#not really happy with it months later but its better to get the images out of my head then perpetually sit on the image

[fishbonezexe]

A Huguenot, on St. Bartholomew's day inspired

[kalims]

⭒ㅤwith a disney princess

premise. surely there's been a mistake, cause there's no way someone out of place like you ended up at nrc, right? (spoiler alert: months later and they will fight whoever might drag you to rsa)

featuring. dorm leaders (from diasomnia to heartslabyul)

content. at best this might imply a female reader, given they're based of a 'princess' but I tried to take the gender vague and focused mainly on the qualities of them! mc has hair in the rapunzel part lol

note. no beta we die lol. I worked on this by group so i honestly don't remember if I accidentally gendered mc. I absolutely love idias part lmaoooo

malleus (aurora)

ooh intimidating x soft couple.

you look way out of place in somewhere like nrc of all places, given your mother is the infamous sleeping beauty (infamous, in the college’s standards that is.) your kindness is easily taken advantage of, even if you do realize it there is always forgiveness spared for the undeserving.

said kindness was extended to the quiet malleus.

surprise no surprise. he’s impeccably drawn to the sparkling aura you seem to exclude. malleus feels as though there are traces of familiar magic always hovering around you, like its embowed into your very being. a blessing would be a better word for it.

well, he’s just curious but if he were to ever ask he’d be met with the confirmation that you were, indeed blessed by the same three fairies your mother was blessed by (minus the curse… ironically he’s quite similar to the same lady that your mother loved and looked up to.)

he’s just fascinated. something as glittery as you, shiny like gold would’ve been whisked away to his nice tower, homey. he’d tell you. almost as if making its image seem heavenly. (lowkey highkey getting your consent for kidnapping)

animals always seem to flock around you everywhere you go, they sneak around to reach you. in your dorm, during lunch, even in class. there’s either a bird on your shoulder or a squirrel making itself comfortable atop your head. its a curious sight, critters don’t really like him much.

in short they run away, humans or animals alike are both afraid of his presence it seems.

so he’s incredibly still when you nudge an adorably round bird in his palm, peering at it with cautious eyes. tense as a statue lest it flies away.

cue staring contest.

he felt incredibly accomplished that day, and immersed him in the role of making this creature like him. leaving seeds, offering it the most sought off food from the valley, literally conjuring a small home for it. everything.

HE’S SO HAPPY.

malleus often asks of you to sing, perhaps its the blessing talking but its the most unique form of sound he’d ever heard in his life, the more he sings the more he wants to imbue his very being with the loveliness of your song.

always following you around like a lost puppy (lizard?) any evil that actually wants to take advantage of your unfortunate naive desire for peace and kindness is scared away. although malleus would never want your interactions to be reduced entirely because of him, he only starts looking like a demon one he figures out their motive is less than fitting for you.

“yeah, the ingredients were to complicated for me to remember—”

“oh! perhaps i can help you?”

spots the demon behind you (just your lovely giant staring them to their grave.)

“you know what i actually got it— sorry for wasting your time.” you watch them, confused as they dip.

you look to him, as though to ask what just happened but he merely casts you an oblivious glance and shrugs.

favorite past time → coddling you in his dragon form.

he was doubtful whether he should pull through in actually showing it to you, since you were already such an angel towards him. would it be a stretch if he let a selfish desire get in the way? perhaps you’d get scared if you see how large he is there—or if he’s—

idia (rapunzel)

okay that amazed smile on you was totally worth it.

wow your hair is fire.

he should have never made a comment about it in the first place because now you’re completely confused about his reference, were you living in like… in isolation? a cave? you’re a little less worse than the scarabia’s dorm leader when it comes to being oblivious.

just two idiots miscommunicating, he atleast is trying to make an effort to explain that he doesn’t mean it literally but his wording is so bad that you get absolutely nothing from what he is trying to infer.

okay your hair though.

“why is that person stuck in that square!?”

good thing ortho was near cause you almost charged towards a television and judging by the, pan!? in your grip you definitely would have smashed the screen trying to be righteous and rescue the character.

okay then. 1. don’t let you near electronics, specifically when its playing something.

you are a literal danger to his society. shivers

you’re always asking something like “what are those glowing balls on the ceiling?” those are lights… “why is that thing speaking?!” that’s a speaker… “why is it on fire?” oh that’s his hair, he doesn’t really know either it was just like that.

it does feel a little nice to get asked like that and he’d know the answer (its literally the most common knowledge ever but whtv)

EPIC! idia is now trying to figure out how resistant your hair is. its literally like, the most OP shield there is!

at first he had some reservations. like, used a knife once and was flabbergasted when it came back in half. your hair didn’t even move an inch. then he got motivated and tried a sharper sword, longer, and larger of course. he let ortho handle it cause he probably would have stabbed himself.

“wtf.”

flinches cause the half of the sharp end came completely off and stabbed right beside his head onto the wall.

what are the limits of it?! had some doubts before using one of the tech he came up with, it could literally cut through a diamond and he isn’t sure if its entirely safe but you’re all for it cause you were always curious whether your hair could even get cut in the first place.

anyway you’re way too happy to be near a lazer that could obliterate you and its kinda infecting him. yikes.

less than happy cause the lazer literally got reflected by your hair and hit itself so it’s just gone.

on the bright side he can use you as a scapegoat (in a good way)

alright. 2. don’t enrage you unless he wants to experience getting hit by a pan really hard.

wow. he felt that for days.

maybe its the hit or he’s just feeling a little woozy whenever you’re around.

definitely the pan.

vil (mulan)

bold x shy couple

pretty x pretty defender

he’s used to people heeding his suggestions but damn, are you a stubborn one.

not only have you not listened to his propositions for becoming a more refined person (cause the way you held yourself was too.. much for him to ignore, and it bothered him for a long time until he decided to help you.) but he can respect you, he supposes. not a lot of people can stay true to themselves.

it seems like epel, the boy himself has taking a liking to you. no wonder he’s been becoming more rebellious lately.

vil would never stoop so low to purposely direct someone advice that would change their entire self, decimate their unique traits. but all he told you was out of the goodness of his heart, if you’d be less clumsy of your ways your reputation would be better for the long run.

not being respected amongst nrc is never a good thing.

still, you’re still headstrong. never too overconfident, nor cocky. just a humble soul, that’s rare so he tends to stick by you if he ever wanted an honest opinion cause people just tell him what he wants to nowadays. vil never enjoyed the biased remarks.

more often than not he enjoys making your already pretty face, prettier than it is.

finds out you’re no bark and all bite, he never even knew you could take down someone who has an advantage over you in physical terms. come on, its savanaclaw. apparently the guy had spared him an unsavory comment and (apparently, in your defense. only told him a few words, got attacked so it was self defense.)

it came a surprise to him. seeing as you’re generally relaxed in nature, your military prowess a mystery to most since you seemed content with resorting matters with peace. though you seem to lack more restraint when it comes to your close relationships.

vil scolding you in the infirmary (you don’t have a scratch, and the guy whose pride you handed back to is in some corner lamenting cause he can hear you guys.) and you just taking it.

contrary to how you first treated to each other. you seem to be more prone to his opinions, or suggestions the more you progress with each other. he admits maybe he was too outright in his manner of speaking the first time, but it only highlights the change you’d gone through with each other.

you’re the perfect doll, in a way. not in a demeaning way or anything but its so satisfying to him to use products on your face just for the sole reason that you sit so still. his absolute favorite past time is skin care together even if you mostly just follow his lead.

you and epel must be kindred spirits, once he was on his way to retire to the indoors of pomefiore. seeing as it started raining, heavy so it meant it would stay for a while. and then paused when he spotted you both sharing words.

and planting apple seeds in the rain? both of you are stained with the rain, some dirt and mud alike. and vil had never looked so mortified. so just cause you don’t protest when he cares for you doesn’t mean you’re bothered by getting dirty he guesses.

“you both… clean yourselves up, i’ll brew medicine lest you fall under the weather.” ← disappointed sigh.

kalim (jasmine)

ended up waiting for you both to finish under the covers and ushered you both to baths.

you have a tiger!

just living char x their absolute biggest stan

wow you have a tiger.

did he mention you have a tiger?

majority of nrc knows not to mess with you haha, if it’s not obvious already with the seemingly lax tiger that behaves like some sort of overgrown cat following you around and growls at someone when you aren’t looking.

then you always raise a brow at the people who tell you otherwise. “bab doesn’t bite.”

kalim is lowkey highkey their biggest fan, i mean. jamil is having the worst year of his life dragging kalim away wherever you seem to be because the first apparent instinct of the boy is to try to pet the tiger cause it’s ‘cute’.

at some point jamil had to investigate your routine throughout the day, what you do, where you go at specific times like after classes conclude to make sure kalim doesn’t cross path with you.

well, not necessarily you but rather your… tiger. which is hard, honestly. you seem to visit scarabia a lot for a reason unknown. jamil would be suspicious you’d be planning something but all you really do is stay out on the balcony with your companion.

but alas, fate would have it otherwise.

“hi,” kalim blurts before he could remember his friend’s warning. you turn, along with your… also friend who watches him closely. you blurt out a greeting back, seeing as it’s courtesy, you seem to be amused at his fascinated eyes staring at your tiger.

“want a pet?” you offer, bab making sounds of protest.

jamil almost had a heart attack seeing the two of you attached by the hip, only calming down a few weeks later. seeing as your companion wouldn’t pose as much danger as he assumed, seeing as the tiger’s protectiveness started extending to the ray of sunshine.

rich couple ig. everyone overhears your conversations and doubles over. “i had a small statue of gold made for bab, for you.” and then a; “oh, thanks. but we already have a lot at home. hmm…”

actually it’s not really the manner of being attached, more like two following you. kalim, and then your cutie pie tiger.

your reserved nature in particular greatly contrasts kalim, yapper x listener i guess. although the object of his interest was initially because of bab, he might as well be another overgrown cat of yours cause he seems to love touch.

its concerning cause bab themselves felt challenged for your affection and when they spotted kalim’s head nestled on your lap they ‘accidentally’ kick him off.

in a way you seemed untouchable, pet included. you don’t seem to mind kalim much, people might even go as far as to say you enjoy his company. occasionally the vice of his dorm as well, the three of you have this sort of aura that screams ‘don’t approach’

said aura is in the form of a very big cat.

azul (ariel)

one time you admitted to having not much friends and three heads turned towards you. face twisted incredulously.

he doesn’t know why but you looked like you went through ten stages of grief (3 more cause the 7 definitely wasn’t enough.) when you took a glance at him, during the time you were looking around, you almost went past him, actually. but then doubled back immediately.

that’s concerning.

morally suspicious (devil in disguise) x angel

azul often asks your opinions out of habit, he himself isn’t even sure when it started but he considers you a factor in decisions. though he does prefer to keep you out certain… endeavors of his away entirely, no need to concern your innocence in his doings.

as such he often uses the twins to steer you away from trouble cause you seem to have no sense for it whatsoever, whenever there’s a fight brewing instead of walking off you stride closer. curious to whatever was happening.

and, you believe too easily apparently.

jade had held you by your shoulders and directed you away from the fight before the dispute reached you and inevitably dragged you in. “why are they fighting?”

he replied. “ah, well. they inhaled an unpleasant shroom and got affected.” your mortified face spoke you believed him. human culture! you thought.

your brain should be inspected honestly. floyd told him all about the pile of stuff you had “found” in your dorm, ranging from innocent collectibles to items that brought the question of whether or not they were really yours but you didn’t really claim otherwise, just that you found em’ so no more questioning.

azul doesn’t even wanna know why you started staring at mushrooms like they were a mortal enemy of all living forms. speaking of, the three of them didn’t even consider that you could be from the sea as well. seeing as, well. you have two feet, even if they have the same.

besides the fact you’re too clumsy for your own good you sure had no fear when you leapt overboard during a field trip cause a trinket that caught your eye fell and gave the entirety of the attendants a heart attack. floyd had patted him on the back and wishes him condolences.

also the shock of the century when you emerged, pretty tail and all. holding it the trinket up like you just found it the most fascinating thing on the globe.

since then underwater dates were a thing. which took a lot of prompting honestly, you didn’t know he was a merman either, curiously asking him what kind he was. in nature, you were persistent. like a need to sate your questions so he eventually relented.

even then, it took a while before he let you see the form. ← to his fluster you seemed engrossed in this form of his. swimming around him and asking questions.

now azul also have a small pile of items hidden in a box beneath his bed, all from you. which, upon being opened would be mistaken for unused items since its literally random stuff, and a concerning favor towards forks.

oh yeah. sometimes the tweels crash your date.

you could be in his office, going about your business. chilling on his couch and playing with one of your treasures and be completely unaware of the ominous discussion ongoing within the three about anemones? contracts?

“what are you guys talking about?”

“hairstyles for azul.”

“what—”

“ooh. i can brush his hair so you can style it!” pulls out a fork.

leona (belle)

“oh my sevens, WAIT—”

i was having a crisis trying to think of a dynamic so why not just, beauty x beast.

leona is less than pleased to admit he doesn’t like you much. or atleast, he used to. it was clear his feelings of you was reciprocated, based on the uninterested side glances you cast him. your type, well liked, pristine, proper, and informed reminds him all to well of what mold he was forced into. though it never really fit.

you on the other hand, just dislike him in general. more pointedly as to how he acted, too self righteous in your opinion. he sure spends a lot of time moping about how he could have been king when he’s acting like he’d be a terrible one. you’d say it to his face but even you aren’t too crude.

if you’re both looking at the bright side though, you’d probably prefer each other’s company above others. you’re quiet, perfect for napping around. he’s surprisingly true to himself, his morals aren’t too bad either.

as such, to your disdain he now naps in the library. which you had titled your own space, but he didn’t really just care.

relatively you’re a lot more cool headed than he is, you told him concerns about his laziness which he weaved through. after opening up with each other… well you know how it goes.

okay, fine. you no longer berate leona for napping at the public space, quickly shut up when he threatened you. “i’m gonna tell you the real reason ‘m here nowadays if you don’t calm down. and it ain’t the peace i’m here for.” he eyes you, and you shut up after that.

leona doesn’t know if he should be amused or annoyed at the fact that you stand up to whatever he says. ‘that’s rude,’ this. ‘are you out of your mind?’ that. at some point where he doesn’t wanna admit, leona had disliked seeing you upset (particularly towards him) that he started listening.

at others is a different story though. he will gladly watch you shut down someone else.

sometimes he makes weird remarks, like. “throw an egg at them, who knows might hatch into a chick and give them the company they’ve been lacking.” ← just bullies random people while you defend them. “what? don’t be stupid, eggs that are sold don’t hatch into chicks.”

you often lament in his arms, regretting ever coming near his sleeping frame cause next thing you know you’re subjected to prison, and you had accidentally dropped the book you were reading so even if you try to reach for it he’s pulling you back.

will reach for it if you ask tho lol.

just one look from you has him suddenly behaved tbh.

bothers your productive time by crashing it with his opposite word of productive idk im to lazy to check. more often than not tramples over your things, but always looks dead to life when you end up scolding him heavily.

also kicks out the animals that gravitate towards you for some reason, got jealous of a bird nestled in your hair once cause apparently you paid too much attention to it.

apparently told ruggie to fetch books for you when you’re running out, at that point you might actually milk the nrc library with how fast you burn through them.

“you’re not even from here, what do—”

“actually. originally from times before, they—”

riddle (cinderella)

got lectured about history, eugh.

easy to fluster x enthusiastic and sweet

how are you so nice.

you’ve got most of the population of nrc enamored with your natural charm alone, though some do tend to mock you. unfortunately they aren’t wrong, you really do fit in more at a different school like rsa with your personality.

i mean you fit the bill, kind, pretty, talks to animals.

good for you though. cause riddle would prefer a behaved student than a troublesome one anyway so he would definitely dig you lmao.

speaking of. he definitely goes to you whenever the hedgehogs are lost in the maze, or the flamingos just don't wanna step out the farther spot from the pond, somehow they love you in whatever you do.

as in, you spoke to the hedgehogs with a lower tone. almost like a coo, and he almost tells you to stop because that's the universal worse tone to talk to hedgehogs until... it nuzzles into you?!

flabbergasted, he can only watch.

sevens... you're just so pleasant to be around he could die.

at some point it felt like you were the epitome of being kind. riddle understand that the virtue was just embedded into you, letting others berate you for whatever... he even thought you were too kind for a place like nrc where the complete opposite traits are admired.

you are, but only to those who deserve it. riddle had the pleasure to spot you nitpicking a crude student and they looked like they were gonna burst into tears.

so... you knew what to say almost always. when troubled, he'd learn that it's best to talk to you cause you'd know what to say to ease his worries, when you're treated wrongly? sevens.. you also know what to say.

but, in a putting whoever in their place way?

(idk man I'm just rambling at this point lmao idk how to write a cinderella reader.)

riddle has grown accustomed to random critters breaking in the door. well, he was used to animals in the first place. or atleast thought he was when he opened a door in the dorm and almost yelled at the sight of a group of mice looking like they were having conspiracies.

a few weeks after that he knocked on doors before opening them.

was also very disturbed when you announced they were your friends.

I don't know. I feel like he'd lowkey be the type to write your name in a heart on the back of his notebook and straighten his face like: 'what in the world am I doing' but not erasing it anyways.

over time, your little 'friends' got used to him, and vice versa. at the very least he isn't screaming at their sudden visits, be it flying through the window or just popping out of something they climbed on.

who's screaming though are his dorm members, and he's found humors in the encounters.

"ah, thank you, myrcella." he nods gingerly, toward the very tiny white mice who seems to twirl around, touched by the thanks. the little thing was nice enough to carry the pen he'd been using to scribble down the main definitions he'd been copying from the textbook.

in the middle of reaching for a glass of water the door opens, riddle watches one of his residents striding in rambling. probably about to be exposed to the sight of a group of mice sleeping on top of each other atop a cushion he'd personally placed for them.

and maybe the birds. whom seemed comfortable by his small collection of plants.

"dorm leader, octavinelle stude—GAHHHH—"

[commajade]

finally watched watched my brothers and sisters in the north when it's been in my to-watch list for years and it was so touching and so beautiful.

the people interviewed were of course handpicked and have better conditions than other people because of the impact of U.S. sanctions and such, but it genuinely inspired me how hard-earned their good living conditions are. the farmers had to work really hard to re-establish agriculture after the war and now they get so much food a year they donate most of it to the state because they simply don't need it. the girl at the sewing factory loves her job and gets paid with 14 kilos of food a month on top of her wages. the water park worker is proud of his job because 20,000 of his people can come and enjoy themselves every day, and Kim Jong-un himself took part in designing it and came by at 2am during construction to make sure everything was going smoothly. his grandmother's father was a revolutionary who was executed and buried in a mass grave in seoul but in the dprk he has a memorial bust in a place of honor and his family gets a nice apartment in pyongyang for free.

imperialist propaganda always points to the kim family as a dictatorship and a cult of personality but from this docu it's so obvious that it's genuine gratitude for real work for the people, and simple korean respect. if my president came to my work and tried his best to make my working conditions better and to make my life better, i would call him a dear leader too. if my president invented machines and designed amusement parks and went to farms all over the country to improve conditions for the people, i would respect him.

the spirit of juche is in self-reliance, unity of the people, and creative adaptations to circumstances. the docu rly exemplified the ideology in things like the human and animal waste methane systems powering farmers' houses along with solar panels, how they figured out how to build tractors instead of accepting unstable foreign import relationships, and how the water park uses a geothermal heating system.

it rly made me cry at the end when the grandma and her grandson were talking about reunification. the people of the dprk live every day of their lives dreaming of reunification and working for reunification, and it's an intergenerational goal that they inherited from their parents and grandparents. the man said he was so happy to see someone from the south, and that even though reunification would have its own obstacles that we have the same blood the same language the same interests so no matter what if we have the same heart it would be okay.

and the grandma said "when reunification happens, come see me." and it's so upsetting that not even 10 years later, the state has been pushed into somewhat giving up on this hope. the dprk closed down the reunification department of the government last year and it broke my heart.

a really good pairing with the 2016 film is this 2013 interview with ambassador Thae Youngho to clarify political realities in the dprk and the ongoing U.S. hostility that has shaped the country's global image. the interviewer Carlos Martinez asks a lot of excellent questions and the interview goes into their military policy, nuclear weapons, U.S. violence and sanctions, and the dprk's historical solidarity with middle eastern countries like syria and palestine and central/south american countries like nicaragua, bolivia, and cuba.

[synthetickitsune]

A Prince and His Flower ✧ k.sy

Pairing: Prince!Hoshi x reader Genre: fluff, royalty au/arranged marriage au Summary: You know that love is something to be overlooked for the sake of politics, but maybe you wish your upcoming marriage with Soonyoung was more than a practical affair. You try not to get your hopes up, not very successfully, but who could blame you when the prince seems as smitten with you as you are with him? Word count: 2k A/N: based on this imagine by @imagine-svt; I'm still not happy about how this turned out but I've already rewritten and edited this twice and I just love the idea so much and I've tried ㅠㅠ

It was arguably pretty random when Soonyoung asked you, hours earlier - and in hindsight it seems important to stress it was also only hours before the ball - about your favorite flower.

It was cute too. The way he tried to be nonchalant, but his cheeks soon had that pinkish tint to them as he went through the small talk he wrapped the question in. His hum was thoughtful, nod slow, as he took in your answer. It was… strange.  

Then again, Soonyoung is like that sometimes. You’ve learned it’s better to just humor him. He’s too stubborn and when he starts pouting, your heart and your will get too weak to resist him. It’s unfair. Honestly, you don’t understand how the future king can be so lovable and carefree when he’s chatting with you and yet so unyielding and wise during diplomatic meetings. How are you supposed to stay rational and unaffected when faced with that?

Sometimes you wonder if he had a say in choosing his future partner. He isn’t the type to let others dictate what his life is going to be like - well, at least not all of its aspects. Being a crown prince, his hands are pretty much tied. Of course he can’t live his life as he wants to, but from all that he’s told you, he doesn’t seem to mind the responsibility, and is preparing for his future role dutifully. At the same time, instead of horse riding and shooting ducks and whatnot, he demanded to learn how to dance. You found the idea ridiculous when you first heard about it - or rather the image of young Soonyoung stomping his feet and demanding his father, the king, to allow him to learn dance was too funny in your head. Months and many occasions of actually seeing him dance later, you have to say it was the best decision the king has ever made to let his son pursue his passion instead of forcing the traditional hobbies ‘fit for a king’ onto him. Not that he could avoid them completely, but they didn’t make up his entire personality - as was the case with some of the other princes you’ve met throughout your life.

So maybe it’s not all that impossible that he’d be the one to choose you as his future partner… right? 

You really have no idea why you keep hurting yourself thinking about it. It doesn’t matter, after all. One way or another, that’s how it is. Besides, your future marriage was decided long before you actually met. So even if it was him who suggested it, the reason behind it wouldn’t be the great chemistry you have now, or how easily you can communicate and make each other laugh, or how teasing and bickering come to you as naturally as supporting and comforting one another. None of that was true back then - you were strangers, barely even aware of each other’s existence. The reason for your marriage was, naturally, political. And that would remain to be true regardless of who came up with it. 

Maybe you just wished your life and marriage was different from breeding horses and dogs. Just something practical, meant to be efficient and to serve a purpose, to produce certain results.

Maybe you just wished there was more to it. Fate, perhaps, or something like love at first sight.

It was easy to fall in love with Soonyoung. Too easy. And it’s impossible to ignore those feelings - or to hide them you’re sure, even if you hope for the contrary. Again, you shouldn’t be blamed since you can’t help it. You love him. You just don’t want to. Because you can’t be sure it’s not all just your mind trying to protect itself - that’s what you tell yourself, despite knowing it’s more of a question whether he feels something towards you too. 

Of course, you’re the one who witnessed firsthand the growth of your relationship. You’ve seen it all - from the initial polite curiosity, to the genuine curiosity, to the fond and, you’d like to believe, loving gaze he wears whenever he looks at you. The one that makes your heart race. Soonyoung's feelings towards you are obviously warm. Maybe you'd be willing to believe he feels the same as you do, that he's just as in denial and protection mode as you are, if only you were thinking rationally.

But you're far from rationally thinking, stuck on the hurtful fact that no one takes your feelings seriously. That had the marriage not been arranged and were you feeling the same, and if they were mutual, nobody would care.

Sometimes you wish you were only mere commoners, allowed to fall in love and marry and not care about the impact your actions will have. Then you could have the marriage you wish for, based on mutual respect and love. One where he would watch you with those eyes of his, so full of love it’s suffocating.

He’s watching you now, with those loving eyes, from where he stands on the opposite side of the ball room. It’s too far to actually see him and the details on his face, but you’ve seen the way he looks at you more than enough times to know. You’re so stupid to be imagining it.

And he’s so stupid too. Watching you instead of paying attention to his advisors that are no doubt telling him how the ball will proceed or the introductions being made. Yet you still blush, your heart fluttering. You could almost imagine that your marriage is more than just a deal.

People often tell you that you sabotage your own happiness, and you wonder whether they’re right.

Because even though he’s looking at you like he can’t see anyone else, all you think about is how this could all be just a play he puts on. A lie you don’t even believe in yourself, but you try.

Because even as Soonyoung walks towards you, and you see the flower in his pocket and recognize it as your favorite, you focus on the logistics - the flower is native to your kingdom, hours away, there’s no way anything could be done to get it here in time - rather than the flower as a gesture. You have to, because if you don’t you might start believing it’s a sign of more than just an observance of formalities. 

“May I have this dance?” the prince smiles, offering you his hand. You accept, of course, and you try not to shiver at the perfect feeling of your hand in his. 

He guides you through the steps with practiced ease. You know he loves to dance and that he's a much better dancer than you. He’s a perfectionist, you remind yourself, and he must be annoyed with the mistakes you make and that’s why he holds you so tight, why he presses your bodies together any chance he gets. Anyone would be lucky to dance with him. He could make anyone look like they possess skills on par with his.

You avoid his eyes even though you feel his gaze on you. Instead your eyes remain glued to the flower. It reminds you of home, of your childhood and time long ago when you weren’t in love with a prince who’s all you could wish for. Is a genuinely love-filled marriage too much to ask for?

“It’s really pretty,” the prince says and it startles you enough that your eyes meet his. He noticeably perks up and you curse yourself. That tiny smile he wears is too adorable not to fall for. “I was thinking we could use them for our wedding too.”

Your steps falter, but he’s quick to adjust to it, making the mistake seem natural. 

“Is something wrong? You’ve been distant today,” he lowers his head and his voice, close enough that you could forget the world if you allowed yourself the luxury.

“Nothing’s wrong,” you tell him curtly. The wedding… It’d be beautiful, and you can’t say that you weren’t thinking that the flowers of your kingdom would be perfect. Maybe that’s why it hurts more. It doesn’t feel right planning a wedding with someone who’s just the perfect match in the current socio-political context.

“Look, I know everyone keeps staring at me,” he sighs, and it surprises you again. Now that you look around, you see that he’s right. Every man and woman is looking at Soonyoung, and despite your better judgment you use the next twirl to move closer to him. You see him biting his lip to start smiling and it’s not good for your heart. “I know, but I really tried to make them see I’m yours.”

Definitely not good for your heart. Your head spins and you blame it on the dancing.

“How did you get the flowers here?” you ask instead, try to deflect before you start overthinking. But he starts blushing and it’s just as lethal. He’s so nervous it’s you who has to correct him this time.

“I… I actually arranged for them to be grown here, in the greenhouses behind the castle,” he says and winces at your expression, “I’m sorry! I just wanted you to feel more at home here, and these were the only ones I remembered from my trip to your kingdom.”

Something about your shock must be registering in his brain as anger because he keeps whispering apologies and explanations and god, your friends were right, weren’t they? This isn’t something you do just to seem like the perfect husband in the eyes of the people of your partner’s kingdom.

“I wanted to propose to you with them. I thought it’d show I accept our differences - and I know it’s stupid, okay? I just wanted to do something romantic,” he deflates a little, but it matches the music, completely natural and inconspicuous to the onlookers. You think your heart is going to burst. You’re so stupid. He’s so stupid. “I know you’re not marrying me because you want to, but I really like you, and I want to grow old with you… even if you only like me as a-”

“Why didn’t you say something?” you hiss, and alright, you might be a little angry, or maybe it’s just the adrenaline, “God, Soonyoung, why didn’t you say you like me? I thought you only saw this as a business.” He looks as bewildered as you feel. 

“I thought it was obvious!” he whisper-shouts. It’s fortunate that you’re a little bit away from the other couples and the people standing around the room. “Do you think I’d sneak out for anyone else? Or give them private dance lessons? Or grow flowers for them - and don’t even get me started on that! That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done!”

“What are you talking about?” you try to mind your volume, you really do, “You got people for that!”

“Yeah, but that wouldn’t be right!” he argues right back and you’re really bringing too much attention to yourselves, “That wouldn’t be romantic at all! I wanted to do this for you and-”

You swear you’re not one to break the decorum. 

You never act in any way that could tarnish your or your kingdom’s reputation. 

So you have no idea why your arms are around Soonyoung’s neck and why you’re kissing him in front of everyone.

The music’s stopped, and he’s kissing back, and maybe they’re still playing you just can’t hear them over the heartbeat in your ears. 

You keep your eyes closed, so you can’t see the smiles on your and the prince’s fathers’ faces. But you hear the buzz around you and feel Soonyoung smile into the kiss and so you smile too.

Your friends were right. You should’ve realized, but having the prince confess makes up for the lost time, as does the feeling of his lips on yours, his hands around your waist pulling you so close to him. And perhaps, just perhaps, you like that everyone knows he’s yours and you’re his and that it’s not just for the show.

[nescaveckwriter]

Bundles, Broken, Maybe Healed? (Part Three)

Prompt: Bundled up in blankets - will be in bold,😱

A/N: YAY! My third one for @badthingshappenbingo 🤭, Okay y'all, this chapter is intense, I'm not kidding.. we find more out about Meredith's past and its traumatic okay... So good luck...😱💓❤️

Warnings: 18+ Only! Some language, blood and gore, normal Criminal Minds stuff, going into depth off crime scenes etc, drug use,torture, anything else I missed let me know💕

Characters: Aaron Hotchner, Dr. Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia, Derek Morgan, JJ, Emily Prentiss, Meredith Lang.

Cover: Created by me. Also images from Pinterest and Canva.

Words:3000ish 😅

Chapter Name: Bundled, Broken, Maybe Healed? (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three)

Today was our last in hospital session, she’d go too stay with her parents, I’m thankful Jason Gideon took her under his wing, and she said she was ready, and I did sign off, but in my professional opinion, she’s in danger, of her own build up emotions bursting one day, but I will still see her every week for the time being, until then I hug my own kids a little tighter. Signed Olivia Walters.

He sat there, feeling like he’d cross a line if he ever caught ‘the collector’, he wouldn’t send him to prison, now… he’ll, he’ll kill him. The knocking on the door tore him away from his thoughts, his voice lower, rougher than normal “WHAT?” she stood there with a smile on her face, her forest green eyes piercing  his “I’m sorry about earlier!” clearing her throat “you took me a little off guard, and uhm” she stayed silent “agh nevermind, the point is, it's inappropriate of me, to punch you and…” he stopped her mid sentence “okay I get it, close the door behind you” and without saying another word she left his office. Running a hand over his face, he knew that was unquestioned for, but he didn’t want to deal with that right now, hell he wasn’t even sure how’d he look her in the eye after reading through her file, but he started reading over it again…

 She did the missed years of school in one year, studying hard, taking various self defence classes, even more advance martial arts classes, Jason Gideon became a second father to her, training her, guiding her, she did everything she could to become part of the FBI, coming through various obstacles, one of those her parents, but she pushed herself, her drive, her motivation ‘Finding Hope’ and despite everything she did, but before they could send her in the field it was time for her psych eval, she passed with flying colours, but we’ll soon learn, she had a bit problem with authority, someone tugging or grabbing her, she’ll punch first, apologise later, Hotch left out a chuckle, he knows how that feels. She is really impulsive, she’s not concerned about her own safety, she’ll get into any situation, as long as someone doesn’t need to go through it. But she’s a damn great profiler, so Jason Gideon was happy about the progress. She was one of the most skilled agents he’s ever seen, he was proud.

She flourished, she loved her job, she and her family were close again, but one night she called me, I could hear it in her voice, ‘Gideon he’s gone, some weak bastard shot him’ I was shocked but more worried about her, he had a significant role in life. ‘I relapsed’ she said ‘I bought ecstasy, the spiders are back’ I realised she was high as she spoke to me, so I made my way over to her apartment, by now I cared about her like she was my own daughter, I found her sitting on the floor, tear stained cheeks, her service weapon in hand, loaded, high out of her mind, ‘I’ve been doing this job for what 3-4 years? And I still haven’t found Hope or the collector and now Gideon is gone’  I saw it etched on her face, the look in her eyes, she was ready to leave everything behind. 

It’s been a few months, she threw herself back into her work, but she seems to be doing better now. I saw her again today, she looked good. But she’s a complex person, not that I blame her with the trauma she’s gone through.

Hotch sat back in his chair, thinking about all the red flags she’s got, yet he was intrigued by her strength, she doesn’t carry around the whole victim badge, he couldn’t help to think maybe she healed. But at the back of his mind he knew, deep down in this 30 year old woman, that 16 year old girl is still stuck inside her. With one click, he closed the file, almost a silent wish, that he’d never started reading it in the first place.

She walked into her apartment, exhausted of the day, still pretty sore, she kicked off her shoes, poured herself a glass of wine, moved the box ‘childhood memories’ over to her bedroom, opening her closet starting to unpack the box, placing the evidence against the doors, over these 13 years she gathered so much of the bone collector, she could never catch him so far, and as she pinned the pencil sketch, of him, that she sketched over and over, remembering every detail, she sat against the bed, knees drawn to her chest, chin resting on her kneecaps, muttering “I’ll get you, and when I do, you’d wish you never abducted me that day” it was a ritual by now. Almost a sort of mantra and she meant every word. She’ll never speak off all the things he did to them, but she’ll never forget it, NEVER!.

[bryan360]

JSAUX Nylon Braided Cords (Micro USB/Lighting) - Part 2 (second half recorded)(final) (April. 6th, 2024)

No need for another “On This Day” throwback post.

Hey guys. Sorry for keeping it waited on this before this month ended. So anyways, welcome back to this continuous topic review of my new braided cables. Last time where I’d covered my long awaited charging test to my Samsung Tab E device, It’s time where I also covered my recent iPad tablet device here. Thankfully at the same day after did with my Samsung device’s charging test, I’d moved quickly to another one with my next device I’d mentioned. Without further ado, onto this final part share.

⬆️ (29th Image; back in 2:41 P.M.)

Switching things right along, I’d now recorded with my recent iPad device to charge up. Since now that with my Samsung Tab E full on battery; all thanks to my new blue braided cables from the first half review, I’m able to use it to take photos with its camera app. It worked fine from years later and the image quality was good. 👍 There’s more photos from during this second half review I’d gotten. Anyways, this here’s after letting my iPad device’s battery life drained about hours later.

⬆️ (30th to 31st Images; from 2:45 to 2:47 P.M.)

It’s a right time to bring my red colored braided cable in good use. I’d took it out to give a good look before plugging with my Apple charger adapter. It was exactly designed from my blue braided cables, but ya know; differently designed lighting type of cable.

⬆️ (32nd and 39th Images; from 2:48 to 2:57 P.M.)

Now I’m plugging to my red colored braided cable into this Apple charger adapter. Good thing now that for the adapter stills functional, but also alongside with its original lighting cable I’d previously used for my recent iPad device in few years or less. I’ll do in comparison post with my normal cables for another time. Now back to this topic review, its charging progress had finally started when checking onto my iPad device. Looks promising that I’m good for having those new charging cables; from my mom’s help we’d ordered from in Amazon.com. 🙂👍

⬆️ (40th to 41st Images; from 2:58 to 7:20 P.M.)

Hours later when checking on my iPad device’s battery, it’s now fully charged at 7:20 P.M. that sure felt this long. That’s my opinion before going to bed during nighttime. 🥱 Nevertheless, at least its get the job done with my red braided charging cable; same goes for my blue braided cable from my first half review. Though looking back its charging time from where the beginning; at 2:53 til 7:20 P.M., it took about less than 4 hours in comparison with my blue braided cable to my android tablet for 5 hours. Doesn’t matter which is charged better or quicker, I’m very glad when going through my new braided cables for the first time.

My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: ⬇️

Completed through this second/final half review, my red colored braided lighting type cable definitely fits to my recent iPad device. Though having to wait hours later for its charging test to get through before bed regardless. That being said, I did my best to get by when writing this review from it. All in all, I’m very happy for my new cable upgrades to set up. Do wish them last longer for future uses and among with my other tech items I can charge with.

⬆️ (From April 6th, 2024 to May. 19th, 2024)

Before signing off, here’s another close up for both braided cables that includes putting both straps in. As for its length, this is far I can get before photo shoot on my bed. Nevertheless, I’m sure they’re both similar in length beyond their differences.

Hope you guys enjoy this final review topic I’d really wanted to have. I’ll be taking care with my new braided cables as I can, but taking a break before saving some new topics and continuing ones soon. For now, here’s to a final week til June 2024 and to everyone gotten plans for the summer. Good luck! 👋

Also, this. ⬇️

Previously: ⬇️

JSAUX Nylon Braided Cords (Micro USB/Lighting) - Part 1 (first half recorded) (Apr. 6th, 2024) - Link Here

Tagged: @murumokirby360 @shadowredfeline @alexander1301 @rafacaz4lisam2k4 @coda-archive

[livewireatalanta]

just dropped in; PROLOGUE

[A SONG FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD STARTS PLAYING, A MELODY THAT REMINDS YOU OF A TIME WHEN YOU WERE A HAPPY CHILD — ONCE.]

Laying on the floor of the living room, the top of her head is settled against the top of Mark's. Like they're mirror images; her arms splayed out to the exact angle of his. The boombox is too close to their faces and in a minute their mother will come in from the kitchen and chide them for it, tell them how bad it is for their hearing. But for now, it's just Mark's crown against hers and the reverb of a slouched guitar sliding through the bridge of Heart-Shaped Box. The CD is secondhand and has a rough crackle behind the sound. In a month or so it will give out, finally, listened to over and over again by both its previous owner and the twins. Mark's breathy voice weaves through Kurt Cobain's and Nadia joins in without realizing: "Hey. Wait. I got a new complaint." Over and over again, on that chopper bringing her to whatever the fuck this new assignment is going to be, Nadia mouths that ending loop. Hey. Wait. I got a new complaint. Forever in debt to your priceless advice.

[A FIDGETABLE, ANALOG ITEM, CAN BE KNIFEY THOUGH YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR IT TO BE]

Mark had given it to her, on her twenty-fifth birthday. A joke gift because she had been on a string of missions that all dealt with anomalies in the form of priceless pieces of art. Nadia ended up loving the small, handheld microscope, joke though it was. Especially much later, when the transfer to Xi-13 meant endless stake-outs and recon drops in the middle of nowheres. Everything in nature was ten times cooler under the loupe: leaves, and insect nests, and patches of fungi. They took all her knives (which was a major fucking red flag but she was already in too deep to argue) and her sidearm, so Nadia reaches for the loupe from her pack. Doesn't look through it -- not much to fucking look at aside from metal and industrial storage -- just folds it out of the protective sheath and back, listening to the hinge click and the air slide over the glass.

[A PLACE OF GREAT PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE, BE THAT POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE]

Four blocks down and one over from Nadia's childhood house sat the Pine Grove Towship Park. There was a playground, a shade awning with picnic tables and a stretch of field that came up against a scrubbysuburban forest. Nothing you could really get lost in, but dense enough to make late night, summer games of Manhunt interesting. Adjacent to the drifting tall-grass was a baseball diamond (more often home to charity softball games between fire department and police force, or impromptu kickball matches as long as someone was able to lift one of the Franklin rubber balls from the school gym). It smelled like mud and grass and gravel and damp wood, from the chips that lined the ground under the play structures. Nadia had memories tied to every inch of that corner lot: smoking under the child-sized climbing wall as a teenager, swinging silently with Mark while the sun set further and further, running through the trees in pitch black and holding back laughter so she wouldn't tip off the other team. It doesn't really smell like the park when the copter finally touches down. And, when Nadia hauls the door open, it certainly doesn't look anything like a suburban, middle America public park. But something of that place, those memories, linger at the back of the mind. Maybe it's the feeling of darting through dark-touched trees to a stretch of underbrush, hoping the person hunting you couldn't hear you breathing. Whatever it is, Nadia shakes it off and steps onto frigid concrete.

[april-first]

[summary] Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu Chapter 21-1 and 21-2

Last weekend I checked here and on reddit, and I found no summary for Chapter 21 even though 21-4 was uploaded a month ago so I thought I should do a quick one before the next update. Turns out typing these up takes way more time than I thought so I could only manage 2 chapter parts with my limited free time. Will finish the rest as soon as I can.

Chapter 21 will be the last chapter of Volume 4 which means once the tankoubon release is approaching (December 4th) they're going to pull off its chapters.

22-1 is already up as of this week. Chapter 22 will be uploaded biweekly, but Chapter 23 and onward will have regular weekly updates. (The numbers in the original tweet are typos, they got corrected later.)

Before I get to Chapter 21 because this is relevant: in 20-4 when ‘Hikaru’ visits Yoshiki at night (the last few pages of Chapter 20) we briefly see Hikaru’s POV. The bright light in the middle of Yoshiki’s chest is his soul/spirit, as Hikaru sees it.

Tweet caption: By the way, this is what the light is. Image text: Yoshiki’s soul… It’s pretty.

(This is more or less unrelated to Chapter 21, but in 20-1 when Kurebayashi-san mentions kegare [impurity] Yoshiki recalls the time when ‘Hikaru’ mentioned the same before they checked out what Yoshiki’s sister found in the bathroom in Chapter 11.)

I checked the existing scans to see how certain terms/names were translated.

21-1

Yoshiki is squatting down in front of two gravestones: one marked, one unmarked. The marked grave is the smaller one and it reads “Caw-son” [the pet bird from Chapter 11] the unmarked grave is the bigger one. There’s an unopened pack of a cream-filled roll in front of the unmarked grave. Yoshiki touches the gravestone with an apology: he apologizes that he couldn’t do more than this because as long as “he” [fake Hikaru] is there, no one’s going to grieve [real Hikaru.] But because ‘Hikaru’ exists, no one will forget the real Hikaru, and Yoshiki feels happy about this, and he finds this feeling “the scariest.”

‘Hikaru’ arrives and says that ages ago he and Yoshiki used to play here [in the old shed] a lot. He points to a handmade Super Mario stage.

Sitting next to each other, ‘Hikaru’ asks Yoshiki how he’s different from real Hikaru. Yoshiki says the two of them are totally different. Real Hikaru was better at reading the mood, more mature, he was hard to understand. He was even more of a brat, he lied, and he had a surprisingly cunning side as well. And he’s never coming back, so. Different.

‘Hikaru’ asks if Yoshiki loved the real Hikaru, and instead of replying, a shocked Yoshiki asks why ‘Hikaru’ is asking this. ‘Hikaru’ tells him it’s because some time ago [Chapter 4] Yoshiki averted his gaze when he was looking at Hikaru’s body. Yoshiki says he doesn’t want to answer the question.

When Yoshiki grabs ‘Hikaru's’ shirt he says he no longer feels anything when he’s looking at ‘Hikaru’s’ body. Then he says it’s fine that ‘Hikaru’ doesn’t understand these feelings. ‘Hikaru’ agrees that it’s true that he doesn’t have “these kinds of feelings” and that he’s fundamentally different from humans. Then Yoshiki says it’s fine for ‘Hikaru’ to not become a human, and that actually he shouldn’t become something like a human.

The last 2 pages are Yoshiki’s thoughts: Yoshiki believes he and ‘Hikaru’ are entirely different beings so it’s not like they’re able to fully understand each other.  So that’s why ‘Hikaru’ doesn’t need to do anything other than just being here and not killing people. Instead of forcing ‘Hikaru’ to become like a human, if there’s a place where ‘Hikaru’ could live freely like himself… Yoshiki would do anything for this.

21-2

Yoshiki and ‘Hikaru’ summarize what they’ve learned so far from Matsuura-san in the library, Hikaru’s grandpa, and Kurebayashi-san, while Yoshiki takes notes.

When they’re done, Yoshiki wonders if ‘Hikaru’ is really a god. ‘Hikaru’ says he’s not, he was just called a “god.” ‘Hikaru’ wonders if the kegare [impurities] that gathered in the mountain spread out because he didn’t stay on the mountain, and that maybe he should go back. But Yoshiki says ‘Hikaru’ finally found a place where he belongs so don’t. Kurebayashi-san said she’ll help and Yoshiki and ‘Hikaru’ can find a way together. ‘Hikaru’ agrees. Then Yoshiki remembers that 2 days ago ‘Hikaru’ visited him at night, and ‘Hikaru’ reveals that his memories of it are fuzzy, but he probably did visit Yoshiki. ‘Hikaru’ wonders why he did that.

Scene switch to the Takeda family residence. Yoshiki and ‘Hikaru’ want to talk to old man Takeda about what Matsuura-san told them in the library. The daughter-in-law opens the door, surprised to see ‘Hikaru’ because it’s rare for anyone from the Indou family to show up, and she wonders what’s up. Yoshiki tells her they want to ask “old man Takeda” about something they need for a school project, but the daughter-in-law is having none of it. Then ‘Hikaru’ remembers Kurebayashi-san telling them if they run into any trouble just mention her name (because “even a housewife like [her] has a few favors to call in”) which works: the name jogs the daughter-in-law’s memory and she remembers her father-in law looking for a person named Kurebayashi, and she tells Yoshiki and ‘Hikaru’ to wait a bit.

[Summaries of 21-3 and 21-4 coming soon]

Notes

I didn’t translate kegare myself because I’m firmly on the “it’s rarely a good idea to translate cross-cultural religious concepts” side of the translation theory debate (best relevant example: “sin”)

Kegare and tatari (from "malevolent god") in the online Encyclopedia of Shinto (in English)

[chamaleonsoul]

hi ana <3 could we have your fashion enthusiast thoughts about milan luke pretty please?

Hiiiiiiiii

an opportunity to ramble about two of my favourite topics??? Thank you!! And also another excuse to scroll through my gallery looking at pictures of Luke that make my cry and wonder how i haven't been admitted into a mental institution yet? THANK YOU. Also, i'll do you one better and give you my professional thoughts about it 😌 (i'm still a few months away from graduating but idc!! fashion designers are made not graduated).

Okay sooooo, let's begin in chronological order shall we? First we have, the White Stripped Suit™:

This one is my Favourite visually (<-this will make sense later) for many various reasons. 1) While white is a colour that suits literally everyone, it's one of Luke's star colours since his colour profile is light (light eyes, skin & hair. This means light colours make him stand out [if that were possible, he is the sun in its human embodiment but whatever 🙄]), and I appreciate the person who assembled this outfit together because they knew what they were doing. Also, i have a liking for striped/grid fabrics, so.

2) While the fit is very modern (slim, simple and clean) the combo with the open collar shirt with print on the chest, chain necklaces + chest hair showing😵‍💫💫 make the whole look very 70's and i, a person who loves the sluttiness of that decade, like that very much.

3) I'm a big fan of the signature Luke Hemmings ring set™😵‍💫😵‍💫 + the double charm necklaces😵‍💫 in silver, with matching silver glittery eyeliner???😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 12/10.

This suit gets bonus points bc it's similar to one used by one of my favourite blorbos<333 Louis de Pointe du Lac in Interview with the Vampire (2022).

Overall, it's a simple outfit, but it's leaning towards a statement outfit (because of the almost total-white-look [the shoes break that but it's fine]) and i personally Love that🤍🤍

Then we have outfit #2:

Unfortunately I did not find many pics of this one? Sad bc i can't give it such a detailed analysis, but I can say that I love love love the sharpness dark colours bring to his features. And this black on black pattern/stripes over knitted shirt? Mwah. Once again a very harmonic and cool combination of colours + silver complements (makeup, jewerly) that fit him perfectly!! (And the way the pearls just sit on his neck like that? Absolutely ridiculous).

In spot #3 we have what sent me into cardiac arrest and almost made me throw my phone into the abyss (aka plaid purple outfit):

This one,,,,, this one right here🥲🥲🥲 First of all, it makes me so happy (as a Luke fan, as a designer and as a person) to see he's experimenting with clothes and image and the way he presents himself to the world. This is what modern fashion is made for!!! To help you find a visual representation of who you are!!! And it really makes me so sentimental to see this and remember things like that old tweet where he said he felt weird putting on lip balm and now here he is, daring to do so much more than that, enjoying himself, being happy– it just🥹🥹🥹 I cry.

Solely because of that, this could be my favourite one, but in addition we have:

-The punk touch of it all🖤 that i so love!! Starting with the plaid of course, then the chunky studed shoes with the usual delicate jewerly he uses layered with that industrial chain (and all the rings😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫).

-The loose fit of both the skirt and jacket makes me think he's comfortable experimenting but also not throwing himself head first, which is great!! The jacket is wide enough he can cover himself naturally if he feels the need to, and the long skirt is a safe new territory because it covers almost the same as pants do, and the pleates bring some texture/volume to the fit since he's not wearing a shirt (i feel so dizzy).

-Gorgeous matching hand bag!! I love seeing him with one don't text.

-Makeup is subtle but also matches the whole outfit (boy obviously enjoys an harmonic combo, he's just like me<3).

All that makes this outfit my favourite one because of what i'm getting from it<3 (although visually #1 is still my fave. There's just something about it that scratches my brain the right way).

Moving on to #4

Yet another star colour of his!!! (since his colorimetry is light+cool, blue is His colour). And this particular shade is very, very close to the colour of 2023, we love a superstar🌟 on trend.

This is what i call a standard Luke Hemmings, which means a casual combo of a nice 2 piece suit with a comfy/fun top and boots (can be alternated with tennis shoes). I'm obsessed with his shirt collection🥲

Of course i can't go by this one without making a reference to Miami Vice because come on. It's right there!! This fit is obviously looser and following the oversized trend that came (and that'll stay for a while) with quarantine and the whole 80's<3 revival. I also love me a good italian lapel ngl. So this outfit earns a #3 spot on the list!

And last but not least we've got:

This gorg plaid beige + black shirt combo of which I also didn't find many pics of :/ however, it's safe to assume this was a tank top situation with brown/black shoes to match.

Once again we have a beautiful set of rings that scorch my braincells<3 with a sky blue wristlet i want to steal immediately!! It's so pretty and i wonder what he keeps in his purses besides his phone and maybe some lip product. I don't need sleep, i need answers.

Anyways. While beige usually is considered a warm colour, this one in particular leans towards cool, which stays on line with all i've mentioned before ((:

I also like that the make up is a little more noticeable since the outfit is more subdued. This one is a #4 on the list, which weirdly makes the black jacket outfit last?? Surprising since i'm personally married to black, but whats a girl gonna do

And sooooo, overall i think the outfits are simple, comfortable and kinda classic even, but have a few modern touches that elevate them for the occasion🤍 I love that since I both personally and professionally prefer that mix of styles.

Not gonna apologize for the long ass response bc you brought this unto yourself!! Licherally!! Anyways, thank you for coming by and asking my thoughts, i really appreciate it🤍 (:

[highwayphantoms]

happy friday! how about "even death has a heart." for hawke/anders, courtesy of the death prompt list

@rosella-writes also sent this one last month(-ish)!

for @dadrunkwriting

Pairing: Hawke/Anders Words: 472

Something of a follow-up to this ficlet from last year.

-

She woke to darkness and the steady patter of rain against the windows, and for a fleeting moment there was nothing else. Gradually, the rest filtered in: a warm, heavy lump sprawled out over her legs; a dull ache in one side of her head; an empty space beside her—

In an instant, she snapped to full alert. Where—?

Serafina moved to prop herself up on her elbows, only for the motion to turn her headache to pulsing agony. She flopped back against the mattress and cursed under her breath. Her memories were fuzzy and indistinct like she’d been drinking, but this was no hangover. She shut her eyes tight, inhaled, and tried to draw up just enough magic to take the edge off.

She came up with nothing. Not even the slightest drop of power.

No wonder she felt so utterly exhausted.

A moment later, the door hinge creaked, and then the door settled into its frame. She cracked one eye open just long enough to catch the faint glow of a light, and then threw a hand over her face.

“Oh—you’re awake,” Anders said quietly. There was a faint clatter as he set something down, and then the mattress dipped as he sat down. “I should have known a spell wouldn’t knock you out all night.”

“Why—?”

“You asked me to,” he said, gently brushing her hair out of her face. “Do you remember what… happened?”

Serafina reached for his hand, inexplicably afraid that he would simply vanish if she didn’t hold on to him. “Not really,” she mumbled. At her feet, Bear softly woofed in his sleep. “I… was looking for my mother,” she said, trying to piece together the hazy images that floated at the edges of her mind. After a few moments, a realization settled into place. “She’s dead.”

“Yes.”

She sighed. “If I can’t even protect my own family, what good am I?”

“Hawke…” Anders fell silent, as if carefully choosing his words.

“Don’t answer that,” she muttered.

“Tell me how to help.”

“Stay,” she said hollowly. “I don’t—I don’t trust myself alone. And my head—”

He said nothing, but honeyed warmth filled her veins, easing the pain down to a manageable level. Then, a moment later, he asked, “Better?”

“Mhm.” Serafina twisted her upper body towards him, as close to rolling over as she could get with a dog two-thirds her weight holding her legs hostage. “Where were you?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he replied. “Thought I’d go find something to read.”

A wry ghost of a smile tugged at her face, not that he could see it in the utter darkness of her bedroom. “I guess even death has a heart.”

“How so?”

“I still have you.”

Anders laughed faintly, and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “Go back to sleep, Hawke.”

[milkplusvn]

Happy New Yuri!

Tip: You can get these same posts sent right to your e-mail by subscribing to the newsletter.

Want the above image as a wallpaper? Check the Google Drive here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lLdmGA07HfqPN8zvqqob198h9nfbaQEk?usp=share_link

Well, everyone, what an active year it was for milk+ visual! After years of near-radio silence with hardly any blips from time to time, it's nice to finally be back in the development ring. Kinda feels like we've been broken out of amber!

Last year, we released the 5th anniversary definitive edition of Soundless, raised $320 USD in relief donations, and basically nearly completed Three Lilies and Their Ghost Stories. I am so very proud of all these accomplishments, and I'm happy that everyone has enjoyed their time with the new stuff and helped out with getting money to people in need.

We also got a new member of the team on board: Cherimoya! While Cherimoya is currently simply assisting with things like promotional art and editing from time to time, Cherimoya will soon be helping with writing as well.

This year, we can look forward to more great things. Here's the plan so far, granted nothing goes awry:

Three Lilies Release

Obviously.

I’ve been holding off on doing much because of the holidays. Actual progress update this week!

One Month Break & New Mascot

Exactly what it says! After Three Lilies is out, there will be a one month break. Need to replenish the juice.

During this one month development break, Magenta's girlfriend will finally be incorporated into the branding and her official design sheet will be released. Meet Monochrome Matrimony! She is the girl on the right in the above image!

With a penchant for sharp things, Monochrome was recruited into Magenta's roleplay as the surgeon to her nurse. While Magenta wields a syringe, Monochrome wields a scalpel. She is very creepy and wet unlike her peppy chipper girlfriend.

Neither of these people should be performing any sort of medical procedure!

Soundless Android Port & Art Patch & Artbook

Following the one-month break, development will begin for the Soundless Android port and an art update patch. For the art update patch, players will be able to choose between new art and old for the main story, and the CG gallery will be split into three separate sections: old art, new art, and Adiaphoron.

Naturally, the artbook will come with all the new art. Since the artbook wasn’t released at the end of last year as planned, might as well just put it in and release later, right?

7388 Development Starts Up Again

Once everything Soundless is at last squared away, 7388 will at last be worked on again!

At this time, a release can't really be divined from this roadmap. However, making 7388 a commercial project is being floated so that future projects can be better funded. The sale price likely won't be very much. It would be cool if it released at the end of next year, though. But I'm asking a lot from myself there.

The structure is going to be very fun if I can figure out how to organize it...! I'll explain more later.

Releasing on Steam

In the past, I have been wary about releasing anything on Steam due to its bad track record with visual novels, its DRM, and its underhanded tactics to secure a monopoly. However, should the current model of releasing only on Itch remain not viable, Steam may be pursued as another platform to sell on. Because that's life, I guess.

In the event this happens, 7388 would get priority, and then if I'm able to make the $200 to get them on there, Soundless and Three Lilies would be added to our Steam catalog as well. Due to its content, POLYCHROMANIA will not be considered for sale on Steam (or at the very least, I don't plan on fighting Steam alone for that one).

About POLYCHROMANIA

Development for POLYCHROMANIA will begin again after 7388 is released. One thing at a time.

That concludes this (kind of late) New Year’s post. HAPPY NEW YURI!

[batsyforyou]

Hiya! for the OC ask game, 1 for any/all OCs you wanna talk about :)

Hello and thank you for the ask! I will be honest I kinda feel like I have been caught with my pants down cause I completely forgot I posted/reblogged that but I am more than happy to share my OCs. I think I am going to mention two that I'm working on and none of what is here is solid yet. Like, its not concrete! I keep forgetting the right analogies for these things, are they analogies?

I think one for Skyrim and one for whatever is happening on the other end of my fishing line lol. Also, I'm working off of minimal sleep and a high amount of caffeine so I apologize if this comes off as weird. Im sure it will.

Number 1 says, "What is their birthsign and does it have any large significance to who they are?"

So, I don't actually have birthdays or names picked out for these OCs so I'll just share some of what I do have. Vibes mostly but damn are they hot.

For Skyrim we have an Altmer/Nord Dragonborn Character, a mixed race character. For this one I have more plot then character but because the thingy said Skyrim originally it doesn't feel right to not mention her. I literally have over three pages of bullet pointed plot points and thoughts for her. I know it doesn't seem like much but for me thats a lot. She was inspired by a play through I just started and Taliesin. In an ask game before this I think I mentioned him but if I didn't he is an in progress fully voiced modded follower that I have been obsessed with recently. You can find the creators blog here. And I kinda want to use this OC in a fan fiction for him but we won't talk about that cause I actually don't know yet. But I really want to its probably gonna be after his release if I do. But unlikely cause I'm so slow af. And I have said I'd have Little Dove part 1 posted in a couple of days and well, its been like two months so...

Brief Character Description: We'll just call her Brye for now.

She was born in a place far far away that I have yet to choose but was raised in Riverwood by her Nord Dad.

Brye's Appearance

Eyes-blue

Hair- long and white (will be cut later down the line cause trauma)

skin- currently torn between olive or tan, probably olive

height- no specific number has been set yet but she definitely isn't small

Armor- In the beginning she goes with what she can afford so, either hide armor or steel if she can get her hands on it. Later down the line she'll have more assassin looking light weight armor. She does cover her hair and ears in a scarf like thing I can't remember the name to but like sailors use them so like? It's there and it is black and she wears a helmet over it.

Some character traits/insecurities/flaws: I'm not gonna put them all here just a short list.

Self-hate issues

trust issues

abandonment issues

mommy issues

Loyal

strong moral compass 65% of the time

Has high expectations of herself (perfectionist)

Loves the thrill of danger/hunting

Loves treasure/loot

can be lead astray from morals for treasure (and kisses)

loves feeling like she's doing good even if she is doing nothing and failing miserably. An example could be trying to make someone feel better and hoping her that her presence is enough cause they have someone who can protect them. Does that make sense? Probably not.

is a sucker for praise and attention from those close to her.

constantly wants the approval of others, kinda a people pleaser but not really. Like she isn't a floor mat... rug? Whatever she has boundaries + backbone and doesn't like letting people get close. But will feel guilty for hours after saying "no" to someone.

I'll leave it there for the Skyrim OC cause I said a short list and that is not short. Moving on to whatever is happening on the other end of the screen!

Pirate Elf: that I still don't have a name for.

I'm just gonna share a few of the images I have for him and what I'm thinking about for his bird and story/coping skills. Also, side note, the images I am gonna share were sent to me by a the lovely lady Flora and if you are interested in OCs I'd totally recommend her! She has many different blogs for different things but @floraroselaughter is her main one and @the-glade-is-my-delight should be her OCs blog. She is great with mood boards and her writing is super great as well so totally check her out if you have the time!

I didn't share all the photos but these are just some of them. I am adding to him still and doing some research but I have a semi done playlist that I'd like to share. And please let me know if the links don't work I'll fix em.

Playlist for Elf Pirate Captain 

Jonathan Young- Eye of the Storm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si3IJ218Chk

Valhalla calling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxptIpCYAJA

10HR Creaky Wooden Pirate Ship Rain Sounds for Sleep: BLACK SCREEN Pirate Ship Ambience for Sleep https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCs4JM7dXX4

Pirate Ship Ambience- Captain’s Cabin Tropical Island Port, Bird LIfe| 1 hour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft-lJyu_nuY

Pirate Ship Sound Ambience//Wooden Sailboat Ocean Waves Sleep Sound 8 Hours https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aylZ5naovxY

Footsteps on Wood floor black screen 10 hours loop| sleep| study|relax| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVumDbrIOFg

Footsteps on Hardwood Floor Sound Effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJbOrzd92Ec

Sound Effects- Walking on Wood Floor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfrLCXUo1hg 

Loud Parrot Chirping |Natural Parrot Sounds| Parrot Calling Sounds|| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9dUpGFc5Uc

Parrots incredibly talk to one other like Humans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlu504XxrYA 

Best Sword Sounds (Slice/Slash/Crash/Swoosh/etc) A little bloody https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgRvVq8mStE

RPG|D&D Ambience -Sword Duel (Swords clashing, footsteps, heavy breathing) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBsHWwmXbcM

I had a mix of Sea Shanties that was really good but I couldn't find it so yeah.

For his bird he does have a green parrot not because I see a lot of other pirates with them but because my Grandma had a green parrot named Rocky who died a couple of years ago and I loved him to bits so, he has a bird named Rocky. I hope thats the right picture.

For the coping skill I mentioned I don't think he has one. Cause what I'm currently thinking is that he talks with his hands a lot, mostly to show off his rings, but that he puts all the stress of whatever is happening in a bottle and just keeps shoving it all in there. Until he is literally teetering on the edge of like super villain or defeat. Mostly supervillain. And by defeat I mean like breaking down and not recovering mentally.

An example of what could break that bottle would be like, if he fell in love with a human woman and he got married to her and had children and she died a normal death. He won't be fine for a while but probably won't go raging war on anyone. Verses, he fell in love with a human woman who he was going to marry but couldn't cause she was shot and killed and then he goes Super villain I'ma kill everyone mode. Or my personal favorite He gets married to the love of his life they have children together she still gets brutally murdered and he goes to start a war and I make another protagonist to take him out. And it be a simple family verses family story.

I have a ton more I'd like to say about him but this post is crazy long so thank you for asking! I'm sure this isn't what you wanted to walk into but hey, its late I'm tired and I have to turn in like three huge grade breaking essays. So, its all good!

Have a great night, stay blessed!

[furys-burn]

undercut is some Thalia +Her Dad thoughts since a podcast I listened to raised a good point we never get a super clear view of how she sees her dad since its always from Percy (Jealousy and some idol worship) Luke (Super biased and their younger selves) and a touch of Annabeth (Super young and idol worship) 

So Thalia vaguely knew that her dad was some big shot but fell back on him being a CEO, director, etc type and that any mention of Zeus was her mother’s own zeal. Her mother enough of a personality that being told “You father is a god” can be chalked up to her own editing of her life. What Thalia did know (And continues to be a theme of her character) is what she can physically point at and prove like he was out of their lives, he never met her, and he only showed up to give her a younger brother. That is Zeus. 

It is only when her powers start manifesting that she gets the demigod talk (Personally hc it as when Jason goes missing she starts an entire lighting storm in her anger and grief that flattens the forest) 

She is out of Beryl’s soon after Jason’s disappearance and it is on her own where she starts to form her own mythos around Zeus. She trusts him enough to follow the goat and I think her mother’s own fanatical worship makes her think that he may not be all that bad. That maybe he’ll help her and she’ll be a hero and anything sounds better than what she is leaving behind. A small part of her believes that Zeus may even welcome her to Olympus, a remnant of her mother’s wishes through the eyes of a child. Maybe a mistress can’t stay...but his own daughter? 

Months of travel go by and the odd aid from her father keeps her going with enough belief that he starts to become  Along the way she meets Amaltheia who leads her to Luke in a dragon cave. This is where her image of the gods starts to change as his already less than gleeful view offers another perspective from her mother’s and her own barely there experience with her dad. This feeling is strengthened as things just keep getting worse for them and it turns into less “survive for Olympus” into plain survive. Especially once she realizes there is no way he will let her live out a life happy in the clouds; she continues on until the house and Annabeth and she switches her focus onto them. 

Thalia at that point in the story sees her dad as a neutral figure. Not as awful as Luke but will not sing his praises. She would also try to keep things on the DL around Annabeth wanting to let her keep any feelings for her mother especially after her dad+stepmom situation. 

But then the hill happens and this is where everything changes for Thalia. 

In those last moments she did not want to die. Thalia was never a martyr, she tried too hard to survive and when it all broke she had to make a choice of herself or them and she will always choose them. Maybe she prayed to her father, maybe she heard him for the first time but not when they were already cornered or when Jason was gone to only he knew where. 

But being brought back and realizing you lost five years of your life and that your once best friend is trying to destroy the world REALLY FUCKING SUCKS (And he tried to kill you? ok. Oh and you’re now the prophecy? Double ok.) 

After an alarming number of Ls this makes her view her dad less than favorable. He does not reach out to her and besides the odd help of the gods, she has the feeling that she is not where she is meant to be. Even when she joins the Hunters, to me it feels like Thalia just giving up and exiting the game altogether. She meets Zeus and it confirms that she does not see him as a dad and while she has that need for pride she also finds it in other places like the Hunters, her found family, and later Jason. Zeus is just an afterthought in her life and this maybe the best it can get as a demigod. 

[namelessmewmew]

Old Art Archive Part 5.

Original captions under the cut.

1 - 3. Title: Petals, Sparkles and Unicorns [+ bonus of the other two pieces I have of her, that also happen to be old, left being newest of said two]. More csp testing stuff. Went a bit ham with its built in decoration brushes, Petal Brush, Grass Brush, Sparkle Brush [There's even a glitter brush, which I'm sure I will use at least a few times] ……. Happy enough with how this came out. Def need to draw her more.

4. Title: The Heart of My Eye. Uni stuff has been getting more hectic so haven't been able to draw as much [and what I have been drawing has been stuff that won't see the light of day until late this year probably]. Had the idea of a loveletter head character so just made this in csp, don't really like how this came out but oh well. Also probably going to redesign them a bit whenever I draw them again.

5. Title: The Imp Stick. Redesigned Nameless because I wanted to make him more self indulgent [I like horns, imp tails and faceshadows alot]. Used my usual method of exporting each frame as a image and then throwing them into ezgif, I think I should learn how to use clips built in animation abilities.

6. Title: Don't cry over spilt glitter. Uni work busy and hard, and been making a bunch of stuff I don't to post yet so dipped into my favourite thing, aka redesigning "old" characters [like it as much as designing new ones].

7. Title: Kitty Kitty Cat. Just a little cat, shes actually a pretty old character of mine, just redesigned her recently. I really need to draw and post more often.... Sort of like how the shading came out by I'm still kinda shit at it Might draw some more cause I have alot of old animal characters to redesign.

8. Title: Old Gay Cat named Juliet. Another cat laby, this time Sarah's mom, Juliet! Shes also been redesigned but not as much as Sarah. Going to do Sarah's other mom next [which until recently didn't have a design at all but still working on it a bit] Really like how the pose of this came out [still iffy on the shading though..]

9. Title: 2022 Pride Icon. New Icon/Pride Icon [might use this after pride month and just swap out the bg, or might a new one later].  and yes I used a very similar pose to my last upload, I just liked how it looked so used it again. Happy Pride Everyone!

10. Title: Filters and Fingerguns. I have been trying to draw more stuff lately :], liking the stuff I have been making, especially like how the hair and eyes of this came out of this came out :3. The character here is Eve, Juliet's wife and Sarah's second mom.

11. Title: Smiles and Glitter. I know I should be drawing the characters I have already more hut I really like designing new characters..... k? and felt like  I needed another sparklecat....[I need more sparkle anything really] Also tried to emulate the look of those old blingee? gifs and it looks okay enough. Going to try to figure out how to do it better.

12. Title: Metamorphosis. Yeah another bright sparkly cat.....a character I have actually been thinking about designing for month's,  A trans flag coloured lynx with a lil golden bell that shines like a rainbow in the light. A mascot-y character that's meant to idk be anti-thesis to how big corps pretend to like us during pride months by just changing their logos to rainbow and selling overpriced pride merch, then just change their logos back and don't do anything more about it for the rest of the year, I guess? Like a mascot thats undeniably queer in colours and otherwise I guess. My brain feels a bit slow and foggy right now right now so I might not be articulating well.

13. Title:  Splat. Haven't posted here for a month and lost steam for artfight not long into it [will post attacks I did once month is over], but I did make my first game, a rpgmaker game that is about 10 to 15 minute rpgmaker game for a mini jam. Thought maybe I should post about here at least once, https://namelessmewmew.itch.io They technically can be named whatever by the player but I wanted to give me a 'true' name as well, so here is Splat./colour-less

14. Title: 'Fuck you! Catboys your Demon'. I can't just not put my sona/main character though multiple redesigns/design updates, I wouldn't be NamelessMewMew, if I didn't! Going the opposite route in terms of adding things to his design lol compared to my old sona [casanova, a cat like creature that I added demon features to, I need to redesign them again at some point.] I need to learn how to draw stubble properly... and also maybe change the eyes a bit, you looks kinda uh high rather than just tired.

15. Title: Aging. Just feels weird, so a little doodle thing.

16 - 17. Title:   Prancing in the night. Wanted to start another art practice dump to practice shading, decided to do my personal characters to motivate me more but then got really into it and added more  and more shading/lighting, then thought this would look very stupid without a bg, then added lighting to that bg and then wanted the stars to sparkle.... [which I hope loads as its not loading in the preview I'm seeing now] yeah I guess I can make this its own deviation. The bg is a bit mid quality but I'm glad I did because I don't do proper bgs much, but I do really love how the Plushie came out in this, especially the pose [and shading]. Though the gif site I use makes transparency kinda uh line-y? Basically the lighting and shading looks smoother than this originally, though I don't mind how it looks

Anime Girl Art Dump:

Title:  Art Practice: 1. Ramble-y stuff: Been in a hating my art phrase because there's lots of parts of art I'm not great with, shading, anatomy, perspective, backgrounds..... so forth But can't get myself practice without also posting it but also it has to be good enough to post [when I feel my art is bad then I feel like I can't waste the time spent on it by not posting it but I also feel like I'm somehow a bad person for being bad at art]..... so going try to do dumps like this where I try to focus on certain things. Hopefully I can improve at least a bit this year. About the art: This is mostly Hair Shading + Faces + Eyes Practice, but also tried to draw various different hairstyles. Want to do more experimenting with how I draw eyes and hair...

Hands and Eyes Art Dump:

Title:  Art Practice: 2. More art practice, this time hands [done mostly by memory and a bit by using my hands as ref] + eyes [more just the irises and pupils rather than eyes as a whole]. Like where I am getting with eyes but really need to work on hands alot more.... Can't think of anything else to say really cause tired... other than its 4 days till I'm 20 which is wild.

[percontaion-points]

Jocelyn's Choice chapter 18

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Click here for the rest of the series!

Chapter 18

When I came home from work, Max informed me Sarah had called him and wanted to work things out. He was afraid the Jordans would try to take over, but I assured him that was just Sarah. She was a caring mom who wanted to make everything okay for her kids. If taking care of me meant Alex would be happy, then she would do it. 

Max seemed relieved Sara'd mentioned child support.

[Image description: the first two instances of Sarah are spelt with an H on the end of the name, each with a blue line under it. The third instance has no H, and has a red line under it. End description]

Editor? Anybody seen an editor?

I didn’t need any legal documents to prove he was the dad, and I would never keep him or his family away from our baby.

I hate to be THAT person, but when things start to get ugly, you’ll be grateful for the legal documentation. 

Especially considering the background that the novel went out of its way to establish for Alex. You think a guy like that would be content to play house with you and his kid? He’d bounce, and you’d never hear from him again. 

"I wanted to tell you," I cried. "Really, I did, but you were so far away, and then when I heard what you told Evan when he thought Cali was pregnant, I panicked."

 "Evan told you what I told him?"

 "He didn’t know I was pregnant, and he was telling me how wonderful you were through it all, but you told him the baby was a complication he didn’t need and a huge responsibility." 

"And that was true," he said. "In Evan and Cali’s case. I wasn’t speaking for us."

It’s easy for you to say this now, when she’s six months pregnant. 

"Okay," I mumbled, but I couldn’t fight my sleepiness, and I felt much calmer with Alex there. Moments later, I drifted off.

Chapter 18 summary: Most of the next day is glossed over. When Jocelyn gets home from work, her father goes off on this absolute tirade about child support and visitation. The entire thing frustrates Jocelyn, because she knows that Alex is going to step up. However, I’m on Max’s side about the entire thing; people are fucking shitty, and you NEED that documentation. 

She goes upstairs to get some rest, but then wakes up to Alex standing over her. He says he talked to Max, but doesn’t say what about. He then apologises. First for coming over at 2 AM while he was drunk. Then for suggesting that she should have considered adoption, and implying he didn’t want to be around for this kid’s life. 

When she brings up Cali’s pregnancy scare, Alex insists that he’s in a better situation than Evan is right now. That he can go get a really good job with his master’s degree, rather than Evan with his high school diploma. He also tells her that she can go back to school at any time; that she shouldn’t have to put her goals aside because of a baby. 

They then start to cuddle, with her using him as a body pillow. The baby starts to kick, and she lets him feel it. 

[ailithnight]

Combine 1 and 2 (also clone Danny because I said so):

Danny is trying, okay. He's trying to connect with his Da- Dick. He knows Dick spent his first 9 years growing up in the circus. It's part of who he is. Dick's parents where world famous acrobats who taught Dick how to be an acrobat. And that's cool! It's really really cool!

Danny wishes he was an acrobat. It would be so awesome to be able to do all those flips and spins and stuff. Even incorporate the tricks into his (much rarer now) ghost fights. Dick has even promised to start teaching him!

So Danny is really trying here. He wants to bond with Dick and connect with their shared heritage. And when they were discussing this stuff, Danny off-handedly wondered if that was why it had felt so natural for him standing on the high wire. Dick had been so excited to learn that Danny had spent some time with a troupe, no matter how brief.

And, well, Danny didn't have the heart to kill that joy with the unimportant details of that experience. He wanted Dick to be happy. He wanted to share in that happiness, to see the circus the same way Dick did instead of it being forever tainted by one bad Ringmaster. Danny wanted that so so badly.

When Dick got them tickets to a show; Danny's first lesson in acrobatics, watching how the professionals did it; he made himself ignore the anxiety that squeezed his lungs and made his heart beat an almost human rate. All those months of hiding his discomfort from... the Fentons... whenever they would go on their tangents about what they'd do once they caught Phantom made Danny a very skilled actor. It wasn't easy to fool a Bat, but he did it. And here they are, taking their front row seats with Dick none the wiser to the fear creeping down Danny's spine.

At first, it's fine. Ignoring the fear, focusing on the show and Dick's absolute glee as he whispers all sorts of cool facts in Danny's ears. All Danny has to do is not look at the Ringmaster and let Dick's infectious energy soothe him. Slowly but surely, the anxiety fades away, not gone but no longer loud in his nerves. It's all going so well that for a moment Danny thinks he made the right choice.

He should have known better.

Everything goes to hell when the Ringmaster asks for volunteers and because the Ancients hate him, Danny gets singled out. Danny isn't even sure what he's been picked for. All he knows is that he's being pulled away from his Dad and put under the lights and the Ringmaster is right there in his bright red tailcoat with his big smile and the red tinted lights making him look pale and giving a red glint to his eyes and his little staff with its little ball...

The next thing Danny knows is that he's running and he's pretty sure he's being chased. The echo of a high nasally laugh haunts his hearing. Images of a bright red swirling orb flicker in his vision. He doesn't know what's happening, why he's running, why his knuckles hurt. It feels like something, someone, else has seized control of his body again. He hates it.

A blink later, though it must have been some time at least, he's tucked away in some corner trying to make himself as small as possible. There are tears streaming down his face and his breath leaves him in erratic shuddering sobs. He can't see, can't hear, can't think. Can't do anything but try to wrest control of his body back and hope, pray he didn't hurt anyone this time.

Small prompt idea.

Danny is Dicks son. Dick takes him to a circus in order to bond with his newly found son and share with him something he holds dear. However maybe

1)Danny hates/petrified of the circus cause of freakshow. This causes him to panic and/or bolt. (Accidentally punch the ringmaster that looks kinda like freakshow?)

2)He mentions off-hand that he was part of a circus once did tightrope. Dick is ecstatic and thinks this is awesome. Until he finds out the circumstances, that is.

3) Just loudly declares he hates the circus when someone brings it up at family dinner. *metaphorically breaking his Dad's heart, who is already so stressed trying to be a good dad*