#it was probably pretty nerve wracking for them but they got up there and did so well

[luveline]

JADE I LOVE SINGLE MOM READER AND STEVE! 😭 If requests are open, could we see steve taking the two of them on a date? And lil man wants to hold steves hand but he’s a little shy to ask?

If requests are closed this is just a compliment for you 😘

thank u for requesting <3 mom!reader, 1k

This is far more nerve wracking than previous dates, Steve will admit. He’s never had to buy a girl two bouquets, either. It’s expensive. Probably worth it. 

Steve leans against the doorframe, nervous and attempting to look the opposite. His knock was met with a called, “Coming, Steve!” and little else. 

He’s wondering if he’s the victim of a mean prank when you finally open the door. 

“Hi!” you greet, letting your mini me stumble out of the door before you. “Noah, say hi, baby.”

Noah looks up at Steve, smiles, and carries on down the steps. 

“Hey, bud,” he says with a knowing laugh. “Hi, you,” he adds, pressing a quick kiss to your cheek. 

“Are those for us? Noah, come back! Come back, Steve has a present for you.” 

The flowers he’d bought for Noah are small and maybe ridiculous, he doesn’t know. Noah’s a little boy, and he’s sure some parents might give Steve a funny look for it, but it hadn’t felt weird in the moment. You don't find it weird, clearly —you’re beckoning Noah back to your legs with a smile that practically sparkles, grabbing him up, and showing him the flowers. There’s something startled about you as you point to the smaller bouquet and say, “Oh, babe, look what Steve got for you. Aren’t they pretty? Where are we gonna put them?” 

“You guys look nice, huh? That’s a gift for me, so, I figure, flowers,” he says, not awkward but definitely not smooth. 

“Thank you, Steve.” 

You take Noah’s bouquet and press it into his hands. “Say thank you,” you whisper nicely. 

“Thank you,” Noah says. 

Steve meets his eyes with a smile gentle as yours. “You’re welcome.” 

“Would you wanna hold him?” you ask. “I’ll take the flowers inside. He’ll run down into the street otherwise, and if I take him back in he’ll want me to take off his shoes.” 

Steve doesn’t know what he wants. He really likes your son and he doesn’t have any qualms in helping, but he’s terrified of dropping him, or holding him wrong and hurting him, or making him cry being too close. He doesn’t want you to know that he’s scared of anything, so he shuffles your flowers into one arm and opens the other for Noah, who goes willingly. Steve’s surprised at how easily you move him, then again when Noah surrenders his flowers in the name of hugging Steve’s neck. 

You laugh. Your smile makes him smile, and with the colours of the flowers glowing under your neck, you’re something from a movie. “Aw, babe, are you giving Steve a hug? You’re so nice! You’re lovely.” 

“We’re best friends,” Steve says. 

“We’re best friends,” you say. Best friends seems to be mom code for dating. “You’re just buddies. Don’t get it messed up, Harrington, I’m his favourite.” 

You head back inside. Steve holds Noah close, realising with some awe that even though Noah’s a toddler, his back is barely bigger than Steve’s arm where it’s resting. He’s not heavy. He barely weighs anything at all when he sits like this with his legs either side of Steve’s ribs. 

“Are you ready for our day out?” Steve asks him. “We’re gonna go rollerblading. Did mommy tell you? It’s a toddler disco, and then we’re gonna have pizza. Mom says you love pizza.” 

“Yeah, an’ ‘ronis.” 

“Yeah?” Steve asks, thrilled to be understood and to understand what he’s saying. “I’m gonna get you a huge pepperoni pizza, extra pepperoni. And mommy said you’re pretty good on your little rollerblades. That’s so cool.” 

Noah maybe doesn’t get the last part, but it doesn’t matter. Steve’s tone is making him smile, and he hugs Steve’s neck with a surprising ferociousness. 

“What did you say to him?” you ask, stepping back out of the door, closing it behind you. “He’s gone shy.” 

“I just told him I was gonna buy him a pizza!” Splteve defends. 

“No, it’s a good thing. It just means he’s feeling loved up,” you say, scratching the nape of Noah’s neck. 

“Oh. Good. That’s great.” 

You nod knowingly. “Pretty great. My two best guys getting along.” 

“I’m a best guy?” Steve asks.

You slot yourself into his side with a low lying confidence that has his heart like a hammer in his chest. “Best guy,” you confirm.

You’re unafraid when it comes to him, you have been since you met. You flirt, hug, even kiss without hesitation. And now Noah’s clinging to Steve like he’s known him for months, it’s nice. It’s pretty much everything he’s ever wanted, or the precipice of it, and he’s not going to get ahead of himself but he’s just happy to be liked without any holding back. 

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, quietly but not shyly. 

You pout obligingly, chin up, eyes shutting in total trust. Steve holds Noah away from you rather than have everybody smash their faces together and ducks down for a quick kiss that turns into two, the second of which is soft, and an attempt to show you what he’s feeling without saying it. 

You pull away but bring your hand to his hair, threading your fingertips into the shorter strands by his ear. He’d like to think you’re saying the same thing he was. 

“Mommy,” Noah says. 

“Yeah, bub?” you ask, distracted where you brush Steve’s hair down. 

“Kiss too?” 

You lay your gaze on him with mirth. “Yes! Pucker up, Noah. Gonna give you the biggest one, and then we’re gonna have to get in the car before we miss toddler skate. Ready?” 

You kiss him and tickle his tummy. Steve bites back a cheesy, awful grin. Two new best friends is a sweet deal. 

[yanderegrizzsworld]

saw your post about taking digital circus content so may I request for Pomni or Ragatha or even Jax with a reader who's pretty calm when first entering in the digital circus and doesn't seem to mind everything else happening with how they're just like "hey, that's cool" basically they're pretty chill

Imagine: Platonic Yandere Pomni, Ragatha & Jax with a chill reader

TW/CW: Implied stalking & Mentions of Bullying

Pomni:

With Ragatha's reassurance, Pomni reckoned that everyone acted similarly to her upon their arrival to the Digital Circus. This did ease her perturbation, though not by much & far less upon your arrival to their Digital "home".

Are you alright? Complete & utter calmness is the last reaction the jester expects from a newcomer, yet reasons that you're probably seeking to assess your situation &/or keep focus. It's quite smart really, it means you're less likely to abstract in this world, such an easygoing attitude it quite a quick way to get her attached to you.

She'll strive to stick by you as much as possible, though is willing to give you your space if asked to as she wishes not to be regarded as chafing & will at most watch you from a distance. Expect her coming to you a lot whenever she seeks comfort from one of her paranoid episodes of searching for an exit, while Ragatha is very willing to be a nice shoulder to cry on, Pomni truly feels her anxious thoughts leave whenever she's in your presence & will progressively get more antsy the longer she can't find you in the circus.

Ragatha:

She reckons herself as the peacemaker of the group from being one of the oldest to be there, though one would be forgiven (& correct) for thinking that she seems quite close to losing it at any moment. From this, she always strives to ease newcomers to their new digital home, understanding how nerve-wracking it is.

Ragatha is chiefly clueless upon your arrival. Years of seeing new faces initially scared & addled to this world has made the ragdoll has grown accustomed to introducing the new performers, downplaying the existential dread of their circumstance, whether as so they don't abstract or so her own crisis doesn't get to her is up in the air. She takes her steps forward as she usually does to new people, but doesn't know what to properly say seeing as you're not freaking out about the situation.

Seeing her around you a lot is something you'd best get used to, whether it's a short, simple chat on how you're holding up or talking about nothing within the walls of the tent, getting Ragatha to leave is quite the task. She refuses to leave you alone with Jax, as in her eyes & years of being around him, he might chip away at your sanity, small at first but grows worse over time until it's too late, claiming she's somehow surprised someone hasn't abstracted because of him.

Jax:

Nobody's sure if Jax's frequent bullying is merely an aspect of who he is or his way of coping with living in the circus, it's doesn't matter either way, he won't give a luculent answer. Jax isn't one to comfort a new face, opting to hectoring them until Ragatha stops him towards causing the other's disquietude.

Your breezy attitude doesn't deter him from his usual antics, including said frolics being thrown at you. Your lack of reaction to the prank both throws off the lavender rabbit & bemuses him, just what goes through that head of yours? His motive shift from wanting a reaction from you to seeking to see what makes you tick, what you experienced to make you have the viewpoint that you do, that makes you merely laugh at your situation rather than panic.

Jax sees fit to insert himself into conversations without a need to explain himself & brushes off any questions thrown at him, every attempt to interrogate him tends to end with Jax dragging you off with him, maybe to not start an argument with Ragatha or Zooble or perhaps he got bored of the conversation, who knows what goes on in his head. Any thought of suspect for his behavior towards you is out his head a second later, you don't seem to mind so his mind discerns no issue with his comportment & is what Jax uses as an excuse, true reason for his frequent presence around you.

[divine-misfortune]

What about Phantom and Mountian kissing as encouragement 👀

They say pacing is a good way to clear your head, at least Phantom was pretty sure he heard someone say it once. That someone was starting to feel like a real big fucking liar though. He had been pacing the length of the dressing room for an hour, maybe two, and his head was still horribly loud. Bees swarming in his skull, stinging his brain, he was this close to giving himself a little zap of quintessence to enter into a short coma to escape it.

Sound check had been nothing short of nightmarish on his end. Too many notes played sharp and riffs fumbled to be excused. Papa had even shot him a look - not exactly what you'd call a dirty look but one that still knotted up his stomach. Rain had even fixed him with something akin to a scowl, or maybe the sun was in his eyes.

Phantom just couldn't get off that stage fast enough, and the dread of being forced back onto it in a matter of hours nearly made him sick.

In an effort to maintain his grip on sanity, he'd started pacing and pacing got him nowhere. Phantom wanted to curl in on himself instead. The old leather couch in the corner was the perfect place in his opinion. The well loved cushion was easy to sink into, some sort of embrace to mend his frayed nerves. It almost barely helped.

Knees drawn up to his chest, arms folded, face hidden in them, he felt small. Fragile. Dead weight.

"Bug?"

Phantom's fingers dug into his biceps and he sniffled, blinking away tears he did not care to admit to. The best response he could manage was a weak hum, tuneless and a little unsteadier than he'd like.

"You're not dressed yet," Mountain was frowning. His voice always got a little softer when he frowned. "Whats going on?"

He shrugged. Lying, he knew exactly what the issue was and so did Mountain.

The couch dipped beside him and a large hand settled on his back. Slow circular motions between his shoulder blades that had Phantom unraveling. It shouldn't have been so easy but Mountain made everything seem so simple.

"Rough day, huh sprout?"

"Yeah..." he croaked sadly and lifted his head enough to rest his chin on his arms. "Do I have to do this?"

"Well, technically no but we're gonna sound like shit without you."

"Probably have a better chance without me tripping around up there."

Mountain shifted in his peripheral before slipping an arm around him, pulling the little ghoul against his chest without a fight. Phantom wanted to be there anyhow. Closest thing to safety he had in that little room. He wrapped both arms around his middle and clutched at Mountain's vest. Hiding against him tamed the swarm in his head, quieted the worst of the turmoil.

"You need to be more patient with yourself."

"Easier said than done."

"I know, I know. Despite what the gray hairs might lead you to believe I was new to this too once." Phantom snorted and let out a shuddered breath that wracked his delicate frame. "Could tell you a thousand stories about my bad days on tour, and you're gonna collect quite a few of your own but they'll get easier to shrug off."

Phantom held tighter and Mountain embraced him the same. Squished him like it might just squeeze the doubt out of the little quint. It didn't, of course, but it did get a laugh out of him. Weak but genuine.

"Lemme see that pretty face, I wanna make it better."

There was a moment of hesitation to unlatch from the earth ghoul but he did inevitably, rewarded by those familiar warm eyes. Mountain's mouth quirked upwards at the edges and he cupped his face in both hands. All he wanted to do was melt into them, trusting him to keep him upright.

Mountain leaned in and caught his lips before they could quiver with the threat of another little cry again. One little peck, followed by another, and another. Cautiously paced with every kiss, deepening slowly until Phantom was boneless between his hands. This always seemed to go to his head, could damn near restart his brain just by kissing him - and that was the point.

And Mountain gave him one more before breaking away before all he had was a puddle of a ghoul left. Squishing his flushed cheeks, he gave an exaggerated mwah just as he sat back to admire his work. Phantom's eyes were half lidded, fluttering delicately as he registered the absence of Mountain’s mouth against his.

"Give yourself a little grace, you've more than earned it. Some days are just gonna be bad...But I promise to always try to kiss the blues away."

"...Think I'm still feeling a little blue, can you try again?" Phantom asked quietly, tugging at his vest hopefully.

"Only after you get dressed. I'll ward off aaaaaall those sad feelings till we're called to places once you do. Deal?"

"Deal."

[xstarrgirllx]

just hold my hand

percy hynes white x actress!reader

summary: you’re a new actress and percy helps you with your nerves when going to your first premiere.

warnings: reader has anxiety, hand holding, basically just fluff, cheek kisses

writers note: i didn’t do a lot of research on the cast, so i’m kinda just going based off the top of my head when describing them. also this is my first story, so please let me know if i should make more and what you would like to see if i do make more.

(lowercase is intentional, y/c means your character, m/a means makeup artist)

—-

you were new to all of this. playing as y/c in wednesday was your first big role and you were more than nervous. you have only ever had small roles. even after meeting all of the cast and clicking with them almost instantly, you still didn’t know exactly what to say or do. it was 5:17pm, almost time for the premiere and your anxiety is getting out of control.

there’s only a couple of people who you told about your anxiety, emma and percy. they were who really helped you when you came to set. the others helped too but not as much as them. they were so welcoming and made you feel so comfortable. you felt like you would never have to hide who you really were with them.

ever since you met percy, you had found him attractive. veryy attractive. his green eyes, pretty smile, and long brown hair were so mesmerizing, how could you not? he was also very funny and crazy. he always found a way to make everyone laugh. he was your favorite. as for emma, she was so sweet. she has the purest heart. she’s also real fun and has an amazing personality. same goes for jenna, joy, georgie, hunter, naomi, lucius, moosa, isaac, and the rest of the cast.

you were very happy with where you were in life. but because of how popular wednesday has become, there were so many cameras and articles on you. it was nerve wracking. but now you were getting your hair curled, while also getting your makeup done. the dress you were about to put on was a light gray/blue slim dress with an open back. it was very fancy. and probably very expensive but you weren’t worried about that.

you were worried about having so much attention on you. it was 5:48pm as soon as you were finished getting ready and you wanted to see percy. you needed to and fast. you knew he would help. he was only in the room across the hall, so you knew it wouldn’t be hard to find him. but when you knocked no one answered. you knocked a few more times until his makeup artist opened the door.

m/a: hi sweetie, how can i help you?

y/n: oh hi, is percy there?

m/a: oh no you just missed him. he went to get his tie in hunter’s room.

y/n: okay, thank you.

you then rushed to hunter’s room and knocked repeatedly. he opened the door and he could already tell that you were nervous because of how you were playing with your hands. secretly everyone knew that you had anxiety. even if you try to hide it, you don’t do a very good job. everyone also knew that when you are nervous you are more likely to be with percy or emma.

hunter: oh y/n, percy isn’t here.

y/n: where could he be?

you thought out loud and ran off before hunter could say anymore. you were now running down the hall looking for percy. this was scaring you. what if something bad happened. what if he got hurt. you were too caught up in your thoughts that you didn’t realize you bumped into someone. percy. you hugged him immediately. and it all had happened so fast, it took him a moment to notice is was you. but when he did, he hugged you back.

percy: you okay, bunny?

y/n: no

you hugged him even tighter and he kissed the top of your head. it was now 5:56pm and everyone was starting to head to the limo.

percy: we gotta go.

y/n: i’m scared.

percy: it’s okay, i’ll be with you the entire time. if you need just hold my hand.

y/n: okay.

since then you hadn’t let go of his hand. not once. you held it through the ride and during the entire premiere. you worried he might of thought of you as annoying or too clingy because of this but in all honesty he didn’t mind. he liked that you always wanted to be with him. the feeling was mutual.

when the premiere ended it was was almost 7:20pm. everyone was finishing up interviews and some were already leaving. you and percy are walking out hand in hand.

percy: see wasn’t so hard, was it?

y/n: it wasn’t so bad… thank you. i don’t think i could’ve ever done that if it weren’t for you.

you kiss his cheek and notice a slight blush appear on his cheek.

percy: anything for you bunny.

now it was your turn to blush. once you got to the hotel, you two split and said goodnight. jenna, joy and emma were sitting on your bed talking. you walked out of the bathroom, in your pjs and sat next to joy. you guys ordered dinner and hung out for a while. it was almost 10pm and you were getting tired.

emma: sooo, how was your nighttt?

y/n: it was good.

emma: ooo, i bet it was.

y/n: what’s that supposed to me?

joy: oh come on, you were holding percy’s hand all night and even kissed his cheek.

jenna: you like him, don’t you?

y/n: what, no! i don’t what you guys are talking about. and i have to go to sleep, so goodnight.

you got under the covers, closed your eyes and fake snored. they laughed and went to sleep themselves.

the end

—-

[ssswadaa]

An Awkward Date In Konoha

A Shino Aburame X Gender Neutral Reader Fanfic

Words: 2,457

A/N: This took so long, happy I got it done!

Descrition: Today's supposed to be your first date with Shino, but something comes up...

Under a cool morning sunrise in Konoha, you slowly fold the note into a small square, and devolve into a coughing fit. You had prayed that this sickness would go away through the night, but it had just gotten worse with time. You wished you felt the way you did when Shino Abarame asked you out the day before, all giddy and excited, and able to breathe through both of your nostrils. But now, even getting out of bed and running this small errand hurts everything in your body, there’s no way you could show up, even if it was your first date. Now the pretty, new green dress that you and Hinata Hyuuga picked out for this special occasion (in secret of course) would probably grow stale in your closet for who knows how long until Shino forgave you.

Sighing and holding back tears, you slump your way out of your apartment, and down the hall. Two doors down was the infamous Naruto Uzumaki, a moderate acquaintance of Shino’s. You slid the note under his door and knocked, before retreating to the bacteria-filled uncomfort of your apartment. You grab a glass of water, and head back to bed, wishing to be unconscious and thus free from your thoughts. Crashing onto your bed sends sharp pains throughout your entire body, as if somebody had run into you. Luckily, you fall asleep quickly.

(...)

Under the warm sun of the afternoon, Shino dodged the hands quickly, narrowly avoiding them before getting lightly tapped in the chest. Luckily, Hinata wasn’t using her Gentle Fist jutsu, or he’d be left unconscious at best, and at worst… Well, he didn’t want to picture ruining the rest of his day, or even the rest of the month.

“Good aim, Hinata. You’re getting quicker.” He remarked.

Hinata smiled warmly. “Thank you, Shino!” She posed herself rigidly again, signaling a call to get back to training, when…

“HEEEYYYYY!!!!! SHHIIINNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” called an abrasive voice. Hinata and Shino turned to see Naruto jumping between trees, and eventually down to their level. “Shino, Shino! Y/n left me this note, it says they can’t meet you tonight because they’re super sick. They wanted me to pass on the message.” He held up a folded note as proof of concept.

Shino froze, although this went unnoticed by Naruto and Hinata. How could this be? He had prepared so much for today, how could this happen? His bugs stirred beneath his pale skin.

“Give me the note, Naruto.” Shino demanded.

“Well, okay then.” Naruto said, slightly puzzled. He handed the note over to Shino, who snatched it from his hand. Shino carefully unfolded the note and read to himself,

Naruto,

Please tell Shino that I cannot meet him tonight, I have caught an awful sickness. You may be busy, but please tell him as soon as possible, I don’t want to keep him waiting. And tell him I’m terribly sorry for the hassle.

Y/n

Shino’s hive buzzed with mixed emotions. He knew now that you were being genuine, the handwriting was uncharacteristically large and filled with loops and holes. And the note was blunt and quick, when normally you love to talk on and on about little things, much like he does his bugs. How awful, such a sweet and caring shinobi did not deserve to be infected this badly. He had to do something. He still wanted to make you happy, to see you giggle like you always did. Shino would treat you right. It would be difficult, nerve-wracking, and a little embarrassing, but he had to do this for you.

“Naruto, where does Y/n live?” Shino asked, refolding the note and putting it into his jacket pocket.

“Uh, like two doors down from me, so like 307 in my complex-” Naruto started.

“Thank you.” Shino nodded, and turned to Hinata. “Hinata, I’m sorry, but I must go. Have a nice day.” With that, Shino was gone, rushing through the trees to get back to the village as soon as possible.

“What’s his deal?” Naruto said, as puzzled as always.

“He…probably just wants to see them and re-make plans.” Hinata smiled innocently. She knew what stirred between Shino and you, but kept quiet about her esoteric knowledge.

(...)

Shino shouldered his bag with little effort up to the third floor, and walked down the hall to find your room. In his hands, he held a large cooking pot, fit for a good stew. He stopped before your apartment, and to his dismay, he heard soft sobbing from the other side. The bugs were restless now, he could hardly keep them all together. Are they crying for me? He thought guiltily. Although he would normally knock when visiting another home, this time he just opened the door, desperate to help with any of your issues. You didn’t notice anybody enter, you kept crying as Shino lightly put down the pot, his shoes and his bag before stopping at the doorway to your bedroom. Your floor was home to empty tissue boxes, as you laid on your stomach, crying into your soggy pillow. A symptom of being madly in love, you wished for him always, to be with him out to dinner, or just in the forest cuddling and looking at the wildlife. All those wishes were now delayed for who knows how long, just because your feeble body fell ill at the wrong time. Will Shino ever forgive me? You worried. He is the type to hold lots of grudges. Shino stood in the doorway for a moment, working up the courage to call out to you. He, too, desperately hoped to see you today, and now more than ever he wanted to hold you tightly and whisper sweet nothings to you, you humming into his chest as you fell asleep together in the woods.

That could still happen, Shino had to remind himself. But right now, it’s about making Y/n happy here. Shino breathed deep, tried to compose himself and his bugs, and muttered… “Y/n?”

You jolted your head up instantly, as if your pillow had become magma. You turned around slowly to see the man you had just failed, standing in your doorway. “Shi…Shino…” you stutter, before breaking into painful wails. You felt so disappointed in yourself.

“Y/n…” Shino stammered nervously, rushing to the side of the bed.”What is wrong? Is everything okay?”

“Oh, Shino!” You sob. “I’m so sorry! I know…I know today was supposed to be important and…and I’m so sorry that I’m sick… and…” You break into a small coughing fit.

“Y/n, the day isn’t what’s so important to me.” The hive buzzed almost as loudly as your wails. I have to do this now, for them.

“You are what’s important to me, Y/n. I love you.”

“...Really?” You ask, sniveling and holding your breath, waiting for someone like Naruto or Kiba to undo a transformation jutsu and laugh at you.

“Yes, I want to care for you.” Shino held back, not wanting to express everything just yet. He didn’t want to move too fast for you, or even himself. This is about you right now. “Come into the kitchen, I have things for you. When you are ready, please join me.”

Shino lowered his head, turned around, and went to the kitchen, leaving you alone to process what happened. He loves me? He really loves me? And how can I say it back after he did it so well? You coughed aggressively, hoping to just cough away all your tears. You got up and went to the bathroom to brush your hair and look at least okay to Shino.

Meanwhile, Shino put the pot to boil on the stove, and started chopping some vegetables to distract himself, to no avail. His kikaichū crawled up to his fingertips and surrounded the cutting board as he thought about you, some hovering over the stew, impressed with what their master began to create. Did I do it right? He thought, as more bugs escaped from his protection. That must’ve been so embarrassing. I should’ve waited, I really should’ve waited. But…I just want to make them happy… He slid the vegetables from the knife into the pot, and began to season the stew he prepared.

With a small cough, to politely alert your presence, you step cautiously into your kitchen. Shino turned around, his face lowering once again, now a cute shade of pink, and gathered all his bugs that were on the counter. Shino had made the table, put his mission bag neatly on your couch, and seemingly cleaned the counters, all while you tried your hardest to look even presentable.

“Wow…Shino…” You’re completely stunned. “Everything looks great! This is unbelievable…”

“Please believe it.” Shino blurted as he approached his bag, although he couldn’t quite believe it himself. “I have gotten some things for you while you’re sick, I hope you appreciate them.”

Shino motioned for you to come closer, and unpacked his bag. Your jaw drops as he lays out the items he got: multiple boxes of tissues, many different flavors of tea bags, a thermometer, and a massive blanket, much bigger than your actual bed or couch. Shino’s bag deflated as he turned to you, anxiously waiting for a response. You approached your couch and ran your hand across everything Shino had gotten for you. Oh my…he had gotten all this because I said I was sick? And it’s…real? He really loves me? You thought, as your hand made its way to the blanket. It was incredulously soft, you felt tired even touching it.

“Shino…” You begin. “Shino, this is all so wonderful, it’s hard to believe. Thank you…thank you one thousand times over. It’s all so lovely, and coming from the man I love too…thank you, Shino.” You approach Shino and give him a weak hug, partly to not disturb his standoffish nature, partly because your body couldn’t handle anything stronger. Surprisingly, Shino did not hesitate in hugging back, both of your faces flushing.

“Thank you, Y/n.”

Your body melted into his, attracted to its natural heat. Shino pressed his cheek against the top of your head, kikaichūs humming beneath his skin, before quickly tensing. He broke away from the comfort of your body and noticed some bugs swirling above you. He walked back to the pot and seasoned it more, stirring it lightly, and then taking it off the stove.

“The stew is ready. You can sit down.”

“Oh, thank you Shino.”

You sit down at your own dining table as Shino takes your bowl and fills it, before carefully setting it down before you. The stew is coloured a comforting orange, filled with small green bits of leaves and other vegetables. You take a spoonful as Shino joins you with his own bowl.

“Wow, Shino…this is amazing! So warm, so smooth, do I taste winter melon? You’re such a good cook!” You compliment as the stew flows through you gracefully. It was cooked to perfection, with zings of winter melon that wonderfully coated your mouth.

“Thank you.” Shino said softly, looking down at what he created, a microscopic smile contouring onto his lips.

As you both ate, you continued with light small talk about Shino’s entomology work, but you still felt like you could’ve coughed up an organ or two. As much as Shino’s presence was comforting, he couldn’t quite cure your illness. As coughs shivered down your entire body, making you eat more stew to balance the temperatures, you noticed Shino always grimaced and looked away whenever you did so. You decided not to say anything, but you couldn’t help but wonder if you being in pain also pained him too.

When you both were finished your meals, Shino took the bowls over to the sink and began to wash them.

“Shino, you don’t have to do that…” You start.

“I want to, Y/n. Please, let me.” Shino continued to wash the bowls.

“Okay…but next date I get to treat you, and there’s no escaping that; okay?”

“You considered this…a date?” Shino said cautiously, lightly blushing.

“I liked to think of it as one…is that okay with you?” You ask, his shyness passing onto you.

“If you believe it to be a date, that is okay with me. We were supposed to have a date today anyways.”

“Do you wanna have another?” You say without thinking.

“Yes, please. We can have a picnic.” Shino responds, also without thinking.

Shino drastically raised his eyebrows, and you began to giggle. No way we both just blurted that! That’s so cute! You think as your giggles transform into coughs, and reform into giggles again, all while making you colder and colder. Knowing Shino’s uncomfort, you try to hide it as you respond;

“Oh, that’s a lovely idea! I’ll wear something really nice and formal!”

“Yeah…thank you.” Shino kept his head down and washed the already clean bowls. Did I really just say that? I guess they’re on my mind too much. Shino thought as he ran through the scenario in his head multiple times over, before realizing the bowls were well beyond clean. He dried them off and put them back, all while hiding his increasingly red face.

“I should get going now.” Shino announced, grabbing his bag and slipping on his shoes. “You need to get some rest, you’re cold.”

Of course he noticed, dammit. You grumble mentally. “Okay then, when do you want this date?”

“Well…once you’re better, and whenever you’re free, well, when would you want that?” Shino started for the door.

“Shino, you give me a date. I want to treat you too, remember?” You remind the timid boy.

“...I would prefer next week exactly.” Surprisingly, Shino smiled brightly, seemingly accepting that being treated was unavoidable.

“Alright, I’ll mark it down. All good?”

“Yes, thank you very much, Y/n.” Shino opened the door. “Please get some rest, you need some.”

“I will, Shino, don’t worry. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Y/n.” Shino turned away quickly and closed the door behind him.

(...)

It was a perfect end to the day. The tea was just warm enough, with a perfectly mild melon zest to it. Taking a few pills along with it, you melted into your new blanket on the couch. It was gigantic, much bigger than what your actual couch, but it was just fine anyways. While carefully holding the teacup so as to not burn your fingertips, you were able to feel comfortable and refreshed at the same time, all while looking at a warm Konoha sunset out your apartment window. While enjoying everything that Shino brang to you, you slowly, yet calmly fall asleep thinking of him.

Thanks so much for reading! <3 Feedback is always appreciated, positive and negative!

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

Hiii, do you have any tips for drafting out embroidery patterns? I've got one in mind, but drafting it out and color picking is so nerve-wracking!!

[Hi!!!! this got kinda really long so I'm gonna crop it under a read more. And I honestly don't have any real training/instruction in fiber arts so this is just how I do things, and probably others do them very differently!]

Haha so my fandom embroideries are VERY different from my non-fandom personal pieces in this respect. For non-fandom things i just kind of throw myself in like WAHOO FREEFORM LETS GO and go for a kind of messy colorful approach that ends up as things like this:

Versus my fandom stuff is way more structured and designed to fill space, be very precise, etc. So for those I do go in with a digital mock up of the design I make in photoshop, that I then color in, and then as my last step translate to thread colors.

For my Dragon Age series. this has been because I'm specifically trying to mimic the stained-glass style of art you see in parts of the game like the dialogue wheels, some icons, windows, etc. The icons in particular were really easy to copy into embroidery because they already come in handy circles:

This is mostly because I have desperately wanted to pick up stained glass work as a hobby for like 6 years now. As in once every 3-6 months I put everything I'd need to start doing it into an online shopping cart and look at the price total and then sadly close the window because I just don't actually have any space I could do it in (I live in a 2bed apartment so i have no garage or yard or anywhere it wouldn't make everything else a mess or be a hazard). The day after one of those events I impulse bought and completed a floral embroidery kit from the craft store and kinda was like... ok, well, I did this once how hard can it be to use this medium to mimic the hobby I wish I could be doing? Plus, it's only like 60 cents per color! I can afford that! So I took the first design I wanted to do, the romance icon, and basically redrew it sloppily in photoshop, then freehand-copied the design onto fabric and stitched it the next day:

I learned a lot from this piece and changed my approach a little. Here you can see I tried shading in the parallel direction to my thread, which looked messy and added texture, so now I shade horizontally to my thread direction instead.

But it gave me a basic approach for turning the Tarot cards or DA Keep tiles (or any other art!) into embroidery patterns, which I couldn't copy as directly into this really smooth stained-glass style. There's a basic process I follow when doing these conversions that generally follows the same order, which I'll go through below.

STEP 1: SHAPES

The first thing I do is pick the shape of my display frame which is usually a circle, but could be an oval or rectangle too, since I hang the finished pieces on my wall to have nice way to show them off. I like to fill the whole space so knowing the size and shape of what I want the finished project to look like is a good goal for me. Since I am doing fandom pieces I want to be recognizable, I do stick pretty close to the "original" character design/art, but you can absolutely change as much as you want and freehand draw your own interpretation instead. If you're doing original art just substitute the below composition notes with "sketch out roughly what you want it to look like". I personally do my pattern drafting digitally as I find it easier, but you can do this part by hand too.

First, I keep the reference image I'm working off of open next to me while I work, and draw in the shape of my frame (here, a circle). If I'm adding in the little border to be fancy, I add a second inner circle. I keep these as their own top layer so I always know I'm working within the final "frame" and don't spend time designing any section that will fall outside it. Then I will take copies of the reference image and knock the layers down to 25-50% opacity, and start moving them around underneath the 'frame' layer until I like the way their positioning looks as a composition. Sometimes elements of a card I want to include don't all fit in, so I'll chop the section out and add an additional layer to throw in (like the background circle things in the Hermit design below). Or I'll just freehand things like adding much bigger diamonds behind Solas in my Hierophant design because I did NOT want to do 1000 tiny ones. Then once I'm satisfied with the general composition, I'll use the plain ol circular brush tool to trace out the major shapes of each element. I try to keep in mind that I can't go too small, and curvy lines are more difficult to fill in than straight ones. I usually do a rough messy version first, make it mostly transparent, and then a cleaner and more precise one over that.

(you can see parts of the rough one on the left and the fully 'cleaned up' on the right for the Hierophant design)

Now: depending on what you are doing next with the pattern, this might be where you stop and start coloring. If you are planning to freehand your design or just trace it onto fabric (or even print it onto fabric here), there's no need to do more than this kind of lineart! However, if you are working digitally and want to create a scalable vector so you can print it at different sizes, you can use the pen tool in photoshop to trace your design and make a "work path" of the lineart. However, another note: THIS PART IS VERY FRUSTRATING AND TEDIOUS BECAUSE THE PEN TOOL WAS CREATED BY THE DEVIL TO TORMENT US. It is so so so easy to accidentally delete a line or even the whole path and not notice later on. Ask me how I know 😭 Anyway I'm not going to include a pen tool tutorial because I don't even know how to use it well and have to google or watch videos every other time I try to use it. But if you can muddle through it gets you some really clean lines that eventually look like this:

With the work path selected, you can select the brush tool/size/color and use the "stroke path" option to create lineart of the vector. Then you can save this as a transparent png file for use at different sizes and for printing and it looks so nice and clean! one of the big benefits to this is that you get really fine lines that are easier to be precise with stitching on. This is extra perfect if you are printing the design directly onto your fabric (which you can do with an at-home inkjet printer for designs under 8inches wide, as long as you stick a piece of stabilizer on the back of your fabric and cut it down to printer sheet size--this is what I do and can make another post about that process if people want haha), or if you are printing onto transfer paper like you can buy at craft stores.

This is where I end the lineart for my designs. After I have this, I move on to the next phase, which is...

STEP 2: COLOR

For interpreting my designs into thread, I start by thinking of it as flat colors first. You can't "shade" as easily with threads as you can with things like paint or brushes in digital art (though you can A Little, which I will get into), so to start color planning I pick the "main" color each section will be in the piece.

For the existing icons this was simple--I kept the same sections as the original designs, so for each I just color picked or eyeballed the color in photoshop and colored it in (but you could do this on paper with pencils, markers, whatever as well--they don't need to match your threads exactly and usually won't, it's just to give you an easy reference to follow as you go). For the tarot cards which were more complicated in coloration, I just did my best and went with what looked good next to each other, even if it was a little off the original art. It will be off more later anyway when you have to pick threads so don't stress it too much honestly. I will often make layers with different color options and turn them on/off for direct comparison to try to determine what I think looks best as well, like below where I was debating between more blue/desaturated for the background or brighter colors.

I do wanna note I have regrets about the color selection, shapes, or shading in EVERY SINGLE ONE of my finished pieces. But no one else ever comments or probably even notices! One aspect of this hobby is just learning to be satisfied with what you've made and using what you learned to get closer to your preferences next time. I'm only going back and redoing some of my designs' colors because I want to make it easier for others to choose on the patterns I sell, more than I care for just for myself. Also since I'm doing this lineart/stained glass looking approach where I go over the distinct shapes with black thread at the end, it means I get these clear delineations between sections you might not necessarily have in your own pieces, and that's ok.

Ok right. Now while shading/coloring in detail is hard with thread, you CAN make whats essentially dithered gradients. "Dithering" in the concept of art means using 2 (or more) colors to give the impression of a third color, or to gently scale between the existing binary rather than a hard line. Think of it like blocky pixel art or gameboy game images. If you're doing needlepainting, you use really small stitches close together to get this effect, which translates to "smaller pixes"--if you look at the jellyfish in my first photos that's a very messy casual version of that. If you want a better example, I recommend looking at @ammocharis 's pieces like these in her pinned post, which are truly amazing! I simply do not have the patience myself 😂 For my stained glass style, I work only in very long straight stitches, so I can only shade in one direction and have to be a little more precise with it.

So for shading, I think about in each section which direction my threads might go. Then perpendicular to that direction I pick which side will be the light one and which the darker one. Sometimes I color this in on my pattern mockup, but sometimes I don't! Or I'll only do it for certain sections to make sure I don't forget. Like for my Tower design I only colored it as flats, and waited until I selected threads to decide how the shading would go. I am currently working on a smaller, simplified version of my Hierophant design and I did add shading digitally for that one just for fun. But it's not as important as having the flat color version you can use to quick-reference how you want your design to go while you're stitching. You might also notice I don't actually color my gold--I just throw in a stock image of gold foil for that layer so I can't confuse it with any of my yellow thread sections.

Here's a close up where you can kind of see what I mean by the "dithered" effect between colors--some are more obvious (like the red on the far left or middle orange) and others pretty subtle (dark grey to dark red on the wolf face):

Now, while I use single layers of satin stitches for this, and just alternate thread colors increasing/decreasing as I go, you can accomplish the same thing with short overlapping stitches like with needlepainting, or with clusters of french knots, or whatever else. But in GENERAL you are going to be able to trick people into seeing gradients out of dithering best when you are using the same type of stitch for that whole area. So if I was using multiple stitch types like having french knots, daisy chains, ladder stitching or whatever else for some sections, I would keep those to contrasting areas/colors. A fantastic example of using different layered types of stitching to create more intricate color/texture in an embroidery would be these incredible tarot card depictions by @hattedhedgehog, which I like even better than my own embroideries. Here's his take on the Tower card as well for comparison to mine (I'm so in love with it!!!).

But anyway, at this phase, your design is actually still digital--the above is just to explain how it translates later in the process. The next step is...

STEP 3: THREAD SELECTION

I will admit here I am not great at this part. I am constantly second guessing my thread colors, and can spend over an entire hour in the thread aisle at the craft store agonizing over choices. Really, I think this is just one of those things that takes practice and you get better at it over time. What I have had the best luck with is actually printing out a reference photo of my design/the original artwork and taking it with me. If you already have threads you can do this part at home too, but DMC alone has over 500 colors and I definitely don't even own half that so I like to torture myself by looking at them all together on the thread racks. Plus Anchor and Artiste and whatever other brands there are out there. One approach is to just sit there and pick out what you want for each section and line it all up together on top of your printout. Or in the case of my Tower I laid a bunch of options out on top of my template in the hoop to guess how they'd look in the frame.

For me since I am also doing this dither shading thing, I also need 2-3 colors per sections depending on its size. Sometimes it's easy and the threads have a color just a little darker or lighter right next to them in the numerical lineup! Other times, there is no good match, or it looks too far away to shade nicely, or I want one to be a warmer or cooler tone than the other... which means a lot of standing and fretting to myself over it. I actually take a lot of photos at this stage because it can be easier to see how they will look in the end from a photo than in person to me? Idk why. Plus then after they get scrambled in my bag I remember wtf order I meant for them to go in later. But as long as you're not preventing other customers from shopping themselves, you can spend as long as you want staring at thread in the embroidery aisle and they won't kick you out unless it's closing time, so take your time.

Now, IN THEORY, you can sort of combine steps 2 and 3 by color-selecting from your threads and using that to color in the design. However I have tried this and it led to mixed success because the photoshop eyedropper brush simply isn't actually that exact (in my experience, it desaturates compared to what we actually see). And because then you have to have the threads on hand while you're coloring... which means you might buy ones you don't end up using if you don't like them. So I prefer to just use this as a refinement step where I pick threads based on the design colors, then will re-color the design a second time to match those threads more closely to be sure I like the effect.

I've even used this as a tool when I needed to adjust my color choices mid-project, by digitally coloring over over my WIP:

Or here's a design (but I haven't posted the finished piece yet bc it's a gift so shhh) I made with certain color tones initially, but after buying thread I re-did the color mockup to be more vibrant, because I liked those threads better in the store:

Once you have your thread, you can make yourself a little reference chart with the colors you intend noted on the sections you want them, like below:

(note: i didn't end up sticking to these colors because I ended up dying my own thread for several sections. And then forgot I made this entirely and picked new ones because I put the project down for a year between design and stitching. Sigh).

Or for my Solas pattern I did this in a really detailed way, which i am sorry but i have redacted because... i have it for sale now and don't wanna just give that away haha. But if you buy the pattern from my shop this is one of the files you'd get with it, for ease of reference. I do also include a text-only list of them as well.

Now I don't go to this much trouble for all my designs, just the ones I put up for sale (or plan to). You can also just make a text list of your color plans if you want. Though for fun I also have been using my scrap thread to make these little "color palette" keyrings for my finished pieces, so if I ever remake them or update their patterns I will know what the original colors were, plus I can compare what i used to other threads if I wanna change part of the design up. This step is absolutely not necessary and I'm just doing it because I'm selling the patterns now, but they are kinda fun to look at.

And don't forget.. if you start a section in a certain color and decide you don't like it, you can just cut the threads and pull them out! I did that with my original hierophant piece actually. I had an entirely different color for one row of diamonds i thought just clashed way too much with the others, so I used photoshop to paint over it with some alternate options until I found one I liked better. Then I cut away all the old threads and put in the new color. It can be a little harder to fill a piece the second time since the fabric will have stretched out a little, but as long as you're using a good stabilizer it usually doesn't move too much.

You can also just make test swatches on spare fabric to test before you add them to your real piece. I wish I'd done this for some color transitions that didn't end up looking the way I wanted, but I am simply too lazy most of the time. My exception is usually for metallic, satin, or sparkly threads, because I want to know how they feel while embroidering. But if you're really worried about a certain color or shade it's a good thing to remember you can just do.

SO yep, that's my general process for drafting patterns. I start with the shapes/design, then do my flat color version, then I pick my threads. Makes it sound easy and short when phrased like that :) But I can honestly spend 8-10 hours just on making the lineart and coloring it in. If I was better at art, probably this would be less, but I'm working with what I've got (not much) 😂 I think all aspects of this are also something that gets easier over time, but it will probably never look as bad as you worry when you start out. I think all my pieces look awkward and rough right up until I do the finishing steps and move them to the display frame sometimes.

I hope this was helpful and answered your questions!! Feel free to post/share your WIPs to ask for feedback or advice ever too :) I've only ever had people in the embroidery community on tumblr be encouraging and helpful to me, and I'm happy to answer any questions myself when I can or if parts of this were confusing

[darcytaylor]

Isn’t it career suicide when at the peak of his fame (because it is rare to be the lead of such a huge show), Luke is not taking full advantage of the exposure?

Choosing to not attend Wimbledon, meanwhile going to fashion week shows, paying to attend an influencer networking event, and bringing his gf along to all of these?

Rationally I don’t think it makes sense. And had Luke been a person as determined and career-focused as Nic or Johny B, you would have seen him fully capitalizing on his success by making appearances everywhere and leading new projects.

But if we look at things from the angle that Luke is very sensitive and anxious (we know he suffer from anxiety and finds life overwhelming due to his ADHD), then forget about making rational decisions, all of his choices regarding work and people to keep close in his personal life would be almost 100% dictated by his anxiety.

For example, he might choose to attend events with clearer structures, less pressure on meeting and talking to others, and more welcoming toward plus ones, so he can always have a comfort person there to support him. I don’t think this is what Wimbledon is about hence he wasn’t seen there.

His choices of people around him seem questionable, but when someone is vulnerable (coping with anxiety in this case), they might appreciate qualities that normal people overlook. Most of us have got the impression that his friends/gf seem off, but perhaps they are the most tolerant toward his anxious nature while others take him for granted.

Perhaps they give him the reassurance and acknowledgment that he craves without any expectations. And from personal experience, those who display certain negative traits (eg narcissism) do thrive on relationships with vulnerable people. There is a dynamics in which the narcissist gives the vulnerable what they don’t usually get from everyone else in exchange for company and loyalty, which I have seen repeatedly in real life.

We love Pen for her intelligence and girlboss power, which match up well with Nicola’s personality in real life. However, I don’t think we are prepared to accept, in place of the dorky cheeky Colin, someone like Luke who is an anxious laid back dude who is pretty much trying to lead a life as free of nerve-wracking moments as possible.

When Nic praises Luke for being kind, supportive, hard working and having no ego, I fully believe she is not lying. She could easily be describing an anxious person who is just nice and trying to do his job well. Nic does have this motherly and assuring nature which allows her to build this great friendship with Luke and they clearly bonded via going through the experience of stepping into the spotlight. Nic has done such an amazing job with handling press and public attention; I think Luke was grateful that she was there to take most of the pressure while he could just happily sit there agreeing and showing support. There is nothing wrong with this. I am sure Luke did the best of his ability.

Realistically, I don’t know how romantically compatible Nic and Luke are. I feel that Nic is good for Luke as a more experienced costar who guides and supports him, and a smart colleague who knows how to work with Luke’s strengths and weaknesses in order to make them both shine. If Luke had chosen Nic as a love interest I wonder if this might be too much for him to measure up. Luke probably wants a relationship as something to complement his life and helps him cope with his anxiety, meanwhile Nic is likely only dating casually on the side while focusing on her career.

Wow, this is a great analysis thank you for sharing!

I do think that Luke not capitalizing more on his career is odd, but I ultimately don't think that it is career suicide. I would also need to know where Luke wants his career to go, in order for me to come to a conclusion. It has been fascinating to look on the sidelines and wonder what he is doing or where he wants to go.

I think that comparing Luke with Nicola or Johnny can be a hinder to Luke, because they are a tough competition and they obviously know where they want to go. Nicola and Johnny are incredible at what they do on all fronts of their career, they are powerhouses and you can see that they know what they want and will go the extra mile to get it. Not many people are like this. I just hope that Luke can look in from the outside and get a better idea as to what he wants and how to get it.

(or maybe he already does know what he wants and it's not the Nicola or Johnny level of fame, so he is stepping back. Or maybe because of PR moves he fucked up and is not invited to things - although I don't think that is the case, but at the end of the day I have no idea)

As far as the friends that he keeps - I can take a glance at their online personas and gather information about them to come to a conclusion, but I also know that social media can be very misleading and will never tell you the whole story about people. It may be ignorant of me to judge them, but then I also know that they are the ones responsible for creating what they put out into the world.

Luke has been friends with them for a while now (especially Rory) and that alone can be very comforting. Just knowing that they know you on a personal level and you can be who you are regardless of anything. Especially if you have anxiety (I suffer from this as well), knowing that you don't have to mask or hide a version of yourself, lets the anxiety fade into the background a little.

Luke has also stated that he is a very empathetic person. Even if he sees friends/people in his life have questionable actions, an empathetic person will/can try to look past that. A narcissist would thrive on that and easily be able to take advantage.

I completely agree that Luke was grateful to have Nicola on his team. To have her by his side in all of the craziness that Bridgerton can bring. Nicola is smart and compassionate, she knows what she is doing.

As far as Luke and Nicola being compatible? I have no idea. Since we only see a very small part of who they actually are, I can't say what their dynamic would look like if they were a couple or if they would/could thrive together. I do think that they compliment each other professionally and that could be a good sign/starter for a romantic relationship.

[whowantslovergirl]

Fezco x rue’s older cousin reader ?

An: YESYES 🤭

Perfect Couple

Fezco x bennet! reader (gender not specified but is called ma)

warnings: cursing, smoking, hope you enjoy my lovers 🤍

euphoria masterlist

Summary: Fezco and Y/N’s relationship timeline

posted: June 29,2023

How Fez and N/N met:

You were going to pick up Rue for some ‘cousin bonding’ as she would call it. And you guys were going to get some rolling papers since you ran out. You finally get to the house and honk the horn multiple times.

She finally came running out and you’re still honking the horn just to piss her off. “I’m here! I’m here!” She got into passenger seat and hugged you. “Hey Seth Rogen!” You start to drive to her plug.

“Stop calling me that. Jules is gonna think she can call me that.” She said pouting. “Oh your girlfriend? She wouldn’t be wrong though. You dress like Seth Rogen”

“She’s not my girlfriend. And no I do not.” You just nod.

That’s her girlfriend. And she does.

“So who are we driving too?”

“Oh his name is Fez and his little brother ashtray.”

You look at her. “His name is Ashtray? Like his biological name?” She just shrugs. “I don’t know his name is just like that.”

“But you would like Fez. He’s your type.” You just shrug her off. “Shut up you don’t know my type.”

“Yea I do it’s white boys with swag. As you would say.” You just roll your eyes and continue the drive.

_____

“Hey rue. Who’s this one over here?” Fez said pointing at you. “This my cousin Y/N.”

“Hey.” You give him a awkward wave. Rue was right. He is your type. Tall, pretty eyes, good style. “Hey.” He said looking at you up and down.

_____

You get your papers and when you were about to leave Fez called you. “Hey Y/N. Can I get your number ma?” You may have giggled at the nickname. “Um yea of course.” You give him your number. You turn around to see Rue smiling at you.

“I told you!”

The first time N/N and Fez facetimed:

You were pacing back and forth. He wants to ‘see your face’ and yea you guys talked and stuff but it’s just something about facetime that’s nerve wracking.

You called Rue out of panic. “Hey cuz. Ew why are you like sweating?”

“Fez wants to facetime!”

“And that’s a panic situation because….”

“Because Seth it’s different!”

Then he started to call.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! He’s calling! Rue he’s calling!”

“Then answer it…”

And you did. “Hey Fez.”

“Hey ma. Why you look so nervous?” He said smiling. Wow, he has a really pretty smile. “No reason just overthinking about something.”

“Well what you thinking about?”

You told him you were nervous about the call and he laughed in your face.

“God! It’s not funny!”

When Fez and N/N first smoked together:

Fez invited you to smoke because you said you were bored and you wanted some weed. He was on the phone while you were driving. “You’re so vain. You probably think this song is about you.” You were singing lowly. You were watching the movie a few days ago and the song’s been stuck in your head ever since.

“What’s that song from?” You made a shocked face. “You never saw that movie?!” He just said no. “Really?! How to lose a guy in 10 days?!” “I don’t watch romance movies.”

“Ok we are gonna watch it when I get there.”

“What’s it even about?”

“So it’s about this girl named Andie and she makes like cute little tips and she wants to make something real right? And she comes up with this article how to lose a guy in 10 days. Then this guy named Ben bets to his co workers that he can make a girl fall in love with him in 10 days.”

“They’re doing the opposite of each other’s goals or something.”

“Yeah exactly!”

“Alright ma, Ima get the movie ready.”

_____

You knocked on the door. And Ashtray opened it. “Hey Ash. I got your favorite.” You give him a bag of those airhead bites. Not too long ago you brought them when you came over. He asked for one and when you gave him one he fell in love and told you.

“Everytime you come over bring these.”

“Yes! Thanks Y/N.” He walked to his room. And Fez came from the kitchen and hugged you. “Hey ma. I told you not give him those shits.”

“But he’s likes them.” You pulled away and went to the couch. He sat next to you and gave you a blunt. And you guys started to do your thing and watch the movie.

_____

“That movie was actually good.” He said smiling. “What was your favorite part?” You asked him.

“The dog, that motherfucker was funny looking.”

You guys started to laugh.

When Fez finally asked N/N to be his girl:

After a lot of smoke and movie sessions you guys were at your apartment just laying in bed. Your head on his chest and his hand drawing shapes on your hip. “You wanna be my girl?”

You looked at him abruptly. “You’re finally asking me after six months?!”

“Why you so surprised?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know I’m just not used to waiting I guess.” He smiled.

“You don’t chase you attract. I like that.”

You let out a small laugh. “You still didn’t answer me ma. You my girl?”

“Yeah sure. Why not?”

He leaned in and you smiled into the kiss.

Fez and N/N were the perfect couple.

An: YESYESYES hoped y’all enjoyed this is probably one of my favs YALL i just want to do a former apology for all the song fics i plan on posting but until I post again my lovers 🤍 *hint: pope x reader*

[lesbiankimdahyun]

Road trip

2.7K words

Requested: Yes 

CW: A/B/O dynamics, GP, exhibitionism 

[Alpha!Tzuyu x Alpha!Sana] 

Their weeklong getaway had been nothing short of perfection. Away in the woods, Sana and Tzuyu enjoyed the privacy and quality time that came with staying in a small cottage near one of the most scenic lakes in the area.

But the morning they were due to drive back home, Tzuyu awoke early. As she blinked, coming out of her sleep haze, she knew she was in trouble. Her rut was early– she could feel its onset, and it was going to hit in full force soon. 

She woke Sana, who immediately took in the other Alpha’s strengthened scent as she sat up in bed. 

“Oh wow,” Sana murmured, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Do you…want me to…?” she glanced down at the morning wood in Tzuyu’s boxers, a playful smile forming on her lips. 

Tzuyu groaned. “Yes, but no.” Sana watched as the taller Alpha got up and started getting ready. “Maybe if we get on the road fast enough, we can make it home before I…” Tzuyu trailed off, looking down at her own body.

Sana pouted. “What’s the rush? We don’t have to check out for a few hours,” she said. “We could probably stay and-”

“I- I can’t do ‘probably’,” Tzuyu said, soft but firm. “Besides, we’re both Alphas. We can’t afford to have both of us in a rut in public.”

That got Sana’s attention, and she quickly got up to start packing her things. As much as she wanted to take care of Tzuyu now, she knew the younger Alpha was right. 

With her rut on its way, Tzuyu was not only a ticking time bomb for herself, but for Sana too. Any other Omegas they came into contact with, be it at a gas station or restaurant on the way home, would be all over Tzuyu within minutes once they smelled her. And if she accidentally triggered Sana’s rut and both of them were only thinking with their dicks…it was just too risky. 

A short while later, their bags were packed and they left their lakeside oasis. Their first stops were to grab coffees to go and fill up on gas, and then they hit the road. 

The first several miles were quieter than normal. Sana could not only smell Tzuyu’s increasing arousal, she could sense her nervousness about being far from the safety of home during such a vulnerable time. Normally the pair would be settling in at Tzuyu’s place for the intensity of the first forty eight hours of her rut, but they were still multiple postal codes away from being able to do that. 

Tzuyu was trying very hard to keep her thoughts on anything but her pretty Alpha partner and the growing erection in her pants, but as time went by, it became increasingly difficult.

All of the Taiwanese Alpha’s senses were heightened. When Sana casually flipped her hair from one shoulder to the other, her scent hit Tzuyu like a pile of bricks. 

Sana’s scent was comforting and alluring. It was a combination that normally was welcomed, but had suddenly become nerve-wracking given the circumstances. 

Everything in her told her to just keep looking out the window, but Tzuyu couldn’t help herself. She peeked over at Sana. 

She looks even prettier now than she did this morning, Tzuyu thought. But then again, Sana always looked extra enticing when Tzuyu was rutting. An Alpha/Alpha pair wasn’t very common to come by, but Tzuyu wouldn’t trade Sana for any Omega in the world. Her eyes wandered over Sana without shame now: her big, pretty eyes, her cute nose, her delicate hands and the way they casually held the steering wheel. Those hands would look much better, Tzuyu thought,  if they were working their way up and down the length of– 

“Tzu? You okay?” Sana’s sweet voice interrupted her thoughts. 

“Hm? Oh, y-yeah,” Tzuyu replied quickly, adjusting her position so she was facing her window instead of Sana. 

“But– how much farther?” Tzuyu asked. She was scanning the sky desperately for unique shapes in the clouds, or any signs of wildlife in the fields outside her window. 

One time, Sana, Tzuyu and a few friends of theirs had driven along a similar route for a healing weekend away. Sana and the others teased Tzuyu, trying to convince her that marshmallows grew in the fields they drove past. Her older friends loved to tease her, she was too cute to resist. Tzuyu normally smiled when looking back on that memory, but in this moment, she just felt restless. 

“We’re like 90 minutes out,” Sana said, glancing at their GPS. She reached to give Tzuyu’s thigh a reassuring squeeze, but then thought better of it. “You can keep eye fucking me if it helps,” she said, a proud smile on her face as she flipped her hair teasingly.

Tzuyu blushed. “Sana!” 

Sana giggled, giving Tzuyu’s knee a gentle pat while never taking her eyes off the road. “I mean it,” she said. “I like it when you look at me like that.” 

Tzuyu swallowed thickly. Her Alpha instincts were really starting to push their way to the front of her mind now. All Sana had done was pat her leg, and yet her cock twitched, making her squirm. 

Sana inhaled deeply from her side of the car, lightly drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. “But before you go back to eyeing me,” she cleared her throat quickly, “I think I’m gonna need to roll down a window…or two.” 

Filthy thoughts flooded Tzuyu’s brain when she heard that, and this time, she entertained them. Nothing was more satisfactory than turning another Alpha on, especially one as stunning as Sana. Tzuyu couldn’t help herself. She glanced down at Sana’s lap and immediately bit her lip. Seeing a light imprint from Sana’s hardening cock beneath her skirt made Tzuyu’s cock throb. 

The windows were down now, but even with more air flowing to disperse some of Tzuyu’s powerful scent, the two still shifted uncomfortably as they continued the drive. 

Sana didn’t know how the other Alpha was holding it together so well. They were so different in that regard: Tzuyu constantly wrestled and fought against her most animalistic Alpha urges, while Sana openly embraced hers. Sana hated taking suppressants, only taking them when absolutely necessary, whereas Tzuyu preferred to be on them most of the time, only allowing herself to rut three or four times a year. Tzuyu was more than happy to be Sana’s personal stress and rut reliever, but Sana secretly relished the rare occasions when Tzuyu came completely undone, desperate to spill herself into Sana again and again. 

“Can we pull over somewhere?” 

It was Sana, not Tzuyu, who couldn’t stand it any longer (although Tzuyu had been trying to work up the courage to ask the same question for the last five minutes). 

Tzuyu nodded eagerly, and Sana handed her phone to Tzuyu to change their route. 

“Remember that cute park reserve we stumbled upon when we were looking for a spot to eat lunch on the way up here?” Sana asked. 

It was all the information Tzuyu needed to reroute them. 

The park was mostly deserted when they pulled up. Threatening gray clouds in the distance had kept the majority of folks away for the day. 

Tzuyu’s heart raced as they parked. She was uncomfortably warm and her painfully hard cock was leaking precum, but she still couldn’t believe she was so desperate to cum that she was willing to allow Sana to pull over so they could fuck outside. 

As soon as Sana locked the SUV, she took Tzuyu by the hand and started leading her. 

“C’mere, away from the picnic area,” she said softly. 

They went further and further into the woods, away from the main trails, but the more Tzuyu’s heart raced, the more excited she got. And the more excited she got, the harder her cock throbbed. Her patience finally ran out.

“Sana,” she said hoarsely, stopping in her tracks. Sana turned, but before she could say anything, Tzuyu gently pressed the shorter Alpha up against a tree and kissed her. 

Sana let out a soft moan against Tzuyu’s lips, deepening the kiss and reaching for Tzuyu’s hands to place them on her waist. The young Alpha’s scent was intoxicatingly strong now, but Sana hesitated for a moment, remembering where they were.  

“Are you sure?” she asked softly. 

Tzuyu half groaned, half growled as her hands wandered beneath Sana’s shirt. 

“I can’t wait anymore,” Tzuyu said, rubbing herself against the other Alpha. “Need you now.” She tilted her head, pressing a kiss against Sana’s neck. 

Sana could only hum in response, reaching for Tzuyu’s pants to free her cock as Tzuyu removed her jacket, too warm to need it anymore. 

“Wait, I think I can put that to good use,” Sana purred, gently nudging Tzuyu’s bomber jacket closer to her so she could sink down onto it as she got on her knees.

Tzuyu moaned at the sheer sight of Sana on her knees for her, giving her length a few quick pumps in her hand before letting Sana move in.

Sana’s first few kitten licks were as torturous as they were pleasurable. Tzuyu leaned back against a tree, trying not to selfishly thrust into Sana’s eager mouth. 

Sana’s mouth was warm and wet, and the way her tongue swirled around Tzuyu’s tip made the tall Alpha whine. Just as Sana started to take Tzuyu’s full length down her throat, she felt Tzuyu’s cock twitch. Her mouth was suddenly filled with cum. Sana gagged a little, unprepared for Tzuyu’s first load so soon. She swallowed as much as she could, but some spilled out of her mouth. As Tzuyu slid her cock out, Sana’s lips made a light pop sound, her lips wet with drool and cum. 

Despite having just cum,Tzuyu was still rock hard. Her refractory period was nearly nonexistent now that she was fully rutting and her cock was finally being serviced. 

“Fuck,” Tzuyu murmured, watching the mixture of wetness drip from Sana’s lips.

She gently took Sana’s face in her hand and tapped her mouth to get her to open up again. 

Sana eagerly took Tzuyu back into her mouth, enjoying the feeling of Tzuyu becoming a bit harsher this time as she held Sana’s head still so she could thrust into her throat. 

The older girl let out a muffled moan as she sucked Tzuyu off. As Sana got her throat stretched, she dipped a hand beneath her skirt, unable to ignore her own aching cock.

Watching Sana’s hand slowly stroke her own cock while continuing to blow her was too much for Tzuyu. The rutting Alpha couldn’t hold back even if she tried. Before she knew it, she was coming again, spilling into Sana’s throat with a grunt. Overwhelmed with pleasure, Tzuyu brought the older girl’s mouth to the base of her cock before releasing her. 

Sana gasped lightly when she could finally come up for air, tears at the corners of her eyes. As she caught her breath, the older girl glanced around their surroundings. Sensing no passerby near them, she gave Tzuyu a devilish smile and stood. “C’mere baby,” she husked, drawing Tzuyu closer to her. “Fill me up, I know you need to.” 

Sana’s words alone nearly made Tzuyu’s knees buckle. She pulled Sana in to kiss her as one hand warmed up Sana’s ass. In her other hand, Tzuyu held her cock, still wet from Sana’s mouth. While they kissed, the only other sounds in the woods were from the two Alphas running their palms over their leaking cockheads, the quiet sound of slick adding to the soundtrack of nature sounds surrounding them. 

Both Alphas had to stifle moans as Tzuyu finally slid into Sana, stuffing her to the brim. 

Needing more, Tzuyu flipped Sana’s skirt up and gripped her waist, gently pulling her back over her thick cock as she bottomed out inside of her. 

Sana whimpered, struggling to stay upright. To make her more comfortable, Tzuyu rearranged the two of them so Sana was against the tree and would have something to hold onto as Tzuyu started to pound her. 

The repetitive sound of skin on skin mixed with the Alphas’ light panting quickly filled the air. If anyone was nearby, the sounds would be unmistakable for anything other than a rough outdoor breeding. 

“F-fuck,” Sana whispered, her head tilting back a bit as Tzuyu had her way with her. Tzuyu snaked one hand up Sana’s body, eventually wrapping her fingers lightly over the other Alpha’s neck. Her other hand still held tightly onto Sana’s hip so she could keep her steady while pounding her. 

Fucking outdoors wasn’t something Tzuyu would normally go for even in her wildest dreams, but now she couldn’t be bothered by the threat of being seen. Sana’s tight hole felt too good around her aching cock to stop. Her primal urge to breed the Alpha was stronger than her own self consciousness. 

“Tzu-ah!-Tzuyu,” Sana moaned. She released her own cock from her hand as Tzuyu continued to pound her. “G-gonna come..” 

Tzuyu growled lowly, removing her hand from Sana’s throat so she could hold both of Sana’s hands behind her back. She knew her girlfriend was capable of coming without being touched, and sure enough, a few thrusts later, Sana let out a cry as ropes of cum began to spill from her cock. 

Tzuyu’s jacket was ruined with Sana’s cum now, but she didn’t care in the slightest. She pressed herself against Sana, thrusting into her a few more times before coming too, letting out a moan as she emptied herself into Sana. 

“Look at you,” Sana cooed, catching her breath. That was Tzuyu’s third load, but she knew they wouldn’t be able to leave just yet. “So desperate to cum, aren’t you?” 

“You feel too good,” Tzuyu said breathlessly, her cock still buried in Sana’s ass. She thrust slowly into the Alpha, pushing her cum deeper inside. “Need more,” she murmured. 

“Take what you need, baby,” Sana said, and Tzuyu ran with it. 

Tzuyu backed up a bit, her cock still inside of Sana. Gently, she forced Sana to bend over more and nudged her legs further apart. 

It was a beautiful angle from Tzuyu’s perspective. The Alpha took off again, desperate to breed Sana again. 

One more load soon turned into two. Sana was near ruined now, barely able to keep upright even with the support of surrounding trees and boulders whenever they switched positions. She whimpered as Tzuyu panted in her ear, about to turn two loads into three. 

With a particularly powerful thrust, Tzuyu slipped her knot inside of Sana, making the older girl cry out and whine. 

“Knot me,” Sana begged, tears threatening to fall, “Please Tzuyu, I-, oh fuck-”

“S-Sana..!” Tzuyu’s eyes screwed shut as she came, giving Sana exactly what she wanted and knotting her. Both of them cried out and Sana came again as she felt Tzuyu empty herself inside of her once again. 

While Sana caught her breath, Tzuyu leaned in, feeling extra possessive suddenly now that she’d knotted her Alpha. She lapped up Sana’s tears from her cheek and then moved lower to scent her around her neck. 

Sana practically purred with delight. Rutting Tzuyu was sexy, and protective, post-knot Tzuyu was just as irresistible. 

Now that she temporarily had her wits about her again, Tzuyu couldn’t believe she had just knotted her girlfriend outside. Normally it took a while for Tzuyu to be able to pull out of Sana after knotting, but this time she didn’t have to wait long, possibly due to being a bit anxious about her surroundings. 

She helped Sana put herself back together, feeling renewed admiration for the olderJapanese girl. 

When they were sure the coast was clear, they went back onto the main trails and made their way back to the car, holding hands the whole way. 

“Think you’ll be okay for the rest of the trip?” Sana asked, pressing herself up against Tzuyu, who was leaning on the passenger side door. 

Tzuyu smiled, pulling Sana close to kiss her forehead. “Yes,” she said. “But you’re mine again as soon as we get home.”

[auspicioustidings]

Pretty please if you can write Laswell and a scent kink I would die probably!!

It was a well tried and tested routine when Kate came home. Kiss at the door, unpack, her showering while you put the laundry on and got dinner going. By the time she was out you were ready to eat and she would do the dishes while you got the laundry finished.

And then you would undress and neatly fold up your clothes on the sofa, panties delicately placed on top of the pile. That's where she'd start while you stood ready for inspection.

This time she sighed in relief as she approached. Difficult trip then, you were happy this could help her and glad you had worn new panties for her. Washed and dried with scent neutralisers before wear of course. You did not wear any perfume on coming home days either. It wasn't about smelling like whatever fragrance was popular, it was about smelling like you.

The fabric of your underwear looked pretty in her fist as she brought it to her nose and inhaled. This bit was always nerve wracking, the first judgement. You had been good while she was away, eaten healthy, taken care of your body. Plus the timing had worked out because when you had checked your tracker this morning it said you were probably ovulating. She always loved how you smelled when you were "in heat".

"Good girl" she said with a grin, making you melt.

The panties were tucked into her pants and you watched as she adjusted to push them between her folds, her own underwear keeping them snug. And then she started from the ground.

She picked up one foot at a time, running her knuckle down the sole which made you curl your toes and then pressing kisses to each toe. Working her way up your legs she stopped at the back of your knee, burying her nose there for a moment.

"You've been eating all your fruit and veggies honey."

"Yes ma'am!"

She looked up at you with a stunning smile, the wrinkles beautiful on the side of her eyes as her whole face lit up for you. Fuck you loved being good for her, taking care of yourself while she was gone so your own scent could be perfect for her to blanket in her own.

Usually she would take her time, rub herself on your legs for a while to get them smelling like her, but she had missed your pussy far too much. Missed running her nose along the crease of your thighs before following it with her tongue. Missed burying as much of her face between your legs as she could get and drowning in your scent as more and more leaked out of you.

"Missed me that much you're going into heat? Aren't I spoiled" she said, muffled against your skin.

As always, despite how clever her tongue, she was not there to get you off. When you got close she slowed and languidly cleaned you up, lapped up all your arousal for herself and moved on to the folds of your belly, hands digging into your hips while she followed them and revelled in it.

Before getting to your tits she removed your panties from between her legs and slipped them back onto you, now damp with her own scent. By the time she had handled the crease beneath the weight of your breasts and moved her way to them and up to your throat your nipples were tight, wet and pained. But you were her good girl, so you would keep still until the inspection was finished.

Your throat she nuzzled against like a wolf trying to scent their mate. And then, finally satisfied that you smelled once more as you should, she left a kiss on the tip of your nose. You grinned wide and excited to have passed.

"At'ta girl. Now let's get this delectable ass into bed so I can eat it."

[junekissed]

sounds of the season

day four of junkissed’s svt season’s greetings event

member — radio host!junhui x reader genre — fluff, college au word count — 1.7k synopsis — when your university’s radio show hosts a matchmaking event to raise money, you figure, what have you got to lose? the question you should be asking is, what have you got to gain? warnings — jun is so awkward but we love him, this is pretty dialogue-heavy sorry notes — lowercase intended. also i know nothing about how radio works so if i’m wrong just ignore it lol

this is part of @svthub's snowventeen winter collab! be sure to check out the collab masterlist here and support our talented writers! this collab contains both sfw and nsfw fics; minors dni with nsfw fics.

read part 2 here

one reblog = one holiday song on the radio

“that’s the end of today’s program, everyone, thanks for tuning in. remember to sign up for our ‘matchmaking for charity’ event while you still can! for every successful match, we’re donating $20 to toys for tots, so be sure to get your application in so we can find you a special someone this december. link is on our instagram, and our website, sdu.caratsradio.org, go check it out.”

a different voice follows. “we’ve been sounds of the season on 111.7 fm, hosted by our very own communications undergrads. have a great weekend, sdu students! we’ll see you back here monday at six for more holiday tunes.”

jazz study music from the next hour’s program begins to play as you sigh, closing the tab on your computer open to the school’s website.

for the last few weeks you’ve been listening to shining diamond university’s student radio station; more specifically, you’ve been listening to the duo that hosts the holiday music hour every monday and friday at 6pm. the festive music puts you in a better mood, but what you’re really there for is the hosts’ voices. their tone is so calming, most days you like to turn on the station in the background while you do your homework. something about the way they speak helps you focus. whoever they are, you could listen to them talk for hours.

there’s probably pictures of the hosts somewhere on the website, but you haven’t gone looking for them. you’re a little afraid that realizing that they’re not just pretty voices on your laptop, and knowing that there’s real-life faces connected to them would ruin the experience. so for now, you’re content to just imagine their voices and let your brain fill in the blanks.

you’ve been tossing around the idea of signing up for their event back and forth in your mind for a while now. being matched with a stranger at school just sounds nerve wracking, but at this point, you haven’t got much to lose. the worst that could come out of it is another bad date. plus, it’s for charity. you don’t know exactly what the parameters of the event are, but even if it doesn’t work out with whoever you’re matched with, you figure you could always just act like it did so the charity still gets the money.

what the heck, you figure. maybe it’ll be fun.

a week after signing up you get an email with info about your match and instructions on when and where to meet him. on saturday at noon he’ll be at the far corner of the café in the campus dining hall wearing a white hat, and you’re told to wear something blue so you can recognize each other.

when you get to the dining hall, the guy sitting at the table in the far corner is… attractive, to say the least. you would even call him your type, if you knew anything about him besides the fact that you’re on a blind date with a randomly paired listener of the program.

“hey! you’re my match, right? i’m junhui.” he stands up, greeting you with a shy smile. he’s deceptively taller than he looks sitting down, and you take him in for a moment.

“yeah, that’s me! nice to meet you!”

“can i buy you coffee?” he asks eagerly. “um, or whatever they have at the coffee shop.”

“oh�� sure!” you say. you weren’t sure what you’d been expecting, but you hadn’t been expecting him to be so polite. “thank you.”

“of course,” he smiles.

you stand in line together at the register, and you order a cheap drink off the menu. but as he’s telling the barista his order, something clicks.

“hold on, you sound… really familiar.” you squint, tilting your head. he takes the two cups from the barista and looks over at you, confused. all of a sudden the realization hits you, and your eyes widen. you’d know that voice anywhere. “wait, aren’t you–”

he nods sheepishly, handing you your drink. “yeah, i’m one of the radio hosts.”

holy shit. “that’s cool that you signed up for this too, though. did one of the comm professors match people, or was it random, or…?” you ask, trailing off to let him answer.

“no, me and jeonghan put the matches together. so it was on purpose.” his fingers toy with the cardboard sleeve of his coffee cup, and he lets out a nervous laugh. “would you hate me if i told you i matched us because i’ve had a crush on you since we had com101 together?”

“really?” you laugh. blush creeps into his cheeks. “honestly, i barely paid attention in that class, i only took it for the credits.” you stop, realizing how that must sound to him. “i mean, no offense! i wasn’t trying to be rude, i just–”

he shakes his head quickly. “i get what you meant. and, it was a pretty big class, so. easy to not know everyone.”

“why didn’t you say anything? i know i probably looked grumpy in that class, but i promise i’m not,” you say, adding a smile that you hope looks encouraging.

“no! it’s not you,” he rushes to explain. “i’m just not that great at talking to people.”

“but… you host a radio show?”

“it’s not the same. i’m not truly talking to anybody but jeonghan. there’s a monitor that shows us how many people are listening, but i ignore it.” he leans back in his chair. “i have to do it as part of one of my classes, but i actually really enjoy it now.”

you smile. “that’s good that you found something you like.”

he clears his throat, taking a small sip of his drink. “so, do you, um, listen often? you don’t have to say you do if you don’t, by the way, i won’t be offended. just curious.”

you debate lying to not expose yourself, but he looks so excited to hear that you can’t honestly tell him no. “actually, yeah. i listen almost every program. you have a really nice voice.”

the tips of his ears turn bright red, and immediately you feel awkward again. “sorry, is that weird to say?”

“that’s—no, not at all!” he stammers. “i think it’s a really big compliment. thank you.”

“yeah,” you add, not sure how to respond without making things weirder. you’re both silent for a second, the busy sounds of the dining hall’s café filling the room in the absence of words.

after an almost uncomfortable amount of silence passes, you laugh, trying to lighten the mood. “so, uh, what do we need to do for this to be considered successful?”

“huh?”

“for the charity thing. how do you decide what gets donated and what doesn’t?”

his focus snaps back to you. “oh! we’re donating for all the matches, even if they don’t work. we just said that as, like, an incentive so people would sign up.”

“oh.” you nod, thinking.

“did– did you want to leave?” he asks shyly. “i don’t wanna keep you here if you’re not enjoying it.”

“did you want to leave?” you counter.

“well… no,” he says. “but i don’t wanna force you.”

“you’re not, don’t worry,” you say, shaking your head. it’s awkward, for sure, but it’s far from the worst date you’ve ever been on. the least you could do is stick it out for another half hour or so.

“sorry this is so weird,” he laughs. “i don’t go out a lot.”

“it’s fine.” you smile at him, hoping he’ll relax a little. “is that why you signed up for this?”

“well, kinda,” he nods. “i was hoping i’d recognize somebody’s name and maybe make a new friend. but this is good, too.”

you fight the urge to frown, since it’s obvious he’s trying his best, but you’re confused at his statement. “what do you mean, ‘this’?”

“i… don’t know. what do you think this is?”

“a date,” you say simply. 

“oh!” he says, fiddling with his cup again.

“is that what you want this to be?” you ask gently.

“i– yeah, that would be really cool,” he grins, nodding. “a date.”

you smile at his enthusiasm. he’s cute, and his personality is, too.

“so, what’s working at a radio station like?” you pry. having finally been able to meet the man behind the voice you’ve heard so much of, you can’t say you’re not more than a little curious about who he is.

“oh, yeah, you like hearing me talk, sorry,” he says. your face heats in embarrassment, but before you can defend yourself, he continues on. “um, it’s pretty fun. the machinery’s pretty cool, the microphones and stuff. makes me feel like a professional singer or something. even though it’s more just choosing music to play than me actually talking.”

he looks up. “you can come by while we’re live sometime, if you want,” he says. “the studio’s really nice, they have beanbag chairs and somebody always brings snacks.”

“is that allowed?”

“sure! you can be my special guest,” he grins. “only if you want,” he adds a second later, as if he’s just thought of something.

you smile warmly. “it sounds fun. i’d love to.”

his face lights up. “great! can you come monday? we’re announcing the results of the matchmaking thing then.”

“i’ll be there.”

he pauses. “is this… a second date?” he asks tentatively. god, he’s adorable.

“yes, this is a second date,” you giggle. 

he stands up. “should i walk you to your car? or is that too much?”

he holds the door open for you as you step outside.

you laugh. “no, my apartment’s on campus, i just walked here. but thank you for the offer, you’re really sweet. and thanks for the coffee, too.”

it might be because of the chilly december weather, but his cheeks seem a little pinker than before. “no problem,” he grins. “i’ll see you monday, i guess? for another date?”

“i’ll see you monday,” you confirm with a smile.

he waves, still grinning, and pulls out his phone. as you start to walk away, you hear his voice from behind you, “hannie, dude, you won’t believe what just happened!!”

you giggle to yourself. you can’t wait til monday.

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thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed! if you liked this, reblog or leave an ask or a comment, it shows me you enjoyed this so i know to write more like this in the future!

[camlannpod]

Yet another re-listen, yet more questions:

1) Did Gwaine have to *walk* back from the Alps?

2) Was Gwen winding a heavy worsted or bulky weight yarn, or is she just really fast at winding? (The last yarn I wound for my own knitting was a fingering weight (also known as sock yarn, if you are unfamiliar), and that took a fair chunk of time)

3) Is that how CB radios work, or is it story logic in play?

4) On the topic of story logic: is food governed by story logic of it's fine unless it needs to not be or is it more that I, being American, have no idea what a supermarket in Wales is likely to have or not have regarding perishables?

5) Did the Cataclysm happen during a specific time of year or just a nebulous nine months before episode one?

5a) How long *were* they in Anwn in episode 7?

Feel free to cherry-pick or ignore as needed, especially if I've accidentally landed on something plot-relevant, I am mostly just full of happy babble.

Thank you!

Hi! Omg!! No it makes me SO happy people are still relistening and caring enough to ask these questions! I know it's quiet on our end right now, but it's always a nerve-wracking kinda period of quiet where you just really hope people still care and are still finding the show.

SO in answer to your questions:

Great question, which raises the other one: did he walk to the Alps? There's a bit where Gwaine says the Green Man led him through a moss-covered old stone arch, and then he was in deep snow and mountains. Gwaine says he thinks he's in the French Alps but he doesn't actually know exactly what happened. Realistically there's no way he could've gotten there through ordinary means - as Gwen alludes to, London is a mess and he'd have had to backtrack past Glastonbury and the knights. The mechanics of this are supposed to be an open question for you, the listener - though I can say the trick to it is something important that will come up in season 2.

Straight up this one is mostly just cinema magic - in that we couldn't spend too long on her doing it but I wanted the intimacy at the start of her telling Morgan what to do. I do think there's an element where it probably is a bulky yarn though! She wants / needs to make four (and after Gwaine arrives, five) jumpers really fast - she's got about 3 months before they're in deep winter. To my, admittedly amateur, knitting knowledge - using a heavier yarn would let you make something much quicker, if of a lower quality, and in this case Gwen wants speed.

It is how CB radios work! I have an older gay friend (who presents the LGBTQ+ non-fiction podcast, ShoutOut Radio, check it out) who told me about how he and other gay people used to use this as a way to find each other in the 70s and 80s. So basically you'd give a location, like a high street, and agree on a frequency, then drive in circles in your car with the radio on trying to find where the signal was stronger until eventually you found who you were looking for. The problem is that, as Morgan says, it only works at like 2-3 miles away at most, so it wouldn't have worked with Gwaine. That was just Dai pulling them to try anyway.

Food is going to become a bigger and bigger plot issue as the story goes on. Right now, the gang are in the first nine months - so the supermarket didn't have any edible fruit or vegetables etc, but did still have canned and some dry goods that were workable. The big things for Camlann are a) the apparently tiny number of survivors, which means most places have been left untouched and not raided by anyone, and b) the cottage itself - which had an unusually high amount of canned and dry goods, which has helped the gang a lot.

Uh, it's kind of nebulous (I want to leave it open for myself for plot reasons) - but I've got a pretty strong idea the series starts in Autumn. If we put the beginning somewhere in September, then we're talking January, maybe December for the Cataclysm.

/ 5a. Similarly left nebulous for plot reasons, but if the series starts in November and we assume the first few episodes take just over a month, then they're there for about 4-8 weeks. The leave in mid-October and come back in late December (skipping Samhain, luckily for them).

Again, sincerely, your happy babble gives me so much joy, thank you so much for caring about the show enough to ask so many questions! <3

[brella-boi]

Building Dango: Part 2

I actually finished this step a couple weeks ago but was too busy to post with con prep, so here it is now!

In this edition were getting the EVA foam together. I got a big ole cutting board before starting for about 7 quid so its easier to cut out the large shapes.

But first! Tracing.

We got ourselves the paper pattern to trace and slightly edit. Drop that sucker on the foam. And start cutting.

For the eyes I am planning to have them domed. Which means I got these googly eyes im going to deface to steal the plastic dome from.

Cutting the circle was honestly the most nerve-wracking part of this, and I did it in 4 segments just to be as careful as possible.

I wouldng exactly call cutting the EVA foam easy tbh. I was using mainly 10mm super high density foam as the base structure. That is to make sure that the base head is strong and isnt going to warp during movement. My exacto knife wasnt entirely... long enough to cut through it in one go, and I wouldnt say I was strong enough to do that even if it could lol. My arm and hand hurt afterwards, and theres some parts that came out a little crooked.

A lot of EVA sculptors cut their edges at an angle, and honestly, i was too scared to do that and mess up the angle with how *rough* cutting this already was. So I opted for just simple straight edges. I probably shouldve added some extra space here or there and thought about the fact this foam is 10mm thick. But oh well.

Whats important is its cut and we can move onto gluing.

Now we could use hot glue, or super glue. But the recommendation from Pros is Contact Cement. So thats what were gonna use.

Honestly this was pretty easy. You mark one side and swipe it down evenly with a scrap piece, you leave it to dry for like a minute or two, do the second piece where the first is gonna connect. Let that dry. Then put the two pieces together. Revolutionary shit im telling you. The bond is so damn strong too im shook.

Theres several parts I wasnt too happy about though. The top and longest piece wasnt long enough and ill need to compensate for it later. And some cuttings werent identical like I wanted. The biggest issue was the fact I didnt take into account the thickness of the foam overlapping at the jaw. So its. Well it doesnt exactly fit right now. But that will be fixed with sanding. A lot of sanding.

Youre probably looking and pointing at the black pieces of foam too. Thats 4mm low density foam. I wanted it for building details.

For the horn I ran into the problem of it possibly being heavy. And with its placement, it needs to be *light*. Initially I was going to use three pieces of 10mm high density foam. But that sucker weighed about 70 grams together. Thats. A lot. To be put on the tip of the mask.

You may be quick to suggest to carve out two pieces of low density foam as the horn, bend it, and make it hollow. And to that I say: im not experienced enough with eva foam to do that and also i dont want it to get crushed inside a luggage into a deflated Thing.

So i tried to weigh up the difference between the low and high density. And it turns out i can just use 2 pieces of low density foam that equal the size of the high density one, but it weights *half as much*. So instead i used high density as the core of the horn, surrounded by 4 pieces of low density. Which reduced the horn to about 40 grams! Yippe!!

And with it all put together... it is super blocky. And i am dreading figuring out how to sand it, and actually make it wearable.

[chlstarrbaby]

Neighborhood Academy AU Part 2

Part 1  Part 3 (Final)

Trigger warnings: Angst, depressing thoughts, and brief mentions of suicide, unreality.

Another day, another sprint to Homeroom, neck and neck with Eddie carrying Frank over his shoulder like a kidnapped damsel this time, Frank seemed to be getting some last minute studying done.

Oh shoot! Was there a test today? You hoped it wasn’t Marketing, it could get tricky in places when math was actually involved.

“Mornin’ Frank! Mornin’ Eddie!” You greeted politely despite your jagged breaths in keeping up with the absolute powerhouse that was Track Captain, Eddie Dear.

“Morning, (Y/N)!” They replied in unison.

“Congratulations by the way.” Frank mentioned in his usual quite frankly tone.

“For what?” You breathed in confusion. Why the heck was your Homeroom so far from the front of the school anyway? Sure it's a nice way to stay in shape but it's still nerve wracking when you know there’s a high chance that you’ll be late!

“You got Rizzo in that Grease musical, and Wally got Danny so don’t worry, Sally made sure he wasn’t your exact opposite, but it's still oddly fitting.” Frank replied dryly, but well meaning.

“Did Julie get Sandy? I’m gonna feel really bad when I get into character with her.” You asked, explaining your hesitation.

“Yep, she sure did!” Eddie piped up cheerfully. “Seemed pretty excited about it to me!”

“Well, so long as she’s okay with it, that’s all I can hope for.” You mused loud enough for both of them.

Then you suddenly tripped as you simultaneously remembered why Wally would be happy with the roles anyway. That oddly specific old flame tension between Rizzo and Danny was palpable when played right. He would probably look forward to it. But then you really thought about it and…No, he’d look really forward to it if you got Cha-cha instead.

Despite tripping, you stumble instead, quickly regaining enough balance to continue on running. Somehow you saw two different scenarios for an aftermath that didn’t just happen.

One where you definitely fell, hard enough for the skin to come off your knees but not enough to bleed, didn’t hurt any less, but Eddie, bless him and Frank’s awesome friendship with you, didn’t leave you behind as the potential mailman scooped you up and carried you over his other shoulder to Homeroom. You thanked them graciously despite the pain and assured them that you were fine otherwise. You had a small first aid kit in your bag for such emergencies anyway, especially since the school was so darn big that it was a wonder that there weren’t more nurses offices in it.

The other scenario that popped in your head really made you wonder…Wally popped out of nowhere and caught you from your initial fall, slinging you over his shoulder to mimic Eddie with his significant other, and the irony was certainly not lost on you as you protested with kicking and screaming before giving up since you really needed to catch your breath anyway.

Both of those scenarios felt vividly real, visceral even. But neither happened, Wally was nowhere to be seen until you got closer to Homeroom where he was surrounded by fangirls and fanboys again. Still couldn’t actually see him technically but that crowd wouldn’t be there for anyone else, not even you thankfully. Though it was another piece of kindling to your ongoing argument with Wally about how there was no way you were as pretty as he claims you are.

Regardless, the fans crowding around the door to Homeroom was always such a nuisance. You only had one plan to get them out of the way, and honestly it wasn’t a very good one.

“HOMEROOM’S STARTING! NOW SCATTER!” You screeched over the crowd and it worked…slightly against you as now you were swimming upstream against the bunches of students who had to run back the way you came to get to their respective Homerooms.

Eddie barreled through them just fine, but you had to make yourself smaller and brace yourself so as not to get trampled. It got to the point that you ended up standing still and wasted precious time getting to Homeroom, but there were too many students, you couldn’t move…

Until someone grabbed your wrist and led you through the door. When did you close your eyes? You opened them to find that Wally was the one to drag you through the threshold and safety of Homeroom.

His gaze was intense again, but this time you were looking directly at it and it felt ten times worse than having it directed at the back of your head. He was livid. 

But so weren’t you at him for a multitude of reasons, most of which haven’t even happened yet, (and some you weren’t entirely sure if they had happened at some point or not). So you stood your ground while you waited for him to say something.

“What were you thinking, neighbor? You could have been trampled.” Wally’s monotone betrayed what he was really feeling, since he sounded oddly calm.

“I was gonna be late, and so weren’t they, risky as it was, there was a benefit for everyone. Besides, raining on your pretty boy parade is still fun.” You tell him snarkily, mostly gaining confidence on that last sentence. 

His stare softened ever so slightly, knowing him it was most likely from the backhanded compliment.

“You still think I’m pretty after all this time?” Wally asked curiously, clearly flattered as his smirk grew again.

“I may be shorter than you but I’m not blind…You’re still way prettier than me anyway.”  That last sentence was said bitterly, as once again you couldn’t help but make it sting for him a little, though that tended to backfire as the pinprick of tears made their traitorous little ways to the edges of your eyes again, trying to avoid him seeing it by walking past him and over to your seat.

Unfortunately for you he was as observant as ever, and grabbed your wrist as you passed. You didn’t give him the satisfaction of turning your head to look at him. Some deep internal instinct screamed at you to never look into his eyes for too long, as he could hypnotize you at any time.You don’t know where that came from, but after that weird vision of two scenarios after you stumbled, something wasn’t adding up about this year. Lots of little things that you barely noticed until now, but you knew it wasn’t safe to even dwell on them, so you refocused your mind on how you never saw yourself as ever being pretty, as physically showcased by the fact that you decided to wear shorts today, keeping the suspenders since they were nice and classy.

“How can I get it through your head that you really are beautiful, (Y/N)?” Wally asked with a hint of desperation in his voice, silently apologizing for making you cry again but not being able to voice it properly.

You couldn’t help but chuckle darkly as one of those alternate visions gave you a sneaky idea that he didn’t have to go through with… but it would be funny if he did.

“You could carry me to Homeroom like what Eddie does for Frank, but that’s not very neighborly of me to ask and it would really rain on the timing of your pretty boy parade. Otherwise, there just isn’t a way for you to get it through my head since it’s my demon to bear.” You only turned your head a little bit to him so he could hear you, but you still didn’t face him. At the last sentence you snap your wrist out of his hand and head to your seat.

Class was starting, and Wally was out of time to reply to anything you just said.

Mentally you were cursing yourself for one particular wording choice that you had no idea where that even came from. ‘Not very neighborly of you’…You supposed it was another reference to his cutesy nickname for you since his desk was next to yours…but it felt deeper than that when you said it. As if you were spitting the words in his  face without actually spitting, or putting enough venom into it. Too dangerous to do that. You couldn’t put your finger on why that was though…probably for the best.

He was staring at you the entire day of classes. Not that you looked at him directly even once, but it was hard to ignore completely when he’s in your peripheral vision.

You ate lunch on the school roof today, alone you thought. However Barnaby came up to join you. Not surprising, even after a few months you could tell that Wally and Barnaby were absolutely best friends, but in that super comfortable with each other kind of way where they were definitely just friends and not something more like Eddie and Frank. The best analogy you could think of was Mickey Mouse and Goofy.

Regardless, Barnaby was sweet enough to ask to join you first, and though you already had the sneaking suspicion he was here on Wally’s behalf, you did also leave your other friends high and dry too, so he was here for all their sakes too. You couldn’t deny him for checking on you. He even let you lean on him.

“Ya wanna talk about it?” He asked, not beating around the bush, which you inwardly appreciated.

“Depends…what is it exactly that I should talk about?” You ask back, not willing to give in just yet.

“Anything and everything really. Ya look like ya wanna vent but it can only be with specific people, otherwise ya might explode.” Barnaby offered lazily.

“You sure you wanna hear it even if a good chunk of it is about a certain pompadour wearing cactus?” Grateful as you are at being allowed to vent, you couldn’t help but warn him anyway.

“Cactus?” Barnaby questioned in confusion.

“It’s a play on words in this case. Wally’s smile is cat-like, and what are cacti? They’re prickly.” You explain a little, not going further than that and hoping he would get the other half of the joke.

“Oh, so you’re also calling him…?” Barnaby trailed off on purpose.

“Yep.” You answer simply. “Sorry if it seems a bit harsh to call him that, but that’s why I picked a cactus specifically to make it sound more polite.” Surprisingly Barnaby guffawed.

“No, you’re good, it’s really clever!” He chuckled a bit more before getting back on topic. “But anyway, I’m all ears even if it is about him in a negative way, and I cross my heart none of it will go to him.”

“Thanks Barnaby.” You tell him gratefully.

So you rant, leaving out the weird visions from this morning or any other time from little things where you saw an alternate scenario as if it were a highly invasive memory. Even now you saw a version of yourself… jumping off the roof just to get away from…your pompadour wearing cactus. You vehemently ignored it. It wasn’t your reality after all so it wasn’t really your problem. Not now, not yet, and hopefully not ever.

In any case you explain to Barnaby that Wally’s just been insufferable lately even though it's really because of your deeply ingrained insecurity of how you don’t see yourself as pretty even though you have enough sense to know when certain clothes look good on you anyway. You chalk it up to not being complimented very often throughout your life, and Wally’s attempts, especially the elaborate ones (that he had to knock off after a certain point once it got to the principal's ears) just seemed like elaborate but harmless cat-calling.

Barnaby chuckled at the second cat related pun directed at Wally.

“I can assure you he’s not.” He assured you genuinely.

“Thanks, but that brings me to my other fear…but first I have to ask if he really wasn’t into Julie before I came along?” You asked, hesitating because the bigger question was going to sound bad no matter how you worded it.

“Pretty sure he never was, I can see why it would be hard to tell though. We all live in the same area and we all love him dearly as if we were all just family. And sure, he may be highly praised for his good looks by all the fans of the school, but out of every single one of them even after a year, he picked you.” Barnaby explained slowly and succinctly to get his point across. You were all Sophomores so his vague description of the timing made sense.

Doubt bubbled up and through your vocal chords however.

“It could literally have been anyone. I just happened to be a transfer student. A transfer student that ended up in an assigned seat near the rest of our friends.”

Barnaby hesitated, if only because he wasn’t there just yet on that first day of school when you and Wally first encountered each other, he had to hear that from the others.

“Never mind that I know I ticked him off that first day of school twice, and one of those times was when Julie dragged me out of Homeroom to show me where Sally was holding the auditions.” You continued as an afterthought to paint a clearer picture for him. “I’m still surprised he even remotely likes me after that first day, like, I accidentally stopped everyone from fawning over him dead in their tracks at my mere presence, I felt him boring holes into the back of my head after that….I dunno Barns…If he’s really serious about me, I just don’t want to be a tally on a scorecard, ya know? That’s what I’m really afraid of.” You finally admitted to him and to yourself.

Of course that was the base of it anyway, if you were going to be in a relationship, you’d rather it be a lasting one. But you would have to put some effort into it too. As it was, your heart just wasn’t interested in a relationship right now, and if he went as far as to ask for your hand in marriage after graduating and you said yes…it would only be for the tax benefits, and that’s not being honest to him or yourself. That’s no good.

Suddenly you looked up and saw another variation of yourself getting ready to jump off a different part of the roof, definitely a different variation because this one was wearing pants, but you could still tell it was supposed to be you because that was what the back of your head looked like.

Even more suddenly, Wally burst out of the doors to the roof desperately calling out your name…and heading for that alternate version of you.

You only knew Wally wasn’t part of that same vision (this time) because Barnaby reacted to him, and the vibration of the doors opening was so harsh you could easily feel it against your back.

Wally’s desperate screams of your name chilled you to the bone. Of course you got up quickly and screamed his name in turn to get him to stop, to turn around and realize that he was chasing a vision that was only an illusion.

Barnaby followed in calling his name too and running after Wally, but you were faster. Running to Homeroom every morning paid off for something after all. Regardless you had to tackle Wally to get him to stop, he didn’t fall from it, he is taller than you and apparently had enough upper body strength to brush off even physically acknowledging you, so you had to sidestep around him to his front and grab his face, and for safety measures turn him around with his face in your hands so he wouldn’t look at that alternate version of you anymore.

“Barnaby, please stay up close behind me, he’s seeing things that are and aren’t there, we need to limit his view!” You pleaded to the big blue dog behind you.

Directing your attention back to Wally who was still screaming your name and somehow not comprehending you were right in front of him, pleading for you to stay, you had no choice but to do something extremely risky. You reached an arm to cover his eyes.

“Wally? I’m right here, pretty boy! I’m not going anywhere!” You announce loudly but calmly, hoping your voice breaks through his panicking fog with your nickname for him alone.

“(Y/N)?” He whimpered. Oh thank whatever higher being there was out there, he was regaining his senses.

“That’s my name, don’t you dare wear it out. I’m gonna move my arm now okay?” You reply lightheartedly, making sure to warn him of your movements.

“Okay.” Wally said nervously. So you remove your arm and return its position by cupping his other cheek.

His eyes were wide, and his pupils were shaking, not a good sign but you could still work him through this. You walked him through some breathing exercises to help calm him down from his panic attack, and when he finally calmed down enough (that his pupils weren’t going ballistic) he asked if he could hug you.

Of course you allowed it, as you wrapped your arms around his middle to give him more security. Barnaby hugged you both from behind you for extra security. Wally pleads for you to not leave him, he sounded so pitiful, but you couldn’t promise anything.

Surprisingly, over Wally’s shoulder, you could still see that alternate version of you standing on the edge, wanting to jump.

“Hey, (Y/N).” You call out to them. With…great effort, they turn to you, and their face is flickering through different people’s faces, and you realize that they are merely a representative of you, a possibility of you as it were. “I wish you happiness.”

The collective of flickering faces actually smile, and they bow to you before dissipating in the wind.

“I wish all of you happiness, wherever you can find it.” You say to the wind in hopes that it’ll carry to any other alternative versions of you that couldn’t handle the burden of the bigger school that is Life. 

Everyone on the planet is here for a reason, unfortunately it takes too long to even figure out that reason most of the time. It might even be to just exist for the sake of existing to help raise the planet’s vibration.

Ultimately, the meaning of Life is 42, as in, whatever you want it to be. The choice is yours through good times and bad. May you find your happiness soon, dear neighbor.

“C’mon, Wally, Lunch is just about over, let’s go ask Ms. Poppy if we can bake apple pies today.” You suggest lightly, slowly easing yourself out of Wally’s embrace at least.

“Ha ha ha. Okay, neighbor. But I still don’t see how there are apples in them.” Wally replies with his usual monotonous chuckle. You and Barnaby join him in that as the three of you pack up your belongings and head back downstairs to deal with the remainder of the school day.

@starleska

@jenjenweeeee

@mikomitheclown53

@bunny-masks-blog

@imoreosdude

@heyitsmeyourdryskin

[violivs]

NMTDaily: And So It Begins

- Beatrice’s first vlog! What an opening line, I love it lol. I remembered the hand wave on “hello, people of the Internet” having a wider arc across the screen than it actually does, funny enough! Glad I didn’t specify the wide wave when I referenced this line in MARRIED, the fic I posted on the 25th.

- “I’m not too old for Halloween”, girl after my own heart!

- Always thought it was interesting that Bea’s mother is American. I wonder how/why they decided that. It’s the kind of super specific detail that makes Bea feel so real, because who would make that up? It’s also interesting that it means Bea and Ben’s families are both somewhat international. Another parallel for them, another thing they have in common.

- I bet the Aunties’ wedding was the cutest thing ever, imagine Hero and Leo standing up with them! That’s probably the last time all of the Dukes were together before the story starts.

- I’m surprised Bea’s parents moved because her dad got a promotion. I would have assumed her mom did, because we get the impression of her as the high-powered businesswoman. But good for Bea’s dad. Is it canon that he’s a university professor? (Promotion = tenure?) Or did I make that up for fanfic and/or confuse him with Ben’s parents being professors in canon? Listening for that. Maybe Bea’s dad was actually also a business person all along and that’s how her parents met. Who knows.

- Bea says Australia like I say Indiana, lol (no hate to anyone from Indiana though! Just another of those inborn rivalries with the neighbor, like the Oz/NZ one.)

- “A great science program” I forgot Bea was a science person!

- I always loved the set decoration in this room, I remember it’s Hero’s room, and it’s so artsy and cozy and pretty. Love the wall art.

- “Leo and I are in charge of the house for the next six months” Excuse me, does this series really only take place over six months? Well, it ends in the first week of November, so that’s seven full months. I think it felt like it lasted a whole year when it was airing though. Time slowed down during a certain arc for sure.

- “in-joke with myself!” Classic. I kind of love that the text on screen saying “good one Beatrice” is Bea talking to herself again in-world, but out-of-world it’s kind of the Candle Wasters talking, interacting both with their own main character and with the audience. Meta.

- “Sorry my life is so boring” are like, THE famous last words for an LIW protagonist. Honey, you got a big storm coming!

- I was always so incredibly impressed with Beatrice’s independence, her comfort with leaving her parents and essentially being on her own before she even finished high school. I was alone in a college dorm hours away from home when I first watched this, second semester of freshman year if I’m not mistaken, and I could barely believe I’d managed it. I couldn’t imagine doing that any earlier than I had. I thought she was so brave and cool. I think Bea actually shows more hesitation and nervousness than I realized she did in this episode, both because she’s not used to vlogging yet and because being in a new place is nerve-wracking, but I still think she’s so brave.

- It’s so interesting that in a reversal of the play, it’s our Beatrice who comes from away to Messina to start the story, instead of Benedick and the other men returning from war. Of course, we’ll see how the boys’ arrival on the scene is modernized soon enough!

- Harriett does such a great job making you care about Bea and like her right from the start. You just want to keep listening to her talk. I can’t wait to do just that over the next seven months.

- The Benedict Cumberbatch crush is a stroke of genius, but what are the odds that there happens to be a super famous guy named Benedict that you can reference who is at peak relevance in the exact year your MAAN modernization premieres? Truly, this series as it exists could only have happened in 2014. It was the perfect time and the perfect people. What luck.

- Oh, this is the wider arc hand wave I was remembering! It’s just at the end of the video and not the beginning. Funny!

- Covering the camera with her hand and ducking out of frame at the end of her first video is a direct parallel to what Bea and Hero do in their final NMTD video, sliding out of frame and all. Love that.

- I can’t believe how much there is to talk about even with these early episodes. These posts are gonna get so long they’ll have to go under a cut for the later episodes!

💖🦩🥭

[the-starry-seas]

Last line challenge

Rules: In a new post, show your latest line (artwork or written), and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like)!

I got tagged by @corrie-guard-things and @cookiemonsterv3 hi!!!

everything I've done since the last tag has been for an event fic so have this not-recent but dearly beloved bit from a Transformers/ROTTMNT crossover where Bee meets a duckling!

tagging @loverboy-havocboy @insertmeaningfulusername @whiskygoldwings @merlyn-bane @varpusvaras and anyone else who wants to do it!

There’s a whirring noise from Bee, and he touches Kestrel’s shoulder. Kestrel turns, then turns again, squinting into the darkness. What is he looking at…

Quacking?

A duck waddles out of the underbrush. She tilts her head, staring at them for a moment with an eye like a bead, before moving on.

A string of bright yellow ducklings follows their mama. Seven of them pay little attention to the robot or the turtle watching, following their mother straight to the water, but the eighth takes one look at them and gets distracted.

Uh-oh.

Kestrel takes a step back, then another, the back of its shoulder brushing against the side of Bee’s leg. The duckling follows. And if Kestrel gets chased in a circle by a tiny, peeping, baby animal, that’s between it and Bee. It’s pretty sure it can rely on the robot not to tell.

It stops after going around Bee a second time and crouches down. The duckling stops in front of it and peeps again. What’s it supposed to do with this? Are they going to keep following it?

They nibble at his hand, not hard enough to hurt, but it still wonders what that might mean. They're going to follow it again if it tries to leave, aren't they?

With no other ideas, it picks them up for a better look. They squawk, legs paddling, but don’t try to bite again and instead settle down. Or at least just sits there instead of struggling more. Good, because it doesn’t want to hurt them.

Bee crouches down again. His antennae are perked forward, and his head tilts slightly as he leans for a closer look.

“Want to hold?” Kestrel asks, fingerspelling with the hand not holding the duckling.

There’s a squeaky noise that must be excitement, since Bee holds his hand out at the same time, shifting back and forth on his feet.

“Gentle,” Kestrel reminds him, just in case, and sets the duckling down in Bee’s palm.

Seeing Bee pick up a tiny creature is vaguely nerve-wracking. Sure, it knows that Bee won’t hurt them – but the duckling is, in fact, very small. This is probably how Raph felt, watching Bee pick up Kestrel.

The duckling patters around in Bee’s hand for a moment before settling down. They look fluffier than they did a minute ago. And they looks content, even when Bee brings his hand up so he and the duckling are face-to-face. They peep at him, and he makes a noise back.

Bee brings his hand down, and the duckling hops off, flapping their little wings as they run between Kestrel’s legs and back to the reservoir. Kestrel smiles as it watches them go.