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hitlikehammers · 2 months ago

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regular-guy!Eddie absolutely did not expect the emotional gut-punch of the ✨RED CARPET INTERVIEW✨ from famous!Steve's movie premiere (or: Part Nine)

He kinda already knew that, and sure he feels exactly the same but…

Fuck if hearing it out loud isn’t something else.💛🎥

<<< back to the obligatory dose of lingering insecurity // back to the beginning

It’s a whole eight-and-a-half hours since Steve left, and Eddie’s opening the door to a delivery guy who’s holding a box from Eddie’s favorite bakery. Eddie didn’t even know they did delivery, but like—

He shouldn’t even be fucking surprised anymore. He’s not surprised by how his heart fills, and trips over itself for how clumsy it gets when it’s a giddy-lovedrunk fool like the rest of him, beating Steve-Steve-Steve through his veins, stumbling like it’s never moved before which is true in a way, maybe the biggest way, because this territory of loving his Stevie demands blissfully, and consumes entirely, all that Eddie is in a way he’s never known before, or feltbefore so yeah, yeah his heart can just shiver madly with it as long as it goddamn wants.

(And it wants forever, so.)

And this is apparently who Eddie is, now, what he’s be reshaped into for the love of Steve Harrington. And fuck, but he wouldn’t trade it; wouldn’t change it for anything.

His pulse does an extra little tumble when he unfolds the note waiting for him in the fold of the box:

you are what my heart is for

for always, if you’ll have me

~S <3 <3

He doesn’t fight the way his face stretches into a smile, so soft and just, just…so in love, right, and he laughs with the size of the warmth flooding him when he opens the box to see his favorite donuts—Boston Cream and chocolate glazed—nestled alongside enough varieties of the flakiest, butteriest croissants to feed a small army. He shakes his head and checks the clock: not too late for a coffee, so he goes to the machine and—

Finds it all set up, ready to brew. Cup set next to it and everything, complete with a post-it with another <3 scrawled in the middle, stuck to the handle.

Eddie cannot fight the way his eyes prickle as he switches the machine on and takes the note from the mug, holds it to his chest like it’s precious.

Because it is precious. This feeling, this…this this, is so fucking precious he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He doesn’t know how he found something this profound, this invaluable and dear to its core, to his core, he’s, he just…

If his fucking coffee gets a couple tears in it, he figures that’s just, like, the taste of true fucking love, so he’s actually really goddamn grateful for it.

Maybe it makes him heartsick a little, for how much it already feels like his home is empty without Steve, just for a few hours now, but…he thinks maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be, how he’s supposed to feel.

He…he’s not going to willingly sign up for this feeling way again, though. He’s gonna get over his bullshit and give in to what it feels like to love this big and complete, fuck his discomfort and his hangups, he’s never letting his world feel this dull and bereft again if he can fucking help it.

Maybe he googles tuxedos, then…maybe he googles ‘what do men wear to the red carpet’ because maybe it’s just really nice tailored suits, he doesn’t fucking know, he just knows he’s going to fucking get one, he’s going to buy it himself and have it ready for the next time Steve asks him to come with him, so he can show his Stevie that he’s in this in every way, no caveats, no heartbreak, even the little temporary going-to-work kind.

Then he looks at the clock, bites at his lip, and decides no, it’s not took early to search for the most unhinged network to have started their coverage of the premiere.

Because seriously. He was always gonna fucking watch his boyfriend be amazing, and beautiful, and just…

Everything.

—

Eddie nearly drops his pain au chocolat when he sees Steve’s perfectly swooped hair peek on-screen in the so-far-kinda-interminable premiere coverage. Like…Eddie knows he’s watching with a deeply single-minded goal, but seriously.

How are these other people taking up time that could just be Steve, instead?

Insanity.

“Steven,” the interviewer greets him in that over-friendly way the press has with celebrities, that Eddie always thought was weird as fuck because it’s not like those vultures were the famous people’s friends.

“I hate to say this because it feels cliche,” the woman smiles that sort of apologetic-but-only-because-people-are-watching smile that’s fucking nauseating; “but you’re looking exceptionally striking tonight,” she nods to his outfit, and ‘striking’ is an understatement but then she once-overs him head-to-toe and…

Fuck.

Fuck, but Eddie did not anticipate the welling of rage in his limbs, the protectiveness that surges in him laced with a potent possessiveness he should maybe be ashamed of but…no, he’s fucking not, because his Stevie isn’t a pice of meat and he’ll fucking fight anyone who treats him like a paycheck or a prize or a—

But Steve laughs, and it sounds real, so…Eddie can let it slide.

For now.

“Am I?” Steve asks, playful almost, coquettish—he’s got a handle on this, has these bastards eating out the palm of his goddamn hand and if his masterful command of the encounter from the jump, here, isn’t sexy as fuck, leads to something wholly different but just as red-hot as the protective ire in Eddie leaping through his blood all over again? Well.

Fuck him, then, because: dayum.

The interviewer laughs, comfortable, and Eddie gets the impression that maybe they’ve done this dance before; a lot of times, even. There isn’t camaraderie, there, but there’s a…collegiality.

Eddie will table his desire to key the interviewer’s car and…stuff.

For now.

“Is it weird to tell you you’re glowing?”

Steve does what Eddie imagines is the movie star equivalent of the snort that he lets loose so often, so freely, so unguarded in Eddie’s home, next to Eddie and it’s like his smiles that don’t reach his eyes versus the ones that do.

And Eddie’s fucking floored all over again at what a privilege it is, what a gift he’s living, to know the difference. To be able to hold the difference close.

“Maybe,” Steve huffs across the feed, and Eddie watches the little expressive quirks run across his face, framing that blinding smile because fuck, the man is kinda radiant, but then: Eddie knows for a fact that Steve is radiant always, so it’s not a surprise this lady’s pointing it out.

S’just obvious.

“But I don’t mind at all,” Steve adds as the interviewer ducks her head a bit, a little reticent all of a sudden though Eddie can’t tell how much of it’s an act, if it even matters: because Steve’s a master at reading people, at getting the body language and subtler cues just right—the number of times already that he’s picked up something’s off, from a frustrating work call to a headache from a coming storm, before Eddie even processes it for himself is unreal—but Steve always notices, so he leans in kind of conspiratorially as he grins, and invites her to share the energy:

“I’ll take it as a compliment,” and he winks, and she chuckles, and Eddie…

Eddie cannot help but imagine what it could be like to stand next to him. To brush his arm against Steve’s arm as he works the line of cameras. To smile at this woman and all these bloodsuckers and just…watch as they fawn over the man he loves, who loves him and who will go home with Eddie, and trust Eddie with all the intricacies of him that the world isn’t privy to, and Eddie could watch them fall over themselves and just…just know.

He wants that. He wants that…so much.

“Such a compliment,” the interviewer confirms enthusiastically, then tilts her head, her demeanor shifting ever-so-slightly:

“Anything different to credit as the cause? New skin routine?” she asks too innocent, and Eddie’s struck that this must be how the game is played, asking questions without asking the question.

He doesn’t think he could manage that. He’s in awe of Steve all over again if this is what’s demanded of him as a rule, on the regular.

Then he’s in awe of Steve—all over again, again—when Steve’s features soften and then, for the most blink-and-you’ll-miss-it second, Eddie sees the version of Steve that sits next to him on the couch, that strokes Eddie’s hair, that touches him gentle and reverent somehow, that shares his bed.

It’s gone in a second but, the idea that there’s feeling there that, knowing what to look for and how to recognize the known quantity, can leak into the careful public display that Steve allows the world to have of him?

It’s…it’s a heady, powerful thing. It’s fucking intoxicating to witness.

And then the man he loves speaks:

“I don’t think there’s a product money can buy that makes you glow from the inside,” and he sounds so tender, so genuine and fucking, like, just, luminescent with feeling and Eddie…Eddie cannot handle it.

Eddie needs him so much. Needs to reach for him. Needs to hold him. Needs to hold him to his chest and try to fit him inside, needs to make himself small in Steve’s arms to try and fit inside his chest and make a home there forever, he needs—

“Oh,” the interviewer is fucking, like, cooing; “oh, Steven,” and Eddie’s mouth twists instinctually because…okay. Okay, Eddie gets why Steve uses another version of his name for the masses and Eddie thinks he’s only going to use it for really really serious things, if only just to try and salvage the way he suspects this woman isn’t the first, or the worst, to simper around it like it has something to give, rather than exists as something to like…adulate.

Actively.

“You have to know that now I’m obligated to—” she says the words like she knows she’s required to, and maybe, maybe feels some degree of apology for prodding but…not nearly enough degrees.

Not even close.

But Steve just laughs, cuts into her words:

“Of course I knew,” he waves her prevaricating off with such a deft fucking hand, so hot; “I was counting on it.”

And he sounds sly, not quite like he’d played her but not exactly not, like he was pulling the strings all along and she moved exactly where he’d planned for her to.

More…just more sexy. And Eddie’s just really grateful he’s wearing sweats right now and there’s no one to judge him, basically.

“It’s not something I want to hide,” Steve’s saying all soft again, but burning like candlelight and Eddie melts for it accordingly because Jesus fucking Christ: “but you’re only getting the broad strokes, yeah?”

“Broad strokes, excellent,” the interviewer says, nodding like a bobblehead; “that is perfect,” and she’s clearly excited, and Eddie obviously knew Steve was private where he could be but to get this kind of reaction at the admittedly bare-bones he’s laying out as being willing to share?

It has to…mean something big. Has to be a little unprecedented. Maybe Eddie’s heart’s bouncing in his chest, pin-balling against his ribs more than a little for all the implications in it.

Heady, like he said: and then some.

“I met someone,” and Eddie, like: okay.

Okay, he probably could have guessed that’s where it was going via context clues, like, Steve was talking about something personal. Entertainment “journalism” was always rooted in who was fucking who, and…well.

Steve’s fucking Eddie, so, yeah. Context clues.

But tell that to the way Eddie’s heart damn well stops still, freezing all it’s chaotic momentum in his chest in a fucking second once he realizes what’s happening. What is…

Happening, on cable fucking television. On Al Gore’s internet. Fucking…live.

In front of millions. For posterity.

(If Eddie still trusted himself to follow such things—which for the record, after the no-Steve-in-your-contacts disaster, he absolutely does not, okay?—but if he did, he can only begin to imagine the extent of the gifsets, because Eddie found fuckton of a lot of them for the actor-who-he-definitely-didn’t-think-was-his-Steve, and he always did have a pretty good eye for the kinds of events that a fanbase would eat up and make like five-hundred-thousand versions of the same 10 seconds from, and now-definitely-his-Steve is offering a goldmine here, but—)

But see, even if Eddie trusted himself with that sort of thing still, he couldn’t care about it right now, and that would be because his heart’s still decidedly in limbo, twitching maybe with disbelief, with overwhelm, with the gravity of what’s happening because Steve is, Steve is—

About him and—

“I’m with someone.”

And Steve says it with so much feeling, so much…delight and wonder at the fact of it, the mere prospect of it, that it makes sense that the full weight of it hits Eddie as his heart feels like it gasps for air after being held under water, holding so much more inside it in his moment than Eddie thinks, no: so much more than Eddie knows he’s ever felt before and that’s why the way his heart jumps back to beating again is a whole ass the earth-shattering production, because the force of it could crack his ribs or quake the ground beneath him, definitely rocks him where he sits and shakes through his bones because it’s such a, like, volumetric force that cascades through him, that feels like expanding with the breadth of all things and then slamming closed to expel them into the universe to be caught and held by the only person, the only heart and soul that you want, that you need to have your everything—

“I found this incredible human who is,” Steve licks his lips, and Eddie’s hyper-saturated heart probably shouldn’t be able to beat faster when it’s beating with this kind of unprecedented force but it does, somehow, it can because Eddie is that far in love and maybe that transcends all the probablys in the whole fucking world.

“Like, this is amazing,” Steve pivots, gestures at the spectacle around them; “and it’s a privilege, and you know how much I appreciate it, how grateful I am and how much I would never dare to even think about taking any of it as a given.”

“You’ve always been,” the interviewer considers for a second before deciding on her words, and delivering them wholly-honest, and Eddie tries his damnedest to process what she says over the deafening rush of his blood in his ears: “probably the most gracious of your colleagues that I’ve had the pleasure to speak with,” and she shoots him a little grin as she adds:

“Humble, really, which has never failed to be impressive.”

And Eddie feels this…tingling warmth come over him, bubbly and magical like champagne looks in a sunset: he’s so proud, and he’s so…fucking lucky that this man wants him, that this man loves him, that this man lets Eddie love him back, and is willing to…tell the whole goddamn world.

“That is so sad,” Steve grimaces at being called out for being decent as something other than a bare minimum, which Eddie gets but he also knows for a fact that Steve is so much more than decent, and he deserves to be celebrated for it whether or not his own coworkers fucking suck.

Eddie’s gonna make a point to celebrate him. For all that he is and all that he does, for how he is exceptional in all the ways.

Always.

“But, like, you’ve seen that,” Steve gets back to his point, and perks up, goes back to the blinding brightness that pulls Eddie’s heart wide to do the thing where it’s trying to defy physics, to pump the whole unfathomable depth of this feeling; “so you know what it means when I tell you I met someone who blows all of this out of the water. Who puts everything this town, this industry,” he glances around himself again, takes everything in in this encompassing way then shakes his head and grins so true:

“Everything this job has to offer, even at its very best? This person puts all of it to absolute shame.”

And the interviewer is just staring at him, holding her microphone, looking a little dumbfounded, definitely surprised—Eddie knows Steve doesn’t date much, hasn’t been attached to someone romantically for years since a very high profile breakup with the lead from the those 80s-throwback monster movies that Eddie refuses to name, out of solidarity with the man he’s gonna spend the rest of his life with. But the red carpet lady’s thrown for a loop, maybe largely by the subject itself, but maybe likewise by the feeling Steve’s infusing every word with. Unabashed and brilliant.

“They’re so much…more, than all of this, any of this, that I don’t know the word to describe it,” Steve laughs lightly to himself for a second then tacks on:

“If a word for this even exists.”

The interviewer seems to shake herself out of her baffled kind of stupor to nod a little, smile a little—not reluctant, but more kinda…confused.

“Sounds special,” she says, and it’s like she does mean it, but then she adds; “almost like a fairytale.”

And Eddie doesn’t think it’s just his own insecurities—difficult to hold on to in the waves of what his pulse is doing, how his entire body is reacting to Steve’s every word, to the undeniable revelation of just what lives in Steve’s heart in detail, public now and proud of it, kind of fucking unequivocal—but Eddie doesn’t think it’d just be him who picks up the unspoken implication there:

Almost too good to be true..

“I mean every word,” Steve doesn’t even pause to consider that implication, fucking unfathomable saint of a man that he is; “and I am so grateful, I don’t take a breath spent with them for granted,” and fuck if Eddie’s eyes don’t sting because yeah, he kinda already knew that, and sure he feels exactly the same but…

Fuck if hearing it out loud isn’t something else.

“But I found someone who enjoys my company, like, seriously and genuinely enjoys my company, and doesn’t mind at all that I am kind of obsessed with them and want to be with them always,” and if Eddie mouths at the screen same, Stevie-baby, exactly the same with his heart in his throat, no one could even blame him, and he wouldn’t give a shit if they tried; “someone who supports the fuck out of me, who laughs with me, who lets me be stupid and filled with, like,” and Steve grins so big then and chuckles a little buoyant and it’s clear the interviewer is taken aback, had never seen Steve the way Eddie always sees Steve—

“Just, silly joy at the most random stuff,” and Steve’s gaze goes a little distant, a little starry, and Eddie wonders what he’s thinking about, which stupid thing they’ve giggled over’s filled his head just now and Eddie’s chest hurts for how much he wants to reach out and trace those features, wants to kiss the little space between those brows and feel those impossible lashes brush his skin because he leans so close, because he can be that close.

“Someone who takes me out, cooks me dinner, writes me songs, treats me randomly for no reason like I just deserve it as a matter of course,” because of course that should be the standard with Steve and fuck everyone who came before and failed to understand that; there won’t be anyone to come after, though, not if Eddie has anything to say about it: and he’s never going to forget what it means to treat Steve Harrington exactly how he deserves.

“And they let me do the same,“ and Steve sounds so grateful for the give-and-take of them, the way they meet and match, and Eddie just…he wants Stevie next to him right now, and he really and truly knows that after he kisses Steve senseless and they fuck about how much they love each other?

He’s going to promise this man every movie release and awards show and random event he wants for the rest of their lives, if he’ll let Eddie have the honor.

“Doesn’t turn it into like a competition on either side, either, it’s just us both doing what we want to do most in the moment, any given day,” and Eddie is struck all over again at how little time it took, especially given Eddie’s laundry list of hangups, for them both to sink into an established status quo of…not a millionaire and his management-grunt sidepiece, or some fucked up accidental sugar baby, but two men who just…love. As a rule. And show it.

Eddie…kinda didn’t process just how much that was, is, until it’s spelled out: never a competition. Eddie never feels bought when Steve sends him his now-routine gifts whenever he’s away. Steve never makes Eddie feels silly when Eddie makes a point to bring him breakfast in bed just because; kinda makes him feel the opposite, makes him feel like a fucking superhero or something, because they’re just—

“Cherishing each other,” Steve continues, and that’s…that’s it, that’s exactly it; “celebrating, y’know, what it means to feel this way.”

And Steve pauses, a soft smile less curling his lips than suffusing his whole body, softening his features and making him so much like a sun, a brighter star than the event can stand and Eddie’d called it: the world can’t handle that shine all the time. Steve can’t smile with his mouth and his heart and the full force of his everything, lest lesser mortals fall in the face of the magnificence of it.

But then he starts speaking again, and Eddie…Eddie, for his part, maybe falls in a wholly different way:

“I found somebody I want to see tomorrow with, but all of them. All the tomorrows, y’know? Somebody who wants to make my coffee in the morning, just so we can watch the sunrise,” and Eddie sees it as it happens on the little balcony he has, where he’s actually started using the chairs that were mostly for show before but now, now he sits with Steve, and they drink coffee and wake up slow and it’s…it’s perfection and Eddie aches at how much he’s in love with it, in love with Steve and what they have, what they’re making and building and keeping together and—

“Knows just how I like it,” and Eddie does, he makes sure Steve’s coffee has just the right amount of milk, is the perfect temperature—it’s muscle memory now: the knowledge of Steve held sacred in Eddie’s head as much as in his heart; “lets me hold their hand, play with their,” and Steve’s fingers twirl a little and Eddie knows: lets him play with Eddie’s hair, because fuck if they don’t both love that so fucking hard and maybe Eddie reaches for a curl and it’s nothing like having Steve play with it but it’s…it’s something.

“Never waited to call, because why wait,” he says wryly, and Eddie chokes on something between a cackle and a sob because Eddie had feared so hard that he’d lost this, but in truth?

He’d had no idea what he was losing, what he’d have gone without, even when he knew deep down he was maybe losing everything.

So yeah: he hadn’t fucking wasted any time that second go-around.

“Why play games when you can, when,” and Steve stops himself, shakes his head ruefully before thinking better of giving more than he wants to the people watching; “and now we, we’re like,” and this time when he trials off he just kinda sits with it, stares off camera kinda unfocused for a second, but looking so content.

Eddie loves him so goddamn much.

“Yeah,” Steve shrugs, but not in a way that minimizes any of what he’s said, or any of the feeling behind it; “sorry if it disappoints your viewers,” but Steve doesn’t sound one bit sorry, he sounds sly almost and then:

“But I’m not sorry at all that I found them, this,” and Steve smiles to himself, private-like again when he stumbles upon a reason to underscore the the reality that it’s:

“Us.”

Together. Inseparable. A single entity made of equals given wholly to what it means to love, like this.

Fucking magical, is what it is.

By this point, the interviewer looks a little dewy-eyed herself, and her smile really does read as honest. Like she’s…no one could be as happy as Eddie is, in this. And Steve’s feelings seem…comparable, against all odds but undeniable, though Eddie doesn’t think anyone could be quite as overjoyed by where he’s ended up, and with who.

Like: even if Steve were inexpressibly thrilled about it, and he may well be, the look on his face isn’t vague, but then Eddie…well, he’d just have to be so inconceivably giddy it topples empires; parts seas.

“You’ll head home to them?” the woman asks, and oh.

Oh.

Steve’s smile at that…it reaches his eyes.

“Long as I didn’t piss ‘em off too much, with what I’ve said,” and Eddie absolutely does laugh through the heaving sobs of the sort he’s not sure he’s ever experienced before: like the sheer magnitude of feeling in him just has no option but to crest and burst out of him the only way it can, as he giggles at the absolute absurdity of this man, this man, as if Eddie isn’t tempted to sleep in front of the fucking door for however many days between now and Steve coming home—home—so he can leap into those arms and cling and promise him forever, forever, forever in no uncertain terms, making concrete and certain all that they’ve implied in every possible way to now.

“They value their privacy,” Steve sobers a little, serious with it and Eddie loves him, he loves him and he loves so much more and bigger than privacy, than whatever fear lives and breathes in him: it’s nothing compared to the fact of Steve.

“Our privacy.”

“You were impressively discreet, even by your own standards,” the woman reassures him, as if it’s a question, as if Eddie could ever be pissed at Steve for the fucking declarations he’s given, for the care he’s infused in the delivery, just…Steve.

“Even I don’t think I could track this person down,” the lady tacks on and Steve chuckles at that.

“That’s pretty good, then,” he compliments lightly, like maybe he appreciates her actual journalistic skills in a sea of stolen photos and who-wore-it-best.

“Congratulations, Steven,” the woman leans in and seems to think twice before patting his shoulder or something, but definitely looks like she wants to. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you,” Steve tells her then glances over his shoulder, catches something out of sight and waves before smiling not-quite-apologetically. “Looks like I’m needed elsewhere.”

And then Steve’s off and Eddie…

Eddie starts searching for someone who’s better at technology that he is, and has saved the interview start to finish, so he can watch it again.

💛💛💛

on to THE CONCLUSION // part ten >>>

✨or✨

<<< back to the obligatory insecurity // part eight

for @pearynice 🖤

✨permanent tag list: OPEN (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @pearynice @hbyrde36 @slashify @finntheehumaneater @wxrmland @dreamwatch @perseus-notjackson @estrellami-1 @bookworm0690 @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @nerdyglassescheeseychick @swimmingbirdrunningrock @goodolefashionedloverboi @sanctumdemunson @theheadlessphilosopher @sadisticaltarts @bumblebeecuttlefishes @shrimply-a-menace @wheneverfeasible @1-tehe-1 @themoonagainstmers @dreamercec @ravenfrog @live-laugh-love-dietrich @stealthysteveharrington @tinyplanet95 @theohohmoment @samsoble @tinyloonyteacups @askitwithflours @awkwardgravity1 @pretend-theres-a-name-here @dragoon-ze-great

divider credit here

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #famous!steve/regular-guy!eddie #fluff #one-night stand #(except definitely not a one night stand at all not even from the very start)#(maybe that's a spoiler but I do not care one little bit at all)#idiots fall into bed then fall in love #you know: tale as old as time #stranger things #gift fic #pearynice #hitlikehammers' hobbit-birthday prompt fest #hitlikehammers v words #hitlikehammers writes

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marlynnofmany · 29 days ago

Text

Partially Fragile

The box stuck in the tree was a lovely sight, really. Visually striking. The vivid blue of whatever variety of alien cardboard this was contrasted nicely with the metallic golden leaves, which fluttered in the breeze like a chicken settling happily into a dust bath.

Just way the heck up there in the tree.

Zhee hissed in irritation behind me, busy holding down the rest of the shipment in case another freak gust blew past. I didn’t think the other boxes were as light as that one, since the delivery had specified only one set of decals among the cans of paint and whatnot, but none of us wanted to take chances right now.

With a sigh like a deflating basketball, Mur asked, “Think you can reach that?”

I started to answer, but he was looking at Zhee, with one tentacle pointed upward and the rest around a box of pigment that had tumbled to the ground.

“No,” Zhee said tersely. He didn’t move from his position, forelegs up on the hoversled and long mantis pinchers holding the boxes close. If he stood on his hind legs, he could reach pretty far, but I believed him that the box was too high up.

“I’ll get it,” I said, before Mur could ask. There were enough branches that it looked like an easy climb.

“Great,” Mur said, hefting the pigments back onto the sled. “I could do it if I have to, but you actually like that kind of thing, so go for it.”

“I’ll be quick,” I said with a smile. I trotted over, eyeing the tree for promising handholds.

Zhee grumbled, “Be prepared for more wind.”

“Right.” I got a solid grasp on a low branch and hoisted myself up, taking care to place my feet close to the trunk and to test each branch before trusting my weight to it. A couple of the branches were dry and creaky, so I avoided those. The rest were fine, and I was up among the golden leaves in no time. It really was pretty up there. The box waited like a square blue egg in a nest made of precious metals. I grabbed it with one arm hooked around a branch for safety, checked it for dents (none, whew), then started back down.

The rustle of leaves gave me a split second of warning before the second wind gust hit. I clamped my free hand onto a branch and huddled against the trunk, box clutched tight, while the leaves flailed like the pom-pom of a cheerleader who was late for work. My legs were free of the foliage, but I closed my eyes and ducked my head to keep my face from getting lashed.

Then the branch beneath me

broke

and I was falling with no other branches below.

I forgot about the box, eyes wide and limbs scrambling. The oncoming ground was smooth. The broken branch had stayed behind. I was thankfully falling feet first.

I hit the ground and rolled, going on reflex and practice that I hadn’t needed for years. I was just hoping to get out of this without any broken bones, but I somehow pulled it off well enough that I jumped to my feet at the end of the roll. “Whew!” I exclaimed, all adrenaline. “That was exciting!” I shook my arms out and dusted myself off, wondering what bruises would show up as my nerves settled.

“Good save!” Mur called, sounding more than a little relieved. “I thought you were about to break every one of those bones of yours.”

“Thankfully no!” I said, looking around for the box. Various aches were starting to filter in, but nothing serious.

“I am amazed,” Zhee declared, “That a species so long and narrow responds to falling by curling up in a ball. And that it actually helps.”

“Well, you know what they say,” I said with a laugh that was still a little shaky. “If it looks stupid but it works, it’s not stupid. Oh, there it is!” The box had rolled in a different direction, now a square blue egg on the bare plains with more golden trees in the distance and only a few scattered rocks for decoration. “I’ll get it.”

I only made it a few steps before a smaller gust slapped me sideways and sent the box rolling merrily away. I gritted my teeth and kept my balance until the wind passed, then I sprinted after the thing. It was bound to be in less-than-perfect shape by now. Hopefully the client wouldn’t register a complaint about our delivery service. Though to be fair, the wind hazard wasn’t listed on the description for this drop-off spot.

I’d almost caught up to the box when I stepped on a rock that betrayed me by tipping my foot at a bad angle. I was falling again, and this time I went down hard. Skid, tumble, stare at the sky and wonder how I’d ended up on my back. Lots of places hurt now.

“Are you okay?” asked Mur’s voice from surprisingly close.

I looked up, worried that I’d passed out and missed a section of time, but no: he and Zhee had just ridden the hoversled over here. Zhee was kicking with his back feet while Mur did his best impression of a cargo net on top of the boxes.

“Yeah. Ow. Mostly.” I sat up painfully and took stock — palms not quite bleeding, many bruises and scrapes, but oh that ankle was going to be a problem. At least I’d landed near the box. I leaned over and swatted it toward the sled, then regretted that when a lance of pain from my ankle made me hiss like Zhee.

He scooped up the box and gave me a look. “Did you just survive a fall from shuttle height without any injuries, only to hurt yourself by tripping on flat ground?”

I sighed. “There was a rock—”

Mur asked, “You fell down because you stepped on a rock?”

“I only have two legs!” I exclaimed, gesturing at them. “This may be a surprise to you guys, but when one stops working, the other can’t do much on its own. Especially at speed. Ow.”

“Inefficient species design,” Zhee said. “And no exoskeleton; look at those abrasions!”

He scolded, but he rotated the hoversled so he was near enough to stick out a leg and help me up. He and Mur were still holding tight to the boxes. I appreciated both of those things. With a little awkwardness and a few bumps on my fresh bruises, I made it onto the sled next to the pile. There was just enough space.

“I can help hold things,” I said as I got comfortable-ish. “Ow.”

“You sure?” Mur asked.

“Yeah. I should be able to sit like this — ouch. Or not. Man, I’d love to take my shoe off, but that’s just one more thing that I don’t want to lose to the wind.”

“Yes, then you’d have to touch the ground with bare skin,” Mur said drily. “How terrible.” He freed a tentacle to wave sarcastically.

“Don’t start,” I said.

Zhee pushed the sled forward. “Woe is you,” he told me. “Soft and squishy despite the impressive ability to roll on impact. Sometimes.”

Mur scooted over and left me two boxes to hold. “We’ll call ahead to the ship after we make the delivery,” he said. “Eggskin can have the medbay ready for you.”

I sighed and leaned over to hug the boxes. “Just tell them I fell out of a tree.”

~~~

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

#my writing #The Token Human #humans are weird #haso #hfy #eiad #humans are space orcs #who else has been here?#I sure have #not literally cuz this is on an alien planet but you know what I mean

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pixiemage · 6 months ago

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My Fate Is In Your Hands - Entry 7

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[A/N: This is a story entirely guided by you guys, by the readers. Be sure to vote at the end of each entry! ALSO, if you'd like to be added the tag list, please let me know and I'll be sure to add you next time!]

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

➤ Examine the patches. He could learn something new about the familiar stranger.

Learning more about the stranger Jimmy rescued can only help the situation…right? The more they know about him, the better they can handle the situation…and the better they can help him.

The spacesuit the pilot is wearing used to be pure white, Jimmy’s sure, even if it was now dusted in gray and black and red, ash and soot and mesa sand. But even then it’s in fairly good condition despite the crash, and the patches stitched into the fabric and their accompanying lettering are still legible. Jimmy squints at the text, reading past the damage.

The word H.A.S.A. is stitched on a round blue-and-red patch at his shoulder, though the logo isn't one he recognizes. And there's another string of letters across the man's chest, backed in red and sewn in black - something Jimmy can only assume must be a name.

T. TEK

It’s familiar, much like the stranger himself. This, too, feels like something Jimmy should know, and it tugs at his mind, at a memory just out of reach.

"...of the Tek variety. Nice to meet ya! So he dragged you into his game too, huh? Heh, should be a good time..."

There's a cocky sort of grin hovering out of sight, and eyes he can't make out the color of that sparkle with a chaotic sort of mischief. He pauses and pulls the cleaning cloth away to stare at the still and expressionless face of the man on the bed. He swears he knows him.

"...welcome, contestants! This is Dare to Flare..."

"...called You Bet Your Life. Basically, what it is..."

Jimmy reaches out against his better judgment and runs his fingers over the nametag, the stitching raised beneath his touch. He frowns, chewing his lip, a flurry of familiar words and voices running through his head like an echo as he puzzles over what that first initial might stand for. Then–

“Noooo! No, I’m so sorry–”“What happened, Tango? Take me through it…”

Tango.

Tango Tek.

Jimmy lets out a breath with wide eyes, tracing the letters again with his fingertip and letting that revelation sink in. He doesn’t know how he knows it’s right, he just knows. He can’t explain it. He’s still staring in wonder at the soot-dusted nametag when he hears the sound of approaching rockets and jolts from his thoughts.

Oh, void, right. The crash. Shelby. Potions. Gods, he’s being an idiot–

Jimmy carefully cleans the rest of the blood and soot from the pilot’s face with all the gentleness he can muster, and he’s only just depositing the cloth back in its bowl when he hears Shelby calling from the front door.

“In here!” he returns, his eyes lingering on the stranger - on Tango. “Bedroom!”

Now that Shelby’s here, he feels a little (a lot) more confident that Tango’s going to be alright. For now, he can focus on helping patch him up. For now, he can shove the odd familiarity of the not-stranger from his thoughts. Later, he can ponder at why he even knows Tango’s name and why his face feels so achingly familiar…but later. Later. Maybe when Tango is finally awake. Maybe he’ll gain some answers to his questions then. Later.

The door clicks open and Shelby nearly trips into the room, clutching her oversized hat to her head with one hand and scrambling to catch her broomstick with the other, just barely managing not to fall.

“Who is it? What happened? Whaddaya need?” she asks in a rush, clumsily kicking the door shut again and leaning her broom in the corner of the room. “What’s – oh my gosh.”

Jimmy sets the water and rag aside as she comes closer, smiling sheepishly at her wide-eyed expression.

“So, er…” He gestures toward the pilo- Tango. Toward Tango. “Funny story. A spaceship crashed outside Tumble Town an’ this is the pilot.” Shelby’s wide eyes turn to him instead and he chuckles weakly. “Trust me, I know how crazy it sounds,” he says, and she comes over to stand beside him and stare down at Tango’s unconscious form.

She pokes his leg with her finger.

“Is he an alien?” she stage-whispers, and Jimmy almost laughs. Almost. Instead, he twitters weakly and gestures to Tango’s non-human features.

“I don’t know!” he says, a bit hysterical. “He fell out of the sky! And he was unconscious when I found him, it’s not like I could ask! He’s - look,” Jimmy yanks off his hat and rakes his fingers through his hair, sighing heavily. “Look, all I know is he’s hurt, alright? I just wanna help ‘im.”

At this, Shelby jolts.

“Oh! Potions! Right! Sorry!” She swipes through the air, summoning her inventory and rifling through it for what she needs. Colorful glass bottles fall into her hands and she sets them on the bed one by one, red and pink and orange clinking softly against each other. Health. Regeneration. Fire resistance.

The last one makes Jimmy pause. He hangs his hat on the chair by the bed and picks up the orange-filled bottle from the collection. He tilts it in his hand, the light of the lanterns overhead reflecting off the glass and making the potion inside look like lava. He recalls what he thought he’d seen on the flight over, the dancing light in Tango’s hair that he was so sure were flames. Then his eyes fall on Tango, remembering the bruises and the scrapes he’d acquired…but no burns, as far as Jimmy could tell. No burns.

“...I don’t think he needs this one,” Jimmy murmurs, and that same certainty stirs in his chest that he’d felt upon realizing Tango’s name.

Shelby doesn’t notice, too busy darting around the bed to get a closer look at Tango - what little of him wasn’t covered by his spacesuit.

“Hmm…we probably need to get him out of this thing to see how bad it is,” she muses, her head tilting to the side and her hat tipping precariously. Her eyes widen. “Oh, geez - he’s bleeding. Hang on–”

Jimmy’s breath catches and he abandons the fire resistance potion where he found it. Right! The head wound. Void, he’d forgotten–

Jimmy quickly offers her a clean cloth across the bed and she pours bright red potion onto it, tugging aside Jimmy’s makeshift bandage and replacing it with the healing-doused rag. Shelby sets the open bottle on the bedside table and reaches for a pink one instead, tugging out the cork with her teeth.

“Any chance you know how to get this spaceman armor off?” she asks, dripping regen carefully onto the rag she’s already using, the scent of sweet melons and nether spice wafting into the air.

“Er–” Jimmy blinked down at the spacesuit, at the odd stiff collar the helmet had been attached to and the thick material the suit was made from. He can’t see a zipper or buttons of any kind at a glance - though he’s sure he can find an opening somewhere if Shelby really needs him to.

“I dunno,” he tells her with a wince, taking up a cloth of his own to start tending to the other scrapes and cuts littering Tango’s face from his shattered visor. “But he got into it somehow, right?”

Shelby nods, her tongue sticking out between her teeth as she focuses on her task.

“Let’s get this sorted first, then we can take a look,” she tells him, taking a tick to glance up at him. Maybe she can tell how concerned he is, because she flashes him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Sheriff! He’ll be fine. I’m great at potions, and you’re great at taking care of people. We’ve got this!”

Jimmy lets out a soft, tired breath and returns the smile.

They’ve got this. The stranger will be okay.

Tango will be okay.

...

At the maw of a glowing purple rift that cuts a jagged shape into the wall of the massive cave it calls home, an avian with macaw-colored wings stands gaping at its purpureal light. A pair of well-worn goggles is clutched in his grip, flecks of redstone dust rubbing off onto his skin. He’s quiet. He’s quiet, and his eyes mirror the rift before him in both color and luminescence.

Almost an hour has passed since he arrived to find a friend standing where he now stands, his blue hair ablaze and an untamable emotion spilling off of him in waves. Tango had looked so upset, so desperate…and Grian hadn’t quite been able to talk him out of his insane idea.

“You said it’s a portal to other worlds. Plural. So one of ‘em could be his.”

“Technically, maybe, but - but it’s unstable! Why d’you think I’ve been experimenting with–”

“Screw unstable! You said you sent stuff through, right?”

“Yes, but I haven’t gotten anything back. And I haven’t even tried to send a player through–”

“Then send me.”

“What?! Tango–!”

“I’m going through either way. You might as well collect the data when I do–”

“No! Absolutely not! Xisuma would have my head - Impulse would have my head if I let you–”

“You’re not letting me do anything. I’m going.”

The rest of the conversation had spiraled, had exploded, had careened out of control - and Tango had thrown himself through the rift before Grian could stop him. He hadn’t been able to stop him. So…he’d Watched. He’d kept an eye on his friend, as well as he could when following a speck through an endless and unpredictable schism in space, but he’d Watched.

He’s Watching.

He sees the connection, the transformation, the way the narrative of the Empires server brings Tango into her fold, morphing a piece of his past into the form he takes in the present. He may have been acting as a dungeon master on Hermitcraft, but on Empires he becomes a pilot. He becomes an astronaut. He becomes the desperate not-quite-hero he’d been at the end of the last season, and he crashes.

Grian keeps his Eye on Tango for as long as he can, or at least up until he watches Jimmy salvage him from the wreck and bring him home. It’s only when Jimmy and a witch from a neighboring empire are arranging potions on the bedside table that he pulls away, letting out a breath and massaging the bridge of his nose.

Voidammit, Tango.

At least now Grian has more reason to rush and finish fixing the rift. They’re going to need to get Tango back eventually…he can only hope the narrative doesn’t affect Tango’s memories too much in the meanwhile. And at least he found his soulmate again. He’ll be happy there until the Hermits can reach him. Jimmy will make sure of it, Grian knows.

Soulmates don’t ever stop being soulmates, after all.

[Tag List] @firefly124 @mellioops @beaversuenightly @aris-has-a-paracosm @sincerely-nines @changeling-ash

Let me know if you'd like to be added!

#Team Rancher #Solidaritek #ESMP S2 #Trafficshipping #Tumble Town #SolidarityGaming #TangoTek #Jimmy Solidarity #Pixiemage Writes #Fate Entries #MFIIYH #Hermitcraft S8 #Moon Big #HASA Tango #Great Witch Shelby

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i-am-minty-fresh · 11 months ago

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This is what these characters add to a relationship/story according to me.

Zoro = Savory. He’s a filling character. He’s got bold elements that draw you in and leave you satisfied by the end. Balanced and warm. There’s no mysteries, no complicated fancy hooha that’s built like a distraction, nothing like that. He needs no flourish to be properly enjoyed.

Luffy = Sweet. I’m living on the high of his sugar rush. It makes you smile, and it rots your teeth. There may be variety but it’s constant and always enjoyable. Too much makes everything else seem dull by comparison. Charmed by the appearance and drawn towards the flavor, how could ever pick anything else?

Sanji = Sour/spicy. Gotta use this one sparingly or it’s soil the whole thing. It makes you pucker up, wince, maybe even cry. It hurts but Jesus don’t you just want more. Sometimes you’re not even sure if you’re supposed to like it. It’s not complicated, but it’s painful in a recognizable way. By itself, it hurts like hell…but paired with something else it becomes something great.

Sanji & Zoro: The hardiness of the food itself diminishes the pain felt, but never really gets rid of it. It brings some intrigue into a savory dish so you’re a paying a bit more attention because now there a details that you can miss.

Zoro & Luffy: You feel like a child, don’t’cha? You get all the rough and tumble adult shit but it’s coated in honey or maple or sided with some fresh fruit. The sweetness is the predominant flavor but the savory lets you take a nice nap afterward. It makes you happy but it also leave you feeling content by the end.

Luffy & Sanji: They should be at odds but when they mix it’s a celebration. The sour/spice should be the prevailing flavor but instead in blends nicely with the sugar making you almost forget the pain entirely. It might hurt a bit still but it feels worth it, because you earned the sugar that comes by the end.

#one piece #minty musings #monkey d luffy #black leg sanji #roronoa zoro #Zosan #Zolu #lusan #lusanzo

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tashacee · 9 months ago

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Thought randomly popped in my head after you mentioned you ised to be in The Witcher fandom: how would Geralt react to the Hero's Aspect AU?

Oh man writing this was so much fun

School of the Cat

Geralt sighed as he made his way through the forest. This was ridiculous. He had no idea why he was doing this. He was wasting his time and he’d be the laughing stock of Kaer Morhen if his brothers knew.

Jaskier had come running up to him in a fit of panic, having gone to take a whiz in the night.

“GERALT!” He’d shouted. “There’s a giant cat man monster in the woods!”

Geralt had… not really known what to say about that. Except that giant cat man monsters categorically did not exist. But Jaskier didn’t seem very pleased by this response.

Which was why he was now walking away from their camp and into the woods, in search of a

He sighed. Was he really doing this?

…in search of a giant cat man monster.

For fucks sake. Jaskier probably startled a badger or something. This was ridiculous.

But here he was regardless.

He rolled his eyes. Five more minutes and he was heading back to camp. Back to his nice warm bedroll and a bit of blessed sleep.

To his left, something cracked. Geralt whirled around, his pupils dilating to see better in the darkness and-

Well shit.

That was a giant cat man.

Huh.

Geralt wasn’t too sure about the ‘monster’ part. The guy was big, sure, but he was also well dressed with some nice jewellery and his hair was brushed and tied back.

The cat man was holding up his hands as if to show that he wasn’t dangerous, his eyes wide and blue as he looked at the Witcher.

“Uh.” Geralt said. Shit, he was no good with people. “Hello.”

The cat man looked relieved, his tail - wow okay yes he had a tail - coming out from where it had been tucked between his legs.

And he… started gesturing.

Fuck.

Geralt was pretty good at languages. He was pretty good at sign. He understood common sign, both varieties of hen llinge sign, he even had a pretty strong understanding of dwarven sign.

This was none of those.

Uuuuh…

Geralt tried common and then both variants of elvish to see if the cat guy understood him. But he only looked confused and gave a frustrated meow - and fuck, THAT was not the sound he expected to come from this seven foot tall cat man.

Catboy tried what was clearly a different variant of sign. Then another. Then- FUCK!

Geralt barely rolled out of the way in time as the cat man made the sign for Igni and a jet of flame shot out from his hands.

In fairness, though, he seemed fairly horrified by it himself, letting out a screeching yowl and scrambling backwards and tumbling to the ground. Well, at least it hadn’t been intentional. Clearly. Though Geralt had NO idea what language he was trying to use if he’d accidentally signed Igni.

The cat man was doing something else- fumbling at the offending arm and -

What the FUCK?

He literally. He. He ripped his arm off. And threw it into the underbrush, yowling.

“Hmm.” Said Geralt, slowly standing.

The he cat man was still sitting in the undergrowth and looking suitably freaked out, which was fair. He was clutching at his shoulder where he had pulled his arm off and - ah. Yes. There was a stump there with an old scar cutting through the fur. The arm must have been a prosthetic.

Geralt stooped and picked it up from where it had been thrown, and immediately his pendant began to hum. Hmm. A magical prosthetic then - that would explain how it moved so well at least. L

He turned to the cat man and held it out.

“I’m Geralt.” He said “want your hand back?”

The cat man nodded meekly and took the arm back, purring in thanks as he slotted it back into place. Fuck. How on earth had Jaskier ever mistaken this guy for a monster? He was quite literally a pussy cat!

“Fuck.” Geralt said, because that was essentially his version of ‘hello’. Looked like he’d made a new friend. “You can… come back to our camp if you want? Till you find… whoever you’re looking for?”

The cat man perked up and nodded. This was going to be fun.

Jaskier at least had the good graces to be embarrassed by his earlier reaction and began to dedicate himself to trying to figure out what their new friend was saying.

They were more successful than Geralt expected. Jaskier managed to figure out that the catman was called Wild and that he was looking for his brothers. And Wild, as an apology for startling him, began to cook.

And DAMN he could cook. Geralt wasn’t sure he’d ever had food this good.

Wild could stay. It was official. He was wonderful. If his brothers never showed up Geralt wouldn’t be too mad, as long as he got to eat like this again.

But of course, all good things must come to an end. Wild’s brothers showed up and were categorically NOT cat people. As it turned out, neither was Wild, normally, apparently he just fucked around with a cursed object and found out.

Still, the week they’d spent travelling with Wild had been a fun one, and he’d been sad to see the big guy go. Not just because of the food, though that had definitely been a bonus, but because he’d actually been a fairly chill guy.

Geralt smiled as he rode off. At least Wild had managed to leave something with him. The strange slate at his hip had been able to create pictures more detailed than the finest oil painting and he had taken one of him, Geralt, and Jaskier one night. They’d been halfway through eating and both the Witcher and the Bard looked fairly surprised, but it was a fantastic picture. And Wild had managed to materialise a copy and gift it to him.

And Geralt knew that while all things must end and everyone eventually parts ways, he’d treasure that picture forever.

#it me #replies #hero’s aspect au #hero's aspect #linked universe #lu #witcher fanfiction #the Witcher #Witcher #geralt of rivia #my writing

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ask-olive-huchers · 8 months ago

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~“Blood, sweat, and fear.”~

(( a Ramshackle OC story!))

Warning: this story covers some dark and possibly triggering topics

note: this takes place after Bailey gifts upon a Pocket knife for Olive.

Olive thanks Bailey for the Pocket knife, embarrassingly messing up and almost calling him big brother. They were sure he wouldn’t have minded it, anyway. But they were scared to admit it. They wander off, imagining the possibilities with this small but powerful weapon. They flick open the blade, once again looking at their reflection. They smile sinisterly, Letting a small chuckle slip out.

Olive retracts the blade to its original form, tucking it back into their pockets. They found themself strolling around the hidden parts of Ramshackle. Ok, hidden is a bit of an overstatement. It was more of the under-appreciated areas.

_________________________________________

After a while, they walk down a dim Street. A single Street light that flickered constantly. Olive shivers a bit from the unresponsive buildings. They had forgotten how creepy it was at night around here.

Within a sudden turn of events, Olive stops and looks up. They stare the some-what nice mansion. A bit too flashy, if you ask them. I mean- what’s the point of having a giant row of stairs just to enter the front door? Pathetic, really.

They turn to the side of the house, quickly and quietly dashing to the gate on the side.

They climb on the gate, struggling not to tumble backwards. Olive grabs the nearest window, slowly opening it. They made as little noise as they could, trying not to awaken the bastards inside.

After clumsily stumbling onto the hard wood floor, they found themselves in the hallway.

their hallway.

’where the hell is that bitch’s room?’

They start quietly opening the doors. There had to be at least 9 doors on the upper floor of their this house. After opening like, 7 of them- they finally find the room.

A women lied asleep, nested comfortably in the soft mattress. But that was the only thing nested on the bed. 3 empty bottles of what seems to be different varieties of liquor. As they approached closer, they saw the black streaks of shitty mascara making it way down her cheeks. But dried too quickly to finish the race, they assumed.

Olive gently grabbed the women’s face, rotating it to face them.

the woman begins to wake up, her eyes fluttering. She looked at this mysterious figure upon her, squinting a bit.

“Calvin..?” She whispered, sitting up within a couple minutes. Clearly, she was extremely drunk and very hung-over. The woman hugs the figure she claimed to be “Calvin”

she hugged the somewhat disordered figure, crying a bit more. She had thought..she’d thought he was dead.

She shook, but. Something felt..off. She wasn’t sure what it was, until they spoke.

“I’d say that im sorry, but..that wouldn’t be entirely true.”

The women was stunned to hear a voice that wasn’t her beloved. It wasn’t..was it?

“Oliv-“

Splat.

…

There was a thud. A loud one, too. The hardwood was being flooded in pools of red liquid. It spread everywhere. Her Pearl white nightgown was now an ugly red. Then, another splat is heard. Followed by another, and another, and another. Blood was practically gushing from her entire body.

Olive did a final stomp on their mothers head, causing it to bleed a bit more. They wipe the blood off their face, Once again putting their weapon away. I guess it was a murder weapon now, huh? Oh how the tables have turned..

Oh how the tables have turned..indeed.

the door to the bedroom creaks, letting a small bit of light to squeeze in. There’s a tiny bit of breathing to go with it. Olive was facing the opposite direction, but they knew damn well who it was.

Which is the whole reason they did this whole mess.

“Mama? Are you awake, too?”

A small voice called out, making its way inside the room. Adi walked over to what remained of her mother, kneeling down to look at her. Olive moved, wanting to watch this flame burn. Like a fire in the forest, it escalated quickly.

“Mom? Are you awake?” She repeated, staring at her mothers lifeless eyes. Something felt warm. And a bit..wet? She removed one of her hands, to see that-..

..it was drenched in blood.

Her whole body tensed up, as she shook uncontrollably. She somehow managed to dropper her mothers head, despite being frozen in terror. Her eyes swelled with tears, and with every blink started a new race of Which would fall first. She didn’t know what to do. She was only 9 years old, after all. This would cause a LOT of emotional trauma in the future..

Olive stood over and watched with a sinister grin. Gathering up some uncalled for and twisted things to say.

“Must hurt, hm?”

They say, leaning on a near-by wall.

“Seeing The people you look up to, just..bail. After all you’ve done to prove your worth something.”

They slowly walk back over to their little sister, lowering down to her level.

They watch in satisfaction as her tears continuously gushed from her eyes. They could see the complete and utter horror darting around on her face.

“but, hey. You haven’t lost everything.”

They close in, moving a strand of her hair so they could get the message across clearly.

“there’s always the orphanage~”

With a devilish smile, Olive stood up. They yoinked the knife out of their pocket and slid it towards the door. They slip out the window, as a final scream of terror is heard.

As much as that knife worked, it wasn’t really what they were looking for. No, no, no. They wanted something more..

destructive.

((ANDDDD HERES SOME TAGS TO TRAUMATIZE YOU GUYS AS WELL<333))

@ask-sora-aguilar @baileythebean @thesmokerblogs @rebootgrimm @thesilliestofallqueers

@vv4loe @ask-jasper-cameron @sunshineoframshackle

YAAAAYYY…

#Tw: death #tw: Blood #Tw: knives #TW: gore #tw: violence #tw: body horror #Btw all canon in this fic :3 #Olive is out for blood #And ready to hunt.#Ramshackle oc #ramshackle au #Small world au #This was too much fun to write #<33 #WOOHOO MURDER‼️‼️

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malcolm-reeds-pineapple · 2 months ago

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Are you looking for a gift for your dad? Here is a gift guide for Weird Dad Genres

Brought to you by the child of a Weird Dad with low/no cost options. I’ve noticed that a lot of people with good dads they like a lot don’t know what to give their dads because all the gift guides around require a man to have a baseline level interest in sports, beer and cars for them to be usable. Disregard this post if your dad sucks or use this advice for a person you like that falls into one of these sub genres.

NPR/CBC Dads

I’m Canadian and have a CBC dad so I’m hoping there is overlap

Tickets to a live taping of their favourite radio show

Merch that supports CBC/NPR and their favourite radio show

Teaching them how to use a podcast app if they don’t know already

History Dads

MASH related literature

Civilization 6 on PC

Book/audio book about their favourite historical era, particularly on a niche topic by a professor of some variety

Researching their favourite era enough to have a meaningful conversation about it with them/being willing to listen to them talk about it

Stoner Dads

Lighters, papers, doob tubes, pipe cleaners, other disposables

Weed lol (depending on regional availability don’t get arrested buying a Christmas present lmfao)

One hitter, a nice pipe, a grinder, a tray, anything like that but shop around to find something they’d actually like.

Randy’s Black Label glassware cleaner and some vase beads!!! I cannot stress this enough!!! This combo leaves glassware SPARKLING.

Cleaning his glassware for him or degunking a grinder (do NOT empty the keef catcher or I’ll kill you myself)

Music Listener Dads

Physical copy of an album they like or one you listened to together

Needles from their turntable if they have records, or alternatively a Kallax shelf from Ikea for storage (actually the best record storage I’ve ever found)

Year subscription to Spotify

Some sort of merch for their favourite artist that goes with their vibe (ie: my dad doesn’t wear band shirts so I give him coffee mugs)

A playlist of songs you listened to together. If you wanna go crazy silly haha you could also get a record out of a dollar bin and draw a cover for it and put a QR code to the playlist inside or you could go old school and do the same thing but actually have a mixtape or burn the playlist onto a CD

Music Playing Dads

Varies a lot depending on skill-level and instrument, but I’m gonna do this as if they were a hobbyist as I’m sure there are gift guides out there for professionals

Any sort of disposable they would need (reeds, picks, strings, sticks etc) but make sure you find out what they prefer (ie pick weight) or if give them a few different options when they’re just starting out to help them figure out what they like

Larger peripherals that they might not want to buy for themselves (NOTE: don’t buy anything too expensive unless you know they want/need it. If you’re not sure, you can always wrap up an IOU in a cereal box so you can go on an adventure later with them and make a day out of it)

If they play piano you can pay for a tuning however this can be pricey and requires planning

Sheet music/tabs printed out in a binder with lyrics. You can also decorate the binder if you’re crafty like that

Nature Dads (rocks/geology)

Idk how niche this is but my dad is a rock dad

Rock tumbler and/or accessories like grit and media

A vug of some sort of crystal if you’re feeling incredibly wealthy or in the likely case that you’re not, get him a few points of a crystal or a few tumbled stones for them to add to the collection

A nice cabinet for display purposes (depends on the size of the collection of course and availability, but my dad has a vintage China cabinet for his rocks that we got at auction for like 100 bucks.)

A map with local areas of geological interest for them to check out with a little blurb about each one. Bonus points if you go on day trips with them or make the map cute if you’re skilled like that

Pop Culture/Sci Fi Dads

If they have trinkets, a display cabinet (like in the above section) is a good idea if they don’t have one

Coffee table books with behind the scenes stuff in it

If there’s a convention nearby and they’re that type of person you could get them tickets

I’ll be honest sci fi/pop culture people are pretty easy to buy for imo but my best advice is to prioritise practicality over dust collectors unless you know for sure they want something else in their collection. I’d also caution to stay away from buying Funko Pops where you can unless they collect them

General Dad Gifts and Advice

Some sort of nostalgia thing that’s personal to them. Examples: snack from their youth that they talk about a lot, a board game they played growing up that they can’t find anywhere, a book he read you growing up (I gave my dad Just Me And My Dad from the Little Critter series one year and he welled up and still maintains it’s one of the best gifts he’s ever gotten)

A good joke gift like my family have been giving each other the same copy of The Search For Spock for 14 years and it’s hilarious to us. Alternatively you can wrap up one of his own possessions and give it to him but make sure that it’s obviously his so he doesn’t think you just gave him another one.

Drill bits never go amiss if a person already owns a drill btw like drill bits are Good and Righteous Things

Always try to write an inscription in a book you’re giving as a gift with a small blurb about why you picked this book and the year and occasion.

I try to stick towards practicality and sentimentality in my gift-giving since for the most part we all have enough dust collectors. Consumables that are part of a hobby/interest are always a great option since they’re something you go through fairly regularly that can add up price wise

Never underestimate the power of a home made gift or a box of little treats. If I gave my dad his favourite peanut butter and a few cans of Fresca, he would be just as happy as if I bought him a brand new stereo. As dumb as it sounds, it really is the thought you put into a gift that counts, even if they’re little coupons someone can cash in for an afternoon of manual labour.

Even if you’re broke, try to give what you can. Thrifted gifts and homemade gifts are just as valuable as brand new gifts if the person you’re giving it to is worth giving a present.

Also while we’re on the topic, don’t give gifts to anyone who doesn’t appreciate you as a person like if you’re dad’s not good to you then either don’t give him shit or give him 20 bucks if you feel like it

Please feel free to add onto this if you have advice for gifting to a niche sub genre of dad/person.

#captain’s log #dad gifts #I have more ideas I’m sure but I’m bored of writing this post now #I tried to include as many low cost things as I could bc I’m doing low-cost Christmas this year lmfao #mom and dad are getting Playlists That Remind Me Of them and Bits and Bobs

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scavengerssuccotash · 1 year ago

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What does aftercare look like for Clint and Nat?

Depends on what kind of aftercare you’re looking for, my dear.

Was it a rough mission that left their bodies sore and aching?

If that’s the case they soothe each other’s sore muscles away in a variety of ways. For Natasha the bulk of her sore muscles rests in her thighs and legs. Clint with usually draw her a nice hot bath with some soaking salts (lavender scented) and let her decompress. Sometimes he’ll join her, especially if his back is hurting, but most times he just lets her rest in the bath and play errand boy if she needs something. Afterwards, Natasha will curl up with him on the couch with her feet in his lap so he can rub them. And oh god! His hands? If Natasha were religious his hands is the closest thing to making her believe in a god. About the time he works his way up her calves, she’s limp against the arm of the couch and almost asleep.

Clint on the other hand carries most of his stress in his shoulders and arms. (Clint often jokes that if you put the two of them together, her legs and his upper body, they could qualify for a retirement community by the state of their joints alone.) With that said, baths hardly touch the ache in his shoulders. Showers are his go-to, along with icy-hot and Natasha’s own bone melting masseuse skills. Repetition with the draw weight he’s got might’ve given him great definition but it also aged his rotator cuffs and shoulder blade ten years. After a long hot shower, you can find him sitting on the floor between Natasha’s legs with an ice pack on each shoulder as she rubs his neck.

Or are you looking for the tumble between the sheets kind of aftercare?

In which case this came to them with much more difficulty than it did with the other kind. Particularly for Natasha. Any wonder why? The first few times they slide between the sheets, Natasha would jump out of bed, quickly throw on her clothes and leave while Clint just laid in bed still coming down from his post coital high, dazed and ultimately confused. In hindsight, Natasha’s sudden departure after taught Clint a lot about himself. Namely: how much he really did like and need the after romp cuddling. Be it some internalized misogyny, or a lack of self introspection Clint had just assumed that is what you did with your partner, so…he did it and didn’t look into it any deeper than the surface level. Turns out it just took Natasha leaving him high and dry (wet?) for him to realize that, “actually no, I think I like the cuddling!?”

Conversely Natasha dipped because she had wanted to stay, which was in of itself a terrifying epiphany to have after what she’ll testify to is the best sex ever. It was all too much too fast and god she can’t do this?! Can she? She wants to, but…

In the end it took three months, a couple of drunken blurt out your feelings kind of nights, and a close call in Mumbai for them to get on the same page.

For Clint to say, “I need to a place to land after soaring that high, Nat. I drop like a fucking stone, and it’s not a good feeling!”

And for Nat to say, “I don’t know what to do with all this, I wasn’t trained on what to do if I actually fell!”

“No one gets a manual, Tasha. You just do what feels right.”

“Us. That feels right.”

Natasha relaxes into their after sex cuddle sessions a little bit better after this. She still leaves after, only spending the nights when they drink and she doesn’t want to drive or bother with a taxi or public transport, but she stops leaving right away. She lingers long enough for Clint to be on the precipice of sleep, before slipping out of bed. Which is fine by Clint, he’s admittedly a bit of a bed hog.

About a year and two months into their relationship, the aftercare is superb. Clint gets his cuddles, and Natasha, well Natasha gets breakfast in bed now. And sometimes, when Clint’s feeling a bit cheeky he will wake her up in the most delicious of ways.

Thanks for asking, hope you enjoy! 🥰

#ask me #clint barton #hawkeye #clintasha #natasha romanoff #black widow #aftercare

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chickenisamazing · 5 months ago

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I've tried a lot of period underwear brands over the last year and now own way more period underwear than anyone needs (but that just means I won't have to go through the hassle of buying more when the first ones get worn out, right?), so I figured I should write out my thoughts, perhaps so I can reference this later. Also my period ended a few days ago and I have to put away my laundry which includes my period underwear. Inspiration.

Saalt — This was the first brand I tried, and I still love them. They're comfortable and the gusset is really thin. However, they have underwear made from both natural and synthetic fabrics, and the synthetic ones are not comfortable. In general, I've learned that any underwear made of synthetic fabrics is not going to be comfortable. It's fine for the gusset to be made of synthetics, but the body should not. I do love my cotton pairs though. The only other annoying thing is that they sell each of their styles in a variety of absorbencies, but they don't have the absorbency written anywhere on the garment, so it's impossible to tell if you have two absorbencies in the same style. I treat them all as moderate for this reason and wear these in the middle of my period.

Hello Period — I like that they have high waisted styles, which can feel nice when I'm super bloated, as happens when I'm menstruating. They also say you can tumble dry them, so I do, especially because the pad part is kind of thick, which I don't personally mind but does lead me to not want to hang dry them. However, the entire thing is made of synthetic materials, and that gets kind of uncomfortable. I still wear them, and they're not bad, but they're not my favorite. I wear these in the middle of my period. I do not like their reusable pads, though.

Modibodi — Can't give a particularly thorough review as I only have one pair from them (boyshorts) and decided I didn't want to buy more from them while they had a collab with Puma, which was on the BDS list. They use natural fibers too for most of their styles. Overall, I really like the one pair I've used. Super comfy. I did think the pad would have more coverage, but it didn't go as far up as I had hoped, but neither did any of the previously mentioned brands.

Aisle — Probably my favorite brand. The pad coverage is good, they use cotton and tencel for the body, and I have the boxer and brief cuts from them which are super comfortable. I like using reusable pads, so I do find their whole Boost thing to be unnecessary for me personally and prefer the pads I already use if I want an extra layer, but it's not bad and they also do sell a version without it. These are my comfiest pairs, so I wear them at the beginning of my period when I'm feeling my worst.

Kayaness — The body is recycled polyester, which is the main thing I don't like, but I also wish the pad came up higher in the front. I have these in the boyshort style, and I do think these are comfier than my other polyester pairs. Because of the cut and comfort, I wear these at the beginning as well, despite the body fabric not being my preference. Still very comfortable.

These are all the brands I've tried. As mentioned, I also use reusable pads sometimes, though less so now that I've accumulated more period underwear. I like having pads for travel; it's far more convenient to change a pad in public than it is to change underwear. I've mentioned I don't like the Hello Pads; they use a thin strap for the attachment and it moves way too much. The other pads I have are the Hannah Pads, which I have in several sizes. They're really comfortable and are the typical style with the snap button closure. They do not move around for me. I imagine most fabric pads are like these, but these are just the ones I have, and I love them.

#T #Period underwear #tmi but when do i not

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thedo0zyslider · 1 year ago

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Explosions Across Lifetimes - Chapter 31: A Second Chance To Get This Right - 2k Words

Fwhip and Jimmy are given a second chance.

A03

Playlist

There is no swamp full of cod this time, there is no withering empire in the plainsland either. Instead there is a mesa, and a cave far below the mountain. With two very different people being housed in each one. Two people are more than just destined to meet.

A man walks through said mesa, his blonde hair plastered to his forehead. He has not become used to the heat, not yet, not like he will be soon. He is new to this mesa, a lonely traveler who had stumbled his way here. He supposes he’s going to stay, because the surrounding lands seem to boast a few already established civilians. Though he figures he can make his own here, in the gold field mounds of terracotta. Oh what a rich empire it’ll be, with all that gold hiding underneath the surface.

He has to be a fool really, to already be making plans for a great empire. Especially when he had just arrived in the past day or so. But the man could not help it, could not help but see future prosperity and riches where they were soon to be. Jimmy was sure of himself, maybe too much so, that he could make this place into a bustling city one day. All he would need is time, and lots and lots of rather hard work.

All the neighboring empires, the ones that had been here long before, all seemed to be friendly and welcoming, as well as the people in his mesa. All the people he’s run into, which isn't very many, seem great so far. The townspeople love him too it seems, being able to see the excitement and ambition in his eyes. They take onto his suggestion of leadership and a new empire well, all asking about him and his backstory. Jimmy just smiles, and says none of that is any concern to them. He promises he is no outlaw, and that he is only here to help them, and to find a community for himself. The claim is met with some skepticism, but also a lot of smiles and good cheer.

A lot of the townspeople are like him, hybrids. Usually of the cow variety. Which assures them that he is also from a mesa, most likely. It makes them trust him and his promises more. Which is good. To be a good leader, you need to have trust with those who lead. And Jimmy is glad he has been able to acquire that level of trust from most folks that quickly, sparing a few of the older and more cranky ones that is. But he already loves all his people regardless of any sour attitude and mistrust they may throw his way, even if it is done rather unfairly. In his opinion, anyway.

The town, he decides to call it, is Tumble Town. Named after the tumbleweeds that always seem to be around it. It’s a nice town, full of desert plants and buildings made from nearby oak and spruce woods; some even being made out of clay or terracotta. Even if some of those are a little decayed. It’s nothing they can’t fix though! The wood and chipped clay are replaceable, it’s just getting the materials down to the town is the problem.

Tumble town lies in a large dip in the ground, one Jimmy has taken to calling the fishbowl. It’s rather hard to get most materials down the rather steep sides of the hole, and it was the main problem the townsfolk had been facing when the blonde had first arrived. They have all brainstormed a few solutions, including making a tunnel through each end of it. A tunnel that Jimmy would like to put a train track in. But doing all of that, which would include mining half a bloody wall of stone and clay on both sides of the town, is easier said than done.

While he and a few older members of the community try to figure out how to solve the fishbowl issue, as they have dubbed it, Jimmy takes to doing other jobs. He mingles around, helping out where he can. Even if that includes just entertaining the local children while their parents work, which is a reminder to add in a school, or a playground, for the kids to occupy themselves with. It would make the people like him more if he did that, certainly.

There are other new empires being built as well, Jimmy finds one day as he does idle repairs on a fence. He hears a lot of whispers as he works around the town, and these are some of the most interesting so far. There are apparently two new civilizations being set up as well. One in a meadow, and another, more closed off one in the hills behind that meadow. The blonde finds both of these places interesting, and makes a personal note to stop by within the next few weeks.

There are other empires as well, some old and some new. There is one that is allegedly cursed, one by the sea, and another hidden in the mangroves by his kesa. The latter two being the more recent ones. There is also one that floats in the sky, above the meadow kingdom, and maybe two more by in the mountains.

The most interesting one, to Jimmy anyways, is one that is rumored to be underground. It interests him entirely because it is underground, in a cave, literally one of the most dangerous places in this realm. He is very curious about how people can survive down there with all the monsters, and what the infrastructure might look like. That one, he decides on the top of his list to visit. Apparently, it is also filled with goblins, which just makes the whole place more interesting to him. That's not a race you encounter every day, and Jimmy thinks learning about them would be quite fascinating. He’ll have to drop by, once he feels the new town is properly set up some more that is.

He takes to exploring as well, mapping out the whole of the mesa. Which is quite a gargantuan task, in the end, and it takes him more than a few days to do so. He finds many things to note down later, like caves and old mine shafts Jimmy does not have time to explore just yet. But one day he will, or maybe some of the townsfolk would enjoy exploring them as well. He hasn’t forgotten about the old pickaxes lying around people’s homes, indicating some miners' heritage from long ago.

Really the most worrying thing Jimmy finds is lingering signs of bandits. But the camps he finds, no doubt ones left by criminals, seem to be old. He hopes they are truly old, and not just some sort of trick. He inspects them everytime he does his rounds around the mesa, part of which is to look for some stray horses he knew lived in the area. Having a few steeds would certainly make traveling a lot easier, since this biome is the farthest away from any of the other empires he’s heard rumors of. And horses are the best bet he has, since the blonde knows he likely will not come into possession of elytra for a while now, or maybe ever, with how rare and reserved the item is nowadays.

One day, when doing the rounds at the very, very edge of the mesa, so much so that he can actually see grass , Jimmy finds something rather curious. Something that is of great interest to any aspiring leader. Especially one in this biome, and of this culture.

There is a little dip in the mesa, one that enters into a small and rather useless little cave. And in it there is a chest with some rails, a sight not uncommon here. There were many old and rottong mines hidden under the terracotta, after all. But instead of finding the loot he expected, said loot may bring some redstone or long mined up hold, there is another object lying in the chest. A very curious object indeed.

Inside the chest is a Sheriff's hat. The thing is old and dusty, clearly having been in the mines for a long time. But being securely kept in this chest, somehow, meant it had been kept away from ripping or any other form of decay. Jimmy was mildly surprised to find that there were no tears in the hat’s fabric, only small places where some things would need to be sown again. The hat was made out of a brown felt material, the blonde thoughts, and had a blue hand around it; with a gold circle in the middle. Almost like some sort of coin, something that was definitely a display of status. Status Jimmy thought himself more than worthy of.

Next to the hat lay two badges, made of golden metal. They were freezing cold to the touch, so much so that Jimmy almost dropped one when he picked it up. One badge, the biggest one, had a large S engraved in it. The second and smaller one had a D carved into it, in the same style as well. He assumed the letters were meant for Sheriff and Deputy , considering the hat he had just found earlier. The badges were in pretty nice condition as well, only needing some cleaning before they would be good as new once more; and also wearable.

He hummed as he took the three items out of the chest, the two badges being securely placed in his shirt pocket. Jimmy carried the Sheriff’s hat in his hand, anxiously fiddling with the hem of it as he made his way back to town. He didn’t want to put a badge or hat on yet, not wanting to seem too egotistical. But if his newfound citizens agreed, he would be sure to do so. He just had to show them what he’d found, which was harder said than done, in all honesty.

When he gets back and shows his findings to the rest of his people, there is some discussion. The town once had a Sheriff system, over twenty years ago, so this was probably the hat and badges that belonged to those long gone authority figures. Most of them were in agreement, that since Jimmy found the hat, and due to all his recent efforts to help out the town, that the blonde should be the one to wear the Sheriff hat. Especially since no one else seemed ready or willing to take the job anyways.

From then on Jimmy makes sure to never take the hat or his Sheriff badge off, proud of his new title and status. He is proud of how much his people respect him as well, and how much he has done to truly earn it. He will make sure this town never crumbles again, and that people respect the people that keep it for doing so.

The deputy’s badge stays in his small house as well, sitting on his nightstand and looking rather lonely. He hopes he can find someone suitable enough to be his second in command, and that it will be soon. This town, and maybe some of the other empires, are going to need protecting after all.

Maybe that empire full of goblins he intends to visit will have a willing person,. He does heat that goblins are awfully loyal, after all.

______________________________________

Under the mountains, a decent way aways from the mesa, is a cave. A cave that is very, very alive, and full of goblins. Full of a whole city of them. Said cave that the new Sheriff found himself so intrigued by, drawn too even, has a bustling city full of hundreds of goblins. And very luckily for him, the most important person in the empire is quickly becoming interested in the Sheriff as well.

The Goblin King scurries through the town square that day, interacting with citizens when and where he can. He is a very busy man, especially since he is so new to the throne. But King Fwhip can handle it! He can handle anything thrown his way! He is the tallest goblin, after all.

The citizens are very friendly, always have been and always will be. They wave to their King as he passes, some even stopping to start a friendly conversation. Fwhip is always happy to talk with them, wave back, whatever they may want from him at the moment; the King is happy to oblige. He is here to serve them, after all. Some have some complaints, some ideas to improve and expand the city, and the goblin takes note of them. On a physical notepad that he always carries around, knowing how prone he is to forgetting stuff.

Though eventually he has to stop being so social, so Fwhip can return home in time. He does have some paperwork still lying on his desk, something about finalizing a trade deal if he is not mistaken. The goblins are looking to exchange berries with the new empire above them, in turn for whatever rocks the new ruler may need for her own buildings. The new emperor that is totally a human, and not a cat, not at all. Though Fwhip would hate to disappoint her, regardless of race, so he best hurry home and get those papers filled out. She seems like a very fun and lovely woman indeed.

Fwhip hums, titling his head to the side as he overhears some idle goblin gossip. He catches what he can of it, considering he is near running back to his place on the other end f the city. Apparently, there is a new settlement being built in the mesa. A new empire. A tall man, one much taller than a goblin will ever be and with hair more blonde than any of theirs, seems to be the one really starting it all. There are a few other new settlements cropping up as well, but Fwhip takes the most interest in the eastern one. He’s sure the place in the meadow is lovely, and he will have to stop by someday, but something about this tall blonde stranger draws in the goblin king like nothing else.

Maybe he just wants to see an attractive guy, maybe it is something about the rumored wild west aesthetic that fascinates him, the king cannot be sure of what it is. Of why he is so drawn to the one biome and this one person he has yet to meet, but it's something about it all. Something that he’s sure will click one he truly sets foot in the newly forming empire.

The Goblin King finds himself lost in his thoughts as he re-enters his home for the day, already clearing his schedule for tomorrow and maybe the day after that as well. He must give the new empire a visit, a goblin welcome. Maybe even try to start an alliance with them. Mesas are the best place for gold, after all, even better than his own mines….

Besides, he feels some sort of pull to the eastern part of the map. Fwhip always has, even before there were people there. Like something big was always going to be in that direction. Maybe this guy is the reason. Maybe the universe is trying to tell him something.

Maybe this tall blonde stranger is the answer to all his problems, if he truly had any that pressing, and the start of some new ones as well. Yeah, that would be fun. Fwhip quite liked starting new problems. It was a part of being a goblin, after all, the most exciting part in fact.

He just had to wonder what kinda problem this guy would be.

#jimmy solidarity #ron.fic #explosions acorss lifetimes #empires smp #fwhip #goblin fwhip #fwhimmy #the sheriff #empiresshipping

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galaxseacreature · 2 years ago

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Please tell me about fish taxi and what's a culvert

Absolutely! Allow me to set the scene:

Two salmon are swimming upstream when they smack directly into a huge concrete wall. One turns to the other and says, "Dam."

...that one definitely works better out loud, with a nice flat delivery. But it's a good starting point. Unlucky salmon are doomed to deliver the punchline to this terrible dad joke. Really lucky salmon are blessed with wild rivers with no dams at all. Medium lucky salmon have to ride the salmon cannon, navigate a fish ladder, or catch the fish taxi to get upstream. These are all fish passage solutions put in place to make up for those most intimidating barriers to migration: dams.

A quick note: I'm going to continue to focus on salmon in the Pacific Northwest, because that's what I'm familiar with. Different locations with different species of fish may have other concerns or solutions related to fish passage. But it's a big deal here because salmon have to migrate upstream to lay their eggs and continue their life cycle and everyone wants there to keep being iconic and delicious salmon around.

With that out of the way, and seeing as this post is already getting long, buckle up for the fish taxi details with a side of culverts under the cut! I promise a video and a meme to liven things up before we wrap.

Fish ladders are old news. Boring. And, frankly, expensive and challenging to design well and impossible to implement at all above a certain size.

Enter the fish taxi. The idea is as simple as it is ridiculous. Just round up your fish on the downstream side, put them in a truck with a big water tank, and drive them upstream of the dam for release. Easy peasy!

In practice there's a little more to it. Puget Sound Energy operates two dams on the Baker River. Their fish trap below the lower dam is pretty fancy, and even includes an "aquatic elevator" to raise fish up into the sorting facility. There's a whole series of gates and chutes and moveable walls that direct fish into the right holding tanks before finally being loaded into the trucks.

Not to boost corporate talking points about their mitigation strategies, but it is objectively a pretty successful site and this video shows the process well:

youtube

An extra cool thing about the Baker River fish taxi is that it also runs juveniles downstream. That may sound obvious but it's a huge improvement over old strategies like "hopefully some of them survive tumbling down the spillway or through the turbines." Ok, most dams have some form of bypass around the turbines, and the spillway is often the safer-than-it-looks intended route, but it still seems rough being a small fry. Getting rounded up in the floating collector and taking a taxi ride downstream starts to sound pretty good, all things considered.

Whew! That's the story of the fish taxi!

I'm going to try to keep culverts short (for now) because they're much less sexy. Normal people almost never think about culverts, but they cross them every day. Culverts are the pipes that carry water under roads. Although they aren't just pipes, they can be box or arch shaped structures and made of a variety of materials...but I digress! Basically any time a road crosses water that doesn't rate a bridge, there's a culvert. Some are just to drain runoff. Many driveways have a small culvert for the roadside ditch. But some are larger and allow entire streams to pass under the road. If they're sized appropriately, set at the right height to prevent a water surface drop, and not sloped too steeply, culverts can be completely passable and fish friendly! Alas, they often are not. Dams may be the largest structures that act as fish passage barriers, but culverts are by far the most numerous.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife inventories fish passage barriers to salmon and steelhead and estimates some 18,000-20,000 statewide. This is almost certainly on the low end. I mean, just imagine how MANY roads there are, and how MUCH water there is in Washington, a famously wet place. They intersect a lot. If you want to get a sense of the scale, there's a public facing, interactive map of WDFW-identified barriers here. Most of the points are culverts. Only the green points are fully fish passable. There are probably lots more points that haven't been surveyed at all yet. So yeah

[ID: "X, X Everywhere" Meme of Woody and Buzz from Toy Story reading "Culverts. Culverts everywhere." End ID]

Anyone who made it to the end has my gratitude and is welcome to use the very unofficial title of "Junior Fish Passage Nerd" any time they want. And if you made it here and are still interested in hearing about culverts or fish passage more generally...well, you know where to find me!

#fish taxi #salmon #fish passage #mitigation #fish migration #anadromy #salmonids #idk what to tag exactly like who on earth would check the fish passage tag on tumblr? a very strange person...me now actually.#also sorry this post is so long i just had a lot to say #but for real i could talk even more. there's always more to say. welcome to fish passage- it's like most things that way

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cleverhottubmiracle · 5 days ago

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Happy Hump Day, friends! I’ve got a new try-on haul for you today, and this one’s packed with transitional pieces and fresh denim finds. I found some lightweight sweaters and colorful tops, a few dresses, some transitional shoes, jeans at a variety of price points, and even some shorts—basically, a bunch of options to help ease us into that weird in-between season… or to pack for a warm-weather getaway! As usual, I will provide measurements and fabric content on each item when I can find it, and I’ll share whether I plan to keep it or not. Just remember, even when I decide not to keep something, it doesn’t mean it isn’t worth checking out. I just may not need it, or it may not work for my body type or lifestyle. SIZING NOTES: I’m 5’5″ and I usually wear a small or medium in tops and dresses, a 29 or 30 in jeans and pants, and a size 8 shoe. Gifted items are indicated by c/o; everything else I purchased myself. Jeans & Shorts I’ve ordered a bunch of jeans and shorts at various price points. Here’s what I found! Wit & Wisdom ‘Ab’Solution High Waist Cuff Hem Jeans at Nordstrom (8) // Sarina V Neck Tank (S) // Schutz Arissa Woven flats (8) DETAILS: A faded, whiskered wash brings old-favorite perfection to high-waist jeans crafted from stretch-softened denim with casually cuffed hems. 27″ inseam; 15 1/2″ leg opening; 10″ front rise; 15″ back rise 97% cotton, 3% spandex Machine wash, tumble dry These jeans are soft, stretchy, and comfortable, and I think the cropped cuff style is fun for summer. However, the side seams don’t quite line up—I’m not sure if that’s intentional or just a quirk of the design. The 10″ rise is comfortable, and they feature Wit & Wisdom’s ‘Ab’Solution technology, which smooths out the midsection. While the fabric doesn’t have the look or feel of premium denim, they’re a solid option at this price point. Also, as an aside, I’m so happy to see that Evereve brought their Sarina V Neck Tank back for a second season! The gussets at the armholes are a fun detail, and also work well to cover bra straps. VERDICT: I won’t be keeping these, but I wanted to share them in case you’re looking for a more budget-friendly denim option. Wit & Wisdom ‘Ab’Solution High Waist Raw Hem Skinny Crop Jeans at Nordstrom (8) // Caslon Stripe Crewneck Rib Sweater (S) // Gola Torpedo 8.5 // Schutz Arissa Woven (8) DETAILS: These jeans create a sleek silhouette with a skinny, straight leg and signature ‘Ab’solution panels. 27″ inseam; 13″ leg opening; 10″ front rise 63% cotton, 32% polyester, 3% rayon, 2% spandex Machine wash, tumble dry This pair has a nicer look to the denim, and I like the overall slim straight silhouette (I wouldn’t call them a skinny), but the length looks too short to me. I know they’re meant to be cropped, but it doesn’t feel like a super current look—especially with the ballet flats. They look a little better with the sneakers, because there’s not as much skin showing. VERDICT: I didn’t love the length, so I returned these, but if you’re shorter than I am, they might hit at a flattering ankle-length for you. Wit & Wisdom ‘Ab’Solution Frayed High Waist Ankle Flare Jeans at Nordstrom (8) // Caslon stripe cardigan (S) // Reformation Kyla (8.5) DETAILS: Styled with frayed hems and a tonal wash, these stretchy, ankle-cropped flare jeans feature ‘Ab’solution powermesh panels that comfortably mold and hold. 27 1/2″ inseam; 17 1/2″ leg opening; 10 1/4″ front rise 97% cotton, 3% spandex Machine wash, tumble dry I have these ecru ankle flare jeans from last year, and I was happy to see they brought them back, so I thought I’d show them to you. They’re a really nice color, if you want an off-white pair. The denim is thick and soft and not at all see-through, and I feel like they’re flattering for a kick flare. VERDICT: I’m holding onto these; I may bring them with me to Florida next month. Fresh Cut High Rise Slim Flare Jeans in Classic Mid Wash at LOFT (29) // LOFT rib trim sweater (M) // Franco Sarto Vianca (8) DETAILS: A modern classic, with a waist-flattering high rise in perfectly stretchy denim. 12 1/2″ rise; 32″ inseam 84% Cotton 15% Lyocell 1% Elastane Machine Washable I really like these high-rise flares. They have a good amount of stretch and a great fit, and the denim has a nice finish—at least on the front. I love the fading and whiskering detail on the front, but I wish they weren’t quite as faded across the back, and the rear pockets sit a little high. The rise is very high at 12.5″. I don’t mind it, but I know that could be a dealbreaker for some. VERDICT: I don’t really need these since they’re quite similar to my MOTHER Weekender Fray, but they’re a great price if this is the style you’re after. Welt Pocket High Rise Kick Crop Jeans in Classic Mid Wash at LOFT (29) // LOFT rib trim sweater (M) // adidas Spezial (8) DETAILS: Fitted through the hip and thigh with a super flattering mini-flare. Rise: Sits at high waist, 11 3/4″ rise Length: Crop, 26 1/2″ inseam Leg Shape: Kick Crop Front welt pockets. Back patch pockets. 93% Cotton 5% Elasterell-P 2% Spandex Machine Washable These are also stretchy and comfortable, and I really like this wash… both front and back. I feel like they look more expensive than they are. I also like the wide hemline and the front patch pockets, but they fit a little smaller than the other LOFT jeans I tried, and I wish they were a smidge longer. VERDICT: These are pretty good, but I have the Pistola Lennon that’s a similar style, and I like how they fit me better, so I decided to send these back. They’re cute, though, and might work well for those who are a little shorter than I am. Mid Rise Boot Jeans in Authentic Dark Wash at LOFT (29) // FRAME Le Mid Rise V-Neck Tee (XS) DETAILS: A fresh classic, with a flattering mid rise and holds-you-in pockets Rise: Sits at natural waist, 10 3/4″ rise Length: Full length, 31″ inseam Leg Shape: Boot 99% Cotton 1% Elastane Machine Washable These are my favorites of the LOFT jeans I ordered. They have such a flattering fit and a really good wash. The slim bootcut style is so flattering, too. VERDICT: I feel like these also look a lot like my MOTHER Weekenders, so I probably don’t need them, but I definitely recommend checking them out if this is a style you’re after. MOTHER The Outside Mid Rise Bootcut Jeans in Dark And Stormy Night at Bloomies (29) // Sarina V Neck Tank (S) // Schutz Arissa Woven flats (8) DETAILS: Narrow flare jeans with a mid rise and a long 32-inch inseam with a clean hem. 32″ Inseam; 9.25″ Rise; 17.25″ Leg Opening Cotton/ polyester/elastane Made in Los Angeles These are interesting—I guess you’d call them a full-length slim straight-leg jean. I feel like they’re really flattering and slimming, and they’re pretty versatile because they look good with boots and sneakers. Sadly, they’re too long to wear with flats, unless I want to hem them. I can’t decide if I like how they look with the Paul Green Hadley platform sneakers or not… I also don’t love that faded “stripe” effect down the outer leg seam. VERDICT: I probably won’t keep these either. Even though I don’t really have anything quite like them, I don’t love them enough to invest at this price point. Pistola Denim Kinsley Flare at Evereve (29) // Clare V. Classic Tee (M) // Gola Torpedo (8.5) DETAILS: A full-length flared leg defines the Kinsley jean by Pistola, crafted in cotton-blend denim with a mid-rise waist and trouser-style hems. 10″ Front Rise; 33″ Inseam; 23″ Leg Opening 75.5% Cotton, 13% Rayon, 10% Polyester, 1.5% Polyurethane Denim Okay, now this is a pair I can get excited about. Sure, I have other flares, but this pair has a slightly more exaggerated silhouette, and I love the wash and trouser-style hems. Plus, they even work with some of my sneakers. The Paul Green Hadley and Gola Torpedo both have a low platform that gives just enough lift to keep the hem of the jeans off the floor. The adidas Spezial has a slightly lower profile, and the jeans break a bit more over the shoe, which looks a little sloppy to me, but I think they’ll be fine after a wash or two. (I always wash my denim in cold water and hang to dry, but they usually shrink up a bit in length after a couple washes.) VERDICT: I love these—definitely keeping. I actually wore them out with low heeled boots last night! They’re not quite as soft as my MOTHER or PAIGE jeans, or even the Pistola Lennon, but I love how they look, and I think they’ll soften up more with wear. AG Kora High Waist Wide Leg Jeans in Momento at Nordstrom (29) // Sarina V Neck Tank (S) // Gola Torpedo (8.5) DETAILS: Effortlessly cool with subtle distressing, these jeans are made from stretch-kissed, light-wash Japanese denim with a high waist and a loose fit through the wide, full-length legs. 32″ inseam; 19″ leg opening; 11 1/2″ front rise 98% cotton, 2% elastane Machine wash, tumble dry These are clearly a no, but I thought I’d share them for the fun of it. They look too big, and they’re definitely too long, but I don’t think I could size down because they fit in the waist. I’m sure they’d look better with a heeled boot, but I don’t like them enough to play around with them. VERDICT: These went right back! Vineyard Vines Herringbone Stretch Cotton Shorts at Nordstrom (8) // Caslon Stripe Crewneck Rib Sweater (S) // Jeffrey Campbell Boast Boat Shoe in Brown Brush (8) DETAILS: A subtle herringbone texture upgrades these breezy closet-staple shorts, perfect whether you’re bound for vacation or just sticking close to home. 3 1/2″ inseam (size 6) 98% cotton, 2% spandex Machine wash, tumble dry I’m really excited to find these shorts—and yay, they’re not denim! They’re super comfortable and look polished, and they’ll make a great addition to my summer wardrobe. I love that they have a fairly narrow leg opening, which works well for my wider hips and slimmer legs. VERDICT: Definitely keeping these! They’re comfortable, flattering, and a nice change from denim for summer. KUT from the Kloth Jane High Waist Cuff Denim Shorts at Nordstrom (8) // Caslon Stripe Crewneck Rib Sweater (S) // Jeffrey Campbell Boast Boat Shoe in Brown Brush (8) DETAILS: Low-stretch denim in a crisp white rinse elevates these cuffed shorts designed with a high rise for a flattering fit. 99% cotton, 1% spandex Machine wash, tumble dry This pair is okay. I’ve worn this style for years and still have the white KUT Jane ‘porkchop shorts’ from last year, but I ordered this cuffed pair to show you what’s available for this season. They’re a little wider than the Vineyard Vines shorts, and the fabric is definitely thinner and less structured, but they’re a decent alternative if you’re looking for a more casual style. VERDICT: I don’t need these, so I’ll return them, but if you’re in the market for white shorts this summer, they tend to sell out early in the season. If you want to try these, I’d order sooner rather than later. AGOLDE Parker Distressed Denim Shorts at Nordstrom (29) // Clare V. Classic Tee (M) // Gola Torpedo (8.5) DETAILS: A relaxed, laid-back fit and premium nonstretch denim create plenty of vintage attitude on high-rise shorts finished with ragged raw-edge hems. 4″ inseam; 26″ leg opening; 11″ front rise 100% cotton Machine wash, tumble dry These looked so cute on the model… but not so much on me. The leg opening is just too wide for my body type, but I’m sure they’ll look great on someone with a different shape. I like the wash and the style in general. VERDICT: These aren’t the right fit for me, so they’re going back, but if you prefer a wider leg opening, they might be worth a try. Tops & Sweaters Okay, moving on to tops and sweaters… You’ll see some of the jeans from above repeated in these outfits. Chelsea Half Zip Sweatshirt at Evereve (S) // MOTHER Dazzler (29) // adidas Spezial in Cream White/Coral/Coral (8) Evereve always brings out fun sweatshirts with stripe details in the spring, and this one is another winner! I love the mix of cream and coral—it pairs perfectly with my latest sneaker addition… more on those below. VERDICT: Keeping! I actually wore this yesterday, as well. Z Supply Jordana Stripe Sweater at Shopbop (M) // LOFT Slim Flares (8) // Franco Sarto Vianca (8) DETAILS: This striped button-up sweater has that perfect fitted vibe, made from soft ribbed fabric that hugs you just right. With a flattering v-neck and long sleeves, it’s the kind of piece you’ll want to layer up or style solo whem you want to elevate your casual look. — Z Supply 70% rayon/30% polyester hand wash I love the idea of this top. The fit is super flattering, and the neutral color combo is really pretty—especially with the tiny contrasting buttons. But it’s a little low-cut and gapes a bit across the chest, and I don’t think sizing up to a large would help. I tried pulling it down to straighten it out, which helped a little, but then it felt too long overall. I think the proportions are just a bit off for me—maybe because I’m short-waisted? A petite cut might fit better. VERDICT: I think this is super cute, but I don’t love it enough to keep. I’d be futzing with it all the time. Heathered Modern Ribtrim Sweater at LOFT (M) // LOFT Slim Flares (8) // Franco Sarto Vianca Bootie (8) Sadly, this sweater sold out. I really like it! It’s a nice fit, the details in the knit are pretty, and the cool shade of beige is a nice neutral for those of us with cool undertones. VERDICT: Definitely keeping this one; I just need to decide if I want to keep the medium or the small. LOFT Night Bloom V-Neck Blouse at LOFT (S) // Pistola Jeans (29) // Sam Edelman Bianka (8.5) DETAILS: Beautiful blooms crown this fluid and flattering woven cotton blend blouse with a high style pop. Stand collared V-neck. Long sleeves with elasticized cuffs. 22 3/4″ long 55% Cotton 45% Lyocell Machine Washable This blouse is pretty bold for my usually understated style, but I kind of like it. I’m definitely ready for more color in my life! And how good does it look with these shiny red slingback pumps? Coordinating tops and shoes feels like a more modern way to wear color right now, rather than choosing one or the other. It bookends the look and keeps it cohesive without feeling too matchy-matchy. This top is a little shapeless when left untucked, but a front-tuck works much better. The only question is—what color belt? It definitely needs one, in my opinion. VERDICT: I’m not sure I’d actually reach for this, but I do like it a lot. Still undecided on whether to keep it or not. Clare V. Ciao Classic Tee at Evereve (M) // Pistola Jeans (29) // Gola Torpedo (8.5) DETAILS: Top off your graphic tee collection with the Ciao Classic Tee by Clare V., featuring soft cotton fabric, short sleeves, and a relaxed, cropped fit. Length from Shoulder to Hem: 22″ Material: 100% Cotton Jersey Care: Machine Wash, Tumble Dry Low I’m always drawn to these Clare V. tees, but I’m not sure I’ve ever actually tried one. They’re pretty pricey for what they are, but the quality is really nice. It’s quite boxy and a little stiff, though—I assume it would soften up with wear. It does front tuck nicely, and I like the fun little Clare V. lettering on the back, too—it’s a cute touch, even if it wouldn’t be visible unless I wear my hair up. VERDICT: I’m undecided on this one. I like having a graphic tee or two in my spring wardrobe—it’s perfect for layering or adding a little extra interest to my usual jeans-and-tee uniform. But I might keep looking for something a bit less pricey. RAILS Geneva Stripe Cotton Cardigan in Pink Stripe at Nordstrom (S) // PAIGE Claudine (29) // Schutz Arissa Woven Flats (8) DETAILS: Bright stripes encircle this chunky drop-shoulder cardigan knit from cotton yarn and fashioned with airy pointelle stitching. 21″ length 100% cotton Dry clean I had high hopes for this new version of the RAILS Geneva Cardigan—I have the wool-blend camel and black stripe version and love it. But this one is even shorter, and I’m not crazy about the bracelet-length sleeves. I’m pretty sure that’s intentional to make it feel more spring-like, but they just look awkwardly short to me. It’s a shame because the colors are really pretty. VERDICT: This one’s a miss for me. I prefer the fit and feel of my original wool-blend version, so this one’s going back. Caslon Stripe Crewneck Rib Sweater in Pink Caliente-Ivory Stripe at Nordstrom (S) (some colors on sale) // MOTHER Dazzler (29) // Reformation Kyla (8.5) DETAILS: Your zesty personality is revealed by a lightweight striped crewneck sweater knit in pointelle ribs for added interest. 100% polyester Machine wash, dry flat This lightweight sweater has a pointelle rib knit for a subtle, textured look that’s perfect for transitioning to spring. I love this cheerful Pink Caliente-Ivory Stripe, but it also comes in a classic Navy/White (which is on sale) and a few other fun stripe combos. It has a generous fit, so I’d recommend sizing down if you’re in between. VERDICT: Keeping! I think this one is really fun for spring, and I need some color in my life. Caslon Stripe Pima Cotton Cardigan in Olive- Ivory Renee Stripe on sale at Nordstrom (S) // KUT from the Kloth Meg in Exhibited (6) // Reformation Kyla in Rum Suede (8.5) DETAILS: A classic crewneck cardigan stands out with bold stripes, lofty pima-cotton yarns and dropped shoulders that give it a relaxed, modern look. Front button closure Crewneck Long sleeves with ribbed cuffs 100% pima cotton Machine wash, dry flat This is another nice transitional sweater that won’t break the bank, and I appreciate that it’s 100% cotton instead of polyester. It has a good weight to it, and the stripe pattern is really pretty—I just wish it didn’t have that drop shoulder. VERDICT: This one’s just okay for me. I’m not a huge fan of crewneck cardigans on myself, so I may return it, but it’s a solid option if you like the style! It also just went on sale! Caslon Weekend Cardigan in Black- Ivory Cleo Stripe on sale at Nordstrom (S) // MOTHER Dazzler (29) // Schutz Arissa Woven (8) DETAILS: Staying cozy is always in style as this versatile cardigan attests with a wool-kissed yarn. Front button closure V-neck Ribbed cuffs and hem 38% recycled polyester, 33% wool, 26% acrylic, 3% spandex Hand wash, dry flat This one is a little more of a thick and cozy knit, perfect for wearing now and also into the spring. I tried it both over a tee and without, and I actually like it better without. I know the tee adds interest, but I think the v-neckline is super flattering. VERDICT: Keeping, I already wore it one once! It also comes in other solids and stripe color ways, and it’s on sale! Vuori Restore Half Zip Hoodie at Nordstrom (M) // MOTHER The Outside Mid Rise Bootcut Jeans in Dark And Stormy Night (29) // boots DETAILS: The pickleball court is calling so answer with this classic hoodie sweatshirt crafted from a smart organic-cotton blend with sporty raglan sleeves. 22 1/2″ length (size medium) Half-zip closure Drawstring hood Ribbed cuffs and hem 66% organic cotton, 34% polyester Machine wash, tumble dry This is nice and thick and soft, and I love the silhouette and the cropped length. So flattering. Unfortunately, I cannot abide that thick, bulky hood. VERDICT: For that reason (the hood), I returned this one. I need to see if they have something similar in a half-zip style. Transition Shoes I also ordered some boat shoes and a pair of pink sneakers! As I mentioned in the 2025 Fashion Trends to Watch, both are trending this year. Kyla Boat Shoe in Rum Suede (8.5) at Reformation & Shopbop (8.5) // MOTHER Dazzler (29) DETAILS: Flat heel, almond toe, no heel. Calf suede leather with a luxurious short nap and soft hand. Spot clean. These are sort of a cross between a driving moccasin, soft loafer, and a boat shoe. I feel like they look a little more polished than the traditional boat shoe, but I like how they still play to the current trends. I also love the comfortable padded leather footbed and rubber sole. VERDICT: These are gorgeous shoes, and I really like them, but I wish they weren’t such an orangey shade of brown. I’m still debating, and I may order a few other options to compare. Stay tuned! Jeffrey Campbell Boast Boat Shoe in Brown Brush at Nordstrom, Bloomies & Free People (8) // Vineyard Vines shorts (8) DETAILS: Have a nautical moment in these boat shoes from Jeffrey Campbell, featuring classic leather uppers with interlaced details and a distressed finish. — Free People Leather upper and lining/synthetic sole Slip-on style, round toe, moc stitching, tie detail, flat rubber sole I’m calling it now. These are “the shoe” of the season, and I think you’re going to start seeing them everywhere. I ordered both the dark brown leather and the medium brown suede to try. They have a much more casual vibe than the Reformation pair, and I like them a lot. I see them more with shorts and light wash raw hem jeans for a very casual look. Jeffrey Campbell Boast Boat Shoe in Camel Brush at Nordstrom, Bloomies & Free People (8) // MOTHER Dazzler (29) This is the lighter color. I feel like I need to size up to the 8.5, so I ordered them to compare. Then I’ll decide which color I’m keeping. adidas Handball Spezial in Cream White / Powder Coral / Semi Coral at adidas.com & Nordstrom (8) // Chelsea Half Zip (S) // MOTHER Dazzler (29) DETAILS: Originally designed for indoor sport, the Handball Spezial now brings vintage appeal to modern street style. Supple velvet envelops the foot in a luxurious feel, while suede accents add durability and depth. The low-profile gum rubber outsole with multidirectional traction provides dependable grip from sidewalk to shopping center. — adidas Lace-up style Removable insole Leather and textile upper/textile lining/rubber sole Yes, I ordered another pair of Spezials. I just love the look, and I know they’re comfortable, and I fell in love with this muted Cream White / Powder Coral / Semi Coral color way. (They come in a lot of fun color combos!) I debated some of the brighter ones, but I know myself, and I’m more likely to wear a more subtle pair. The brown rubber sold keeps them grounded and not too bright. VERDICT: I do believe I’ll have to keep these. They’re just too fun. Dresses, Jackets & More Okay, home stretch! Here are a few dresses and other odds and ends I ordered recently that I think you might like… Heathered Ottoman Mini Tee Dress on sale at LOFT (S) // Gola Torpedo (8.5) DETAILS: From the softly textured ottoman knit to the polished center front and back pintucks, we love this refresh on a forever fave tee silhouette. Crew neck. Short sleeves. Fit: Shift – fits straight and relaxed 34″ from center back neck to hem 84% Cotton 14% Polyester 2% Spandex Machine Washable This t-shirt shift dress is really cute, and soft and comfortable too. I love to have a few dresses in my spring/summer wardrobe as alternatives to shorts and crop jeans, and this one is perfect. VERDICT: Keeping. It runs big, I’d size down if in between. Nordstrom Tie Waist Midi Dress in Navy Night at Nordstrom (M) // Gola Torpedo (8.5) DETAILS: A built-in side tie softly shapes the unstructured silhouette of a wear-everywhere dress. 49″ length (size medium) 78% polyester, 17% rayon, 5% spandex Machine wash, tumble dry This dress was another fun surprise! I often have a hard time with tie waists, but this one works well for me. The fabric is quite thick, almost like a ponte knit, and it has nice structure and a flattering shape. I went with the size medium, which I feel is the right size for me these days. VERDICT: Keeping this one too. Tommy Bahama Two Palms Double Ruffle Dress at Bloomies (S) // Schutz Arissa Woven (8) DETAILS: Meet the dress as bright and as bold as you. Made with lightweight Two Palms linen and a classic ruffle collar, you’ll feel at your best no matter where you are. Length: 35″ from shoulder to hem (size S) 100% linen with 100% cotton lining. Machine wash cold. Hang to dry. Do not dry clean. I’ve had a similar dress to this one before, maybe even this brand, but I remember passing it on because I didn’t like how it fit around the arms. This one seems to be better. It’s a tad snug in the size small, but the medium was way too big. VERDICT: I’m debating… I’ll hold onto it for now and see what else I find as the season progresses. Tommy Bahama Two Palms Short Sleeve Collared Dress at Bloomies (S) // Gola Torpedo (8.5) DETAILS: This is not your ordinary shirt dress. Linen elevates this classic and casual silhouette, bringing effortless polish and movement to a more laid-back look. Back length: 35″ from shoulder to hem Body: 100% linen Lining: 100% cotton Machine wash cold. Hang to dry. Do not dry clean. This is a similar style, and it’s really cute too. I like that it has sleeves for a bit more arm coverage, and the v-neckline with the collar is flattering and looks polished. VERDICT: I’m also debating this one. I don’t think I’ll keep both it and the one above, but I will probably keep one of them. Tommy Bahama Palm-A-Dora Split-Neck Sheath Dress at Tommy Bahama (M) // Gola Torpedo (8.5) DETAILS: Our top-rated Palm-A-Dora dress just got better… We’ve updated the ultra-flattering linen-blend style with a chic split neckline that adds interest to the otherwise simple silhouette. Good luck trying not to get one in every new—and endlessly versatile!—colorway. Split-neck linen-blend dress with a hint of stretch. Contrast stitching. Bamboo zipper pull. Back length: 35.5″ from shoulder to hem (size S) 55% linen, 43% TENCEL™ Lyocell, 2% spandex. Machine wash cold. Tumble dry low. Cool iron. Can dry clean. I had a similar version to this from last year, but I was excited to see this new one with the split neckline. I love the contrast stitching, and it has such a flattering fit. It’s more of a sheath than an A-line style, likes the ones above, which tends work better for me. This one is unlined, so very lightweight and breathable, and it runs a little smaller than the other two. I needed the medium in this one. VERDICT: Keeping! Love it. LOFT Wide Sleeve Jacket at LOFT (S) // Frame tee (XS) // Mid Rise Boot Jeans (29) // Franco Sarto Vianca Bootie (8) DETAILS: Impeccably tailored with wide sleeves for a fresh look, this structured woven cotton twill jacket is our newest layer to love. Point collar. Long sleeves. Flap patch pockets. Button front. Back yoke. 19″ Long 98% Cotton 2% Spandex Machine Washable I thought this was so cute on the website, but it doesn’t translate quite as well in person… at least, not for me. It’s very short and boxy. Like, ridiculously so! VERDICT: This one is definitely going back! La Blanca Yacht Stripe Cover-Up Top and Shorts at Nordstrom Top (S) // Shorts (S) // Gola Torpedo (8.5) DETAILS: Lounge by the water feeling comfy and casual in these striped cover-up shorts and a johnny collar striped cover-up top in an oversized fit that’s cool and casual. 50% viscose, 38% polyester, 22% nylon Hand wash, line dry Finally, one of you, my dear readers, turned me onto this cute an comfy coverup set. It really is super soft and cozy, but I think I need the medium in the shorts. They’re a little snug in the waist. This would be really fun for loungewear on vacay, or as a swimsuit coverup. VERDICT: Keeping the top, going to order the shorts in a medium. And that’s a wrap for this week! I found some great transitional pieces and a few fun surprises along the way. As always, some hits, some misses—but that’s part of the fun, right? Let me know which pieces you’re loving, or if there’s anything you’ve tried recently that I should check out. I always love hearing your thoughts! Stay In Touch If you liked this post, be sure you’re signed up for my email newsletter. In addition to my most recent blog posts, you’ll receive exclusive newsletter content like special sales, my newest favorite finds, and an occasional peek behind the scenes — all delivered right to your inbox. I would also love for you to join my JLS Fashion Insiders Facebook Group! This is a friendly place to discuss all matters of fashion and style with other women, share your outfits, get advice, and stay up to date on all the happenings in our community. Source link

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