#otherwise you lose the holiday pay

[emeraldmew]

Not looking forward to going to work tomorrow.

[badolmen]

People against piracy fail to realize that no, I can’t just ‘buy it.’ They stopped making DVDs and Blu-Rays. They’re barely offering digital copies for download. I am not spending money I could use for food or bills to pay for a subscription service just so I can always have access to a beloved piece of media. Especially not when the service will remove media on a whim without concern for how the loss of access to that piece will make its artistic conservation nigh impossible.

For example, I recently learned that Disney+ had an original film called Crater. It’s scifi, family friendly, and seems cool - I would love to buy it as a holiday gift for my little brother! But: it’s exclusive to D+ and THEY REMOVED IT LITERALLY MONTHS AFTER ITS RELEASE.

The ONLY way I can directly access this film is through piracy. The ONLY available ‘copies’ of this film are hosted on piracy websites. Disney will NEVER release it in theaters, or as something to buy, and it may NEVER return to the streaming service. It will be LOST because we aren’t allowed to purchase it for personal viewing. If I can’t pay to own it, I won’t pay for the privilege of losing it when corporate decides to put it in a vault.

So yes, I’m going to pirate and support piracy.

Edit: if you are able, use $5 you would otherwise use for a streaming subscription to donate to a GazaFunds campaign.

[risuola]

I DON'T NEED MISTLETOE TO KISS YOU — F. READER x SUKUNA RYOMEN, who doesn’t exactly agree with your human traditions

It is the first Christmas party Sukuna ever went to and it’s really safe to say that most of the traditions are surreal, borderline absurd to him. Especially the one with the hanging weed…? A mistletoe? You couldn’t be serious when telling him that if he wants to kiss you, he needs to find himself underneath it with you.

cw: fluffy, suggestive?, lot's of kissing (duh), Sukuna has his own body and he's a grumpy old man — 2,5k words

kissmas masterlist

There is a certain amount of respect Sukuna has grown to expect from people around him ever since he’s got a body of a human. Even though now somewhat mortal, he’s still a king of curses and that alone is enough of a reason to assume that he deserves some honors. You, of course, as his partner, are allowed to respect him a little less, but as Ryomen was sitting on the couch in the apartment you share, wearing the absolute atrocity that you called a Christmas sweater and listening to your rambling about a weird weed he wondered if it could still classify as “a little less”.

And it was a fact that you looked quite pretty in the little sweater-skirt combo you wore, the high socks made your thighs look absolutely delicious and the white, fluffy edges from the Santa hat you had on your head made you look almost too cute for your own good, but he wouldn’t be mad if you just shut up.

“Ryomen, are you even listening?” You whined, pointing a finger of accusation in his direction and, again, looking too adorable for your own safety with the pout your lower lip formed. It took the greatest art of control to not kiss it off your face immediately.

“No, honestly, not really,” he replied and it should touch him, the way you groaned upset, but at the same time he couldn’t help but find you oh-so-sweet at the moment. So sweet, in fact, that he’d gladly eat you.

“I was trying to get you into the Christmas spirit and you are ignoring me,” and you were pouting even more. Great. “It’s our first holidays together and it’s your first Christmas party in this era, you could pay me a little more attention.”

“No, I’m paying you all of my attention,” he retorted quickly, his eyes slowly scanning your figure from the tip of your head, down to your feet and back up. “I just tend to lose my interest when I hear something foolish.”

If you wouldn’t know the ex-curse well enough, you’d probably feel insulted, but thanks to the many months you’ve already spent with him, you know it’s just his way of expressing his thoughts. It made you sigh deeply.

“You are a human now, you know? You could indulge a little into our foolish traditions.”

“I am wearing this atrocity, am I not?” Sukuna scoffed, getting up and catching you quicker than you managed to run away from him. His strong, long arms wrapped around you, enclosing you in the warm embrace of his chest. “I admit, the human traditions were always below me. Even in my era, I never truly participated in whatever people were doing, but what you’re now telling me sounds straight up absurd to me. I mean, this… whatever the fuck that is. Weed thing with kissing?”

“It’s a mistletoe!”

“It’s preposterous,” he snapped quite softly, one of his hands sliding down your back and onto your ass. “I don’t need a mistletoe to kiss you and you have my word that I will snap the neck of anyone who dares to use this tradition to touch you.”

“You will not snap anyone’s neck, Sukuna Ryomen,” you warned, poking his chest with one of your prettily manicured fingers, the one on which you wear a ring he gifted you not too long ago – golden band with dark red diamonds embedded into the metal, the stones being a perfect representation of a color of his eyes. It was a warning, but he couldn’t help but smirk. “And during the party you will look for the mistletoe, otherwise you’re not allowed to kiss me.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“I am.”

And you were, to Sukuna’s greatest dismay, in fact avoiding his kisses as the evening went by. The party at Gojo’s apartment was annoying, but not nearly as much as the fact that you were just so damn stubborn. But you looked so pretty, all smiley and so open, he was willing to push through it all just to see your face twisted in so much happiness. It is, after all, only for you that he even agreed to come and surround himself with the celebrative aura that he had no will to understand. It was enough for him that you enjoyed it.

The apartment had been festively decorated for the holidays. Filled with the warm glow of Christmas lights that were scattered throughout the space, hanging from the walls and even wrapping around the legs of some of the furniture, along with the rows of ribbons and tinsel. A Christmas tree stood tall in the corner, decorated with sparkling ornaments and colorful lights, a large star on top of it. The party was already in full swing and the laughter and cheers of the guests warmed up the air, together with yummy smells of homemade treats, hot chocolate and mulled wine, the merriment adding to the festive magic. Everybody was chatting with one another, enjoying themselves and sharing stories, catching up on the holiday season, cherishing the time.

The music was playing softly in the background, the holiday hits spreading its warm melodies throughout the entire apartment, but in the midst of all the holiday cheer Sukuna’s attention was drawn to you. He watched you laughing and chatting with other guests, with people that usually he would hate but for you he forced himself to tolerate. He observed you mesmerized by your beauty, the way you moved, and though he had seen you countless times before, yet somehow it still never ceased to take his breath away. His eyes drank every detail of you, from the way your eyes sparkled just as brightly as the twinkle lights on the Christmas tree to your bright smile, the soft and subtle curve your lips had on all the time during the evening. He admired the way the few stray strands of hair had fallen from your hairdo and he could have sworn they were just for him to push back behind your ear. The cozy sweater you wore that though he deemed as atrocious, he couldn’t deny its vibrant colors made your skin tone pop. You were a sight to behold, an angel he knew he never deserved and yet, you were his. And yet, some of these beautiful smiles you aimed at him, and your hands searched for his, not caring at all about how much red and sorrow his skin had soaked during his lifetime.

“You’re not enjoying this, aren’t you?” Your soft, sweet voice poured into Sukuna’s mind, pulling him out the trail of thoughts and admiration.

“I couldn’t possibly care less about the Christmas spirit,” he replied, wrapping his arm around your waist as you sat down next to him on one of the sofas. Out of habit he leaned in to have a taste of your lips when you put a finger on top of his own. “What the fu—”

“Mistletoe, remember?” You grinned, a playful tease apparent in your voice.

“I already told you that I don’t need a mistletoe to kiss you, did I not?”

“You did but I also told you that you will need one during the Christmas party, didn’t I?” Your retort was both funny to him and annoying and if it wasn’t for you, he would have already snapped. There was a thin layer of patience Sukuna had and you were poking through this layer constantly, pushing his buttons and pulling on his nerves. He was ready to say something less than polite, when you spoke again, “please, ‘kuna, just for this night,” and the pout that your lips formed made it just that much harder for him to not kiss it away.

Ryomen found it comedic, really. He was considered the strongest of them all, the King of Curses feared for hundreds of years and yet when he was with you, he felt like he could melt into your arms and soften. As he stood in the face of danger, he never felt fear. Whether he was battling nations, facing enemies who had never seen defeat or fighting back a raging fire, his strength and determination never faltered. He was used to people looking up to him, he was used to giving orders and degrade the pawns and yet with you he let his guard down. In your presence, he felt comfortable and at peace with things he would never consider himself doing. The sweater you made him wear, he wouldn’t ever even think of putting on because someone asked. The party he was now sitting through, he would never attend if it wasn’t for you. And most importantly, there was no way throughout heaven and hell that someone would tell him what he can and cannot do, except from you. You were his weakness and his strength and he knew he would do anything for you, gladly following you to the ends of earth. The very thought of hurting you sent a chill down his spine, you had the power to make him forget everything else in the world and when everyone else would cause his blood to boil, you had the ability to unleash a huddle of butterflies into his stomach. It took him a thousand years to feel something like this. Your love was the only thing that truly scared him, the force that rendered the king completely powerless. But he wouldn’t have it any other way and though it made him conflicted, he was willing to follow the silly tradition just to see you smile. But on his own conditions.

“Fine.” He grumbled, a smirk already forming on his lips and just by the look of him you knew there’s an idea blooming in his head and for a moment you wondered if you should be worried or not. He wasn’t going to do anything inappropriate in here, right?

“Love you,” you whispered to him to award his willingness to bend his own rules and even gave him the softest of pecks onto his temple before you got back to chatting with your friends. Sukuna was, let’s say, okay with coming to the party but it didn’t mean he was going to carelessly chat with sorcerers. He already spent some unwanted time with the brat Yuji, wondering why on earth was that kid so happy. Needless to say, Sukuna was vibing much more with Megumi.

As the time was passing and your boyfriend was looking uncharacteristically relaxed in the festively twinkling surrounding, you managed to feel more at ease as well. You felt the slight burden at first, that you forced him to take part in something he had no wish to participate, something as odd and unknown to his nature as friendly people gathering but turned out he was able to push through the party and not kill or threaten anyone too much. He was sitting so calmly that you managed to forget about the mistletoe.

That’s why it took you by the biggest surprise when the strong, familiar arms wrapped around your middle as you got to the balcony to breathe some air and cool yourself, the hot chocolate in your system making a great job at raising your body temperature.

“Got you,” Sukuna’s low tone sounding right next to your ear made you smile and you turned in his embrace to face him. He pulled you close, pressing his large body against yours. “And I also got this,” he chuckled, showing you the little branch of mistletoe that he most likely salvaged from the much bigger bouquets inside Gojo’s apartment. He gave you no time to respond when he pressed his lips to yours, kissing you deeply. The impact of his passion pushed you back and as your butt touched the railings, instinctively you grabbed onto him more, melting into safety of his form. If your mind wouldn’t be so consumed by the feeling of Ryomen’s lips on yours, you’d probably curse the seventeenth floor Satoru got his apartment on.

There was a hunger to the kiss, it was intense and the passion was electric. It felt like time stood still and all you could do was to lose yourselves in one another.You felt as if you were about to melt into your lover’s body, his warmth pulling you in like a magnet, closer and closer. You leaned into the warmth of his love that sheltered you from the chill air. His embrace made you feel the cold night slip away, when he kissed you, you felt like you and him were the only two people in the world. One kiss led to another and another kiss led to the tongues dancing to the melody of longing and desire. It was magical, it tasted sweet, it was addicting.

You were breathless when Sukuna pulled away, just enough to look at you. The cold winter wind blew through your hair and the knit of your sweater making you shiver as you stood on the balcony overlooking the world below and yet your cheeks were hot and flushed. He was looking at you for a moment, saying nothing but the silence was comfortable. He was examining your features, just softly washed over with the lights coming from inside the apartment. He watched the snowflakes stick to your hair and reddened cheeks and allowed his fingers to brush it away. Then he was kissing you again, pressing himself to you even harder, the kiss sizzling in the cold of the night.

As your lips met, your heartbeat began racing again. Every touch felt like a jolt of electricity, the rush of adrenaline filled both of you with ecstasy and lust that made you forget about the frigid winter air nipping at your nose. Your tongues danced and your breaths grew heavy. Sukuna’s hands were roaming around your body, exploring your curves and sneaking underneath your sweater, but the chill air that he invited there was no match for the heat his hands were leaving on your skin. It was as if he wanted to devour you right here and you couldn’t help but to touch him as well.

“’kuna—“ you whimpered against his lips, feeling his calloused fingers gripping your thigh. “Wait ‘till we get home.”

“Why would I? I got the weed,” he mumbled, a smirk apparent on his mouth as he let his other hand squeeze your butt.

“Yes, to kiss me, not to fuck me,” you chuckled, cuddling to his chest, seeking the heated safety his form provided.

“If you’re gonna tell me I need another herb to—”

“You don’t,” you cut him, giggling softly. “But the balcony at Gojo’s apartment, during the Christmas party is not the right time for that. Besides, I’m freezing, so let’s get back inside.”

Sukuna rolled his eyes and you couldn’t help but feel all giddy. Of course he was going to find a way to get what he wanted, and of course he was going to do it in the most scandalous way possible.

[honeyedmiller]

Joel Miller Masterlist

* indicates smut. 18+, minors do not interact.

one shots:

Tailgate*

-> your best friend drags you to a tailgate party, and you end up being introduced to one very attractive miller brother.

A Forever Thing

-> you and joel have been trying for a baby since the night you two married, but haven’t had any luck—until you do.

Help Me Forget*

-> joel and tommy stumble upon an unexpected body in the snow on their patrol, and they bring the person back to jackson with them.

Pout*

-> joel’s noticed you’ve been working a little too hard, and he misses you. he decides to use his all-consuming charm to coax you to relax… in more ways than one.

Forbidden Fruit*

-> you return back home from college after graduating with your master’s degree, and joel miller is surprised to see how much you’ve really grown up.

Shotgun*

-> you and joel smoke together for the first time.

Ride, Cowgirl*

-> you tell joel one of your fantasies that’d been on the back burner, but he encourages you to bring it to life.

Love Me Tender

-> after a terrible mental week, joel checks in on you and makes sure you’re taken care of.

Something in the Orange

-> you and joel enjoy a peaceful autumn morning together.

Ring*

-> tommy teases joel about you and him having marriage problems when he notices you aren’t wearing your wedding ring.

Mask*

-> joel throws his annual halloween party, and you’re both determined to settle your aching need for each other.

Mystery

-> tommy drags joel to a club which he detests to, until he sets his sights on you.

Checkmate – blurb*

-> screwing your dad’s best friend shouldn’t feel this good.

Checkmate – one shot*

-> you and your dad’s best friend play a dangerous game, and one of you ends up losing faster than you both anticipated.

Nobody Does It Like You Do*

-> good girls always get rewarded.

Birthday Girl*

-> joel gives you a sweet surprise on your birthday.

Traditions*

-> you and joel make holiday traditions in your new home.

Sweet Thing*

-> the most unlikely pair in jackson just can’t get enough of each other.

A Merry Little Christmas

-> christmas morning at the miller household is always chaotic in the sweetest way possible.

Dawn’s First Light*

-> joel tells you he loves you for the first time.

Hiraeth*

-> the most invigorating and intoxicating drug you’ve had in your life is completely forbidden—and then there’s weed.

Real Love, Baby

-> joel has a bad day at work, but seeing you dancing in the kitchen makes it all better.

An Ode to Forever*

-> after an arduous day, joel draws a bath to help you both relax.

or

an ode to how much you love joel miller, and he, you.

The Hills*

-> drugs. sex. fame. joel miller. something about hollywood or other. it all seems to become a blurred line when you get invited to an oscars after party at a house in the hills.

Sweet*

-> it’s a lazy sunday, and joel prefers to have his coffee in bed with a side of you.

Clouded*

-> saturdays are meant for errands and chores. joel convinces you otherwise just for once.

Pretty Little Thing*

-> it’s summertime and you’re working at a retro diner on the outskirts of austin. you’ve seen many faces and heard many voices all in a passing blur; ones you’ve never really payed any mind to—until one handsome southern gentleman in particular catches your special attention, and he’s got a voice you’d recognize anywhere—one that’s gotten you off more times than you’d like to admit.

Mr. Bakery Man

-> it’s not every day you get to move from nyc to austin for your job and relish in a pleasant change of pace. it’s also not every day that you discover a cute family owned bakery in the heart of austin—and it’s definitely not every day that you meet the owner and fall head over heels for him.

drabbles:

Angel*

Sir*

[untitled]*

series:

Fate, After All*

-> your mom thinks it’s a bright idea to keep setting you up on blind date after blind date. none of them work in your favor—until one unintentionally does.

Law of Attraction*

-> you and your criminal law professor have an undeniable attraction toward each other. it’s only natural that you both explore that attraction—but navigating a dynamic like that is never as simple as it seems.

A Burning Desire (ongoing)*

-> you were fine with being single, basking in the freedom and independence of it all—until a handsome firefighter walks into your life and completely flips your world around.

Yours, Always (on hold)*

-> in which you find an old mixtape made by the one that got away.

[k-s-morgan]

Hello ! You mentioned that the next Tomarry chapter will be long, which is great news. However, could you summarize the previous chapters and the general plot? Unfortunately, I can only read in 30-minute chunks, when I have the time. As it's almost a year since the last update, I've forgotten most of the plot. Would it be possible to do a recap with character sheets? Otherwise, I'll have trouble finding my way around the story when it's updated. If not, that's okay, I'll manage. Thank you, I hope I don't sound demanding...

Hi! Oh sure, it's not a problem at all, a lot of time has passed since the last update!

The coming updates will be broken into 3 parts, each about 15K words long.

So, summarizing the key plot points: the story diverges from canon starting with the Ministry fight in the Order of the Phoenix. Harry spends months trapped in there along with his friends and key Order members, including Dumbledore. They gradually lose the fight against Voldemort and Death Eaters. Harry experiences a lot of horrors there, learns the truth about being a Horcrux, and after Dumbledore dies and he's left alone, he goes to the Veil room and steps inside, ready to accept whatever comes his way.

He (predictably) finds himself in the past, during Tom's Hogwarts years. He hopes to make some positive changes, to make sure Voldemort never comes to be, but he's not certain how to do it other than having a vague idea that he needs to get closer to Tom. He's sorted into Slytherin, and Tom pays no attention to him.

Two months pass like this. Harry realizes Tom is planning to make another Horcrux soon. He corners him and makes up a story about coming from another universe where Tom made him a Horcrux and split his soul into so many parts that he turned into a monster. Harry is here to stop it from happening. He doesn't think his own story through, and to his astonishment, Tom decides that his other version must have loved Harry to make him a carrier of his soul. He's fascinated by this idea, and Harry decides to play along. He comes up with more imagined details, claiming he and Tom grew up together in the orphanage and got close.

At first, despite his fascination, Tom plans to kill Harry to absorb a Horcrux in him into himself, but when Harry is on the brink of dying, he manages to convince Tom to let him live because he's the only person who (allegedly) loves him. Tom relents - he's too interested in seeing what he can make out of his connection with Harry.

Gradually, they grow closer. They share a mental link occasionally due to a Horcrux in Harry, and Tom helps him overcome his PTSD-related problems with eating through it. Harry finds it hard to keep track of all the details he made up, and he's becoming increasingly worried and more attached to Tom. Everyone notices that he holds a unique position that Tom's other followers can only envy.

Harry meets the adult Potters, who like him and consider building a closer relationship with him. Tom hates it.

They spend winter holidays together. Harry agrees to come with Tom to the Wool's at summer after seeing how much the idea of returning there frightens him.

At this point, they have gotten pretty close, but their dynamic is still tense. Tom is possessive and occasionally abusive. Harry keeps lying and losing himself in his own lies.

[roguekhajiit]

TW: Transphobia

I had my first ever encounter with a transphobic member of the LGBTQ community this week.

At work on Monday, I overheard some co-workers discussing Transgender Day of Visibility and how President Biden issued a statement acknowledging Trans Day. Since it just so happened to occur on the same day as Easter this year, my very close-minded co-workers took that and Biden's statement as evidence that Trans people are trying to take over Easter!

Now, I consider myself to be Non-binary (specifically Demi-girl/Agender), but I tend to fly under the radar, which is very helpful since I live in a very, very red state. It doesn't hurt that my normal sense of personal style is very casual and all black. So, I can wear traditionally "men's" pants, and no one pays much attention to me, which is the way I prefer it. I hate anything that draws attention to myself.

So, I bit my tongue and hyperfocused on my work. Then, when I went home, the non-binary gremlin in me just couldn't be contained anymore; I opened Reddit and made a post about how no one is going around trying to steal stolen holidays.

Now, I was fully anticipating pissed off Christians to rain their uninhibited fake outrage down onto the comment section (which happened) but I wasn't anticipating a self-identified 60 yr old gay man to come into my comments saying things like, "Why would you put a Trans holiday anywhere near a religious holiday knowing every seven years it's gonna land on said holiday" and "As a gay man I believe that the one part of our community is stifling the rest of us."

Tell me you're transphobic without telling me you're transphobic.

Now, since I can't just ignore the sheer inaccuracy of his math; according to Google from 2001 to 2100, Easter will only land on March 31st 5 times. Five times in an entire century. The last time Easter was on March 31st, it was 2013. So, 11 years ago, or over a decade ago. No one gave a shit in 2013 that Easter and Trans Day were on the same day. But let the president acknowledge it in a statement and everyone loses their fucking minds.

So, why would you avoid celebrating something important in your life on the off chance that it might coincide with someone's religious holiday? Of course, you wouldn't. If your birthday is on Christmas, do you no longer have a birthday?

"Next, why wouldn't you place it in the month of pride then each day of pride month could have a different day celebrating each letter of the lbgtq+ community."

Yes, that is what Pride Month is for, celebrating the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. But are you gay only in June?

But sadly, even some in our diverse community isolate and vilify trans individuals just like what this old gay dinosaur is doing. For 15 years, a vast majority didn't know or even give a shit that Trans Day existed. That is until a president acknowledged it.

"May I point out there's no gay holidays that coincide with Yom kipper or Ramadan."

True, Yom Kippur and Ramadan don't coincide with any "gay holidays," but Shavout is directly in the middle of Pride Month. Any outrage there?

"So just piss off the Christian's so they have one more thing to hate us for. I find many in our community asking for acceptance while giving none, just my opinion and nothing more."

How very accepting of you to say, my lord.

"Maybe it's time we all in the gay community and cis people give the whole year to the Trans community."

But they aren't asking for the year, or even a month. They just want one day that is their own. And even members of our own LGBTQ+ community can't even give them that.

"I'm gay so I can't be transphobic."

Your statements say otherwise. Just because you're gay doesn't mean you are absolved of your transphobia.

Perhaps it's time we stop placating these dusty ass old gay dinosaurs and call them out on their hateful thinking. Their "I got mine" attitude only harms our communities. Just because you won the fight for same sex marriage doesn't mean you're safe. The fight for equality is never-ending.

More and more of us are having our rights stripped away right before our very eyes. Roe v. Wade has already been overturned, and they aren't going to stop there. They never planned to stop there. They are very methodically chipping away at our rights. Right now, they are focusing their efforts on the trans community, slowly outlawing their very existence. And while they have you distracted by that, they are quietly overturning same sex marriage laws. Your rights aren't safe and never will be safe as long as we have members in our communities who subscribe to this kind of thinking.

[betterbemeta]

I think something interesting about the star trek world is its combination of both replicator and holodeck technology. I understand these are literal 'plot devices' to explain the availability of food, materials, and the ability to visit locations for sci-fi premises that can't be found on an alien planet. However, they are worth thinking about in terms of how they change the world.

(Let's assume 'ideal' circumstances where we have a stable renewable non-polluting source of lots and lots of energy and aren't rationing it like on Voyager or something)

Replicators can use energy and raw materials to configure items, and presumably dis-configure items. While the potential for '3D printing' basically anything so long as its materials aren't too rare is really cool, it is also a near-perfect recycling machine. Beyond making sure your replicated dishes and cups don't infinitely pile up, that's SO IMPORTANT. Not only does that mean many items are 'temporary' that otherwise would be 'forever', you can instantly refresh the wear on many items without having to replace them and generate trash.

For example, tennis balls. It's currently really hard to recycle tennis balls, and serious players wear them out extremely quickly. Every serve you make after the first will be with a slightly worn, degraded tennis ball until you replace it, which generates trash. The production facilities to make all those tennis balls have to exist, they have to be shipped, the space to store them exists, the space to store their waste exists, the waste must be transported to a tennis ball recycling facility or a landfill...

but with replicators, you could play tennis without owning/paying a club to access a single tennis ball, without wasting a tennis ball.

And then there's the possibility of holodeck sports where you don't even need to make ANY material items. You could program the tennis ball to never run out. As long as you have the power to run it, maybe the most you'd need to 'own' is a tennis outfit. I am not sure if it's consistent that holodecks can 'dress you' or if you always must bring in costumes from the outside. And the costume itself could be replicated and then recycled!

There's a vast amount of stuff that we retain as personal property that just has to do with accessing activities or amenities. It's not really property that has emotional significance to us, but we still have attachments to it as its a facilitator of our active identity. Our dishes and cookware. Sports equipment. Certain kinds of clothing items. Some types of personal care items. Non-heirloom/generic holiday decorations. Stuff that is usually sacrificed first when we become homeless, when losing access to what they enable is more devastating than the items themselves.

If we could basically conjure and dismiss these things at-will, or access them on a temporary basis for free, we wouldn't need to own them or keep them around in our homes. No supply chain would be dedicated to them. Their waste would be completely eliminated. Ideas of 'what stuff I need to have as a person, to have a dignified life' would change completely.

It wouldn't surprise me if there were people in the star trek universe running around on earth with basically nothing we consider permanent physical property. Not because they're homeless and have no place to put them, and not because they're rich and their assets are liquid-- because the only reason to 'keep' mundane items, even something as complex as a communication device or computer, might be because they are emotionally important to you. And not everybody has 'stuff' like that at every time in their lives.

[eleni-cherie]

a thief's origin✨ || bts • kth - chapter 1.1

"you're afraid I won't wait." "I'm afraid you will."

a criminal and a doctor should be as different as the sun and the moon - but unexpected things happened every day. like him finding his safe haven in her.

© 2024 | eleni_cherie

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masterlist: here

— genre: thief au, gangster comedy, adventure, romcom, humour, angst, fluff, sexual tensiON, slowburn, mutual pining, strangers to friends to lovers s2f2l

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. CHARACTERS NOT NECESSARILY LIKE THE REAL PERSONS. ALSO VERY UNREALISTIC PLOT LOL - JUST PRETEND READING A MANGA/COMIC OR WATCHING A FILM, REALLY.

SUGGESTIVE THEMES. MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE & BLOOD (BUT NOTHING TOO GRAPHIC, IT'S STILL A COMEDY!)

»»»

14th February

Barcelona, Spain

Cassandra never had a reason to pay attention to any holidays or celebrations which didn't concern her. Valentine's Day being one of them. She was so used not to pay attention to it or not think too deeply about all the commercials, that when she spotted a package at her return from work, her first thought was that it was for her next door neighbour. Mistakenly placed at her doormat instead. Only when reading her name in a familiar messy handwriting, she realised it was for her. Excitement filling every fibre of her as she carried it to her living room.

Inside, the package contained a blue rose along with a velvet box and a card.

"For my favourite sweet tooth :) 

Wished I could be there.

- Love, T"

Giggling softly, she opened her locket. Eyes lingering on his photo smiling back at her. She made a mental note to text him later, letting him know it'd arrived before proceeding with opening the box. Finding it filled to the brim with different kinds of chocolate. Her eyes instantly lit up and she tried one. And another. And another. Happily humming and smiling to herself while losing count of how many pieces she ate that evening.

For the first time, she cared about this day.

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28 // 4th year - assistant physician

13th June

interpol branch office Madrid, Spain

"So Miss -"

"Cassandra is enough."

The interpol agent arched a brow at her before laughing under his breath.

"Sure, Cassandra then," he nodded with a bright grin, "I'm agent Kim Seokjin. These are agents Kim Namjoon and Jeon Jungkook." He gestured to his colleagues.

"Should I get a lawyer?" she asked. Her tone flat and nonchalant.

"Do you need one?" the other Kim shot with a curious brow to which she straightened again. Her inner tension returning.

"I haven't done anything illegal, if that's what you imply."

The tall man gave her a dimpled smile at that, holding some kind of irony which only hightened her suspicion. "Good. You know why we wanted to talk to you then?"

With a quick shrug of her shoulders, she sat back in her uncomfortable chair. "I can think of a reason or two.."

"Or three?" Namjoon countered, making her fold her lips.

"Or three."

"Very well then," Seokjin nodded, taking the lead back in the questioning, "Makes it easier for us, right, JK?"

Her eyes followed his gaze that was directed to the young colleague who had remained quiet all this time, currently busy browsing through a file. Hearing his nickname, however, he stirred and looked up like a deer caught in headlights. "Huh? Uh, yeah, yes." His round eyes found hers and she mimicked them.

Her tense shoulders relaxed at their subtle but warm demeanor. Frankly, she couldn't imagine those three in intimidating situations despite their profession. Perhaps that was their secrete though, lulling suspects into comfort to get them spilling all their secrets. So Cassandra stayed on guard, not falling for their friendly eyes. Even if many years had passed, she did recognise Seokjin and Namjoon from that night back in Cologne after all. Despite not catching any glimpse of their faces, she was certain from their tall statures and voices that it'd been them at the reception the night she'd met Taehyung and the guys. 

"So-" agent Jeon - or otherwise known as 'JK' - cleared his throat, "You know you're here for your connections to Park Jimin and his gang."

The young physician sighed, gathering an attitude of calm. "Yeah, wasn't hard to guess since my only other illegal activity would be downloading mp3's as a teenager. And I doubt interpol cares about that."

At this Seokjin bursted out laughing, being genuinely amused by her put-on confidence. He could tell she was nervous, of course she was. Everyone who wasn't used to getting interrogated by police let alone interpol, would be - whether innocent or guilty. However, he definitely had to give her credit for not only acting confident, like many others did as well, but also being comedic while doing so.

"You're right, we don't," he grinned then, folding his hands in front of him on the cold table top, "We'd much rather want to know what exactly is going on between you and the guys."

Her brows rose. "What do you mean?"

Namjoon flashed her a sarcastic grin. "I think you know what he means."

"No, please enlighten me," she retorted instead with her most innocent smile.

Seokjin scoffed, nudging Jungkook then. "Yah, we got a sneaky one here."

The younger agent only hummed with a light scowl, visibly less entertained by Cassandra acting dumb than his older colleagues.

The file in front of him contained photos collected from around the world over the years. While majority were grainy and shot from further away with less quality, taken by some cheap security cameras of neighbouring buildings or traffic cameras, one was clearly showing Cassandra and Taehyung together. And considering the gunman and / or his accomplices had been identified on majority of the others, it wasn't unreasonable to assume the photos with the shorter feminine figure that wasn't Arabella Valentine, was her. Perhaps not in all situations, but at some at least.

"You and Kim Taehyung.. He spends an awful lot time with you," Seokjin pointed out then. But Cassandra remained unimpressed.

"Oh really, is that so?"

Jungkook frowned beside him. "You're together, aren't you?"

The two older agents shot him a surprised glance at his unexpected conclusion.

"And if so?" she deadpanned, feeling their eyes shifting to her now. It felt like watching a tennis match.

"You know he's a criminal."

"His friend is a thief and he helps him."

"That still makes him a criminal though."

Cassandra, however, remained quite unfazed by that, much to Jungkook's lasting irritation. 

"I'm not willing to discuss my personal or love life with you," she countered then. A bit of an edge in her voice and Seokjin felt the need to quickly step in before they upset her and she closed off completely.

"That's understandable and we don't want that either," he assured her with a cheery smile, "We're just here to do our job, you know? Our job is to catch these guys and to do so, we also need to gather information and follow every clue. And, unfortunately, that involves having to talk to you as a person so close them."

Folding her lips, she nodded. She knew she had to remain calm and collected in order not to mess anything up and get her boyfriend in any trouble. So she swallowed down her ego.

"I understand," she slowly said.

"Look," Namjoon spoke up then, trying a more diplomatic stance, "We get it. They're not crude jackasses like other offenders. We know that ourselves. And certainly, they're not as bad as drug dealers or commit atrocious crimes. But, they're armed criminals, nonetheless. The number of crimes go from robbery on a grand scale, to identity theft, to unauthorised hacking, to-" His listing of criminal records was abruptly interrupted by the pen he was holding, slipping from his fingers due to his animated hand gestures. Flying across the table to which Cassandra flinched in fright, causing her knee to hit the table. And she winced in pain. 

"Oh, no - Sorry, I'm sorry," he was fast to reach out with an apologetic look, only to hit his elbow against the table and wince as well. Both sitting there groaning in unison. She surely hadn't expected to meet someone as clumsy as her there.

"It's alright. Co-continue," she assured eventually, the short pain having subdued by now. 

And Namjoon cleared his throat with burning cheeks, pretending as nothing had happened and continued. "Like.. like I said, they've committed numerous crimes all over the world. As well-behaved and genteel they might be to you, they need to face consequences for their actions."

Jungkook stared at him in complete awe and Cassandra was certain they all agreed with him. Catching Seokjin also adding a quick nod.

She was the only unimpressed one.

"I genuinely don't believe I could be of much help though," she simply countered, seeing them perk up and facing the person of interest in front of them again. "See, Tae would never tell me any details of their heists or any plans. Purposely so for, I guess, situations like this one right now. He -" She abruptly paused, realising that mentioning her not even knowing when he'd visit her next would be too much information. They might not even know that he kept visiting her regularly. "He really doesn't tell me anything," she finished instead, not to raise any suspicion of her cut off sentence, "So if you hoped for any insider info, I must disappoint you."

Three pairs of bewildered eyes stared back at her and she purposely held their gazes to ensure they would believe her. She wasn't lying after all, it was facts but she couldn't risk her nervousness making her look like a storyteller. Because in a sense, she was guilty after all. 

And if she wasn't guilty of committing a crime, she was guilty of loving a criminal at least.

"So you don't know where exactly they're located right now or what their next coup is," Jungkook confirmed, even more taken aback when seeing her shake her head. His lips shaping a small 'o' when mumbling something inaudible and taking notes before raising another suspecting brow at her. "And you're not lying?" he pressed, just to be sure.

"Nope," she confidently said, "You can search my apartment or wire me to a polygraph or whatever. I don't know anything about what they're up to."

"That's fine," Seokjin ensured, looking way more perky than Jungkook or Namjoon. Latter hiding his pensiveness behind his folded hands. "Never had Taehyung for a big secrets-spiller anyway. Although.. quite disappointing that he won't even tell you, his girlfriend, where in the world he is right now. Isn't it?" He paused for dramatic effects, eyebrows furrowing in fake empathy. "Must be.. sad, I imagine. Are you never worried?" 

Her jaw clenched unintentionally. She instantly knew what the lead agent was trying to do and she wouldn't let him succeed. "N-no." Dammit, she stuttered. She swallowed, her voice becoming firmer. "No. It's okay, he only does it to keep me safe."

He nodded and his lips pressed into a straight line, pondering. "Is he though?"

Taken aback by his rhetorical question, she blinked. Unsure of what he was implying. "What do you mean?"

"Oh nothing, nothing. Forget it," he only waved her off and Cassandra felt validating in her gut-feeling of not underestimating their friendly nature because right now, she could feel their interrogative glares piercing through her soul.

After a dragged out moment of silence, Seokjin averted his eyes from hers to take out a note and Cassandra unintentionally exhaled in relief. "Could you perhaps do us a favour then?" He eyed her briefly before scribbling down on the note with a shiny pen.

"If you want me to rat them out, no."

"Hmpf, please," he said dismissingly with an offended huff, "I'd never try such cheap tricks." He held the piece of paper out for her then, a wide smile returning to his attractive features, "I just want you to hand this to Taehyung the next time you see him. That's all."

Her eyes narrowed at his request, eyeing the note for a second before accepting it and shoving it into her bag.

"You're free to go."

After hesitating for a moment, she eventually stood up. Bidding goodbye to the three agents and walked out.

A tired sigh left Seokjin's lips then when facing Namjoon. "I believe her, she doesn't know. None of them is the type to drag an innocent person into it by letting them know too much."

Namjoon hummed. He might've been eyeing the position for department manager of special victims, but after spending years chasing after those thieves alongside Seokjin and Jungkook's predecessor, Hoseok, it had become a personal matter in some sense. 

"Perhaps, but he already got her more involved than he should have."

"Mh, let's hope we'll be the only ones she'll meet from this part of his life."

"Aish," Jungkook exclaimed then when abruptly snapping the file shut, catching their attention, "But we know she must've been involved more, don't we? Even if we can't proof anything besides that she knows Taehyung."

"Yah, Jungkookie, don't be mad." Seokjin nudged his younger colleague who was pulling a harried face. "Just keep an eye on her from now on. Okay?"

To this, Jungkook's face instantly found its colour back. Giving his supervisor a confident nod. "Will do."

»»»

Cassandra wasn't naive, she always knew there was a risk when being around people like Taehyung. Even if he tried his best to shield her from his world, she knew something like that interrogation would inevitably happen sooner or later. Still, she wanted to believe she'd managed going through with it quite gracefully. As gracefully as she was able to for an unexperienced person.

Leaving the airconditioned interpol offices and entering the afternoon heat, she made her way towards the bus stop. Ensuring to walk down the street as casual and nonchalant as possible, while occasionally looking behing her in case someone was following. She couldn't let her guard down just because she left.

The bus ride didn't last long before she got off and took a look around again. The streets were empty except for two teenagers sitting at a kerbside outside of a convenience store. The sun standing high, the concrete burning. When deaming the coast clear, she walked straight to the car with the tinted windows parked away under an oak three. Sliding into the passenger's seat, she dragged out a breath when feeling the soothing coolness inside. A smirk spreading onto her lips then at the sight of the mop of honey-coloured waves beside her.

"This long hair suits you." Her delicate fingers lightly tugged at the strands at the back of his neck then and leaned in, pecking Taehyung's cheek. She'd only seen him with blond hair once, years back, but it was a different shade back then - cool ash-blond, if she remembered correctly. Quite different from the warm brown-blond that adored his head now. "Makes you look quite dangerous and wild."

His lips parted with an amused scoff. "Am I not dangerous and wild enough for being a criminal?" And the way his almond eyes went round made her stifle a laugh.

"Mh, maybe a little," she smiled and planted another peck on his cheek before sitting back. Recalling the piece of paper Seokjin gave her then, he observed her rummaging it out of her handbag.

"What's this?" Arching a brow when she held it out for him, he took it from her grip and began reading it carefully. His fingers unintentionally crumbling its edges. He didn't even notice how his jaw briefly clenched, before loosening again as he mused over the handwriting with a hum.

It was a riddle clearly meant for Jimin.

With a sigh, he folded the note and stoved it into his pocket. He sat there in silence then, causing Cassandra to wonder why he wouldn't drive off. She could tell by the way his bottom lip was slightly pulled out and his brows set in a mild frown that something was occupying his mind. And she was about to inquire when his lips eventually parted.

"Cas, what are we doing?"

His voice was unusually hoarse. His throat felt dry. 

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

Heaving a sigh, he locked gazes with her. "You just came back from an interpol interrogation. Because of me," he began, shaking his head. And she started to understand what he meant. "Tae-" 

"I should've known you'd get on their radar sooner or later," he interrupted her, his palm hitting the steering wheel in sudden frustration, "I should've known.. No matter how hard I try to keep you away from it all, it'd never be enough." 

The last sentence breaking by his cracking voice and Cassandra couldn't help but swallow. She hated how he blamed himself. Always blaming himself. She touched the heart-shaped pendant around her neck, a habit she'd picked up over the months, before her hand embraced his. And she intervined their fingers, squeezing it.

"I'm not naive," she quietly began, her voice gaining confidence then,"I knew what I was getting myself into when letting you into my life. And I don't regret it."

The ghost of a smile crossed his lips when he glanced at her fierce eyes, only to shake his head. "Not yet," he breathed then with a sad smile.

However, Cassandra only scoffed. "Why would I? And as long as I don't do anything illegal myself, they can't do anything anyway. Because as far as I know, it's not against the law to be in love with a thief."

The corner of his lip twisted into a cheeky smirk. "In love, huh?"

Her eyes widened for a moment before laughing. "Don't act like you didn't know."

"I just like hearing you say it." His fingers squeezed her hand back and he placed them both in his lap. Looking at them quietly while deliberating before speaking up again. "But you forget you helped us. Helping a criminal is against the law just as much as breaking it yourself is."

Cassandra contemplated his words. It was true, she hadn't thought about her assistance in some cases. And Jungkook had implied something like that. She sat up straighter. "But if they could prove that, they'd have said or done something by now, right? And if it comes to the worst, I could still say you coerced me and I didn't have a choice. They can't prove me otherwise." 

She was grinning smugly and Taehyung laughed under his breath, stunned by her unshakable and almost cocky faith and confidence. It seemed like her guilty plessure of being a fan of the crime genre was paying off, she'd picked up a thing or two. Still, he wasn't convinced it was indeed so easily. He decided to know better and not argue with her about it though. At least not now.

"You know I love you, Cas. That's why I'm worried and regretting getting you in this situation."

"I know," she eventually sighed, "But you need to accept that it was also my decision. You didn't force me to be with you. I'm here because I want to."

"And I don't get why, " he mumbled. Brown irises wandering out at the sunlit buildings. He knew he didn't deserve someone like Cassandra in any way, she was way too good for his sorry self. And he knew bubbles were meant to burst sooner or later.

An annoyed groan left her lips and she frowned at him. "I told you to stop that. I'm not a saint. And you're not a demon."

He smiled. "You're an angel to me, though."

She huffed and looked away, masking her blushing cheeks. "S-still," she mumbled bashfully.

"But even if my profession wasn't the problem, I'm not a great boyfriend anyway.."

At this she shot him a puzzled glare. "How so?"

"I mean.." he swallowed. "I'm never there when you need me, am I? I'm all around the globe. You could've someone better, someone who can always be there for you. You'd deserve that."

He felt her fingers clutching more around his hand, nails digging harshly into his skin before unclenching. "You are there for me though, despite travelling the word you're always there for me." Her hand let go and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And I don't want anyone else but you. So why do you make everything we have sound bad and meaningless now?" 

Her sudden change of tone startled him and he looked at her with wide eyes. "Cas-"

"No, I won't just sit here and let you talk about yourself or our relationship like this." She was clearly upset now. "It hurts me hearing you say all this, don't you get it? It sounds like you're questioning my judgement. Like I was a naive kid."

"You're the smartest person I know, you know that," he said calmly, "I just fear.. your love for me might blind you."

She pressed her jaw together. Cassandra was too agitated to even form any more coherent sentences in her mind. Seconds passed before she calmed herself enough not to snap at him. "Look," she began slowly, "If you're willing to just throw everything between us away because of a simple questioning - then fine. Go ahead. But stop saying you'd be doing it for my sake. I can make my own decisions."

Silence settled between them once again. Taehyung was unsure what to counter to her words.

Part of him, the rational one, warned him not to become the one blinded by love and reminded him that he was just endangering her. That interpol might not be a threat right now, but they could turn into one later, along with other things. The part which always kept telling him that a criminal and a doctor could simply never work out on the long run, got louder. They were both just deluding themselves.

However, the other part in him, the selfish part, agreed with her. Of course he'd never want to lose her. He was too madly in love with her to imagine a life without her. And he knew if Seokjin had anything against her, they wouldn't have waited for so long and already arrested her. No, they didn't need to be concerned about interpol. For now at least. Maybe she was right, maybe he was just looking for excuses because he was scared. Even though, if he was scared, it was for her.

He knew, though, that she was stubborn. More than anything else. No one could force her into doing something she didn't want to. She always stood her ground, which was one of the things he loved about her. She'd always call him out, whether it was him being a coward or him patronising her.

"You're right," he eventually said then and leaned towards her. Gently capturing her chin between his thumb and index finger, urging her to look at him. "You're more than capable of making decisions yourself. And I trust your decisions, I always do. So if.. if you're certain -"

"I am," she said. And Taehyung nodded when seeing the determination and certainty in her lovely brown eyes. 

He wanted to believe her. He needed to believe her. He wasn't ready yet. His selfish side wasn't ready to give up on her or their relationship. She was the only good thing in his life besides his friends and he wanted to cling to her as much as he could.

"If you are, then so am I."

»»»

next chapter: 1.2 here

Don't forget to like, comment & leave feedback!♡ It motivates me to keep writing :)

taglist: @lilanyxta @naoolammao345 @memna234 @tetehion @myblacklilame

[anxiousnerdwritings]

Yandere Petunia Evans w/Muggle!Sister!Reader Headcanons (platonic)

Petunia, Lily, and you had all been close but it was Lily who you were closest to. She did primarily hog you to herself more often then not, gluing herself to your side and never parting from you for very long. Petunia didn’t have very much one on one time with you when Lily was around. She didn’t pay it much mind though, it was no secret that Lily utterly adored you to no end. It reminded Petunia of how excited she had been when Lily was born so she could understand why Lily was so enamored with you from the beginning.

Things didn’t really start to become strained between Petunia and Lily until Lily and you had taken up befriending the odd boy next door. Not to mention Lily’s magical capabilities becoming glaringly apparent. That’s when Petunia slowly started to drift away from Lily but it wasn’t until Lily received her Hogwarts letter and started attending the magical school that really caused Petunia to completely turn her back on her sister. She was envious and resentful of Lily for something Petunia herself couldn’t have and it constantly ate her up inside.

Once Lily was away for school that left you with Petunia and she took complete advantage of it. She saw this as her chance to grow closer to you now that Lily was out of the picture for the most part. Petunia wanted desperately to pull you over to her side and get you to see Lily how she saw her; as a freak. Petunia really took to life without Lily around and getting to actually have her own time with you, it was nice not having Lily there to take you away or to hog up all your attention. She never really realized what she was missing out on when Lily was keeping you to herself and it made Petunia resent her all the more.

As much as she enjoyed having one on one time with you, Petunia knew it would eventually come to a halt once Lily came home for the holidays or once the school year finally came to an end. It was already frustrating when Lily’s letters would arrive and you would stop what you were doing without a second thought just so you could read them and write a reply back as quickly as possible. It really irked Petunia especially when the two of you were in the middle of spending time together, even if neither of you were talking or paying attention to each other it still bugged her that Lily could still have your complete and utter attention on her when she wasn’t even around.

Even though she loathed it, Petunia could still tolerate having Lily back home and around you again, albeit begrudgingly. But that all changed when you got your very own Hogwarts letter. The second Petunia laid eyes on it her heart nearly gave out. She didn’t even hesitate to take it and hide it away where you or anyone else wouldn’t find it. She was so thankful she had been the one to come across it first otherwise you would surely be off to Hogwarts too and Petunia couldn’t have that. She couldn’t lose another sister, she didn’t want to have to cut you out either and leave herself all alone. Sure she feels a little guilty about it, especially when seeing your sullen and downhearted reaction upon the realization you won’t be able to be by Lily’s side and experience the world she gets to be a part of. But Petunia justifies her actions and thinks of herself as saving you the trouble of becoming just like Lily and being able to leave Petunia behind like she believes Lily already had.

When Lily invites her friends from Hogwarts over to spend time with and get to know you, letting you in on their own experiences being part of the magical world and sharing what all there is to it, Petunia absolutely detests it. She sees them as nothing but troublesome and trying to take you away from her, trying to coax you into their world. Why can’t they leave you out of it? Why does Lily have to be so stubborn and try to involve you into her new life outside of you and the rest of the family? Why can’t Lily just let her have this one thing? Why can’t she just let Petunia have you?

Out of the two, Petunia is the most controlling when it comes to you, especially after Lily’s been attending Hogwarts and Petunia’s been the one to be around the most now. She feels entitled to have a say in what you do, how you live, and who you interact with, particularly due to her being the eldest sister and she has no shame in using that as her justification. She’s only looking out for you and since she’s older she knows better. Petunia really has no difficulty in speaking out against what she doesn’t like or flat out hates about who or what you decide to put your time and attention into. She is very vocal and extremely nitpicky when in comes to who you bring into your life, whether it’s ‘normal’ people like you and herself or if it’s the ‘freaks’ like those that Lily surrounds herself with. At least that’s how Petunia categorizes it. Either way, she won’t like anyone you befriend or end up having a romantic interest in or relationship with. She doesn’t see anyone being worthy of your time, let alone your love, except for herself and eventually her own family when she has one.

When the fated day comes and Lily and James are killed, Petunia does feel some remorse and guilt for how she treated Lily and hating her so much. But that all is overshadowed by the absolute relief that fills her that you weren’t in any way, shape or form harmed or killed along with them given how often you were around the couple and at their home, especially once Harry came along. Petunia wouldn’t know what to do with herself if you had also been a casualty because of Lily and her new family.

And when Albus leaves Harry with Petunia and Vernon to raise, there’s an overwhelming part of her that wants nothing to do with the dreaded child whatsoever and she’s even more than willing to ship him off to an orphanage. But she knows how completely and utterly devoted you were to Lily and her family (you still very much are even now) that you would have no problem taking in and raising Harry as your own without so much as a thought in mind. Petunia knew that if she were to let that happen then you wouldn’t have nearly as much of a reason to come and see her and her own family anymore, especially her precious Dudley. So, begrudgingly she and Vernon keep Harry and you even go out of your way to move in for a bit to help take care of him and Petunia couldn’t be happier. As long as she kept him around then you would surely stay close to her, even if it was solely for Harry’s own sake that you did so, Petunia couldn’t careless just as long as she had you in her life.

She wouldn’t let the relationship between the two of you turn into anything like the one she had with Lily. She would never let it get that bad, she could promise that. She wouldn’t be able to bring herself to cut you off like she had Lily, even if Vernon wanted her to. Petunia would have no problem fighting him tooth and nail over that. It doesn’t help that after Lily’s death, Petunia would become all the worse in her attachment to you. You’re all she has left now of her own family and she can’t lose you. And given how similar to Lily you are she would inadvertently use you as a way to redeem herself. She would do good by you in her own way, making up for what she had lost out on with Lily.

[stephensmithuk]

The Valley of Fear: Darkness

Here are some examples of tweed suits:

These suits were commonplace at the time as outerwear as they coped well with the British climate; remember this is January and it can be quite cold even though snow is pretty uncommon these days in Southern England.

Police tape did not come around until the 1960s. Until then, crime scene security involved police officers standing guard, a rather hard task in the countryside.

A mare is a female horse.

The Pennsylvania Small Arm Company is fictitious. T

he main firearms company out of the Keystone State today is the Kahr Firearms Group, who moved there from New York in 2014 when the latter state tightened up its firearms laws. It having bought up the Auto-Ordnance Company and Magnum Research, it is the company that sells the Desert Eagle for those who want oversized handguns and also semi-automatic versions of the Thompsons submachine gun, including the 50-round magazines. Individuals cannot purchase weapons from them directly though; you have to go through an authorised firearms dealer. They do not do shotguns, sawed-off or otherwise.

Aberdonian refers to Aberdeen, one of Scotland's eight cities. It is known as the Granite City due to the use of it there during the Victorian era and is the hometown of Annie Lennox.

A rampant lion or lion rampant is a heraldic lion standing upright with its paws raised:

They are common on coats of arms. As the symbol of the Kingdom of Scotland, they feature more than once on both the UK and Scottish royal coat of arms, including one wearing the Tudor and Scottish Crowns respectively:

It is possible to drown in an inch of water, but that generally requires losing consciousness first.

Anyway, blotting paper was widely used at the time:

Some information on splay foot can be found here:

There have been voluntary bike registration schemes set up in various countries to assist in theft recovery:

There is no requirement to pay road tax on pedal bikes - unlike motorbikes. However, taking them on holiday to France could lead to issues with Customs; it still can in some cases since Brexit.

[ingravinoveritas]

Is it sad that I immediately thought of AL when I saw this? I don’t know if it’s the fact that the 3rd year of my husband’s passing is quickly approaching, or what, but it infuriates me how AL treats Michael.

Hi there! Still playing catch up on Asks here, but first my most heartfelt condolences on the loss of your husband. To lose someone you love dearly must be incredibly painful, and especially near to the date of their passing. I'm so sorry.

As for your question, it's both sad and not sad at all that you thought of AL, because I actually had someone send me this exact cartoon just days before I got your Ask, also in reference to her. So you are definitely not the only one who had that thought, it seems.

I'm grouping your Ask along with the one from @phantomstars24 because today we got another new post from AL on Instagram that merited discussion. Probably everyone has seen it by now, but for those who haven't, the post contains a cute picture of Michael with a puppy:

But when we look at AL's caption on the post, that is where things take somewhat of a turn:

The caption seems to be referencing what is in the pictures she posted, but one word in particular stands out: "Trolls." In the pictures, we see deer, the girls, other family members, puppies. But if you Google pictures of "Scandinavian trolls," this is what they traditionally look like:

So if we consider those images and then think of AL's pictures, the only thing in them that seems to fit this description is Michael, which would mean she is calling him a troll. It's actually not surprising or out of character for her, as it does fit with her long-running pattern of making snarky/mean comments about Michael's looks.

What makes this all even stranger is that Michael went on a tweeting spree on the 8th and 9th (answering a lot of GO-related questions in particular):

And then AL posted an Insta story of him throwing an airplane with the caption of "Family holiday is going well," followed by this reply from her to a fan who shared the video on Twitter (to whom Michael had also replied during his Twitter spree):

To recap: Michael was on a family holiday in Sweden last weekend and spent most of it scrolling on Twitter, for which AL passive-aggressively called him out (suggesting that he was happier/paying far more attention to Twitter than to her), and now she posts the pics from the trip and calls him a troll.

I mean...you can spin things a lot of ways, but this doesn't come across too well from any direction, especially given how she made sure that she looks good in the picture of her (and because I don't think there is any flattering or complimentary way to call someone a "troll," as it's meant to describe something as ugly, unattractive, etc.). However if there is some other meaning or if I'm just reading too much into this, I welcome folks to comment on here with their thoughts, because I'd love to hear other perspectives.

It's ironic, too, that she used the caption "Family holiday is going well" when so much else seems to indicate otherwise. Thinking about Michael in that puppy picture among the other pics in that post, you can see how he just doesn't quite "fit." Not just because he looks different from everyone else (recalling AL's pointed mention of "curly blondes"), but because there is a community there that he is not part of, and for someone like Michael, for whom community is such an important thing, him being a stranger among these folks makes him stand out even more, and for all the wrong reasons.

So yes, I would agree with your assertion @lepqueen of that cartoon being reminiscent of Anna, and I share your sentiment in disliking the way she treats Michael. I just keep thinking of how different the reaction would be if Michael had a history of commenting on her appearance, or if he called her a troll. The uproar would be staggering, I imagine, yet somehow no one blinks an eye when it's her doing it to him. Things that really do make you wonder...

[more-than-a-princess]

Continued from here for @the-ultimate-muses!

It hadn't occurred to Sonia until she'd said it that he might have preferred prison over his family. She flinched slightly at his words: her own familial situation wasn't ideal and was often a source of distress for her, but it paled in comparison to Kazuichi's. "I meant...with your talent...would it not complicate things in having a career if you have an arrest on your record?" She half-stuttered her reply, rather unlike her due to the subsequent shock and shame she'd felt from his admission.

Maybe getting into legal trouble wouldn't as severely impact him as it would her own future. But what Sonia did know was that to steer away from this terribly awkward line of inquiry...they'd need to get high.

He was a fish out of water in her dormitory suite, but there wasn't much she could do about that as she rummaged through her desk drawer. Her parents, upon her admission to the school, had insisted upon sending a royal-approved interior decorator to take the interconnected rooms the school had given their future Ultimate Princess and furnish them to her family's standard: sage green and pale blues, replicas of portraits in gilded gold and shiny wooden frames, more furniture replicas to evoke the feeling of Novoselic Castle whilst in Japan. A reminder that her 'normal' life would always be temporary, and that royalty was the only certainty she could depend on. Forgetting where she came from was all but impossible, even with Kazuichi Soda standing in the middle of her sitting room gawking at the 360 degrees of finery around him.

And then doubling over laughing when she'd presented him with a choice of edibles. He found it hilarious, but Sonia frowned, her eyes losing a bit of mischievous light they'd recently possessed. "I appreciate you not commenting on this matter," She told him dully, "It would be an irritating situation to untangle, and I doubt it would be favorable to you in the end." Her family's PR team could turn anything into a positive, or simply neutral, spin in favor of the royal family, and she didn't want him to get caught in the crossfire as a result. Maybe it was because they were friends now, or trying to be, that she didn't wish for the worst for him.

"You know, Soda-san, you think far too highly of the aristocracy if you believe we are above recreational drug possession and use," She remarked as she took a chocolate edible for herself, handing the open fruit gummy bag to him for him to take the flavor of his choice from. "It is practically a requirement of membership."

Alongside using 'holiday' as a verb, having a preferred polo horse and being upset when the favorite was otherwise indisposed, inheriting instead of purchasing priceless works of art, and backing at least a dozen charitable efforts purely to bolster a good name and avoid paying taxes. Well, not her family: the royal family didn't pay taxes, they just received them from everyone else. But for the general aristocracy, all of that plus the requisite vices were part of the lifestyle. Sonia simply tended to choose alcohol and purchasing rare horror film and occult merchandise in secondhand shops for herself, but edibles weren't out of the question.

 She popped one of the chocolate ones in her mouth before sealing the bag and putting it away. Unlike most confectioneries on the drug market, the ones made in Novoselic had mastered how to balance the taste of the concentrated THC oil with smooth, milky chocolate. "I hardly ever run out," She told him, taking the bag of gummies back once he'd made his choice. "Why not just visit when you'd like one? Though I suppose it is less of an activity than smoking marijuana, we just have to wait for the effects to take over."

[ms-m-astrologer]

Transiting Mars enters Sagittarius

Friday, November 24, 2023 - Thursday, January 4, 2024

You know - there probably is no placement with better intentions than Mars in Sagittarius. They always mean so well! But we all know what the road to hell is (said to be) paved with, right?

This whole transit seems to me to be all about showing us where we’re being officious, interfering, and meddlesome - where we tend to jump right on in without checking first - where we skydive (and not merely jump) to conclusions. If we’re on some high-faluting cockamamie quest, too, it is likely to be pointed out to us during this time. How it manifests in Mars’ areas:

Physical strength - maybe we think we gently shut that door, but the broken window pane says otherwise. Or, we aren’t realistic about how much we can actually do, and quickly burn out &/or injure ourselves.

Energy levels - as with Mars in any mutable sign, this will fluctuate. At times we’re raring to go; at other times we drop in our tracks from exhaustion.

Sexuality - can be very gallant and chivalrous and romantic, but watch out for those stamina levels.

How we go after what we want - we tend to make a big deal out of it. Always more into the pursuit than the actual capture. Now that you have it, what are you going to do with it?

Luckily Mars/Sagittarius is (usually) good-humored, and can rise to the occasion if it chooses. Give the following occasions a couple of days on either side:

Saturday, November 25:

Mars/Sagittarius (0°54’) sesquisquare Chiron Rx/Aries (15°54’)

Mars/Sagittarius square Saturn/Pisces, 0°55’

This transit unfortunately starts out on the wrong hoof, er, foot. Some new situation stops us in our tracks, and there are hurt feelings.

Thursday, November 30 - Mars/Sagittarius inconjunct Vesta Rx/Cancer, 4°40’. Difficulty focusing; if we’re in a romantic scenario this may manifest as “performance issues.”

Friday, December 1 - Mars/Sagittarius semi-sextile Pallas Athene/Scorpio, 5°25’. Feeling like we could/should be smarter about how we’re dealing with something, but not knowing how to do that. (Yet.)

Sunday, December 3 - Mars/Sagittarius inconjunct Jupiter Rx/Taurus, 6°49’. We might really go overboard with this one, perhaps in appetite - and pay for it with health or digestive problems.

Monday, December 4 - Mars/Sagittarius (7°19’) sesquisquare North Node/Aries (22°19’), semi-square South Node/Libra (22°19’). Our timing is a bit off; we know what we should do but (again) can’t quite get it together. Delays.

Thursday, December 7 - Mars/Sagittarius (9°16’) sesquisquare Eris Rx/Aries (24°16’). Someone isn’t getting their own way, and they’re angry - let’s hope we aren’t the ones losing their tempers.

Wednesday, December 13 - Mars/Sagittarius (13°49’) semi-square Pluto/Capricorn (28°49’). The way we’ve been operating doesn’t work any more. It’s time to let go of old, useless methods.

Friday, December 15 - Mars/Sagittarius trine Chiron Rx/Aries, 15°30’. Finally, a trine! This is an excellent time for “making it up” to someone, and relationships become more fun.

We then have a very dreadful stretch between Wednesday, December 20 - Saturday, December 23:

Mars/Sagittarius semi-sextile Venus/Scorpio, 19°02’

Mars/Sagittarius inconjunct Uranus Rx/Taurus, 19°38’

Mars/Sagittarius square Juno/Virgo, 20°08’

Mars/Sagittarius (20°41’) sesquisquare Jupiter Rx/Taurus (5°41’)

Mars/Sagittarius trine North Node/Aries, sextile South Node/Libra, 21°18’

Probably holiday stress from not being able to do things the way we want to. We try to help people but it turns out all wrong; we overindulge in food or in gift-buying. The flowing aspects to the Nodes will help us clue in.

Wednesday, December 27 - Thursday, December 28:

Mars/Sagittarius trine Eris Rx/Aries, 24°10’

Mars/Sagittarius conjunct Mercury Rx/Sagittarius, 24°21’

Mars/Sagittarius square Neptune/Pisces, 25°02’

Open mouth insert hoof, er, foot? The tendency is to just blurt stuff right out, without thinking (thanks, Neptune). The truth hurts; honesty is supposed to be the best policy, but here we need to temper it with some generosity of spirit.

Sunday, December 31 - Mars/Sagittarius opposite Vesta Rx/Gemini, 27°04’. More difficulties with focus and fluctuating stamina - except this time, it’s the other person.

Wednesday, January 3 - Mars/Sagittarius semi-sextile Pluto/Capricorn, 29°26’. These two are approaching their conjunction (which aspect happens about every two years). We have some intimations about how our Mars expression will “power up” a level.

Let me add that Mars’ next transit, though Capricorn, has plenty of blessings and opportunities - and, Mars works very well when he’s in Capricorn, the sign of his exaltation.

[bf-skz]

24 to 25 days of SKZMAS | December 11th - Changbin

pairing: Seo Changbin x Reader

genre: second chance

synopsis: By an odd chance Changbin runs into his ex in a shopping mall while doing Christmas shopping. Unfortunately, he is accompanied by his current toxic girlfriend. However, no one can deny the clear sparks between them.

warnings: -

words: 817

11th day of SKZMAS

December 11th

Changbin hates to do this. He really, really does but he cannot shake the weird feeling in his stomach. He is almost sure he is wrong, though… time to find out.

“Babe?” he asks where he is packing out the takeaway boxes from their bag. He is not a fan of pad thai, but she always convinces him to get dinner from the weirdest (and most expensive) places.

“Yeah, baby?” she asks back, lighting a candle on the table. 

“I have been doing a little calculating…” he says slowly, taking a glance at her. She isn't looking at him, and he takes it as a good sign. “And I've realized we have a little less left for the holidays than I originally thought.”

“Oh, how come?” she turns around, tilting her head. 

“I don't know… I was completely sure we had some on my spare card, the prepaid one?” he says, and she looks clueless as ever. “I think I should cancel that card. Someone must have stolen the details and now they’re using it.”

“Now, don’t make rushed decisions like that, boo.” she chuckles nervously, stepping to him and placing her hands around his arm. “I’m sure that no one stole the card. You must have used it and forgot it in the haze of the holidays.” she waves him off. “Besides, you would be able to ask for money from your parents, wouldn’t you?”

“Well, I would, but I don't need it.” he says with a frown. “We are not completely broke, we will just have to watch how much we spend now. Good thing we have ordered the food for the holidays in advance.” he smiles at her as he carries the food to the table. His girlfriend still has a sour expression on her face, so he goes on.

“Hey, don't worry, okay? We don't need money to be happy together, do we?”

“Well, I guess not.” she huffs. “But how will I have an outfit for Christmas and the New Years this way? I need at least 3 for the holidays and if we visit your parents then 4.” she explains with an exasperated sigh. “I need accessories for it, too.” 

“Thought we already got all of it last week.” Changbin says, caressing her arm. “When we spent a smaller fortune in that designer shop… remember that blue dress? It looked amazing on you.” 

“Yes, that was one dress.” she counters. “I was planning to surprise you with some more.” she pouts, poking his cheek. 

“You don't need to.” Changbin says, pulling her in to kiss her cheek. “I like it most when you don't wear anything anyway.” he whispers to her with a chuckle. “How about I get the card blocked and then we take this to the bedroom?”

“No!” she breaks down, pushing him away. “That is my card!” she screams at him hysterically.

“It's- what?” Changbin asks and his eyes grow in shock. What did just happen…?

“I was using that card.” she sighs dramatically. “I figured since it’s prepaid, you wouldn’t mind and it was my spending card… clearly you wanted me to have it, otherwise why would you keep it?”

“Jesus, and you didn't think of telling me? I've been trying to figure out who is taking all the money for a week now!” Changbin exclaims. “Why didn't you tell me? And what did you buy anyway? I thought we got everything together this month? From my actual credit card?”

“I needed some shoes and gifts so that they will look better under the tree.” she exclaims. “It was a necessity and an emergency!” 

“You should’ve asked me!” Changbin tells her and then, it hits him. “You- I think you should give my card back.”

“What? Why?” she gasps, clutching her purse defensively. “I have to pay for your gift tomorrow…” she lies and Changbin knows she didn't have anything planned for him. She always said she isn't good with gifts.

“Okay, then I will go with you and pay for it.” Changbin says, not backing down. He is losing his patience now and that’s really not like him.

“But, baby…” she smiles, touching his arm to distract him with her looks.

“No.” Changbin says, taking a step back. “I need to go.” he turns on his heels and grabs his coat from the hanger.

“Where are you going, honey?” she rushes after him, batting her lashes. “Come back! I will put on my cutest lingerie for you.” 

“Don't wait up for me.” he says, and closes the door right before she could follow him.

In a few minutes, he is sitting in his car, driving on the streets of the city without an destination in mind. He has always found comfort in driving around, it clears his head better than any walk he could take.

He doesn't want to think about all the red flags; all the times his friends told him to beware of gold diggers, all the returned birthday presents that just “weren't the right color”, all the vacations overseas… he should've known better. Not because he has dealt with countless people who wanted to use him for money, but because of the ones who didn't.

He thinks about you. You, who were happy to receive a hand-drawn card for you birthday from him. You, who cooked for him when the fridge in the dorms was empty. You, sweet, selfless you whom his mother always adored.

Before he knows it, he is parked in a small, dark parking lot, and he doesn't take a second to realize where he is. He knows the place so well he could find his way here without trying.

It was your place, the two of you. You showed him this hidden little underground bar in the outskirts of the city, looking cold and untrustworthy on the outside but once you enter, it is warm and cozy. The exact opposite of his current relationship, he thinks bitterly as he walks in.

There is some quiet music in the background of friendly chatter and hearty laughs from the few desks in there, and it comforts Changbin instantly. He walks up to the counter to order some juice – he still needs to drive home – and he is ready to find a seat when-

There you are. Sitting at your usual table, holding something that looks like a mug of sweet mulled wine, watching him.

“Fancy seeing you here.” You call out with a sweet, comforting smile that makes his heart flutter. You pat the seat next to you and he walks over with the brightest smile that you adore so much.

to be continued...

[inposterumcumgaudio]

penelope snug!

So officially, it seems Penelope Snug is supervisor of motilene infrastructure while Jim Watt is in charge of motilene acquisition. However, we have communications between Jim and the boys in the Barrow Holm hatch, who would seem to fall under Penelope's purview if that were true. (See my theory about early motilene distribution and why Barrow Holm has motilene at all). Jubilator operation and maintenance also seems to be run out of the Motilene Control HQ, even though you would think that would fall more under the Doctors' oversight since Jubilators were invented to relieve them of corpse collection duties. Very tangled system of duties and obligations.

Penelope also maintains an office in the Parade District Document Control, oddly enough. Perhaps this means her position is higher than implied, that she oversees broader civil engineering and not just motilene.

In her office, she has three bowler hats.

Imagine! A lady in a council worker's uniform topped off with a bowler hat. That's a look! I eagerly await the fanart concepts.

I think this is one of those things that evolved and got muddy over time, that Penelope might have been meant to be in charge of one thing and kept getting subbed in to others. Penelope also makes me think a lot of BioShock 2's "Big Kate" O'Malley, who is also a supervisor of civic works in Rapture and the first person you find an audio diary from in that game. Parallels are often drawn between We Happy Few and BioShock but I would almost think Penelope could have been an homage.

A thing I think is interesting in comparing the two though is that Rapture did not set out with a specific intent of gender equality but ended up with it by selectively choosing the best people in every field regardless of it. In Wellington Wells, however, that women are able to achieve such high positions in the town is due to its inability to choose from only men. The town suffers shortages in nearly every way, but this also presents opportunity for those who would otherwise be overlooked.

Her correspondence with Verloc shows that the two of them are on a first name basis (Anton, though, not Tony). He even invites her and her husband Richard (whose name he knows and remembers) to dinner, which tells us he can cook. I rather would have liked to think that anyway, since cooking is just chemistry in another room, but he wouldn't be inviting people over if he couldn't.

Funnily enough, the one note we have from Penelope to Victoria lacks both a greeting and a signature, but Penelope does know specifically that Prudence Holmes is on holiday. So it means either Penelope and Victoria are so friendly as to dispense with formalities in their coorespondance... or Penelope considers this to be an interdepartmental memo... to a subordinate. Which, if she's in charge of document control as well might make sense.

The government hierarchy tree in How to be Happy is actually more of an inbred circle so make what you want of that.

Lastly, Penelope's note to Thomas Horner gives us a bit of nuance as to how she runs her crew.

So Thomas is running Jubilator Jousting tournaments on the off hours, which is a misuse of city property that perhaps Penelope was overlooking (and participating in) because it's good for morale. There's a lot of other morale initiatives happening in the Motilene Control HQ so this would seemingly fall under her interests and as long as it's not hurting anyone or getting out and making her look bad...

The problem occurs when Peter Thump loses during the Grand Derby and won't settle his unpaid debts. And this is interesting because in this scene, you're supposed to sympathize with Peter, right? He's being chased by a maniac in a Jubilator, of course he's in the right. But with the knowledge that he's ratted Thomas out not because he owes him money, but because he's not being allowed to bet further until he pays up... It's such a small side story, but it's very indicative of my larger point I'm always trying to make here, that what you're told is never exactly as one side presents it.

Anyway, so Peter rats Thomas out to Penelope and now that there's notes about it, it has become a problem. So Penelope does the only face-saving thing to be done, which is promote Peter to shut him up and tell Thomas to quit with the tournaments.

So Peter has not only fucked Thomas out the money he already owed, but also out of further profits from the tournaments, and presumably a pay raise that would have come along with his missed promotion.

He is a rotten swot, honestly.

And this puts Penelope in an unfortunate situation too because she knows what the actual haps is probably, but this is the bind they are in now. Whether she wants to side with Thomas on this or not, her hands are tied. And what's funny too is, Peter is lying about not being involved with the jousting at all - it's "Other people's money, I mean. I never bet myself." - so Thomas can only lie about being completely innocent of hosting the tournaments in the first place. To which Penelope replies that "If you persist in proclaiming your innocence, then I suppose I don't owe you 10 quid for the Grand Derby, do I?"

Thomas also lets us in on a bit of the discussion had about this:

"Come on! Let's have a "conversation." I'm sorry, no, a constructive, let's have a "constructive conversation." Has my work been "slipping"? Oh no? It's just that I've "failed to improve as much as we would have hoped"? Who the hell is "we" anyways? Have you got an invisible friend, or are you now the Queen of the bloody Pipes?"

Penelope is at home placing wagers on the destruction of her work equipment along with her crewman, but is also fluent in euphemistic (if a bit anachronistically modern) corporate-speak.

I do think the record-keeping is the thing here. If not for Wellington Wells' dependence on written notes, Penelope might have gotten away with firing Peter or transferring him to another department due to "poor culture fit".

[jheqiawrites]

A bit of Christmas Fun

As some of you know, I have a Patreon account and I have a few stalwart fans who support my writing. I have asked them to pick from a list of Christmas writing prompts so I can create "The Twelve One-shots of Christmas". However, Only one person responded, so I am opening it up to my tumblr fans as well. I will post the (epic) prompt list below and you guys can pick some. The first ten commenters with the numbers they want to see will be will have their choices written as part of this series. (Any others that tickle my muse might also be turned into one-shots, but not in time for my deadline of Jan. 6th.)

Normally, I would post a poll for which writing prompt you guys would like me to tackle this month, but you guys have been such a big part of 2023 for me that I wanted to give each of you a little something. So, instead of a poll, I am going to post a list I have compiled of holiday writing prompts that I think would be fun to write.

Please pick a prompt or two that catch your eye and mention the number or prompt in the comments below. I will work on getting these done by January 5th - the twelfth day of Christmas!  This is open to all my members - paying or otherwise - and I reserve the right to tweak things as needed (and there are some of these that already have Felinette stamped on them in my head, so a change of ship might also be involved.) 😜  If you would prefer artwork, please let me know.

Jheqia's Holiday prompts list:

1 Character A and Character B, sworn enemies, are chosen to prepare the company Christmas Party.

Character A’s best friend rigs the Secret Santa, because they know Character A has a crush on Character B.

Character A works as a Santa’s helper. Character B has a small sibling/child.

Character A is desperate to find a particular item (book/toy/etc.) as a present for someone, but it’s been sold out everywhere. Character B helps.

Character A and Character B are co-workers, but they barely know each other. But they both have to work through the holidays.

Character A and Character B meet in the ER on Christmas Eve.

Character A can’t wrap gifts to save their life. Character B is thir neighbor and can help.

Character A’s ex will be at the Christmas Party A is attending. Character B poses as A’s fiance.

Character A vows to do something nice for a stranger during the Christmas time. Character B is that stranger.

Character A and Character B both sign up for a Christmas Pen Pal project to exchange postcards.

Character A and Character B broke up, but now they meet at a Christmas party.

Character A is stuck working in coffee shop on Christmas Day and Character B is the lonely soul spending their whole day there.

Character A’s little sibling/child wants to meet their favorite celebrity/writer/person for Christmas. Character B is said “Christmas present”.

Character A can’t travel to see their family on Christmas, so they invite their grumpy loner neighbor Character B.

Character A and Character B compete in Christmas house decoration.

Character A bakes too many Christmas cookies so they share it with Character B.

Character A has to dress up as Santa for Christmas.

Character A and Character B have to save Christmas.

It’s Character A’s first Christmas since a tragedy.

Character A returns to their birth-town for the holidays. Character B is their estranged childhood best friend.

Character A is pretending to be their friend’s lover for the sake of the friend’s family. Character B is said friend’s sibling.

Character A loses a bet and has to wear a different ugly Christmas sweater every day till Christmas. Character B works at a clothes store.

Character owns a struggling toy store. Character B is looking for a Christmas present.

Character A doesn’t feel the Christmas spirit but Character B, who lives above them, keeps playing Christmas carols really loud.

Character A overhears Character B’s Christmas wish and decides to fulfill it,

26 Are you pulling down mistletoe?

27 If I hear one more Mariah Carey song I will riot!

28 Remind me why I can’t kill the carolers?

29 My house, my rules. The Christmas Music stays on!

30 You do know that throwing that snowball is declaring war, right?

31 You;re kidding! I;m not going out in that snow storm!

32 I can’t believe you did all of this for me!

33 You don’t have to go through all this trouble, you know.

34 You didn’t really think I would let you spend Christmas alone, did you?

35 I hate to tell you this, but you make a really terrible Santa/Santa’s helper.

36 It’s a time of peace and goodwill, not… whatever that is you’re doing!

37 How on earth did you even get tinsel up there?!

38 It looks like Santa threw up in here!

39 What are you doing to that poor wrapping paper?

40 What did the wrapping paper ever do to you?

41 Exactly hpw much more hinting do I have to do?

42 Have I told you how much I hate Christmas shopping?

43 Secret Santa is a bad idea!

44 Why are you impossible to shop for?!

45 Please tell me you weren’t searching my room for where I’e hidden the presents.

46 How many Christmas sweaters do you own?

47 Girl/Bro, do we need to hold a candy cane intervention?

48 But why do the sweaters have to be ugly???

49 One normal Christmas! That’s all I ask!

50 I;m sure whatever threat is out there can wait until after Christmas dinner.

51 You are wearing a santa hat whether you like it or not

52 Who turned off the oven?!?!

53 This calls for eggnog!

54 I’m surprised the eggnog hasn’t been spiked by now.

55 Just how much eggnog have you had?

57 No offense meant, but I don’t trust you to carve the turkey.

58 Oi! THat’s my hot chocolate!

59 I don’t care about anything else. The pudding is all that matters!

60 You made gingerbread zombies?!?!

61 Step away from the cookies and no one gets hurt!

62 Normally, I;d say no, but I’m on like my 14th candy cane so sure. why not.

63 Person A and B's heater go out so they have to cuddle together by a fire to try and stay warm.

64 Person A has never seen snow before so Person B gets to watch Person A see it for the first time and look utterly amazed.

65 Person A waking up to see that Person B has decorated their entire house for the holidays overnight by themselves.

66 Person A having to wear multiple jackets, scarves, and hats to stay warm outside while Person B is still in a t-shirt and shorts.

67 Person A trying to decorate for the holidays while Person B teases them about how it's still months until then.

68 Person A trying to set up the tree for Christmas but Person B has to pick Person A up for them to put ornaments on the tree because they're so short.

69 Person A getting frustrated when wrapping presents while Person B being able to quickly wrap beautiful presents and A being absolutely amazed and jealous.

70 Person A being sad when they weren't able to buy a real tree to decorate for Christmas so Person B buys a little bonsai tree for them to decorate, even though it's only a foot tall.

71 Person A and B decorating their house/apartment together and when Person A goes to another room to grab some more ornaments they hear Person B yell. When they rush back into the room they see Person B has somehow tangled themself into the Christmas lights and fell over.

72 Person A waking up on Christmas morning and being confused to find only one small box under the tree. Person B acts like everything is normal and convinces Person A to open it and when they open it they just see a note and an engagement ring.

73 Person A has a fairly large following on [insert social media] where they post their art. They post a lot of drawings of person they have a crush on. Little do they know that their crush (Person B) follows their account and recognizes themself in the drawings

74 Person A's computer is dead and they don't have any reference but they need to draw anatomy for their art class. They end up asking Person B to model for them and shennagians occur

It was midnight and I couldn’t get what she said off of my mind.

75 Listen, I’m not very lucky so you better have a good plan or some magic to help out.

76 I am an adult and you do not have to keep telling me that... although I do appreciate it.

77 It wasn’t until he showed up that I viewed the color blue like that.

78 If she didn’t love me then I’ll make sure no one in the world loves me.

79 It was only a stuffed animal but I couldn’t help but feel like it was something much more than just a toy.

80 I still got butterflies when I saw her, but they were much different than before.

81 It would be nice to get some sleep tonight but since that isn’t gonna happen I guess I can talk.

82 Person A always gives Person B little sweet or encouraging notes throughout the day. One time while helping B clean they find a stash of every single note A ever gave them (possibly from before they even started dating)

83 “Please stop calling me at 3 am for advice on this video game.” “Okay... but you still didn’t answer my question.”

84“Avoiding me isn’t going to solve this.” “I’m not avoiding you, I just can’t talk to someone who eats oreos like that.”

85 Person A is a lounge singer and Person B is the silently pining member of the waitstaff who's been leaving roses for Person A after all of their performances.

86 Person A being super tired and as Person B is helping them to bed Person A says "You know I have a crush on you, right?"

87 Person A and B are having a sleepover and as Person A is falling asleep they suddenly pull B in close and hold them for the night

88 Person A asks Person B why they're acting so weird and B replies with "I'm sleep deprived and I have a crush on you and so I don't know how to act normal right now."

89 Person A having to stay up late to finish something and having Person B on the phone sleepily cheering them on

90 Person A trying to set up the tree for Christmas but Person B has to pick Person A up for them to put ornaments on the tree because they're so short.

91 Person A getting frustrated when wrapping presents while Person B being able to quickly wrap beautiful presents and A being absolutely amazed and jealous.

92 Person A being sad when they weren't able to buy a real tree to decorate for Christmas so Person B buys a little bonsai tree for them to decorate, even though it's only a foot tall.

93 Person A and B decorating their house/apartment together and when Person A goes to another room to grab some more ornaments they hear Person B yell. When they rush back into the room they see Person B has somehow tangled themself into the Christmas lights and fell over.

94 Person A waking up on Christmas morning and being confused to find only one small box under the tree. Person B acts like everything is normal and convinces Person A to open it and when they open it they just see a note and an engagement ring.

95 PersoN A complaining about how they've never had a New Year's kiss before so Person B surprises them with a kiss when the clock strikes midnight.

96 Person A being super sleepy and falling asleep way before midnight so Person B waked them up at 11:59 so they can kiss at midnight before tucking them back in bed.