#modern phone technology couldn't read that

[binguspoletooth]

Somehow, this is an acceptable work outfit as well as some other genre. Is this goth? Grunge? I feel a bit rocker edgy? My ass is not listening to rock music at this moment though lol

[agirlandherkinks]

Hypnovisor: Beta Test (TGTF, Hypno)

James had always been a tech super-fan. The newest phone, newest headphones, shiniest laptop, he had to stay abreast of and on top of the current trends. So when he read about some fancy new VR company that wanted beta testers for a headset, provided for free (minus shipping), his vision blurred and he signed up before he even considered finishing reading the ad.

Three weeks of anticipation and waiting passed until his doorbell finally rung, accompanied by the corresponding buzz of an email notification on his phone. Scrambling from his couch he flung the apartment door open, and to his mild surprise saw that the postman was nowhere in site. There was just a nondescript cardboard box labelled "Fragile", which fortunately bore none of the expected dents and scratches one would associate with the postal service and delicate freight. Practically bouncing with undignified delight, James scooped his parcel up and dashed back inside, barely remembering to lock the door behind him.

The headset looked even better than he had imagined. Sleek plastic curves surrounded a central visor that was just translucent enough to see through, meaning you could walk around safely if you turned a program's opacity down. It fit beautifully when he tried it on, more comfortable than anything he'd ever worn. Wearing it felt wonderful and... right, somehow. His only complaint was that the black headset was decorated in hot pink highlights, although it still looked futuristic enough to sooth his fragile masculinity. His roommate and best friend Erik certainly agreed, interspersing James' insightful comments with appropriate "Ooh's" and "Aah's". Waiting for the battery to charge seemed to take a thousand years, although chatting with each other about what it could do replaced their boredom with swiftly growing excitement.

Two hours later, a soft buzz from the headset in the corner signified its charge was complete. Erik cheered, his sandy-blonde hair bouncing behind him, and even James couldn't suppress a soft whoop of excitement. Erik unplugged it and handed it to James with a flourish and a bow, who accepted it with a suitable stuffy speech. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but he was so giddy with anticipation he felt he could match Erik's goofiness for once. The advertisement had promised unmatched realism, a luxurious fit, and cutting-edge, groundbreaking technology. Normally James would have discounted claims like that as corporate claptrap, but the headset fit so well he actually believed the rest of it.

Booting up the headset brought a perky, relaxing jingle in his ears and wall of settings text in his vision. He would have read it, but between his own excitement and Erik's infectious enthusiasm he left the settings on default and skipped to the main menu. The feedback for the buttons was amazing, it felt just like he was pressing down on them whenever he touched one! Another little jingle sounded as he confirmed his choices, and a few games and applications bubbled up into his view, imposed over a hot pink background.

"So Erik, what do you think I should try," James asked. "We've got a music player, interior design app, some sorta idle monster game, and a few RPG's." "Surely try out the RPG's man! You've gotta see that high-definition you were yammering about when we called." Erik's voice came back surprisingly muffled, as if he was speaking down a long tunnel. "Bro, I can barely hear you, the noise-cancelling on this headset's insane! It's like I'm in a world of my own!" James took a deep breath, recovering a little of his composure. "Alright, an RPG it is. Fantasy, sci-fi, or modern day?" "Go fantasy! You know we've both got a thing for elf chiiiicks. Hell, with the kind of feedback you were telling me about, you might even get to grab her" Erik's distant voice sounded playful, with a ting of desire and jealousy. And it did make James hard, at the thought of getting to look and squeeze and fondle some busty elf bitch, made entirely to his wishes~

To James' horror a quiet moan escaped his lips, accompanied by faint hysterical laughter from his friend. Brushing it off angrily, he slammed the icon for 'Silverflame: A Magical Journey' (the button felt like thick moss to his touch). Instantly a soft flute begun to play in his ears, accompanied by the gentle lull of a harp and a quiet sparkling. James felt himself relax, all the tension draining out of his body. Erik must have noticed too, because James heard his laughter die down to be replaced with a slightly concerned silence. "Don't worry man," James said, "music's just really pretty..." He trailed off with a slight giggle, but heard Erik give an affirmative just before a silky, sultry voice started to speak.

"Welcome traveler, to the beautiful world of Silverflame. An untamed paradise where strange beasts roam the land, noble adventurers go forth in search of treasure, and the most wonderful magic [James shuddered] is woven. You are the latest brave, beautiful heroine [Heroine? Shouldn't I get to choose my character's gender first?] to step foot into this land. But first, tell us a bit about who you really are."

Pink sparkles rained across the screen, superimposing his view of a vibrant meadow with a series of stats. Physique, IQ, Wisdom, and Charisma, fairly standard stuff. And next to it, a human man with a blank, slightly happy expression on his face [...did he look familiar?]. James gasped, he looked just like a real person! Erik was suitably impressed by this information, and urged him to pick some stats so he can get to the body modification. "You can always change them later man, might as well pick a couple of stats now and get a move on. Sounds like you're not gonna get to pick your gender for a while, which kinda sucks. Buuut if we're being horny about this, you might as well go for a slut scaffold so you make less changes later." James chuckled at this, remembering the build they discussed one night while both sloshed beyond belief. For this game it would be high Physique and Charisma, low IQ and Wisdom. James touched the slider for Physique, and gasped as he felt himself feel... better than he had in a long time.

Not trusting his senses any more, and worrying about Erik being exposed to whatever was happening from the other side of the headset, James brushed off his concerned questions (which he could barely hear now, past the soothing, soothing, music) and suggested he went to the toilet, since he'd been holding it in since he got here. Erik grumbled at missing out, but mercifully left. James was actively sweating from what just went through his body, but couldn't muster the energy or concentration to feel the level of panic he knew he should be. The music was just so, so calming, that fear was harder to feel than usual. The prompt told him he still had to change two more stats, so he decided to turn down Wisdom. He gasped again and his vision went blurry, and when it cleared he felt a bit, fuzzier? In the head. But it wasn't too bad, in fact it was perfectly manageable. He felt even calmer now, so maybe changing another stats would make him feel better. Why not IQ? He tapped the slider.

He groaned as an immense pressure wrapped around his brain. Thoughts, aspirations, memories felt like they were melting from his head faster than they appeared. The pressure seemed like it lasted forever, but eventually it trailed off and he was left panting in his chair. It had felt, really good? Like, tots good, even. James giggled to himself. Something was different about him, but he couldn't think what. Oh well, it'll probably come to him later. He squealed in delight as he realized he could get a step closer to the body modification page, although he looked longingly at the IQ slider. He could come back to it later, for now it was time to make his super-hot elf slut a body!

James clapped to himself with delight as a cute little melody played, a shower of sparkles spiraled [spiraled...] across the screen, and the man on the side moved to the center of the screen. "Firstly", the sultry voice said, "choose what race you want to be." That was an easy choice. He clicked on the 'Elf' button, and shivered as he felt tingles run through his body, intensifying in his ears. Reaching up to touch them, he inhaled as he felt long, pointed tips. In fact, his whole body seemed a bit slimmer. This doesn't quite feel right... he thought. Oh I know! It must be making me an elf too! Maybe we'll be in a party together! Between the strange fuzziness and the pulsating heat in his groin, James quickly flicked to the next page and made his choices. Long, silver hair, gorgeous big purple eyes, and some giant perky lips. "Combination unlocked!" the narrator exclaimed, "+1 Charisma, -1 Wisdom!" James giggled again as the mental fog settled a little tighter around his brain and naughty thoughts about cute girls and boys filled his brain. Boys? Well I guess I've never minded swinging both ways... This felt natural to him, because of course he'd always been bisexual. Next screen!

"Choose your voice young heroine," the woman commanded. James felt a little strange, like her voice was echoing around his head. And why were the sparkles still there, spinning and spinning around the screen. He felt confused, but knew he had to obey that voice. He picked the sexiest combination for his own voice; high pitched, breathy, perky. "Combination unlocked! +1 Charisma, -1 Int." He moaned as that wonderful pressure wrapped his brain and his weekend plans changed to eyeing hunks at the beach. Girls were cool and all, but men had always been more interesting to him [and their pulsing, hard...].

"Now heroine, can you tell me: Are you a girl, or a boy?" The question sent shock waves through his brain. He was a he... right? Why did it feel like there was some longing, some need to acknowledge the woman in him... her? The fog, the music, the spirals, all the feelings he had been having, James could hardly think. Maybe he should think less. Being a girl sounded fun, it's just a character after all. And he needed to be sexy. "Wonderful choice young lady! Now, are you a dominatrix, a super-switch, or a bimbo slut?" Bimbo slut~ James giggled as the words echoed in her brain. She was a bit of a slut, now that she thought about it. It felt odd to pick it, but why not for funsies? "Bimbo slut selected! Wonderful choice, just wonderful. Hold still while your stats are adjusted, and then we'll begin on giving you the perfect, sexy body you've always wanted."

The spirals filled her view and began increasing in speed. James was taken aback at first, but quickly felt oddly calm and receptive to that sultry voice.

"Physique +1, Physique +1, Physique +1." James felt wonderful, like every ache and blemish in his body had faded away.

"Wisdom -1, Wisdom -1." Thinking was fuzzy, but Jamella felt so content she didn't care.

"Charisma +1, Charisma +1, Charisma +1, Charisma +1. Charisma +1." Jamella gasped as visions of sexy men, pecs and abs and juicy, throbbing cocks filled her mind. A desperate heat filled her, and she began touching her groin against her will to try and ease it.

"IQ -1." She moaned, feeling light.

"IQ-1." Empty. She was so, wonderfully empty.

"IQ -1." This was like, so much funsies! She didn't know what was going on, but everything felt so nice~

"IQ -1. Congratulations Ella, you now have the 'Bimbo Slut' build."

Ella giggled absently. Thinking was like, so hard, and she felt like, so hard~. The fun spirals had disappeared... But the nice lady was talking to her again! With great effort, she listened in. "Now that your mental changes are complete, it's time for the physical changes!" Ella rubbed her thighs together and cheered in excitement. She couldn't wait to have more fun! "Unless you choose so now, the process will be au-to-ma-tic [...why was she using such big words?]. You can choose to take over at any time, or wait until the end and adjust as you please [...please. That word felt funny in her brain]".

"No user input detected. Body adjustment commencing."

A nice shiver went through Ella's body as she felt her headset warm against her face. Looking at the boring young man she'd begun to customize (her reflection, of course), she couldn't wait to begin! She sighed happily as waves of pretty silver hair drifted into her view and cascaded down her back. It felt especially nice against her smooth, soft skin, and she couldn't help but gently shake her head to watch it sway. A cool feeling brought her attention to her face, and the alluring amethyst eyes now set in it. Her face itself became much more elegant [but cutesy, too!], and she puckered her lips as a lovely pressure made them swell and bulge out, giving her a sexy and kissable pout [the boys'll love this look! boys~]. She felt herself shrink a few centimeters, gulping as her Adam's apple disappeared into her body. In fact, her whole body had become even more slender, with narrow shoulders, adorably small hands [pretty purple nails!], and a tiny little waist. She gasped, then clasped her hands over her mouth in delight. Her voice was so high and cutesy! She couldn't stop herself from giving out tiny, high-pitched giggles, just to hear how cute she was!

"Basic body structure altered. Adjusting outfit in preparation for primary and secondary sexual characteristics."

Ella ooh'ed appreciatively as a stream of sparkles enveloped her body. And when they disappeared, she squealed in delight! Her drab t-shirt and denim shorts were gone! In their place was a beautiful silver mini-dress that shimmered like starlight when she moved. She frowned in vexation, though. The plunging chest and shoulder-less design was very pretty, but her chest was flat! [shouldn't I have tiddies? The boys won't like me like this...] And the way it clung to her waist and hips would have been sexy, but as it was there was barely any difference between them! Her ass wasn't nearly big enough to justify how the dress cut off barely past it, and with how tight the fabric was Ella could see how achingly hard she was [wait, why do I have a cock? I'm supposed to get cock! In my mouth, in my ass, in my tight little pussy~]. It wasn't right!

"Thank you for your patience sweetie. Optimal figure calculated. Prepare for adjustment of sexual characteristics."

Ella let out a moan as a wave of heat and pleasure washed over her. With how horny she was she could barely keep her eyes open, but she knew she wanted to watch herself become the sexy little [cum] slut she was meant to be [I want it... I want to be~]. The heat settled in her hips, her ass, and her chest, and she moaned again as the changes begun.

Her nipples grew first, more than doubling in size and stiffening through the soft fabric of her dress. Tentatively touching them induced a gasp of pleasure [so nice~] and sent her rocking backwards. The motion made her giggle, because in that time she'd grown a cute pair of B-cup breasts that jiggled when she rocked. Jiggle makes me giggle. I like giggling. I like jiggling. Ella nodded thoughtfully to herself, feeling very wise. Her boobies grew to C-cups. She jiggled some more. She giggled some more.

A tightness around her hips distracted Ella from her tiddies. They were growing! She groaned as fabric and flesh tightened around them, too euphoric to feel pain. Sliding her hands from her waist to her hips made her squeal happily. She had such a sexy hourglass figure, she knew any girl worth her money would be jealous [and the boys would wanna hold me and squeeze me and fuck me raw]. Thighs thickening dramatically in response to her growth, she slapped her ass in impatience. Why won't it get bigger already!

But get bigger it did, swelling out in response to her touch. She fell forward as sheer pleasure blanketed her mind and weakened her knees. Squishing her boobies against the ground made her feel even nicer, until she was panting and moaning for somebody to help, to hit her again and make her bigger~

A slap landed on her booty, and she groaned in delight as it and her thighs swelled again. More. More! I NEED MORE! She moaned in ecstasy as blow after blow landed, making her swell and grow and grow and swell and feel so gooooood! Her tits inflated to D, then E-cups [good for the boys. I can jiggle so well for them~]. Her hips widened and thighs thickened, until she looked ridiculously large compared to her waist [ridicu... ridic... really, really sexy...] And her ass kept growing, and growing, and growing and growing and growing and growing! Tighter! Around my cock! Cock... I... oh~ Too... too... much! Too much! I'm~ I'm!

OooOOoOoOOooOoOoooOOOOOHHH~

Ella screamed in delight as she came, just cumming and cumming and cumming her tiny little brain out.

"Wisdom -1. IQ -1. Charisma +1. Charisma +1."

She was desperate, humping against the ground as the flow of cum abated from her cock. Everything she had been was flowing out of her messy stupid brain, and everything that she should be was coming in. Boys... Cock... Need fuck... Breed~ I'm such a dumb little cum slut~ She giggled to herself.

"Final adjustment required."

Ella stood up shakily, the bottom of her dress a cum-soaked mess. She squealed with delight as the mental fog settled even tighter and she felt an intense heat in her groin. She could see the tops of nipples trying to break free from her dress, and could feel the air drift over her ass, which had mostly escaped the fabric in her growth. So sexy. Hehe~ Boy can take me~ Don't even need dress off~ Thinking hard... Her ass and hips had pulled up so much fabric that her cock was visible now, deflating and still leaking from her orgasm, but she gasped in pleasure as it began rising up again. And, as she felt something long and hard brush her booty [cock? Boys? Fuck?].

A pressure like hands on her shoulders forced her to her knees, and she whimpered in desire as she felt an unseen cock touch her cheek. At the same time, something began intensely stimulating her own. She reflexively opened her mouth in a moan, but was cut off as she felt the cock shove inside [Feels~ Feels!].

All thought stopped.

Her mind was blank, full of pleasure and desire and happiness. Her cock felt good like it never had before, and the dick in her mouth tasted wonderful~ This was what Ella was made for, what she was meant to be. Feeling good, feeling sexy, feeling a pleasant emptiness that could only be filled with cock. Her haze reached a crescendo. Dimly she was aware of her own cries of ecstasy, muffled by the cock fucking her mouth and mind, as she came harder than she even had before. And as she came, her dick shrunk with each spurt until it went inside her [inside me!]. The cock withdrew from her mouth, filling her with a desperate longing. Emma moaned for her unseen hero, then gasped as she felt him once more. And blinked in surprise as the pretty meadow and her sexy reflection disappeared.

She was kneeling on the floor of an unfamiliar room. Shaking off a little of her confusion [don't need know much anyways...], she gasped as the tell-tale smell of pre-cum filled her nose. There was a man standing in front of her!

Sandy-blonde hair. Body like a surfer hunk! Naked. With a massive, sexy cock, dripping with her saliva and it's own juices. Ella moaned in desire, falling on all fours. Visibly trembling with lust, he tenderly cupped her cheek and slowly moved behind her.

Touching her with his [cock!].

Ever so gently, on the edge of her [...pussy!!!!]

He rammed inside her, and she screamed as an absolute feeling of rightness, of sexiness and pleasure and single-minded happiness rushed through her [MORE! HARDER! COCKKKK~]. Riding his dick she felt herself go into a trance, with nothing, absolutely nothing, disturbing her feelings. Ever. This was right. Ella moaned and surrendered to herself, drifting away on her lover's cock and mindless pleasure.

[madelynraemunson]

CASUAL part 2

see part one here.

modern!incel!asshole! eddie x fem!reader

It’s 7 in the morning. Eddie is seen doom-pacing in the halls of Hawkins High.

a/n: i promised y’all part 2 so here ya go. let’s make him pay. 💋 also shout out to @love-anonymous-writer for bringing this universe to life. a little angst here and there is good for the soul <3

who got the last laugh?

[WC: 1.1k words]

“Please respond…please respond…please respond…”

The soles of Eddie’s shoes slam against the tiles of Hawkins High as he rushes to your locker. Meanwhile his entire soul has left his body.

You didn’t answer any of his phone calls. All the texts he sent you were left on read. Having been so accustomed to your instant replies, Eddie essentially catapulted himself into a full-blown panic last night when he saw the ominous text you sent him...and the nothingness from you that followed soon after.

The crickets of Forrest Hills that taunted his eardrums later that night served as a vengeful metaphor of the brick wall you built between you and him. The girl who once gave him everything has now started giving him nothing. You’re nowhere, but everywhere. It’s like you’ve become a ghost.

When he sees you, color drains from Eddie’s guilty face. You look so beautiful today, hair curled down to the small of your back, a nice simple dress and some slippers, with makeup ever so gracefully applied. A class act, even when plagued with the utmost disrespect.

“Hi," he says to you as he approaches.

“Hi.”

As far as Munson knows, he no longer exists to you. He's a shadow now, a carapace of a boy you used to love 'cuz now — after hearing what you heard in his trailer — you know he's not the same boy that made you feel all the butterflies. That boy is long gone. You even start to wonder if that version of Eddie even existed.

“C-can we talk, please?” he requests.

“What’s to talk about?” you challenge him, stoically. “Don’t wanna annoy you with my rambling.”

“You never annoy me…” he attempts as you mindlessly comb through your locker for your homeroom notebook.

“Mm.”

You were casual about it. Too casual about it.

“You… uh…” he clears his throat. “You made me cookies yesterday?”

“Yeah,” you shrug. “I was at your door for quite a while so you must’ve been busy. Cookies were taken care of though.”

“I see…” Eddie mutters as the pieces all start coming together.

He thinks about how he always leaves his windows cracked open. His uncle would whoop his ass if he hot-boxed the trailer again, so it became a habit. But the trailer park is small, and on certain afternoon, if someone from a nearby unit had dropped a pin, Eddie would hear it. Suddenly, fear arises in him.

Surely, you didn't hear everything he and The Boys™️ said. He had his headphones on and he couldn't have possibly been that loud, could he? Unless technology failed him again.

The warning bell sounds throughout the halls and you excuse yourself from the narrative. Eddie tags after you like a lost puppy, nearly tripping on his shoelaces along the way.

"W-wait!"

The first class of the morning is homeroom. A class you unfortunately shared with Eddie, Grant, and Harmony.

You didn't want to see any of their faces. Eddie's face would serve as a reminder of how fake and construed the fucker is. Grant's would remind you of how insignificant you were to the guys (despite how welcomed they made you feel at the start). And Harmony. Harmony's beautiful face — with a body far too developed for a girl in her grade to match — would only remind you of the fact that the girl didn't inherently do anything to you... other than be beautiful and get caught in the crossfire of horny, greasy teenage boys.

It’s a fucking mess.

You swallow hard and keep your chin up regardless. Because what other choice do you have? You either feign your confidence or let irrelevant boys crush it.

You continue strutting over to your seat as Eddie trails behind at a measurable distance. Along the way, you inevitably run into the Junior Queen of Hawkins High herself, Harmony Heathers.

Harmony issues you a sweet smile. You smile back at her in return. And you didn't even need to turn your back to know that Eddie most likely did a double-take when sliding past her.

The late bell rings, indicating the start of class.

“Okay,” your homeroom teacher Mrs. Helleck exhales as she clasps her hands together. “Good morning everybody. For Red Ribbon Week this week, we’re gonna be doing a group project. Worth 20-percent of your grade.”

The class erupts in agonistic groans while Mrs. Helleck attempts to calm them down. You feel Eddie’s gaze burn into you, indicative to the fact that he was looking forward to using you again like he always seems to do. This time around it would be for a grade instead of a two-pump fuck. But you had something else in mind.

“You will be doing a presentation,” Helleck continues. “With a partner of your choice. Your job is to create a slogan along with a list of reasons why you should stay away from drugs.”

“Drugs Instead of Hugs,” Grant mutters to Eddie.

The general vicinity collectively praises his lukewarm wannabe 4-Chan edged joke.

You roll your eyes while your poor homeroom teacher tries to proceed with her instructions, despite the immature snickers.

“You will be presenting with your partner on Friday. Do not wait until last minute to do this assignment please. Deadlines catch up to you fast.”

Mrs. Helleck makes her way over to you.

Like Dungeons and Dragons, everyone in the class is assigned a “classroom role”. You’re the leader of the pack, the ‘foreman’, to which you never understood because up until today you never had the confidence to call the shots. The alphabet has never been on your side anyways.

“Now dear,” your teacher smiles down at you. “Since your last name starts with an A, you get first choice. Who would you like to work with?”

Eddie’s gaze is extra fixated on you now. It gives you a greater deal of satisfaction than tossing those cookies ever did. It was you who had the reigns now, instead of those woman-patronizing incels.

You start to smile connivingly, to which the guys start to gulp over. You can tell they’re putting two and two together, their two brain cells collectively working over time to discover that you had a delicious upper-cut up your sleeve.

It’s the very least they can do. If they wanted to taint your name to smithereens in your absence, you’re sure as hell going to give them something else to lose their minds about in Math 3.

And when all eyes are fixated on you, you tilt your chin up to project your voice. You want to make sure everyone, especially Grant and Eddie, hear you loud and clear when you sinisterly announce,

“I pick Harmony.”

tag list: @damp4eddie @eddiesguitarskills @babygirl229 @love-anonymous-writer @ziggeddie @socially-awkward-eliza @shesahellfirebabe @ali-r3n @yourdailymemedelivery @mincloud @jupitersnights @ineedtosusoutmyreadinglist @whisperingtales @fearlessreid @emma-munson

divider by: @benkeibear

[maplleaf]

Distance

Dan Heng x gn!reader [cw: nightmares, right before Xianzhou Luofu quest]

Even if two or more people try to close any kind of space between eachother, there will always be distance. On some cases, it's emotional distance; a problem where the parties may be physically close but they couldn't help but feel something in between the two keeping them a part.

On some cases it's physically, where they couldn't touch and see eachother without the help of modern technology. Luckily, some people still feel a strong bond even if it's been weeks since they saw the other person, Dan Heng is no different to them.

The Astral Express goes on many expeditions, every planet lasting for around seven-days. Even so, the expeditions are usually back-to-back missions; even if the passengers heading down may differ.

For Danheng, he's fine with how the Express works; he always preferred quiet places like his room than the busier places like Herta's space station. Even so, any kind of choice and preference has its up and downs; for him, it's the inability to properly see his lover.

As a researcher in Herta's Space Station, the two of you don't see eachother often. The only reason on how you got so close is because of your interest in the Express' travels, which results in the both of you spending time eachother in the archive room.

Himeko had already told Danheng about you when he chose the archives as his room, how you might see eachother often because of it. He didn't mind, as long as you don't barge in expecting a talk out of him.

And you don't, only asking for details when it's a mission he was a part of.

Your curiosity had found a way to charm him. His cold and reserved nature slowly melting as the two of you talked for long periods of time. It started from "How did you solve [x] in the mission?" slowly turning into "What do you think about [x]?"

A simple and gradual change from a mere interest in what he did for work, to what he thinks of anything. The archives became a sanctuary for you two, where even if you led most of the conversation, Dan Heng would still be enganged in what you two are talking about. It became the place where he could feel the weight of his past slowly dissappear the more he hear your voice.

It also became the place of shame when the Express' greatest grandpa, Welt, walked in on Dan Heng's first kiss with you in the archives.

Safe to say, you two shared a special relationship; all which started in the very room.

So when Dan Heng woke up from his dream about him; about the stellaron hunter who hunted him down away from the Xianzhou Luofu. Safe to say, his first thought when he woke up in a daze was to find your number in his phone.

"You're still working?"

Your head turned to the source of the voice; Asta, the station's lead researcher. A genius and kindhearted girl who took over the space station; taking care of it so well to the point where Herta took a hands-off approach until a week ago.

"Aren't late hours a researcher's best companion?" you chuckled at her, stretching out after feeling the aches of your back from not moving for too long.

"And sleep is a person's greatest medicine," Asta crossed her arm at you. She's no stranger to sleeping late hours as well, but still, taking care of each researchers health is a part of her job.

Seeing you still determined to finish the research topic, Asta couldn't do anything else but sigh. "Just take care of yourself, health is important," she reminds you.

"I knoow, I already have Dan Heng to tell me that," Asta laughed along to your non-serious remark. "Alright then, I'm gonna hit the bed," the lead researcher announced, yawning as she closed the door and leaving you in the dimly lit room alone.

You took a deep breath before going back to reading all the research papers on the computer. The physical research for the paper hadn't even begun, yet you're stuck in front of a desk reading for sources for what feels like eternity.

Right when your eyelids felt heavy from tiredness, you felt the table vibrating lightly for a moment. After looking underneath a stack of papers on hour desk, the source of it was your phone.

A text, from Dan Heng to be specific. He simply asked if you were awake or not. A part of you wanted to lie, knowing he would probably scold you for spending bedtime in front of a desk... again. Though, you felt that he would somehow know the truth either way.

Usually Dan Heng would say something like what Asta said earlier, how health is more important than work. Whilst the statement is true, the thought of finishing all the current problems now and sleeping soundly sounds better for you.

"Would it be possible if I call you right now?"

Confusion struck you when reading the text. It's not often that Dan Heng would ask for a late night call at this hour, it's almost three in the morning for the station's system time.

After texting him an approval for the call, you grabbed an earphone and answered it immediately. "Hey," you greeted him, "... you okay?"

From the other side of the phone, Dan Heng's worries lifted when he heard your voice. "I'm... I'm fine, I just needed to hear you again," his stutter made you doubt his words, but knowing Dan Heng, if he doesn't talk about it then he prefer keeping it to himself.

Although he wasn't truthful on his state of mind right now, Dan Heng wasn't lying when he said he needs to hear your voice again. It's a confirmation that you're okay, and that the stellaron hunter didn't annihilate Herta's Space Station like how he did with the IPC ships he boarded in the past.

"If you want to hear me so bad, interested in hearing a forty-five page research paper of 'the effects of a stellaron to the sorrounding magnetic field'?" you tried to lighten the mood, which results positively as Dan Heng lets out a small chuckle.

"As much as I enjoy reading, I'll leave the long research papers to you," your concerned thoughts slowed down as Dan Heng's tone changed to a less distressed one.

"Then how did the Belobog trailblazing go?"

Dan Heng leaned against the wall behind him, phone on his ear whilst his breathing hadn't fully calmed down yet. "It ended well despite the inconveniences, a 2.5 at best," he answered.

"Really?" you couldn't help but smile whilst opening up your recent texts with March 7th. "The wanted posters really highlighted your features though," your snicker is followed by a groan from Dan Heng.

"March sent you the photos?" his question results in a laugh coming from you. Your smile spreads like the plague as you scroll through the photos. Dan Heng still held the same nonchalant look in all of them, but it would be a lie to say you didn't save all of the photos.

"Yep, all of them actually. Didn't know your new friend likes to go through trash cans."

Usually when teasing him regarding his recent trailblazing experiences, he would respond with an exasperated sigh; this time Dan Heng responds with a light and airy laugh. You took a deep breath before asking him, "So, where are you headed to next?"

Dan Heng stayed quiet for a moment. Himeko hadn't told them anything about their next destination, but he knew that it would somehow end up being the Luofu. Even after years of running, he couldn't avoid his 'home' in the end.

"There hasn't been a conclusive answer yet, but..." he hesitates on continuing. Even if you knew bits and pieces of his past, a part of him didn't want you to know the full picture. People instinctively run away from danger, and he fears you knowing means bringing the danger right at you and everyone in the space station.

You stayed quiet, patiently waiting for an answer but not pushing him to answer. Dan Heng took another deep breath before continuing, "the Luofu might be in danger. He's there."

Even with the lack of a proper name, you knew who he's talking about. Dan Heng mentioned about someone hunting him in the past, and you connected yourself that it might be connected to why he's not allowed in the Xianzhou Luofu.

To be honest, you're unsure how to answer. "Then... I assume the express is heading there next?"

Dan Heng doesn't have a definite answer yet, he just woke up barely minutes ago after all. "I don't know but... if there is real danger coming from there then it's likely," he knows the goals of the express', and the mere prescence of a stellaron hunter in the Luofu means a stellaron might be there as well; which ties back to the express.

Dan Heng is someone who can't face his past; for his own safety and others. Even if he's sure Welt and Himeko would protecf him if something does happen, the possibility of them getting hurt due to him haunts him. And if the express is hurt, would he chase after you too?

"Dan Heng?"

The soothing call of his name snaps Dan Heng away from his thoughts. "It'll be fine," you tried to comfort his thoughts. Despite not having the full picture on what's going on, you had an idea on what Dan Heng would be feeling; after all, dating a quiet person means it's easier to read them the more time passed.

"If that person is really there, he can't reach Herta's station. All of the passengers in the express aren't ordinary fighters too," you tried to hide any form of doubts, especially about the opponent being a stellaron hunter.

"I know you're worried, and it's reasonable to be. But I'm sure everything will be okay, for you and for everyone else," Dan Heng's rapid heartbeat and anxiety from before dissipates to normalcy. His hand held tighter onto the phone pressed against his ear.

He didn't need to speak, even simple words gratitude isn't needed. Even through a phone, you can feel him slowly relaxing into the calm and collected person you fell for. Dan Heng's rather rare smile appeared, even if his expression still held a hint of tiredness.

"What would I do without you," it's not a question, but a statement. A part of him feels as though even if his body is in the station, he would still be lost in the vast galaxy.

"Adventuring as a trailblazer duh, just with less phone calls." Your laughter filled the empty room with no one in sight, but it also entered Dan Heng's mind as a cure for his worries.

Yes, the two of you aren't able to call eachother everyday; not even every week. Even so, it didn't make either of you feel inadequate or losing touch with the other.

Dan Heng has the express, and you have Herta's Space Station, each of you having your own lives. The bond of care and trust you have for eachother kept you two away from parting ways; understanding that being distanced due to work doesn't always mean the end.

[muffinrecord]

Oh hey, this is the first really interesting character bit that we learn from here imo.

Okay so yes, as per usual we get the "Iroha doesn't know much about the modern world and what's popular" but her solution to it is interesting to me. Instead of listening to popular music or watching popular shows, her solution is to... read about them?

That's an odd reaction, right?

Maybe the reason is because she's too busy with magical girl stuff, but this isn't a problem that Rena or Momoko seem to have with idol stuff. Iroha's hobby is apparently cooking, it's not like she's got a ton of extracurricular activities going on. For the first bit of main story she's going back and forth on a train from her hometown to Kamihama, but I feel like that doesn't mean she couldn't watch things on her phone as long as she had some headsets. Maybe it's because she doesn't know phones very well...? But if she's so technologically inept that she can't listen to a song on a phone then I have a hard time imagining she could look up information about that same song on that same phone.

I'd also like to note that this isn't her saying she doesn't enjoy popular stuff either. She's not insulting the more popular interests of her peers, she just generally seems left in the dust by it.

With that in mind, I think it's less a time investment and more maybe feeling like an outsider. She doesn't consider listening to the music and watching the shows because maybe she doesn't feel like she'd "get" it even if she did. Maybe she'd watch it and everyone would be talking about something else entirely still.

Looking up what other people say means she's not experiencing what they experience but that she can understand why they're into it and what a conversation is talking about. She can't participate, but she's not left out. But even then, she can't really participate in that conversation, can she? She doesn't have anything to offer unless Iroha wants to use someone else's words. It just means she has a chance at understanding why people might like something in a passing conversation that she's not a part of.

There's something kind of melancholy about it, and it's such a throwaway line. Somehow it's like she already gave up before she tried.

I like it.

[panlight]

Hi. I have a few thoughts about "Breaking Dawn". I am 50/50 with these options, maybe they are both correct or both are not correct. Mayer wrote that all vampires know how to use modern technology because

1. So that vampires don't look pathetic and insignificant in the eyes of modern people who are surrounded by these technologies.

2. Vampires actually interact with these things, Bella is an unreliable storyteller in this.

Imagine stone statues that used to be people, but now they eat people. The cute things they have they took from the corpses of their victims. They don't watch movies or listen to music (don't know how to use technology or don't their senses perceive it?), don't talk to people and fight to the death for territory and food with other vampires. Doesn't sound cool, does it? A vampire who is 300-500 years old with a MacBook and a Range Rover is something else.

Your thoughts?

See this is really fascinating to me, especially back when I was actively reading fanfic, to see how differently other people interpreted it. Because when I originally read the books, my impression was that yeah, they weren't doing any of this. They were living in the woods just eating people and not going near humans at all because they couldn't without killing them. I thought it was really super hard, borderline impossible, for human-killing vampires to really interact with the human world in any meaningful way. That they couldn't pop into a movie theater and watch a film because the temptation to kill everyone would be too great and then it would be a whole thing and the Volturi might come after them. Like, at the time I thought Jasper going into a diner in the first place was super weird; why would he do that (other than so the cute diner story can happen, of course!), especially when he was already thirsty! Seemed to be asking for trouble!

And so, yeah, I didn't think being a Twilight style vampire sounded that cool. Living in the forest attacking random hikers and then wearing their clothes? Can't sleep? Can only drink blood and not enjoy food at all? No thanks. Sounds awful. What's the point of immortality if you can't like, DO stuff? Even the Volturi, Patrons of the Arts that they are, allegedly have just sat still on their thrones for so long they have literally gathered dust and started to petrify. They aren't going out and exploring the world, they aren't being active and engaged. They're sitting there like the stone people they are.

But then other people interpreted it totally differently and wrote vampires outside the Cullens having fairly Cullen-like lives with enjoying human world arts and culture and tech. Other vampires who had jobs and cool cars and nice houses. And certainly I've read and seen plenty of other vampire stories that do that, but I thought originally that Twilight vampires were much more 'feral' for the lack of the better word and hidden, that the whole vegetarian thing DID allow the Cullens a level of access to the human world that other vampires didn't have.

I've now come to think it's somewhere in the middle. I think Twilight vampires are still pretty nomadic, generally, and out of touch with the human world, but not as completely as I thought before. The whole red eyes thing are a bit of problem, but with colored contacts (like Heidi uses) or sunglasses, it's not a huge thing in the modern world. And I think the temptation to hunt is not as extreme as I originally had thought, either. That they probably can sit in a diner or movie theater or library for awhile and be fine as long no one is actively bleeding. But I still think the average Twilight vampire probably leads a pretty 'boring' life that's mostly about where they are going to find their next victim and trying not to draw attention to themselves. The average vampire isn't scrolling TikTok on their phone, because they don't have one, and don't have money to pay for service, because they don't have a job or a bank account. But they might fool around with the phone of their victim for a little while before tossing it so they can't be tracked. They don't have a permanent residence (other than Amun and his hidden temple, I guess), but might "play house" from time to time in a victim's place for the novelty of it, take a shower, figure out how the TV works, before going back to the wilderness once their victim's disappearance is noticed. It seems really lonely and boring, and a waste of their incredible intelligence. Better if you have a mate, I guess, but even then. I think the James/Victoria lifestyle (other than hunting other vampires for funsies like James liked to do) is probably closer to the average vampire experience than the Cullens'.

But then again, in MS James knows how to fly a plane apparently. Or did he just like . . . figure it out as he went since it wouldn't matter if he crashed?

[m-jelly]

jelly jelly~! can i request grocery/mall shopping with vampire levi? like you show him what things you like to see and/or buy, and he also shows you the stuff/section that he likes to browse through? just getting to know more abt each other 🥹♡♡♡

@ladycheesington <3

Quality time

Levi x fem!reader

Modern AU, vampire Levi, human reader, soulmates, mates, couple, fluff, date day, romance.

Now that you are all his, Levi wants to take you shopping to have a little fun. Levi spoils you, gets you anything you want, and then shows you some of the places he likes.

@ladycheesington @levisbrat25 @nyxiieluna @li-anne @galactict3a

@youre-ackermine @thebobaprincess @2moth-anon2 @cypidity

@nbinairyn @bts-spnlvr12 @darkstarlight82 @emilyyyy-08

@levistealeaf @notgoodforlife @demonic-bird @searriously

Watching Levi, your vampire lover, drive his car was incredibly beautiful. The way his hands gripped the wheel just sent a shiver through your spine, it was incredible. For someone who had lived for hundreds of years, he had not been left behind with technology. You couldn't believe you met this darkly handsome vampire in a club, he took you home and made you, his.

Levi reached over and took your hand before lifting it up and kissing it. "Are you okay?"

You gazed at him with a sparkle in your eyes. "Yes."

He smiled against your skin. "Does my princess want all my attention?"

"Yes."

He chucked and kissed your hand again. "Don't worry, I'll be parking soon." He turned the wheel as he saw a spot. "Be a good girl and wait for me."

You whined as he let go of your hand. "Okay..."

He moved the car and parked up in the right spot. "There, now I'll pay for parking on my phone and I'm all yours."

You leaned over and started kissing his shoulder. "Hurry."

He tapped away on his phone before slipping it into his pocket. "Okay, stay there princess and I'll get the door."

You nodded then watched him walk to your side and open the door. "Thank you, Levi."

He took your hand and helped out of his car. "Now, stay close to me." He showered your hand with kisses. "No letting go of my hand, okay? I have to keep you safe?"

You entwined your fingers with his and walked. "If I do wander off, you'll find me by our blood bond."

"You're right, but I want to keep you close."

You cuddled up to him. "I love you."

He kissed the top of your head. "I love you too."

The two of you moved around the different shops just exploring things, but nothing really took your fancy. It also seemed like Levi couldn't see anything he wanted either, it all seemed the same and rather boring. So, the two of you left the shopping centre and went to the shops lining the unique town and found some old places with wonderful things inside.

Levi led you to an old bookshop. "Ah, what a perfect place. I love reading. Shall we look?"

You nodded. "Please!"

"Grab anything you want in there too, okay? I'm buying."

"Thank you, that's so sweet of you."

He kissed you before releasing your hand. "Stay where I can see you okay?"

"Got it."

"You're so cute that someone might snatch you up."

You giggled and snuck off. "Okay!"

He gazed at the book in the old creaking shop. He grabbed a few books, some about tea, others about romance and a few horror stories. He hugged the books close to his chest and searched for you. He spied you looking at a book and felt his heart swell with love, you were just beautiful and cute beyond words could describe. Levi has been captivated by you since the day he laid eyes on you and he knew he would forever feel this way.

You glanced over at Levi causing your normal blank face to light up with joy. "Levi."

He walked right up to you. "You find what you want princess?"

You hugged your books tightly. "I did! I found some things I've never heard of before."

He eyed the books. "Good choices. I would love to read these after you're done."

"I want to read yours after you're done."

He leaned closer and kissed you. "Of course."

You nibbled your lip and whispered. "Levi?"

He smiled and whispered your name back. "What is it?"

You leaned closer and continued whispering. "Is this shop run by a vampire?"

He nodded. "It is. That exciting?"

You squeaked as you bounced up and down. "Yes."

He hummed a laugh. "You're adorable. Let's go pay." He reached over. "Books please."

You handed them over to him. "Are you sure?"

"I'm buying this all." He trudged over to the counter and chatted to the owner. He pulled you closer as he spoke with the man. Levi smiled down at you. "Right, princess? You're my forever."

Your eyes sparkled with a deep love. "Yes, and you're mine."

He kissed your forehead. "I hope every kiss I give you gets through to your heart and soul, I want you to deeply know my love."

You whined a little. "I can feel it, it's strong."

He grabbed the bag of books, thanked the owner and walked out with you. "Do you want a cuddly toy? I know you like cuddly toys."

"Please, if you don't mind."

"I don't. I love seeing what you love."

You lowered your head a little. "Levi?"

He glanced down at you. "Yes, princess?"

You hummed. "Do you know how much I love you?"

He stopped in a little path just out of view of others. "Princess."

You sniffed a bit. "You make me feel so deeply loved and I feel like I'm failing you in letting you know how much I love you and you mean to me. You changed my life in just one night. You have showered me with such deep and passionate love, it's so deeply moving." You whined a bit. "I just...I don't know how to react sometimes, I'm lost for words." You sighed. "I guess what I'm saying is, I want you to feel as deeply loved as you make me."

He placed the bag down before cupping your face. "My darling, what terrible sorrow you experience. I can assure you, that you make me feel so deeply loved that I feel breathless. You adore me so much that I am always on your mind. You are so dedicated to me and my happiness that it does worry me a little." He chuckled as you pouted. "It's cute and now you're being cuter with your pout." He kissed you. "Your love for me is so sweet, kind, gentle, delicate, caring, adoring and thoughtful. I know with every drop of blood in me and every inch of my soul that you love me. I love you." He nuzzled his nose against yours. "You spoil me too much."

"Says the man who is buying me many books and a cuddly toy."

He hummed. "If I had my way I would ban cuddly toys because the only thing you should be cuddling is me."

You patted his chest. "Possessive."

"I am because I know you are one of a kind and this love we have I never ever want to let go. We are forever."

You smiled softly. "We are."

He kissed you again before shying. "Now, let's get that cuddly toy."

[inconsistent-kuroshitsuji-blog]

Hello. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask for headcanons about the kuro characters and their favourite video game genres/series? ^_^

Absolutely.

Kuro characters and their favourite video game genres/series

don't know why, but he looks like he'd enjoy simulator games

if Black Butler would've happened in the modern day (and someone would've taught this grandpa how to use technology) he would probably used these to learn the things he needs to know as a human

cooking simulator (or Cooking Mama), school simulator, anything that could be useful like that

definitely also enjoys slasher games

simply judging by the way he enjoyed that bloodbath on the Campania, he'd looooooove extremely violent games

idk, I don't know too many in that genre, but Dead by Daylight could be one of his faves

but nothing with guns. Those things are beneath him. He wants the real thrill of the kill

oh, please, as if he'd even know what that is

he doesn't even have time for this

imagine the hours wasted on lines of code and digital pixels

do you know that one game where it's basically like a VR job simulator with different kinds of jobs like cook or office or gas station? Instead of humans, the NPCs are robots that insult you at every given opportunity and set you up for failure. Yeah, he'd like that.

also, Powerwash Simulator

ok, stereotypical, but dress up games

especially Style Savvy (ngl, these games are way too good)

other than that, she seems like a casual enjoyer of Animal Crossing

except that she bullies all the ugly neighbours off of her island and hunts for very specific characters (so basically like me)

another obvious choice is Bayonetta

I mean, have you looked at her? Slashing her way through demons and angels while having chainsaws for arms and legs? The cunty outfits?

Let me tell you: Bayonetta and Grell? An iconic match made in heaven

I can't decide

either he's a die-hard Mario Kart player or a huge Sonic enthusiast (the older games, not the newer ones)

he probably doesn't have enough time to really play though, since he's either out working overtime or out partying

he doesn't seem like a shooter person

okay, this is coming out of me because of a huge lack of sleep (it's currently 1 am where I'm living), but why does he look like he would drunkenly play Fortnite or Roblox?

"You got games on your phone?" No, back the fuck up dude. You're an adult.

Why did I just write that? Inco, what's wrong with you?

this is very specific, but that one Coraline game for the Wii and the DS

he's definitely leaning more towards psychological horror games

American McGee's Alice and Alice: Madness Returns. You can't convince me otherwise

he's an unfairly skilled Mario Kart player, to the point that it almost seems like he's cheating (he's 100% cheating, just like when playing Uno)

on the other hand, he's a huuuuge sucker for Kirby games

doesn't matter what type or gimick, he loves it and has perfected it down to the last frame

but you'd never know unless he wanted you to know (and I know it because I am God and run on my last bar of my batterie and because he's officially and undeniably my husband, deal with it. Omfg, this is so fucking cringe, I'm gonna go shoot myself, I'll be right back.)

well, first of all, you need to explain everything to him because he couldn't even read the instructions on the screen (I'm 100% convinced that his eyesight is pure batshit and he's just cheating his way through the manga through some deus-ex-machina type of shit)

newsflash, but he loves horror games

I really see him with games like Resident Evil or Don't Starve Together

also, Undetale

you know, because of morals and choices and consequences and all that (surely not because of a skeleton with dry humour)

maybe it would help to show him a bathing simulator so this crusty man learns how to clean himself

is it too obvious and on the nose to say The Mortuary Assistant?

omg, look at him! My boy! Finally animated! I love him so much! My boy!

ahem, so anyway...

Trombone Champ

he'd play it on his loudest speakers just to annoy the hell out of everyone

also, you know those really cheap horror games you can find on Steam that are really terrible? He lives for those

idk why, but he seems like he'd enjoy Portal

and Assassin's Creed. Especially the first four mainline games

continueing with puzzle games, he really enjoys Professor Layton, no doubt

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's it for now. It's almost 2 am and I have to help out at a sports event I only registered for to watch some random kids suffer in the heat. But now I have to wake up early for that... Oh, how ironically bitchy life is. And to top it all of I have to work the graveyard shift today. Coffee and energy will be my best friend today.

So, yeah, that's it for now. Or maybe not, maybe I'll pull an all-nighter simply so I can't oversleep. If you're up for a part 2 just slide into my requests and I'll see what I can do.

Until then~

Your Inconsistent Kuroshitsuji Blog~

[thesparklingwriter]

a technological affair

" And thus, his email was lost to the grips of hackers."

tags: modern au, pet names, gn!reader (use of wife), established relationship, zhongli cannot use a phone for the life of him, reader is an Apple enjoyer,

ao3 link | taglist | masterlist | next

As far as you’re concerned, Zhongli is the closest thing to perfection a man could ever be. Except for one very minor detail. He cannot, for the life of him, use a phone.

Which could be blamed on his 30,000 year old android, with a screen that barely functions and a cracked camera, and you really can't let him go out like that. So one day, as an advance on your anniversary gift for him, you decide to welcome him to the wonderful world of the iPhone.

“What’s this?” Zhongli says, opening the box carefully. “What have I done to warrant such a gift?” he holds the phone in his hands as if it’s a baby chick—you bought him one of the bigger phones, knowing his hands are large, and even still he could do with something bigger.

“You dropped your phone in the toilet and I can’t allow you to continue using it. You have to understand.” You grin. “So I got you a new one that actually works and when you tap the screen, it actually registers it.”

Zhongli looks at you with gratitude but also an inkling of confusion. What’s he going to do with this fancy, characterless lump of metal that he couldn't do with his old phone? “I appreciate this, my love, I really do. But I don’t know if this is going to be as good of an idea as you think it is.”

You scoff, pulling him into a hug. “Zhongli, I would like to actually hear my husband when I call him. I would like to understand the texts he sends to me. And I would also like to send him pictures of cute cats on Instagram.”

And of course, Zhongli couldn’t possibly deny you anything you ask of him, so he agrees to try to navigate this new phone with as much positivity and faith as he can possibly muster.

In the few weeks since you bought him the phone, he has managed to:

(1) Lock himself out of it. For a whole week. You asked him how he managed to do that and he didn’t seem too sure as to what he’d done. So you asked him if you could know his password and promised only to use it in situations like this. (And promptly cried when you realised his password was your birthday.)

(2) Get his email hacked. He’d approached you with excitement, saying: “Dear, look. I got an email saying I’ve won a Macbook.” To which you replied: “You can barely use your phone, we might need to leave the macbook on the back burner for a while. Who sent the email?”. The email was sent by vnweifgq@dfugf.com and contained a link, which Zhongli had happily pressed. And thus, his email was lost to the grips of hackers.

(3) Find the dictation and voice note feature, which is great. He gives you encyclopaedic updates to his day, which you read or listen to with genuine enthusiasm. This was what you bought him the phone for at the end of the day, right? The extra chance to connect with your husband?

(4) Get into the habit of sending you pictures of things that make him happy or that remind him of you. Which is essentially the same thing as far as he is concerned. You’ve also got used to sending them back.

(5) Make an Instagram account. He’s not great at it, but with some guidance, he manages to post some of the pictures he sends you.

(6) Accidentally message the group chat (you, Xiao, Ganyu, Madame Ping and some others use it to invite each other to dignified tea parties and movie marathons) his shopping list. The shopping list included all the things he was getting for you as part of your anniversary gift, so Xiao had to teach him how to delete the message so you wouldn’t see it.

But by the time your next anniversary comes around, he’s actually really good with it—he can use instagram better than you can (though he read the terms and conditions from start to finish and became very careful about how he uses it), orders things from amazon at least three times a week, and has a facebook group for fellow birdwatchers with about two hundred people in it.

Yes, he has all of his icons and text at the largest size possible, and yes, he refuses to use TikTok and favours Instagram reels, but when he’s on work trips or you’re visiting friends elsewhere in the world, it’s nice to be able to video call him and not feel as distant as you used to.

“I think this phone might have been the best gift you’ve ever gotten me, dearest.” he says one night, after discovering the kindle app, where he can find all the classic novels he loves so much without having to clear out bookshelf space.

You sit in bed together, simply talking about your respective days, both your phones banished to charge in another room. Of course, being able to use a phone doesn’t mean that you should at all times—the phone banishment rule had initially just existed for you, but the rules had to accommodate the new technical whiz in the house.

“What about the gift that is me?” you counter, nuzzling into his chest gleefully. He kisses you deeply, a smile on his lips as he pulls away.

“Nothing on this earth is better than the gift that is you.”

“Not even your group of birdwatchers?”

“I did get to see a wonderful example of a nearly extinct sparrow with beautiful colouring last week,” he teases. “But no, they could never be better than my beloved.”

© 2023, thesparklingwriter. please do not copy, edit, repost, or translate.

notes: you all have cael to thank for this hilarious prompt idea. this is why you should always make friends with people on tumblr they always slay.

taglist: @medusuu @aixaingela @thelonelyarchon @ainescribe

[siriouslytired]

Feedback fest 2024 🌻

Well RIP to my bookmarks because I just noticed that so many of my favourite fics have been deleted or made anonymous/put in a collection. Thought it would be fun to do this anyway.

Also apparently I managed to post this when it wasn't done (can you tell technology doesn't like me?) And for some reason I couldn't edit the original post (and what's up with that??). So uh, if anyone had liked the first post I deleted it because I got annoyed.

All fics on the list can be found on AO3

A Year In Toussaint by astolat

The Witcher; Rated E; Geralt of Rivia/Emhyr var Emreis

"[...] - and found himself spilling the whole sob story of his success to Emhyr, who actually broke and laughed out loud when Geralt got to the racehorses."

One of my comfort fics, will read it for a multitude of reasons but mostly just because it's so well-written and engaging (which is just all of astolat's fics really)

Hunger and Appetite by thegoodbutter

Shadow & Bone; Rated E; Aleksander Morozova/Alina Starkov; Modern AU

I couldn't actually tell you how many times I've read this, it's just SO GOOD. And the food descriptions are just fantastic, makes me want to cook up a storm/start baking something even though I hate doing the dishes afterwards.

The Stars Don’t Shine, They Burn by Sarcasmismydefaultmode

Shadow & Bone/The Witcher; Rated E; Alina Starkov/Emhyr var Emreis; Second Best AU

Read it. Do it. It's so fucking good. I usually don't read crossovers anymore but I couldn’t resist this one and it was so worth it. It blends the two worlds so well while making sure that the edges are obvious enough that you can still tell which parts came from what canon.

Amazing Grace (series) by Druid Moon

Marvel Cinematic Universe; Darcy Lewis/Clint Barton; Many references to different forms of crafts

A relic from when I mostly read MCU fics that I return to again and again and again. Super cosy, slightly sad, incredibly well-written, one of those fics that just draws you in once you start reading it.

coronas of wolf-teeth and rivers by Dialux

A Song of Ice and Fire; Not Rated; Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark; AU; Robert dies at the Trident, Ned dies at the Tower of Joy, Catelyn becomes Queen of Westeros

I remember reading the summary and basically attacking my phone screen to open the fic. It ties itself together so neatly from the premise and the way Catelyn is written is just fantastic.

Diplomatic Relations by KrazzeeAJ1701

Star Trek; Rated M; James T Kirk/Sybok; AU, Female James T. Kirk

Listen, I had a phase where I mostly read gender swap and I found some real gems - this being one of them. I don't re-read it as often as I should but every time I do I remember how much I like it and how fantastic the writing is. The set-up just makes sense and the progression of the story makes you want to keep reading forever.

the ghosts won't matter because we'll hide in sin by soapboxblues

A Song of Ice and Fire; Jaime Lannister/Lyanna Stark; AU

A cute little AU where Lyanna survives the Tower of Joy and is subsequently turned into a political pawn etc etc. Incredibly well-written and the pieces just fit together so well.

The Debt of Time by ShayaLonnie

Harry Potter; Rated E; Sirius Black/Hermione Granger; AU, Time Travel, Soul Bond

I must have read this at least 15 times by now. It just works so well, you know?

For One Last Day by fideliant

The Hobbit; General Audience; Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield; AU

"The things we don't do for love." It's so bittersweet and lovely and all those wonderful things that make me want to smile and cry at the same time. Sort of chances-not-taken and now we're old wrapped up in this little moment that fits so well into the canon of LOTR.

Eurybia by Annerb

Pirates of the Caribbean; Rated T; Elizabeth Swan/Will Turner; Jack Sparrow/Elizabeth Swan; AU

"A love story. Elizabeth Swan and the sea." Read it. Just do it. It's so so so good. And it's barely 1200 words so you can read it and then spend an hour contemplating what you just read and still have time to do other things.

[clouduru-chan]

Well, I've wanted to do this for a long time, and I hope it goes well, as well as the second season of The Legend of Vox machine, I decided to write something, like a modern reader going to the magical world. As an Isekai, and I decided to make a Brazilian reader, in addition to wanting to show a little bit of Brazilian culture, I want to please the Brazilian people who read what I post. And the first thing I'm going to write will be about Percy, because I'm a little bitch of that man.

Percy with a modern Brazilian reader

- First of all, let's say what you were doing before you stopped at an unknown and "magical" place;

- You were at the ice cream parlor with your friends celebrating the Brazil-Serbia game, it was the beginning of the World Cup, and everyone was excited, especially with the show that Richarlisson did in the second half of the game;

- Well, you don't like soccer very much, but when it's a World Cup year you ignore that and become extremely patriotic;

- The clothes you wore were the shirt of the Brazilian national team, the famous green and yellow, short shorts with sequins on the back pocket, and a fanny pack around your torso, and a pair of flip-flops;

- After having your ice cream with your friends, you decided to go home, but something strange happened, as you turned the corner of the street, your vision became blurred, as you closed your eyes and tried to understand what was happening to you, you realized that you were in an extremely different place;

- very different indeed, you would hit your face with the palm of your hand to see if you would wake up from it, well unfortunately it didn't work;

- And you couldn't stand still, because people were looking at you strangely, so you held tightly to the strap of your fanny pack and decided to walk around to get some answers, to try to understand where you were;

- Well, you can't have realized, Percival was looking at you, he noticed how out of place you were. Well maybe it was a feeling of sympathy, he came to you;

- He was not liking how other people were looking at you maliciously, especially because of the clothes you were wearing;

- Soon he came to you, looking at you it seemed to be some foreigner or traveler, he analyzed your clothes, they were a different fabric from what he had ever seen, besides that on your thigh had a tattoo of mountains and a being doing T-pose (being that it was the sugar loaf mountain and the statue of Christ the Redeemer), and on your shin was a tattoo of birds flying through the landscape, besides that your hair braided by each lock was very flashy too;

- When he asked you if you were lost, you grimaced slightly, as you were trying to carefully translate what he had said and try to talk to him;

- You had a little trouble telling him, you were dying of embarrassment because your English was horrible, Percy looked at you a little curious, you thought you had said something wrong, you started cursing in your original language;

"Puta que me pariu! Eu não mal sei falar português imagina inglês, mas que desgraça, pareço uma debilóide falando!"

- He became even more curious, because he had never heard an idiom like that before;

- And you were wondering why the fuck English was used in a world like that! Well, you were kind of happy about it, because you could communicate, but with your fucked up English it was going to be a little difficult;

- You are quickly put under protection by him and the rest of the group, and since Percival was a curious man, he filled you with questions;

- Well, obviously he realized that you were not from here, but when he finds out that you are not from the world of Exandria, with that he and Vox machine will help you get back;

- When you talk about the technology in your world, this man's eyes shine, when you showed him your phone that was inside your fanny pack he was amazed, he had never seen something so advanced;

- Well you quickly got along with every member of the team, they liked your playful and somewhat chaotic energy;

- When you take some random mission for money, you always stay close to Percy, because he wants you to stay close to him;

- When you go to the tavern, you are always cheerful, but when it's time to drink, you drink modernly since you are always the friend on the tour who tries to stay sober;

- And when fights break out in these places Percy pulls you to stand next to him, but he is a little surprised when you know how to turn around when you use some body-fighting techniques like Brazilian tai-jutsu or capoeira, considering that this type of fight you wanted to learn to defend yourself against an assailant or some potential pervert ;

- Well, he is impressed with your self-defense, but worried, since you were a human against magical beings, and you have no accessories or magic of any kind;

- He starts to have feelings for you, and little by little he decides to open up more to you, since you talk so much about the things in your world and about yourself, it would be kind of fair for him to talk a little about himself;

- When he tells you a little about his past, you look at him with empathy, you could see the pain in Percival's greenish blue eyes, with that you gave him the famous Brazilian hug, he felt how warm your hug was, it was very warm, he returned the hug with the same intensity;

- I think that in those moments you fill him with affection, make him feel happy, pure, make him for a brief moment forget all the horrible things he has been through;

- They are all doing their best to look for a way to get you back home;

- When the dragon was devastating the villages near the Tal'Dorei kingdom, Percy forced you not to go along with them, since he didn't want you to die;

- After defeating what was devastating the kingdom, King Uriel threw a party to celebrate the feat of Vox máquina, inviting the elite of some kingdoms or provinces, then Percy as was a Noble he had to teach good manners to the group, in your case you filled him with questions, what clothes to use, the cutlery and among other things;

- Well you did most of the hairstyles, since you were a hairdresser's helper, so you had a sense of what you were doing;

- You had to go in a long dress without any cleavage, because it wasn't supposed to be vulgar and you couldn't show your tattoos, but unfortunately it didn't cover the tattoo you had on your arm;

- In the castle everything was amazing, for a certain moment, you were close to Vex'Ildan and Percy, he will introduce you to all the nobles that were invited, and you are extremely polite and know very well how to make a friendly conversation, well some (most) Brazilians are quite fun to make a great conversation (but be careful not to fall into the trap, since you can take advantage of this situation and to deceive sometimes the unaware of the Brazilian culture);

- But when the Briarwoods arrived, Percival's expression completely closed, he stared angrily at the couple who fucked up his and Rolo's family's lives;

- When you realize that he has gone stiff because of the gothic couple, you hold his hand firmly;

- At dinner you could see Percy's anger about the Briarwoods, you had sat next to him, trying to calm him down, but when Delilah started talking about Rolo's family, Percy became enraged, and decided to deny that woman, so he left the table, and you quickly went to him, you had never seen him like that, you tried to comfort him with a tender gesture and asked the gray-haired man to vent what he was feeling;

- Well, after a disastrous night and a near death, and being a little frightened by the attitude of the gray-haired man who nearly killed an innocent man working for Briarwoods, Percival realized that it was too dangerous for you. Percival who realized that it was too dangerous for you, he did not want you to go with him to Whitestone, but with your stubbornness you went, because you knew that your friend needed something to comfort him in this very difficult moment;

- Well, on the trip you had changed your appearance, you were wearing pants of a thick fabric, a white T-shirt with sleeves that went all the way to your wrist, a pair of boots, and a belt, and on the right side of your waist you had a short sword;

- With your attitude, you have made Rolo's heart squeeze, do you think of him differently? Do you care about him? Well, he knows that you care about others and make your jokes, but with him it was a little different, he realized that he was in love with you, but then the question remains, what if you don't like the way he likes it? What if you go back to your own world?

- Well, when you were camping near a forest near your destination, Percival was leaning his head against a rock while he was fiddling with his gun, but when you approached him and argued with him for lying down like that and that it was harmful to his spine, he sat up, but soon you sat down on the ground and slapped his thighs, giving him a hint of where he should lay his head to rest, well, this man's face turns red at this, but he did what you wanted. He got a little calmer when you started running your hand over his hair and singing some music from your world, mostly Brazilian;

"Chove chuva! Chove sem parar.... Eu vou fazer uma prece. Pra Deus, Vosso senhor. Pra chuva parar... De molhar o meu divino amor. Que é muito lindo, é mais que o infinito, é puro e belo inocente como a flor...."

- Ok, he just loves to hear your voice singing, especially in his language, this song is so calm and serene, maybe he asks you the translation;

- Feelings are conflicting inside Percy, when he looks at her face his heart hammers, so he will draw courage from the depths of his being, and make a declaration of love;

- When dawn breaks and you have to return to your trip, Percy will bring you to a secluded corner;

- He was very nervous, let's face it, he's very anxious, and also he thinks it's a bad time to propose, but he wants to get this feeling off his chest;

- But before he said anything, you started talking, well, you were declaring to him the feelings you felt, he wasn't expecting it, he was the one who wanted to declare himself, but your heart was warmed by every word you said to him;

"You know Percy, I thank the universe every day that it brought us together. Eventually, you became the most important person in my life. I want to be able to share every moment of joy with you. In the moments of sadness, to be by your side, to be your greatest support. My love, my life is more beautiful because I have you by my side. You can even try to find a thousand definitions for love in the dictionary. But nothing will come close to what I feel for you, because this feeling is pure and indescribable. You know, if you were a movie, you would be my favorite, the one I watch over and over again and never get tired of. I know this statement may be a little long, but I want you to know that I love you! If it weren't for you I wouldn't even know where I was when I came into this world...".

- Okay, you broke it;

- He didn't expect such a profound statement, his eyes were full of water, he was holding himself back from crying, so he hugged you tightly;

- When you returned to the group Scalan was giving a bag of money to Vax, since the half elf had bet the gnome that you would declare yourself first;

- When you arrived in Whitestone it was nothing but chaos, the living dead all over town, people lost hope, you were getting even angrier with the Briarwoods, you wanted to get into a fight with Delilah, but that's going to be just intent;

- Well, you met Percy's sister, it wasn't the most appropriate moment, but you made a little joke about whether you were allowed to date your brother, Percival argued with you that it wasn't the time for you to do that, but he thought it was funny;

- When Percy was under Orthax's control, you calmly approached close to that man, trying to bring back the humanity of that man, Vex went by your side to control the man who was being controlled by a vengeful demon, you softly touched the gray-haired man's cheek, he was recovering some of his mentality, he had been caught by several illusions that Orthax made, the main ones were the death of his family, his sister Cassandra and mainly you;

- He in that state hurt your heart, and any suspicious attitude from him you were put behind Vex, and when Percy shot his own hand to get rid of the demon it was the most horrible thing you ever saw, in person, since you were used to watch some violent things on TV, but in person it was horrible, you ran to help Percy;

- After that moment of madness and You chiding Delilah in her native language was sensational;

" VAI SE FUDE SUA VAGABUNDA! ELE NÃO PODE TE MATAR! MAS EU TERMINAREI O SERVIÇO SUA PUTA!"

- He didn't expect you and Cassandra to finish the job and kill Delilah, You had fury in your eyes, even though the necromancer did nothing to you, you felt empathy for everyone who suffered at her hand, you carried the anger of the people and the family of Rolo and ended Briarwood, but with that attitude of yours made Cassandra like you, she approved you as Percival's girlfriend;

- But you had to end that moment with a beautiful sentence, right? You decided to translate the sentence before you spoke;

" Crying bitch God doesn't listen!"

- You said that when you were pointing to Briarwood's body;

- Congratulations, you have Cassandra's full approval now;

- When you came back to Tal'Dorei, you and Percy started dating, and he kept asking you about your world, such as technological advances, holidays, languages, politics, economics, and possibly whether there was ever any conflict, and you answer all the questions, at least you try to, but the questions that get you is about your family or foods you like to eat;

- Well, the group will try to recreate some recipes but in the Exandrian style, well some of them were easy, like the pamonha that was made from corn or dulce de leche;

- He loves your displays of affection, you like physical displays of affection a lot, Percy took a while to get used to it, but he feels very loved;

- The stolen kisses, the affectionate kisses you give Percy on the cheeks and neck make him excited, you are so affectionate with him, he wonders if where you come from people are like that when it comes to showing affection;

- He gets all flustered when you give him some affectionate nicknames in his native language;

- Examples of affectionate nicknames are: Amor/mor/ Morzão ( practically You are called love, you use this nickname to get his attention), Muso (You use that nickname to emphasize the beauty of this man), Meu Tudo (When you point out that he's everything to you), Bombom ( it's practically one of the sweets you ate the most in Brazil, the bonbon, you use this nickname to call Percy sweet), Meu Batom garoto ( This expression is funny, it can refer to the fact that your boyfriend is small and delicious like chocolate);

- And when you try to translate or explain the nicknames to him, he gets all embarrassed, and will try to call you by the same affectionate nicknames too, he will try, maybe you give him Brazilian Portuguese lessons;

Hope you like it!

[scarlettlillies]

Hetalia - Tulips

At long last! A new fic! \ o /

It's been so long since I last posted any stories. Writing has been such a struggle these last few years. In addition to my work life keeping me busy, my perfectionist ways were preventing me from finishing something as simple as a paragraph and it really killed my desire to do any writing. But the spark recently returned a few weeks back and it felt so good to write again! I'm hoping it sticks around for good this time. I'm still very rusty but I'm very happy with how this fic came out!

This story isn't entirely new. This fic has been sitting in my drafts for the last 10+ years and has gone through multiple rewrites because I couldn't settle on how things should progress. Whether or not you see their relationship as friendship or romantic is sort of left up to you.

If you prefer to read this at Ao3, you can click the link here.

Hope you all enjoy!

Summary: When Netherlands found out that Estonia liked to garden, he was skeptical. He thought Estonia was just trying to make conversation. During a quick phone call on a warm September evening, Estonia had one favour to ask him: bring some tulip bulbs. Turns out, he really did like to get his hands dirty.

----

No matter how many times Netherlands stopped by Estonia’s home, it was always a shock to see him covered in dirt.

Their friendship was very new. His impression of Estonia was slick, neat, and modern. When their paths would cross, he was always well-dressed in expensive suits and noticeably owned the latest devices available on the market. Estonia seemed to be stunned when Netherlands shared his observations about him over coffee. It was their first time sharing a table together during a brief morning recess at an EU meeting in Paris. Estonia admitted he had a bad habit of changing his devices regularly and was struggling to break it. He was conscious of how others perceived him, therefore being known as an IT nation was important to him. He had convinced himself that being seen with a device that was more than a few years old would tarnish his reputation. His clothing, however, he insisted was fairly cheap. He was no different than anyone else; he shopped at one of the local malls nearby his home and bought what was within his price point. Netherlands found his words hard to believe but when he wanted to press him for more questions, they were called back to continue with the day’s agenda.

That was some time ago. Five? Maybe ten years ago? He doesn’t quite remember. Time was always a strange concept for their kind anyhow.

Over their short time together though, Netherlands had begun to learn more things about him. He had an interesting palette for alcohol, was a natural when it came to music and technology, and liked the outdoors. But most importantly he was business-orientated. He knew how to sell you on anything — whether it was a wacky dish at his favourite restaurant that you just had to try or you needed help selling your hand-made crafts at the local marketplace —m aking a quick buck seemed to come naturally for him. Netherlands liked that in a man.

But when he found out that Estonia liked to garden, he was skeptical. They had been sharing drinks in a Brussels jazz bar after a long meeting and thought Estonia was just trying to make conversation. He didn’t look the type to get his hands dirty (then again neither did he), especially to those outside of his main friend group. Even when Estonia shared his knowledge of botany, he chalked it up to just being the intelligent guy that Estonia was known for.

“You should come to my place in the spring! I think you’ll like the setup that I’ve got.”

Netherlands took him up on that offer. To his surprise, he definitely liked what he saw.

His yard wasn’t very large but it boasted enough room to hold a patio set that was perfect for entertaining a small group of guests. A wooden shed that was painted dark brown was tucked away in the far left corner of the yard. A small rectangular glass table had been placed next to the shed where several mason jars containing herbs were growing happily in the sunlight. Each jar had its own white sticker label with all of the names written in Estonian. Everything was connected by a winding path of large stepping stones. Flower beds were decorated all around the perimeter of a classic white picket fence. A small plot of the yard was wired off for growing vegetables like lettuce and cucumbers. Various other pots were scattered around and contained different kinds of berries, tomatoes, and peppers. It was a cozy sight that made him feel right at home.

He had been back only a small handful of times since then. Their schedules just never seemed to align. Dates that did would always end up getting cancelled last minute. But a phone call on an unusually warm September night during a listening session of Rita Hovink’s first album would connect them once more. Estonia was very adamant about seeing him no later than next Saturday. When Netherlands circled the date in a red marker on the calendar hanging up on the wall of his tiny kitchen, Estonia made sure to include one last request before their call ended:

If you can, can you bring me some tulip bulbs? About three dozen or so? I’d be willing to reimburse you for it.

That seemed easy enough.

Netherlands gave Estonia a slight nudge against his right shoulder with the two brown paper bags he was carrying. With his knees deep in topsoil and dressed in messy blue overalls that were covered in grass stains, Estonia looked up with a big grin and a sunburnt nose.

It really did feel like Estonia was a whole different person.

What other sides of you are you hiding?

“Perfect timing as always!” he said cheerfully as he grabbed both bags. They crinkled loudly when he pulled them open and proceeded to tip each bag over to dump the contents onto the grass. He began counting each bulb carefully by putting them together in groups of ten. When Estonia got closer to the number thirty, he became more vocal in counting each number in his native tongue. Finally, at thirty, Estonia made a delighted grin and immediately began planting each bulb. He had two small plots with holes for each one all set to go. Netherlands crouched down at Estonia’s level and carefully watched him work. He noted how quick but delicate Estonia was with his hands.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to be planting these? I usually wait until October.”

“It gets pretty cold here at this time of the year compared to most of Europe. I’ve already lost some of my berries to frost so I spent the last few days salvaging what I could.”

Ah, so that’s where those came from. When he had passed through the kitchen to get to the yard, he remembered seeing several glass containers and mini woven baskets spread out across the kitchen counter that were overflowing with various kinds of fruit like blueberries and strawberries.

“Fair enough.”

Despite the cool breeze, Netherlands was too warm with the sun’s rays beaming down on him and was forced to walk over to the patio set to remove his coat. He hung his brown trench coat over one of the chairs, which were noticeably one of the few items left in the yard that hadn’t been covered with a black tarp. On the table, he noticed extra gardening tools, gloves, and multiple clear bags of different types of flower bulbs and seeds. Just like the mason jars from before, the bags had white sticker labels on them, all handwritten in Estonian with a black marker. Netherlands didn’t bother asking and immediately put on the spare gloves, which were a size too small for the Dutch man’s large hands, and took the items to an empty plot next to Estonia.

Estonia jolted at the sound of the tools being picked up off the glass patio table and his eyes grew wide. Having guests work in his home was a big faux pas to him that he had to put a stop to.

“Wait! You’re a guest in my home. You don’t need to—”

Netherlands was quick to cut him off and delivered Estonia a stern look, “Quiet. I want to help.”

Estonia’s lips had parted as if he wanted to protest but the words just wouldn’t come. With an audible sigh, he immediately dropped the conversation and returned to planting the bulbs. Estonia was not the type to waste time arguing with others and Netherlands had picked up on that quickly when they first met. The men continued on in complete silence, with Netherlands only speaking up when he wanted to know what the labels on the bags translated to in English.

But the extra pair of hands proved to be more helpful than Estonia would have liked to admit. What he could have accomplished in a few hours had been cut in half.

Estonia ripped the gloves from his hands and tossed them to the ground. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. He could already feel the aches settling into his back and knees.

“I appreciate the help. But you know you didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s fine.” Netherlands stressed, “I wanted to help so don’t worry about it. Gardening is a hobby that helps me relax.”

“How can I repay you?”

“Some of those berries in the kitchen would be a good start.”

Estonia caught Netherlands’s soft grin and he couldn’t help but snort.

“That can definitely be arranged.”

----

In the early morning hours, Netherlands decided to go for a bike ride.

He had been staying in the town of Lisse, one of his favourite vacation spots. He had made it a tradition to visit once a year as a reward for surviving the cold winters in the city; although these days it seemed like winter was non-existent. It’s been some time since he had last seen a genuine snowfall on the streets of Amsterdam.

The town was famous among locals and tourists alike for the endless sea of tulips that filled the land. The scenery continued into the outskirts of town where more tulips lined the fields and the stereotypical Dutch-style windmills towered the skies. Each row sported a colour of its own: red, orange, yellow, and white respectively. Netherlands made a quick pit stop at the side of the road to take in the sights. With the morning sun fully risen, it was moments like these that served as a reminder of why spring was his favourite season of them all.

Recalling the conversations he shared with his siblings weeks prior, Netherlands decided to capture the sights. However, he had to be quick. The mornings were still cool and he knew his hands would freeze quickly if he stood by the fields for too long. He could see his warm breath in the air when he tossed his black leather gloves into the metal basket on the front of his bike. He reached into the right-side pocket of his orange puffer jacket and quickly began snapping photos. After taking the fourth shot, a notification popped up on the screen with a bell-sounding tune following after. It was a message from Estonia, who he hadn’t seen in person since their gardening escapades last autumn. There was no text attached, just a photo of light pink peonies. Before Netherlands could reply, another photo popped up, this time of yellow daffodils.

The photos kept coming; one of red roses that hadn’t fully bloomed, one with a mixture of red, purple, and yellow pansies, and one of light and dark blue cornflowers. The final image though made his heart soar. It was a shot of the tulips they had planted together. When he had brought the bulbs over, he had no idea what colours they would bloom into. They were extras he had picked up from a bin labelled ‘Assorted Tulips’ from a downtown shop. They hadn’t fully bloomed yet, but he could see the beautiful colours of red, orange, and yellow all mixed together.

Finally, a text had come through.

They’re coming along nicely. Thanks for your help.

Netherlands wasn’t sure if it was intentional but Estonia slipped in a red heart-shaped emoji at the end of that sentence. He found it both cheesy and somewhat charming . He’s once again learned something new about him.

So when are you inviting me over to see the rest?

A minute had passed and a reply came through.

How does next weekend sound?

He cracked a smile and typed a quick response.

It’s a date. I’ll bring us some gin.

[miss-andromeda]

It's Nice To Have A Friend - Excerpt

Promise I'm getting to the asks! But here's a little excerpt of the newest chapter of All's Fair, called It's Nice To Have A Friend 🩷

----------

After what felt like forever, they were finally back at the lair - Kraangdroid still intact. 

While Mikey was indulging in a slice of pizza, Raph was feeding Spike, Leo was reading a comic and April was working on a paper for history class, Andi and Donnie were dissecting the technology in the droid's exoskeleton - and reveling in how sleek and complex it looked. 

"This technology is light-years ahead of anything I've ever seen!" Donnie marveled to Andi, holding up a small gadget with wires sticking out the bottom. It looked vaguely like a miniature control panel for a droid - like that was what the alien hit with their tentacles to make the droid whirr to life. "Do you know what this is?"

Noticing that he was talking to her, Andi set down a piece she was examining (the wires strewn made her question if it was like a bone for the Kraang) and glanced at what he was holding up to her. Immediately, her eyes widened and her smile grew. "No, but it looks awesome! Maybe that's like a heart for them, since the aliens in their abdomens are like their brains?"

"Maybe...ah, I can't wait to find out!" Donnie nearly squealed, making April smile and shake her head in amusement at them as she continued typing. It was always funny (and a little bit comforting) to have Andi be so interested in technology (regardless of what it was,) but when Donnie was added into the equation, the reaction was doubly hilarious. 

Meanwhile, Splinter was carefully holding a new bo for Donnie with the utmost respect, and the serious look on his face told Donnie that he had better not break this one so carelessly as he had during the battle against the Kraang. 

"Look, Spike. Donnie got another stick to break." Raph remarked, carefully balancing Spike on one hand while his other tickled the small tortoise under his chin. 

"With all due respect, sensei, I can't keep fighting alien technology with a six-foot staff." Donnie admitted, sitting himself up so his head was resting about the staff. "I was hoping to upgrade my weapon."

Andi perked up at that; maybe that meant they would finally get around to working on that battle mech. She glanced down at the technology in front of her and started getting ideas...maybe that control panel Donnie had held up earlier could play a part in it?

"Hm. A seven-foot staff. Interesting." Splinter mused as he held the bo at his side, snapping Andi out of her daydream and making her giggle at the obvious joking tone in his voice.

"No, I meant using modern technology." Donnie clarified, subtly referring to the Kraang parts in front of them. 

But, continuing the joke, Splinter spoke in the same tone. "Ah, a solar-powered staff." That made Andi start laughing - while also writing in the notes app on her phone that that was actually a good idea for the future. 

"I'm serious, sensei!" Donnie protested, slightly pouting at Andi as she continued laughing - but he couldn't deny how cute she looked when she laughed. 

"I know." Splinter merely replied, dropping the joking tone and going with a more fatherly one. "And yes, you may upgrade your weapon."

But Donnie was already prepared for Splinter to deny such a request. "That's totally unfair! You can't just-" But then he realized he misheard and glanced up at Splinter. "Wait, did you say yes?" That made Andi roll her eyes and snicker under her breath, while also remarking, "Geez, Don, learn to listen once in a while."

He then turned to look at her, raising a nonexistent eyebrow and his lips quirking up ever so slightly. "Okay, whose side are you on?"

Andi merely laughed again, meeting his eyes with a knowing smile. "Master Splinter's, duh. Once again, learn to listen."

Splinter smiled to himself before commencing with the explanation. "Ninjas have improved their arsenal for centuries. We are masters of adaptation."

"That is great!" Donnie cheered, still holding the control panel and standing up. "'Cause with this technology, I will be INVINCIBLE!" His mind immediately started racing with ideas. "What should I make? Electric sais? Multi-shot shuriken? Plasma swords!" He squealed. "I just gave myself goosebumps!"

But then he remembered the mech idea - and grinned at Andi in the process. "Actually, what say we finally get to work on that robot?"

She met his eyes with a bright smile. Finally, they were on the same page. "Let's do it!"

He could've melted with how pretty she looked. 

"But remember, technology is a means, not an end. It is you who must prevail in battle, not your weapon." Splinter added as Donnie and Andi picked up the broken droid and started to drag it toward the lab - clearly not listening to his advice. "Combat is not a video game."

"That's it! We'll turn combat into a video game!" Donnie excitedly told both himself and Andi, with him adding a "thanks, sensei!" and Andi smiling at him over his shoulder and yelling a warm "thank you, Master Splinter!" 

And as they made it to the lab, she grinned at Donnie with a gleam in her eye. "This is gonna be fun."

----------

As the sounds of blowtorches, hammers and laughter emerged from the lab, the others resumed their own activities. Mikey was now asleep on the tire swing, Leo and Raph were playing against each other in virtual hockey, and April had retired from working on that paper - and was now checking up on a message board that she and Andi had started a few days before. And apparently, someone had sent in a video for her to watch. 

"Hey, guys! Check out this post I got!" April called to the boys, a curious look in her eye. 

"Hang on, April. I just have to destroy Lame-onardo." Raph assured her before reverting his attention back to the game. 

Both of them had regained a sense of focus at that, hands keenly maneuvering their characters around to hit the puck. The game was all tied up at this point - one good power shot would secure either one of them a victory. Their characters moved around at the same time and in the same direction, only raising the stakes-

Until Raph got sick of the stalemate going on and slammed his hand down on the button for a power shot, destroying Leo's character with the puck and getting him the necessary victory point. 

Leo gave him an unimpressed stare as Raph reveled in his victory with a little dance, before giving his brother a proud smirk and shoving him aside, before going to join April on the couch. "So what's up?"

Unbeknownst to him, Leo had followed him and hit him once in the head as penance, before looking to April's computer.

"Andi and I set up a message board to collect unusual sightings around New York." She filled them in. "People send in pics, videos...sometimes we even get stuff that could help us track down the Kraang and find my dad. Like this video of a gas explosion." A video then played, showing clouds of gray, murky smoke - and a single Kraangdroid walking out of it. 

"A Kraangdroid." Leo remarked, admittedly both intrigued and a bit unimpressed (seriously? That was the best the citizens of New York could do?). But upon hearing that ill-fated word, Mikey was startled awake with a "WHERE?!" before yelping in panic as he fell into the wading pool. 

The three glanced at him with a mix of annoyance and unamused, before Leo decided to get them back on track. "We'll check it out tonight."

"Why not now?" April asked, her tone now adopting a hint of impatience. If they waited until nighttime, then that would give the Kraang ample time to either move their location or carry out whatever new plan they had.

Leo's answer was both obvious and simple. "Because it's daytime. We can't let anyone see us."

But April wasn't about to take that as an answer. "Well, I can." She only replied, closing her laptop and standing up, heading directly for the entrance. 

Leo immediately stopped her. "April, think about this. It could be dangerous." While he did respect her tenacity, she didn't have nearly (or really, any) experience with the Kraang as they did. If she wasn't careful, she could easily end up like her father - or worse. 

But speaking of Kirby-

"You know what else could be dangerous? Standing between me and my father." April told him sternly, the look in her eye telling him that she wasn't backing down for any reason. 

Unless...

Almost as if on cue, Andi stepped out of the lab, giggling to herself at a joke Donnie had told her before. "Let me just go to the bathroom first and then I can show you the gun." Her smile was on full display as she caught sight of the Mexican standoff between Leo and April. "What's going on here?"

Leo was about to ask if she could talk some sense into April, but the latter simply told her, "I'm gonna investigate a nearby Kraang base. See if I can pick up on any plans."

Immediately, the color drained from Andi's face and her eyes went wide - and her smile faded instantly. "Wait, what? Are you crazy?!" She rushed over to face April, grabbing her shoulders in a desperate attempt to stop her. "Did you forget that you were nearly another hostage of theirs?! They're probably looking for you! What if they find you?! What if you're taken again?!" She then got even more scared as her green eyes met April's blue ones. "What if they do something worse?"

For a split second, April's determination and confidence faltered. But then she remembered seeing her dad being taken in that helicopter...and the steely look in her eye returned. "I'll be careful, Andi. Nothing's gonna happen to me." She assured her, pulling her into a hug to calm her nerves. 

And while it didn't help her completely, the vague scent of her honey shampoo was enough to make Andi let out a shaky breath. "You'd better be, O'Neil. Or I'll kill you myself." She muttered, making April smile softly at her and pull away. 

"I'll be back before you know it."

She then turned around and left the lair, leaving Andi to watch her and wrap her arms around her own abdomen. 

"Is she always like this?" Leo asked her in an attempt to snap her out of her anxiety. Which kind of worked as Andi sighed and nodded. "Determined? Absolutely."

Donnie had noticed what was going on from the lab and was now standing in the doorway. Seeing Andi like this made him feel like his heart was in his throat, so he resorted to what he tended to do when she was in pain or scared - a strong distraction. "Uh, hey, Andi? Maybe you can show me the gun now?"

She tore herself away from the path April had taken and met his eyes, slightly nodding in agreement. "Yeah, um...sure." She agreed, taking one last glance at the entrance before walking back with Donnie into the lab. 

"She's gonna be okay...you know that, right?" He tried to comfort her, making her give him a weak smile. 

"For both her sake and mine, Don, you'd better be right."

----------

Full chapter coming soon...hopefully 🩷

@tinkabelle19 @happymoonangel @jasminarts01 @android-cap-007 @thelaundrybitch @raphsmuneca @eveandtheturtles @m1dnyt3-w0lf

[sweetmage]

Isabela/Aveline Modern AU WIP!!!

⚠️Suggestive

In which Aveline, who doesn't know how to use her newish phone, is convinced that Isabela keeps sending her skimpy photos. However, Isabela is just posting on her own public social media and Aveline is getting notifications for it, but, she uses technology with all the grace of an 80-year-old, she's confused and thinks they're direct texts to her 😅

Aveline had never quite gotten used to the feeling of a phone in her hand. Call her old-fashioned or simply resistant to change, but never quite enjoyed the new age of technology. But Isabela had insisted she get one. Good for keeping up the guard and keeping tabs on the Hawke's, she said, and Aveline couldn't argue with that.

But the more time that passed, the more she wondered what ulterior motives Isabela might have. Every day the blasted thing pinged and when she checked it, there was always some new photo of Isabela, barely dressed, sometimes not at all.

She couldn't understand why she kept doing this. Was it to make her work life harder? To put her job in jeopardy? Or was it some sort of sick joke? The more she thought about it, the more irritated she grew. She was just trying not to think too much about it when the phone buzzed in her pocket.

With a heavy sigh, Aveline pulled it out and looked. Sure enough, there she was, all tits and ass, winking at the camera.

Just like every time, she clicked the little box beneath the photo to let her know just how she felt about it.

'Some of us have jobs to do. I do not need to see your tits at 11 in the morning. Do you not have better things to do?'

After a quick re-read, Aveline clicked the send button. It wasn't anything she hadn't said before, though in recent months the frustration in her messages had grown. She was, of course, frustrated by Isabela's utter lack of shame and dignity, but she was far more frustrated by what those photos were doing to her.

Every time Aveline saw her, her body responded—heat in her cheeks, a flutter in her stomach. The first few times, she'd had been able to pass it off as embarrassment, but she wasn't so naive as to think there wasn't more to her feelings than that.

Her phone pinged again, this time with words from Isabela.

'Don't be so stuffy, Big Girl. We can't all be in a meeting at 11 am.'

Aveline huffed. She wasn't in a meeting and was bloody glad for it. She couldn't imagine how embarrassing it would be to be caught opening a text like that while surrounded by her men. She'd never talk her way out of it!

'Neither am I, but you don't see me flashing my bits to everyone. You know this is inappropriate.'

Isabela's reply was almost immediate.

'That's because you have no sense of fun. Come on, live a little. ;)'

She wasn't even going to entertain that. She simply turned off the screen… for a moment. Then impulse won over and she opened the message again, stealing another quick glance at the photo.

Maybe she didn't have a sense of fun, though she couldn't see what the fun was in flashing her breasts for everyone to see. At least not for the one posting…

Her throat had gone dry, her cheeks hot. The more she stared, the worse she felt. What was wrong with her? It was just a picture. It was just—

"Guard captain, a word."

Aveline jumped, dropping the phone to the desk as if it were suddenly red-hot then scooping it up again because of course the thing landed screen up.

[welcome-to-green-hills]

Happy Easter Mystery! :3 (gives hugs while stuffing my face with chocolate because I'm a chocoholic XD ) Do you want another potential Sonic 3 scenario? :3 I thought this potential one up yesterday...think hypothetically in the middle of the story ;)

It was eerie as Tom and Maddie maneuvered through the halls of the old research labs. It was...so spooky.

Something full of the most modern tech, that modern day phone and technology companies would be jealous of...yet fully abandoned...

"Jeez..." Tom muttered, trying to break the silence that was quietly freaking him out, "To think that 50 years ago, there was all this...tech, makes the likes of Star Trek outdated...it's so odd."

"Oh?" Maddie responded, trying to humour the situation, "And...the fact that our three boys are aliens from across the galaxy is not at all...odd to you?"

Tom gave a small smirk, "Alright, alright."

Maddie giggled a bit, readjusting the little backpack full of some of Tails' helpful gadgets on her shoulder.

Although, mentioning their boys...Tom was now stuck in thought.

"Maddie...do you think..."

Maddie held his hand, "I know...I'm worried to. But...our boys, their...very smart. They've been in this sort of scenario before - not exactly of course, but still - and...if they DO need our help, then, they can just call us. Their smart kids, and they have each others backs."

"Right. Just...well...you saw what that...hedgehog did to them back at the house..."

Maddie shuddered at the memory. She couldn't deny what happened...

Sneaking through the rooms, Tom saw something on an old table. A old rectangle block...picking it up - it was an old VHS tape. MAN, now did Tom feel old...

But then he saw the title on the side, written in big ink.

'PROJECT SHADOW - CASE STUDY 8'

"...Project Shadow..."

"Shadow..." Maddie asked, "Isn't...that the name of the black Hedgehog Sonic told us about?"

Tom looked around, and saw an old, dusty monitor in the corner, with an old VHS system attached and plugged in. Something told him to put the tape in.

And he did.

The TV switched on, Tom and Maddie got in front to watch it.

'"Is this on- it's on? Oh! Yes! Project Shadow Case Study, part 8.'"

An man appeared on the screen, dressed in a white lab coat, and he had a moustache...a moustache that slightly resembled...

Tom and Maddie dared not speak up his name...but shared a glance at each other.

"'His vita- I mean! It's vitals are running perfectly normal! It's almost as though this creature was like us humans! It's a big breakthrough! Our next sta- M-Maria!'"

A girl ran past, behind the old man. Presumably Maria.

A teen girl she seemed, with beautiful golden hair, dressed in a blue dress and cardigan, and had the giggle of an angel.

"'Sorry Grandfather! Shadow's idea!'"

"'No it wasn't.'"

Tom and Maddie noticed a...familiar face walking up to Maria. A black hedgehog...with read markings on his quills. Was it...

It was.

Shadow.

His face showed much more...happier marks. His eyes were gentle, innocent...and a smile was on his face.

Tom was stuck, looking at Shadow's face...he gulped a little, somewhat anxious.

"'Alright you two! Run off now. Haha, I'll join you in a moment, I need to record this-'"

"'What is this?'" The black hedgehog asked, walking up to a gadget - an old record player.

"'Press it Shadow!'"

"'M-Maria! Don't encourage him-!'"

'Lord almighty, feel my temperature rising-'

"'Grandpa? You listen to-!"

A laugh could be heard coming from the black hedgehog...a laugh...that tugged the heartstrings of the two humans watching the screen.

"'Oh!!! No! don't touch it-! Uh- E-End of case study!'"

And the video stopped.

Tom and Maddie were frozen, watching it. They both could feel the mixed emotions between them. Maddie then turned to her husband, who was still staring at the now blank screen.

"...Tom...?"

"...Sorry, it's just...it's...seeing...if that is really...who we think it is, then why does...he reminds me of..."

"...Sonic."

"...Yeah."

Maddie hugged Tom's arm, rubbing his hand supportively. Tom just shook his head and looked at her. His eyes were pained...

"Just...what the heck happened to make him become...this."

👉🥺👈 Vinyl lover Shadow, my beloved 👉🥺👈 My heart ❤️🥺❤️

[lauren-210]

Since when do you like THG/TBOSAS? Tell me your fandom story 😊

Have you read or watched all the books/movies?

Thank you.

@curiousnonny

Hi! Thanks for the question! Okay, storytime! 😀

As for my own history, I got into the series when I was 16 back in 2012 right around the time the first film was being advertised and about to come out very soon in theaters. I was in 9th grade in high school and I just turned 16 back in February, so it was about a month after my birthday when the first film was coming out. I saw the trailers for the film on TV, noticed in the trailers that it was based off a book, and I was very interested in what the story was about. I was actually under the impression that the series took place in the past like the Great Depression or World War 2 based on how everyone was dressed in District 12 during the Reaping and how poor District 12 was until I saw that there was very futuristic/modern technology and got the gist of the concept behind the Games and seeing The Capitol, so I had to take the historical fiction idea out of my head and learned that it was YA dystopia (which was a genre I hadn't read that much as a teen during that time).

I decided to pick up the whole trilogy and read the first book before going out to see the film in theaters. I got hooked into the book, loved it, and decided to see the film, which I really enjoyed a lot. I continued to repeat the process and read both Catching Fire and Mockingjay afterwards and then saw Catching Fire and both Mockingjay films in theaters on the first day they were released and I've been such a huge fan of the series ever since.

As for Ballad, I was super excited after finding out the news about a new book in the series back in 2019 a month after I had graduated from college and returning home. I remember that day when I was scrolling on my phone on Facebook, I suddenly saw the Scholastic post announcing the "Untitled Panem Novel" with that black cover with the white feather and release date of May 19th, 2020. My entire world spun around and I was just in complete hype mood because I couldn't believe were were getting a fourth book in the series and I was non-stop excited to speculate what it was gonna be about/waiting each day for its release. I also thought it was gonna be special to me because the release date for it was exactly one year after I had graduated from college. Then, after learning it was going to be a prequel set 64 years before the first book and centered on Snow when he was 18, I was very fascinated by that idea and the general synopsis of the plot and I fully trusted Suzanne with this book.

However, I actually ended up not getting towards reading the book until late December 2021 since I was very busy with graduate school in between 2019-2021 (and I was dealing with personal issues during September 2021 with a loss in the family). I ended up loving the book and it stands as my second favorite in the series only behind Catching Fire!

And of course I've read all the books and seen all the films multiple times. I've seen Ballad twice in theaters, which was great and also loved it (also stands as my second favorite film in the series similarly for the books), and thought it was a solid adaptation but just like the other films, I do have my own criticisms for sure and would have wanted other aspects from the book incorporated into the film, but overall, I think it did it justice in bringing the book to life.

......................Plus, Ballad introduced my absolute favorite character of the series: My best friend, my District 2 golden boy, my love: Sejanus Plinth, so Ballad also gets a +1 for me ❤️