#it also makes the passing and changing of seasons more bearable

[chaosciara]

[image id: screenshot of tumblr tags that read, “#cyclical desire=natural waxing and waning periods for seasonal delights #scalable capitalist desire=ever-increasing desire for more more more since there's not scaling back #leading to a frenzy of overconsumption and numbed pleasure” end id]

I think it’s good to incorporate a healthy amount of Yearning when it comes to the seasonality of foods. like the novelty of a peach or a pint of blueberries disappears when you can have them in the dead of winter, and with it the novelty of the seasons just as a whole. you also become less aware of what is in season around you and how many different ways you can experiment with what’s available. I do not enjoy living in a vacuum of convenience when it means there’s nothing to look forward to anymore! 

[rieamena]

take my hand until the sun goes down

kenji sato & baseball critic!reader headcanons

the first installment

requests put in by the lovely @despacito-uwu16 (bless your beautiful big brain)

marriage hcs ♡

we all know how much ken is in love with you but after that stunt he pulled at the championship game, it got a whole lot worse. he would not let a single chance to call you his fiancée pass by. afterparty following a challenging game? "can't make it, i miss my fiancée." team planning a dinner? "let me ask if my fiancée wants to come!" trying to get out of an agonizing conversation? "oh, my fiancée's calling me." he does not miss a BEAT when it comes to you. and after you got married!?!? oh let me tell you…

he physically cannot stop talking about you. something sweet that you did, how much you are for him, how much he loves you. its gotten so bad that his teammates have to tread lightly when speaking to him just to not trigger a 20 minute long rant about you (they're just jealous!!!). "i took the stray that showed up at my house the other night to the vet and it turns out she's really sick…" "really? that's so sad. you know, that actually reminds me of how my wife and i were eating bread this morning and she just looked so pretty." "how are those two things related!??!"

personal headcanon here but kenji cannot cook for the life of him. he can chop up his vegetables and take out seasoning from the cabinet but do NOT put that man near a stove. he will burn the kitchen down. unfortunately, kenji knew of his innate talent to someway somehow manage to cause chaos everytime he turned on an oven. so what did he do? he started watching you while you cook; occasionally taking notes on online recipes he'd think you'd like. every time you had to leave for an interview or babysit chiho, ken would load up the stove and start practicing. once he felt like he got good enough, kenji surprised you with breakfast in bed. french toast, eggs, bacon, and fruits were laid out on a platter, the delicious smell of it all and the sound of your husband coaxing you from your sleep. "wake up, my love. i made something for you~"

his petnames for you gradually changed as well. 'baby' turned into 'my love', 'my pretty girl' turned into 'my pretty wife', 'princess' stayed though. he loves your reaction when he calls you princess. your eyes become lidded as you look him up and down seductively, "so… are we gonna fuck or…?" ken threw you over his shoulder, teasing your body as he walked to the bedroom, "don't need to ask me twice. you gonna' ride me?" "that was my plan all along, pretty boy."

the first time you called kenji your husband to his face, he stopped thinking. his knees buckled, his heart started racing, his breathing got heavy. he genuinely thought he was about to die but he would be doing so in your arms so it was far more bearable. also!!! he has to kiss you at least three times a day or he dies (i dont make the rules!!). most days, kenji peppers your face in kisses in the morning, presses a kiss to your cheek or forehead in the afternoon, and gives you the most loving and deep kiss just before you head to bed

"[name], i have a crush on you. i love your voice and your smile and you're just so beautiful. i'm in love with you." ken wrapped you in his arms, speaking lowly "ken, we're married. we've been together for six years." "i know but still. just say you don't accept my confession." kenji huffed "no, i do! i have a crush on you too! the biggest one actually. please date me…"

children hcs ♡

kenji is THE girl dad. no questions asked. full stop.

kenji cried and i mean CRIED when you told him you were pregnant. you planned it in such a cute way honestly, it's a shame he didn't get it at first. you baked a couple buns and put them in the kitchen oven. simple, right? wrong. when ken got home and you kindly asked him to look in the oven for you, he was mildly confused. "you just have a lot of bread in here." you lightly pushed him out of the way, taking out every bun except one. "and now?" "you have one bread in the oven." "try again." "you have a roll in the oven." ken winked at you, swearing that he got it right this time. "not a roll but a…" "a….?" "there's a bun in the oven, kenji! i'm pregnant!" 

he was the (self-proclaimed) master of the art of ponytails and braids, often getting compliments from other parents on his skills. his mornings usually started with your daughter climbing onto his lap, handing him a hairbrush and a collection of colorful hair ties. kenji would carefully detangle her hair, his hands gentle but efficient, and then he would create intricate braids that she would show off to her friends at school

kenji also knew every princess, superhero, and storybook character by heart. his nights often ended with him sitting on the edge of his daughter's bed with you, reading her favorite stories with dramatic flair, his voice changing for each character, making her giggle and beg for one more chapter.

one evening, as the sun set and the playground began to empty, she ran up to her dad, breathless and excited. she had found a shiny pebble and declared it to be a magical gem. kenji knelt down, his eyes twinkling with amusement, and listened intently as they wove an elaborate tale about the pebble's powers. he played along, his imagination as vivid as theirs, and they spent the rest of the evening concocting a story that would become a cherished memory.

and at his baseball games, he would always scan the crowd for his two girls, and once he found you cheering loudly in the stands, he never failed to flash his signature smile and give you both a wink.

"i mean, she needs a sister. don't want her growing up an only child like me." kenji whispered as you placed your baby daughter into her bassinet. "darling, if you want another baby, just say that." "please please please, can we have another one??" "not right now. but yes ken, we can have another baby."

requests for them are open <3

taglist <3

@mochminnie @yellowheartz @ririkacchi @ifharbingerbad--whyhot @reit0o @luvshleyyy @lovingyeet @stickypaperstarlight @raee-dreeaaamz @rreasonablydumbb @bandolls @gingersnap126126 @automalvo @spiderboogie @shellspider @blogscach @nightingale047 @deadbydad @deadbydad-writes @phantomface

[backjustforberena]

do you have any headcanons about how show!rhaenys discovered corlys's infidelity? i find it hard to imagine a scenario where she wouldn't at least try to confront him. so, the fact that she never mentioned it to corlys makes me think that how she found out must have played a big role in her decision to stay silent

No. That's the short answer. I don't have any headcanons, because I can't ascertain when she might have found out, and that seems crucial to me. So I'm unable to venture much further into the territory than that.

Although, on a broader point, I do find it reconcilable with Rhaenys's character to know that they've never spoken of it or Rhaenys has never "confronted" him. I can see a scenario in which that could have happened, especially if she finds out after the end of the affair or at a time in which she is either already emotionally vulnerable or Corlys is absent.

To me, that fits, potentially, because whilst she is unafraid of conflict, she is also unwilling to incite it if the outcome is only more pain - she doesn't go around confronting every hurt or slight or betrayal over and over again in a pointless and angry cycle. She doesn't bring up topics if there is nothing to be gained by it or if enough time has passed to make it irrelevant to her current state.

So, for example, she only brings up the paternity of Rhaenyra's sons when it becomes an immediate political problem and she can do something pragmatic or get something that she wants by engaging with those facts - ten years after it first becomes a reality with Jace's birth, and, again, with all of that, it seems that Rhaenys and Corlys have never spoken of it until the night of Laena's funeral.

She doesn't bring up Laenor's murder to Rhaenyra during Season 2 because the priority is to fight the war and to actually support Rhaenyra and be trusted by her because that is what is necessary. It would do them no good to clear the air when it could undo the relationship that both need for strength because all of Rhaenys's eggs (as it were) are in Rhaenyra's basket: Rhaenyra is Rhaenys's best hope and monarch.

Rhaenys, likewise, doesn't foster any consequences or rash acts as a response to Daemon and Rhaenyra's marriage. She takes Baela to ward and she keeps out of the drama, when she could have plotted and conspired or, at the very least, engendered a hatred for them in Baela as she raised her. None of that happens.

She disassociates from her own claim to the Iron Throne during Viserys's rule because, despite her prevailing feelings on the subject, she cannot change the past, undo the hurt, or rectify the fact that she was never crowned. She cannot rewrite anything and so stays in the present.

So there is a pattern there - to me. One of consistently putting some other goal before an emotional outburst. One of burying a hurt to save face or pride. One of being noble when to be otherwise would only make her base. One of putting the present before the past.

What would a confrontation with Corlys achieve? That's the question I'd ask, in order to make any headcanons. What would she be looking to get out of it, as opposed to what can be saved and controlled by her keeping the knowledge to herself? Can anything about the past be changed? Would it alter anything about the future, and if so, what? For good or ill?

Is it to stop the behaviour? What if it already has been stopped? Is it to shame Corlys? What if Rhaenys knows Corlys feels shame already? To prevent it from happening again? What if an outburst won't ensure that but some form of attentiveness would? Is it to find out everything - to what end?

Does the information she possesses feel bearable enough if left unresolved? Would the information she gains leave her worse off? I think one of the things Eve spoke to Steve about was knowing or not knowing how special this other woman was. Better to treat it as nothing, or her as nothing, perhaps, in order to minimize the importance or impact of her? Those could be possible schools of thought.

I also think that Rhaenys is a character who conceals her hurt to maintain her own power. Mystery as mastery. Confusing the act of being vulnerable with showing weakness. Giving voice to heartbreak and therefore giving power to Corlys. She could quite easily lose control of the situation and of herself, which is something I think she absolutely flinches away from. It could tear them apart - it could break what they have, she could hear and find out things she never would want to - heck, Corlys could leave her and, if nothing else, we know she doesn't like that.

But, by not confronting him, then the power and her own reaction is hers to determine. It's completely without him and anything he might say or do. It doesn't require his permission. She can make it what she wants. She has more awareness and more information and therefore more power. Even if she doesn't use it. She's got the loaded gun.

But those are unpolicied thoughts and potentially conflicting, depending on what the truth of it all was. The sad thing is that, with Rhaenys's death, we'll never really know. Unless something new comes about, or we get something in the BTS book that is coming, as far as Rhaenys's perspective goes, that's it. We have what we have to work with.

[petitelepus]

Oooh I love your au can I request something with kaigaku, the tokito twins or shinazugawa brothers? Sfw

Summary: You're an anxious person, but you get two Therapy Demons, twins called Yuichiro and Muichiro and they help you cope.

Warnings: Slavery, Stress, Anxiety, Fever

A/N: Slave!AU, Demon Slaves, Gender Neutral Reader, Muichiro Tokito, Yuichiro Tokito

EXTRA: I know I'm a little early, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE WONDER TWINS!

Stress and anxiety weren't new things to you. No, they were your old friends since school times and they stuck around until your adulthood.

You had seen doctors and psychiatrists for years, and gotten medications and such, but you were over the edge when your job required you to move to another town, away from your family and familiar shrink that you had been visiting for years already.

New town, new people, new life. It should have been freeing, but you were still nervous and you hated to admit it, but you were lonely also.

But all this changed when your birthday came and your parents drove all the way to the city from your hometown to bring you your present… Or rather presents.

"Happy birthday, dear!" Your parents had smiled as they stepped aside and pushed these two young-looking Demons towards you.

You blinked, stunned as you took in their clean appearance, and then looked at your parents, "They… They're Demons?"

"Therapy Demons, dear!" Your parents smiled, "We wanted you to have company and someone to help you cope with your everyday life!"

"I can take care of myself…" You muttered quietly, but you all knew it was a lie and that you did have some struggles with everyday things like eating at least 3 meals per day for example.

"Dear, these two are here to help you." Your parents said before they hugged you together, "We wish you only the best and these two should make your life a little more bearable."

You sighed but hugged your parents back anyway because you loved them, but also because they had gone through all the trouble of getting you Demons.

"Thank you…" You said as you pulled away from the hug and your parents smiled gently at you, "Remember, these Demons are here for you, but they need you also to survive."

"Yes…" You nodded as you glanced at the Demons and then your parents, "I'll take care of them."

"Good, and remember, if you ever need something then you can always call us."

"I know," You nodded, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Your parents smiled, and so started your life with the Demons.

As time passed, you learned that these two Demon brothers Yuichiro and Muichiro, twins more precisely, were honestly a blessing bestowed on you by your parents.

They were both calm ones, but with time you learned that Yuichiro had a little sharper tongue than his younger brother had and Muichiro was calmer than his older brother. They were so similar yet still different and you found yourself looking forward to trying to figure out their personalities.

Living with them was… Nerve wrecking at first but now? It was relaxing. You weren't as stressed as you were before the Demons came into your life and you… You almost felt like a normal person. Healthy, happy even?

They were there for you when you weren't feeling good, and it was up to you to feed them, care for them, and so on.

It was late Autumn dusk and the sun was already almost all the way down. As the Summer passed, Autumn came and leaves were turning beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and red. There was also more rain, but you didn't hate it. After the hot Summer, you welcomed the cooler season happily.

You were on your way home from work when you stopped by the closest convenience store near your home and picked up something to eat for you and your Demons… But as you stepped out of the store, you noticed that your umbrella had mysteriously disappeared and it was raining like crazy.

"Shit," You cursed. You could have bought a new umbrella, but your home was so nearby so you took a risk and rushed home in heavy rain.

"I'm home," You called as you closed the front door behind you and proceeded to take your shoes and wet jacket off, "Yuichiro? Muichiro?"

The twins appeared from around the corner and nodded as they greeted you, "Welcome back, Master."

"Hi, you two."

"Why are you wet?" Yuichiro asked and you chuckled a little.

"Someone took my umbrella, but it's nothing serious." You replied as you hung your jacket and grabbed your grocery bag from the floor, "Are you two hungry?"

"Yes, Master," They both nodded as they followed you to the kitchen where you started to unload the grocery bag, but as you did that you left the best for last.

"I got you guys something a little special."

"What is it, Master?" Yuichiro asked and you grinned as you picked and placed some pudding cups on the table before them.

"Pudding!" Muichiro smiled and you were filled with joy as you saw his face brighten up. You grabbed the cups and put them into the fridge, "Yeah, for dessert! Meat first, then you get the sweets!"

"Thank you, Master!" Both twins thanked you but you couldn't help but notice that Yuichiro wasn't as excited as Muichiro was. Maybe you were imagining it?

You moved to prepare their meat for them and some cup noodles for yourself but as you all started to eat, you noticed that the older Demon was glaring at your humble meal.

"Is everything okay, Yuichiro?" You asked but just he frowned as he shook his head and proceeded to eat his meat.

Muichiro glanced at you, "Is that all you're going to eat, Master?"

"Ah, this?" You looked at your noodles and nodded, "Yeah, I am feeling a little under the weather."

"You should rest." Yuichiro said and you smiled, happy to hear that they cared about you enough to worry about you, "Thank you, I will."

Yet you didn't. After the late dinner, you walked around the apartment, cleaning and picking up clothes as you walked.

"You two, I'm doing laundry, do you have anything that needs to be washed?" You asked and the twins looked at you and frowned, "Master, please, let us do the laundry?"

"I can do this, don't worry," You smiled at the two of them, not wanting to bother them, "So, laundry?"

The Demons shared quick looks before bringing you their clothes and you hummed as you went to the bathroom to put them into the laundry basket…

But as time passed, the Demons grew worried when they couldn't hear you or the washing machine so they went to inspect what you were doing… Only to find you collapsed on the bathroom floor.

"Master!" Both twins cried out as they rushed to your side, Muichiro felt your forehead with his hand and looked at his older brother worriedly, "They have a fever…"

"Shit," Yuichiro cursed as he moved to help you up, "Help me Muichiro!"

The two of them got you up and together carried you to your room and set you on the bed and the oldest brother went to get a cool towel to set on your forehead while Muichiro looked after you.

"They…" The younger brother swallowed, "They're not going to die, right?"

"No, it looks like a common fever," Yuichiro grumbled before looking at his brother, "Look after them. I'll go finish laundry and do other things."

Muichiro nodded and pulled himself a seat to sit on while he waited for you to regain consciousness. He was worried and once in a while soaked the towel on your forehead in cool water before returning it to your forehead.

"Please…" The poor Demon murmured, "Please wake up, Master…"

"Nhg…"

"M- Master!?" Muichiro gasped and quickly ran to the bedroom door, "Yuichiro! Master is waking up!"

"Where…?" You mumbled tiredly as you forced your heavy eyelids open and saw two sets of identical faces looking at you, "Muichiro? Yuichiro?"

"Oh, thank God you're awake!" Muichiro cried out and you winched, your head feeling like it was going to be split open. You groaned weakly, "What… What happened?"

"You fainted!" The younger Demon replied and you nodded, "I'm… I'm not feeling good… Head hurts…"

"It's your fault!" Yuichiro snapped at you, shocking you and his younger brother. He scowled, "It's your fault you ended up sick like this!"

"But-?"

"We are supposed to take care of you, our human owner, yet you still go and treat us as if we're equals to you!"

"Yuichiro…" Muichiro looked at his older brother who scowled at you, "You run in the rain without any protection, you feed us expensive meat and pudding while you starve and then you even clean after us!?"

"That's…" You mumbled, "That's because I care about you guys…"

"Huh?"

"I really love you two," You confessed as you smiled tiredly, "And I wanted to spoil you two."

"That-!"

"But please…" Your bottom lip started to tremble as if you were trying your hardest not to cry, "I will look after myself more… Just… Don't start hating me…"

"We could never hate you!" Muichiro cried out, "You treat us so well, you're by far the kindest Master a Demon could wish for! Just please, don't die..!"

"I…" You smiled, moved by the younger Demon's words, "I won't. I promise."

"You better not…" Yuichiro grumbled as he turned and left the room. You frowned as you sadly looked after him and you looked at Muichiro.

"I'm sorry that I worried you both…" You apologized sadly, "But thanks to you two in my life, I feel a little less shitty about myself and can actually do stuff I couldn't before."

"We don't hate you," The Demon frowned, "We are just worried…"

"Thank you. It makes me happy to know you both like me so much."

You and Muichiro smiled and that was when Yuichiro stepped into the room with a tray in his hands. His younger brother made way for him and the older brother placed the tray with something delicious smelling on the bedside table.

"Here." He grunted and you blinked, "What's this?"

"Porridge," Yuichiro said as he helped you to sit up and then placed the tray over your lap, with a spoon, a glass of water, and what appeared to be a pain killer.

You blinked in confusion and awe, "Did we have ingredients for this?"

"No, I went out and got some." The Demon replied and you looked at him in shock, "You went out without me?"

It was forbidden for Demons to venture out on their own without their owners. The police could have taken Yuichiro away from you!

Your worries must have been clear on your face because the Demon frowned, "I made sure to wear a face mask so no one could tell if I was Demon or human."

"I…" You swallowed as you tried your hardest not to cry at the sweet and thoughtful gestures, "Thank you so much…! I love you both so much…!"

"We love you too Master," Mucihiro smiled but Yuichiro was stubborn, "Just get better and then we can talk."

You nodded happily, "I will."

[writingonjorvik]

Did it.

Was this ideal? Absolutely not, but the first week of every event is always rough. I know a lot of folks will contest the 18k, but under the assumption that SSE is going to follow their methods of increased gathering from (almost) every prior event, Hollow Woods was almost 33k before the price change and plenty of folks did that in a week. Is that overlooking the other methods of gathering from the Summer Camp and Hollow Woods? A little, but under the assumption that those things will be added as the event goes on. Is this still the best way to encourage people to play? Eh, you need like 500 a day which is a half hour of play time if you get a good loop, and that time will go down. I hold that judgement until later in the event personally, they may add a wisp and/or cache equivalent Wednesday and that would make progress feel a lot better.

The bigger issue I think with this track was the filter. I never personally had issues with the color filter, but it did make the map feel oppressive. Which, if you lean into the spooky ghost stories part of the season, is a vibe. But I know a lot of folks did have an issue with the filter, either with headaches and migraines or with making it feel like the event was depressing due to the lack of color. I think the markers for change to the filter are way too high. There is no noticeable change at the first quest (6k) other than some crystals lighting up, and the filter only drops to 50% at the second (12k).

I think there are far better ways to indicate lack of life in the village than the color filter that would have had less of an impact on the game, like the animals slowly returning or there being less visitors or some vendors (like the retro shop or cafe) being closed. The filter should have been dropped at like, the first reward, which should have been a boosted tutorial for free players who haven't played the Hollow Woods content yet. I think also instead of as many XP or shillings rewards, there should have been more quests to indicate this progress throughout, because the rewards as are made the whole thing feel slower for me as someone with all maxed horses.

If you want to make things a little more bearable, looking over any mechanics that may be added in future updates or big rewards in the Advent presents, here are my recommendations for getting through it:

Listen to something. I say this about training too. I was super behind on CR campaign 3 when the event started and I got through like 3 months of episodes in the process.

Avoid the ice as much as possible. The drift will only add time trying to catch singles. Do a pass for the piles, any singles on the way, and then do a circuit on solid ground.

Nooks are not worth it. You will get more mounds to respawn by running around the edge of the lake and then through the lake than you will going off into nooks for maybe a mound and more likely singles.

My circuit was to start by the small pond with penguins at the bottom of the ramp and circle clockwise until I reached the other side of the lake, and then I would counterclockwise on the lake to get back to the pond. Repeat.

Something I didn't notice at first, but EACH of the ice carvings reward 20 snowflakes, do all 4.

If you're saving the Advent for horse XP, day 7 is 500 snowflakes.

Have someone to share progress with. @centeris2 helped me with this, particularly today doing the last 4k.

The bar at the end is looping rewards for, as far as I can tell, just more HXP. Now, I've got a text RP and my new project to get back to because I couldn't just do this but also had to dive 10k + worldbuilding doc into a new project plus my home game's downtime stuff to do.

[imanes]

hi imane! i hope ur doing well <3 i just wanted to ask: what do you do during times of uncertainty? im a uni student abt to go on placement and I've been applying for part-time jobs that's centred around my field but to no avail sadly :/ i wanted to save up at least so i wouldn't stress during placement and everything's so overwhelming.. there are other external factors that's making me feel this way too like a friendship break-up i had few months ago and its affected me quite badly but im starting to pick myself up again. anyways sorry for the rant and i hope ur day is lovely x

hey! just sat down after hours of procrastination to work on my dissertation and i wish i were done already akjdkfgj but it could be worse!! ok it's gonna be long and probs unhelpful but i know that you wanted to vent more than you thought i was holding some solution so I'll just ramble and hope something resonates with you lmao <3

for me uncertainty makes me feel like my life is in shambles, it's hard to cope with things going south and not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel but during my yearly flop era in march/april i had a talk with a friend who's much older, wiser, and more experimented, and basically it helped me put things into perspective and learn how to let go. there are only so many things that you can control so i split my different issues into different categories for a more systemic approach to my problems lol: things that i can actually somewhat control (my emotions, my reactions, my efforts, what i can do moving forward to alleviate some of my stress), things that are out of my control (how people misconstrue me, external stressors like shitty coworkers, refusals from jobs i was applying for) and things (and people) that i don't need in my life. learning to let go of things for me internationally infamous control freak was not easy but it was liberating, idk if you're religious so if you aren't the next part isn't going to be helpful lol but i don't think i should be chasing things because i am exactly where i am meant to be, and if i start clutching at the things that aren't meant to be in my life, it's just my ego getting in the way, and i prayed that Allah just lets me find the place that i would fit better in and that He'd take me away from it if i wasn't going to be doing or feeling good there. i guess the non-religious version would just be to trust the process and understand that things in life wax and wane, whether it be job opportunities or relationships. obviously there's like a plethora of other factors like what do i do if i can't pay the bills and stuff? that was how i was thinking just a couple of months ago when my dissertation was not writing itself and nobody was hiring me! but a few weeks have passed and looking back on it i was starting to chase things again and it made me feel like i was stuck in a rut when in fact it's normal for things to take some time to settle down and for opportunities to arrive.

so basically whether you stress about it or not, literally nothing is going to change except the way you frame it in your head. for me i just continued applying and gave interviews my all while also being detached enough to simply trust myself to find the space that i was meant to occupy eventually, and after many many many rejections i finally found something a week ago, but it took a couple of months of steady job application to get there. looking from the other side of the mirror it's easy to say things like "don't get discouraged!" but it is true that if you keep throwing shit at a wall something's going to eventually stick, hence the power of consistency and of never giving up.

i'm glad you're slowly building yourself back up after your friendship break-up, i know how much it can drag you down but again some people are meant to be with you for a season only and at the end of the day with the effect of time making things more bearable and by working on your self-esteem and knowing that you can do things that you set your mind to, whether it is finding a part-time job or picking yourself back up, in a few weeks you're gonna look back on where you were mentally at when you sent me this message and where you'll be then and you'll thing "well i guess things DO pass huh who would've thought!!" lol life is a cycle of stability and unsteadiness, doesn't matter how much you prepare something's always going to go sideways but another truth is that things fall back into place again and you have to have faith in that, in yourself, and maybe in something else like i am w/ my relation to religion if u need extra help. speaking of help if you have a support system, confide in them and let them carry some of that weight for you!! you'd do the same for them so don't feel like you're a burden for needing help when you are facing instability. wishing you the best of luck and i really hope you find a good part-time job before your placement babe

[rahleeyah]

Re: one of them dies… (ask 1/2) lol.

Idk if this has been said already, but either one of them dying in fic would be so compelling.

If Olivia dies, let’s say right as this season picks up, we have Elliot and Noah leaning on each other and working through the grief (as you mentioned). But we still see the struggle and adjustment that both Elliot and Noah go through for a while. Even butting heads with each other.

We also have the dynamic of the other stabler children bringing Noah into the fold of siblings and giving him that support system. 

IMO, yes, Elliot might be a sort of catatonic at first in a way that he wasn’t when Kathy died and for LONGER, but he can’t go off on a rampage like he did when Kathy died either. He has a preteen in his house now. He’s got middle school and dance recitals and he wants to make Noah’s life as close to normal is possible, even though everything has changed. Thats not to say that him going off half cocked all the time was right when he did it with Eli, but he knows he can’t do that again to any of his kids, including Noah.

He never forgives himself. Not only did he leave for 10 years, but spent the time they were together, either under cover, covered in grief, or just being an idiot. 😂😂  because it is only after she has passed that he begins to learn about all that he missed. He will never get to talk to her about Noah’s adoption and baptism, Lewis,  the men in her life, her climb up the ladder, etc. she will never know that he saw her everywhere he went, and how there was never a day that way, but he didn’t think about her.

There’s lots of therapy and anger and rebuking of his God. Questioning why it happened to her and where was her team during this? He has it out with Fin a lot. And his kids know that he’s not OK. So while they never ask if he is, they constantly worry.

He talks to her every day. When no one is around. And tells her all about the day. Everything from the mundane to the extraordinary because he believes that she is listening and that she is with them. he doesn’t even try to date because he knows that that is never going to happen. so instead he slows down, focuses on the kids and the grandkids and making sure that Noah grows up knowing who his mother was.

On Elliot next.

Re: if one of them died (2/2)

Now, on the other hand, if Elliot dies at the start of the season, does anything change for Olivia on the surface?

ON THE SURFACE being the key part of that question.

Elliot was gone for 10 years. And like I said, in my last post in the time he has been back, there has not been a ton of progress in their friendship or any sort of romantic relationship. He’s been undercover, grieving, etc..

Olivia would be more inclined to be battling her own internal demons I believe. When Elliot was aWay, although it was the most difficult thing she’s ever done, she learned to live without Elliot. She knew he was alive somewhere.

She adopted, Noah, climbed to the ranks, and built a found family. All the while, and knowing Elliot was always out there somewhere and I think that made it a SMIDGEN bit more bearable.

But now he’s not out there.

The possibilities are gone. Friendship. Romance. All buried 6 feet under with everything she never told him, but always wanted to. She’ll have to grapple with regret. She couldn’t or wouldn’t let him in on any level even though she wanted to and now it’s too late. (Putting aside whether he deserved it or not)

She’ll send Noah away to a dance intensive or to his brothers upstate or to Amanda’s so that she can fall apart in private. Later she’ll maintain a brave face that she is fine. meanwhile, the inner storm that is brewing it’s becoming something she can’t control.

Her squad worries but they can’t ask. Fin tries, Amanda tries, Cragen tries, but she’s FINE. It’s finally Cassidy that gets through to her. Bc he KNOWS how much she loved Elliot. And he becomes her person to lean on. are they in a relationship? Who knows. Maybe one day they’ll try again? probably not. But for now, she likes that he seems to have matured, if only a little, and is willing to just sit there. Even if it means not talking.

As with Elliot, there is lots of therapy and anger, but Noah is growing up. He’ll be in high school soon and possibly college or a dance career after that. She knows that retirement is on the horizon, either voluntarily or not. And without work to occupy her brain, she knows her thoughts will, consume her.

She eventually decides to reach out to Elliott’s kids who are now parentless. And is genuinely surprised they have seamless they accept her into the fold. although adults themselves, they’re finding it difficult to go through life without their mother and father. They crave and need guidance and help.

Maureen feels overwhelmed with matriarchy being thrust upon her and custody of Eli, who has not really known peace since he left Italy.  Kathleen is constantly trying to run around and “fix” things.  Liz and Dickie, ever the twins, become even more sullen and withdrawn, respectively. And Eli, although a few years away from being legal, resents and Butthead’s with his siblings, who, realistically, he barely knows.

Of course, liv fixes all of this. And in essence becomes sort of that cool Aunt to the kids. She is the one they call with good news or for advice. She knows she can’t replace their mother, but she is gigi to the grandkids, none the less. They accept Noah as a younger sibling. And while she is grateful for her found family of Fin and Amanda, etc. only the Stabler Children know what it is like to live without Elliot.

They tell stories of Kathy and Elliot at holidays and on their birthdays. And Olivia lets them know about a side of their dad, but they didn’t often get to see. And somewhere along the way, she began to heal.

Ok. So I know these were lengthy posts, but I do think that both Alia and Olivia are strong characters. And even with one of them, gone while devastating, they both know they still have to continue on living. And for fic purposes Noah always ends up with five older siblings that protect him at all costs

-----

I don't have a response this is A LOT what do y'all think lol

[jvstheworld]

The Buffy Re-watch: Season 1 character Analysis

Angel:

The mysterious stranger. He brings the cryptic messages to help Buffy. As a character, Angel is kind of bland. We get that he wants to help and he likes Buffy and through that he provides some romantic tension, but up until the reveal that he is a vampire, there's not much too him. There were hints that he was one, he only appears at night, can withstand some serious damage and shrug it off, he's not bothered by the cold and when Buffy says 'bite me' in episode 5 the camera turns is on him. After the reveal, we get some backstory. We find out about his relationship with Darla, that it was romantic/sexual in nature, but no greater info is given because she is killed off by the end of the episode. It's lucky that there was a spin-off or else she would have been a wasted character (something is said in my post for that episode). We also find out that Angel has a very dark past, so dark in fact that The Master considers him one of the most vicious beings to walk the planet, before his curse anyway. I find that kind of funny that the Angel is known for being a notorious killer among vampires more so than the Vampire King himself. The Master has been around for hundreds, possibly even a thousand years, and yet some 240 year old is known for having a worse body count that him? Either he was seriously slacking when it came to killing humans or just kept it very quiet.

Episode 7 is the first time we hear about Angel's curse and nothing much is really said about it. We know what happened for him to get it, doing something absolutely devastating to a Romani girl, around Buffy's age, that affected her whole community and they wanted revenge. In a unique way of punishment, Angel got his soul back, which now makes him all remorseful and brooding. It's certainly an interesting idea, but that's all there is to Angel, just broodiness. I know that this will change with season 2 and 3 and Buffy and even more so in his own show, and I'm going to be honest, I prefer Angel in his own show, however, when it comes to this first season of Buffy, he's rather lacking. You're supposed to give me a reason to A) like him and B) understand why Buffy likes him. Seriously, the only reason I can see as to why Buffy falls for him is 'boy pretty'. That doesn't work in Twilight, and it doesn't work here. Yeah, he shows up occasionally, provides a nice leather jacket and gets a couple of punches in during a fight, but the majority of the time, he just talks and broods.

I understand that it is a short season, so character development outside of the main characters of Buffy, Willow and Xander, is hard to do, but if you want me to feel invested in a possible relationship, then give me more to like.

The only other major interaction Angel has is with Giles. Their first conversation sells how tragic Angel is, the soulful vampire in love with the person who kills his kind. He describes being near Buffy as painful because of their situation. It's just lucky for him that Giles takes pity on him and covers for him when needed.

Angel is a good guy, sure, but in this first season he's just meh. He's bland and boring. Wh*don didn't really want him, so that probably added to why he is the way he is. I just needed a more believable reason as to why Buffy likes him outside of 'boy pretty'. I'm serious, that shit did not work for Twilight. Fortunately, Buffy actually has a personality which makes it watchable, unlike Bella who is the most nothing MC. Angel might be all brooding but at least he isn't an abusive and controlling fuckwit like Edward, so their relationship is bearable, I just need more from it, and Angel. But this is season one, I will forgive it. First seasons can be awkward in trying to get characters right, so Angel gets a pass, but I won't be so forgiving in later seasons.

Just to add, if you like Twilight, that's cool. Enjoy it. I just hate the portrayal of abusive relationships as romantic. Just fuck that shit.

[luluwantstoloveagain]

I know I barely have any followers on here (apart from my biggest fans, the #tumblrbots) so really I am just throwing this into the void - it's funny, it's like throwing a paper aeroplane off a hill knowing where it will land...I digress.

Autumn is my favourite season (obviously, because it's the best), but it can get tough and pass by too quickly. I'm collecting problems and disorders like a hyperfixation. SO, here is a list of things that are making life bearable as a sort of log for myself, or if anyone were to stumble across this, these things might help too.

First off, I've started re-reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation, by Ottessa Moshfegh. I know everyone (especially Book-Tok) have their own opinion of it, but I cannot deny that it is an enjoyable read especially when you're going through it. There's something very comforting in the fact that the protagonist just halts everything in her life and drops off for a good while. No it's not healthy. No I definitely shouldn't consider doing it. But ugh a girl can dream.

Now onto music - Lorde's music has been a kind of medicine, or at least a pick-me-up since I was 15 and thought that every inconvenience was the end of the world. Well, now I'm 20 and not much has changed. To listen to Pure Heroin in my adolescence and to now be at Solar Power, Lorde has encapsulated this weird feeling of growing pains that I've found difficult myself to describe;

"Cause all the music you loved at 16 you'll grow out of And all the times, they will change, it'll all come around" 'Stoned at the Nail Salon', Solar Power, Lorde.

She also releases these newsletters every so often which are really lovely to read. You can sign up to them here:

I saw her on tour with my two best friends at the time (childhood, and college) and it was honestly the best concert I've ever been to. For the sake of nostalgia, I'll insert a clip of it.

Writing has also been helping. It's cathartic and you can just word vomit on a page with your pen and let it all out. The best thing is, no one else has to see it. You can right something down just to screw up the page, tear it up, burn it (responsibly, please). I'm on my third journal right now and it's one of those objects that if someone asks you, 'if you were on a desert island, what 3 objects would you bring with you', it would be one of them. The cover is of Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, 1899 by Claude Monet and it has this gorgeous shine on it. I love it so dearly, and I love the words written inside of it even more.

I think that's it for now. It's time to go rot in my bedroom...

[racingliners]

F1 Re-Watch 2022: Round 20 - Mexico City

If you want to know just how unobservant I was to much of the 2022 season, I had no idea the race’s name was changed until today 🙃 (still just gonna tag everything as the Mexican GP bc I am lazy)

Anyhow, this is also the last race I remember absolutely nothing from bc I didn’t watch it (I kid you not prior to today my Mexican GP 2022 tag is literally just Seb and Bono gifs) 

So, no thoughts, head empty, I’m a tad scared but let’s jump in

Okay I tell a small lie, I do remember the Mariachi version of the F1 theme doing the rounds on the interwebs. But in terms of racing??? No clue whatsoever.

I haven’t even looked up the results so woooo (though let’s be real Verstappen is gonna win isn’t he?)

ngl I do love the Mexico circuit, it’s really good despite being so flat, and ot’s great that a historical circuit has been able to make a comeback and stick around

OMG THEY PLAYED THE MARIACHI VERSION OF THE F1 THEME DURING THE STARTING GRID

okay F1, you have that one right.

Speaking of,✨ starting grid whiplash ✨

Lance P20 bc of a penalty. Pain.

Seb P16. More pain. At least he’s next to Mick.

Ouch Charles P7.

BOTTAS P6?????

aaaand Lewis P3, we stan.

Well that was made much more bearable by the Mariachi theme, 11/10 would recommend to a friend.

How tf did Bottas drag his Alfa into P6 though??????

[Formation Lap]: Almost a 50/50 split on the grid between starting on the softs or mediums, inch resting.

Somewhat unrelated I’m finally getting used to seeing the silver Merc again when the 2023 season picks up again next week dvubheush

oh god what if there’s carnage at the start??? I am NOT emotionally prepared

boys please don’t be dumb it’s 9pm as I watch this and I don’t want to deal with nonsense

[Start/Lap 1]: No carnage but Lewis went full ZOOM into P2!!!

I didn’t need to look at my screen to realise Perez got past Russell for P3 there was a VERY loud cheer

“Vettel and Stroll had a brilliant start” INJECT IT!!!!!!!! 💚💚💚

P14 for Seb and P15 for Lance THAT’S MY BOYS!!

[Lap 3]: And the race has instantly calmed down ubhesu

Comms are making it sound like it’s the first time the top 6 cars have been top 6 in the race??? either that or it’s been a while since it happened but that’s a fun-ish stat

the replay of Lewis’ start *chef’s kiss*

[Lap 5]: Bottas looking to pass Alonso for 7th

The downside of watching a full season over the course of so many weeks is that whenever you hear ‘Plan A’ on a team radio you immediately think of Ferrari and cry

[Lap 6]: Lewis fastest lap, it’s been so loooooong

[Lap 7]: Dan trying to pass Zhou for P12

ayyyy Seb’s joined the party!!!

Livery watch: all together now, Aston Martin preeeeeeeeeeetty

[Lap 8]: Ah so RBR are on the softs, and Merc on the mediums. inch resting

I mean Ferrari are also on the softs, but we all know how little I trust their pitwall at this point

Wait this was Dan’s 230th race???? That’s WILD

[Lap 9]: Aaaaaand Dan takes P12

Meanwhile Lance got a little bit violent getting past Gasly avhageg

[Lap 11]: Bottas is still in P8 behind Alonso, not quite gaining time but not losing any either.

[Lap 12]: Ted brining a Seb update, 100% the content I am paying for

Him and Lance are still vibing in P14 and 15, hardly anyone has changed positions.

It’s all a bit... static

[Lap 13]: avhaeugh not Pierre and Lance pushing each other off the track 😭 

BOYS

[Lap 14]: Lewis is starting to gain on Verstappen you say???

*dives head first into the sea of delusion*

[Lap 16]: the AMR22 has re-gained tractor status as Lance is being chased down by Alex

[Lap 17]: Alex running on pet power and dreams, lad is SPEEDY

5 sec pen for Gasly’s violence on Lance

“I hope they serve the penalty properly” Hearing this after Bahrain 2023 makes it 11 times funnier

[Lap 18]: And Lance is first into the pits and gets another set of softs

[Lap 19]: “Consider Plan C” I refer back to my comment during Lap 5 🥲

Charles in 2022 🤝 Seb from 2015-2020: Having Ferrari’s braincell

SEB ONBOARD!!!! Still in P14 but idc bc I love him

he’s also 8 tenths behind Zhou

[Lap 22]: still a two second gap between Verstappen and Lewis.

I know I said I didn’t want carnage at the start, but I did want some racing

[Lap 23]: I don’t think anyone else apart from Lance has stopped yet

[Lap 24]: And, here comes Perez for his first stop, for a set of mediums

ouch 5 sec stop

Nicky also pits

[Lap 25]: “My tyres are OK mate” LEWIS????? Are you okay??? Blink twice if you need help

rip “Bono my tyres are gone” 2014-2022

[Lap 26]: and while I recover from my shock Verstappen pits, also softs to mediums

[Lap 27]: Perez having DRS issues????

well they must have been fixed bc he just passed Charles for P5 (though Charles is yet to stop)

[Lap 28]: Anyway Lewis leading his second race in a row, INJECT IT

oh it’s a Merc 1-2!! 2016-2018 me would be so disappointed in me celebrating that avdfuvhu that’s called growth

[Lap 29]: Angela sighting!!!! 

Charles also makes his first stop for mediums

And Lewis pits as well, likely reacting to Ferrari.

Mediums??? So they’re doing a two stop then

[Lap 30]: It is not it’s the hards

[Lap 31]: still loads of cars yet to stop

[Lap 32]: And as I say that Lando pits for the hards

“Lewis is matching Max Verstappen lap for lap” Inject it, tattoo it into the sky, write it out on post-it notes and hand them out to strangers 

[Lap 34]: Ocon next to pit for the hards 

[Lap 35]: Russell joining the one stop for hards party

lol at the order being RBR; Merc; RBR; Merc; Alonso

El Plan intensifies 

Seb watch: HE’S INTO P11 BESTIES!!!!

He’s still yet to stop but I truly do not care

[Lap 37]: oh not McLaren wanting to try Plan C for Dan

I kid you not, I hear Plan X over the radio and I do not trust it no matter the team so thank you so much Ferrari

[Lap 38]: Russell being told to lift and coast at the 150m board for the rest of the race??? W13 intensifies 

argh Perez is starting to catch Lewis, it was a lot of fun while it lasted

[Lap 39]: Seb pits for mediums, and he comes out in P16.

[Lap 40]: Sainz passes Alonso for P5 for some mild Spanish on Spanish violence

ah, Alonso was on his in lap as he’s pitted for hards

[Lap 42]: Ocon with a noice move on Bottas for P10

oh, Bottas is fighting back, MIDFIELD SPICE WELCOME TO THE PARTY

[Lap 43]: “This tyre isn’t good mate” I’ll take that as a ‘Bono my tyres are gone’ resurrection

and followed up by a Bono sighting 🤍

[Lap 44]: Seb up into P14, we’re once again diving into the sea of delusion in the hope of Team Green points

Also Ted timed Gasly’s 5 sec pen with his watch to see if Alpha Tauri timed it correctly asavhaeu

Ted Kravitz for FIA Prez I think he’d do a wonderful job

[Lap 47]: And with Zhou pitting, everyone has finally done at least one stop

the strategy has been all over the place this race, I guess in part to the mix of starting compounds

oh no Lance is the only one two have done 2 stops 

[Lap 48]: Seb watch: P13!!! The hopium is still alive and well folks

“He [Verstappen] is out on the track I promise you” avuheugh you know a driver has been dominating a race when you barely see them on the TV feed

[Lap 49] so Seb is roughly 15-ish seconds away from P10 🤞

Lewis is still having engine clip outs I am no joking when I say I will sledgehammer the W13

[Lap 50]: Cut to Martin Garrix bc there is barely anything happening on track

[Lap 51]: and as I say that Yuki v Dan for P11

THEY TOUCHED

oh dear, Dan almost flipped Yuki

but Seb is up into P12, the racing gods taketh and the racing gods giveth

[Lap 52]: Ah Yuki’s pitting for a new front wing, and the old one does not want to come off

oh no Ted thinks he has suspension damage 😭

Dan you plonker (in this case I do not support his wrongs)

oh no it was sidepod damage ☹️

[Lap 54]: Seb v Gasly v Zhou 🍿

oh wow Dan slammed with a 10 sec penalty.

[Lap 56]: Seb down to P14 and defending from Zhou, this is why we’re self aware about when we go delusional

[Lap 58]: welp I was not aware about RBR potentially matching Seb’s their record of winning 9 races in a row 🥲

okay I’ll let Zhou have P14 bc that was a pretty nice move on Seb

[Lap 61]: oh hello Dan v Alpine

to be fair he’s on the softs and they’re on the hards but he’s ZOOMING

[Lap 62]: 10 laps remaining klaxon

and Dan passes Ocon for P7

[Lap 65]: “Does that look like it’s terminal now? Oh that’s a Williams” Oh Ted

and there stops Fernando

oh it’s a VSC

[Lap 69]: And suddenly it’s 3 laps remaining

Seb still P14, no team green points today 😭

[Lap 70]: and Merc pit Russell to go for the fastest lap

and Dan has somehow managed to pull a 10 sec gap over Ocon so he’ll keep P7 even with his pen

[Lap 71/Finish]: Oh, Verstappen broke the record of most wins in a season huh.

Anyway LEWIS P2!!!!

Taking all the tiny crumbs I can get

And Russell did bag fastest lap at the end, such a drama king

Well... that was... somewhat average. Lewis getting P2 at the start was the most that happened in the top 6 and the midfield spice was very few and far between, though the bits we did get was fun to watch.

So a very straight down the middle 5 front wings out of 10. Next race - Brazil!

[marcusdoodlesalot]

OH BOY, DO I!

Time: Actually his favorite season. He loves the holidays and the treats and the drinks and the activities. He loves it so much.

Twilight: Fucking hates the cold but refuses to be anything less than serious in front of the chain (he has a reputation after all). But with friends and family? Complains non-stop. Its only quieted when he's under blankets near a fireplace with a warm cup of tea.

Warriors: Goes home for the holidays every year and is actually super bummed about not being able to spend it this year with his sister and mom. He misses them so much and desperately wants to go home.

Sky: Was absolutely baffled by the traditions of the chain for the holidays and winters when they discussed it. He feels many of the traditions are either dumbed down to where they lose meaning or they are so overly complicated it's changed meaning completely.

Wild: Also baffled by traditions mostly because theirs are so different than the rest, as a lot where lost or quickly changed to adapt to life after the Calamity. What do you mean its not common place to leave gifts of meat and food out to any animals or bokos that might be passing in the area? Isn't it the season of giving?

Legend: Holidays can be rough. I mean, it would be rough for you too if a family that didn't talk to you all year suddenly wants you around for the holidays. It makes Fable happy when he does come back to celebrate for a few hours with family on the holiday, so he does it anyways, though he is always trying to find ways to get out of it. He does find the snow to be quite pretty, though.

Hyrule: It's not really heavily celebrated in his era. Sure, people usually eat bigger meals and give small gifts but holidays aren't really celebrated. He's honestly intimidated at the idea of some of the traditions that chain has. Not a fan of the snow, either. Too cold.

Four: Loves the weather. It so pretty when it snows and the colder weather makes the heat of the forge more bearable and appreciated. He enjoys curling up with a good book and cup of hot chocolate by the fireplace on a cold night.

Wind: Much prefers the humid, hot days of summer compared to the dry, cold days of the winter. He really wants to whine about it but every one else doesn't seem to mind it too much so he feels like it will just be chalked up to him being a kid. He just pouts his way through it. Though Time looks like he's having a good time.

BONUS

Ravio: Holidays weren't really celebrated in Lorule, but when he found out about them he fell in love. He really enjoys the colors and foods and traditions. Plus, it's more of an excuse to curl up and cuddle with Legend by the fireplace and closes his shop early to do so. (He tells Legends it's "lack of interest")

Spirit: You know those Christmas towns with the toy trains you can find every year that look really cool and awesome? Spirit loves that shit. Every year its gets more and more elaborate to the point he will take over his entire house if left to his own devices.

Age: Always found the winter time to be really peaceful, despite the hustle and bustle of everyone preparing for holidays. Because of the snow and cold weather, not many people go out. He finds it pleasant to be able to ride through the roads and not come across another person for hours or possibly days. It allows him to let his hair down both literally and metaphorically.

Malon: She's the one who showed Time the traditions and importances of the season and holiday. Every year she grows more and more sure she might have created a monster. But surely it won't get that bad! Right? Right?

Shadow: Edge lord. He goes on monologs about how the nights of the season are as dark and cold as his heart is. In reality, if he doesn't get a hot chocolate and a few quilts every night, he gets so whiney its unbearable.

Hope you enjoyed!

Winter headcanons for the Chain?

[oddaodd]

Hello! Can you do a Thomas Shelby imagine based on the song ‘Line without a hook’ by Ricky Montgomery or even just the lines ‘she’s a, she’s a lady and I am just a boy she’s a, she’s a lady and I am just a line without a hook’ maybe where they meet at this fancy party ball gala thing and she’s wearing a gorgeous dress and they just dance the night away����😩 love you so

· The Emerald’s Lifelong Wait · 

Author’s note: Hello! Thanks for requesting this! I love music and listening to new songs, I feel it’s almost like entering a new tiny piece of world. I had so much fun incorporating my perception of this songs lyrics into my work and I hope you enjoy it and have the loveliest of days! ❤️

Warnings: None that I can think of, maybe season 3 spoilers.  

· 

Thomas Shelby didn’t like fancy galas and events but he put up with them because he knew social connections were what moved the world. When Grace was alive she made the endurance of said aristocratic events bearable, but in her untimely absence Thomas was left to sit with politicians, business men and occasionally their wives who were all a bit to keen on Mr.Shelby, completely alone. He didn’t care for any of them. He didn’t care about their golf jokes nor about what they had to say unless it had the potential to benefit him and his company. 

That particular Friday evening was no different than others, there he was drinking expensive champagne as an old woman told Tommy an incredibly detailed story about how her husband had met the king once. A woman speaking non-stop about the accomplishments of her husband and those of her daughters. A woman that  had never learned how to live by herself, Tommy concluded within the first five minutes of the conversation.

At a moment between the woman’s recollection Tommy’s eyes were caught by tiny dancer he had never seen before. A woman, in an emerald dress, dancing alone in ethereal fashion to the band’s whimsical tune. For Tommy, seeing her was like finding hope in a heart attack.

He politely excused himself from the king’s friend’s wife and made his way towards the enthralling dancer. She smiled at him when their eyes first met and Tommy felt all his bones coming back to his body, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.  

“May I have this dance?” He asked politely.

“You may, Mr.Shelby” she smiled again.

She caught him off guard. He had never before seen this person and yet for a strange reason, this unknown woman knew his name.

“So you Know who I am, but I don’t know who you are”

“You can call me Y/n”

They spent the rest of the night dancing and talking and for once since Grace’s passing, Tommy didn’t feel out of place. He learnt y/n was the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat. She knew the name of every person attending the gala. Her last name rang a bell when she introduced it to him and he remembered the old woman’s story concluding that the old woman was Y/n’s mother.

When Y/n bid him goodbye that night he didn’t miss the way her eyes lingered on his lips, almost pleadingly. Maybe it was the champagne he had been drinking or maybe it was the sense of serendipity that filled his senses , or maybe he didn’t want her to be unsatisfied, either way, he kissed her.

After that night Tommy couldn’t take Y/n out of his head and apparently she couldn’t take him off hers either, because the very next day he got a letter from her inviting him to Tea. Tommy didn’t do tea invitations but since it was her, he accepted.

After a few more “dates” Tommy felt himself falling for Y/n and for a while he was happy again, but as things had a way of going with Thomas Shelby, OBE, he soon felt conflict boiling deep inside him.

He couldn’t ignore the nasty looks posh people sometimes gave Y/n when she was with him. Perhaps because she was slightly younger than him or perhaps because despite his powerful position, aristocracy would never forget where he had come from. She was a lady and he wasn’t a lord, he was just a line without a hook.

His thoughts became harder and harder to ignore in her presence, increasing each time she smiled at him with that smile he loved or with the petal like sound of her voice.

“What’s wrong” she asked well aware of Tommy’s change of behavior.

She had wanted to ask him about it but had pinned it all on business. However when things didn’t get better, her curiosity became all too tempting.

Her head was laying on his chest, his arm loosely resting on her naked waist. The lack of eye contact making her utter the question way more freely than she could have without the lack of it.

“Nothing’s wrong” dismissed Tommy.

“Well, something’s changed” she insisted.

And something had changed. As of late, she was always the one who looked for him and he always seemed distant when they were together, like at that very moment.

“Just don’t worry about it”

“I can’t just not worry about it when you’re distant and cold with me”

Her voice had a smidge of pain and he heard it.

He heaved a sigh and thought of what to say, trying to weave his worlds carefully so that they didn’t hurt her,  but she beat him to it, moving a bit to look into his blue eyes.

“Talk to me” she pleaded.

He looked into her eyes that he loved so and with a sigh confessed

“You know what I do” he began and she nodded. “ I don’t like the way people look at you because they also know what I do”

“Tommy...”

“ When I found you I found hope y/n. I don’t want you to ever leave me but I also know you can do better than me. My life, I, was a wreck. You can ask anyone, but then along you came and made it all better. I don’t want to drag you into this wreck that I am”

Y/n tenderly placed her hand on his face, the contact making Tommys confession feel much more intimate “I’m glad I pulled you from that tide, Tommy “ she said before pressing a soft kiss to his unchaste lips. “And I don’t want anyone but you”

Tommy gave a weak smile. He did believe her but his facial expression said otherwise inciting Y/n to continue. “I mean it, Thomas Shelby. I have been dreaming about you ever since was a child and having you here, feeling you here…” she said tracing her finger delicately along his jaw “ feels like the most joyous culmination of a lifelong wait”

Tommy could see in her earnest eyes that she meant every single word and in that moment, his worries lost their meaning. He needed her to stay and he knew, she would stay.

·

@nyotamalfoy

@peakyxtommy

@captivatedbycillianmurphy

[briswriting]

『 apple picking isn’t too bad if he gets to spend time with you 』

pairing: kenma kozume x gn!reader genre: fluff wc: 1442

a/n: this fic is for the haikyuu headquarters discord server collab yay !!! i haven’t written a full fic in months, i'm rusty so im sorry this if this is bad ahahah  collab masterlist here!!

Autumn, when the consistently overwhelming heat of the sun gradually turned into cooler days, the humidity of the air turning into a crispy breeze. When the vibrant green of the trees slowly changed into the warmth of yellow, orange, and red.

With a gradual shift of the weather came a change in seasonal activities. Gone were the days of your skin feeling inflamed by the scorching sun and the surprising chill of ice cream melting down your fingers. The heat now replaced by a bearable warmth and a light refreshing breeze that flitted through the usually still air as the days became shorter and nights grew longer.

Kenma Kozume was never one to care too much about the weather, never voicing his opinion when his friends, more specifically Kuroo and Yaku, argued over whether the heat or the cold was superior to the other. He always wondered why they argued over a problem that could simply be fixed with the click of a button on the air conditioning system and staying inside.

Kenma was always content with just staying indoors where the problems outside wouldn’t affect him. More specifically, he was content staying within the walls of your shared apartment, the feeling of familiarity and comfort within this shared space kept him at peace.

But if there was one thing that would make him want to choose the cold over the heat, that something would be you. He would never verbally admit it, but he enjoyed seeing the way his hoodies mysteriously disappeared from his side of the closet as the weather grew colder. The soft fabric adorning your body made his heart flutter like he was a schoolboy with a crush, not someone in an established relationship for the last few years.

Maybe that’s how he got into this situation, being dragged by you to the nearest apple orchard to go apple picking, something he wasn’t planning on doing during his day off. But you knew Kenma like the back of your hand, and knew that with some pleading eyes while wearing his hoodie to bed, plus the promise to make apple pie, he would accompany you to the orchard; to your delight, he grumbled out an agreement.

What you didn’t know was that Kenma would always agree to do whatever you asked him, no tricks needed, because he enjoyed seeing the spark of giddiness and joy in your eyes whenever he agreed to your plans. But he did enjoy the sight of you in his clothes with pleading eyes as you asked him to go somewhere with you, so he never stopped you and your tricks to get him to say yes.

So here the both of you were, hand in hand, a cool breeze nipping at your noses, as the two of you walked down the rows of trees trying your best to find the most desirable looking apples to take back home with you.

A flash of bright red behind the leaves of a tree you walked past caught Kenma’s eye. Letting go of your hand and reaching out to pluck the fruit from the branch, his golden eyes quickly scanning the fruit before deeming it suitable and haphazardly tossing it in the basket he held in his other hand.

“Kenma! Did you even check to make sure the apple was in good condition? Also, you can’t just toss the apple around like that! It’ll bruise and then rot faster when we take it home,” you whine as you lightly smack his arm with your hand for his harsh treatment towards the fruit.

“This is so much work,” he sighs, reaching into the basket to grab the lone fruit, quickly examining it before showing it to you. “Look, it looks fine, now let’s get going so we can go home and make this pie.”

“Come on just admit it, you’re having fun,” you tease him with a smile and a soft bump of your shoulder against his arm while the two of you walk down the row of trees. Before he can answer you though, you’re quickly distracted by the sight of an apple hanging from the branch of the tree in front of you, reaching up to pluck it without any thought of looking over it as you beam at him and show off the first apple that you picked.

“Its rotten Y/N,” he deadpans as he gently takes the apple from your hand and tosses it to the ground with the other rotting apples that fell lifeless from the tree above. “Did you even check to make sure the apple was in good condition?” He bites back with the words you told him just minutes before, a teasing smile on his own face as yours scrunches up in distaste at his words.

He laughs at the expression your pulling before leaning in to press a soft kiss to the tip of your nose, easing the wrinkles on your face as you relax to the comforting touch of your boyfriend’s lips against your skin. “Come on, no pouting you’re supposed to be having fun. Now let’s go find that perfect apple for you to pick.”

As the minutes pass and the warm sun moves towards the west, your small basket slowly starts to fill with the crisp red fruit, stopping when the both of you decided you have enough apples to make a pie along with a couple extra to munch on while traveling back home.

The warm glow of the sun through the window basks the small kitchen in your shared apartment as the two of you set off to do different tasks for the pie. Kenma delicately peeling and slicing the apples, analytical eyes silently watching you from his side of the counter as you made a mess of the kitchen. Puffs of white flour flying everywhere as you rolled out the dough you had made the night before to perfectly fit within the pie dish.

“You’re making a mess Y/N,” Kenma points out as another puff of flour flies around the kitchen.

“The dough is sticky,” you complain, focusing on trying to pluck the dough stuck on your fingers and back into the mound you were trying to roll out. “I have to use all this flour otherwise it’ll stick everywhere and then our crust will be holey.”

With your focus on the ball of dough in front of you, you don’t notice your boyfriend’s hand sneak into the bag of flour in between the two of you, grabbing a small handful of the powder. “Well, you’ve got a little flour and dough right there.”

As you turn to ask him where, your vision is quickly concealed by a cloud of white as you blink in surprise, mouth falling open when the shock resides and you realize what he just did. Once the flour finally settles down from the air, you see Kenma smiling at you before he turns his attention back to slicing apples, as if he was innocent.

You quickly send him a glare before focusing back onto rolling out the dough for the pie, causing Kenma to quickly become suspicious since you didn’t react or try to get back at him right away. So, with observant eyes, he carefully watched you for any sudden movements towards the bag of flour. His body visibly tensing as he watches you reach your hand into the bag, eyes immediately closing shut as he prepares to get flour tossed at him.

But it doesn’t happen. His eyes opening ever so slightly as he watches you sprinkle the handful of the flour you grabbed onto the rolling pin before finishing out the last parts of the dough and carefully lining the evenly rolled dough into the dish.

And as you notice his guard start to tremble, you quickly turn around to face him. With hands covered in tacky dough and flour, you catch him off guard by cupping his cheeks in your hands and smearing the ingredients all over his face as he tries his best to bat your hands away with his own.

With his face still in your hands, you lean in close and whisper out something about payback, but Kenma’s not paying attention to the words coming out of your mouth. Too distracted from the close proximity of your lips and the way your eyes dazzled with excitement from getting back at him.

So he interrupts whatever you’re saying by leaning in to press a kiss to your flour covered lips. Savoring the feeling of your lips against his, something that he will admit is sweeter than any apple pie.  

[donaidk]

Eyes Off You - Mick Schumacher

*Repost as I wanted it in a separate post rather than an ask, to make my blog organized. Hope you guys don’t mind :)*

I have changed things up a little but I hope you will still enjoy this! I loved writing it and tried to use everything you mentioned. Thank you for requesting and also reading!

TW: Body image issues (mild)

Note to Anon: Please never ever think like you’re not worth it just because you’re ‘out of someone’s league’! I wasted years of my life hating myself and feeling like crap just because people made me think I wasn’t worth anything. You’re unique and they’re just blind to see it. Rock on and show them that they’re the ones who are not worth your worrying, anxitey and thoughts! Love you! ❤️

Masterlist | Request

Links - Inspiration song | Dress (in deep red) | Jewelry

When Mick asked me to dress up and meet him in the park close to our house, I can’t lie that it wasn’t a bit confusing. I didn’t remember the date to be anything special really, and I couldn’t get myself to remember if we had anything planned for the day previously. He just got back home for their usual longer summer break between race weekends, which we usually spent laying around in bed for a few days before we felt energized enough to spend time outside the confinement of our home. But now he was up on his feet already on the first day, making us take a walk around the city and as it turns out he had plans for the following days as well. I couldn’t lie, it made me excited but at the same time so confused, about where all of this energy was coming from. Normally I waited with my vacation time off work for him, and only took out days when it was sure that he was going to be free. This meant I was quite busy with work during the remaining days of the year, making me tired and grumpy for the first days I had off in between. It was lucky that on most occasions we had at least a week together, which meant I could lay around lazy for a few days before we would get on with our planned activities. He did surprise me by not letting me just waste a day or two.

My mind started running at the speed of light when I found the little note on our bed, telling me to dress up pretty because he would take me out as soon as he’s gonna be back from his family’s place. I always loved surprises, even more the ones he planned out for us, but knowing we had to go out or it stepped onto a territory that made my anxiety skyrocket. I was never the social type, as I felt content with the group of friends I had since our high-school years. I knew I could trust them and never really tried to meet other people, be it a party or any kind of set up where you had to communicate with strangers. That’s probably why I never really accompanied him to any ceremonies or team parties when I had the chance. It was clear to me that I would just be an anxious mess, and I really didn’t need his friends and colleagues to realise how much Mick and I didn’t match. It was enough when my own brain stood against me and tried to persuade me into believing what we had would never truly work out in the long run. In moments like that I couldn’t even make out how we went from meeting at the beach in Hawaii to today.

° ° °

I didn’t really know how my friends got me to go with them to Hawaii as a summer vacation, and having been here with them for the past half a week I have felt a bit of regret. What was strange that I did enjoy myself and all the plans we had, even if every night I felt like I would rather be home and just relax in my own bedroom, maybe going out with my family for walks or meals at max. That was enough for my social side usually for a whole year. Having people around me 24/7, that tried interacting with me all the time was exhausting. The only thing that made this holiday bearable was that they knew all of this and gave me space when they saw I would need it, but pushed me to take part in the original plan when I was just making up excuses.

Our usual plans consisted of sleeping, eating, going to the beach, taking walks and repeating all four of those activities until our holiday would end. It was usually the beach that I missed out on when I needed a bit of time for myself, but still made sure I spent more time with them than I did alone in our rented house. It would have been a waste of time and money if I didn’t challenge myself a little bit, to be more outgoing. I still wasn’t adventurous enough to for example be in front of them in only a bikini or bathing suit, but I luckily never felt overdressed with my shorts and sleeveless shirts while playing some kind of sports in the sand. Thanks to the boys in our group it was usually football as there were some goals set up in the shade, but we sometimes could get them to play some volleyball too. I probably looked out of place next to all of them wearing their bathing suits or pants and then there I was in full clothing. The only way I could distract myself by only paying attention to the games we played trying to win for our team.

It was maybe our fifth day when we started to see another group of people around our age attending the beach every day. We spent a day just passing each other before one of them challenged us for a volleyball ‘tournament’ and then the next day a football one. It turned into a daily activity and even I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, both the games we played and the conversations we had. They seemed really cool and with several of them I felt like we would be quite good friends outside this holiday. One of them stood out to me even more than the other few guys, by the name of Mick. The girls of course saw it from the outside and I was teased for until the last day when I got myself together and in the end swapped phone numbers with him.

I still didn’t think too much into it, knowing we will probably just forget about even meeting each other. I can still remember how surprised I was when just days after getting back to my usual home routine he texted me, announcing that he’s gonna be in my hometown soon and that he would live to meet up with me. And he didn’t disappoint, going for lunch and a walk around the city with me in just a few weeks time. I can still feel how fast my heart was beating when he revealed to me why he was here and how I felt like a complete fool for thinking he was just a normal kid. I couldn’t have been farther off the truth. That was the first day when I could laugh at my own stupidity whole heartedly, as I couldn’t hold back my embarrassed chuckling at hearing him laugh. If someone told me I’ll get the chance to listen to his laugh almost every day in our future, I would have called them crazy for sure.

° ° °

Putting the little note aside onto the bedside table as I sat down on the mattress, laying back still trying to figure out what he could have planned for us. I was just turning a bit to get my head on my pillow, with my hand sliding under it as I usually liked to sleep when my fingers met with something there that felt like paper. Pulling it out my eyes met with another now purple colored post-it, with his handwriting on it, saying ’It’s gonna be just the two of us, don’t stress about it’ and a little kissy face making me chuckle. He knew me too well and this note showed that he really did think about any possibility so he wouldn’t have to be home to get me out of the house. With a sigh I pushed myself off the bed so I could open up the wardrobe and in a way I knew there would be a twist even before I could see inside. Next to all my usual dresses and blouses hanging under the shelves was another black hanger with a white protector fabric encasing the dress it was probably holding up. The note on it was a simple winky face and I took it out with my head shaking at his antics and how I should have known he would get me something to wear.

I laid it onto our bed, opening up the protector’s zipper and my smile grew wider as my eyes caught the deep red colour of the silk that was hiding under it. Seconds later I was already lifting up the hanger, the dress itself following it flowing through the air with such an ease it made you think it was probably made from it with how light it was. When I turned it around my mind was just about to go into panic mode again at how open the backside was, but the note I discovered stuck to it made me take a deep breath and calm down instantly. ’Remember Hockenheim in 2018?’ I read the words slowly and couldn’t help but smile at the memory it brought up in my mind.

° ° °

When Mick invited me to the Hockenheim GP, the last three races of their season, everyone knew it would be a weekend for celebrations as whatever would have happened he was winning the Championship and no one could stop him. His point advantage put him into a position where not even the driver who was in second place could switch him out, even if they won all three races and Mick would miss out on them. Everything seemed relaxed around his part of the team as everyone knew this last weekend was like a celebratory run for them after all the hard work they put into the season.

The first race wasn’t his best ever but then took second place in both the second and third one, securing his title for the season. As soon as he was out of the car it was all about celebrating both his and the team’s performance. I had the widest grin of my life on my face as we watched him step onto the podium receiving his P2 trophy  and  then later the one for the Driver’s Championship. It took us three times the usual time to get back to the hotel as everyone was taking pictures with him. Even I got one with him, with which I couldn’t hold back from posting about his achievement. It felt like eternity until we were back at the hotel, and the P2 trophy was still in my hand as we entered his room. I was holding it right until he swept me up into a tight hug and I rather placed it onto the coffee table, before I would drop it.

It wasn’t a surprise when after dinner and a couple of drinks we ended up in the bed together with his shirt already off and mine pushed halfway up my torso when I came to my senses. My mind panicked immediately at all the imagined scenarios coming to me, about him leaving after seeing how I actually look. I was always insecure about my whole body, but mainly my back as my skin there was always full of spots and scarring. The thought of him seeing it freaked me out, don’t even start me on thinking about him touching it. Coming back from my thoughts I took in a shaky but deep breath making him glance at me, pushing himself up a little. I just tried kissing him, to get him to continue but there was worry in his eyes and even though he quickly pecked my lips once again he wasn’t getting back to his previous actions.

“ I’m not going any further until you tell me what got you so out of it. ” He stated, still looking me in the eyes and making me gulp. “ What’s the matter? We don’t have to do anything, there’s no musts here. Just tell me what’s wrong, please. ” He asked again, making me just shake my head as I didn’t trust my voice. I felt like his eyes were boring into me so deep he could see my soul.

“ It’s stupid… but I’m just not… not perfect in any way? ” I finally spoke up, making him furrow his brows in confusion as one of his hands came up to my face to get my hair off my cheek. I knew he was trying to get more info out of me.

“ What isn’t perfect? ” He asked like I just told him something stupid, that doesn’t even exist. I debated telling him or just  making a run for it and maybe never talking to him again as anxiety made my throat close up for a second.

“ Everything? Mostly my back. ” I answered him in the end, my next blink lasting longer than usual as I needed a second to compose myself. “ It’s just bumpy and gross. ” I added, not really knowing where my sudden courage came from. When my eyes opened up he was still looking at me but then pushed himself up a little, my hands falling onto my stomach from his sides.

“ Turn around. ” He said, making my heart miss the next beat and my eyes widen. “ Please.” He added with a sigh, sending me a calming smile and my body moved on it’s own sitting up before I turned my back to him. “ Can we take this off? ” I heard his voice as two of his fingers came under the material of my shirt. I was about to shake my head but then it ended up as a nod. If I trusted someone it was him.

After helping me pull my t-shirt off he let me lay back down and I turned my head to the side as it was back on the pillow. Like this I could also see him, giving me the possibility to stop him he was about to do something I wouldn’t have liked. He first just left a little kiss on my cheek, making me smile contently and almost forgetting what was happening, before he went down my neck and my back with his lips. My breath was stuck in my throat until his face came back to mine and I forced some air into my lungs.

“ There’s nothing wrong with you, your body, your back or your skin. Yeah? Nothing wrong. ” He told me again, laying back down next to, with his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. “ The only thing wrong here is the idiot who made you think you’re any less than perfect. ” He added, kissing me and I felt like I would never be able to separate from him. Lucky I wouldn’t have to for at least the next month.

° ° °

As I took the little slip of paper off my fingers ran over the silky fabric, the delicate little chain catching my sight with the sparkling diamonds following each other for the whole length of it. It was a strange jewelry and took me a second to understand it was deliberately placed at the back and not in the front of it. The image inside my head made me gasp as I imagined how it would look on someone and how it would accentuate their back, the shiny metal catching everyone’s glance. Even though my skin was in it’s best ever state I was still quite conscious about it, and made sure most of the time to wear things that I knew would cover any imperfection of it. I knew that his plan with this was to make sure I finally embraced it, how I should have then even back then.

I fought with myself for a bit but then took the dress off the hanger and laid it down onto the bed. I still had to take a shower and do both my makeup and hair. I stayed with the most minimal amount of makeup, mostly focusing on my eyeliner and mascara with some nude colored lipstick that wasn’t far off the original color of my lips. I didn’t spend lots of time on my hair either, letting it flow freely after going through it with a brush and parting it at the usual place. The last step was getting into the dress and zipping it up on the side. When I felt like I had everything with a last check in the full body mirror I was about to change my mind at my reflection when I noticed one more little note from him. ‘You look perfect, don’t question it. Car waiting for you in front of the building.’ There was the time too, when the car would arrive at ours, which was minutes away and with a last sigh I took a thin blazer from the wardrobe before putting on my heels and leaving the house. I locked the door, making sure I won’t be able to get back inside easily, so I couldn’t change my mind.

I didn’t even have to wait a minute longer for a car to park down in front of the exit and I got in without a question when the driver called out my name. I wasn’t even anxious anymore when he restarted the engine, more like excited. So much I felt like I couldn’t sit through our drive. We were waiting at a red light and from my seat I could see the park, which was Mick’s and my favourite place for morning runs or even picnics, making me reach up to my neck, my fingers immediately wrapping around the little pendant that was hanging there on a delicate gold chain.

I remember seeing him crashing into a tyre wall and waiting for him to finally confirm that he was alright. It was the first time since I started watching the races that I saw him getting so close to being hurt and I wasn’t looking forward to any more of these. He probably knew that I would be a bit upset, worried about his well being after realising how dangerous their job actually was. It was just two days later when we were already home and he gave me a little box. It contained a medium sized pendant, quite similar to his. I knew his was from his family, to bring luck to him and I hoped mine would bring some more luck not even just to me but him too. From the moment I put it on, I never took it off again for longer than an hour.

“ We’re here. ” The driver’s voice made me blink away the memory that came up for me, making me turn my head towards him. “ He’s waiting. ” He added with a smile, pointing towards the entrance of the little park that I knew so well.

I quickly thanked him for getting me here before leaving the vehicle and going towards the open gates. We usually just walked by this place and I always found it astonishing as it looked like a fairy land with the lightning all around the place and the pagodas, where people could just sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea with some desserts. However, now it was empty, and the only thing that I could hear was soft music playing in one of the small buildings. Having no clue about where I should go my only hope was following the sound to one of the more hidden pagodas, that was lit up outside even more than the others. I was getting confused and almost giving up when he finally stood up and I could let out a relieved sigh. There was a huge grin on his face, making me smile too although I felt a little embarrassed even though it was only him standing in front of me. I knew he would never give me a reason to feel bad about myself or what I was wearing.

“ You look stunning. ” He came up to me, pulling me into a hug and leaving a kiss on my lips. “ I’m really happy you stayed with the dress. ” He added, making me smile up at him as I initiated another kiss between us, before I let him lead me into the little building.

“ Thank you. This is fabulous as well. I knew it was beautiful, but never thought it’s this cozy. ” I looked around again, not even paying too much attention to him, completely missing him taking my blazer off my shoulder so he could hang it on the wall next to his one.

“ I've wanted to take you here since we first saw it. It was just never the perfect timing. ” He let out a sigh, his hand coming up to my back and it sent a shiver down my spine as the jewelry’s colder chain got in contact with my skin. I knew he saw and maybe even felt it, but never commented on it, deeming it a normal reaction.

“ It would have made it the perfect timing. ” I shrugged a little, sitting down on the chair he pulled out for me, before sitting down opposite me. “ Other than it being too cold to just sit around, I can’t really think about anything that would make me wanna leave early. ” I looked around again. My eyes followed the fairy lights’ cable running all around us and up a tree next to the pagoda.

Having the place for ourselves made it even more magical than how it would normally feel like. Even though we weren’t served by a waitress he had everything we could need, next to the table. He prepared sandwiches with little fruit salads and also our favourite drink. I’m sure we would be having coffee if we were here in the morning, but I also knew we would never sleep if we got caffeine in our systems now. From the outside it probably looked funny as we ate the sandwiches while wearing clothes that would fit into the poshest restaurants but I wouldn’t have changed one bit about tonight. Everything was part of what when considered a perfect date, even if it wouldn’t mean the same for another couple. Everyone’s taste is different and that’s what made it even better, that I could see how much Mick knew my favourite details. I still couldn’t believe what I did to deserve the life I had now and all the changes Mick brought into it by being next to me whenever I would need him and the support.

I was about to thank him for everything, that he made this happen, when he pulled his phone out and I could see as he opened up his camera started recording a video. Instead of lifting it up to record us, he propped it up on the table in a way that it would take in the space next to our pagoda, before standing up and going to the music player that controlled the whole system around the garden. I followed him with my eyes, curiously waiting to hear the song he would choose. I recognised it just two seconds into the start of it, making me not even think about it when he reached out his hand towards me. It was our song, however cliche that is, that we danced to in Hawaii, at the beach party that we attended on the last day of my holiday. Back then I thought we would never ever meet again in person, thought we would be parting ways forever as I had to leave with my friends. It would have been a perfect last memory for the few weeks we spent there, but it became even more magical when there was a text waiting for me to turn on my phone that turned into us talking on the phone constantly and then meeting again in my home town just a few months later.

Even though neither of us was a good dancer we made it work, swaying left and right to the slow beats of the song with my arms around his neck and his circling my hips and resting on the small of my back. I let my eyes close and my head slowly fall forward until my forehead was resting on his shoulder. I felt as he rested his head on mine for a second before his lips left a kiss on my jaw and then neck, followed by several on the skin of my shoulder.

“ This is perfect. ” I sighed out, and I was sure my mum would tease me about how I was beaming with a smile so wide the Cheshire cat could be jealous. I wasn’t ready for it to end and was glad of his choice when the song restarted, meaning the silence didn’t break the moment.

“ What do you think about making our forever this perfect? ” I felt his breath on my neck from his whispering, and I nodded with a smile, not thinking much of it. It was when he stepped back a little and I could see the little box in his hand when my hand came up to cover my surprised expression. “ I know you never thought a silly holiday with friends would end with something like this, but I’m planning on making that just one of the things that worked out quite well in our life. Will you be my partner in making everything better and marry me? ” He asked, already on one knee and opening up the top of the box, revealing a ring that was shining in the light coming from the lanterns and fairy lights.

The only thing I could remember after that was him standing next to me again, the both of us enveloped in a hug while I could already feel the comforting weight of the ring on my finger. The song was still flowing through the air around us, making me feel like I was part of the imaginary world built up inside my head, that I thought would never be my reality. I couldn’t wrap my mind around all the images and thoughts that were running around my head about our future, but feeling his embrace around my body I knew it would all workout. I already had him and that was everything I needed to live my life happy. Or should I say our life now?    

[ratsoh-writes]

and here's the rest of them! all one one convenient post lol

Finn: when he’s in heat, he somehow gets even bouncier. Like where is all this energy coming from??? Anyways he’s so hyper that he doesn’t even have time to be horny. He’s too busy rearranging the whole boat house for the third time. His partner would have to tie him to the bed lol. (Not that drastic of course but you get what I mean)

Sails: he has super easy heats. Like so easy if it wasn’t for the stronger scent, no one could tell. Sails usually powers through the libido and actually takes the time to visit the inner city. His body is so busy producing those season hormones it forgets it’s allergic to pollen.

Hook: he was never the best example of self restraint, and he’s even more impulsive during heat week. So for the good of every one hook usually spends it in his room binging whatever show he’s been putting off seeing. He doesn’t like having a heat partner unless he’s actually dating them. He’s rather emotional and doesn’t trust a stranger to see him like that.

Captain: heat week makes him more snippy as all the hormones (and sometimes pain) is irritating. So crew mates are wisely compliant the start of every season. Captain also doesn’t like having a stranger/fwb as a partner. So he just has to deal with the pain of cramps. He’s had worse.

Helios: before he kidnapped Artemis, he would usually spend his heat with some buddies. They had a thing where he’d help them with their week and vice versa to make things more bearable. Now with his sister though he isn’t comfortable leaving her alone the whole week and just suffers through it in silence. He gets terrible cramps during his heat if he doesn’t have a partner so he doesn’t exercise besides simple stretches. And he takes a lot of hot baths. No big personality change

Artemis: she’s never had a heat before. She’s never been healthy enough to sustain one. However with how she’s progressing, in 10 or so years she’ll have her first one. And right after she’ll insist on getting sterilized by a doctor so she won’t ever pass her dimming on to kids. Her one and only heat would be very confusing and she’d probably cry to Helios about it all week. Poor Artemis. Poor Helios lol

Rook: he gets daydreamy when he’s in heat and will get lost in his own head all week. If someone snaps him back to reality, he usually says something just super out of pocket. Like asking existential questions lol. Rook isn’t too bothered by his increased libido and has never needed to change his schedule for heat week. He won’t say no though if anyone offers to be his partner

Harpy: she has a lot of very enthusiastic admirers who offer themselves up for her week. And she refuses them all. Harpy only saves something so precious for a true partner. However she’s totally fine to flirt like mad all week. It’s fun seeing others squirm for her~

Mango: her affection is dialed up by 100x and she becomes a koala go every one she knows. She just wants cuddles and you can’t stop her. But other than that her heats are pretty easy. She’s one of those lucky monsters who doesn’t get the painful side effects when she doesn’t have a heat partner

Papaya: he’s pretty much himself, just a tad more flirtatious. However everything seems to fluster him. Even the slightest touch on like his shoulder or something has him blushing and mortified lol. It’s kinda cute

Alden: his heats are ROUGH. Bad enough that he always spends them off work. Alden doesn’t like having heat partners that he isn’t dating, so he suffers through the week by taking a ton of baths to calm his cramps, and stuffing himself with ice cream to help soothe the heat flashes. He won’t see anyone during this time cause of how “emotional” he can be. Not even text.

Ollivander: he thankfully didn’t inherit his families famous terrible years. The lucky little butt. He has a normal cycle and will just continue his week like usual, still going to work. He does get a bit hot so usually has the AC on full blast all day. All his employees know to bring an extra coat/cardigan at the start of the season.

Barin: he is dazed and distracted during heat week. It’s hilarious and his guild members have reported multiple instances of poor barin walking into walls by accident cause he was lost in la la land. He’s also more affectionate and cuddly. The perfect time to trick him into saying something nice about you

Arwin: nobody really knows if he has side effects from heat week cause he’s never alone. Being the “popular and experienced” guy he is, arwin happily has plenty of willing partners to pick from for his four days.

Quill: honestly, he’s the same. He’s blessed with super easy heat cycles. He’s just a tad more energetic than usual. Quill likes to distract himself during his cycle by declaring it his spring cleaning week. His home is sparkling when the week is over

Crow: man’s a nester lol. He’ll drag all the soft material in his room on top of his bed in a makeshift nest. And any pretty trinkets are around the bed in a pretty shiny circle. Thankfully crow is territorial and only the stuff in his room is affected. Or else quill would have a fit if crow undid all the cleaning he was working on.

Lens: his libido is crazy during heat. More so than the average monster, making it uncomfortable for him to continue his week like normal so he has to take time off. Normally lens is pretty down for one night stands, but his heat week makes him feel too vulnerable so he spends it in his room away from every one else. Nobody hears from him for those three to five days.

Cricket: he gets bubbly and playful during heat lol. It’s quite funny to see. He greets every one with a big smile and is almost cuddly with his friends. He normally has a friend he spends his week with though, so sadly his happy mood goes by quick

Vibrato: he’s a total crybaby during. Just super emotional. And craves sugar. Vibrato stuffs himself with candies during his heat week and cries over sad movies. It’s a tradition

Tempo: hes frustrated. He doesn’t enjoy the feeling of being aroused, but without a partner his heats can last the whole week, and they’re real strong. Tempo actually does spend them with another monster, and old friend, who’s in the same boat as him. If he doesn’t have that friend to spend it with, he’s snappy and in pain all week.

Sir, Weasel, Butler, Gold, Flambé, Pesto: being a monster given the lust serum means that they are always in a state of low heat. So they actually don't have a heat cycle. they just have to deal with being horny all the time

Partner: he’s still a grump during his heat, but is also incredibly flirtatious to anyone who gives him attention. It’s quite funny seeing him snap at one person, and hit on another seconds later. His heats are average so he doesn’t need to take time off.

Rowdy: he avoids partners place at all costs as his cousin will bring people to the trailer lol. Rowdy is the same for the most part during his heat, less cuddly actually since touching isn’t the most appropriate right now lol. While he himself isn’t that affected, he gives off strong pheromones making him get a lot of unwanted attention. So he avoids populated areas

Stitches: his libido is already high without a heat, so when his heat comes along, being around other people is unbearable unless they’re his heat partner. He holes away in his room for the next few days to “take care of himself” till it passes. When he’s in heat, if you do miraculously see him somehow, he’s whiny and always has a flushed face making his skull look pink. Not a dignified look lol

Tinker: when he’s in heat, he’s pretty much the same. He’s blessed with easy heat cycles, so aside from some soreness he doesn’t need to make any accommodations. Tinkers only change for the week is having a heat pack in his lap while he crochets

Pearl: when she’s in heat, she’s very clingy with every one, craving any sort of physical contact. Especially cuddles. Her last heat, her poor baby sister Atlantis was her victim. The little goat child was treated like a stuffed animal all week lol. At least she got free reign of pearls chocolate stash for her service

Silex: he gets a lot more serious and focused during his heat. He has a high libido already, so all his brain power is being put into self control. It’s unbecoming for a prince to act like a common hoe during his season. But man does he want to

Taffy: if you’re not her mate, you’re perfectly safe. She’s still the same sweetheart, just with a much stronger scent. If you are her mate… you’re gonna be very sore when the week is over. She’s eager to take vacation time to spend it with you~

Pudding: she’s very blushy and uncoordinated. She’ll bump her head on cabinets, stub her toe on table ends, and many other minor but painful injuries. She’s so clumsy cause she keeps daydreaming

Wait they have heats? Then what are they all like during heat? :o

Here’s the link explaining heats

Sans: he’s not too different during his heat. He likes to joke and call it hibernation because that’s how sans treats it. He does his best to be unconscious as long as possible. He usually saves vacation time from work to take the first two days off. His rarely sat longer than three days

Papyrus: he HATES his heat because it makes him anxious and jittery. Papyrus will work himself to exhaustion during in an attempt to ignore his arousal and anxiety. And there’s not really anything anyone can do to help since he refuses to find a heat partner if he doesn’t have a SO

Star: he becomes oddly calm during his heat. The exhaustion saps all his manic energy leaving him in a nice state of normal. It’s terrifying

Honey: the cramps from his heat make him nauseous so it’s hard for him to keep food down the first two days. If he had a partner though, heats would be a breeze for honey. He doesn’t suffer any personality changes. Just terrible cramps

Red: so he’s super horny, anxious, and sore? Sounds like Tuesday to him. Unless one was his partner and able to smell the stronger magic on red, nobody notices when he’s in heat

Edge: he gets more physically affectionate during his heat. Not only in a flirtatious way with his SO. Edge will also hug red, be nicer to his interns at work, give doomfanger many extra cuddles… he’s still super grouchy though, just cuddly and grouchy

Mal: he’s a seething ball of rage during his heat and should be avoided at all costs unless you plan on being his heat partner.

Cash: he’s… hungry. He has the opposite problem that honey has. Now everything looks appetizing to him. Even sweets. If cash is voluntarily making cookies, he’s in heat.

Oak: heats are not a fun time for him. Oak gets really stressed out so any time he’s awake, the stress makes his memory even worse than usual. So bad he can’t really do much, not even bake. He might forget the oven is on.

Willow: same as oak, his heats are a bad time for him. They make his back ache like a mf, and he has his brother to worry about as well since their heats cycle together. Willow usually takes the week off and spends it worrying about how his managers are handling the bakery

Charm: being a monster infected with the lust serum means that charm is always in a state of low heat. So he actually doesn’t have a heat cycle. He just has to deal with being horny all the time

Sugar: same situation as charm basically

Lord: he becomes softer and less snappy during his heat. Lord will even be sweet to his friends instead of his usual sass. He’s still not down to cuddle though

Mutt: he gets pretty temperamental during his heat and will be looking to pick a fight. Not as bad as mal, but close. Lord forces mutt to quarantine whenever their heats start up because mutt will end up getting injured somehow

Wine: he’s very flirtatious during his heat. It’s funny because wine is normally so prim and proper, but here he is making all the old ladies blush in delight when they visit the antique shop. Rip SO.

Coffee: during his heat he has zero f*cks to give. It’s like all his shyness is thrown out the window. He doesn’t stutter one bit when talking to new people. And like wine, he becomes a smooth mf

Pop: literally nothing changes during his heat except for him being a little tired. Pop is blessed with very easy heats

Rhythm: he gets more emotional and it’s pretty easy to get him crying during this time. His bones are also super sensitive so unless you’re his partner, rhythm won’t want anyone touching him

Pluto: heats make him lazy, so unless it’s canoodling with his partner, Pluto won’t want to do much except lay around and read.

Jupiter: same as Pluto basically. His heats are the one time he isn’t super excited to go out and work.

G: he absolutely hates that constantly aroused feeling and almost always finds a partner for his heats. If he doesn’t though, G turns from funny-rude to genuinely rude during his heat.

Green: he very oddly calm during his heat. He likes to pretend that he’s not hurting and raging horny at the moment lol

Peaches: he gets more social and playful during his heat. Peaches is normally so mild that it surprises people to see him so quick to banter.

Rancher: because of all the hard labor he does, he sometimes misses his heats since he’s too busy to notice the arousal and soreness. Rancher once panicked thinking he missed a season before peaches reassured him that he definitely had it at the same time as him

Snipe: he becomes a nest goblin during his heat and will hide away for the four days in a pile of blankets and pillows he drags into his room. Snipe uses his heat weeks to get caught up on any backlogged paperwork he has

Bruiser: the wanderlust hits hard when he’s in heat. Bruiser only comes home to sleep for about four hours a night. Where he is the rest of the time no one knows

Ace: he’s VERY emotional during his heat and can’t even keep up his usual neutral masks. Out of necessity ace has to take the week off and will spend it sulking unless he has a SO to spend it with

Slim: like papyrus, slim takes the work till you drop route to stave off the anxiety. He usually spends his heats with boss doing any and all fixing jobs the mafia properties might need. Slim prefers sore bones over constant arousal

Butch: he gets super playful and cuddly during his heat. He’s basically a big pest to every one around him lol. This also comes with being extra flirtatious. Because of this, but rarely ends up alone for his heat

Boss: his personality really doesn’t change much during heat, but the raging libido does make him a little more distracted. He usually keeps himself busy and focused by working slim to death. Helping his brother with his anxiety makes boss feel better

Rust: like red, he’s great at hiding his heat and has no problems still going to work on those days. The kids are a great distraction. He’s mopey and listless when he gets home though

Noir: he’s super cuddly as well but less grouchy than edge. Noir will straight up cuddle with rust during heat to try and cheer his brother up. This is a great time for a SO to get him to say something mushy and embarrassing lol

Lilac: without that manic energy Star has, instead of becoming normal, lilac is dead to the world. He’s in pain, exhausted, and too horny to want to look at anyone that’s not a heat partner. He spends it in solitude mostly

Basil: like honey, heats make him super nauseous. But basil refuses to not eat so he spends his heats occasionally checking in on lilac and focusing on not throwing up :(

[royalcordelia]

Fic Masterlist: JackSparrow589 Edition

There’s never a bad time for shirbert fic recommendations, so this time, I’d like to celebrate @js589​! You (definitely) might know her as JackSparrow589 on ao3, or better yet, one of your favorite fic authors! I wanted to recommend every one of her shirbert stories and give you my two-cents about why I think every single one is a must-read.

As you read, I encourage you to drop kudos if you haven’t read and leave a comment with your thoughts! (Oldest to newest, because we’re diggin’ tonight!)

A Bit of Reciprocal Courage:  Some first kiss goodness. Gilbert drinks his respect Anne juice AND his confidence juice. 

Awestruck: If you’re missing awae, this fills in some blanks with some sweet moments and insight.

Why Can't Life Ever Go Smoothly?: Because Doctor Gilbert is irresistable to both us and Anne. 

And All Around, the Snow Fell: In which Cole was so very wonderfully, beautifully right about crushes and feelings. I love the wintery themes in this one. Definitely a good read if you’re in the heat of summer. 

Girlish Fun: The sequel to the last one. Speaks for itself! <333 

New Possibilities: I’ll let the tags speak for themselves. “Fluff, Pointless fluff, Have I mentioned fluff yet?, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings” This is not false advertising, folks.

It Is Together That We Move Forward: A missing moment we did not know we needed. An important look into accepting comfort from people we love after a tough time. 

Sweet as Pie: I always love Jerry teasing Anne about Gilbert and this oneshot DELIVERS. 

As Constant and As Fickle as the Sky: I, too, wish I was caught in the rain with Gilbert Blythe. Alas, I’ll have to live vicariously through this fic. 

Grant That I May Not So Much Seek To Be Consoled As To Console: The title of this fic makes me tear up. Living up to its name, this fic makes me cry too. A really sweet post 3x03.

Dominoes of a Dance: In which everyone ships Shirbert and they finally get their acts together. 

When Trouble Comes Knocking: We love a Jerry and Anne sibling story!!! I’m a sucker for the sheer found family vibes in this. 

It's All So Quick and I Feel Sick: I’m right there with Anne feeling her “hope and warmth... and longing.” Post dance feels comin’ right up!

In Which Minnie May Spills the Tea: If Diana hadn’t ripped Gil a new one on the train, THIS is what I would’ve wanted. Perfection. 

Could This Be the Moment: This is one of those end of season 3 fics that made watching Gilbert be an idiot a bit more bearable. The ending is so satisfying, ahhhh. <3

The Subtle Distinction Between Jealousy and Envy: When I tell you I did not know the difference between jealousy and envy until this fic. Anne and Gil have a good conversation in this one. (Though Jack, if you wanted to add a second chapter, I would not object. The suspense!) 

A Bright and Shining Future: Deserves every kudos it has. Another interesting take on the Gil/Winnie/Anne situation. 

As the Seasons Pass: A sequel to the last one! Except hotter and heavier (Jack’s words, not mine). 

Down to the Wire: Marilla said #AnneRights! And then upon further reflection, realizes that shirbert rights are Anne rights. Very satisfying though bc there is some COMMUNICATION. 

A Shattering of Expectations: Another 3x09 fix it fic that saved my life after I watched Gilbert trample all over Anne’s note. 

Moments Unseen: I would’ve killed to see Anne and Winnie’s conversation, but thanks to this story, I don’t have to! Bonus Diana + Gilbert closure too.

Better Late Than Never: A surprise Miss Stacy comes in and plots away. I like the Miss Stacy and Bash vibes in this, something we didn’t get to see.

Words From the Heart: I know for a fact y’all like post season 3 fics, so this one is for you. Twenty chapters of wonderfulness. 

Now and Always: REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD. Thorough kisses and fluff, ahoy!

To Live a Life With No Regrets: In addition to cutting the Winnie drama early, this story sends some much deserved love to my girl Ka’kwet. Overall, just so sweet and wonderful. 

A Friendly Favor: I know we’re all about missing moments from the end of season 3, but the beginning is just as important. That’s what this story does! 

That'll Be a "Yes": A sweet look into shirbert talking about their future. Something good to read if you’re having a rough day and needs some good feels. 

Inflection Points: My personal favorite! When this was being updated I waited for it daily. 10 missing moments from Season 3 that you definitely wanted to see. 

Locked In: Think 7 Minutes in Heaven, late victorian edition. Yep, it’s just as wonderful as you expect. This is also the one Jack tried to show me just how fluffy and amazing she can be. I was thoroughly impressed, but not surprised in the slightest. 

In Which Feelings Start to Bloom: An Inflection Points Continuation: Exactly what it sounds like. *Insert hallelujah chorus*.

Moonlit, Starstruck: Rated E for married love makin. In my professional shirbert opinion, there isn’t enough of this type of intimacy in shirbert fic. Very romantic, 10/10.

In Which Gilbert Makes the Decision He Damn Well Should Have: In which all of our frustrations cease because Gilbert is just...decent and sweet in this one. Thank God!! 3x08 gilbert who??

Burning Like a Fire Gone Wild: THE DRAMA. We love a good hurt/comfort/happy ending story. I loved every word of this one especially. 

To Be Your Last Good Night and Your First Good Day: I’m not usually a modern AU type gal, but this one has me changin my mind. 

Nobody Loves Me Like You Love Me: Modern AU’s that made Tessa change her mind, part 2!!

We All Need Someone To Hold: Lovely sequel to the train accident fic (see two bullets up!) Read that one first for sure! Thank me later. 

The Wolves Came and Went and We're Still Standing: Modern AUs that made Tessa change her mind, Wedding Edition!! The gettin’ is good, fam! 

Like a Heartbeat Skip, Like an Open Page: Jack is a master at canon compliant moments and if you don’t believe me, look no further, just click the heckin’ link. 

Skating Lessons: Another fic to read if you’re unbearably hot this summer! A snowy, fluffy, shirbert dream of a fic!

Dressed Up/Dressed Down: Another E fic. I know most of y’all got a thing for shirbert in each other’s clothes so make sure you thank Jack personally for this one. 

A Most Unexpected Remedy: When Jack delivers, she REALLY delivers. Another fic diving into Anne and Winnie’s conversation. Her and I were both mad about Winnie’s characterization, and so Jack fixed it up real nice!

Over the Sky: This is the soiree reunion fic I wanted like NONE OTHER. 3.3k words of dreams come true! 

As the New Era Dawns: This story took my heart in its hands and squeezed it. Different than a lot of her other works, but so so so beautiful just the same. I have a soft spot for this one. 

In Which Diana Yells at Gilbert an Episode Early: AS SHE SHOULD!!!! In Jack’s words, “The title speaks for itself, folks.”

Somniferous: Smoochin’ and sleepin’ to the MAX, fam. A 5+1 fic that stole my heart away. 

The Relentless Persistence of Destiny: Lastly, the (currently) unfinished AU that peeks into what would’ve happened if Anne and Gilbert would’ve met in college. Gotta tell you, this story is refreshing for very clear reasons (mostly, it doesn’t make a reality show out of two very sweet, human people.) Bookmark this one so you have something happy to read when you’ve got the sads. 

To you, the reader, I hope you enjoy these works as much as I have. Again, if you do, be sure to let Jack know. 

To Jack, thank you for writing 46 stories that have gotten this fandom through such crazy times! Through Season 3, cancellation, and a pandemic, you always gifted us with such wonderful content, even though your own personal life bore its own challenges. It’s been such a privilege being your friend and enjoying your beautifully crafted stories. Happy birthday, my love <33