#lately I'm just in love with the pink and blue combo

[gayathreya]

good day, my lovers. it's time for another edition of rating suriya's outfits

it took me 5 business days to recover from the song that is named yolo, a title that is a decade too late, but here we are. we shall take a look at his outfits that we have a clear-ish full view of, in ascending order based on my esteemed correct opinions. strap in, babes

patterned blue beach shirt with white pants

an atrocity beyond all measure. it's not even a proper pattern on the shirt. the kind of random abstract print that is ugly, on top of that horrible shade of bright blue. suriya looks good in darker blues, this ain't it. and the white pants... kill. 1/10

2. patterned yellow beach shirt with white pants

another nonsense outfit and colour combination. why are they obsessed with such bright colours... IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD!! STOP IT!!!!!! the design on this isn't as bad as the blue beach shirt, but it's still dumb. the white pants as always, are a straight no. we need to start shaming people in white/beige pants. 2/10

3. abstract patterned beach combo set??? with white singlet

actually, it's not that bad. i get the appeal of beach combo shirts and shorts (i have them, too), and even though it's another shitty abstract pattern, as it's part of a set, i can close an eye to excuse it cos they're meant to be garish and silly looking. my 2 beach combo sets are pineapple designs in beige and orange, so i understand. 4/10

4. white tracksuit

the only thing wrong with this is the white. i really hate white outfits. he would be smoking in this if it was all black instead. so smoking in fact he would (and should) have his bones jumped (to put out the smoking fire, i mean. yeah) 5/10

5. blue dotted shirt and white pants

guys.. this was so close to being a good fit. the shade of blue is decent, but once again, it's the white that ruins it, both in the asymmetric dotted design and of course, the disastrous white pants again that i'm so sick of seeing. we need to burn them, suriya. please listen to me. it's enough. i do like his glasses in this, though. 5.5/10

6. yellow and black checkered suit

the gay outfit, if i say so myself. and i do. i'm saying it. i'm not sure about the colours, and i'm not even sure about the design, cos lbr it's kind of a gnarly mess. if this was on anyone else i'd point and laugh. but because it's suriya, it's strangely captivating. he's like a whispering siren in my head. no, i can't hate this even if i really want to. 6/10

7. blue tracksuit

FINALLY WE'RE GETTING TO THE ACTUAL GOOD STUFF. HE ACTUALLY LOOKS WHOLESOME AND CUDDLY HERE! I WANT TO HUG HIM! YES, KING! GO CYCLING! DO YOUR EXERCISE SEXILY! i know it. a very simple and clean outfit in a good colour. this is what i want. this is what i need. in fact, i'm cycling spiritually with him right now. 9/10

last but not the least....

8. vest without shirt open slutty chest pastel pink outfit

OKAY. OKAY. HEAR ME OUT. THIS IS ACE. firstly, i've always loved suriya in soft pink, i think it's one of the best colours on him after black. this is an insane outfit cos of the shirtlessness. we wear vests over a shirt, yes? that's why they're called 3-piece suits. suriya has simply made this a 2-piece suit and gone on full chest out and the only reason the chest out even works is cos it's unshaved, since nothing is more disgusting that shaved hairlessness (TO ME). i love the slutty hairy chest out look and the pastel pink and his warm smile NO IDGAF IT'S JUST GOOD. 9.5/10

WHY NOT 10/10 YOU ASK??? yeah it's cos of his ugly ass white shoes;

i literally have no idea what these pair of shoes are doing on him and paired with a suit. baby what's going on!!! who told you to do this!! get a nice pair of boots! black or brown, either would work with pink!!!! as a long time diehard doc martens truther, i need someone to get suriya a pair of those. i wear it with everything. shorts, jeans, sweatpants, work pants, idc. a pair of black standard doc marts are the shoes for any occasion. as with my hatred of white for anything other than like a plain t-shirt/singlet, i don't believe in white shoes either. it's ugly, and i won't apologise for it. but worst of all, track shoes shouldn't be paired with suits. we used to beat up people for that.... but i won't, cos suriya is so cute in pink i can't do that to him. in fact, have another pic of him just for no reason;

my angel meow meow forever :') <<<333

[birindale]

I've mentioned the so-called "U-Matic tapes" before, but had tabled finding footage of them bc the next step was going to involve a lot more hacking than I'm capable of. But on my most recent research quest, I got a bootleg DVD which contained an unlisted feature: my personal white whale.

So what is this? Why did I want a copy so bad?

The U-Matic tapes were found in Filmation archives, and we believe this was part of the collaborative process between Mattel and Filmation's development of the characters.

It's easy to look at the Filmation designs and see where the studio's common practices are put into effect. Hordak was changed from gray-skinned to blue so that he would pop out against the backgrounds better. She-Ra's spiraling chest emblem was made symmetrical, because they'd learned that asymmetry and stock footage do not get along during their Superman cartoon.

But this--these designs, this singular tape--this is our missing link. The common ancestor between the first wave toys and the Filmation designs. And yes, I had still images, but not in the original resolution! Not with the clapperboard! This is an entirely unexpected windfall and I'm downright gleeful. Buckle in, folks, I'm breaking it all down:

Castaspella

Ah, Castaspella. She started out with really vibrant colors actually, Justine Dantzer designed her with this whole psychedelic vibe. Her magic wheel was originally super bright, primary colors that imo would have served the toy really well. Instead of 'look at this cool hypno disk' it would be 'look at this cool rainbow hypno disk'. Kids love rainbows! I'm not biased at all!

Obviously the biggest difference aside from her color scheme is the wheel. They did have it in early Filmation passes, but like... it's a giant wheel. I imagine it's kind of a pain to animate.

Double Trouble

Double Trouble, too, had a bit of a color scheme journey. She began with magenta and red, then apparently moved into this violet-and-blue combo, before finally settling on green. And like, the first wave did need more green imo. If they'd stuck with the red for Catra and that lilac for Glimmer they could have had a whole rainbow. And like, gay bias aside, that would be lovely for collectors, or kids that like to arrange stuff by color.

Anyway they kind of stole prototype DT's color scheme for Filmation Glimmer, probably because of the aforementioned 'pop' blue brings against their standard backgrounds. And speaking of...

Glimmer

The guide who lights the way! Filmation pushed her hair much pinker than the toy's (although it's dyed purple in one episode), but otherwise yeah, that's pretty much just Double Trouble's proto-outfit, sans tulle. I should note that the leotards and so on are likely also a 'reduce the number of frames we have to draw' measure. Lou Scheimer had a very, very strict policy that She-Ra's underwear never be showed, which made a number of shots incredibly difficult to animate (the spin-kick towards the camera comes to mind). Honestly it's probably the reason for our She-Ra's shorts. But it's where things like leotards come in handy, because you can animate the action without working around modesty or fabric physics.

Catra

Catra's the biggest downgrade, in my opinion. Like I know, toys marketing being what it is, that they had to push pink. But the red looked so cool! And I know it's difficult to see in the video, but her mask used to have fur like in the prelims. That I think was more of a practical decision, since it's harder to slip a fur-lined mask over rooted hair than a smooth plastic one, but I'd kill to see some test shots with it.

We're not sure what that flocked red Battle Cat mold is--if it's an early Clawdeen/late Tinx, or a shapeshifted Catra. I'm inclined to think the former, both because the play pattern is 'this one toy can be two forms' and because they appear to have added a silver collar in place of Battle Cat's helmet. It seems to have been scrapped for her winged horse Storm, at least for this wave, which is kind of a shame. I think a red velvet Panthor would have had a lot of crossover appeal with the MOTU market (and just been awesome in general).

She-Ra

She-Ra is pretty far along conceptually on both sides of the equation. Naturally, she was the first to be designed--you can see where Mattel was leaning into a tulle and reflective sticker thing and Filmation was like "we reeeeeally want to give her a winged opera-viking-helm thing though". You can see the mask, instead of hard plastic, is like, shiny foil.

Bow

The top of Bow's cape, too--shiny foil. His bow was shaped more like a traditional longbow, and his quiver appears to have been hollow instead of a single cast piece. His outfit is actually the least changed, both in the toy's production and in developing it for Filmation. Like the only things different in the cartoon are that he doesn't have a breastplate covering his heart & abs, and that they gave him a mustache. They tried to do a full beard initially so like. Hey. Could have been hairier!

The figure on the left, under proto-Enchanta, seems to be proto-Kowl. How quickly Justine Dantzer's concept was lost. Koala, plus owl--it's not that complicated!

but Mattel wanted to make a little guy with butterfly wings instead. Explains some of the Filmation concept art, at least.

Angella

Angella was probably changed the most for Filmation. Like they kept the pink and the wing-influenced sigil on her chest (and the actual wings), but they added that blue--almost certainly for contrast--and turned her blonde. Meanwhile the toy just refined the chest design and switched from opaque white to a semi-transparent pink for the wings. 'Cause you know, toy marketing.

Frosta

Frosta, too, was relatively unchanged. Both companies opted for a lighter shade of blueon the hair, and Filmation replaced the reflective elements with white & the sheer with a different shade of blue, but other than that it was pretty much just the same process they applied with Catra's fabrics. Mattel went for texture, Filmation went for an easy-to-animate silhouette.

Other

I've talked about Justine Dantzer's original vision for the Crystal Castle even more than the U-Matics themselves at this point. She loves eagles, she was really excited about the beak elevator thing, it didn't test well & Mattel decided it was too edgy. Thus, the eventual pink situation.

Speaking of eventual pink sitatuations--did somebody say Swift Wind?

That blurry, indistinct horse shape is everyone's favorite equine, in the flesh. Guys, look! He's white! There's a blue ombre on his wings! Suddenly the dichotomy of Toy! and Filmation!Swifties seems less extreme, no?

That bird-thing on the left seems to be a proto-Enchanta, albeit very different from the final product (which was basically just a swan with a mane, not this sick ass dragon-influenced version).

The shields were just round shields, but they may have been placeholders to show off colors/materials, because we know Noreen Porter had refined She-Ra's at least by this point.

The video quality is too poor to say for certain who had a weapon and who had a comb at this point, but Catra's little item there looks significantly pointier than the comb she wound up with. Maybe a comb-ination with a knife? I for one think she should get a blade or two. As a treat. They didn't even give her a sword until wave 3, and that wasn't even her main weapon [side-eyes the Shower Squirter judgmentally]

Man I still can't believe this just turned up. Who would have thought that trying to get cleaner footage of the 1985 Duck Soup commercial could lead to this. Thank you bootleggers you are doing god's work (media preservation). If anybody wants some Rainbow Brite or the live action Japanese Spider-Man or something, I had a pretty great experience with these guys. Only complaint is that their list of included features should be way more specific. I took a gamble on finding some footage anyway & while it didn't turn up I'm far happier with this result. Also if an officially licensed version of any of their titles comes out they take it off the store, which is like, weirdly honorable? But good for them, tbh. Good for them.

[padme-amidala]

Sorry I'm late! Congrats on the 1.5k! 💌 + useranti-hero.tumblr.com/tagged/** and 🪐 + Lumax or Jopper?

hii jake!! (and sorry for the incredibly long wait 😭) thank you <3 here's your gifset, i hope you like it!

5. this narlie gifset omg these lyrics are perfect for them and you paired the scenes so well!! the blue coloring is so pretty and i love it combined with the pink typography

4. this taylor swift speak now set this purple!!! the whole aesthetic is on point and stunning. i also really like the layout in the second gif. love this set!!

3. this byler set THIS QUOTE!! WITH THEM!! absolute perfection. and the scene choices!! i'm sobbing, this just fits their dynamic so so well 🥺 also yellow + blue coloring! looove the vibrancy

2. this wylan gifset yellow and purple is THE color combo of all time and this set is so beautifully colored!! wylan is so precious and i feel like that absolutely comes through in this set <3 i also adore the little symbols!!

this taylor swift albums + zodiac signs gifset this concept is so fun and the execution is so good!! i love the colors in this set, it all flows together so nicely. obsessed!!

[nullconvention]

Okay, cool, I was tagged by @grandgobbobarb and honestly I love answering questions like this so

Relationship Status: I'm actually married. The institution of marriage sucks but my partner rules and it's easier to share health care benefits like this.

Favorite Color: Black? I'm not actually color averse, though. I like colors in sets - the bi lighting combo of a blue-pink gradient, a gray/black/burnt or bright orange industrial sort of thing are two big ones for me.

Song Stuck in My Head: Mel Stone's "Bad News" Every time I listen to Princess I get a different song stuck in my head and it's this one today.

Last Song I Listened To: Cellars "Real Good Day" from Phases

Three Favorite Foods: I'm interpreting this as three of many favorite foods. Here's some: Red Beans and Rice, Fried Chicken, Bean Burritos

Last Thing I Searched: "Muraganda" in response to a question asked of Mark Rosewater about the plane in Magic: the Gathering.

Dream Trip: It's really hard to have dreams right now, much less think about going somewhere in them. I'd like to visit some good friends in the Pacific Northwest more than anything and just kick it for like two months or something.

What I Want Now: Any one of the things we're doing here to work out a little so we can financially stabilize and pay down some of these enormous vet bills.

@dwnn666 is this fun? @wildhaunt and @endreal or @cavesalamander if you feel up to it. or if you've seen my posts on here lately, this isn't exclusive real estate.

[bananastarion]

I haven't really thought too much about my farmer as a character in her own right, I modeled her to basically look like me (except I could neeever rock that blue cowboy hat, purple boots and bikini top combo).

But it might be kinda fun to give her a personality based on my playstyle. She's a bit reckless, impulsive and disorganized, which basically means she winds up passed out in the mines on the regular, plants crops wherever the hell she feels like and has chests full of random shit all over the place. It looks like pure chaos but somehow, some way she knows where everything is this way. She certainly doesn't mind that Shane is a bit on the messy side too. She dotes on her husband and animals, is generally kind to everyone around town (but likes to hand her garbage to Morris whenever she runs into him late at night). Her BFF is Emily, because duh. Pretty much any oddball or weirdo is drawn to her... Linus, Pam and even Clint have become surprising allies. She also gets along great with Jas but they have more of a sisterly relationship than maternal. She has a childish side and her house is full of cute pink things and plushies.

She's hoping to be good friends with Krobus and the wizard some day too, as she likes all things occult and weird (yet hasnt broken much ground with Abigail, likely for reasons detailed at the end of this post).

She hoards cats and never goes a day without petting each and every one (thank you mods). She has a weird fascination with eels and blobfish and collects them in aquariums, with the hope of being a full blown eels n' blobfish farm one day. She just thinks they're neat.

She thought it'd be funny to fill her babies nursery with skeletons and weird fish. She gets the feeling he's gonna grow up to be a beast in the mines just like her mom, so might as well desensitize him.

Ironically she also loves booze and that is also a main focus in farm production in her big picture plans, but she keeps a close eye on Shane to make sure he's not tempted to sample too much of the wares. Pam is her drinking buddy instead, which is also a bit morally questionable but hey there aren't that many people in pelican town quite as willing to party down, and when this farmer isn't working hard she's partying hard.

She has a mischievous and capricious side, and isn't exaaaactly the most loyal wife all the time... don't hate me shane stans but I mightve slipped sebastian a bouquet just to spice up the game a little. 😅 Sebby is just a side piece though, my farmer would never divorce Shane. She gifts him home cooked meals every day and kisses him pretty much every chance she gets, and turns her whole summer farm into a pepper factory for him, so Shane doesn't complain too much, but occasionally he gets rightfully pissed off. Sebastian gets no such special treatment. But she couldn't resist a motorcycle ride, ok?? Plus that surplus of void eggs weren't going to appreciate themselves. All Shane has to do is put that goth/punk outfit back on, and Sebastian will be completely forgotten.

Basically, my farmer is chaotic neutral and a little bit of a hoe. Hey, she's a farmer after all. Geddit? Hoe? Dohoho... I'm gonna lose followers for this post aren't i

[papirouge]

What jpop artists do you like? Lately ive been getting into some like perfume, and sheena ringo or even vintage ones like pink lady or candies. Ive also heard lots of good things about hikada utaru, but aparently she identifies as nonbinary now?! Does it make me petty not to want to listen to her just because of that? Like i expected better of Japan artists but i guess even they can be delulu like american artists...

Yeah, there's been a whole discourse with Hikaru Utada because she suddenly said she didn't want to be described with gendered pronouns such as "Ms." before her name (and instead use Mx. or something like that). It's interesting to note that Hikki is fluent in English, and there was hardly any chance that someone who only speaks Japanese get so nitpicky about pronouns. 'Ms' doesn't really exist in Japanese, and actually Japanese is a pretty non gendered language (even less than English). So it's really interesting how the linguistic influence of the West took a toll of her. This statement was clearly dedicated to her Western audience, the only that would consistently use pronouns to describe her. However, she never stated she wanted to he called "she/they/them" or whatever.

Music wise, I'm not really fond of her music. I really like her 'ULTRA BLUE' album (which is famous for "Passion" which was Kingdom Hearts 2 theme) and some songs here and there though. Hikki is famous for having Jpop most groundbreaking debut at only 16 years old with "Automatic" (this song aged like fine wine tbh) by 1)being one of the biggest selling record in Japan 2)shoving R&B element in her music which was very outstanding at that time. The fact that she wrote at such a young age (and still do) all her lyrics + is fluent in English gave her a very solid 'ace' aura, and die hard fans who still to this day will jump on your throat if you 'dare' criticize their queen lol I remember someone who said that even her most upbeat/positive songs (Keep tryin', COLORS, Traveling…) always had a sad & melancholic era, and I think that's the most accurate description of her music, maybe that's why I have a hard time listening to her albums bc they (beside 'ULTRA BLUE' and 'HEART STATION' which are imo her most lighthearted ones) have this very downer, softdoom vibe~

That being said, it would be ridiculous to not listen to her just bc she has pronouns anon lol It's pretty funny how some people are getting so cranky abt pronouns-having artists and boast about how refuse to entertain anything that they do....but will have issue to keep watching/listening to movies/music of predators, sex pest and convicted rapists lmao

I always got a weird vibe from Sheena Ringo and never got remotely interested in her music. The rumors about she being a closeted Japanese nationalist just bc of her NIPPON album era (where she had her audience wave Japanese imperial flags) are insane though lmao Hopefully those people have the same energy to call out Miley Cyrus for being an American Nationalist for her song "Party in the USA" where she dances before a giant American flag 🤡

I hardly listen to new Japanese artists anymore. I replied to an ask not too long ago where I professed my love for Ayumi Hamasaki (her 10 first year of career were pristine - she really should've retired at her 10 years Complete Singles best album momentum because everything after that has pretty much been trash tbh). Her album LOVEppears is probably my favorite album of all time 🥴

I'll never be over how cute she looks on "Fly High" MV (one of my favorite of her - those platform shoes + micro short + glittery sweatshirt combo will never get old / this MV is 23 years old and that outfit is still KICKIN #legendary)

Also pretty random because that's not a band that I'm checking like that, but THE ORAL CIGARETTES 'UNOFFICIAL' album is an absolute no skip banger. I hardly remember a Jrock album that got me hooked like that those last few years😳

I have so many other Japanese acts that I love it's really insane (I am more savvy of Japanese music that western one).

Soloist wise, I grew up in womanhood listening to Kana Nishino and her music is literally the soundtrack of my early 20s. We were born only a month apart and felt so connected to her and her songs. She truly has a special place in my heart. Her debut & sophomore albums 'LOVE one.' and 'to LOVE' got 20 years old me on a CHOKEHOLD! "Motto" got me crying all my tears off a dusty lmaoooo😭 it's insane how her songs matched with my life - we truly had a connection

Tomiko Van and Kana Nishino are Jpop best vocalists imo ELLEGARDEN (rip) and ART-SCHOOL are my favorite bands of all time. ASIAN KUNG FU GENERATION and UVERworld had a decent run in the 2000s. Perfume is still kicking.....but I don't really catch up with them anymore cause I've been trying to cut out secular music off my playlist

[calaxgothard]

Under the Weather

Pairing/s: Lomino (Lola Del Carmen x Domino Swift)

Note/s: Canon Divergent, set after vol 2 in the happy timeline where things go back to normal, I am making the found family a reality

Words: 1.6k

"Domino—quit it, lay down!"

Domino groaned and fell back to the mattress, rolling onto her side and huffing a frustrated breath into her pillow. She sniffed in annoyance, curling herself up into a small ball and glaring out her bedroom window; where just outside she could hear Sonoya and Calax laughing at likely another dad joke from her dad. A dad joke she should have been present to groan and roll her eyes at but secretly find incredibly funny and then toss out one of her own.

Today her dad was throwing a BBQ, just for close family friends, and of course—she was sick.

She'd caught a cold of all things, Lola suspected it was from her late night ride with Sonoya and Cal; they hadn't even been out that long but of course she hadn't accounted for the winter weather and had one less layer on than she should have. And now she was paying for it—feeling utterly miserable and sorry for herself while her friends enjoyed all her dads cooking.

"You did this to yourself Dom, stop moping and get some rest." Lola chides gently, tossing the damp rag she'd had draped over her forehead into the bowl she'd had beside her bed. She was wearing a cute pink romper with a floral pattern, her pink hair half done up with a flower crown provided by Sonoya sat perfectly on her head. She looked like a princess—and Domino looked like a slug. A gross, sweaty, pyjama wearing slug.

Domino rolled over before Lola could turn and leave, reaching out for her girlfriend's arm and holding onto it with a weak grip.

"You'll stay up here with me, right Lo?" She did her best to bat her eyes but with how itchy and red they were she doubted it had the effect she was aiming for. Lola shot her a sympathetic smile but shook her head gently, stepping closer to lean over the bed.

"And catch whatever you have? Not a chance babe." She pecked Domino's sweaty forehead before pulling the covers up to her chin, tucking her in despite her whines and protests. Domino would have put up more of a fight if she wasn't so damn exhausted, her limbs felt like lead and she got a wave of dizziness whenever she tried to lift her head. This sucked and it sucked even more that it was happening during a BBQ she helped plan!

She was looking forward to her dad's classic BBQ pork chops all week. Life was so unfair.

"I'm dying and you're going to go enjoy a hot dog, what kind of girlfriend—"

"Don't even go there as a joke, we know how that goes." Lola gave her a pointed look, putting a hand on her hip and Domino tucked the bottom half of her face under the covers in submission. She had a good point and just this one time she was going to avoid putting her foot in it.

"We'll save you a plate with a lil bit of everything on it, m'kay?" Lola smiled over her shoulder, pausing by the door to catch the forlorn pout and stubborn glare on Domino's face.

"...Yeah okay."

"I love you Dom." Lola cooed, closing the door behind her.

"Love you too…"

Downstairs, Sonoya was perched on the outside setting table, wearing short overalls that complimented her short blue hair that was done up in small pigtails. She closed one eye, sticking out her tongue as he aimed a peanut at Cal's open mouth. She shot—and he caught it!. His arms shooting up in victory as she cheered and clapped for them both. Cal was wearing a simple tee and Jean combo, with his hair done up in a half-do with a flower crown matching the ones on Lola and Sully's heads.

Lola walked out as Sully flipped the last pork chop onto a serving plate; two set aside on a stacked plate already made up for Domino. He didn't skimp when it came to his baby.

"How's she doin'?" He asked as Lola took a seat across from Cal and Sonoya who turned their attention to her as she did so.

"I have a feeling she'll be trying to worm her way down the stairs in a half hour, so better than this morning anyway." She smiled and Sully chuckled, setting down the plate in the middle of the table and taking a seat beside her. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with plain shorts,a casual look fitting of a BBQ.

"That's my Domino." He hummed to a chorus of agreements. Sonoya slid back into her seat and the four of them got properly stuck into the food; Sonoya and Cal stacking up their plates while Lola and Sully took one thing at a time to eat.

"I still feel bad for convincin' cricket to come out for that ride last night," Cal muttered somewhere between tearing a piece of a freshly buttered roll and taking a chomp of a pork chop; Lola wincing at the crumbs tumbling down his beard.

"She didn't have to ride through that stream though, it was your fault she got sick Cal, Dom takes her own risks and deals with the consequences." Sononya says through bites of a corn on the cob, eyes closing in appreciation for the buttered veg.

"Not gracefully though." Lola chimes in and the table laughs, broken only by the sound of a window sliding up aggressively.

"I can hear you!" Domino's voice is scratchy and doesn't carry nearly as well as she'd wanted it to and they all tilt their head up to look at her.

"Hey! You're lookin' just fine to me Dom, love the underbag eyeshadow," Cal threw a thumbs up her way with a cheeky grin and she tossed back the finger with an unimpressed glare. Sonoya giggled, Cal lowering his arm as she tugged it down.

"Go back to bed Domino!" Lola shouts up at her with a stern state, tossing her hand up to point an accusing finger at her. Domino shrunk back but let out a pathetic whine, tossing her arms over the window frame and closing her eyes.

"The faster you get some rest the faster you'll be back on your feet, we can plan another BBQ—with no late night ride this time." Sully called up to her, waving his fork at her with a singular sausage stabbed through the prongs. Domino's form sunk away with one last dramatic cry and the table was a mix of shaking heads and amused chuckles.

"What a handful." Sonoya joked, popping an onion ring into her mouth. Calax snorted, mouth full of his hot dog so he could only raise his eyebrows and nod at the sentiment.

"You don't know the half of it." Lola sighed, affection in her tone as she glanced at Sully. He shared a small look, the kind of look saying she was a handful worth dealing with.

Later, after Cal and Sonoya had helped clean up and said their goodbyes, Lola brought up a reasonably filled plate up to Domino. Her girlfriend had been fast asleep, finally for once having taken their advice to heart and catching some shut eye. It almost made Lola not want to wake her but once she was halfway into the room Domino's eyes fluttered open.

"Lo." She croaked and smiled, blinking a few times as she woke herself up. Lola smiled and brought the plate and cutlery over the the nightshade.

"I wasn't sure if you'd feel up for BBQ food but Sully said to just being it up anyway."

Domino's eyes sparkled and she pulled herself up into a sitting position faster than Lola could blink. She coffee in amusement as Domino swiped the knife and fork and dug into the food enthusiastically—Obviously, she was hungry.

"So I take it you're feeling better." Lola smiled and Domino nodded, mouth full of the pork chop she'd been looking forward too and skin looking much less clammy. The food would definitely help, even the greasy stuff. Loa sat on the edge of the bed, tucking one of her long legs under herself and leaning back on her arm as Domino zoned in on the plate.

"Cal and Sonoya said they'd be happy to have another BBQ sometime, Sonoya doesn't have another big race for a month at least so we should be able to figure something out." Lola tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and Domino swallowed her food, wiping her mouth with her fingers and holding her hand in the air before Lola tossed her the napkin she'd brought with her. She knew her Domino.

"Course Cal would be, he loves free food—and Sonoya just loves me." Domino flashed a grin, Lola rolling her eyes and falling back onto the bed. She was right on both accounts, her friends were not very hard to figure out nor did they make an effort to be. Their honesty was refreshing, Lola had enough of double lives and secrets.

She was happy with what they had now, even if Domino still did the occasional reckless thing like night driving through streams during winter.

"Did you have a good time?" Domino's voice pulled her from her trance and she notes then how she leant over her, obviously done with her meal and dark eyes searching her own.

"I always do," she mused, "even the dragging your butt to bed and wrangling you to get ten minutes of sleep wasn't too bad."

Domino grinned sheepishly, the smile melting into something much softer as she gazed back at Lola in a comfortable silence for a few moments.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Lo."

"Anything for you Dom."

[mint-moon25]

TOTAL - OVER - $313 - TAX - $18.82

2 - LOCATIONS - DELIVERY

AMAZON - PRIME

THE UPS STORE - DUE - 3 MONTHS

FINAL - MONTH - ACUPUNCTURE

$45.45 - OR - I'M - CALLING THEM

LEFT - WITH - $130

TRY VIRAL VAULT . com

$67 - TAX - DEDUCTIBLE

2 MONTHS - $0.25 - EACH

THIS - MONTH - $1.00

MAY - 2024

END - OF - DEBTS

30 PIECES - BLK - BUNGEE - BALLS

GETTING - NEW - $5.99 - TARP - HAS

HOLE - WILL MAKE - SMALL

VERSION - EDGES - USING - CLIPS

PREPARING - 4 - APRIL - SHOWERS

ONLY - $5.99 - FOR - 18 PIECES

AMAZING - AMAZON - PRIME

LOTS - OF - FREE - OVERNIGHT

FOLDABLE - WAGON - WHITE &

BLUE - 200 LBS - OVERLOAD - 4

LOTS - OF - AMAZON PACKAGES

CAN - B - HEAVY - DAUNTING - 2

HE - NEVER - RETURNED - MY

CERAMIC - BOWL - AS - SOLD

NOT - PAYING - TAXES AS THE

HOMELESS - WHY - LOVING IT

01 JUN - 30 NOV - MIAMI - FL

DEADLY - HURRICANE

SEASON - EACH YEAR

MIAMI - POLICE

NO - TICKETS - TAX - EVASION

LOTS - OF - FREE - CLOTHES

THEY - SELL - THEM

NEVER - SHOWERS - SAME

CLOTHES - AS - MEN - YES

ALL - OF - THEM

SAME - CLOTHES - ALL THE

TIME - 2 - SHOWERS EA DAY

CORONAVIRUS - KEPT AWAY

RAMEN - BOWL

MICROWAVE - THEN - THERE

IS - A - HOLE - EXCESS WATER

SILICONE - TOP

2 SILVER - CHOPSTICKS

ASSEMBLE - INTO - ONE

1 - PAIR - BEAUTIFUL

MY - SAVINGS - THEN

THE - 2 - CERAMICS

WITH - COVER

CUTLERY - SILVER

CHOPSTICKS - SILVER

SO - SAVED - WITH YES

ABOVE - BLUE - & PINK

EXPENSIVE - COMBO - BUT - AS

PORTABLE - BUSINESS - CRUISE

LARGEST - SHIP - IN THE WORLD

WONDER - OF - THE - SEAS

CARIBBEAN - 3 - 4 DAYS

ORLANDO - WATER PORT

BRIGHT LINE - TRAINS

FIRST - CLASS

ELECTRIC - SOCKETS

BOTH - SOPHISTICATED

BEAUTIFUL - 2 LOOK AT

SHOP CAILEY

cailey . us

I - FEEL - GREAT - WITH

PINK - SO - PEACEFUL

SINGLE - MEMBER

LLC - MIAMI - FL

LIMITED - LIABILITY

COMPANY - $138.75

LATE - FEE - $400

CARMEL - INDIANA

$31 - YEARLY - ONLINE

LATE - FEE - $10 DAILY

MAX - $250

WITH - WEATHER AND

RETENTION - TOKYO

VACCINE - TRANSFERRING

LLC - 2 - EMPLOYED - RICH

SWEET - CORN

INDUSTRIAL - CITY

HOOSIERS - BASKETBALL

CARMEL - INDIANA

SNOW - 20 DEGREES

FISHERS - NEIGHBOR

HAS - GIANT - IKEA

CHANGED - 2 - PINK - BOTH

BOTTOM SPRAYER - STRONG

LOVE - THE - MIST - NO LEAK

THE - OTHER - ONE - PUBLIX

OVER - $2 - OTHERS - LEAKS

LOVE - PINK - LOVE - PINK

BECOMES - PINK - BALL - 2 - CLEAN

WHEN - CAMPING - FAN - BECOMES

DIRTY - TAKES - IT - ALL - CHEAPER

$5.94 - SIDE - SLEEPERS - PINK YES

FOAM - PILLOW - SO - BEAUTIFUL

BAMBOO - AND - PINK - IS - BEST

GOT - THERMOS - 24 HRS - HOT

24 HRS - ICE - CUBES - AS - EACH

WEEK - PUT - ON - WARM WATER

2 - CLEAN - WITH - SOAP

BOILING - WATER - AT - LIBRARY

NIGHT - ENGLISH - TEA - 2 CLEAN

ALSO - BAMBOO - BRUSH

NEVER - DONE - THAT

HAIR - LONGER - FASTER

GOT - LEATHER - LT PINK

FINALLY - LITTLE - ENOUGH

WIDTH - 2 - FIT - FORMAT &

LAMPS - DIVIDERS - OF

MAIN - LIBRARY

WATER - PROOF

GREAT - PLACE - 2 - PUT

SILVER - HOLDER - LAPTOP

CLEANER - LOOK

CLEARS - MY - MIND

ADDING - ITEMS - MAKING

MY - SHOPIFY - ONLINE

STORE - BEAUTIFUL

COUPON - LESS - THAN - $5.95

KEYBOARD - COVER - LT - PINK

HP - 14 INCH - TOUCHSCREEN

LAPTOP - GOD - BEAUTIFUL - 2

BELOW - LONGER - BACK LIT

LIGHT - PINK - LIGHTS - NICE

LONGER - NUMERICAL - PAD

R SIDE - NOT - JUST - ABOVE

FASTER - AS - I - TYPE - $$$$

PRICES - I'M - SO - EXCITED 2

SHOPIFY - $1 - 3 MONTHS

GORGEOUS - LIGHTS NIGHTS

ON - WHITE - LAPTOP - WHITE

NEED - BOTH - MY - TRIANGULAR

NONE - BRUSH - BOTTOM - FELL

4 - FACE CREAM - INFERIOR TOO

NOW - BRUSH - CHEAPER

CREAMS - LIQUIDS - POWDER

CURCUMIN - ARTHRITIES - MY

COLDS - ALLERGIES - BODY

ACHE - GOING - 2 - DO MAJOR

CRUNCHES - 4 - 6 PACK - ABS

RUSSIAN - TWISTS - HURTS

RIGHT - NOW

UNLIKE - OTHER - CHEAPER

HAS - BLK - PEPPER - VITAL

GINGER - ALSO - IMPORTANT

3:43P - WILL - B - BACK - FOR

MY - THINGS - SAFER - THAN

HISPANIC - VULTURES

HE's - HOLDING - HOSTAGE

MY - THINGS - MURDER HER

WAIT - UNTIL - ASIAN - DIES

INDIA - OVER - 1.4 BILLION

CHINA - OVER - 1.4 BILLION

MIAMI - OVER - 400,000

SPANISH - COUNTRIES

LOW - POPULATION

ILLEGAL - PROSTITUTION

MURDERS - ROBBERIES

RAPING - RAVAGING

LOW - EDUCATION

LOW - INCOME

SPANISH - COUNTRIES

CATHOLIC - RELIGION

NAVY - SQUARE - ONLY

ONE - FREE - SHIPPING

BOTTOM - HAS - BUTTON

REMOVE - 2 - POUR H2 O

WATER - 4 - MY - HAIR

4 - DISHES - 2 WASH 2

WEARING - SAME - CLOTHES

BACK - 2 - MY - START - MORE

THAN - 1 YEAR - AGO

SATURDAYS - FREE - CLOTHES

BUT - MALE - HISPANIC

VULTURES - STOLE - EVEN FL

WOMEN - CLOTHES

THIEVES - WELL - THEN

2 - STEAL - 2 - KILL - THEY

HAVE - KNIVES - SPANISH

2 - DESTROY - LOW - GPA

NOT - SMART - LOVING IT

[makeuptipswithsai]

Hey hey! Look who's back with another blog post! Time to buckle up and get pumped for some exciting stuff!

Quick interruption, but I had to share... I'm jamming out to one of my all-time favorite artists right now! You've gotta give 'em a listen too!

Gather round, beauty lovers! Today's topic is all about those luscious lip tints, bold lipsticks, and mesmerizing eyeshadows! Can we pause for a moment and appreciate how amazing they are? This is the kind of stuff that gets my heart racing!

You haven't heard the best part yet! I have a little surprise in store for you, so hold onto your mascara wands and stay tuned until the end ★✮꩜⋆

Let's kick off with my all-time fave: lip tints!

Lip tints or stains are the cool kids of the lipstick world. They're like a secret weapon that leaves a natural flush of color on your lips, making you look like a goddess! That's why they're called "Lip stains" 💋 They're like a love note from nature to your lips ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

Let's get to the fun part! I've got some lip tints that are totally worth raving about ʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ

Lately, I've been flirting with YSL's lip tints, and holy moly! But wait, there's more! Their lipsticks are totally next-level! Can't get enough!

Shade: YSL Vinyl Cream Lip Stain, Burgundy Vibes ✧˖°

Shade: YSL Vinyl Cream Lip Stain, Psychedelic Chili ୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆ .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

To get a closer peek, I decided to play Picasso and swatched those shades right on my wrist!

It's timeeeee!

Lipsticks ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

Ready for some lip-smacking fun? Let's uncover the secrets to choosing the perfect lipstick for your skin tone!

Remember when we played detective with our skin undertones to unlock the secret to our perfect foundation match? Well, the same game applies to lipsticks too!

- If your veins are green and your undertone is warm, go for juicy peaches or rich browns to make your lips pop! 💚 - If your veins are blue and your undertone is cool, reach for cherry reds or cute pinks to make your lips go "wow!" 💙 - If you're a hybrid with neutral undertones, then lucky you! You can slay any hue you please! 💚💙 ˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧˚.🎀༘⋆ Of course, this is just one way to discover your lipstick soulmate, and I'm not one to be a gatekeeper. So, check out the linked video for more tips and tricks!

Excuse the grubby bag, it's a birthday treat I'm still cherishing! I had to show you guys my birthday haul...and yeah, it's totally blog-worthy!

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*. °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Remember when I confessed my love for Chanel makeup? Well, I simply couldn't keep this beauty a secret any longer! (╥﹏╥) shade: 772 Coco Gloss 💄

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛

Eyeshadow Pallets ✨

૮₍•᷄ ࡇ •᷅₎ა

Get ready to sparkle and shine, my glam squad! It's time to dive into a world of colors and glitter for our eyes! I've been counting down the seconds for this moment! ✩₊˚.⋆

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Let me show off my go-to eyeshadow palette. Don't expect any dull shades here, though! My eyes are all about the bling, so glitter is my jam! I like to keep it simple ˙ᵕ˙

✧˖°.🍒ֶָ֢⊹ ࣪ ˖🍓₊ ⊹✧

This palette's shades are all about that natural, subtle glow. I'm all for keeping it simple yet sparkling, which is why the Natasha Denona 15-Color Eyeshadow Palette is the one for me! *ੈ✩‧₊₊˚⊹♡

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Guess what? I just got my claws on an ombre eyeshadow palette! Can you believe it was a birthday gift? And to top it off, it's CHANEL! I can't stop going gaga over the gorgeous shades. ଘ(੭˃ᴗ˂)੭

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Hey, remember when I teased about a certain eyeshadow that I was hesitant to share? Well, brace yourself, it's finally here! This shade is seriously stunning 🤩, like a unicorn frolicking in a field of rainbows. °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ I took a risk and ordered from a brand I've never tried before, but boy oh boy, it was totally worth it. I'm over the moon 🌑 with this purchase! ☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆ That's a wrap on today's blog, folks! But, hold up 😲, I've got a surprise for you! Are you ready? 🥳

I'm about to bless your feed with my talented friend's Instagram. Brace yourself for some jaw-dropping makeup artistry, people! Trust me, her skills are next level. 😉

I told you guys!!!

Check out her instagram @kerisa.mua for more !

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

That's all for today, folks! I wish I could spill more tea but let's save that for the next round! Oh, and speaking of next time, what's up for the holidays? Any exciting plans? Can't wait to hear from you guys!

Miso is in the christmas mood ! 🎄🎅

stay safe beauties ∧,,,∧ ( ̳• · • ̳) / づ♡

[officialtayley]

i'm so bored because twitter is dead, so tell me ash what's your favourite hayley's hair colours? mine fav is that red from late 2014. i also loved blue 2014, and yellow 2016

help same like i have just woke up and i've somehow hit the rate limit already (i 100% have not) so anyway! half pink half orange, red from late 2014 too it was my fav red shade, orange & blue combo from gma 2014 and then yellow 2015/2016 oh and the more natural blonde she went at the end of 2018 too

[elenaxrodriguez]

LOVE ME H O P E L E S S.

[bengiyo]

Love in the Air Ep 4 Stray Thoughts

And we're back! Immediately beginning with warnings about this street racing situation. I suspect Payu doesn't have much of a say in participation if he wants to keep his clientele. Also curious who is clearly summoning Rain to appear before him.

Rain smacks as he eats. Pain.

Payu is so funny. Voice of the author coming through on "I don't date underage people" aka "Y'all know who I am, but even I have my lines."

"Before you design a house, you need to design your life." Okay, sir, let's put that on a poster and add it to the web store!!! Payu is interesting in how he tries to shelter Rain from his life with valid, if somewhat paternalistic, concerns.

Rejection is hard for me, so I do feel for Rain on this.

I don't remember Som being in the show before this, but he is also attractive. Rain at least has folks who clearly care about him.

Another hot man has entered the plot. No name. Just bro vibes.

I like the dynamic between Rain and Sky. I won't ship them, but I like it.

Also loved that transition, with Rain all determined, only to be immediately ignored by Payu.

I know it's probably because of their names, but it is nice to see a show using the abundant rainfall of Thailand consistently.

Why does Payu have two jobs? What's the tea here between the architecture work and the shop? I also love how the twin brother has just off-looking facial hair. He only shows up to berate Payu about Rain.

I am going to tease this show a lot, but really only About Youth is competing on pure attractiveness of the leads.

I'm gonna need Sig to wash his ass and his clothes. You were just playing a stern doctor, sir!!

Oh shit! I like this light blue jacket with a yellow shirt combo on Payu! Also, Rain your midriff is showing. Please cover up.

Oh good. I'm not keen on BL doing any initiation when one of them is asleep. We can all relax for a brief moment.

Okay, I enjoyed the comedy of the double-interruption.

Oh my god who is in charge of lighting, because this pink shirt looks so good on Rain? They consistently get lighting right in this show.

Baby boy, please turn this work in. I can't watch you rest while I think you're somehow gonna mess this up.

I feel like Rain's house has been used in BL before....

I wasn't actually expecting an answer about the two jobs, but thank you, Twin Brother Saifa, for answering.

Drag baby around!

Gas is too expensive for all this driving around!

Ugh, I want to fully enjoy this kiss, but these lips is looking a bit chapped.

We've definitely used this school in BL many times.

Oh good, baby boy passed.

Ah yes, let's foreshadow a phone dying dramatically. I eagerly await the crisis. I hope it involves a downpour.

Yes!! It's raining!! Baby boy stay getting drenched in this show! I live in a rainy city and can tell you that this is NOT comfortable.

I am so relieved that these boys are (hopefully) not wearing pants in the tub. It's been throwing me for a loop lately in BL that the Thai boys keep having bathing scenes with whole wet pant legs

Also, thankfully, we rehydrated the boys before this scene. Lips are intact!

I like Payu's apology. It felt sincere. They don't always in genre, despite the narrative intent.

Huge props to this show for not making BL boys seem dickless.

I am reminded of the actor commentary on the Shelter (2007) dvd about the fellatio scene and how Trevor was on the bed alone for much of that.

Hold on! Hold on! That quick cut of him moving the car model to grab a single condom just took me out!!

Oh no the subs went out. Let's see if a reload fixes. Nope, the timing just suddenly seems off.

Alright, I am glad this show is using condoms on screen, but once again for the young people: please do not open condoms with your teeth so you don't accidentally tear them, please use lube, and take time to warm up and relax!

Okay, well that was fun. I suppose it's time to crank up the drama.

[bonnymori]

𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐢 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Word count: 1200+

Contents/Warnings: (1) Fushiguro Megumi x gn!Reader (2) Classic training but no fighting scene I apologise (3) A... dirty humor joke? (4) Idiot in love cough cough (5) Laidback romance, this may become a pattern on my fanfiction :3

A/N: Hello, I introduce myself as Hara! This is my very first written piece! I would like to apologise for any typos, english is not my first language; that being said, I hope this works out alright! :)

It's around mid afternoon, the sky painted in a vibrant blue with multiple clouds scattered around, Fushiguro recalls having started training right after lunch; he politely declined Maki's suggestion of training together, it wasn't about strength or fighting hand to hand today, the struggle was his shikigami. Lately, he's been having problems over teamwork - before, he thought such a thing was impossible, since all of the shikigami were under one will alone, being his. Yet the amount of times the divine dogs have bumped into eachothers, sometimes Nue would simply skip past the target, not paying attention to it at all.

Or perhaps, he himself was to blame. Fushiguro likes thinking about you, more than he'd admit, but now it's starting to distract for real. That's what he need, to think of you- I mean, concentration! And maybe, new group attacks, that would do nicely, too.

He's been beating a tedious dummy for a hour and half now, maybe more. After managing to make up a combo or two, he sits down on the grass, just to breathe for a moment. Breathing is nice, he observes as the divine dogs go slack like their owner, now playing around with one another rather than chewing the dummies stuffing. His black and white snake is watching the banter between the canine shikigamis, tongue coming in and out just like a real snake. Nue settles upon the dummies ragged body, eyes closed- peacefully enjoying sunbathing. Fushiguro had no idea they were so lively until now, now he knew why people constantly asked if they could pet his shikigami.

He glances down at the frog supporting his arm, it's like they enjoy just laying on grass, just breathing like him.

"How many buddies out! Are you training today, Fushiguro?"

At the sound of your voice, you bet his lips casually turn upwars in a casual yet small smile. Kugisaki saw it from distance once, says she it's almost a robotic response.

"Yes, I'm training their cooperation." Fushiguro replies, swiftly getting up. He notices the frog from earlier making a beeline to you, as if to say hello.

So you crouch down and pets it briefly, smiling at the small creature.

"That ought to be hard, specially with a innefective dummy." You approach its remains, chuckling at all the stuffing and cloth scattered around. "Make me your target instead!"

Say what?

"I uh, come again?"

"I'll do the running and dodging, it's much practical this way!"

He has trouble accepting that, even if it's true. You mean more than an ally on his heart, and besides, that's some Itadori-level-recklessy. So he groans, slightly irritated and obviously, worried for your safety. "You'll get hurt."

"Don't we get hurt everyday? Even if there is an accident, I know you'll call them out and help me quickly, you notice things fast."

He does, Fushiguro would help you in a heartbeat- probably faster.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, lash out on me!"

Putting 'lash' and 'me' in the same phrase got heat rising on his ears, but he complied nonetheless. "Just letting you know, I'll stand here and the shikigami attacks."

You protest. "Wouldn't it be better if you fought among them?"

"For today, I'd like to focus on their compatibility only."

"Oh, got it! Next time we can work on the latter option then!" Next time. He wants there to be a next time.

Even though you're the one troubling his mind in battles, he's head over heels. He remembers when it all started, your relationship is basically pools worth of quality time. You came along with Itadori, tangled into the mess back in Sendai. Strangely, Fushiguro clicked with you even faster than Itadori- your collected personality was a great factor, even though you are just as cheerful as the cherry boy.

"You're spacing out, what's up?"

Fushiguro's gaze snapped up to meet yours, realizing his mistake. "Ah, nothing, let's start." His hands folded as your guard rose, so it begun. If you noticed his lame excuse, you didn't comment about it.

The ravenette was pleasantly relieved how easily you could deceive and dodge his attacks, his shikigami may leave a tear or two on your clothes, that he didn't have to worry about, because they're easily fixable. Naturally, the toughest for you to dodge was mostly his snake, sometimes Nue would surprise you from above, nothing you couldn't handle. He started intensing up using the combined attacks, and immediately noticed your faltering steps, earning a bruise on your calf. Although neither he or you stopped, adrenaline rushing through veins nonstop.

You somehow finished training with a bite mark over your forehead, not deep enough to be worth worry. The instant your bodies came to slack, his shikigami ran to you like little children lost in a supermarket. At this point, it was pratically multitasking, to pet both demon dogs while trying not to run out of breath having Orochi wrapped around your midsection. Megumi flushed over the affectionate antics, knowing they were a manifestation of feelings within himself.

Now, you and Fushiguro are spawled on the training field, neither showered, coated with sweat sticking to your clothes, but it didn't matter much.

"I never realized, just how many cursed energy do you have? It's surprising how many shikigami you kept our for this long time." Fushiguro heard you shifting to sit up, and followed you up.

"A bunch." It was not a creative nor informative answer, but you took it in with a smile on your face anyway.

He watched you get up to fetch a drink, careful to not trip over the shikigami also scattered around -- Fushiguro always 'forgot' to put them away next to you.

You handed him a strawberry yogurt box, the same drink also sat in your hands. "Well then, why are you spacing out so much these days? You can be honest with me."

'She's oblivious enough, I'm in need of advice, it's convenient.' So he thought, figuring if he disguised it enough, you wouldn't be able to tell. It's not a big deal if you did, though, saves time actually.

"Something's on my mind, and it troubles me during fights."

"Simple, you can just come in terms with it."

He glanced down, "Why?"

"The sooner the better, when you accept something, it comes at ease on your mind. I'm a hundred percent sure it works!" You gave him a thumbsup, slurping on the pink drink.

"Such faithful source."

"I'm sure it does! The thought keeps coming back because you're denying it, am I wrong?"

Not really, no. Fushiguro wants to keep it as friendship for the sake of your both careers within the jujutsu world; he knows it's dangerous, yet a part of him just wants to say 'fuck it', like if he had the guts to. The ravenette thinks it's a way too much generic way to describe what he feels, but it's the easiest, so he goes with it anyway. The back of his brain fears rejection, part of the reason why he hasn't made a move yet.

"I'll try it out."

"Good!" And you're always supportive no matter what, to the point it charms him more and more everyday.

For now, he's okay keeping it platonic. But, when the day after tomorrow comes, he just might confess.

[kentos-filmcamera]

10 times, 1 occasion - Inumaki Toge

7. Festivities

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

A/N: hi hi! soo a few things: I would like to warn that this chapter shows a more feminine side of the reader so if anyone is uncomfy,, you've been warned. this chapter is just friendship and ships (there's nobara x maki and yuuji x megumi if you squint a bit) and it's 3.0k words (new record!!!!!) so buckle up and enjoy! also, next chapter is my favorite so far so go read it as soon as you're done with this.

Toge persisted you to rest for the past three days, as you were indicated. He sat by your bedside so you wouldn’t go anywhere, always keeping your injured ankle raised and your head comfortable, helping you to change bandages from time to time. Even then, you persisted to go as normal and continue with your duties.

“So hot…” Maki complained from your green couch, her glasses set aside as she covered her eyes from the sun with her forearm.

“I think you should stop hugging Kugisaki, then” Megumi suggested, the redhead laying on top of her, but he just received a death glare.

“Shake” Toge agreed with Maki, laying on top of Panda, who was snoring loudly. You, on the other hand, were on top of Yuuji’s shoulders, working on your damaged air conditioner.

“Gimme the flat screwdriver, ‘Gumi” You extended your hand, the other one holding one of the filters of the AC.

Your air conditioning system broke down once a year, and you knew it was because of the dirty filters. For some reason, everyone decided to hang out in your room, so extra help was usually given out to you. Maki and Nobara cleaned the filters, Panda and Toge first assisted you and then the help shifted to Megumi and Itadori. The last one was more than glad to have a pair of thighs wrapped around his neck, and his smile displayed so as Inumaki and Megumi both stared him down to oblivion. With the screwdriver now in your hand, you pressed each filter well to its original place. You closed the lid and Yuuji plopped you down on your bed, making you laugh.

You reached in to click on the air conditioner, it turned on normally and after a few minutes, it wasn’t leaking water anymore. “It’s fixed” You heard a collective sigh you let out yourself, feeling the cold air fill the room.

Itadori laid down on the floor by your mini-fridge and Megumi sat at the edge of your bed, next to your feet. You were all so overwhelmed by the heat, no one really wanted to speak, just take in the fake rise in temperature to calm down their sweating and corporal heat.

Just as you were falling into pure, calm bliss, you heard bass thumping from down the hall. You opened your eyes and raised your head towards the door, at the same time everyone else did, confused. Queue in Gojo with a boombox from the 90s, playing ‘Congratulations’ by Post Malone. There was now a collective groan in annoyance as he walked in and faced the bunch of sweaty teens.

“Good afternoon my amazing students!” There was another collective groan in response. No one didn’t even bother raising their heads once more to look at him, and Megumi just turned his face away slightly. Everyone was grumpy or simply not in the mood “I am here to give out great news! Everyone who has tried for first-grade sorcerer has been officially promoted! Congratulations!”

Suddenly, the aura of the room shifted. Everyone was upright, in a mix of shock and happiness. Nobara started screaming out in happiness with Maki, while you, Megumi, Gojo, and Itadori started jumping on your bed in a circle, holding hands. Inumaki was hugging Panda.

“Let’s throw a party! A fancy one!” Itadori suggested, and everyone cheered. Gojo seemed very fond of the idea, as he laughed.

“Dress code is suit and tie, I’ll see you all in the common dining room at 8! Now if you excuse me, I have a party to plan!” Gojo jumped out of the bed, picked up his speaker, and sprinted out of the room. You came down from your bed and threw yourself into Toge’s arms, who pulled you closer in by your waist. You laughed and nuzzled into his neck happily; he was smiling proudly.

“Oh my god! We need to go shopping!” Nobara realized, grabbing Maki’s wrist and snatching you away from Inumaki to head out the door.

“Wait, I need my wallet!” You screamed, but Toge ran after you to give you the tote bag you carried for trips outside the school. You blew him a kiss as he waved you goodbye.

“I’m dressed so inappropriately to go out” Maki groaned as Nobara rushed you on.

“Don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand so no one flirts with you” Nobara beamed at her and then wink, making Maki fluster. You laughed and elbowed her in the ribs, wiggling your eyebrows.

“I can’t believe I'm going to have to third wheel today!” You laughed, watching as both women turned crimson.

Nobara insisted on shopping in the Harajuku district and looking at her eyes gleaming while passing different stores was like watching a kid in a candy store. Surprisingly, she was the pickiest one out of the three. Maki found her outfit first, a black blazer and pants combo with a black mesh button-up that had Nobara drooling. You found a black silk slip dress that reached down your calf, a slit on one of the legs with a loose neckline that reached down your collarbones. Nobara found a black dress that reached a bit down to her knees, it was strapless with a see-through long sleeve with roses. She laughed at the irony of it, considering the poison she was infected with last week manifested in roses on her skin. After that, you went to grab a bite, the three of you talking about everything, anything and nothing at the same time. You noticed the flirtatious remarks between your companions, happy that both had decided to move their attraction to flirting, rather than just staring at each other all the time. You returned to Jujutsu High around 3 PM, more exhausted than ever, you threw your bag to a corner, kicked off your sneakers, and threw yourself on the bed face down, falling asleep in that same starfish position.

“Aw, she’s asleep” You heard a voice comment. You thought it was only a dream and continued on napping. “Let’s just let her rest”

“Are you crazy? They promised to do our makeup! That’s three people already!” Another hushed voice chimed in.

“Tuna mayo” A third voice hummed. You were already back fast asleep as someone tried to shake you awake gently, only to fail miserably.

Toge sighed and squatted down, his face to level yours. Even with your mouth ajar, your duvet darkening from your saliva, and your slightly loud breathing, he loved how you looked so serene that what he was about to do next he found very cruel.

Delicately, he moved your hair away from your ear, swooping it to the other side of your face. Right there, he was taken away by your sleeping beauty; purples, oranges, and blues chiming into light your face as the sun went down. He sighed, half-smiling “Wake up”

He watched as your eyes popped open and you sat up, rigid. “What day is it?” You wondered, scratching your head and yawning, disoriented after the sudden surge of energy running through your body. Toge sat down by your side and placed his hand on your bare waist. You noticed lately he was even more touchy than usual.

“What day is it?” Nobara mocked you, a vein in her forehead palpitating. “You need to do our makeup! Hurry! You haven’t even showered!” She snatched you away from Toge and pushed you inside your bathroom. You heard a light ‘Tsk!’ outside from Inumaki, who has proven time to time really appreciate you being snatched away from him. “And you! Get out!” Kugisaki ushered him out of the room, slamming the door in his face.

“A little harsh, huh?” Maki said, turning to Nobara, who just rolled her eyes.

“I don’t care” She shrugged before taking out her hair straightener and a heat protector. You chuckled from inside the bathroom before taking your phone out of your pocket and connecting it to the Bluetooth speaker on the wall next to the bathroom mirror. You shuffled the playlist Toge made you a while ago and turned on the faucet.

“I hope you’re not going on a world tour right now! We don’t have time to listen to you all the way to your fiftieth stop in London!” You heard Nobara knock and shout at you from the other side of the door.

You rolled your eyes “Maki, keep your girl in check!” You shouted back before stripping and stepping into the shower. You were in the middle of your third song, washing the suds away from your body and giving your rendition of “Cognac Queen” by Megan Thee Stallion when Nobara opened the door and dragged you out of the shower. It became a struggle, and you were only able to grab the pink fluffy robe that hung on your door.

You fixed Maki’s hair by pulling it half up with a small claw clip, leaving her bangs out. Then you applied the lightest layer of makeup, with the dark eyeliner she requested. Nobara, on the other hand, asked for a full face with a red lip. On the other hand, you went for a light look, with a striking eye and a glossy lip. Then, the three of you rushed to get changed as you realized it was almost ten minutes before 8. As you exited the dorm, you wrapped a white ballerina-style cardigan, taking one last look at yourself at the entrance mirror before Nobara dragged you out of there. The three of you walked to the common room carefully, the door opened slightly.

You heard a couple whistles as you entered the room, you humored the boys, Nobara looked slightly mad while Maki ignored them. You realized that for the occasion Toge wasn’t wearing anything that covered his mouth, and made it evident it was a bit ajar watching you arrive. You said hello to the staff, greeting Nanami happily, who seemed pleased with your recovery and being slightly confused at why Utahime was there. You then headed over to greet your classmates, ending up with Toge.

“You look very handsome” You chuckled, and reached in to fix the strands of hair that fell on his forehead. He was wearing a sage green shirt, black trousers, and thin black suspenders. He shrugged a little and blushed as you touched him, leaning slightly into your touch.

“Shake” He nodded, and held your hand briefly, accepting the compliment. You blushed and looked down before taking your hand away from his face, afraid you were overstepping.

The party was light, everyone chatted and conversed lightly. Itadori seemed very busy on his phone, while Megumi spent all his energy trying to grab his attention. Yuuji called out for you, making you pull away from your conversation with Toge and Panda, who looked dashing in a yellow bow tie. He also called out for Panda. “I need your help,” He said nervously “I saw a speaker with lights in your room, can you go bring it here? Also, please wait at the entrance for someone. Panda, I need you as a distraction”

You excused yourself and left swiftly, fitting your cardigan once more. You walked the way up to your room, taking the squared-shaped, medium-sized speaker with half spheres on top, grabbing the aux cord just in case. Holding the speaker by its handle, you followed the trail to the entrance quietly.

“What is this?” You frowned upon seeing the students of the Kyoto sister school facing you. You raised your brows and Mai and Momo narrowed their eyes back to you, but the rest didn’t. Your eyes fell into the liquor store bags Todo held in his hands, then it all made sense. A smirk crept onto your face as Todo watched your change of expression and laughed. A party with the Kyoto students didn’t seem half as bad, and hey, maybe the stone-cold Soju can solve things out between everyone there.

Soon, you heard a couple of explosions and fireworks and some commotion coming from the common room. “Let’s go” You picked up the skirt of your dress a little to run a little easier, the rest following after you. You noticed everyone outside watching an impromptu firework show as you sneaked in the Kyoto students to the now dark room. Slowly, the rest of the Tokyo students sneaked back to the common room, Itadori locking the door in.

“Okay Panda, that was fun, but can we— huh?!” Gojo realized the locked doors and drawn windows. He tried to force the door open but it was closed shut.

“Oh finally. Can we go to a bar now?” Shoko sighed “Let them be Satoru, they’re in the blink of death every day, let them party”

“Can we all pretend they didn’t do that and we were here all the time chaperoning?” Gojo gave in easily, changing his usual blindfold to black, round sunglasses. Everyone made a noise in agreement and the staff left, feeling the bass pumping under their feet, the surges of different colored lights leaking out of the shut windows.

At first, the party was tense. Everyone was just staring at the other from across the room. You were busy in the background trying to plug in your phone and sync it to the speaker’s Bluetooth. Then, Todo gave a lengthy speech about sorority and brotherhood, and how you should all solve your differences so you could… get drunk and nasty together. In fact, it didn’t take long for the party to lighten up and turn into a club scene. By the third round of shots, mostly everyone was hot and bothered, all the tables moved aside to create a makeshift dance floor. Surprisingly, Panda was an incredible bartender, and he was out to kill; his drinks were packed with alcohol, but fruity and candied flavors hid it all and made it even more addicting. By your third drink, you ripped open the seam of the dress, creating another slit for you to move better.

You, Nobara, and the Zen’in twins were incredible dancers, but you didn’t really expect it from Itadori. He had all the spice down in his hips and the way he could shake his ass like his name was Cardi B. He joined in after his third shot with the song ‘Up’

“Broke boys don’t deserve no pussy!” Todo shouted to the song for the rest to respond.

“I know that’s right!” Everyone answered, except for Toge, before you continued dancing. Now more than ever you felt the euphoria of having money. First-grade sorcerers gave you a considerable amount of money, even if you were just a student.

“Yuuji!” Your mouth dropped to the floor, looking at him, before cheering him on along with the others. By the makeshift bar, a flustered Megumi joined by a sober Inumaki watched him dance, not knowing what he should do in that situation.

Then, as if you were reading his mind, you showed him what he should be doing; standing behind him and grabbing his hips. Soon as Nobara did the same with you, followed by Maki, followed by Mai, followed by Todo, making a train. On the other corner, there was some smoke coming up. You never thought you could have this much fun with people.

Another song started playing “It’s my homegirl, we got the same tattoos!” Itadori pulled you close to him while Todo recorded, and you laughed.

“Don’t accuse me of shit if you ain’t got proof!” You sang along, pointing to the camera, following along.

“What if we got matching tattoos?” Itadori turned to you, and you both frowned to think it hard.

“I think that’s enough” Megumi pulled your drink away from your hand.

“‘Gumi, relax. Go take a shot or a hit from Kamo in the corner, it’s a party! C’mon!” You pulled him to the dance floor, both him and Yuuji as you both threw it back on him to the song. This time, Megumi caught clues from earlier and shyly placed his hands on Itadori’s hips. You stopped and nodded, patting him on the back and walking away, a bit clumsily.

“Do we have any more water left?” You asked Panda, feeling your throat and eyes dry from the intoxicating substances. Panda nodded happily and gave you some water. You had reached your limit and decided it was time to sweat off the drinks and hydrate yourself.

“Oh my bad, that’s vodka,” He said as your mouth went into a thin line as you recognized the strong taste and scent. Inumaki snickered “Here”

“Tell me it’s not vinegar this time” You joked, taking a loud sniff of the liquid, and it was in fact, water. You took a large gulp, as you heard thunder followed by the soft pitter-patter of the rain. “Oh, it’s raining” You turned to Inumaki, who looked stunned at your drunken beauty. Your eyeliner was smudged, and so was your lipstick. There was some hair sticking to the nape of your neck due to the sweat. He could swear he saw some drops running down the small of your back. He gulped and looked away.

“You’ve been here all night, love; c’mon, let’s dance” You set your cup down and took Toge’s hand, pulling him out of his seat. The only reason this party was going along all well was that alcohol made you more straightforward, which made you all sultry towards your evident crush.

You noticed he was paler than usual “What’s wrong? Do I make you nervous?” You whispered in his ear, your hand slowly climbing from his hand all the way up to his neck, where you caressed the area. You never could have known alcohol made you that bold, and such a, well, maneater. At his lack of an answer, you just chuckled and took his hand, guiding him elsewhere.

Everyone at the dance floor greeted him more than enthusiastically, and suddenly, every insecurity Toge was holding deep inside of him throughout the whole party had disappeared. He blinked several times as you smiled at him as radiant as ever. “Let’s dance!” He nodded and smiled back. I love you.

[introvert-celeste]

Before I fangirl over there newest ep of toh, I need to fangirl over these rocks I bought yesterday!

Here's a beautiful piece of tumbled rhyolite. It has two deep blueish-purple transparent parts that i just can't do justice for with my phone's camera, but it's really striking, especially against the mostly flat colors on the rest of the stone. I especially love how the blue sections are framed with white lines. It's like a mini piece of art.

I love the flash on this peach moonstone. It reminds of when a thunderstorm tools in and you are the dirty-looking orange clouds with distant flashes of lightning behind them. Gorgeous!

This is my first piece of cinnabar. On the one hand, it looks like a robin's egg and reminds me of Easter candy. On the other hand, since I had a tooth extracted recently, it kinda reminds me of a bloody tooth 🤢

Here's a lovely little piece of tumbled satin jasper. I just love how soft the stripes look on this, and the thin black line through the middle is a neat little detail.

This is the deepest purple lepidolite I've ever seen! It's so, so pretty and I'm in love with the subtle silver flecks in it. For context:

This is another piece of lepidolite I own and this the shade they typically come in. This one is technically worth more because of the prominence of the silver, but frankly I prefer the color of the newer one.

This agate half was my most expensive purchase, and it was honestly worth it. Look how cool! It looks like a sepia tone photograph of a white sandy beach, complete with a gaggle of beach patrons and the glittering water. It could go nicely next to my polychrome jasper palm stone that looks like a desert landscape.

And lastly is this other agate half that I bought solely because it reminds me of middle school lol. It looks like neon pink and zebra stripes, one of the combos of choice in the late 2000s/early 2010s.

[c-atm]

'Ohhh man, how did it come to this?" 

This was the thought of one Steven Quartz Universe. Currently, waiting on the roof of his school for one Connie Sachini Maheswaran. 

"This is so nerve-wracking!" He thought out loud as he paced in a circle and folded in front of his chest. "Why did I come here? Why did I not just leave? Oh, right, I asked her to come here!... WHY DID I ASK HER TO COME HERE?!" He yelled, scratching his head wildly. Before breathing calmly and deeply. "Don't lose focus; remember what you came here to do." He said to himself as he clenched his fist to center himself. He came with a motive.

That motive was Connie Maheswaran, and unraveling the enigma that was Connie Maheswaran. 

For some reason, beyond his knowledge, Connie was a delinquent of sorts. She didn't follow the dress code, always finding her way into a fight( which she hadn't lost one yet); she was a bit alarming to be around as well. The rumors of her snapping at a teacher were infamous, and many. She was also a bit of a bully...at least towards him. Nothing wrong or harmful, just...

"She's so damn stressful." He shouted to the blue sky.

There were other things as well that made him want to keep an eye on her. For one thing, her grades. 

While he was the top student in his class, Connie was one of the top students...In the city. She was quite the athlete and had her hand in martial arts, fencing, and tennis. 

Just this past weekend, he found out she was musically talented with the violin. He happened to spot her while walking around their city and caught her playing on the streets with some other performers collecting money, which she took none of. 

Being a savant when it comes to music himself, he could tell when someone was in love with their craft, and the melody that she produced sent shivers down his spine. From quick and powerful hip-hop to slow sensual and slow R&B to wild and rebellious rap and rock, to things he never heard before. The impromptu concert was something extraordinary. And so far from the 'Connie' in school, it's hard to imagine them as the same person, but there was no way it was anyone else but her.

"Not with those prideful black eyes." Steven started scratching his head, "where is she!?"

"Hehehe-hmm-hmm!"

Steven froze; he knew that snicker. He turned to the roof entrance to see her laying on her left side on top of the roof entrance, smirking at him with her cheek in hand.

"How long have you been there?"

"Enough to see everything." She teased, " the pacing, the head-scratching, the proclamations, and everything in between." She chuckled, seeing his nervous face. The way his lips formed a straight line, the slightly puffed cheeks, and those brown eyes that seemed to shrink just a bit, and the slight cold sweat from his head. 

'So cute, always so fun to play with.' She mused, "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show, had me waiting for quite a bit, you know." 

He blushed in embarrassment as he looked at his watch read 3:00, "sorry, had student council work. Still, 15 minutes late isn't that bad."

"I've been here since 1 p.m. Two hours spent  waiting for you." 

"I apologize for the Waitaminuet." Steven pointed at her accordingly, "You skipped afternoon classes...Again!"

"One was self-study... The other two." She paused, trying to think of a good excuse, her face cutely scrunching up. "Yeah, I skipped them." She admitted with a shrug.

Steven groaned, ready to comment, but stopped his thought as he looked closely at her, more so her legs.

So much of it was being shown from her hiked upskirt, and it didn't help hide her curves either. The loose-fitting, two-thirds button blouse and tie combo weren't better. "Come down here, so I can fix your uniform...Again!" The president barked at the smirking delinquent.

"You sure you want me to do that? You might get a glimpse of my delicates", Connie gave a faux gasp before reaching for the hem of her skirt, "of course, if that's what this is all about-." She peeled the cloth back, letting a bit of thigh show, "Guess I can show you."

"Oh, re- I mean...No, no! " Steven screamed, turning around blushing, "come down. I won't watch."

She grinned as she tipped herself over the edge, landing silently on her feet in a crouch. Seeing that he still didn't realize she was on the ground, she slowly sneaked to him, not too close. Close enough to bend over by her waist, her lips pursed by his ear.

"Fwoooooooh!"

"Ahh!" Steven screamed as he leaped from Connie's whistle. He turned with an annoyed glare at the taller girl, a corner pout on his lips as she continued to grin mischievously.

"Hello, Pres." She chirped as if she didn't scare him out of his skin.

"Connie," Steven said with a growl. Usually, it would be 'Miss Maheswaran,' but today, purpose takes precedence over professionalism.

"Wow, 'Connie' off the back and so casual too. This must be more serious than I thought." She tittered a bit mockingly, her fingers upon her lip.

"It is for me." Steven sighed as he looked at her clothes. 

The sunflower pleated skirt hiked up to just below her navel, making it look 'dangerously' short; the short sleeve white blouse unbuttoned just enough to show a bit of her sports bra for the day(pink with a star), the pink bow tie which hung more like a chain and cascaded over her breast, and the blue blazer which was two sizes too big and she wore almost like a cape. The only regulation was the navy thigh highs with red and blue sneakers and her hairstyle, a loose mid-back flow of black with a sword clip in the perfect center.

"Drink it all in, Pres." She raised her arms behind her head and slightly arched her back, giving him a flirty pose, her teasing grin ever-present. " I know you like to watch."

"DO-DO YOU EVEN HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THAT CAN BE TAKEN?!" He screeched and face cherry red.

"Given the current circumstances," she placed a few fingertips on her chin, looking upward before pointing at him, "you're attentive of your fellow schoolmates." She offered him a thumbs up and a wink. "Good job, Pres! Way to stay charmingly diligent." She laughed boisterously.

He scoffed a laugh, "I appreciate the praise, but is it true, I wonder." He sighed as he began what was almost ritual for the two of them. "Here I got a fellow schoolmate who's a little wayward and wild." He started by buttoning up her shirt," She gets into fights, she skips classes, she dresses messy and revealing," He buttoned her collar button before moving to the tie. "And she seems to love surging my blood pressure."

"Well, you do make a cute cherry, Pres." Connie countered with a grin.

"She also never takes anything seriously." He breathed in slight annoyance, "or at least, that's what it seems."

"Hmm, Is that so?"

"Yes, you see. I have seen evidence of the contrary." He undid her tie altogether before throwing the cloth over her shoulders. "Attire excluded." He let out a little smirk at his joke." I just want to know why there's such a disconnect between her school persona and the one I've seen." He implored as he tied the diamond-point bow around her neck neatly. 

Connie didn't respond as he adjusted her skirt to just above her knees, as school allowed.

"Maybe, there isn't."

Steven looked up at het to see her looking down at him with a neutral countenance. 

"Wha-"

"There isn't a disconnect." She sighed as she took a step back and then passed him towards the railing. "Do you think I come from a broken home? I don't." She hiked back up her skirt, "my Am'mā is a doctor, my Tantai is a private security guard. Both heads of their fields and currently working in Delmarva, leaving me in our nice modest brownstone." She playfully sniffs.

"You must miss them,"  Steven whispered.

"Somewhat? Not the first time." She shrugged, "plus, kind of hard to miss them. They make sure to have video chats with use every morning and evening." She chuckles, "Dad, even try to synchronize our meals, so we eat the same thing." She shook her head, smiling. 

"Sounds nice."

"Not a dream, but I'm loved and allowed independence." She stretched out the tie letting it hang at her breast as she leaned at the rail. "What about you, Pres? What made you such a hardass for rules and regulations."

"I'm not a hardass." Steven rubbed his nape, looking away as she undid her buttons as they were before. "Do I come off like one?"

She side nodded, waving her hand, "Just a bit."

"Argh." He shook his head, "wait, this isn't about me-"

"Hold on now." Connie raised her hand, "you can't just ask a question and not expect to be interrogated yourself." 

"I'm not interrogating you." Steven countered, "I just... "

"What?" She offered.

"Wanna know why!?"  He barked, "Why you act so differently in school and outside of it. Why someone with your intelligence, athleticism, talent, and allure…" He sighed, "act so lackadaisical, rebellious, and aloof." 

"Why do you care so much?" She inquired, looking upward, "

"Just...I don't know." He admitted, "it's your so questioning?"

"A lot of people act differently from business than they are in their personal life." Connie looked at him with an arched eyebrow before sighing. "Do you act the same at home as you do here?"

"Well.."

"Outside of watching me with those chocolate browns of yours, that is."

Steven eyes widen at the teasing, flirty tone of her voice. He felt a shiver down his spine when her face adopted the style.

Those long black eyebrows were dipping down over half-lidded raven eyes that twinkled in the afternoon light with soft, slightly parted, puckered lips and the slightest cherrywood blush on her brown cheeks. "You thought I wouldn't know when my favorite browns were watching me play violin on Saturday." 

"I-"

She teased as she walked up to Steven, making him red in the face as he turned away.

*Chu*

Steven turned his eyes towards her as he backed up just a little, his hand on his right cheek, trying to fight the small smirk.

"Usually, you would act much more abrasive when I kiss your cheek, Pres." she grinned, "could you actually be resilient to my charms...or maybe you're crushing on me?" She laughed in slight play.

"Why did...No," Steven clenched his fist as a scrowl came to his lips." do you always do that? Make it so hard to have a conversation with you, Connie?"

"A conversation? On what?" She folded her arms over her stomach, "on how my clothes are wrong? On how I should be more courteous to substitute teachers and not skip those classes, despite them being nothing more than extra study-halls. How I should be more forthcoming." She glared, "you don't wanna conversation, you wanna lecture." Her glare softened, "you wanna guide and help someone you think need it, and as honorable and even attractive as I find it...I don't need it. I'm not begging for attention or a lost lamb or your new pet project or whatever. "  She sighed, looking away, "I'm just who I am, and that's all I can be."

Steven rubbed the back of his head, "I know." He kissed his teeth, "I wasn't...I didn't call you up here to lecture you."

"Hmmph!"

"I swear, I didn't." He at her eyes, realizing the small moisture in them. "I really just wanted to talk."

"Yeah," She blinked a few times. "Another round of complaints, again."

"No!" Steven shouted making her jump and turn to him. He rubbed his cheek, "Sorry?"

"You're nervous."She noted with a small smile, "You scratch your left cheek when you're nervous."

"Um.." He put his hand down, only to instinctively continue scratching.

"You're reactions are so cute, Pres." She chuckled behind a fist.

"Come on; this is what I'm talking about." He muttered, "can't even tell you that I want to get to know you without being teased." He blabbed involuntarily. 

Connie felt her voice lock in her throat as her cheeks burned under her skin. "What?" 

"I want to get to know you." Steven implored nonchalantly before the implications hit him. "I mean…Um.." 

The two looked at each other with not so different eyes. Both were feeling a bashful warmness in their chest, one that rendered them too afraid to speak but urged to be anything but silent.

"I'm interested...in you, " Steven admitted to Connie and himself. "In knowing you...I mean... Outside of school." He finished, scratching his cheek.

"Just outside school?" She sighed, ignoring the warmth in her chest, as she pressed her palm to her cheek. Trying to get a rise out of him.

*Chu*

"Steven?" Connie's voice broke as she felt his lips on her other cheek. "That..you…"

"An answer to your question!" He implored, quickly, "I'm interested in you… all of you." He  announced, "That's ok, right?"

Connie wanted to tease him on his change of words, but with his hand out toward her, basically asking her to grasp it. She came to realize it wasn't a fumble of words at all. 

"Mmmhmm." She muttered, taking his hand. 

The two giggled at the feel of their warm palms. "Um...Can I walk you home, talk to you on the way?"  

The (seemingly) genius delinquent nodded at the hardworking president. "Already trying to learn about me, Pres. .Steven."

"Well," he gave her a flirty grin as he leads her to the stairs, "you did say my diligence was charming." 

"Yeah." She involuntarily squeezes his hand, "it is." She breathed out, closing the door behind them, ending one chapter of a rivalry and opening a book of friendship, love, and more.