#im just gonna buy the bundle anyway

[ot3]

Hi, I just finished the AA trilogy with my bf and we fell in love with it! I found your blog the other day, and it sometimes feels like you're the only one giving correct takes on these characters' writing and the minutiae of everyone's inner worlds (or the fumbling of, see Godot).

I just got here, but, something that's been bothering me about the fandom's approach to the sequel trilogy is like... the imperialist undertones are glossed over, or swept under the rug. Researching "The Dark Age of the Law" and beyond puts a sour taste in my mouth. And with Khura'in the country vs Kurain the village? It all feels racist at best (the concept of the Divination Seance gives me squick). If you have the time, I'd love to hear your thoughts about AA5 and AA6 in relation to the world of AA as a whole. Thanks again for all of your thoughtful and nuanced takes on this series!

so glad to hear you guys liked the games!! thank you for enjoying my posts, i always appreciate it.

the tl;dr of it is that i do think they are genuinely bad enough additions to the franchise that they have signed mainline ace attorney's death warrant. picking out the dark age of the law stuff and aa5 and the imperialism in aa6 you've pretty much honed right in on my two biggest critiques

however i do want to say that although they're being bundled and sold as a 'second trilogy' that's not quite accurate either experientially when playing the games or from a development perspective. aa4 had scenario design/creative direction by series creator shu takumi, with the art director being kazuya nuri (responsible for character design for rise from the ashes in the series previous to this); aa5+6 was spearheaded by takeshi yamazaki, who had been with the franchise since its first game, with the slightly less tenured takuro fuse on art direction/character design. yamazaki and fuse are not without skill, but i think they're both significantly less skilled than takumi and nuri respectively and. it really shows.

pair that with the fact that aa5 and 6 fundamentally do not follow up on any of ace attorney 4's established characters or plots more than superficially, i don't think it's particularly useful to critique 4-5-6 as if they're a single body of work in the same way the trilogy is. apollo justice isn't a perfect* ace attorney game but it's a good one.

anyway i think buying into the 'dark age of the law' stuff in ace attorney 5 necessitates cheapening all of the events preceding it. the implication that 1. the law wasn't that bad before but it Is Now and 2. a single case was the tipping point for whether or not the entire legal system would be bad just ruins the times when ace attorney has managed to acknowledge corrupt systems as a massive source of problem for the everyman in the past

i think this screenshot from the dark age of the law wiki page says a lot:

For starters, that phoenix quote. He would not fucking say that. I don't think there has ever been a point during or leading up to phoenix's career where he thought the legal system had 'glory' he would then want to restore it to. you seem to get it so im not gonna harp on this too much on this but. jesus christ

then, then there's fact that even by stating the most basic details about the franchise's events undermines the whole premise. like okay notice that the corruption that happens during the trilogy/investigations spinoffs is coming from all of the actual agencies that represent law and order/the system: the prosecutors, the police, and the prosecutorial investigation committee. however in aa5 the thing they choose to paint as responsible for supposedly unprecedented levels of corruption in the legal system is defense attorneys resorting to more drastic means, and the general public; aka not the people who are responsible for upholding the legal system but the people who are victimized by it and in opposition to it.

i don't think this was an intentional choice as much as it's just sloppy, inconsiderate, and contrived writing.

aa6 is just flat out racist. 'imperalist undertones' is i would say the gentlest way you could phrase it. like. japanese characters going to a made up south asian country that needs to be taught how to govern itself to quash its internal rebellion is like. so high on the yikes meter.

making a bunch of fake 'ethnic sounding' nonsense names filled with apostrophes to make them into silly sounding english phrasing was a disastrously tone deaf thing for the localization to do. they're really unforgivable. the worst of it all is probably "Inga Karkhuul Haw'kohd Dis'nahm Bi'ahni Lawga Ormo Pohmpus Da'nit Ar'edi Iz Khura'in III" i'm unsure if the names are quite as offensive in the original japanese because i haven't looked too much into what they actually are and have a really limited knowledge of the language. but. this name in japanese is "インガ・カルクール・ククルーラ・ラルバン・ギジール・ホフダラン・マダラ・ヴィラ・ヤシマ・ジャクティエール・クライン３世" which is written in katakana. katakana is, in contrast to kanji and hiragana which are used for writing japanese, used to phoenetically transcribe foreign languages or to write loan words. so the foreign-ness of this character is being emphasized here in the original text as well.

the supposed cultural inferiority of the khurainese people is baked into the game at pretty much every level, down to the gags. khura'in has the 'plumed punisher' show, which is actively criticized by the characters in game for just being a cheap ripoff of the steel samurai. they don't even get to have their own tv.

i believe the reason the racism is pretty much glossed over a lot in the fandom is for several reasons. for starters, ace attorney fans overall tend to fall into three camps: 1. people like me who fucking hate these games, refuse to acknowledge them, and would retcon them out of existence if possible. 2. people who have found things they like about the game and have a Good Version of the characters and plots that they have constructed in their head and 3. people who view all of the hate on these games as completely overblown

the first camp Does talk about how the game is racist but we're all already in agreement about that so it's kind of preaching to the choir and a bit redundant to keep going on about. the second camp tends to acknowledge the stickier aspects of the game but focuses on making content around the elements they like rather than critique. the third camp is the type to throw the baby out with the bathwater re: critiquing a thing they like. it's all haterism to them. but either way i think its kind of fucked up how many people will be like 'aa6 isnt that bad you guys are just mean' without even acknowledging these complaints.

anyway the khura'in country vs kurain village thing is really weird to me it shows both a lack of imagination and a disregard for the series' own established lore. why would a girl from a village where almost everyone is a spirit medium need to go to a place where only, like, two people are mediums to train.

i will say though that the divination seance is kind of one of the only things i found about aa6 to be an interesting addition. for a franchise with ghost summoning and murder solving, the two have a kind of hilariously low amount of overlap so i found the idea of bringing ghost bullshit into court really fun. mechanically speaking, the divination seances also felt a LOT better to play than the mood matrix segments of aa5.

in general, i think the biggest weakness of the mainline franchise under takeshi yamazaki's stewardship is its misunderstanding of stakes. both aa5 and 6 prioritize more bombastic and impressive on paper material stakes. oh no! the ENTIRE JUSTICE SYSTEM BEING GOOD OR BAD depends on this one case! on no! we have to DEAL WITH REBEL INSURGENTS! complete horseshit when there is not competent and functional enough character writing to get us emotionally invested here. yamazaki seems to think bigger is better, and that just simply isnt true for something like ace attorney

i've pointed this out in the past when critiquing aa5 and 6 but if you look at the actual material stakes on the line in ace attorney, they're at their highest after rise from the ashes. ousting the corrupt chief of police is the most impressive and impactful thing phoenix does with his career (arguably until the jurist system, but definitely in the trilogy.) but that's not the big Finale case for his character arc. his finale case is defending his college girlfriend; a nun who lives in the mountains, whose conviction would have had zero implications on the larger fabric of ace attorney's legal system. because takumi's writing clearly shows that he understands what makes a plot impactful is the emotional stakes the characters have invested in the events.

before taking over the main franchise, takeshi yamazaki was responsible for the miles edgeworth investigations spinoffs. i do enjoy both of those games - aai2 in particular is really strong. yamazaki does a great job with edgeworth's character arc even if i have some specific gripes with the duologys writing. i think theyre solid additions to the franchise. but you can see traces of this sort of misalignment in narrative priorities here as well. for example, the last case in aai1 is notorious for still going on for, like, an entire hour or two past the time when the last remaining plot point we care about has been revealed. because yamazaki seemingly had no understanding that That was the thing the case should have been about, and that should have been the final mic drop of the game. it just keeps going! he didn't know the game was done and he added a bunch more bullshit busywork after it that no one likes!

so yeah. without going into anything even as specific as how individual plotlines or character arcs were mishandled in aa5/6 that's really my overview What Went Wrong of those games.

[lynnlovesthestars]

Could you do a Astarion x Tiefling Reader were they are sitting alone underneath there tents canopy in and they are sewing to pass the time humming and doesn't notice Astarion walk up after he was looking for them . ( they could be making something for him maybe for his 'birthday' after learning that it was that day ) .

omg sorry i took so long but my creativity juices flow in funny ways ahah.. to make it a little easier for me, since my tiny brain has been having a hard time in putting words down, i thought it would have been nice to tie this up with a oneshot i wrote a few weeks ago.. i wish i followed better your prompt- though i hope you'll like it.

Ofc reading the part before this won't change the experience, but it was nice to tie them together cause it gave a little continuity and idk anyways i hope you'll like it though it's mostly introspective and a lil angsty when astarion shows up..

----

Masterlist.

Part 1. (the one shot i tied this to)

My prompt list for requests.

Taglist: @sessils @spacebarbarianweird (i forgot to add it yesterday cause im an idiot, but better late than never ahah)

----

Golden.

Pairing: astarion x GN!tiefling!reader

Summary: the huge tear in his shirt caught your eye again, and you decided to give him a reminder that someone cared about him.

Genre: angsty?, lots of thinking, self-doubt, avoidance✨

You never noticed the tears carefully patched up on Astarion’s shirt until you were retrieving your dried clothes from the fire.

His button up sat up ripped on the stone like you left it on the night before, yet you still couldn’t help but focus on the smaller sewn tears already covering the fabric. It was such a precise job, that you wouldn’t have been able to tell that the fabric was ever broken until you looked closely and the places where the thread was tightly pulled became clearer.

You made a mental note of it as you walked back to your tent, holding up the bundle of yours and Astarion’s clothes.

The camp was lively that morning: yelling, singing, clattering of bottles and pans, along with rustling of the leaves had saturated the air, charging it with an electrifying energy.

In the middle of the chaos, your brain still stirred towards Astarion and the way you woke up curled up in his side, while he was meditating.

The tension that filled the tent the night before was gone. The only thing left from the night before was the ghost of his bite on your neck, and his body holding you to him.

When he broke his trance, he acted like nothing ever happened. Like you didn’t sleep twisted with him, or the way he drove you insane the night before.

You could still feel his lips on your neck as you collected your sewing kit from the tent, which still smelled like him, blood and bergamot.

As you spread the shirt on your lap, you could relive the events of the night before like a bard stuck on encore after encore.

You could feel the warmth of your bodies pressed to each other still spreading over your skin as you carefully prepared the essential to fix the tear.

You studied the tear that spread over the back, you knew it was going to be hard to make it seem flawless like the rest of them, but you wanted to attempt for him.

Worst case scenario, it was gonna stay broken anyways.

As you started to work on the tear, and you noticed how the uneven edges were not coming out nicely, an idea spurred in your mind.

At worst you were already planning on buying him a new one when you reached Baldur’s Gate. You had connections in the lower city, and you knew you could get a tailor to make the same button up if you brought a reference.

You worked on the shirt for what felt like hours, while everyone was enjoying their day, whether they took care of chores around camp or disappeared for walks, but as everyone came and left, the only one you had not seen was Astarion.

It was only when the sun was starting to set that you finally spotted him near his tent as he was looking for something in his bag.

You were just done with the shirt, and you couldn't help but hope he liked it.

You folded the shirt carefully along with the rest of his clothes, and as you were ready to head towards Astarion, he already stood in front of you.

His face was unreadable like he wanted to convey a specific emotion, but couldn't figure out how to. He was tense, his arms were frozen at his sides, so you decided to break the ice.

“I did this for you” You carefully showed him the pile of his neatly folded clothes, and his shirt on top.

“I wanted to fix your shirt, but the tear was too-” You started but before you could explain, Astarion had stopped you almost harshly.

“You didn't have to”He said briefly, it sounded mostly like an admonishment, yet you could have sworn there was some sort of softness to it. 

“I know, but I wanted to” 

“Why?” His furrowed brows were inquisitive, trying to gauge your intentions as he wetted his lips. 

“Cause I care about you, I literally told you yesterday” The words slipped out of your lips just as quickly as your tail was swishing nervously.

He scoffed, folding his arms and turning his eyes away from you. “No one does things for free” You could tell there was something odd from him, as if he was trying to bury something under this indifference he was trying to put up now.

“Count this as a gift then” You jutted your chin towards him and invited him to take the clothes still in your arms.

He was taken aback by the simplicity with which you said those words, almost carelessly, and most of all to the person that deserved them the least, especially how hard he was being with you.

He wanted to quip back but you resumed your explanation before he could even think of a response and he wanted to hate it so much. 

“As I was saying, I tried to fix the tear, but it didn't want to look nice, so I embroidered the shirt with a gold pattern” You explained as you pointed at the button up. Astarion was so focused on shielding himself that he didn’t even look at his clothes, she could have gave him one of her shirts for what he knew and he would have not realized it until he would be in his tent. 

His eyes finally fell on the piece of clothing his mouth fell slightly open. He traced the golden thread carefully, as if it was a creation of his sick mind. “I hope it’s not too much.”You trailed off, your words were warm, almost sticking to his skin like glue. He wanted to shake them off himself, he wanted to yell that he didn’t deserve such attentions, that you were an idiot to do all of this for someone that had planned to use you, but it was like something in his body stopped him from screaming and lashing out at you, the only thing he could manage to do was the simple task he gave himself in the morning.

“I came here to thank you for last night, and for your kindness” He started with a honeyed voice. “But I suppose I have one more thing to add to the list” He clutched the bundle of clothes to his chest, tipping his head forward in thank you.

[thefairyfellermasterstroke]

Btw frev nation I bought some coins on Ebay!!!! two french coin from 1799/1800 (shout out to @18thcenturythirsttrap to helping figure out what year they are from), a french Louis XVI reign coin im not rlly sure when its from but it's very cool nonetheless, and a random Austrian 1861 coin that was in the bundle that came with these other three. This is the first time I buy something so old (and it's the related to the french revolution too! Yey!), and I just know it's gonna be such a weird feeling holding them and be like : "Damn. These are like two centuries old." ANYWAY I just can't wait to get these and im so so so so so happy and yeah I'm gonna update u guys :3

[darishima]

BONESY BONESY HIII BONESY

remembwr when i said this

i am home now!!!! here is a pic of both shelves

its a little messy n not well lit.. shelves are a little disorganized too especially the bottom two but its fiine ! lucky star shelf i showed you before is third down on the left. im gonna take better pictures to post here and on mfc once my sega power figure comes in and i move my toga and midari sections around

basic explanation, starting from the top on the left shelf: -combination toga and midari section, with my full ohshc manga set in the back -jiro section, with all my mha manga -lucky star section <333 -misc section, largely demon slayer, w assorted manga -another misc section, kinda where i stuck my least favorite figures LMAO im sorry guys right shelf: -mostly one piece section, partially disgaea section -yamato shrine plus kakegurui section runoff -mainly my edward shrine plus funkos lined up along my tokyo ghoul + tg:re manga sets, but my NSO section is slowly growing. plus miku -hxh section! mostly meruem, komugi, and neferpitou- theyre my 3 favs. couple misc figures next to them too -red box on the right of the lowest shelf is where i stash all my weed LMFAO isnt it a genius spot.. nobody would ever look or suspect. im soo smart.. anyway rest of that is misc manga and its kinda cluttered just pretend you dont see that

speaking of midari and toga sections! here are closeups of both !

midari section is currently cramped and messy.. usually has kakegurui manga behind it (hence the empty spot) but hunter is borrowing the first few volumes rn so it looks sad and empty :( need to move the midari section to another shelf because it and the toga section next to it are getting too large to coexist on the same shelf anymore they need more room. and speaking of toga section

wonderful angel.. also getting crowded mostly because banpresto always makes giant ass bases which take up lots of space on shelves </3 take a hint from pop up parade bp your base game SUCKS.

also just now realizing how BADLY tumblr annihilates quality... pls click on the pictures nd zoom in i promiseee they are better quality than that pls..

here is my jiro section !

gets a whole shelf all to herself (except for the dabi figure.. who is my bookend). im on a quest to get every single (non-gk) figure of jiro EVER made and so far i am missing seven out of sixteen :( most of the rest are trading figures and funkos except for the bellfine scale figure which is hella expensive.. like $100+.. but she will be mine eventually. here are the ones im missing

top 3 are trading figures, middle is still on preorder i think so it cant be mine yet , jst need to track down the other two somewhere. on the bottom are two of the funkos which are easy to buy but i dont LIKE having funkos and i dont WANT them but because its jiro i have to buy them anyway :/ im just putting it off. i almost ordered the first one the other day but decided to wait for the price to go down a bit. middle one is a gamestop exclusive thats bundled with a t shirt and i could easily buy it rn at, yk, gamestop, but i dont want the t shirt so i gotta buy th funko individually off ebay. last pic on the bottom is the bellfine scale, found it for $90 on a site recently when it usually goes for $120/$130+ so hopefully it'll be mine soon!1 anywayy sorry 4 yapping.. just love jiro will collect all her figures 4ever. wish i could do that for toga but she has too many :( 62 compared to jiro's 16 :( anywayyy more shelfies

the midari section was formerly just the kakegurui section but i had to boot these 3 figures out cause they wouldnt fit:

mary nendoroid (which i got for a STEAL at $28 unopened, they usually go for like $70 or more), plus mary and yumeko pop up parades (they are holding hands). and next to them:

yamato section! my beautiful prince yamato! the angle of this one sucks.. wtv. the big figure between the manga is the most expensive figure i've bought so far at $45, not counting the kangel L pop up parade figure i preordered for like $64 (doesnt count cause i dont have it yet). and SPEAKING OF KANGEL...!

kangel pop up parade!!! i got her yesterday!!! and the goodsmile bonus p-chan (the sad kitty)! put her in front of my nso manga + switch game, im so so happy i got her :3 and i'll be even happier when i get the kangel L figure, which is wayy bigger and imo prettier

anywayy hope you liked my yappings bonesy if you see them n read them.. ^_^ and also anyone else who saw this on their dash and checked it out,, sorry for clogging your dash :(

figures are my passion my love my light my one true joy.. would love to answer any questions u have about them ever. need to take more closeup pictures also bc its so hard to see details in that shitty ass full shelf pic i took.. will take better pictures another time <3 shldve taken a closeup of my hxh section its so good,, or my edward section,, oh well

[moonglittering]

💍👑 🍭!!

✨ @tenderpulsive. meme. still accepting!

💍 – What style engagement ring would your muse like best? What is their ring size?  

answered here! virote likes oddball, weird looking rings that break the conventions of the regular, princess cut diamond. no diamonds, period!!! like if the ring has to have some type of gemstone, make it something like. idk. cool. morganite, amethyst, pearl, onyx, etc!!

👑 – How do you feel about royalty AU’s or Arranged Marriage AU’s?

vi’s already in his royalty au. he’s space royalty so i cannot comment on him being in an actual royal au! i think royalty au’s are fine, i don’t have a strong opinion on diff au’s. theyre just different circumstances and setting to explore. as for arranged marriage au’s, i also don’t have an opinion on them because virote would fucking NEVER. lol.

he don’t even like when his friends try to hook him up with someone.

i’ll say this: if anyone ever tried to shimmy virote into a marriage he didn’t ask for, the only arrangement that’s gonna be made is their funeral. he’s already told his family this too... glfjglkfd. i dont care about arranged marriage au’s simply because my muse is someone that cannot be set up into loving someone. not even if that person was perfect for him.

outside of vi, i don’t feel one way or another about them.

🍭 – What are some thoughtful gift ideas to get your muse?

depends on what it is… he’s a practical gift type, both giving and receiving. like, if he makes someone a gift, its something they can use. like a bath oil mixture or some handmade bookmarks or hand painted plates… something that specifically caters to that person. if that person loves roses, vi compiles a bunch of rose stuff. rose flavored drinks, candies, rose infused salt, rose infused vodka if they enjoy a good alcohol gift. stuff like that! makes them a coaster made with dried petals and resin…

anyway im driftin off topic lol. he loves handmade gifts! since no one can truly buy him anything since he has everything he wants if it can be bought, he definitely prefers the handmade route. preferably art or candles… custom perfume mix….. sigh…. but you know what, as long as someone put their work and sincerity into the gift, he’ll love it!

trinkets, unless theyre from a local shop and made w. love, have no effect on him.

even when he receives flowers, he likes flowers that he can use for something later. but honestly if he’s given plants, he’d rather be giving a bundle of herbs tied together with twine.

[freeuselandonorris]

https://www.tumblr.com/freeuselandonorris/749304683219255297/httpswwwtumblrcomfreeuselandonorris749208898

i kinda hope there’s a cool ending for arasaka, i also can’t imagine it being positive, but maybe they just let you go afterwards if all they want is johnny’s engram and you get some cool rewards. it’d be fucked if it was a bad ending.

honestly a bit disappointed you can’t play 3 or nv because they’re so fun. i haven’t played the dlc’s in 4, but from what i know about them, the 3 story ones alone make it worth it. far harbor is supposed to be really good, adds a new big area in maine and lots of quests to do. i’m really excited for that one. nuka world is like, an amusement park with functional rides and lots of fighting so i’m hype about that, too. automatrons has to do with getting robots for your settlements and stuff. the story ones are generally regarded as being better than the base game. the others add more to the crafting and settlement mechanisms, so their worth is really dependent on how much you like those features! if you enjoy them, they add to the worth, but some people could care less about them. i never messed with the crafting or settlements when i played it originally, but i’m going to do that when i pick it back up.

i had no idea the portal games are on switch, i might have to buy them on mine!! it’s one of the funniest games i’ve ever played, and i somehow forget that until i play it again. also, glados is my favorite video game antagonist. she’s incredible. i’m gonna end up playing portal at work if i buy it on my switch tbh. (i dont have the oled version, so im a little jealous)

rightttt i would kinda respect them if they just put some hideous ending in if you sided w arasaka though lmao. like i would be upset if it happened to me after i'd sunk 80 hours of playtime into it but also...that's some bold storytelling u know!!

(side note but did you see this photo of lando........once again i cannot stop thinking about cyberpunk driver AU pls help)

hmmm inch resting thank u for the info! honestly i probably would not touch the crafting/settlement ones but the story ones might make it worth it. tbh i should not be spending any more money on games for a lil while anyway (or on like...anything else lmao) so maybe i'll hang around for a while and see if the PS store puts the bundle into a sale given that it's popular again, bc the story dlc sounds worth it.

yeah i completely missed it until now and idk how! but honestly i would say the gameplay is actually better and more intuitive on the switch than it was on PC, it just fits so well. totally agree about GLaDOS. the ending still cracks me up when i think about it. i loved stephen merchant as wheatley in the sequel too. it's super cheap for both of them on switch, i think i paid like £13 for both? it's called the companion collection. def def worth it.

[nebulaleaf]

hiii!! i love seeing your collection, do you have any recommendations of websites etc for hunting down p5 merch? im outside the usa so things like mercari arent an option for me unfortunately T_T

Hi! I have many but some might be more or less effective depending on Where outside of the US you are. As I am Canadian, my options are a lot more feasible than say... someone from Europe yk. (god shipping fees are insane)

I will say, a huge chunk of my collection was bought off of Mercari or American Ebay, or American stores like BigBadToyStore and I just wanna make that clear. Two of these sites ship to places outside of the US still, but it's so much cheaper to get it sent to American friend and then over to me.

This got longer than I thought whoops under the cut it goes.

Anyway onto the actual recs. As always I have to shill Myfigurecollection.net. You can sort by the exact figure you're looking for, local currency, free or paid shipping and it's really handy. On top of that you can interact with the sites database or forum features! Make a wishlist or a list of a fave character's merch you want. Track what you've ordered already and when it's expected to arrive or be released from preorder. Find forum posts from your region about people discussing good places to buy from and so much more. It's such a huge and amazing tool for someone into collecting so long as you can get over the UI. Personally I've never found issues with it but I'm used to how older websites work anyway.

(Here is me sorting by European currency. There are so many euro sellers im jealous.)

Pros of mfc:

• Figures are usually in good condition and can even be mint in box. (you can even sort by condition, wow!)

• users are polite and can be negotiated with for a better deal oftentimes

Cons of mfc:

• This is not a site that focuses solely on selling like ebay, it's more like an ad section in the newspaper

• You have to trust who you are buying from as there's no 'insurance' so to speak. If you get scammed, there's no refunds and mods won't help you aside from banning the user, unlike actual buy and sell sites which have policies or insurance.

Next up is Zenmarket. This is a proxy site that allows me to buy straight from japan! What's handy about it is that you can browse multiple japanese sites straight within zenmarket's site. I can pick up items from Amazon.jp, JP Mercari, and Yahoo Auctions and have 'em all in one cart! You can also paste links into a special search bar if you've found a specific item you'd like to buy from a JP site. I personally browse JP Mercari and Rakuma the most. I like second-hand figures and both these places have good deals since they're flea-market esque sites. Yahoo!Auctions I've only bought one thing from, and I haven't had a *bad* experience per se, I just don't like auctions and buyout prices lol. Always so pricey... but I'm sure there's good deals to be had if you're willing to do a bidding battle. Pro tip! Search with japanese terms to get better results.

(Browsing a listing and the main mercari page, unsorted)

Zenmarket hasn't let me down before. They're speedy, and all my stuff has been well packed.

Pros:

• Can get the best base prices buying straight from japan

• Super simple layout and bundling orders is really easy

•Items can be held in their warehouse for 45 days if something happens/you wanna wait before bundling it into a package. You can also pay to extend this time.

•Quick shipping from the warehouse

•probably more lol

Cons

•If you're not american, shipping is gonna be like $30 CAD lol. At least you can fit multiple items in one box...? I got 2 books and several t-shirts without going over the small packet limit. i haven't used zennarket express, but if your shit is very small i think its about 10 dollars cheaper.

• ¥300 yen fee per item batch. So if I get a figure and book from Mercari I'll have to pay a ¥300 fee. If I then add something from Amazon or a different site other than Mercari to my cart, I'll have to pay another ¥300 fee. I don't mind this as its like what. 3 dollars? but if you're buying a lot from all over it can potentially rack up shit. also ppl just dont like fees so it's a con.

I also of course use ebay. I feel like I don't need to get into how ebay works so onto BRAND NEW MERCH CONDITION sitessss

I used to use Aitai Kuji but their selection of stuff is kinda mid these days so I stray from it. I've had good experiences with Ukiyo Kumo but it has a similar problem with Aitai Kuji.

Another site for brand-new merch is Meccha Japan, but holy fuck I hate their shipping and prices. If something becomes low in stock they jack up the price and label it as 'rare' or ultra rare or whatever and I find that irritating. They also use fedex and dhl for shipping which means fun fees woohoo yipee!!! i had to spend over 100 dollars to get my package wrangled from their graaaaaasp!!!!

So yeah, sorry for lame New Merch recs, I don't really buy brand-new figures since P5 hasn't released anything lately. I bought the Hello!Goodsmile mona and joker from BigBadToystore and I think shipping was only 15 usd? I like BBTS but if you're not american they're kinda slow in the shipping department.

I probably have more reccs but I can't think of any so. enjoy this. Anon if you wanna talk more thoroughly about this feel free to dm me! Talking about this stuff makes me so happy it's my lifeblood ♪♪

[lesbianraggedyanne]

I BOUGHT THE STANLEY PARABLE R I G H T BEFORE IT WENT ON SALE

FUCK

[samuyed]

🥱

[coridallasmultipass]

.

[mrswidowjohansson]

Vogue Skincare

WC: 806

Warnings: none

Summary: After Scarlett’s launch of The OutSet people have been waiting for you to do a skincare routine with Vogue using the products.

“Hi Vogue it's me Y/N Johansson here, and today i'm going to be showing you guys my everyday skincare routine.” Y/N says starting off the video in front of her vanity bathroom with her robe on. “So as you guys know Scarlett just launched her own skincare line called The OutSet, and that’s what I’m going to be using since that’s what I’ve been using for my skin since it came out.” she says will getting her stuff out and making sure everyone can see her.

“Okay let's just talk about the products that I'm going to be using first. And why I love them, and I'm not just saying that because Scarlett is my wife.” She states with a chuckle. “K so first things first, I am going to use the Daily Essential Regimen Bundle. And the first thing I am going to use out of it is the Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser.” She says, showing the bottle to the camera. “Now what I love about these products are of course them being cruelty free and Vegan which I think a lot of people will love just like me.” She says while starting to apply the product on her face.

“As for what really sold me on these products is that they work great for sensitive skin. And not a lot of people know this about me. I have eczema which makes it really hard for me to be able to find a perfect skin care product that works with it, without having to go to the doctor and getting prescribed something.” She states while rinsing her face of the cleanser. “What that cleanser does is it hydrates your face leaving it fresh and balanced without causing any harm like stripping your skin or making it dry out.” She says while getting out the next product and showing it to the camera like the last one. “Now the thing I use next is the Firming Vegan Prep Serum, and I'm just gonna do one pump cause that's all you need.” Y/N states putting one pump in her hand and rubbing it all over her face.

“What this serum does is it provides healthy vitamins to hydrate your skin. What I love about this product is that this leaves my face feeling nice and smooth.” She says while putting that away and getting the next thing out. “Okay now for the last thing is the norshin-'' Y/N doesn't even get to finish her sentence when she gets interrupted by her’s and Scarlett’s three year old daughter barging into the bathroom.

“What are you doing in here hunny, where’s mama?” Y/N questions “Wanna help mommy” she states. “Okay” she says while picking her up and putting her on the counter so she can help. “Anyways as I was saying before I was interrupted by this cutie. I am now going to be using this nourishing daily moisturizer that Miss Thang over here is gonna put on my face.” She says while putting some in her daughter's hands. “Make sure you rub it real well, bubby, okay?” she says. “Otay mommy” she says while rubbing it into her mothers face. “BUBBA! BUBS!” They can hear Scarlett yelling all over the house in search of their daughter. “IN HERE BABE” Y/N screams. “Welp this seems like it's going to be a whole family fiasco.” Y/N says looking into the camera.

“Bubba we were supposed to be playing hide and seek, you were supposed to be hiding so that we wouldn't interrupt mommy.” Scarlett says watching her daughter put her skincare products on her wife. “It’s fine hun I don't mind the help I'm almost done here anyways.” Y/N shoots down her worries. “Okay guys now that Miss thang is done Im going to be rinsing all this off real quick.” She says. “Okay guys now that I'm done rinsing off my face that concludes my daily skincare routine. Do you have anything else to say babe. Y/N says turning to look at Scarlett. “Umm, if you guys can, you should check out the OutSet and buy some products. It's cruelty free, vegan, dermatologist tested and approved, fragrance free, allergy tested, and it’s great for sensitive skin.” Scarlett says listing off all the things about her product. “Welp you heard it here guys definitely go buy these products cause they're amazing, um that's it for this video you guys have a good day or night wherever you are and thank you Vogue for having me on your channel it was an honor like always.” Y/N says. The last thing you see is Y/N and Scarlett waving bye at the camera.

[asexual-levia-tan]

im over here like "oohhh my chance to finally finish mario 64" as if i dont already know imma jump into sunshine immediately

[bixqueen]

supercorptober (supercorp october writing prompt)

i stumbled upon this prompt on AO3 a year after this happened lol but i’m wondering if we’re doing it again this year. and if someone makes a 31-day prompt list or we come up with it all ourselves? anyways, i’m interested in participating this year (hopefully although college decision process is a lot) and seeing how supergirl goes starting in august maybe it’ll help us with the pain lol

31 days

no.1:

- lena doesn’t understand how her friend can be eating an ice cream cone in the middle of fall while she’s freezing, yet she finds it cute and kara just doesn’t know why she’s blushing

no.2:

- sam and alex force lena and kara on a blind date

- they’re best friends

- they both think they’ve been stood up and sam and alex are screaming inside watching this happen

no.3:

- its karas first time at a high school party and she spots a special someone she is very into

- 5 mins in heaven or spin the bottle

no.4:

- kara and lena are both single and attend homecoming only to fall into each other’s arms (literally or metaphorically)

- can be at the game or the dance

no.5:

- baking and making a mess only for alex to walk in on them making out then begins cussing as she leaves

no.6:

- halloween themed game night with all their friends trying to get them to realize they love each other

no.7:

- first sleepover at Danver’s house

- kara and lena are freshman besties and decide to have a movie night and sleepover (ofc they make out DUH)

no.8:

- engagement (proposal) party with the superfriends being exposed for betting on the relationship

no.9:

- protective kara while lena works with DEO on serious (dangerous ofc) case

- nobody gets why supergirl is so worried

no.10:

- the way the ending of the 100th episode could’ve gone (GO WILD lol)

no.11:

- ice skating and hot cocoa days !!

- kara and lena go ice skating and casually fall on top of each other any chance they get then go back to karas for some cocoa and do some more falling on top of each other…

no.12:

- a flight with supergirl while lena is all bundled up and cozy on a fall night

no.13:

- visiting krypton and learning about their fall customs (/halloween idk if they do that most likely not)

- kara introducing lena to her parents

no.14:

- teaming up for a not so serious mission only to be scolded by j’on and alex ofc (be silly with this)

no.15:

- what really happens before a soccer game and your girlfriend shows up early to show support…hmm

- or lena pulls kara aside during their group warmups and have fun before the game

no.16:

- an accidental slip-up in front of lenas coworkers happen of her and supergirl kissing (though they don’t know it’s the same person)

no.17:

- moving in together after dating for a while but they don’t get to do much unpacking once one of them finds a movie (halloween one) only to find out the other hasn’t seen it

no.18:

- who you gonna call? SUPERGIRL!

- or lena doesn’t really need any rescuing, she just likes being held in karas strong and secure arms

no.19:

- supercorps child first halloween

no.20:

- elementary school kara doesn’t know anything about love until she spots an adorable black-haired girl and can’t stop thinking about her

no.21:

- they’re at a bar and kara accidentally spills a drink all over lenas clothes (expensive) and instead of being pissed she knows a way kara can make it up to her

no.22:

- kara and lena happen to be put together for some science project and that hatred that was once there slowly dissolves into something else

no.23:

- “what do you mean you don’t go trick or treating?”

- “well kara, we are in high school now. don’t you think it’s a bit odd to dress up and beg others for candy? i can buy you some at the store.”

- “yeah but that’s not as fun,” the blonde girl whines in an attempt to make the shorter girl put on her (_) costume and tag along.

- or lena doesn’t want to go trick or treating with kara, alex, and sam but gets guilted into it

no.24:

- lena and kara agree to babysit ruby one night and against their better knowledge they let her watch a movie that’s probably too scary for her (as well as them)

- supercorp cuddles

no.25:

- kara reveals she has a special surprise for her best friend lena

- she gives her a clue everyday going into halloween and her friend must figure it out in order for it to be revealed (this can be like some fluff love confession thing that takes lena until the very last day to figure out bc she’s a useless lesbian)

no.26:

- school trip to a museum (science or art) and the two best friends (who are hopelessly in love with each other) find any moment to slip their hands together and run off for a few moments

no.27:

- lena travels to ireland in hopes of discovering what really happened to her mother while kara stays in national city but keeps tails on lenas heartbeat and whereabouts. she ends up flying there once a day to be there physically and they both end up going to THE river/lake (they’re either together or just friends in this)

no.28:

- lena walks into her office only to find her best friend struggling to catch a puppy she brought (named pumpkin hehe) as a halloween surprise gift

no.29:

- lena knocks on the door of her best friends house begging to build a snowman in the middle of the night since she can’t sleep and seems to (for some reason) find comfort in those ocean blue eyes

no.30:

- alex gets tired of hearing kara complain about how much she likes lena but doesn’t know what to do so she decides to ask lena out from karas phone

- lena agrees and kara still doesn’t know what’s going on until after the “date” and she sees her messages. let’s say she’s not that mad at alex

no.31:

- lena has been missing for 3 days now and even the super can’t seem to find her. until she picks up on certain hints around the city and finds that she’s been captured by lex (i’m bad at horrors lol this is me trying)

I began this idea process back in like mid-june but i thought this might be really fun! we don’t know how this season will end but i thought we can at least have some happiness during it lol. anyways, it’s officially autumn so i finally got to post and it’s in a month advance which is nice! so repost and comment if you want to take part. i think it’ll be in A03 again but im super excited for this!

[dreamiehrs]

a Christmas miracle ➛ z.cl

genre: fluff, comedy/crack, bestfriend!chenle, gender neutral reader, hurt/comfort somewhat

pairing: zhong chenle x reader

word count: 2,588 words

warning(s): some swearing

summary: Christmas had been the same old same old holiday for you and your family for plenty of years now, fully embracing the tradition of meeting up with family, exchanging presents, and enjoying each other’s presence on Christmas day. however, this year seemed to feel quite different, with your family quite literally forgetting that Christmas even existed, and with you all stuck in your apartment alone in the snowy city, you weren’t so sure what you were going to do for Christmas this year. unbeknownst to you, though, your sneaky best friend had a trick up his sleeve, and he was determined to make this Christmas one you’ll remember forever.

note: this is a part of mylin’s @suh-insane​ and sunny’s @neocitybynight​ Walking in a Winter Wonderland collab! this is my first time participating in a collab solely for Christmas, so I hope you all enjoy this fic of mine! Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! I hope you all have an amazing and safe Christmas this year, and I just wanted to let you all know that I appreciate and love you guys so so SO much! (and to the people who don’t celebrate it, I still hope you all have a wonderful day nonetheless!)

prompts chosen: “when we finally kiss goodnight how I’ll hate going out in the storm! but if you’ll really hold me tight all the way home I’ll be warm.” + “that’s what Christmas memories are made from. they’re not planned; they’re not scheduled. nobody puts them in their blackberry. they just happen.”

for the past few months, time seemed to fly by without leaving a trace behind, and before you knew it, it was already Christmas day. if it was any other year, you would’ve woken up earlier, around 6 AM to be precise, and start your trek to your parents house with their gifts in hand. however, since your parents and the rest of your family got caught up in other ordeals, and quite literally forgot that Christmas even existed, you had woken up quite later than 6 AM. 9 AM, if you were being specific.

you had still bought your family presents for Christmas, of course, and took the time to wrap them and spiffy them up yourself with various different kinds of Christmas wrapping paper you’ve collected over the years as a pro wrapper (in actuality, it was just your mother giving you extra wrapping paper when she accidentally bought too much, so you weren’t entirely a pro wrapper, per se). what you were trying to say is that you put a lot of thought into buying and decorating presents for your family, and you were sort of down about how you wouldn’t be able to give them their presents in person this year.

basically, what you were trying to get across is that you quite literally had no plans for Christmas this year, and you were probably going to spend your entire day wailing away in your apartment.

nonetheless, you pulled yourself out of bed after being in deep thought for thirty minutes straight, and decided to actually not wail away in your apartment for the rest of the day. it was time to be festive, you thought to yourself, as you slowly made your way around your room to move your curtains aside to let some sunlight seep in. although you were in a brooding mood, you didn’t entirely want your room to reflect that.

you huff to yourself as you slide your feet against the carpet floor, swinging open your closet doors and glancing over all of your clothes, none of them really catching your attention. you sigh before closing both of your closet doors dramatically, turning around and heading towards your dresser. you can faintly hear your phone buzz on your nightstand as you pull on one of the knobs on one of your dresser drawers that contains your pajama pants. you grab a random pair of snug pajama pants and opt to keep the same pajama shirt you wore to bed last night on before heading to the bathroom to change.

after taking some time to get dressed and brush your teeth, you finally exit your bathroom and toss the pajama shorts you wore last night in your hamper. you snatch your phone and stash it in your pocket before making your way towards your miniature kitchen. you promptly grab your kettle and fill it up with water, waiting for it to reach the third line before placing it on your stove. you move the dial until its exactly on high temperature, and you’re about to start to make yourself breakfast until you feel your phone buzz in your pocket.

fed up with how active your phone had been for the past thirty minutes, you finally fish your phone out of your pocket and lean against the counter next to your stove.

your phone contained the usual notifications, such as Instagram likes, Team Snapchat sending you a Christmas snap, your best friend chenle spamming your phone- wait, your best friend chenle spamming your phone? that was FAR from your usual notifications, and you were honestly quite surprised that he was contacting you on Christmas day this year. he’s usually spending it with his family all day, and never texts you back until he gets back home, which is around eight PM.

without thinking, you unlock your phone and tap on the messages icon, and your jaw almost drops when you see how many messages he sent you within the past few hours. since 6 AM, chenle has sent you over one hundred messages, and for once, you were grateful that you were a heavy sleeper, because if you were a light sleeper and woke up to every single one of his messages, you would’ve lost your mind.

you [9:45 AM]: please chenle what do you WANT FROM ME

lele the dumdum [9:45 AM]: WOW YOU’VE FINALLY WOKEN UP FROM UR DEEP SLUMBER

lele the dumdum [9:45 AM]: I THOUGHT U WERE NEVER GOING TO WAKE UP

lele the dumdum [9:46 AM]: took u long enough smh

you [9:46 AM]: ...is this really how you’re going to treat me on Christmas day??

lele the dumdum [9:46 AM]: I treat you like this all the time. what makes you think that today’s gonna be any different?

you [9:47 AM]: …

lele the dumdum [9:47 AM]: anyways… MY GORGEOUS WONDERFUL BESTIE WHAT DO U HAVE PLANNED FOR CHRISTMAS TODAY

lele the dumdum [9:48 AM]: DO ANY OF UR PLANS INVOLVE ME POTENTIALLY COMING OVER??? O.O

you [9:48 AM]: is this why you’ve been spamming my phone SINCE 6 AM!?!?!

you [9:48 AM]: also why were you awake at 6 am anyways

you [9:49 AM]: did your crush finally text you back or are you still drowning in loneliness like usual

lele the dumdum [9:50 AM]: I don’t even have a crush??? who told you that false information

you [9:50 AM]: the little elves running around my house whispered it in my ear last night

lele the dumdum [9:51 AM]: I think you’re going to delusional

you [9:51 AM]: I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case at this point

lele the dumdum [9:51 AM]: MOVING ON

lele the dumdum [9:52 AM]: WHAT DO U HAVE PLANNED

lele the dumdum [9:52 AM]: I NEED TO KNOW THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT

you [9:53 AM]: me planning to wail in sorrow all day is very important to you??

lele the dumdum [9:53 AM]: ...excuse me what?? UR GOING TO WAIL IN SORROW ALL DAY ON CHRISTMAS DAY!?!?

lele the dumdum [9:54 AM]: this is not acceptable. I am coming over right now to spread some of my FESTIVENESS AND JOLLINESS with you :D

you [9:55 AM]: chenle you really don’t have to-

lele the dumdum [9:55 AM]: TOO BAD IM OMW RN AS WE SPEAK

you [9:56 AM]: at least bring some festivities, games, and snacks with you 🙄

lele the dumdum [9:56 AM]: oh shit you have a point

lele the dumdum [9:57 AM]: BRB ILL BE THERE IN 30

you knew that once chenle had made his mind up about something, he wasn’t going to change it that easily, so it would be futile to try and stop him now. you don't bother replying to his last message, and you shove your phone back in your pocket a few moments before your kettle whistles. you move on from chenle tormenting you for twelve minutes straight and make yourself some tea and breakfast instead.

it was now around 10:30 AM, and you had just finished digesting your breakfast when you feel your phone buzz in your pocket again. you were lying down on your small, beige couch, with your cold tea sat on the coffee table a few feet away. you were still in your pajamas, with no intent of changing into actual clothes anytime soon.

once again, you fish your phone out of your pocket to see what nonsense chenle was texting you this time.

lele the dumdum [10:31 AM]: open up, bitch

you [10:31 AM]: I thought I gave you a spare key??

lele the dumdum [10:32 AM]: shit I forgot it

lele the dumdum [10:32 AM]: anyways OPEN UP

you lazily lift yourself up from off of your couch, grasping your mug of cold tea on the way to the door. you take your time unlocking your door, halfly because you felt like annoying chenle, and halfly because you were just over today in general.

the first thing that stands out to you once you swing open your front door is how different your outfit looks compared to chenle. he was all bundled up with plenty of layers to keep him warm while adventuring the city, and meanwhile you adorned white and pink striped pajamas with socks on. you also noticed that he had a dark grey bookbag on his back, and was holding two full bags in his hands.

the two of you stare at each other for a few more seconds until chenle breaks the silence with: “I think this is the most I’ve seen you look like a complete old person. there have been other times, but the old person persona is just jumping out at me right now.”

you roll your eyes. “don’t say that when you yourself have dressed up as an old person before.”

“yeah, yeah,” he brushes you off, passing by you to slip his shoes off and to take off his five hundred layers. “it doesn’t matter whether you look like an old person, it mainly matters whether you have the spirit of an old person, you know?”

“I cannot comprehend your words this early in the morning. we can have a conversation about whether I act like an old person later.” you say as you watch him remove his large, dark green jacket and place it onto your coat rack. you can hear him scoff at your remark, and you grin as you see the corners of his mouth lift up slightly.

“early in the morning? y/n it’s only-” he pauses to check his phone “10:32 AM. that’s early for you?”

“I woke up at 9 AM, you dum.”

“oh,” he swivels around to face you after taking his shoes off and removing all of his additional layers. “makes sense, I guess. you’ve only been awake for an hour and a half, so you’re probably not fully awake yet. I mean, I’ve been awake since 6 am, and I’m bursting with energy compared to you.”

you give him a deadpan expression in response to what he said, and he can’t help but burst out laughing at your reaction. he steps up beside you and pats your shoulder gently. “well, besides that, I’m gonna be the one who helps you burst with energy like I am right now! follow me!” he whisper-shouts a few inches away from your ear, and you can feel his hand leave your shoulder and grasp your right hand in a matter of seconds.

he leads you back towards your couch, and even somehow manages to help you set your mug down even though he has bags in his hands. the two of you plop down on your couch, and you almost melt at how soft and comfortable your couch was. you closed your eyes for a few seconds as chenle rustled through his bags beside you, and you don’t know how much time has passed when chenle starts to snap his fingers at you.

“y/n, I am not going to deal with your sleepy ass right now. I spent around forty minutes scurrying around the city to find things to lift your mood, and I am not going to let those forty minutes go to waste just because you’re tired.”

you groan and roll to the other side, facing away from chenle. “just five more minutes…”

surprisingly, you’re met by silence in response to your wish of wanting five more minutes of rest, but that silence doesn’t last when you feel something cold touch your face.

you screech and immediately open your eyes to witness chenle pressing an ice cube onto your forehead. you swat the ice cube off of your forehead as quick as you can, and stare up at chenle like he’s gone completely mad. “what was that for?”

he grins proudly. his plan had worked. “awake now? great. now, help me figure out what we should do first.”

“I think you’ve gone mad. I cannot believe you just woke me up by pressing an ice cube onto my forehead.” you complain, still feeling the coldness of the ice cube on your forehead. when you finally move to face him now, you see that he had brought plenty of things for you two to entertain yourselves.

“I could’ve done worse things, like dip my hand into freezing water and press it against your face, but I was feeling generous today, so I decided to spare you the pain.”

you scoff. “right. anyways, what’d you bring?”

he glances at you excitedly before getting into it. “well, I brought plenty of snacks, some fizzy drinks, some board games, some movies I rented that we could watch together, some candy, etc. I honestly brought everything that I thought you would like with me, so I really hope all of this is enough to make your Christmas day a little bit more festive. I may have also bought you a present, but besides that… let’s get this party started! ...y/n?”

he tears his gaze away from the couch to up to your face, and you don’t entirely register that you’re crying until a few minutes after staring into his eyes. “oh, I’m sorry… I just… I’m just really grateful that you decided to come all this way to cheer me up on Christmas day, and you brought so many things with you as well to make me feel better so… thank you, chenle.”

he beams at you even though he can feel a tear threatening to fall from his left eye, and instead of letting you see him cry as well, he quickly wraps his arms around your figure, bringing you into a tight hug. “of course, y/n. you know I’d do anything for you, right? if you’re down, I’m going to cheer you up in some way, shape, or form, and if you feel like watching the world burn, then I’ll be right by your side.”

“awh, stop it, you’re going to make me cry even more.” you faintly hit his back with your hand, and he giggles as a few tears fall down his face.

the two of you stay like that for a good five more minutes, which is enough time for chenle to regain his composure and act like he didn’t shed a few tears in the process. he slowly leaves your grasp, taking a good look at your face and wiping some tears off of your face with his thumb. “you know what I think will make you feel better?”

you grin. “what?”

he smiles before swiveling around to rustle through his bookbag, and your eyes widen when you finally process what he’s up to.

the next moment happens so quickly you can barely register that it’s happening. chenle swivels around with two nerf guns in his hands, throws you one that lands perfectly in your arms, and declares: “me completely destroying you in a nerf gun battle will make you feel better.” before he releases fire on you.

you shriek as you run across your apartment, trying to avoid the plastic bullets that chenle was littering your apartment with. eventually, he does win the battle, and it does make you feel better in the end, but let’s not mention that or else his ego will run wild, alright?

[bakubitch-minusultra]

Not Alone: Chapter Seven

-> an apocalyptic series with bnha characters but without quirks because im the writer and i can do whatever the fuck i want :P this ones a lil longer than the last

-> Word Count: 2.2k

-> Warnings: pervy doods, blood(?)

-> Taglist: @5sosfckss @laudthingcat [if you wanna be added lmk <3]

She didn’t look back. She knew he was watching her. She couldn’t bear to see the look on his face. His eyes would haunt her forever. She’s never left Hades before. He was always a part of whatever she did. He would wait in the woods while she raided houses, but he was still there. This was the first time she had ever turned her back on him and she didn’t know if she would be back.

She just put one foot in front of the other.

When the sun rose Y/n was in the middle of nowhere. She walked and listened to the music of the birds. The sun was above her and it was hot. Spring wasn’t like how it was when she was little. Now it was warm and muggy. She knew she was about halfway. Lost in the trail, she heard something she hadn’t heard in a long time, a buzz. She followed the noise to a hive. It was small and only half built but it made her feel good inside. She hadn’t seen a bee since before. She watched the busy bees for a little while longer before she turned back to the trail.

The sun had set and Y/n was starting to feel tired. She climbed a tree and laid against the trunk in one of the high up branches. After she closed her eyes, flashes filled her head instantly.

Her father was pushing her along the road. Cars and trucks filled the freeway. People sat in them still, but her dad didn’t think they had enough time to get out. He had waited for this day his whole life.

“Y/n we need to get to high ground and get away from these people,” his fingers bit into her back as he poked her.

“Dad, maybe we should go back home,” Her voice was small, compared to the noise of the masses.

“No. Run faster Y/n. We need to run.” He was in front of her, dragging her up a grassy hill. Her legs hurt. He had made her work out since she could remember. But it was late and she was tired. She thought a bad thought. A thought she would always regret. His erratic behavior forced the thought.

She heard a cracking noise and her fathers face faded away.

She woke and looked around but she saw nothing. Her eyes were blocked by something. She lifted her head and realized that she was face down in a bushy branch. The small branch she was resting her weight on was breaking. She struggled for a moment and pulled herself up, but the branch below her snapped and she winced as the noisy strike filled the air. Her heartbeat was throbbing throughout her body.

She had nowhere to go if anything had heard the noise. She stood perfectly still and willed her body to calm down. She couldn’t believe how close she came to falling out of a tree. She never slept in trees, she always chose underground. But tonight she had no choice. She had no plan. She felt naked without it. She stayed in the tree, rested her eyes and listened to the sounds of the night.

She climbed down before the sun came up. She never moved much during the day. It was one of her rules. But she had no choice, she was limited on time. She walked quickly, trying not to imagine the fever that had flushed his cheeks or the pain his leg was causing him. His eyes unnerved her, even in her own mind.

She saw the trees thinning and knew she was close. Her stomach was a bundle of knots and nerves. She walked as close as she could with her weapons and gripped them close to her as she had her last few seconds with them. She’s only been here once and it scared the hell out of her. She trembled and put them in a hole under a tree. She stuffed the bow to the very back of the hole and her knife. She shivered from the feeling of being without them.

She walked away and broke branches with her hands every few steps. She left the snapped ends hanging. It looked like a bear or other large animal had roamed the woods. Her father’s craziness would live inside her forever. The first few steps from the woods felt like wading through the river. Her legs ached, but the anxiety of being on an open road was making them feel like she was wearing cement boots.

Her breath increased and her peripheral vision became sharper. She saw a leaf blowing down the concrete. She could see an old brown stain and forced her brain to not hear the ripping and tearing. It felt weird to walk down a road. It had been so long she couldn’t remember the las time.

Just when she thought her stomach couldn’t hurt worse, she heard them.

They were a ways down the road but they hollered at her. She knew it was her they were shouting at. Her legs broke into a run for the gates of the town before she dared to glance at them. Her muscles pushed and her bullet hole stung.

She ran in a way she hadn’t in a long time. No backpack there to weigh her down, just a small pack in her hands. No heavy clothes because of the spring sun popping out. All she wore was a long sleeve shirt, cargo pants, and her thick soled boots she took from the dead. She was faster than she remembered being. It could’ve been that she was more scared that she remembered being. Her arms pumped as her legs dug into the ground. The forest green was passing her by in a blur.

She saw the guards. They wouldn’t protect her unless she reached the town. They would watch the men tear her clothes from her body and rape her in the field out front. The voices behind her were closing in. They were fast too. They ran more than she did.

“Don’t run baby. We’ll make it worth your while.”

She didn’t look back as she blasted through the guard gate and dropped to her knees inside the walls. She heard a guard through the blood pounding inside her ears.

“Halt.” Suddenly there were four guards there in front of the gate with huge guns. The five men who had chased her were bent over and breathing heavily. She saw the smirk of one of the men when his eyes met hers. He pointed toward her.

“See you on the way out. Maybe we can give you an escort home.” A shiver traveled up her spine. His grin scared her.

He was seedy and dirty and his skin made her want to gag. She moved away from the contact of a hand gripping her arm suddenly. An older woman helped her stand, “I won’t bite.” She looked back at the man and gave him the middle finger. Her dad called it the bird. “Not like them anyway.”

She smiled at Y/n. Her teeth were brown and Y/n thought that she was probably poor before the world ended. The poor lived longer than any of the rich. They already knew how to survive.

Y/n hated the smell of the town. She remembered that now, as the different smells washed over her. Sewage being the most distinct one.

“What can we do for you dear?”

Y/n glanced at the old lady. She didn’t trust her. No one trusted the townies. But she needed to remind herself of the desperate situation she was in.

“I need medicine for blood poisoning.”

The lady winced, “Are you injured?” Y/n shook her head.

“Not for me.”

“What kind of injury?”

Y/n paused, not wanting to talk to her. But she knew that she didn’t have time to take any chances.

“A stick went into his leg. I sewed it up but I think there’s pieces of bark still in there.”

She nodded, “I have just the thing.” She pulled Y/n along.

The town was a shantytown, made up of rundown houses and lean-tos. They would have been nice and pretty fancy before. Now the lean-tos almost seemed nicer. The walls surrounding the town were made of sharpened poles like out of a medieval village. She saw smelly people peddling their wares to passer-throughs and she felt like they had entered a dark age. She wished knights in armor were part of this nightmare.

Y/n was permitted to sleep one night with a purchase. She felt excitement she couldn’t explain at the idea of sleeping. Her rest in the tree was terrible. She was a passer-through. She could buy whatever she could carry. But buy was trade and she had very few things to trade.

The two entered a rundown house with stacks of papers and garbage inside. She could smell the garbage before she entered. The old lady cleared away a stack of plastic bags and other garbage from a long wooden counter. She lifted a white metal chest up and grinned her brown smile at Y/n.

“This is very special. It’s from the city. It’s what they use to treat the breeders. My son works there. He lets me have some, to help us here.”

Her words both disgusted and scared Y/n. Y/n couldn’t help but look around the room. She felt like an ambush would happen any second.

The lady laughed, “Kid don’t be a fool. He was taken there. He doesn’t work there because of the special perks.” Y/n gagged at the way she said perks and lifted her eyebrows. “He’s a doctor. All the doctors were taken.” Y/n didn’t feel any better at the thought. She felt herself panic at the idea of the breeder farms. “Girl you’re gonna have to wow me, for me to give you some of this.”

Y/n pulled out the big guns on the first try. She would try to bargain but she was in a hurry to get some sleep. She would have to sneak out of town in the middle of the night. The pervs at the gates had changed her initial plan. She passed the small blue bottle to the old lady and watched as her eyes lit up.

“Is it sealed?”

Y/n nodded and watched as the lady snatched it and kissed the bottle. She could feel her nose scrunch up.

She eyeballed Y/n with her crazy eyes, “How’d you get this?”

“My father had a health food store. He left me a couple bottles. This is the last one.” Y/n hated that she had given it to her. It wasn’t really her last one but it was still priceless.

She pushed three vials at Y/n from the white chest and pointed to the door, “Leave and tell no one what I’ve sold you.”

Y/n nodded, “Likewise.” The lady handed her the slip she needed to get a nights sleep at the Inn. She left feeling the old lady's eyes on her, but when she looked back she saw the lady hugging the bottle of tea tree oil like a nut. Her messy long white hair made her look like the evil queen from snow white, hugging the poisoned apple.

Y/n walked out onto the broken concrete street and looked around. She saw the Inn in the far corner of the shops. She kept her eyes low to the ground as she crossed.

“Bread miss? Eggs?”

She looked at a young man pointing to a house. She shook her head. She never ate anything that came from other people. Especially not townies. The sanitation there was far below the standards they had as a civilization. She heard rumors of a new plague last time she came through here.

She entered the Inn and looked around. A woman with bright red hair eyed her up and down. Y/n passed her the slip of paper and the lady’s face brightened up.

“Good to have patrons this early in spring.”

Y/n looked around, “How safe is this town?”

The lady shrugged, “Depends. A sweet piece of virgin ass like you is going to have troubles no matter where you go.”

She frowned, “Thanks.”

The lady croaked a laugh, “Precious, you’re risking a fuck ton coming here. The hunters are looking for breeders like you. Clean virgins.” Y/n passed her a diamond ring from her pocket and watched the lady’s dark brown eyes light up. “Luckily, a lady like me runs this Inn. You’ll be safe.”

Y/n smiled bitterly, “Wait until you see the ring you get when I leave here in one piece. Virginity intact.”

“I’d sneak out in the night if I were you. The things that circle town usually have what they want by sundown.” She turned back to Y/n and gave her a bright white smile, “Girls that look like you are fun.”

Y/n met her smile, “I’m fun. Just not in a way anyone appreciates.” She climbed the stairs and tried not to let her exhaustion be too obvious.

[calpalirwin]

Thin Pink Line

Request in which you tell Ashton you’re pregnant even though you never wanted kids

A/N: Okay, but this actually happened to a friend of mine and now that spunky little niece of mine of gonna be 4.

Word Count: 1.2k

And away, and away we go!

__

Your fingers shook as they grabbed the box off the shelf and dropped it in your hand cart. The fact that you were even buying a pregnancy test was enough to set you in a panic. This shouldn’t be happening. This wasn’t supposed to happen. You had made your stance on having children clear and steadfast: you didn’t want them. And Ashton, your sweet, loving husband who had never hid his own desire to have them, had loved and married you anyway. “Kids are nice, but you’re what I want. You and me, together, will always be more than enough for me,” he had told you. And to be honest, he was a little relieved. He loved his job, and as much as he wanted kids, he knew that would affect his career because he’d want to be a hands-on dad as much as he possibly could. And with you, he would never have to make that life-altering choice. Or so you had both thought…

Wait… you were getting ahead of yourself. You were only a few days late. There was no guarantee that you were pregnant. The test was just a precaution. Covering all your bases.

You threw some other random odds and ends in your hand basket, before hitting the self-checkout.

You breathed a sigh of relief that Ashton was still at the studio when you came home, giving you the chance to hide the box in your nightstand drawer. You didn’t want to worry Ashton if you didn’t have to. You breathed another sigh of relief when he messaged you that he’d be home late, unsure if you’d be able to keep your panic to yourself in his presence.

When you awoke in the morning, you checked that Ashton was sleeping soundly beside you, his chest rising and falling with each breath that fell out of his parted lips, before grabbing the box from your drawer and hightailing it to the bathroom.

You didn’t even need to set the timer. By the time you finished washing your hands, that undeniable pink line had formed in the result window. You slammed your fist on the counter, tears springing to your eyes. “Fuck…” you muttered. You took a moment to compose yourself before trudging back to bed.

Ashton’s arms instinctively reached for you when he felt your weight dip the bed on your side. “Hey, baby,” he mumbled, still more or less fully asleep. “Sorry I got home so late. But got the day off.”

“It’s fine, love,” you mumbled back, kissing his bare chest as you snuggled into him.

“Anything you wanna do today?”

“Whatever’s fine.”

“Mmmkay.” A kiss found its way into your hair. “Gotta pee.”

You heard him shuffle about the room, the sound of the light flicking on in the bathroom, and then a very confused, “Um… babe? What’s this?”

SHIT!

“What’s what?” you asked, silently cursing yourself for 1.) asking such a stupid question and 2.) not burying the damn thing!

Suddenly he was standing over you, the test wadded up in toilet paper in one of his hands, an eyebrow arched in silent question. “This…” he said. “What is this?”

“A pregnancy test,” you answered dumbly.

“Is it yours?”

“Yeah… you mad?”

“What? Why would I be mad?”

“Because I… we…” You sighed heavily. “I dunno.”

“I know this isn’t what you wanted, but I’m not mad. This is… well… how are you doing?”

“I think I’m in shock…”

“How accurate are these things?”

“Pretty damn accurate if you’re late.”

“And are you late?”

“Yeah…”

“Shit…”

“Ash?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m scared…”

The bed dipped and his arms wrapped around you, pulling you into his side, his hands rubbing up and down your arm. “I know, baby, I know. We’ll figure this out. Whatever you want.”

“Even if I want…?” Your question hung in the air. You couldn’t even bring yourself to say the word.

Ashton nodded solemnly. “Yeah. Even if you want that.” But neither one of you were entirely convinced he meant what he was saying. “Um… we should probably see a doctor. Just to confirm you know?”

You nodded, your body shaking. “Ash, I don’t know what happened. I- I think it might’ve happened when I changed my implant. I never wanted this! I’m sorry! I know you wanna be a dad! I know a bunch of people want babies and can’t! I should be happy, but I’m freaking the fuck out!”

“Look at me,” he coaxed. “I am not mad at you. I will support whatever choice you make. Okay? You not wanting kids is not some flaw I love you in spite of. I love you, period. You’re my wife. You’re the one I want to spend my life with. Kids or no kids, my family is always going to be whole because I have you.”

“But what if we don’t do this and ten years down the line, you hate me?” you asked in a horrified whisper.

“And what if we do and ten years down the line you hate me? Baby, there are a hundred million different outcomes to this. And who knows what’s gonna happen down the line. All I know is that right now, I love you, and I want you to do what you think is going to make you happiest. This isn’t a decision we need to rush. It’s not a decision we should rush. But I am going to love you no matter what.”

“Can we go get it confirmed first? Before we talk over the options?”

“Of course, baby.”

~~~

The doctor’s smiling face was all you needed to see to know the answer, even before the question of “Do we want to discuss options?” left their mouth.

The doctor and your husband looked to you expectantly. You screwed your eyes tightly shut and behind your eyelids you saw a small bundle nice and snug in your arms. Ashton’s eyes and your hair. His dimpled cheeks and your wide smile. The best parts of both of you combined into someone so little and so perfect, and so uniquely them. And you saw them growing up, and you and Ashton there for every single moment. And god damn it! You never wanted this moment. But maybe what you wanted wasn’t what you needed. Maybe you needed that faint pink line, a starry night nursery, and ten perfect little fingers and toes. “No,” you shook your head. “No, I know what I need to do.”

“I’ll give you both a moment,” the doctor said, excusing themself, while Ashton’s hand gripped yours tightly.

“So you…” Ashton started, his voice hoarse.

“Need to keep the baby and raise it with you,” you nodded. “Yeah.”

The tension melted from Ashton’s shoulders as relief washed over him. “I love you baby, so fuckin’ much. C-can I ask what made you change your mind?”

“You.”

“Baby…” he protested.

“No, no,” you cut him off. “You are the best decision I ever made. Anybody else and I wouldn’t be able to do this. I wouldn’t want to. But you, Ashton? You make me want to do everything I never thought I wanted, because everything I never thought I wanted turns out to be everything I need in life. I love you. So fuckin’ much. And I’m gonna love you and our baby with everything I’ve got until the end of time.”

“Our baby…” Ashton breathed. “Fuck, that’s amazing. So we’re really doing this? All in? Straight into the deep end?”

“We’re really doing this. All in. Straight into the deep end.”

__

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