quarter. i had a bad habit of putting my assignments off at the last minute, or turn them in late if late work is accepted. i used to be impressed by my ability to finish a written assignment 30 minutes before the due time, but now i realize that the rush is just not worth it! i want to create work with quality that i can be proud of. better time management and self-discipline will make my next quarter much less stressful.

🍞learn to adapt — different subjects require different methods of learning. what works for one subject, does not always work for others. don't waste time "studying" if your study methods are not actually effective!! figure out which strategies result in better outcomes and focus on that.

🍞communicate with professors — this is especially important if i am taking online classes. one of my main struggles since starting college was not connecting with my professors. the lack of communication makes it so much more difficult to eventually reach out when i need help. go to office hours!! they have it available for students for a reason. advocate for yourself!!

🍞take advantage of resources provided by your school — my school offers free tutoring for students. i haven't visited the tutoring center because i wasn't sure how to ask for help. but i expect that i will need a lot of help next quarter to keep up with the learning material. i will make use of the tutoring services next quarter!

🍞remove distractions — i did a phone detox for a weekend and found that it was the most productive i have been in a long time! i will make an effort to be more conscious of my phone usage. having the discipline to actually turn off my phone and put it in a different room to avoid the temptation of checking my notifications.

🍞sleep! — i'm guilty of revenge bedtime procrastination! sacrificing my sleep for leisure time is not worth the tiredness i feel the next day. again, better time management will lead to more healthy habits.

🍞make time for friends — i learned that i shouldn't isolate myself for too long. studying can get lonely, especially during exam season when i get caught up in studying for long periods. i will try to schedule some time to socialize! it doesn't have to be a long schedule: it can be a quick coffee or lunch for good measure. having some positive interactions helps get me through the stress of school!

i'll be working harder next quarter to make sure that i don't continue having these issues! good luck to everyone taking finals!! 💌

[dollsonmain]

That Guy helped clean for one day but then went back to refusing to do anything but play video games.

There's still guest-cleaning to do, and I'll have to knock it out before work. I think vacuuming the downstairs should be good enough, though I haven't checked Son's bathroom which is also the guest bathroom, yet, and it probably needs more work.

I also forgot to do the guest room sheets yesterday, I was so worn out. They're in the wash, now.

Then I have gas station work today.

That Guy said the outfit I picked out for the interview and hair and makeup looked good; both appropriate and on me. I don't know why that one website said the dress code was business formal, black, white, grey. Other than the security and police on site who were in full uniforms, everyone else was wandering around in jeans or slacks and polos or simple blouses. Everyone contracted from Goodwill gets a special overshirt they have to wear around, too. That kind of sucks, actually. It looks bad.

I am still VERY unhappy with how the hair spray dried out my hair. I'll have to not wash it for a couple days, let the natural oils reasaturate the strands, and hope that'll be good enough to make it happy again. If not I'll have to try a masque or something. I can't tolerate the texture of my hair being Wrong.

Mail room blather:

I am a little disappointed that it's not an actual mail room, like when I was in the army I would go get the mail, bring it back to the battalion, process any paperwork like package slips, sort the mail into mail boxes, etc.

That's what I was excited about when I saw the job posting. This job is not that.

She said she's looking for both a backup truck driver which I said I'm willing to try but can't guarantee I can drive the big truck (I did not mention the whole auto-accident related PTSD thing...), and a backup manager which of course that wouldn't be expected until I'd been there for a while and was very familiar and comfortable with the processes involved.

So they will go get mail and bring it back, but then the job is to do safety checks like I said, which was a part of it when I was in the army (there was an anthrax scare at the time and we had to take extra precautions etc. so at least I did already get that training), and to open packages and inspect the contents. I guess from there cleared mail gets passed off to someone else to be distributed or maybe representatives from the various departments come to get it or something. I would learn that later. Part of the job is making sure threatening letters don't make it to their intended targets.

She also said there is a LOT of downtime. So much downtime. Some people quit because they get so bored they can't take it. I can bring in a tablet or my phone and watch movies there's that much downtime. I'm not sure if I can be online and bothering you all, though, and am not permitted to take photos/videos in the mail room.

I can take projects, though, so it would be a good time to work on rehairs and the like.

It's kind of funny that I'd be going from being sedentary with no income to being over-worked at the gas station for very few dollars, to being sedentary again just not at home for ok dollars. $30k isn't a lot, here. The cost of living here is surprisingly high vs the population because we're close to DC. But it is a lot for doing not much, you know?

[mrmcwigglyman]

A letter to E-Sekai

Rare semi-serious post because E-Sekai's first anniversary is tomorrow.

Hopefully this breaches Tumblr containment because I don't use any other social media.

When E-Sekai first debuted, I was at a really bad time in my life. For context, I went to college in late August, and for two months, I was slowly destroying my mental health because I wanted to stay, but couldn't handle it. I continued to sink deeper and deeper into depression until my mom came to take me home in late October. During the first months of my return, I was so dejected that I didn't want to do anything. I wasted all my time doing unproductive things on the computer, relying on it for comfort. My parents intervened and restricted access to my computer. Without my computer for comfort, I turned to watching VTubers on my phone, to the point of staying up all night trying to distract myself from the sadness of having to leave college. It was really unhealthy and non-sustainable, but I couldn't get myself to do anything else.

Almost exactly one month later, I found a debut compilation for Idol-EN's first generation, called E-Sekai. I was immediately interested, so I found their channels and subscribed to all of them. I especially liked Rin, for various reasons which I'll get to later, but I enjoyed watching everyone. Their streams got me to come out of my shell online. Before E-Sekai, I didn't use the YouTube account on my phone for chatting or commenting at all, because I didn't have a channel linked to it, but E-Sekai convinced me to make a channel so I could chat. One of the things about small to medium-sized VTuber agencies is that the streamers are more likely to see your comment as an individual. Whenever I got someone to laugh with one of my jokes, it made my day. E-Sekai made me want to be creative again. They got me through the grueling late nights of working at my coat check job. And they helped me try to get out of my depression. I actually know and interact with people on the Idol discord, and I discovered a lot more VTuber agencies because Idol gave me confidence to chat in many other VTubers' chats.

My life is still not perfect. I'm really anxious about any sort of change to my routine, such as getting a normal job, and I need to get better at taking care of myself. But E-Sekai and Idol in general still brings a lot of happiness to my life.

I want to take the rest of this post to say how each individual member of E-Sekai contributed to my life, and the group as a whole. I'm not good at writing these kinds of things, and I'm probably missing a bunch of what makes them all so fun to watch, but I hope this captures them well enough.

Yuko: The scream from her debut was ear-piercingly beautiful. Her hyperactive personality leads to incredibly fun moments. I'm still amazed by how much she loves her boo bros. She's the perfect blend of lewd, wholesome, and silly. In one of her karaoke streams, she got me to listen to the entirety of "A Little Piece of Heaven", which is my least favorite A7X song. Keep being the most neurodivergent in E-Sekai, Yuko! Wanau :boobropout:

Juna: The eel's art and Live2D streams were super comfy, but also very cursed. I celebrated New Year's along with her, and I still have the art she made for it somewhere. Juna's streams got me through the early parts of my coat check shifts. I love all the inside jokes the fameely has, such as "good riddance", "LIVID", banning Yogurt, and Golden Shower. And speaking of the fameely, they're the friendliest people in the Discord server, and I love to talk to them. Juna actually responded to my comments a lot, which boosted my confidence a lot. Also, one of my favorite moments was during the Seiso Stream when I tried to catch her off guard by asking her to pronounce "Featherstonhaugh." Always remember that it rhymes with "hand saw." Stay LIVID, Juna, and thanks for all the completely sane streams so far.

Rin: Rin is the one that I instantly identified with. She loves making silly powerpoints. She has a very particular taste in video games that I can never find anywhere else. Even before she mentioned she was ace, I could tell she was ace-coded. She has an incredibly broken sense of humor. The first (and currently only) VTuber merch I've ever bought was the skrunkly plush. And I don't really believe in fate, but I had to admit that there was one coincidence that was very convincing. While watching her debut slides, when she was introducing some of her plushies, I learned that I have a very personal connection to the name of one of her plushies. Her streams are incredibly creative and fun. Her powerpoint streams and skit streams are the funniest content I've seen in a long time. Her reactions to things that wouldn't normally be funny makes them funny, which is part of the reason I love the shovelware series so much. I can tell she works so hard behind the scenes to make all those things happen. Even though after the Shortsening her chat is sometimes unbearable to look at, I'm glad that she is a lot of people's first VTuber. I'm proud to call Rin my kami-oshi. Fun fact: The B emoji in my YouTube username, although I've used it before Idol, was specifically chosen for Rin, except now that the emoji is banned in her chat, I can't actually send my membership milestone chats because according to YouTube logic, my username counts as part of the superchat?? I'll probably change it to a small capital B instead someday. Anyway, Rin, I'm glad to be a member of the Princedom, and I'm so happy that you are able to reach so many people. Also, congrats for keeping up the Rin facts for a YEAR! *metal_pipe.mp3* *outro music*

Pochi: Pochi is an absolute gamer. The fact that she doesn't rage very often leads to some very comfy streams, even in frustrating games. She also does some cool themed zatsus, like the pet peeves stream. I enjoy her Minecraft streams a lot, and I actually got back into modded Minecraft because of her. Her redebut was so good and so creative, and I just think her "hello, I am puppy" t-shirt is hilarious. I often leave her streams on in the background because she is just so comfy. Keep doing what you're doing, Pochi! Wäf wäf!

Fuyo: One early series of streams that I enjoyed was Fuyo's Bioshock playthrough. Normally I don't like those kinds of games, but it was actually really interesting. I also remember watching her VTuber cosplay stream while waiting for a doctors appointment that I showed up an hour early for. I still don't know she got away with some of the games she played in the first week after debut. When I was waking up late because I was staying up late, Fuyo streams were what helped me wake up and get out of bed. Also I think I left the Nyan Cat stream on while I slept, which may or may not have been detrimental to my musical health. I look forward to the future, and I hope you are, too, Fuyo. Thank you for giving back my physical wallet, even if you kept the stuff inside.

I'm awful at wording things, but I really wanna thank E-Sekai for helping me out of a deep hole in my life. I know this is probably not gonna get more notes than my fucking Papa Louie Veggie Dog post, but on the offchance this reaches one or all of you... idk I'm all out of words, but I'm looking forward to another year of E-Sekai antics.

I also want to thank the rest of Idol for being just as awesome!

[crittercrossing]

Introducing... Chance!

It's been one heck of a day. As of the time of this writing, I've known this chicken for less than five hours. Everything has happened so fast, and completely unexpectedly, but it looks like the universe gave me an early Christmas gift.

I was on the way to a vet appointment with Katy and Chevelle today, and just before I reached the vet's office, I saw a chicken standing on the side of the road—I mean, less than a foot away from the edge of the very busy road that runs right through the middle of town. I recognized the body shape immediately as a Cornish cross, a specific type of mixed breed chicken that is bred for the meat industry. I knew the poor bird must have fallen off one of the many trucks around here that carry these chickens to processing. I was surprised to see them standing there, seemingly unharmed and alive—I come across chickens that have fallen from trucks fairly often, and they have always either been dead or gravely injured (and had to be euthanized).

Normally, I would not hesitate to stop and pick up a chicken in this situation. My first-ever chicken was a Cornish cross, and I have a soft spot for this breed that suffers from a tragic fate. There were complications at this time, though—my dogs were in the car with me, and there's the current bird flu outbreak going on, which can be very dangerous to people and is connected to commercial poultry. I desperately wanted to help this chicken, but was afraid of putting my loved ones' lives at risk. I was running late to the vet appointment, so I decided that I would go to the appointment, and afterwards, drive by again and see if they were still there.

The chicken was indeed there after the appointment, standing in the same spot. I pulled over and thought about what to do for a while. I called the nearby emergency vet to ask if they could help. They said they couldn't take the chicken and try to rehome them or anything. They could treat the chicken if they were wounded, or they could euthanize them. I checked with the vet clinic I had just been to with my dogs, and they said they don't have any exotic vets on staff who could help or advise (which is fair). I knew I had to make a judgment call on my own, and I knew in my heart what I felt was right. After some online research about bird flu, I decided to take a chance.

I drove closer to the chicken, pulled over, left my (very confused) dogs in the car with the windows cracked, and walked up to the chicken with a cat carrier and a hoodie in hand, while wearing two masks. The chicken looked up at me as I approached. I had watched them walk into the road at one point while I was making phone calls and saw them almost get hit. They were now back in the grass next to the road. They only started to panic once I draped the hoodie over them to pick them up. (I didn't have gloves, and didn't want to directly touch the chicken in case of bird flu.) I didn't have a way to safely examine them there, so I put them carefully into the carrier in case they were injured and put them in car. I didn't have any sort of plan. I didn't really know what to do. I started driving back home.

I kind of just subconsciously decided to take them home. I thought about how wild the whole situation was on the drive. I knew before we even got to the house that their name was Chance. It was by chance that they survived their fall from the truck, and that they happened to be there when I happened to drive by. I took a chance on picking them up. I'm giving them a chance to have a safe, happy rest of their life.

Chance was put into a spare chicken pen in the backyard, where they cannot interact with the other chickens for now. I held them up while my dad inspected them for injury. Chance has no visible outer injuries aside from one of their toenails having been torn off. It was bleeding, but not fatally. I'll keep an eye on that toe and take them to an exotic vet if needed. Chance doesn't have feathers under their wings or on their belly (chickens of these breeds often don't). Their comb and wattles are small and pale, and it's not completely clear how much of that is due to age and how much is due to stressful living conditions. They have bright, curious eyes, and they don't seem sick.

I'm not yet certain what sex Chance is, or exactly how old they are. I'm currently thinking five-week-old pullet, but I'm going to do a bit more research. Also, time will tell as they continue to grow.

I can't imagine what this day must have felt like to Chance. Today was almost certainly their first time ever seeing sunlight or touching grass. This is probably the first time they've ever been not completely surrounded by other chickens, all crammed together in a small space. I wonder if they've ever really had a chance to breathe fresh air before. All the hands that held them previously were probably not kind. They started their day packed in a chicken truck, most likely on their way to slaughter. Now, they are safe in their own pen, with unlimited water and a good meal for tonight, with a little house to hide in.

Here's the thing: Chance will not live a very long life. I am very familiar with the complications that Cornish crosses face in their short lives. These birds have been selectively bred to grow no matter what, to produce more meat, and to do it as quickly as possible (they are about eight weeks old when they go to slaughter). Darcy, my first chicken, was a Cornish cross. I cared for her from the time she was roughly three days old. I did what I could to help her live longer. She was on a restricted diet to encourage weight loss, and I helped her exercise and encouraged her to run. She was six months old when she passed. Presumably, her heart gave out, as she just suddenly dropped. Most Cornish crosses who are kept as pets meet this fate. No matter what you do to fight their extreme growth, they get so big that their hearts can't take it or their legs give way beneath them. It's a big deal if these birds make it to their first birthday. I only saw Chance in their new pen for a few minutes before I had to leave for the day (chickens live at my parents' house, and I currently do not), but the entire time, they were sitting on the ground in the way Cornish crosses do when standing is too hard. Of course, some of it may be shock. I'm excited to visit Chance tomorrow and see how they're doing then.

Today, Chance went from facing the day of their death, having never seen a Christmas before, to being safe in their new home just in time to experience Christmas. Chickens don't know about holidays, and I'm sure they wouldn't care even if they did. I'm just sentimental.

It's been a long time since I've been able to rescue an animal like this, and I'm so incredibly glad that I got to do it today. This is one of my favorite things that I ever do, the kind of thing that makes me feel like I'm fulfilling my purpose. I know Chance will probably only live a few more months, but they will know love, safety, sunlight, grass, and companionship while they're here. If they start to suffer, I won't let them linger like that. They got their second chance, and I'm happy to be a part of it.

[clatterbane]

I was also maybe a little low on patience after the fun I've been having the past day or so with my last phone that already had the sketchy USB port and (unsurprisingly) declining battery life. It is an S20 from 2020, and I did already get this replacement. (Thus even less urgency with doing anything about that thrashed screen protector which looks even worse in this lighting...)

It fell screen side down in the floor and hit the base of some metal shelving just wrong. So, now it's doing this shit. 🙃 Started out with a single green line like it gets when I plug it in here, and the very top of the screen very erratically responding to touch input. The screen also won't turn on unless it's put on charge, then it's grudgingly willing to wake up.

That progressed to what you're seeing here, over the past day or so. The screen was actually behaving remarkably well here, but it goes crazier the longer it's on. Usually now the notifications bar can only be pulled down at all from a homescreen that's empty at the top, and the top centimeter or so rarely responds. It's now also registering random phantom touches and swipes while I am actively trying to use it.

So yeah, I am avoiding touching the thing any more than has been necessary to try to get some of the important final shit migrated over. And I'm really hoping the poor thing will stay somewhat functional until after Mr. C gets back in another week or so.

This has primarily been a backup phone that I've been carrying around to continue running Diabox, and the Samsung watch that I mostly even got for the handy CGM display on my wrist. Still no luck getting Diabox reading the sensor right on the Pixel, trying again--and the devs couldn't figure out the issue either after I got the new phone and tried to get it working the first go around. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Same error this time.

But, whatevs. I did get xDrip+ up and running, which is at least as good other than not being able to directly carry my old Diabox data over.

No luck yet getting the watch to connect to this phone properly either, though I did find one more thing to check--and, due to the person I am, I haven't sought advice on the GrapheneOS forum yet. Where other people do seem to have managed OK. But yeah, while I'll be pissed if my smartwatch is effectively a paperweight now? I'll cope if that is the way things play out.

What really has me worried atm, though? My hard-won BankID is still set up on the S20. And you need it here for everything from online purchases, to logging into anything official like the health portal or the weirdest assortment of commercial sites. I'm not thrilled about the whole setup from a privacy perspective (a number of things in this country, tbqh), but it is what it is. It was difficult or impossible to get SO MUCH done before I finally got set up with BankID access, and I don't want to go back there. Even temporarily.

Being a filthy foreigner with a limited bank account, I also can't just transfer it to a new device online like pretty much everyone else. That would require online banking access. (Which I really don't need to get started on now. A whole rant of its own.) Nope, I need to get the Household Swede's assistance to set up a physical appointment at the bank, so they can do it. You can't just rock up, you do need to make an appointment during the roughly 3 hours a day that they're open and deigning to deal with customers. Banks here would really rather you do handle everything online.

And I can't set that up or really physically get there without some help, frustrating as it is on so many levels.

But, that's why the hope that Borked Phone holds out at least until after he gets back from that trip. I don't know if SEB will need to even see the existing app, though one would really hope not in case of lost/stolen or comprehensively busted devices. But, who knows. My main concern on a practical level is maybe getting stuck for weeks without a functioning BankID, while trying to at least minimally function as an adult. With no onsite backup for another week and a bit.

[blackbird-brewster]

2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 30, 32, 38, 47, 57, 69, 83, 84

I will answer your ask here shortly! But I didn't want you to think I forgot to ask you ✌️❤️😘

[Send my Writer Asks] TY for so many number!! <3

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

Basically any and every fic with JJ in it is this exact thing. JJ is notorious for going off-script and just doing whatever the hell she wants. I have had to re-write entire fic outlines bc of this. She's a nuisance (affectionate).

4. what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

I often look at the 4 chapters I wrote for an early season CM fic that's sorta like 'You've Got Mail' (it's a 2006 online dating fic) and lament that I've never finished it. I even *know* the reason why too, it's simply because the coding to do entire chapters in 'e-mail' form on AO3 would require me to build custom skins to make it look like emails and such (yea, I know I don't HAVE to make it look like that, but my brain says You Gotta) and god, I just really hate coding.

5. have you ever made a playlist about something you were writing as an elaborate means to procrastinate when you could have been actually writing and if yes drop a link, son

I currently have over *30* CM character/fanfic related playlists. You should check out this masterlist for all the links plus summaries of each playlist, or just give me a follow on Spotify

12. do you ever have trouble focusing on writing? how do you get around that? 

Sorry, what? I missed the question because I was staring out the window and procrastinating again. The answer -- YES, of course I do. I'm AudHD and I live in a house with three other people, a cat who's an asshole, and on a street where multiple houses are being built. 😭 I try my best to be at my desk at regular hours each week, usually about 10am-4pm M-F. And I close any windows/apps on my laptop that aren't my writing one and put my phone out of reach. Then I set the focus timer on for a designated time and try to write until it goes off. This helps TONS.

13. talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you.

When I wrote what was supposed to be a Emily/Rebecca hate-sex one-shot, I didn't think anyone would read it. Then, when I expanded it into what became 'Do What I Want (Over What's Right)' I was absolutely blown away by the great convos I had with readers in each chapter's comment section. I even met a new best buddy via that fic! (hiiii @swpf)

30. most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you.

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." - Dr Seuss

32. do characters influence your writing style?

Can do, sometimes. My style itself doesn't change all that much, I don't think? I mean, I can look at old fics and see how far I've come since first writing them, but that's less about the characters themself and more about me as a weird little guy.

38. how many stories do you work on at one time?

One. As mentioned above, I'm far too distractable to have multiple-WIP at one time. The exception to this rule is, sometimes, I'll crank out a one-shot while working on a longer project too. But 99% of the time, I only have one WIP going.

47. what story are you most proud of?

Forever and ever, Head Full of Doubt (Jemily, High School AU). That fic explores mental health, friendship, depression, and the pressures of being a teenager. It is my forever proudest achievement as a writer.

57. what is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were reading it?

While reading? Hm, this is gonna sound so petty, but I recently pulled up the fandom wiki to double check a continuity point in a fic. Not because I was judging the author, more because my brain was trying to figure out the timeline they were presenting.

69. how do you write emotional scenes? do you ever feel what the characters feel?

I have such a visceral imagination. I not only see my characters, but I definitely also feel their feels too as part of getting into their heads. When I write emotional scenes, I am usually sobbing myself. On the flip side, my partner knows when I'm writing smut bc my breath gets all soft and short 🫠

83. less is more or more is more?

Do whatever you want forever. Period. No rules, just do you!

84. said: overused or underused?

Again, do whatever you want forever. I use said/replied lots, but I also use more specific indicators to get tone across depending on the conversation and scene.