#plus I no longer have to handle fine money which is super nice

[tamayokny]

as of today, all of my former coworkers in the circulation department have either relocated to different branches or resigned 🤭

[daydreamingintheimpalax]

Little Beginnings

Dean X Reader

Warnings: Mentions of cheating, mentions of pregnancy, possible swearing. 

A/N: Just a little something i wanted to write. Dean’s 40, Reader is 28. 

                                           ************************

You were fucking late, again. Dean was an amazing boss, and an even better friend, but just because he was a super sweet guy, didn’t mean he was going to keep letting you get away with being late. To be fair, you were about 6 months pregnant, and it did cause for a lot of doctors appointments, which Dean had driven you to a few times when Andy was too busy at work. 

Your fiance Andy and you had been engaged for the last year, deciding you were going to wait a while before getting married, Andy was up for a possible big promotion at his design company and he wanted to focus on his work, which you more than understood, so the couple times he’d failed to be there for some of the milestone appointments, you relied on the bus, making you late, opting Dean to offer to drive you so the other staff members would stop harrassing him about special treatment. I mean, you were pregnant, and it wasn’t your fault the appointments ran longer than usual and you’d missed the bus one too many times. 

The bell above the auto shop jingled, signaling that you were finally at work, you were out of breath, stopping slightly to hold your belly. “I’m here, i’m here, i’m so sorry, it was suppsed to be a simple scan and then she thought she saw something and wanted to do a more extensive exam, and i promise next time i’ll just have her reschedule for my day off.” You gasped, out of breath from running all the way from the bus stop, all the extra weight making it harder to move fast. 

Dean waved his hand dismissively, you could see he was sort of lost, trying to work the register, Dean wasn’t good at the front end work, he was however the best mechanic in town, so he handled the cars and you handled the cash. 

“Hey, don’t worry about it, not your fault, if the doctor said you needed it then she must have been worried,” he finally stops and looks at you concerned, “Everything okay? are you and the baby okay?” He asks and you smile widely. 

“SHE and i are just fine, she was just being squirmy.” You jump a little in place, finally having found out the sex. Dean’s eyes widen and a pure look of excitement and joy crosses his face.

“No way? It’s a girl?” He asks and you nod, squealing. Dean lets out a laugh and makes his way over, pulling you into him, not caring that he’s in his greasy work coveralls. “Congratulations, sweetheart!!” He speaks, placing a small kiss to your head. 

He smells like car oil, a little musk from all the sweating from working in the extreme heat and the lingering scent of his aftershave and bodywash. It comforts you, you take a breath, taking in the smell, the familiar smell, Dean has always welcomed you with open arms, making you feel perfectly at home in his auto shop for the last 4 years. He had made you feel loved and valued when your own parents basically banished you for being pregnant before being married. If they had their way, you would’ve been married years ago, they had their opinions and beleifs and you didn’t follow them, and because of it, they hadn’t spoken to you since you told them the news. 

“Have you told Andy yet?” He smiles, you shake your head, moving around him to show him how to open the cash. “Not yet, we’re suppsed to have dinner tonight, i was going to tell him then.” You smile, hardly containing your excitement. You open the register and Dean let’s out a small ‘yes’ before squishing your face, “What am i going to do without you while you’re gone.” He speaks and pinches your nose. You shove his hand away.

“You’ll be fine, plus if you need anything, call. No questions asked, just call.” You smile widely and he returns it. 

The rest of your shift goes smoothly, you count the register at the end of the day, Dean cleans up and changes, grease still on him but for the most part he got it off, he waits for you and like a true well raised gentleman, he drives you home, not wanting you to walk or take the bus alone at night. 

                                  ************************************

When you walk into your apartment, you don’t see Andy on the couch watching tv like he usually is, you assume maybe hes making dinner, since you are home much earlier than expected, the shop hadn’t been overly busy and Dean was so good with cars he had finished all his jobs for the day early.

You hang your coat up and walk into the kitchen, expecting to see Andy cooking, instead, your greeted with silence, with two almost empty plates on your kitchen table, but the part that makes your heart sink into your stomach is the two wine glasses, one, which has a very clear lipstick mark on it. 

A bang comes from your bedroom upstairs, the fire in you already ready to explode. You make your way upstairs, and before you realize it, your swinging your bedroom door open, a woman is sprawled on your bed, her ass in the air as your fiance drills her from behind, his one hand gripping her hair as the other rests on the headboard, she lets out a scream and he swears under his breath. Finally able to speak you clear your throat. 

“Are you fucking kidding me!” You yell and Andy freezes, the girl letting out a whine before she finally peels her head from your pillow. Your fucking god damn pillow. 

“Oh my god, who is that.” She squeals before yaking herself off the bed and away from him, holding your blanket to cover herself up. 

“I’m his fiance, his pregnant fiance. Who the fuck are you!” you scream, livid. 

Andy is up, blanket around his waist before he’s walking towards you. “Baby, this isn’t- i uh- i can explain.” He stumbles over his words, not knowing what to do or say.

You glare at him, “How long?” you ask, he shakes his head confused. “How long have you been fucking her? and don’t you dare fucking lie to me right now Andy!” You scream and he flinches, not used to your high vocals right now. 

He sighs, “Since you told me about the pregnancy.” He admits, running a hand through his hair, “Listen, i need to explain, i just, i needed a break, everything with the pregnancy has been too much to handle and im stressed with work, now the pregnany, i just, i needed to get away from it all.” He speaks and soon enough you’re in his face. 

“What are you sick of Andy? The fact you have barely been home since i told you about it? or the fact you haven’t been to one single appointment? Not the first time we got to see it, not the first time we got to hear the heartbeat, and now, you couldn’t be bothered to come find out the sex with me, it’s a girl, FYI, you havent been around for any of it. So what exactly are you sick of? you’re a worthless piece of shit, and i never want to see you again. Go fuck yourself.” You finish it off with a slap to his face, the contact is so loud, even the girl behind him flinches. 

She gives you a small smile when you make eye contact. “I’m really sorry, i didn’t know, he never mentioned you or the baby, if i had known...” she pauses, obvious guilt in her face. You shrug, “I know, do yourself a favour, find a better man to give yourself to, trust me, this one isn’t worth it.” You tell her, she swallows before grabbing her clothes and leaving the room, but not before glaring at Andy herself, “Don’t ever call me again.” She spits at him and he flinches, he tries to get close to you and you back away, skaking your head. 

“No, i’m leaving.” You spit out and he frowns, a little angry. “Where are you going? You’re pregnant and you know damn well your parents won’t take you back in.” He says it with a tone, almost like he’s proud to know that’s true, without them, you have nowhere to go. 

“I’ll figure something out, i haven’t needed you for the last 6 months, and obviously i still don’t.” You state, grabbing the prepared hospital bag you had done two months ago, for the most part it had enough stuff in it to get you by for a few days and you’d eventually come back for the rest of your stuff, preferably when Andy was away at work.

You storm out, getting into the car you had spent years saving to get, you had bought it on your own, but had decided since Andy made more money that he needed it more. As you drive away, you can hear Andy shouting, you roll down your window and catch the ending. 

“You stupid bitch, how the fuck am i supposed to get to work!” He shouts, you laugh, “Take a bus, asshole. I paid for the car!” Before you’re peeling out of what is no longer your drive way.

                                               ****************************

Dean’s surprised when he hears his phone ring, he isn’t expecting any calls, usually Sam is the only one who calls him, to be honest, he’s pretty much lonely most of the time. 

 Sammy tries to call each week, but he’s usually busy with work or the kids so usually Dean’s alone. Some days he wishes he had done what Sam did, settle down with a nice girl, have some babies, but most of the women he had dated just wanted the idea of a hardworking attractive man by their side, when it came down to it, they backed off when they realized he’d wanted more. it worked out for the best, none of the women in his life had ever truly been longterm material, sometimes he regretted having too much fun and not enough substance, airheads only stayed interesting for so long. 

It’s 8:30 pm and he had just finished making one of his best pasta dishes if he does say so himself. He was about to dig in and turn on some criminal minds when his phone had gone off, he stares at it, not recognizing the number. 

“Hello?” He speaks and a feminine voice is heard, “Hi, may i please speak to Mr. Dean Winchester?” She asks and he clears his throat, “Uh, speaking, who is this?” he raises a brow and his heart sinks slightly when he hears her speak. 

“Hi Mr. Winchester, my name is Sadie and i am calling on behalf of Miss Y/N Y/L/N, i’m a nurse at memorial hospital and Y/N was in a small car accident earlier and she had you listed as her second  emergency contact, she refused to allow me to call her first contact.” She speaks, Dean’s barely listened, he interupts her, completely worried why he’s being called.

“What? Where is Y/n, is she okay? is the baby okay? what happened?” He talks a mile a minute before the nurse calms him down. 

“She and the baby are fine, she is however a little shaken up, can we ask that you come down here, maybe take her home, she refuses anymore help insisting she’s fine and she wont let us call her fiance.” The nurse sighs and Dean agrees. 

He reaches the hospital in 15 minutes, rushing through the place to find y/n. Eventually he finds the nurse that called and he’s led straight to the room you’re in, you’re sitting in the bed, hands on your belly, moving them around and smiling when you feel your baby move. He let’s out a relieved sigh to see you’re okay, and thankfully, still pregnant. 

“Y/N?” He speaks and your head shoots up, you let out a soft smile, he can tell you’ve been crying. “Hey Dee, glad to see you own something other than flannel and ripped jeans.” You smirk, he looks down at his sweat pants and hoddie, smiling to himself before letting out a small chuckle. 

“Theyre my comfy clothes, shut up.” He teases and you giggle. He moves closer, sitting on your bed near you. “You wanna tell me what the hell happened, sweetheart?” He asks and you look down, focused on your hands on your belly, biting the inside of your cheek. 

“After you drove me home, i walked in on Andy fucking some girl in doggy on our bed, i was furious and yelled at him before slapping him and leaving, i grabbed my to go bag and didn’t even care if it wasn’t enough and left, i took my car and just drove off, i didn’t really know where to go and i started crying because Andy was right about my parents probably not wanting me back, so i cried harder and i guess i couldn’t see clearly and went off road. It wasn’t bad, but i sorta put some dents and bumps in it, a jogger found me and insisted i go to a hospital and called the abulance.” You shrugged. 

Dean scoffed, “Are you fucking serious, the nerve of that jackass, i swear if i ever see him i’m gonn-” You cut him off. “Dee, it’s not worth it, i’m mostly just mad at myself for not seeing it, the missed appointments, the constant late nights, he didn’t want this, the marriage, the pregnancy, he wasn’t ready, i should’ve figured it out, i should’ve seen it.” You shrug softly, wiping a tear from your eye.

Dean sighs, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “Hey, listen to me, this isn’t your fault, you didn’t force him to have sex with you, and you sure as hell didn’t get pregnant on purpose, if he didn’t want a kid, he should’ve kept his shit wrapped. He’s the asshole in this situation, not you. As for where to go, you should’ve called me, you know i always have your back. You’re staying with me,” you’re about to interupt him but he shuts you up with a hand, “No, no talking, and i’m not leaving you alone, you’re moving in with me and that’s final.” You huff and pout, making him roll his eyes. 

“Don’t try to cute your way outta this, and don’t be stubborn, i got plenty of space not being used, i could use the company.” You huff, “Fine, but at least let me pitch in for rent..” He cuts you off, “No. I’m not charging you, save your money for the baby stuff your gonna need, just help me keep my fridge stocked and we’ll call it even, i’m a bad grocery shopper.” He smiles, you roll your eyes but agree. 

                                        *****************************

“Hey dee?” You speak as he drives you back to his place, “Yeah?” he hums as he fiddles with the radio before landing on a station. You look over at him and smile. 

“Why can’t all the guys in the world be more like you?” You smile softly and he chuckles, “That wouldn’t make me one of a kind now would it darlin,” he shoots you a wink and you laugh, shaking your head. 

“No seriously though, thank you, for everything, the job, the constant rides, always making sure im eating, getting my vitamins and water intake, always keeping your mini fridge in your office stocked with snacks, you’re literally amazing, and i don’t think i could’ve handled this whole siatuation well if it wasn’t for you. At this point, you’ve done more for me and this little girl than her father has, i need you to know how much i appreciate you.” You reach over, grabbing his hand and he looks over and smiles.

“I know y/n, don’t you worry about it. Besides, one of you already has me wrapped around her finger, what’s one more? Hmm?” He smirks, laughing at your shocked face. You shake your head at him, smiling as parks the car in his driveway. You both get out of the car, but before Dean can walk to his door, you pull him back towards you.

He’s surprised at first then melts into the kiss, wrapping his arms around your slightly big middle, he chuckles and pulls away when he feels movement in your belly. You laugh softly, “I think she likes you, she’s all excited.” You smile, letting him place his hand on your belly, feeling all the movement going on. 

He smiles gently, “yeah well, i like her too, i really REALLY like her mom though.” He states, leaning in to kiss you yet again. 

                                     ********************************

Tags: @akshi8278

[normal-thoughts-official]

magnus is this notorious pirate famous in the caribbean with everyone talking about him because of how successful he is. his quartermaster is definitely raphael (his care for his clan and how he cares for others solidifies this thought process) and their ship has some corny name that raphael pretends to hate but definitely loves. europe thinks that magnus and his crew are demons(racists fucks) meanwhile theyre out here being nerds who enjoys navigating the seas and ruining racists job prospects+

+cat and ragnor live on nassau with magnus bringing back supplies they sell(we love the blackmarket here). the lightwoods are brought into this world bc their parents send them off to nassau to try and expand the family's business and gain profit off of this lawless place which refuses to be governed by anyone. malec meets at like the local inn where maia works at also where izzy meets her and by association The Polycule)and is just attracted to each other right then and there with bad flirting. once they become settled in, alec and izzy becomes like disillusioned with following what their parents expect of them and start to actually do what they wish. because he's dramatic, alec probably asks ragnor who settled down from pirating for more lessons in sword fighting (hes not unexperienced but theres a difference from fighting on land and on water)

eventually magnus hears about this cue them dramatically learning how to fight on like this cliff top with their swords connecting (we love euphemisms for sex) and them bonding over magnus' book collection he has and them no longer doing what their parents expect of them (im imagining asmodeus as this well traveled trader or something who only cares about money rather than having humanity) and even though magnus is this pirate which is a profession that the "civilized world" looks down on, he's like the epitome of actually having morals and caring about people (pirates were known to drastically impact the slave trade as they often freed slaves and let them join their crew or they worked directly with maroons and indigenous people). 

i imagine their first kiss to be when theyre training and someone has a sword pressed against the others neck because theyre horny bastards and they accept only the dramatics. their proposal/matelot is potc levels of dramatic with them fighting an enemy crew alongside The Polycule(the most badass and queer crew out there) and like halfway through alec is just like marry me and then next thing they know it raphael is officiating their marriage around dead people before they go on to have a better and more planned out wedding on shore (had to get some of this out now before i went too deep, The Poycule is definitely something i paid attention to most considering how big and complex the group is)

ugh not to add to an already huge post but

you are totally right about raphael being his quartermaster! raphael is a great leader and he cares so much for his people and he is one of the few people magnus obviously trusts, even as they have their differences. only other person i could imagine as magnus' quartermaster would be cat but like! raphael is perfect for the job! also i love the idea that he pretends to hate the corny name, he has to pretend to hate magnus' puns and jokes on principle but really he loves it

also "meanwhile they are all nerds" accurate, the whole ship is just a whole mess of people having fun and being family we love that for them

and ok not to slut for the polycule but i'm slutting for the polycule i just. aaa want to know so much more about them. i know you said they were already with maia but idk i can see many of them being part of magnus' crew? especially meliorn and tbh clary lmao she seems the type who would love adventure like that (i'm going with fanon clary here mostly) and i can see simon in both but i can also definitely see simon being in the inn with maia (god i have a half baked au that includes that) because being in the sea all day? no thank you. and they are just this nice local couple that helps all the pirates because fuck the racist law

also it's hilarious because they are so warm and welcoming and the lightwoods get there and simon is like "oh-oh. incoming" and maia is all like "what the fUCK do you want"

which lowkey backfires because izzy is just like "oh she's so fierce, i love her" and is already like, halfway in love doing the head tilt and huge grin thing (she's not creepy about it, just like, she likes it, you know? especially because in this AU izzy was raised as a Rich Girl so she's expected to be all that fragile useless white woman ideal and yada yada and she's not here for that so she's attracted to the idea of women like clary and maia)

and just like ghhgggghhh not to slut but i love the idea that they are in the inn and meliorn raphael and possibly clary are always in the sea so like! sweet reunions! not that they are usually going super far lmao mostly just stopping the slave trade and protecting the caribbean and shit, but that's a few months in between visits and i picture that at some point when they are getting to nassau raphael is just like, vibrating (you know, as much as he allows himself to) and magnus just smiles knowingly, happy that his boy has found people he's so happy with

and raphael getting into the inn and being like "simon! maia!" and simon and maia being like "raphael! meliorn!" and just crashing into this big group hug and it's all laughs and meliorn twirls maia and she giggles and simon kisses raphael's cheek and is all worried about them both (plus clary) because god what the fuck kind of shit did they get into this time, are they hurt? if he's broken another leg he's gonna- and raphael laughs and says "no, cariño, i promise all i have with me are gifts" because he's not gonna travel the caribbean and not bring stuff for his partners. so it's him and meliorn showering maia and simon in gifts and pretty and maybe stolen things (maia in particular takes such great joy in learning that her pretty new bracelet belonged to some racist bitch) like spoils you know? lmao, and looking at them it's like they haven't seen each other in years or something but no it's been like a month and it's always like that

and alec and izzy are just watching that, mouths slack, shocked, but highkey yearning for something as free as that, that loving family and that open love and meliorn's genderfuckery and just everything about them! and alec "conceal don't feel" lightwood is kind of frowning and goes "are they always like that?" to which magnus, behind him, answers "yes" and then he turns around and they stare at each other and magnus quickly goes from "happy for my boys" to "hello tall person" in a matter of seconds and is suddenly all seductive and flirty and alec is having the time of his life? especially since here away from the lightwoods he can allow himself just a little bit, and letting a guy flirt with him can't hurt, right? he knows izzy won't tell their parents. so he engages

cue terribly bad flirting, izzy smiling widely as she watches the polycule dynamics, highkey wanting something like that for herself, especially seeing the way that clary talks to maia all like "look at this SWORD" and all the adventures. and maia still doesn't trust her but apparently magnus has already hit it off with her brother so what the hell, they might as well stay

and just!! yes getting to know each other shenanigans. i picture that like the army gets there and tries to get magnus and his crew and alec and izzy are like running to them to warn them (alec not knowing quite why, he shouldn't be taking that big of a risk, he shouldn't be getting attached to a pirate - of whom he's only heard terrible things so far, thinks they are Evil basically - just because something about him is alluring and represents the freedom he doesn't allow himself to want, but... he is getting attached) and the whole gang is all like *very calmly heading to the secret hideout in their room* oh don't worry about that lmao they do this every week

and idk i just want a moment where they are almost found and alec and izzy lowkey save their ass (i mean they would have managed but they make it easier, maybe use the Privilege Card lmao). maybe the guards were closer than they thought so alec ends up just shoving magnus into the hideout and when the guards come in he's all like "WHO is interrupting our sleep" and acts like an entitled brat and they don't even search the room lmao and then alec runs to the hideout all "sorry that i pushed you, are you okay?" and magnus is all like "i'm fine" but a little touched about the care. just to establish that trust, you know? both between them and between izzy and the rest of the polycule

so after that it all kind of flows smoothly because they know they can genuinely trust the lightwoods and so it grows into something more. magnus and alec can bond over having Terrible Parents With Terrible Morals and they open up about their respective traumas with abuse, and alec confesses to magnus for the first time ever that he doesn't want to be like his parents, that he thought if maybe he earned their respect, he could change things from the inside. and magnus looks at him all soft and touched and is like "there's no changing things from the inside" and alec is like "i'm starting to realize that" you know

and yeah alec gets to see how much that crew cares for each other, way more than his "traditional family" ever could (except for him and izzy who are just as devoted to each other as the crew is, but like, it's honestly less the "blood relations" and more how they've always been there for each other as they handled their parents' shittiness) and again he's just yearning because he always believed he wouldn't get something like that. and magnus in particular is just so caring and just wants to make the world a better place, you know? and he admires that and they bond over that, too

and just jdhdaodshad god i love this. and meanwhile izzy is flirting with maia clary and meliorn like crazy and soon they are like this huge messy group with all those dynamics... and i just aaa and alec and izzy end up joining the crew and daiodsaiodjsaio RAPHAEL OFFICIATING THEIR WEDDING i'm genuinely all for that fucking shit, magnus wants his boy to do it for them and aaaaa! also i DEMAND raphael&meliorn fighting sequences because i bet they would make a bomb ass duo fighting back to back and shit, you know? bonus points if they are defending simon and maia who are behind them and just making sure no one touches them?? i live for this shit 

in short i love this and you said “get some out of your chest" so if there's more, then fuck, i can't wait to see it dahsdaijas i'm sorry for talking so much i get too excited

[namstruck]

EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY｜VHOPE

REQUESTED BY: Cherry_Mocha (wattpad)

WARNING; angst !! soulmate au ! high school student! taehyung !! college student! hoseok !!

WORD COUNT: 2754

it is said that the age you shall die and leave with your last breath is revealed on your very own wrist on your eighteenth birthday. most people live up to the expected years; somewhere around their mid or late nineties, some even luckier to live a century. but others, not so lucky, have less than a decade, even a year if you count the rare ones. you start truly living once you grow up to whom you'd love to be, trying your best to squeeze every single thing on your bucket list, even though you know it'll never happen because your life now is shorten and everything is being rushed all at once and your time is twice as precious.

—

taehyung, if he were being honest, wasn't really oh-so excited for his upcoming birthday. he didn't want to know exactly what age he was bound to die, thinking about it just made him anxious ever since his older sister got hers. having only five years left for her. from there, taehyung knew he needed to start living his life at its best, knowing his genetics. but most importantly, he knew his grandmother, the only family he had left, would be devastated, already losing a daughter and now bound to lose a second grandchild. not only that, but, what hurt him most was the high possibility and leaving behind the love of his life.

at the moment, the honey-blonde senior was waiting for the clock to land and ring at two-ten; his index finger tapping ever so impatiently on his wooden school desk. class as usual was slow and the professor's lecture dragged and dragged, taehyung's ears muffling all of it from lack of attention. his uniform itched, his own fault for not wearing an undershirt this morning, scratching the one spot roughly and most likely making a small rash. he'd have to remember to get some cream for it later.

looking outside the wide, glass window on his left, taehyung starts daydreaming again, only this time he places his chin on the palm of his right hand as it rests on his desk.

"oh, hyung,"

the familiar squeaky voice makes taehyung turn his head with a raised brow and blank expression. now getting his attention, the boy calling him walks towards him as he struggles with his backpack and two three-inch workbooks, his uniform slightly wrinkled somehow. once he was walking at the same pace and side-by-side with the taller boy he starts chatting with him, still struggling.

"i told you to stop calling me that," taehyung sternly says. the boy next to him laughs it off as they turn left and into the next hallway.

"sorry, i forget," he looks up at his senior innocently. "force of habit," he continues, "plus, it feels wrong.." taehyung knew that it was very formal and common to address your upperclassmen but he hated it; it was just too much for him. so every time the junior, that was his friend— for some reason—, called him 'hyung' all it did was make him cringe.

the two boys after walking a bit reach taehyung's destination, his locker. as he turned the lock for his combination, the younger kept talking, his chattiness just consisting of upcoming events and daily routine. the raven watching taehyung putting his textbooks away and grabbing his backpack, placing other books inside for his assignments later. his big, doe eyes full of admiration towards the obvious tired older.

"so are you excited for your birthday tomorrow?"

taehyung winces at the question as soon as they came out of the younger's small lips, dropping a small notebook on accident. picking it up on impact, the younger skims his reaction and auden shakiness. seeing this, he apologizes as he realizes the situation. it was fine though, it wasn't his fault. the older never told him how he felt or his worries, so his apologies were just being wasted.

"look, kook," he stammers, "i have to go, see you tomorrow, 'kay?" zipping the two folds of his bag, he excuses himself, speed walking away and out the double doors at the end of the hall. the faint goodbye from the younger fading away.

the walk home was quiet. his head empty. his grandmother wasn't home when he got there, a note telling her whereabouts. his shoes loudly bang going up the stairs of the two-story home, taking them off and carelessly shoving them in his closet next to his bedroom door. his room was surprisingly warm—even though it was below twenty outside—and he immediately removes his uniform, slipping on his regular sleepwear. plopping on his queen-sized bed face-up, the covers ocean blue with white frames as it's pattern, he lets out the deep sigh he had been concealing all day as he stares at the white ceiling above him.

before he could actually start daydreaming again or fall asleep, his text ringtone goes off. rolling over his body slumps, realizing his cellphone was still in his backpack. he groans and curses at himself for forgetting to grab it as usual. lifting himself up, his feet drag to the thrown bag on the carpeted floor, opening a pocket to retrieve the device. it lights up showing the lockscreen of a selfie of his boyfriend and him together, smiling. but it also previewed a text.

seokie <3

hi !!!!!!

how is my peach doing💓

you

hi,

i'm good a bit tired but

there's nothing sleep can't fix right ?

you

how are you, sunshine?

seokie <3

i'm doing good too !

i just woke up from a napㅠ .. ㅠ

you

lucky smh

did you go to the interview earlier today??

seokie <3

yes !!

you

how'd it go?

seokie <3

it went really well !! eeeek !!

i need to tell you everything

so imma call you !!!!

but pick up this time>:((

you

yeah yeah

hehe

𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖:

seokie <3

[ accept ]             [ decline ]

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𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖:

seokie <3

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"taehyungie~!!"

"hi," the said male chuckles at his boyfriend's enthusiasm and bright, positive vibe.

"okayyyy so where do i even start," the boy on the other line hums before talking again, "oh yeah! right okay so i woke up this morning really late—i'msorrypleasedon'tyellatme—but! i wasn't late to the interview so that's good," taehyung shakes his head, "so when i got to the place, i asked the lady at the front for the manager, and which by the way, she was so nice! she complimented my outfit like!! yes i know i snapped today huh? hehe~ anyways! right..so she got the manager for me and from there we went to like an office or something and we did my interview there and he said he'll definitely hire me!!"

"really?" taehyung asks surprised, his boyfriend confirming what he just said. "i'm so proud of you! i owe you a hug and lots of kisses for sure," he sighs happily as he hears the boy squealing on the other end with him, "now all you have to do it training and after that you'll have the job."

"yes! tae you don't know just how excited i am," the younger could tell he was pouting, "like my heart is beating out of my chest right now and i'm about to cryyyyy!" he whines. "but for now, tell me about your day peach!"

"oh ah, well y'know, my day was boring, like always," he scratches the back of his head, trying his best not to sound troublesome, "...just school things ha."

"even through the phone i can tell that you're lying to me."

taehyung sighs, his free hand rubbing his face, "yeah i know. i'm sorry, i suck at lying."

"do you wanna talk about it? you know i'm always here for you."

"yeah i know," he always knew. but the real question was; was taehyung always going to be there for him?

“thank you.”

—

"happy birthday hyung—i mean taehyung!"

the raven haired boy holds up a small, wrapped box in his hands towards taehyung. the older receives it and thanks him, opening it in front of him.

"ohhh..kook you really didn't have to—"

"i wanted to, so please accept it!" taehyung frowns and watches the younger beg for him to keep the expensive, valuable gift and leaves him behind to go home for the weekend. there was nothing he could do about it now but just place it carefully in his own backpack, zipping it up and walking out the same double doors. he felt so bad, he never wanted a friend—nonetheless—anyone in general to spend their money on expensive things for him.

spotting his boyfriend's silver car, he paces for it as he tries to actually enjoy the day his lover planned for him, knowing he always hated the thought of his eighteenths, not really knowing why he did. but it was a day he was going to make special just for his taehyungie, and nothing was going to ruin it.

taehyung, opening the right shoulder of the vehicle, hops in and greets the freshly showered and groomed boy. his warm hand holds onto his cold one, their eyes meeting and then his lips to his also warm cheek.

"so, where are we going?" taehyung. finally asks. the older jumping up from remembrance, almost pushing the gas pedal, and exclaims.

"i’m not gonna spoil it but you'll see, it's gonna be super fun!" he gives him a reassuring smile, taehyung trusting him as they drive off.

—

"are we there yet? we've been driving for half an hour already.."

"we're almost there, you just have to be patient puppy~" taehyung blushes at the sudden nickname, liking it too much. he much of a patient person, he could tolerate certain times but going almost an hour was his peak and he just couldn't wait any longer. not even five minutes passed again when taehyung whiningly asks, "are we there yet?" all his boyfriend could do was laugh at his own impatient one, something he loved about his character.

he pulls up to a flat, plain that was separated fairly from the two-sided road, the sound of gravel crushing against the rubber of the tires vibrates the car. putting the car in park, his boyfriend takes out the key from its place and opens his side door as he slides out quickly. taehyung, confused a bit, hesitates to open his own door until he hears the trunk close shut, seeing the older male carry out a basket and walking towards the right side of his car.

when taehyung pulls on the handle, he feels a burning itch on his left wrist. as he's flipping it over to see he spots a faded two-digit number slowly arising. but before he could clearly see anything, his boyfriend taps on the window and open the door for him. "were you waiting for me to be a gentleman," he asks mockingly. the younger, before processing anything, looks at him with anxious eyes before dropping a fake smile and played along. he gets out of the silver car, quickly offering to help carry some of the stuff the older was holding but was politely rejected.

"so," he starts, "what's with all the stuff?" pointing at the junk in his boyfriends arms, he asks curiously. the other boy just held his hand, dragging him towards a free, green and grassy spot. he lets go of his hand to unfold and place a large, wide square-patterned blanket on the ground as well as the rest of the stuff. once done, he wipes the sweat off his forehead and childishly huffs out.

"ta-da!"

a picnic.

'how cute', the younger thought. it was really just one of those nice days and now that the sun was soon to set, it started to feel more enjoyable and lovely. the older really was trying his best to make him feel special and it showed.

"do you like it?" his boyfriend asks a bit panicky, hoping he did, "or is it too cheesy?? i can fix it, i mean we can go do something else or—"

taehyung pats him in comfort, "i love it." he smiles gently as he lays his head on the older's shoulder.

—

"mine said i have until i'm ninety-six, so basically i'll have a full life," hoseok exclaims when taehyung asks about his age expectancy, not really having an interest in it based on his expression and tone. well, the younger was happy at least knowing his hoseok was going to live long. in the same sense, his wrist itched again only this time the numbers appeared darker and vividly. not wanting to catch hoseok's attention to it, he pulls his sleeve down more and avoids using that arm for the rest of the day.

it really pained him to hide anything from him, especially something as important as this. but, it would be less hurtful to say goodbye, that's why...it was better this way. it was better for them both to not acknowledge it. and if he ever asks, he would just have to lie.

their hands hold onto each other as they watch the sunset disappear slowly by the minute, all the snacks and food hoseok made and packed, gone. letting out a deep sigh and closing his eyes, taehyung turns over to the boy on his left. "hoseok," before he could tell him anything, their eyes lock, the number on his wrist aching, not only on his skin but his heart as taehyung holds back his words, replacing it with a genuine, "i love you." a tear rolling down his cheek as their foreheads meet.

—

koo。

happy late birthday btw !!

sorry i missed it:(

you

thank you^^

you're fine dw !

koo。

i owe you your present when i see you

so no saying no:𝙘

you

okay okay^^

taehyung chuckles at his friend, "he's always so serious," he mumbles to himself before taking a sip of his dark coffee, that was sitting on the counter, out of the red mug when the small pounce in his head hits again. his face scrunches in pain, hand pressing on the spot.

"you okay?"

hoseok's concerned voice echoes the kitchen. "yeah..just," he rubs his temple, "my head's been hurting all morning.."

"probably because you drink too much coffee," hoseok jokes, taking a sip of his own mug. taehyung glares at him before walking out to the living room. and it wasn't long until he was watching the news, later skimming through channels. hoseok takes the empty space next to him on the couch, wrapping an arm around him once he settled on a show. something about cuddling always made them feel happy, even though the younger's head was pounding.

they had been living together for three years, taehyung moving in after graduation. their new home felt cozy and just right, a quiet, nice neighborhood with a lot of green surrounding them. the younger hated leaving his grandmother behind, he loved her dearly, but she had told him that it was time he start his life and that she'd be fine, being the strong, independent woman she was. and so, he listened.

seeing his mug almost empty, taehyung gets up, the older's arm slipping off his shoulder, and heads to the kitchen again. his hand grips on the coffee pot's black handle, the glass hitting the clay mug as it pours hot coffee slowly. but he shakes, his head pounding slightly harder this time. still grabbing ahold of the pot, he winces at the sensation, his face scrunched and he groans. once he feels it go away, he proceeds to pour the rest of his coffee, taking the mug in his hands as he heads for the living room to join hoseok.

before he could fully turn around, though, another pounce strikes him, only this time more painful that it makes the mug slip out of his hands and drops his body to the ground, his unsupported weight causing a loud thud when it comes in contact with the wooden floor. he could hear a low voice calling out to him, a pair of hands wrapping around him. but, somehow, the rhythm of his breathing or heart beating weren't there. he couldn't sense or hear them anymore. and all of the pain he was once feeling, was gone.

everything was gone, including him.

[shnuggletea]

InuKagWeek 2020

Alright, to those of you still here, thank you! To those of you who left... eh, it's your choice. Anyway, here is chapter two day two of InuKagweek 2020! Loyalty. @inukag-week thanks for the poster art and here’s my day two! Still working on my own art for this piece. Something I was working on a while ago and quit. Hence why Kagome looks way better if you ask me. Thank you @petri808​ for showing me a few tricks for my posts on tumblr!

Chapter 2 of 8 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Fanfiction link HERE

AO3 link HERE

Or if you’d rather, just reading reading!

Loyalty

If I'm being honest, I never had a job in food service. But I had to assume they were all the same mostly. Things like learning the names of the drinks and the regular customers as well as how to handle a tray filled with heavy things were to be expected. However, given my place of 'work', getting grabbed, touched, and pinched wasn't. Two weeks later and I was as used to it as you could be. When you go from living in a girls home, sharing a room, and counseling sweet innocent children to your own space in a mansion and bringing drinks backstage to the dancers, it would never feel normal.

The girls were nice enough though and I never saw Inuyasha which I was fine with. Mostly.

I'd even made friends with most of those that worked there. Some were just there to strip and make money so a little inexperienced waitress wasn't worth their time. Which was fine. But my favorite was a girl named Sango.

Her eyes brightened at the sight of me, a smile on her pretty face as she paused in putting on her fake lashes. I handed off the other drinks, giving Sango her whiskey sour last. "Oh, I do love the nights you're working Kagome."

"Which is every night?"

Sango giggled, taking a sip and moaning her appreciation of the flavor. "Yes. But you are so quick with our orders. The others take forever."

"I just don't want you guys going without some liquid courage. I couldn't do what you guys do."

Sango tisked her tongue at me as I leaned against her vanity table. "It's not that bad. I mean, the audition was a little awkward."

"Audition?"

Sango went back to her makeup, lining her lips with a dark red lipstick. "Yeah. Having to get naked in from of the boss? That was nerve-wracking, wasn't it? Naomi told me she had to do the same thing even as a server. You had to too right?"

I shuttered. So everyone had to do that? Inuyasha had slept with every single girl in this place as an audition? Was that what that was? I lost my virginity to a man like that?

I swallowed my disgust and the rising vomit in my throat, suddenly feeling a desperate need to get checked for STDs because he definitely didn't wear a condom with me, and pushed off the table. "I should get back to it."

"Yep yep. Don't want the boss to catch you slacking!"

As if he could, he was never here. Too busy 'auditioning' more girls. The only one here every day, giving me a hard time, was Koga. He was always somewhere around the club, waiting to bark at me for doing something wrong or touch me. It was never in an inappropriate place but it was still unwanted. A hand on my shoulder or a push to my back. Once, he patted my butt and I nearly tore his arm off. He hasn't done it since but I see him do it to the others all the time.

Returning to one of my tables, I leaned in to be heard over the loud music. The girl on stage now was talented for sure so I was always surprised when anyone gave me their attention over those on stage. Probably thanks to the required low cut top I had to wear. It wasn't even a top really, it was a vest and I barely fit in it. There definitely wasn't room for a bra. And the pants sat low on my hips so my skin showed all the time. Every time I leaned over, I waited for a breast to fall out. Not that anyone would mind, save for me.

Plastering a smile on my face, I listened as the guy I was attending rattled off a drink order as slowly as he could to keep me there longer. It was a struggle to keep my fake smile up. He finally finished, certain he was touching himself under the table the whole time, I fled to the bar. Far from safe, it still had fewer men ogling me at it.

I rested, waiting for my order and Naomi stood next to me. "Hey, Kagome? I'm not really sure I should say something but...there's a guy here who keeps sitting in my section and watching you."

I suppose stalkers were a normal thing here. It didn't mean I was okay with it. "He's watching me? With that going on?"

I thumbed towards the stage as Sango did a super sexy split on the pole. Not sure what I'd do with myself if I was ever that sexy but it was nice to dream. "Well...I've only been here a few days but yeah. I wasn't going to tell you until I was sure. I mean he's far less creepy than the other guy that watches you…"

"There are two guys watching me?!"

She grabbed my shoulders to reassure me. "I'm not really sure! I haven't even been here a week yet. But it seems like this guy is definitely here to watch you. He sits in the corner booth in the back so he can see you but you never seem to see him…" I gently pulled from her hold and made the quick decision to face the creep. "Wait, Kagome!"

I waved back to her, heading off towards the mentioned table. "Don't worry, I won't get you in trouble."

I didn't have to go all the way to the table, figuring out pretty quickly who it was. Shaking my head and growling a laugh in irritation, I walked right up to Inuyasha who looked a little taken aback that I seemed to notice him. Crossing my arms over my chest served two purposes; hiding my overexposed breasts and showing him how pissed I was at him in general. How the hell did Naomi not know who this was? She auditioned for him last week!

Setting his drink down carefully, he cleared his throat over the loud music and adjusted his seat. "I just wanted to check on you, that's all. See how my investment was holding up."

That wasn't good enough for me and I told him as much by not changing or saying a thing.

"This is my club, damnit, I can come in and do whatever the fuck I want."

"Yes you can, Boss," Koga said, coming up from behind out of nowhere. "Everything up to your standards?"

There was something about Koga. He said one thing but clearly felt another. Inuyasha had to be ignoring it, no way he missed the indignation in Koga's demeanor. "Everything is fine, Koga. Except for your customers getting too handsy with the wait staff!"

To my added irrigation, Koga put his hands on my shoulders as if to hold me steady. Never did I ever need another to keep me steady or still and now wasn't the exception. I glared over my shoulder at him but he ignored me. But then his hands popped off me as if burned and I turned back to Inuyasha who looked ready to kill someone. And that someone was Koga so he stepped further away from me.

"I'll..uh...I'll see what I can do about that, Sir."

Just the two of us again, I turned to leave but Inuyasha called out to me again. "Looks like you're blending in here. A real chameleon or just within your element here?"

Turning on my heel, I stormed back up to his table. Leaning over I put my finger as close to his face as I could. "I survive. It's what I've always done and those girls back at the home wouldn't if they were tossed out on the street. So remember that when you think I'm okay with any of this. With you, this place, getting my ass grabbed daily, or even going through your audition. I'm a survivor and I will survive this."

He had backed up a little in his seat but I'd rid the distance in an instant. Big golden eyes danced between my finger, eyes, and lips. "I can see that." I slowly removed myself from his bubble and he crossed his arms over his chest like he was the one wronged. "I said I was sorry the other night. I lost control and took things too far…"

"Do you say that to all the others too? Is this your blanket apology for using women the way that you do?"

He had been looking toward the exit but snapped back to me with my words. "What are you talking about?"

I huffed, pissed to the point of tears. "Fine. Play dumb. Stop coming here and watching me. I'm not going to screw up your stupid club."

He tried to say something but I really wasn't interested. It wasn't like we didn't live together, not that I ever saw him at home either. If he really wanted to talk to me, he could do it there.

I caught Koga grinning at me as I stormed away, feeling Inuyasha's glare on my back. All I could think was that I really had fallen into a den of demons somehow.

oOo

Checking every day, every hour, I didn't see Inuyasha return. A week had passed and he hadn't come back to the club. Meaning things went back to the way they were, not seeing or hearing from him at all. This time I was glad.

That is until I got to work on another Friday night.

The place was packed and Koga was far too pleased about it. "Kagome you're going on stage tonight."

"Wait, what?!"

"We're short-staffed and I've gotten requests. So you're dancing tonight. Be ready to go on after Kiki."

I was numb, staring at my reflection at the vanity that Sango let me use. She was doing something with my hair but I felt none of it. The only man I'd ever been naked in front of was Inuyasha and I was fine with that. It was a livable condition to my servitude. But now I was going to be naked in front of a ton more. As I said, the place was packed tonight so easily 50-60 people were going to see my bush.

"It's not that big a deal, Kagome, I promise."

"That's easy for you to say! You can dance! And you're super sexy."

Sango sat down beside her and frowned. "You're sexy!" When I frowned in return, she kept on. "You are! Plus, dancing isn't so bad. You're alone and no one is touching you. It's easy to pretend you're just dancing in front of your mirror. Stay out of the champagne rooms though. They touch a lot in there."

I'd heard about those rooms and had stayed clear the entire time I'd worked here. But I was a server. As a dancer, if someone paid to take me in there, didn't I have to go?

The question was bouncing around in my brain when the door to the dressing room slammed open. Inuyasha took a quick look around and when his eyes landed on me, they went from bronze to molten metal. The others squealed and ran while I was frozen in my seat, Sango stuck by me even as he stormed up and ripped me up from my seat. The only thing he said or did before dragging me out was grab a robe and throw it at me.

"Cover yourself."

In the bra and panty set I had worn there that night, cause no way in hell was I borrowing from anyone else, it was nearly my turn to go on but Inuyasha was taking us towards the exit. Koga stood near it, shaking with anger and...fear?

"I told you. I fucking warned you. She's not to go on the fucking stage. Ever. She can't even dance!"

"Look, I got requests, what was I supposed to do…"

"Tell them to fuck off, that's what! Jesus, what the hell do I pay you for?! When some asshole with a few bucks tells you what to do and you listen to them instead of me?"

Koga's head hung low but I didn't feel any pity in the slightest. "Sorry, Boss."

Inuyasha still had my hand in a death grip but he put his free one on Koga's shoulder. It was the kindest act I'd ever seen him do. "If anyone bothers you, you call me. Got it?"

I didn't get to see how Koga reacted, Inuyasha pulling us out into the night. He stopped, only to wrap his coat around me before shoving me into his car. The ride was silent until I could take it no longer. Anger was surging in me. Sure, he saved me but who asked him anyway?!

"I don't get you at all. You put me in a strip club to work but then get pissed because people want me to take off my clothes?"

"You're a server."

"IN A STRIP CLUB! What did you think was going to happen?!"

"I thought you'd do your fucking job!"

A dark laugh escaped my lips and Inuyasha turned to glare at me. "My fucking job? Interesting words coming from you. Considering you bought me to fuck you."

"I told you, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to …"

I wanted him to stop apologizing because it made the loss of my virginity a regret to him. I didn't regret it, I had enjoyed it until he opened his fat mouth! "It doesn't change a thing! Your apology doesn't change that night and it doesn't make my hymen magically grow back! And it doesn't change your complete lack of care for my feelings on the subject either!"

"Lack of care?!"

"I know I should be thankful...that things could be a lot worse…" I really tried not to, because I didn't want to give him my tears, but I couldn't stop them either. "But it's hard to feel anything but resentment when I went from being surrounded by angels all day to working for the devil."

I cut my sobs off after five escaped and Inuyasha listened to each one. It made me wonder if he got off on them until he spoke again. "The devil huh? That's how you see me?"

Nothing more was said even as we split off to our rooms. The devil going silently into his and I could honestly say for the first time that I hated someone. Cause I hated Inuyasha.

oOo

I half expected Inuyasha to show up at the club again the next day. But with him nowhere in sight two hours in, I considered him a no show and went about business as usual.

Sango was happy to see me, jumping up as soon as I entered the dressing room while everyone else seemed surprised to see me as well. "Oh man, last night was intense. You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Inuyasha is just...weird…"

"Weird? I thought it was hot as hell. I wish I had a boyfriend that protective. I was wondering why you were just a server all this time but now I get it…"

"Wait," I stopped her ramble with a gentle hand in her face, "that guy is not my boyfriend."

"Huh? Then who the hell is he? The way he dragged you out of here I thought for sure he made you quit…."

"What the hell do you mean, who is he? He's the boss!"

Sango's face and those eavesdropping around us twisted in confusion. "No, Koga's the boss."

I looked around, finding faces that agreed. "Wait...so when you said you auditioned for the boss…"

"Yeah, Koga. He made us all strip for him in his tiny little office. I was scared he'd do more but that was it."

I felt faint, my head getting light and my breaths feeling shallow. "But I thought… Inuyasha…."

"Kagome? Are you alright?"

Sango was holding me up off the floor and I gripped her shoulders tight. "Yeah, I just… need some air…"

If she didn't have her first set in five minutes, I was sure Sango would have gone with me. As it was, I wasn't sure I wanted the company anyway, following her finger to the back door of the dressing room.

It was freezing out, middle of January, and snow falling lightly from the black sky above. The cold helped my brain though, forcing the sticky feeling inside it to freeze so it would function.

So when Inuyasha said he was sorry...what had he said? He didn't mean to, that he lost control. Did he never intend to sleep with me? He was Koga's boss but not the boss of the other women? How did that make sense? It was if he had some kind of loyalty and he was actually showing it to me but I didn't understand or know how to take it.

Damn, now I hated him a little less.

"Hey."

So lost in thought, I missed the guy standing nearby, smoking. He took a step closer and I took a step back. It pushed me into the dark and him into the light. The bright red bulb at the end of his cigarette as he took a long drag and then tossed it. His features were sharp and dangerous looking, even with his long, wavy locks that softened his appearance. It was his eyes really, they were dull and lifeless and set on her.

"You're...Kagome right?" I really didn't like that he knew my name. "I'm a bit of a fan of yours. I'm Naraku."

He stuck out a hand but I refused to remove mine from their wrapped position around my chest. Naraku chuckled as he dropped the offer, digging in his pocket for something so I took another step back. A new cigarette and lighter in his hands, I still didn't relax, trying to slide towards the door. If he noticed, he said and did nothing as I grabbed a hold of the handle and pulled with all my might. But the door didn't budge.

"It's locked from the outside. Usually, the girls leave something to block the door but I guess they didn't tell you about that, did they?" he was grinning while my skin was trying to find a new home far from him. "Why don't you dance? You have a killer body and are so damn sexy. Does Inuyasha have a reason for not letting you? I must admit, it has me curious about your relationship to him."

"We don't have a relationship past employee and employer."

He shook his head, clucking his tongue at me. "Koga is your boss. Or...isn't he?" I fidgeted, looking for a way out. "Oh...I see… you belong to Inuyasha, don't you? Just what is your title then?"

My only choice was to walk around the building to the front, which I was about to do when the door popped open and Sango's head appeared. "Kagome? There you are! Sorry, I forgot to warn you about the lock…"

I was breezing past her, not worrying about the slip-up and Sango was glaring at Naraku. "If you ever want a change of pace, Kagome, let me know."

The door slammed heavily behind us and I couldn't be happier. Sango was still looking behind us as if Naraku had a key he forgot to mention. "You should stay away from that guy, Kagome. I'm not sure why he's even allowed near the building."

"Why do you say that?"

She looked back at me, her face pale. "Well...he snaked away a few of the girls that worked here a few years ago to work at his house or something. He promised them more pay and no stripping. But the last I heard he was sleeping with all of them and only some of them were willing."

I didn't bother hiding my disgust, nearly vomiting on the dark tile below us. Sango looked sick too. We were making our way back towards the front, Sango required to 'meet and greet' after her show and get tips. I was supposed to get tips too but I think they all went to Inuyasha or something. They could all go to the home for all I cared, I was loyal to the cause.

Naomi ran up to us as soon as we made it out of the hall and into the main floor. "Kagome, someone is here for you."

If it was Naraku again, I was just going to slug him and call over Koga. But it wasn't him. It was Mother Kaede.

And Naraku shows up, so you know there's going to be issues. Drama. Angsty drama. Weeeeeee...

[jq37]

On a scale of 1-10, how difficult is it to make a podcast? I’ve been following ANA since you first announced it (I’m so excited for it) and the other day I came up with an idea that I think would make a good series

Hey, thanks for the message! And thanks for being interested. Absolutely No Adventures has been a lot of fun to put together and it's nice to see that people are looking forward to it.

As for your question I'd say maybe a 6? But that's a really incomplete answer and I did a lot of searching for help on how to get started when I decided to do this so I'll give you  more in depth breakdown of the steps and if you have more questions you can totally message me off of anon.

(1) Write The Thing

So yeah, no getting around it. The first thing you have to do is just write the podcast. For some people, this is the hardest part. For me, it was probably the easiest part because it's the thing I was most familiar with. You already have an idea, which is great. So now you probably want to sit down and figure out things like is this a limited miniseries or will it be on-going with multiple seasons? How long will each episode be?

You also want to make sure you write for the medium. For example, in a book, you can just say, "She hugged him." But if it's audio, you have to make there's some kind of indication for that (ie: Man: Oh, and now we're hugging).

Format doesn't matter too too much as long as it's consistent. I used film script format in Celtx (which is free) but people also use Google Docs. Just pick what's easiest for you and get going.

I also highly recommend you finish a full season of scripts (or the whole set if it's a mini series) before you move on. Some people write as they go and if you want to do that, cool, but it's one less thing to worry about once you're in production and you don't want writer's block to slow you down once you're already going.

(2) Casting

So this is where I left my comfort zone and had to learn to do things I was unfamiliar with. The good news here is, there are a lot of actors available to be a part of projects like this for varying amounts of money or no money at all if it's an interesting enough project. I will advocate for paying people if you can though because I wanna make money off of my art someday so I think it's only fair to reciprocate. If it is unpaid, just be upfront about that. It's common among indie projects so it's not scandalous or anything.  

Anyway, the basic process here is you write up a casting call that says what the project is, what the deadline is for auditioning, and has some audition lines for each characters (called sides). Then you post on Twitter which has a pretty active voice actor community plus some other places like reddit and certain FB groups and auditions will start rolling in. Casting calls tend to spread--people came to me from Discords I'd never heard of. Once you get a bunch you can pick who you like or, if you can't decide, invite back some people for callbacks and then pick.

I think 2 weeks is a good length of time to keep auditions open, longer if you're looking for something really specific.

It's also possible to simplify this step if you happen to know friends who have mics and wanna help or if you want to do a podcast with a very small cast--maybe even just one person who could be you. There are a number of podcasts with that format. I maybe should have mentioned this during writing but I'll mention it here instead. Anything you have to write, you will have to produce, so keep that in mind. Like, when you're writing, it's easy to have a bunch of extras and sound effects and crazy things happening, but remember that you have to bring that all to life later, so maybe a different character can give that exposition so you don't have to cast ANOTHER person as an extra.

(That being said, most actors I've worked with are chill with doing an extra voice or two.)

Oh! Also. Time zones are a thing. Keep that in mind. I do no regret casting an Australian, a Brit, and Americans across the country because they were all fantastic, but it was hell to schedule.

(3) Recording

So there are 3 main ways to record--in person in studio, remotely together, and remotely apart.

Option one is kind of a no-go right now because of Covid so let's talk about the other 2.

Remotely Together means you get all your actors on a Zoom call with you and they're all in their studios and you record as if you're all in the same room. I did this for ANA and I think it's the best way to do it cause people get to react to each other in real time which is great. The only thing is, it means you have to line up everyone's schedules which is a total bear. Still, if you can do it, worth it.

Remotely Apart means you give everyone their scripts and tell them to send in their lines in x weeks. I did this for some episodes of Secret Podcast Number 2 and it works fine. But for the more emotional eps, we still recorded together. This method is good because it gets rid of timing troubles which was necessary since we're doing a December release (which, trust me, is crazy quick for what we’re doing), but there are some things, you want people to be able to adjust their intensity levels for in the moment.

Either way, but especially in scenario 2, I'd suggest you do a table read first where everyone gets on call and reads through everything. It helps everyone get a feel for each other so they're not going in cold.

Wrt directing, it can feel a little weird to tell people how to talk or inflect or how much they should be crying, but, as long as you're polite, just go for it. They're actors. They can take the notes. That's what they do. All of my actors were always super great about it.

(4) Production

Alright so you have lines in from all your actors.

The next question is, how are you going to handle your production? The actual putting together of the lines and cleaning them up and balancing and adding effects and all that?

I specifically wrote ANA to have relatively simply sound design and it was *still* too much for me to handle so I opted to outsource for that and it was for sure where most of a budget went. If you happen to know how to do this or have the time to learn, you'll def save yourself some money. It is still very time consuming though. The one part that I did do--deciding which takes to use from the lines my actors sent (aka: picking takes) and putting them together to send to my sound guy--took super long as is.

If you're going to hire/recruit someone to do this stuff for you, I recommend you do it before you cast because they'll be able to let you know if the actors who want have compatible audio quality.

IDK what standard procedure is here but the way it works with my guy is I send him lines and then he puts stuff together and sends me a draft of the episode. Then I say what I want changed in an excel spreadsheet with time stamps and we go back and forth until it's done.

(5) Ancillary Stuff

Theme music! You probably want that! There are a couple of routes you can go here. You can get something from a music library--either totally free or for a relatively small fee. This is the most cost effective but will probably more generic and likely in use somewhere else if it's fully free.

You can write it yourself if that's a thing you're good at obviously. Or you can pay someone to do it which will probably cost you a couple hundred bucks but will be totally tailored and unique.

Cover Art! Also very important. People do judge things by their covers so I def rec getting a really dope one made. Canva is also your friend for like icons and stuff.

A Website! You'll want at least a basic one for like contact info, transcripts, stuff like that. I just use Carrd. You can get a pretty classic, website-like setup by using sections and you can link to a custom URL for only like 13 bucks a year which is great.

(6) Marketing

OK so, I'm gonna be real with you, this is the step I'm working on now so I'm still figuring it out!

Besides posting on social media and stuff, you also need to make a press kit which is basically a doc with all the info about you and the show. You can see mine on the ANA site.

I also have mood-board-y graphics I made on Canva to drop with each ep (or ahead of them. Haven’t quite decided). 

I will say, I’ve made friends in the community and a lot of them have hyped up my stuff without me even asking. Which isn’t me saying, “Make friends for what they can do for you.” Gross. What I’m saying is that just participating in the community can help.

Anyway, this is getting way too long. I hope this was at least somewhat helpful. Like I said, if you (or anyone else) has more specific questions, hit me up!

[kniveslovers]

Best Nakiri Knife that fits every taste, budget, and skills level

In a hurry? Our top pick is MAC Traditional Nakiri 6.5″. It’s a vegetable chopping machine and a crowd-pleaser that won’t break the bank.

Looking for the best nakiri knife? Overwhelmed with endless choices? You probably fell down the rabbit hole of no return. Worry not, I got you covered.

As an avid nakiri fan, I spent a couple of days researching 16 options and reading over 11 expert opinions. Then I baked you this guide to satisfy all the needs, budgets, tastes, and skill levels.

N.B. If you are still hesitant whether to buy a nakiri or not check our article here.

Our Pick

MAC Series 6 1/2-Inch

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Premium Pick

Shun Premier Nakiri

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Budget Pick

Kai Wasabi Black Nakiri

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Top 7 Best nakiri knives

MAC Series 6 1/2-Inch Japanese Vegetable Cleaver

Shun Premier Nakiri Knife, 5.5 TDM0742

Wusthof Classic 7-Inch Nakiri Knife

Kai Wasabi Black Nakiri Knife

Moritaka AS Long 180mm Nakiri Knife

Yoshihiro VG-10 16 Layer Hammered Damascus

Tojiro Shirogami ITK Nakiri 165mm

Best Nakiri Knife reviews

Here our list of best choices that meet all various needs.

1.MAC Series 6 1/2-Inch Japanese Vegetable Cleaver _best Nakiri knife for the money

Whether you are a home cook or a prep cook, this bad boy will give you the performance of a high-end nakiri without burning a hole in your pocket. It’s our favorite option under $100.

No wonder that Wirecutter’s top pick of chef knives has been a Mac product since 2013. MAC Traditional Nakiri 6.5″ is also the best-rated Nakiri knife by America’s Test Kitchen.

This bad boy is a Japan-made stamped knife. Its blade features a stain-resistant Molybdenum alloy steel with Rockwell 58°-59 and 15° blade angle.

Out of the box, this beast is sharp enough to shave hairs. It takes and holds its keen edge for a longer time. As a result, you will need less frequent sharpening.

To test this Nakiri knife, I used it to make mirepoix (soffritto). I’ve sliced, diced, and chopped onions, carrots, and celery. The Japanese vegetable knife glided through the stuff with that nice SHHHWICK sound like butter. It has even halved butternut squash with ease. It didn’t splinter or tear any of the ingredients. 

Yet, with starchy veggies like potatoes, the slices stuck to the knife. To be honest, it wasn’t a big concern to me, especially at this price point.

It’s super-light (5.4 ounces) making it best for those who suffer from arthritic hands. Besides, it is thin behind the edge with 2.5 mm spine thickness. It’s beveled on both sides ( double bevel). So it is well suited for right and left hands.

This veg cleaver has a great balance towards the tip with a light handle and a hidden tang. Yet, it lacks a bolster, but as long as you use the pinch grip, it isn’t a problem. 

In short, this thing is easy to handle and control.

The Mac Nakiri carries a 25-year warranty. However, it needs more TLC unless you will get numerous rust spots all over the blade. So, wash your knife manually with water and soap after using it. Put it under water after cutting acidic foods like citrus, and tomatoes. NO DISHWASHER. Don’t air dry, use your hands instead. Store it properly. It’s that simple!

Do this wisely and it will give you many years of happy use.

The fit & finish was my biggest pet peeve in that knife. There is a small gap between the blade and handle where food and water can find their way through. You need to squeeze a few drops of glue, or epoxy into this gap.

The spine was quite rough. So, you need to sand the back of the knife OTHERWISE you will end up with blisters.

It comes was a beautiful Pakkawood handle which will nestle comfortably at your hand

This beast outperformed a lot of my $300 knives. This exceptional performance at this price is a bargain.

Pros

Best value.

super-sharp with great edge retention.

Great performance

Easy to maneuver and control

Ergonomic ambidextrous handle.

25 years warranty

Cons

The Fit and finish is meh.

Needs extra attention to protect the blade against staining

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2.Shun Premier Nakiri Knife, 5.5 TDM0742- Best Shun

If you don’t want to fuss with the sharpening and the chore of maintaining high carbon steels, that’s the ticket. The knife is perfect for any home cook regardless of his skill level and is highly recommended for vegans and crossfitters.

Sharpness

The core steel of this baby is VG-MAX ( upgrade of VG-10). That means this knife takes and retains a nice edge. 

From Seki city in Japan, the blade comes incredibly sharp with a 61 HRC score. Shun also offers a free lifetime sharpening to your knife. You will only pay for shipping and processing. So, you don’t have to worry about the sharpening anymore.

Cutting food

I’m really surprised by the performance of this baby. The 5.5-inch agile blade drops through food like nothing. It will chop leafy lettuce, kale, and spinach all by itself without sending stuff flying off the cutting board. 

The standout feature of stainless steel is that you don’t get the rapid oxidation or reactivity for tomatoes and onions. It made the job of slicing tomatoes like a child’s play. It’s finely diced onions and minced herbs into precise even cuts.

The knife is laser-ish with 1.9 mm spine thickness. I haven’t had any wedging or tearing issues using this blade. 

The Shun Premier features a flat profile with a blunted tip. The rounded tip allows for slight rocking motion in case you like rock chopping. 

This little thing is well-balanced with more weight towards the blade for powerful cuts. The textured blade reduces the drag and helps against food sticking. 

Comfort

Shun Premier from kai is light weighing 5.9 ounces. It’s easy on the hands. It also features a curved bolster to get you a secure grip. 

Besides, the handle is shorter and smaller than the Classic version making it perfect for ladies and people with small hands. Yet, if you have larger hands, the Shun classic Nakiri is a perfect choice. 

Unlike the Shun Classic nakiri knife, the Premier’s handle is ambidextrous.

Durability

High carbon stainless steel is a breeze to maintain. Yet, VG-Max steel tends to be brittle and chippy. 

The good news here is that if you’re a bit mindful of your knife, it will live to tell the tale. The lifetime warranty from Shun is a plus.

Fit and Finish

This baby is an eye-candy.

The knife comes mirror-polished with 68 micro-layers of hand-hammered Damascus steel…

This Japanese veg cleaver boasts an oval sleek ebony pakkawood handle with a walnut finish.

Cost

Although I appreciate the work that was put into this baby, IMO, it is quite pricey.

Bonus tip: If you’re searching for a nice gift for those SPECIAL people in your life, this knife would make a nice gift. They won’t stop flaunting it ( in a good way). For gift bag size, the knife comes in a black box with 15”x3”x1 1/8” inches.

Pros

Keen nimble blade out of the box.

Great precision

Less food drag and friction

Comfortable grip ( for smaller hands)

Free sharpening service.

Lifetime warranty.

Beautiful to behold.

Cons

Delicate

Expensive

No sheath

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3.Wusthof Classic 7-Inch Nakiri Knife with Hollow Edge-Best Quality Nakiri

If you’re coming from German kitchen knives background with a heftier and robust feel, this knife will fit the bill. 

The pioneer woman, Ree Drummond, loves and recommends this western-style knife. That was enough to add it to our list. Yet, it proved it deserves this spot well.

The Wusthof Classic Nakiri Knife is made in Solingen, Germany from high carbon steel (x50 Cr Mo V15). The long straight blade steel was hardened to 58 HRC with Precision Edge Technology with a 10° blade angle. This technology yields a 20% sharper blade with 2x edge retention.

That said, this forged knife’s factory edge comes razor-sharp. However, this kitchen knife dulls faster in the practical experience.

Moving along to the performance,

I prepped French onion soup to exercise it. This workhorse is a great performer. I’ve diced onion effortlessly with clean precise cuts. It will make your chopping, dicing, and mincing so much easier.

The hollow edge makes small air pockets between the products and the blade to push the food off.  Combine that with The PETec and the tantalizing taper of cutting edge. The result is a no-stick blade with SUPERB food release.

The Japanese knife is well-balanced with a blunted tip. This allows you to utilize rock chopping motion.

These knives are on the beefier, heavier side of the nakiri knives. So, it showed some wedging during julienning carrots.

Comfort & Durability

Wusthof Classic Nakiri boasts a polyoxymethylene (POM), comfortable triple-riveted handle. It will give you plenty of knuckle room. POM will resist fading, cracking, and shrinkage.

The bolster (where the blade meets the handle) will secure your fingers. Besides, the limited lifetime warranty is a great bonus.

The knife will last long enough to pass it on as expected from a German-build quality.

The finish is in line with what’s expected from a reliable maker like Wusthof.

Pros

German high quality.

Razor-sharp.

Clean cuts 

No-stick blade

Rock chopping motion.

Easy to maneuver

Durable comfortable handle.

Cons

No sheath(Saya).

Needs frequent sharpenings.

It causes some wedging for firm vegetables.

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4.Kai Wasabi Black Nakiri Knife Review- Best Nakiri knife for beginners

A beginner home chef or culinary student who wants to test-drive the profile?

Want a hassle-free knife without worrying about sharpening or maintenance? At $50 budget or less? This is the best nakiri knife under 50.

When searching for a cheap knife, you might get a diamond in the rough or you might get a total dud.

Off-brand knife? Hell NO, KAI is the parent of Kershaw and Shun cutlery knives.

The Wasabi Black Nakiri knife features a high carbon stainless steel blade (Daido 1K6 ).

The factory edge is adequately sharp for home users. The edge retention is better than the softer German steel. That was a big surprise for me. 

You’ll feel the thinness ( tapering from 5 mm to 1.8 mm) and lightness ( 4.8 ounces) of the Japanese nakiri Knives. The nakiri vegetable knife is blade-heavy with a light handle.

The stamped knife has no problem with dicing, brunoising, julienning vegetables, and fruits.

Another big surprise, it minces delicate herbs without bruising and oxidation. Tbh, it did a little bruising to the basil. Still great!

Wasabi has a polypropylene ( hard plastic) matte-black handle. It is mixed with bamboo powder and an antibacterial agent to ensure you get clean food preparation. 

Being said, it is super-practical and comfortable to use with a Japanese shape. It’s perfect for the pinch grip. Yet, it may be a little bit slippery. So, watch out for your fingers.

The Kai knife might be a plain jane in terms of beauty. But who cares at this price point?

This nakiri vegetable knife could develop rust spots and a slightly tarnished appearance. Bar Keeper ( or any other rust eraser)  will be your friend to remove the rust if it happens. Again, you need to be careful with this knife to avoid that.

The knife is dirt-cheap and it will only cost you a fraction of what a high-end brand does. It’s a joy to have it on your counter.

Pros

Inexpensive

Speed demon

Noobies-friendly

Takes a razor-sharp edge.

Easy on the hands.

Suitable for lefties.

Cons

Develop rust spots

Caused some wedging and sticking issues.

Slippery handle.

Have a cheap feeling.

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5.Moritaka AS Long 180mm Nakiri Knife Review -Best carbon steel nakiri 

If you’re a pro cook who wants a high-end versatile carbon-steel nakiri knife, that’s a prep workhorse. It will save you a lot of time processing tons of vegetables on your prep list. 

It’s the LOOK and FEEL of a killer handmade blade thanks to the 27th generation blacksmith Tsunehiro Moritaka.

Am I exaggerating? Maybe. I’ll let you judge by yourself.

Sharpness

The highly-regarded Aogami Super steel has been aggressively heat-treated to 64-65°. So, ootb, Moritaka comes with a SCARY SHARP edge that will stay sharp for a crazy long time. 

Cutting foods

The forged nakiri knife with 7.1 (182 mm) inches is the longest and the flattest ( with no belly) between our picks. Combine that with its relative heft (6 ounces) and the distal taper ( from 3.1mm to 2.5m). Thus, it can cut long and thick vegetables with the precision of a scalpel.

Moritaka AS long nakiri is well-balanced. It’s blade-heavy. This translates to more control and comfort.

This veg nakiri knife passed all my knife tests. It sliced straight through the printer paper. It glides through starchy vegetables with no wedging or sticking making precise sheet-thin slices. 

Onions? Tofu? Carrots? Tomatoes? Or even butternut squash? Moritaka will slice, chop, dice, brunoise, and julienne every single piece of produce.

Comfort

The knife features a super-light wood octagonal handle. It feels great in your hands. It’s also suitable for both righties and lefties.

It has the widest blade among other contenders (60 mm). This will give you plenty of knuckle clearance with a non-abrasive spine. After one hour of prep, it stayed pretty comfortable as the first touch.

Durability

@maulanasadira Moritaka san makes great, very usable knives. They can rust a bit easy if you don't take care of them. Sooo take care of them

— Kevin Kent (@KnifeNerd) February 6, 2015

Both the core steel and clad are reactive. So it’s more susceptible to rust. As a result, it needs some level of care, especially with acidic vegetables.

So avoid hard and frozen foods, and dry it after every use, and you will be golden.

NB: The knife boasts stainless steel tang to enhance corrosion resistance. That’s the main reason for the color change right above the handle.

Fit & Finish

This vegetable cleaver is aesthetically surreal with a minimalistic mahogany-wood handle and Kurouchi rustic finish .

This finish differentiates this model from the Ishime line with a tsuchime finish. 

Besides, the blade and spine are smooth and straight with engraved elite Kanji. 

Cost

The Moritaka Nakiri knife is pretty reasonably priced for what it offers. It’s the best nakiri knife under 200 in the high carbon category.

Pros

A keen agile edge that will last longer.

Epic performance

Ambidextrous ergonomic handle.

Corrosion-resistant kurouchi finish.

Nice fit and finish.

Easy to resell.

Cons

All-reactive steel blade that needs more care.

Finish wears-off quickly.

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6.Yoshihiro VG-10 16 Layer Hammered Damascus Stainless Steel Nakiri Vegetable Knife (6.5” (165mm))_ Best Damascus Nakiri knife

If you’re an entry-level chef who works in a “turn and burn ” restaurant with heavy production and a lot of greens prep with no time for maintenance, this is yours.

Yoshihiro comes with VG_10 WELL- MADE core steel with 60 HRC. The high carbon stainless steel is peace of mind to maintain. You only need to hand-wash it and sharpen it with a good whetstone.

Sharp? OOTB, the blade edge is razor-sharp. This bad boy takes and holds a very fine edge for a long time compared to other VG-10 knives. That is what I meant by “well-made steel”.

It glides through every type of vegetable easier than a hot knife through butter. It’s a solid performer. No matter the vegetables are hard or crispy, seedless or leafy, it will do the job as it Should.

This forged knife has a nice almost neutral balance with full tang extending through the handle. This makes it easy to control and manage. Besides, it is thin behind the edge with a spine (2.45 mm). So you can use it for precision cuts.

The food releases smoothly, thanks to the hand-hammered finish, nice grind, and decent blade geometry.

The knife is substantial in a Good Way. The type of heft (6.6 ounces) that’ll allow you to cut dense-root and hard vegetables without having joint soreness.

The western-style handle nestles comfortably in your hand.

When I saw the mirror-Polished hand-hammered finish, I was afraid to use it.

That’s a totally handcrafted knife in Japan not mass-produced. Beware of running this finish on a honing rod. The 16-layers Damascus steel clad with the Mahogany wood handle adds more beauty.

It is not the kind of knives that “grew legs and walked away”. It’s a lifetime investment.

The only drawback is that the bolster has a rough and sharp finish. So you need to touch it with sandpaper if you use the pinch grip.

Oh, I forgot to say, it is a right-handed knife.

Pros

Handcrafted in Japan

Ready to use out of the box.

Superior performance.

Easy to use and maintain.

Aesthetically appealing.

Great durability.

Cons

Poorly finished bolster.

Not suitable for left-handed people.

Not full waterproof handle

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7.Tojiro Shirogami ITK Nakiri 165mm-best carbon steel nakiri under 50

This knife is a great introduction to Japanese carbon steel. You will learn how to care for and sharpen those types. I recommend it to any beginner knife hobbyist on a budget whether you’re a novice chef or a knife-obsessed home cook.

The blade edge, out of the box, is reasonably sharp. It might need a couple of strokes on the stones which is a nice opportunity to learn. Relax! It’s one of the easiest steels to sharpen.

Tojiro itk 165mm nakiri has White #2 (Shirogami) core. So, the knife takes a screaming edge and retains it well.

The vegetable knife has a 60 HRC rating which means it could chip easily if you mistreated it.

It is the lightest among our choices at 4.6 ounces, but also the thickest(3.7 mm at base). As the blade tapers to 1.5 mm at the middle. Then, the thickness is a blessing protecting your finger pad rather than a curse.

Itk has a neutral balance and a rounded tip making it more versatile. You can use pull or push chopping techniques.

It will chop, dice, and slice for daily salad making or gourmet vegetable prepping.

The blade construction consists of 3 layers. The core steel is coated with soft iron steel for protection. So we’ve got her an all-reactive blade with no stainless on it. This means that it can rust easily, especially with acidic vegetables.

As a result, you have to wipe it down frequently with a terry cloth and paper towel. Use Camellia oil to coat the blade between meal prep.

This nakiri knife has a dark finish (kurouchi) to give you the rustic traditional Japanese lovely look. Expect the blade to patina (color change). This will protect the knife from corrosion a little bit.

The virgin nakiri has gaps between handles that you need to fill up with glue. You’ll also need to smooth the spine with sandpaper.

It comes with a D-shaped wa handle (Japanese). It’s well-suited for righties ONLY.

The Knife is affordable and will offer more than you pay for with a price tag under $50.

Pros

Traditional Nakiri profile

High carbon steel

Easy to sharpen

Versatile

Lightweight and well-balanced

Great value for money.

Cons

All-reactive-steel with a high tendency for rusting.

Fragile.

Fit & Finish needs some improvements.

Right-handed only.

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Nakiri Cutting Technique

Commonly, the Nakiri Knife isn’t rocker as the chef knife nor an axe like a Chinese chef’s knife. Unlike the all-purpose Santoku blade, nakiri knives are specialized at chopping vegetables. 

Here are the major nakiri knife techniques that you need to learn.

#1.Push (thrust) cutting technique

You need to move the knife down and forward and keep it parallel to the cutting board. 

2. Up and down cutting technique (tap chopping)

As the name suggests, you need to move the knife in up and down motion tapping on the cut surface.

#3.Rock cutting technique

This motion relies basically on a knife with a belly. The reason I included is that many knife makers increase the roundness of the nakiri tip to make it more versatile. IMO, the nakiri isn’t meant to do that.

How to Choose the Best Japanese Vegetable Knives?

Looking for a good nakiri knife? Shopping for knives could be an intimidating process. However, it all comes down to your personal preference, your budget, and your skill level.

Here’s your nakiri knife buying guide to choose the optimal option for you.

#1.Cutting Food

Food release

This is the bread and butter of a knife. There’s a multitude of factors that define the knives performance such as:

Balance

Balance means where the center of the mass is concentrated. Think of it as if you put the knife on your finger, where the knife will settle.

Knives are either blade-heavy or neutral or handle-heavy. Always opt for a neutral or blade- heavy knife. Those are well-balanced knives. 

Additionally, blade-heavy items will give you more powerful cuts. Yet, you might sacrifice with some precision using those blades.

All our picks in the list are either neutral or blade-heavy. We excluded any handle-heavy knives as their performance was subpar.

Food Separation

Food release and Blade Geometry

The thinness of the blade and the grind ( the shape of the blade cross-section)  are the most significant over here. Knives with thick spines tend to have a V-shaped grind. As a result, they will cause wedging and tearing instead of slicing.

We found that the perfect blade width sets between 1.2 mm-3.5 mm at the middle of the spine.

Food Release

This means that the food doesn’t stick to the blade after chopping. The blade finish plays a big role here. The knife makers have overcome this problem by using one of two modifications.

Granton Edge (known also as hollow ground edge)

It’s a series of dimples or scallops along the edge. These indentations form small air pockets between the blade and the slice. Then, the air breaks down the food’s water content allowing the food to release smoothly.

Wusthof Classic 7-Inch is our favorite hollow edge nakiri knife.

Tsuchime ( hand-hammered finish) This finish reduces the friction and drag when slicing food. Besides, other types of finishes help in food release to some extent.

Tsuchime

Cutting edge Angle

A lower angle means more shaper blades. Although this allows for effortless chopping, it comes at the expense of durability.

The best nakiri kitchen knife generally falls between 8° to 16 degrees angle. 

I found that 12 degrees and above is decent for newbies. No worries, you can modify this angle during the sharpening process.

#2.Blade length & size

Size always matters:D

This rule also applies here. The standout feature of the nakiri knives is that you use the entire blade length. But what’s the best size of a nakiri knife?

Well, it depends.

A nakiri bocho knife lengths range from 5 to 7 inches in most cases. So, they fall into 2 categories.

Short nakiris ( 5 inches)

Short nakiris are perfect for the push-cutting technique as they’ll give you more control over the blade.

So, opt for a short nakiri knife if you have a kitchen with minimal space or you’re a beginner.

Long nakiris ( 7 inches) This type is well-suited for professional settings and tap choppers. The blade length will give you more mileage.

It’s also great if you want to cheat and use nakiri for everything.

#4.Sharpness

Sharpness hinges on the blade material (blade steel type). There are 2 basic types of steel based on the amount of carbon.

High carbon _ Knives with high carbon steel tend to be harder. As a result, they’re way sharper and have great edge retention. They’re also easy to sharpen.

But, REMEMBER, a knife with pure high carbon steel will rust and chip easily if you mistreat it.

Low Carbon _ Low amount of carbon will give you a softer tougher knife. This means that you can avoid the microchips issues. That also means it will dull faster and then you’ll need to sharpen it frequently.

Choose a knife with medium to high carbon stainless steel and you’ll get the best of both worlds.

Make sure that your chosen knife is sharp out of the box and ready to go. Sharp knives are capable of slicing straight-through paper. That’s how you can test them.

#5.Durability

Durability means how long your knife will live since its first use. It’s a blend of blade hardness and toughness as well as the handle material and the overall craftsmanship of the blade.

Steel Hardness

Steel hardness is measured by the Rockwell scale (HRC). Higher scores mean harder steel. High-quality hard steel( 64-65) is way more expensive than softer steel (53-55 ).

Look for Nakriris with above 58 HRC score and Bob’s your uncle.

Handle

The Pakkawood handle is my favorite. That’s because this wood/resin composite is waterproof, wear-resistant, and has less discoloration.

If the handle is not fully waterproof, it might contract or expand in various temperatures and humidity levels.

You might also choose between wa handle ( Japanese half tang handle) or western handle. It’s totally up to you here.

Wa handle

#6.Comfort

Comfort depends on many factors like the handle shape and finish as well as the total knife’s weight.

You should hold the handle and double-check that it’s smooth, not slippery, and comfortable to grip. Also, pay attention you have plenty of knuckle room during use.

Pinch-grip the knife and make sure that the spine or the bolster is curved or at least smooth. That will protect you from getting a callus on your index finger if you make a few big meals

Although nakiri knives are 40% lighter than other types with the same length, heavier blades will cause fatigue to your wrist in busy long shifts. So, that’s another metric to check.

I found that 4.5-6.7 ounces to be a happy medium between good heft needed for chopping and comfort needs.

#.7 Price

Please don’t skimp on your kitchen knives unless you’re planning to buy a beater knife. A decent nakiri will set you back from $80 to $300.

You can cap yourself at 50 bucks if you’re a noob who wants to play with the profile. Use the whole blade, learn push cutting, feel how much you like your first nakiri knife and THEN you can upgrade.

Our Verdict

Nakiri knives are indispensable for chopping delicate vegetables. It will tackle all your veggies mise-en-place cutting tasks if you are a professional chef. 

A stir-fry meal? A french soup? A salad for snacks? Easy as 1, 2, 3. For home users, it will speed up your meal prep time and turn your cooking chores into a joy. 

We found MAC Traditional Nakiri 6.5″ to be an excellent choice. It will serve you well without being a burden on your budget.

Our Pick

MAC Series 6 1/2-Inch Japanese Vegetable Cleaver

Check Latest Price on Amazon

,https://bladespower.com/?p=198

[santoteez]

Card and Cash - Wooyoung

Idol: Wooyoung of ATEEZ

Genre: Fluffffff

Warnings: Racy pickup lines I guess??

Word Count: 2.8k

Requested: Yes

Requested by Anon: “ i saw the other anon request an AU, so imma do one too! there is this super cute video of wooyoung working in a cafe for atiny and saying “card and cash?” so i thought maybe you could do this AU with wooyoung🥺 "You're a barista at a cafe I frequent and you think your being smooth with the coffee themed pick up lines you write on my cup, but they're just cheesy and I'm calling you out on it just to get your number, now."”

“$4.95. Name?” Wooyoung uttered, bored. He was halfway done with his shift, and he couldn’t have been in more of a rush for it to end. He seemed to be drowning in a sea of macchiatos and cold brews. And it wasn’t like the customers were any more pleasant. When it wasn’t someone complaining or being difficult, it was a pesky high schooler flirting and gushing at the silver-haired boy. He was flattered, but after a while, he strongly wished for them to leave. He sighed, counting his register for the 40th time that day, wishing for the coffee shop to magically close.

That is, until she walked in.

Her class finished early, so she decided to stop in for a drink on her way home. She had a long day on campus, dealing with professors and deadlines; she needed an escape. She walked right up to Wooyoung with a smile.

“Hi! Can I get a large iced caramel latte with extra whip?”

Wooyoung froze for longer than societally normal. He’d never seen the girl around before, but her beauty left him at a loss for words.

“Uh, y-yes. Um, c-card and c-cash?” He blurted out before realizing his mistake. He mentally cursed himself for stuttering like a bumbling idiot.

She laughed, something she hadn’t gotten a chance to do all day. She smiled at Wooyoung, who was at awe of the melodic sound of her laughter.

“Cash, please. I left my card at home. I was in such a rush for class. I couldn’t even buy breakfast.”

“I h-hate when t-that happens. M-maybe you should get a pastry with your drink?” Wooyoung suggested.

“Huh. I didn’t even think of that. How bout one of those glazed doughnuts?” She responded.

He nodded, feeling a little better from his stuttering fit. “That’s my favorite, actually. Can I get your name?”

“Y/N.” She said, handing him her cash.

‘Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.’ Wooyoung thought as he counted..

“Here you go. San should be making your order shortly-” Wooyoung stopped talking as he turned around to hand the order receipt to no one. “Or not. That rat must’ve disappeared on me again. Guess I’ll be making your drink then.”

He reached for the cup while her drink blended, eyeing the sharpie on the counter. ‘Should I? Would that be creepy?’ He thought to himself as he scribbled her name onto the cup. He turned to look at her, watched as she scrolled idly on her phone. ‘I’m gonna do it.’ He decided, scribbling extra words onto her cup. He poured her drink in, swirling the whipped cream on top before securing the lid.

“Iced caramel latte for Y/N!” He called out, placing her drink down at the pick-up station along with a straw.

“Thank you!” She smiled brightly.

“No problem, enjoy,” Wooyoung said, desperately trying to hide his blush. He watched as she zoomed out the shop, crossing the street. He mentally thanked the heavens she didn’t read her cup while she was in the store; he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to handle whatever her reaction would be.

Wooyoung’s eyes narrowed as San strolled out of the backroom. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Watching you trip over your own tongue at that customer that just left.” He answered shamelessly.

“You were supposed to make the drink, not eavesdrop from the back.”

The black and silver-haired boy shrugged. “I’m the manager, I can get away with it. Plus, you were right there and there wasn’t a line. It worked out.”

Wooyoung sighed, washing the utensils and setting them to dry. “Sometimes I think you’re just as dumb as that gray patch on your head.”

“What was that? I can’t hear you over the fact that you need this job and I shouldn’t fire you.”

“Firing me would mean I no longer have to work with Anna from Frozen.”

“Stop acting like you don’t love me,” San said, his smile showing his dimples.

“I’m not acting. I don’t love you.” Wooyoung rolled his eyes but smiled back nonetheless.

-

-

Y/N sighed as she walked into her apartment, setting her drink down on the table. It was a good thing she bought that doughnut from the coffee shop; she hadn’t realized how hungry she was.

“Y/N, is that you?” Alex, her roommate, called from down the hall.

“Yeah, it’s me.” She answered, shrugging off her jacket, leaving her in just her crop top. Thank God it’s Friday. I was getting sick of that place.”

“That bad, huh?” Alex asked, sitting down at the table.

“Bad isn’t the word. Try impossible.” Y/N said from the kitchen, making a quick sandwich. She didn’t want to cook just yet.

“Looks like you had one thing go right, though,” Alex said.

“What are you talking about?” Y/N asked, confused.

“Whoever was at the store you stopped at must like you. They wrote you a note.” She said, pointing to the cup.

Y/N grabbed the cup, surprised at how she had not noticed the entire way home. Just underneath her name, in Wooyoung’s loopy handwriting:

I like you a latte.

 Y/N smiled, blushing at the thought of Wooyoung writing some cheesy pickup line on her cup.

“You’re blushing. You must like him.” Alex poked her roommate in the arm.

Y/N swatted her away. “Relax. I met him today.”

“So when are you going back?”

“Should I?”

“Uh, yes. You gotta let him know you saw the pickup line! And you definitely have to find out if it was a one-time thing. Go tomorrow.”

“Doesn’t tomorrow seem a little desperate?”

Alex shrugged. “It’s not like you’re the one writing pickup lines.”

Following Alex’s advice, Y/N headed back to the shop in hopes Wooyoung would be there. And sure enough, there he was, listening to the group of high school girls with a look of boredom.

“What do you think I should order, Wooyoung? I was thinking a mocha Frappuccino with chocolate whipped cream, but would that be too many calories? I should stick to regular whipped cream, right? I’m sure you’d know. You look like you work out.” The girl blabbered on.

“No idea, ma’am, but please make it quick. You’re holding up the line.”

The girl turned around to see Y/N in line, glowering at the much older girl.

“Well, I mean, there isn’t much of a line, right? Just some girl with a shirt that way too short, don’t you think?”

“I-” Y/N scoffed, visibly shocked, glancing down at her crop top. It wasn’t even that revealing!

“Easy for you to say. You’re wearing a uniform. Who’s to say you don’t dress like that too?” Wooyoung said, defending Y/N.

“Maybe we can meet outside of here and you can find out?” The girl pressed.

The ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ door swung open to reveal an annoyed San.

“Ladies, I hate to intrude on the fun, but as Wooyoung said, you are holding up the line. Since you’re indecisive, why don’t you slide over this way and decide while I open the register? Once it’s open, I can take care of you.”

The girls groaned, all sliding over except the most persistent one. “Why do we always have to move over?”

“May I remind you, Cassidy, I was hearing you from back there for the past ten minutes. To be nice, I lingered back there thinking you would eventually wrap it up. But you haven’t, and it’s just me and Wooyoung here, and you’re making us lose money. Also, don’t forget I have the power to ban you from the store. This is your first time here in, what, five months? I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be shunned again. Now, a mocha Frappuccino with chocolate whipped cream, was it?” San said, a smile plastered on his face.

The girl huffed in frustration, but moved nonetheless, freeing Wooyoung from her verbal suffocation.

“Why do you give this other barista a hard time, Cass? He’s hot, too.” One girl asked.

“Yeah, but this one has a girlfriend.” Cassidy rolled her eyes, causing San to chuckle from the drink station, shaking his head.

Y/N walked up to the counter, smiling shyly at the light-colored haired boy. “Seems like you’re quite the hit around here.”

Wooyoung chuckled, pretending to focus on something on his screen. “Something like that.” He glanced at her checkered, cropped button-up, which was tied into a messy bow at the end. “And your shirt is just fine, by the way.”

“Why thank you, I like it a latte.” Y/N smirked.

Wooyoung glanced at her, a blush visible on his cheeks, but said nothing. “Do you want the same as last time, or are you feeling adventurous?”

“Well, what would an adventurous drink be?”

He shrugged. “Lots of our drinks are, but one of the tamer ones is the Marshmallow Latte. It’s a vanilla latte with caramel and hazelnut and a roasted marshmallow on top.”

“You’re trying to give me coffee with a ginormous marshmallow on top?” Y/N asked incredulously.

Wooyoung looked off into the distance, seeming to ponder the question. “Well, yeah.”

Y/N sighed. “Alright, I’ll give it a try. If it’s gross I want my money back.”

“If you don’t like it, I’ll pay you back from my own pocket,” Wooyoung said confidently.

Y/N paid and moved out of line while Wooyoung moved to make her drink.

“You offered her the Marshmallow Latte? I thought you hated making those things. You always complain about roasting the marshmallows.” San said, surprised.

Wooyoung huffed. “You’re very nosey, you know.”

“I like to think of it as observant.”

Wooyoung walked away from the older boy, fetching the kitchen torch. He roasted the marshmallow, careful not to torch the cup. He had already written on it, after all.

“Marshmallow Latte for Y/N!” He shouted, setting the cup down. “Go head, try it. I’ll go get my wallet right now.” He challenged.

Y/N took a sip, her eyebrows raising in surprise. The caramel and hazelnut complemented each other deliciously but wasn’t overpoweringly sweet. Which was good, because that’s where the marshmallow came in.

“Well?” Wooyoung smirked.

“Damn. That’s good.” Y/N admitted defeat.

“Told you. I gotta get back to the register. See you, Y/N.” He waved.

Y/N was walking out, almost forgetting the motive of her visit. She peered down at her cup, and sure enough, there it was.

Can you pass the coffee and sugar? You just made me cream my pants.

Y/N covered her mouth, stifling a laugh. She turned back to the platinum-haired boy, who was helping another customer. He met her gaze, winking before closing the cash register.

The cycle repeated over the course of a month. Y/N walked in, Wooyoung would push her to try a drink and write a cheesy line on the cup.

Hey, they call me coffee cause I grind so fine

Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so caramel me maybe?

Hey girl, are you a chai because I’d like to get dirty.

I can feel something brewing between the two of us.

I have no idea how you can look so great pre-coffee.

She had grown a collection in her tiny room. It was now Thanksgiving break. Y/N’s parents were out seeing the world now that she had moved out, so there was nowhere for her to go this year. She lounged in bed, twirling the latest addition to her collection.

I'm soy into you.

The shop was crazy busy that day, with students from all nearby schools cramming and getting their fix. When Y/N walked in, she was sure she wouldn’t get a pickup line. It was too hectic. Wooyoung was tapping the screen at the speed of light while San balanced making several drinks at once.

Y/N got on line and quickly ordered, with Wooyoung giving her a quick smile before taking the next customer.  She was so preoccupied with moving through the crowd, she didn’t notice Wooyoung tossing San a certain cup.

It was short and sweet, written hastily. It was then that Y/N decided she had to be bold. She knew he was planning to take off and see his family for the holiday, and she wanted to confront him before he left. Who knows what can happen when he leaves? He could realize he didn’t really like her, or find someone else who acted quicker…

Y/N jumped up from bed, getting ready. She was wearing a cropped tank top and sweats, so she threw on a long denim jacket and sneakers, heading out the room.

Alex was in the living room, channel surfing. “Where you flying off to?” She asked.

“I’m gonna tell him.”

“Woah, really? Wooyoung?”

“Yup.” Y/n grabbed her keys.

“Well, shit, wait for me! I can’t miss this!” Alex said, grabbing her anorak from off the coat rack.

Y/N and Alex got off the cab she insisted on hailing. She wanted to get there while her adrenaline was still on a high. She swung the entrance door open, storming in with Alex right on her tail.

It looked like a slow day, with San on the outer part of the counter, leaning against the display, eating popcorn and Wooyoung idly wiping the dishes.

“Wooyoung!” Y/N said, though it came out more like a gasp.

He turned around, smiling when he saw who it was. “Y/N! Thank God, for a second I thought it was Cass-”

“I like you.”

Silence filled the quaint shop. Even San stopped chewing momentarily, staring at the pair.

He handed the bowl to Alex. “Want some?” He asked, resuming his chewing. Alex laughed, grabbing from the bowl.

“W-wait, really?” Wooyoung asked, his stutter returning. “Are you sure you wanna take a chance on some random weirdo barista?” He laughed nervously.

“Well, when you put it like that, I don’t know. You know what I do know? You're a barista at a cafe I frequent and you think you’re being smooth with the coffee themed pickup lines you write on my cup, but they're just cheesy and I'm calling you out on it just to get your number, now.”

Wooyoung smiled, blushing furiously. “Is that so?”

Y/N nodded. “And I had to tell you before you ran off back home and wrote on another girl’s cup.”

Wooyoung laughed heartily. “Bold and jealous. I can dig it.” He nodded. “Well, did you come here all this way to tell me that or do you want a drink?”

“Actually,” San piped up, the pair momentarily forgetting they weren’t alone. “It’s been a slow day, why don’t we close up and do something fun? Like a double date or something?”

The words ‘double date’ caused Wooyoung and Y/N to turn suddenly, realizing Alex was snuggled up under San’s arm.

“WAIT. That’s your-” Y/N and Wooyoung said at the same time.

“So You knew who Y/N was this entire time, and you didn’t tell me?” Wooyoung narrowed his eyes.

“You never asked. And honestly, it was a lot more interesting this way.” San shrugged.

“Alexandria Watkins you shady lady.” Y/N shook her head.

“Hey! You could’ve been talking about a different Wooyoung, I didn’t know!”

“Oh right, because you’ll find a ton of Wooyoungs in the middle of New York City.” Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Anyways.” San interrupted. “Let me just lock up and we can spend the afternoon together, cool?” He said, kissing Alex’s forehead and heading to the back.

“I’m gonna use the bathroom really quick, we rushed over here so suddenly,” Alex said, disappearing too.

As soon as she was out of sight, Y/N was pulled into Wooyoung, who pressed his lips to hers in a chaste liplock.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that.” He said, caressing her cheek.

“And now, you get to do it whenever you want.”

“Don’t tempt me, we can run out on those two right now.”

Suddenly, there was a sudden darkness from Wooyoung’s jacket being thrown over them.

“Let her breathe, geez! She JUST said yes to your creepy self.” San said, locking the registers. “Let’s go.”

They all walked out of the shop, San locking up and flipping the ‘open’ sign to the ‘gone Brewin!’ side.

“Alright, we’re good to go. Are you two seriously wearing just those little shirts and light jackets? It’s November.”

The girls shrugged.

San shook his head, heading to the edge of the street. He lifted his arm in the arm, shouting “Taxi!” A bright yellow vehicle pulled up immediately and he opened the door, letting the girls in, while Wooyoung got in from the other side. The four squeezed into the backseat.

“The Galleria, please,” San said, double-checking he had enough cash for the trip.

Wooyoung fished his phone out of his pocket, texting the family group chat.

“I’ll be home for Christmas, everyone. See you then!”

“Everything alright, son?” His mother replied.

“Everything’s fine.” He answered as Y/N slid her hand in his. He looked up at her, deep in conversation with Alex and San.

 “I met a girl.”

Thanks, Anon!

[andoqin]

K-Dramas of 2020

Well, like the general mood of 2020, the dramas this year were uh, certainly an adventure. I was going to put all the dramas I watched this year here, but uh. This turned out longer than expected so I’ll guess I’ll separate K-dramas at the very least.

Putting this behind a cut because Long.

Completed:

365: Repeat the year: I barely remember this one, but I gave it 8/10 on MDL, maybe I should lower that, because honestly all I remember are the time-travel meet up set and the main actors.

CHIP-IN: A short who-dunnit, which has interesting characters, although the show was very wise to be capped at 8 Episodes, because the “mystery” was pretty predictable and also starting to wear thin. Still, the younger cast was stellar and I hope we get to see them in more.

Diary of a Prosecutor: The cases in this drama were actually legit interesting to me and I found the politicking surprisingly not bad. People were flawed in very human ways, but the drama gave us enough time with our main characters to enjoy getting to know all of them.

Do you like Brahms: Contender for worst drama of the year for me, good lord I hated the way this tanked its story line, its characters and the romance. Is it believable that the main characters might act this way? ... Debatable. Is it entertaining to watch? Hell fucking no. Don’t watch this one, unless you like stupid misunderstandings and non communication. 

Extracurricular: Short action-y show on Netflix that makes me hopeful for what Sweet Home might be. 

Flower of Evil: Lee Jun Ki gets to suffer prettily. That is All. Okay Moon Chae Won and LJK were great together, but it got almost makjang-y by the end. 

Hospital Playlist: Delightful Slice of Life Medical show, that despite its delightfulness never quite got me. Very enjoyable and at 12 episodes it doesn’t overstay its welcome, but it didn’t stay with me either. 

Hot Stove League: Pretty entertaining and as a drama about sports management seems reasonably accurate? (Not that I’d know of course). 

Hyena: Flawed as heck in some aspects (the lawyer-plotting got lulzy and boring at the same time), but oh my god some of the HOTTEST chemistry this way from sunday. Joo Ji Hoon and Kim Hye Soo just crackled anytime they were on screen together and Joo Ji Hoon as the high powered lawyer who falls head over heels in love with KHS’s character who is more reluctant to act on those feelings is just *chefs kiss*. Also didn’t suffer the Dreaded Plot Denuement of 2020 (DPD2020). Sure the latter half wasn’t as tight as the beginning, but it stuck the landing and that’s all that matters. 

Into the Ring: Weird camera angles and sometimes overly sharp edited shots aside, this had a solid romance, great characters, great romance and almost made me want to get into community politics lmao. 

It’s Okay Not To Be Okay (Psycho But It’s Okay): The first half of this show is just *amazing*, the way the scenes transition is pretty much film-like and the main character trio is stunningly well acted. Sadly the story with the mom is resolved in the weirdest fucking way, but the drama decides to do the smart thing and just forget about it once that’s done and the finale made me cry ;_;. 

Itaewon Class: Sadly also suffered the DPD2020. I was really into the first half, loved the way the characters found support in each other, plus: a main trans character! Handled really well! Also iconic OST. I was one of the few people who was into the romance of the main couple, but the way the latter half of the plot developed was just completely nonsensical and felt like the writer was just trying to tie off the lose ends as much as possible. 

Kingdom Season 2: The first season was stellar and this continues the trend! Although it doesn’t quite reach the highs of the first season I am still so looking forward to season 3! More Joseon zombies please!

Money Game: I... apparently watched this, and looking at the logo there is some vague feeling of “Yeah this is familiar”. But nothing else...

Mr. Heart: Okay-ish BL drama that has it’s cute moments but nothing that made me go “Ooooh”. I am glad SK is getting in on this trend though!

My Holo Love: So all of those Robot/AI shows that came before that I’ve seen and had the premise of “Oh no, I’ve fallen for a ROBOT” when it either turned out their object of affection was either human or actually a robot, but their human counterpart was so shitty that no sane person would like them worked pretty well for me. This one didn’t. From what I remember the heroine does very much fall for the holographic version of this guy, but the human version is *different* and yet whoops the main couple is still human/human. Granted you can’t really do romantic kiss scenes between a girl and nothing, but the switch-over felt abrupt and the way our main lady just transfers her affections to the dude never sat right to me. 

Mystic Pop Up Bar: Quite a few dramas this year went with 12 eps, and were all the better for it. Hwang Jung Eum is incredibly hit or miss with me (mostly it’s miss honestly), but in this one she’s used really well and I liked the way the premise was used!

Private Lives: I recently wrote a longer post about this, but honestly another victim of terrible writing and maybe DPD2020. 

Stranger 2: Love! Not as much as Season 1, but man this writer is *so* good at writing smart and interesting plots and looking at things from many different angles!

Tale of the Nine Tailed: Flawed but man do I ever love the OTP. Like really really love it. Plus it stuck the landing for me in a way few dramas did in recent months.

The School Nurse Files: So weird. So fucking weird. And yet, so very entertaining. Thanks to its short length ( I think) some plot threads felt very much unceremoniously dropped, but it has a canon lesbian couple!

The World of the Married: Makjang to the Nth degree, got kind of exhausting by the end, but Kim Hee Ae is so good. 

Train: Yoon Shi Yoon gets to suffer prettily! 

When the Weather is Fine: Kinda mellow and sweet and I wish I could live like the main character does (just have a bookshop in the middle of nowhere and still no money issues??? The Dream) but for that also not super memorable. 

Where Your Eyes Linger: SK’s first major Webdrama I believe? Cute and as a foray into this genre not bad, but I hope this is just a taste of things to come.

Dropped:

Hi Bye, Mama: So many people loved this, I couldn’t get over the basic premise and the way my brain tried to tie the logic in this together made my head hurt.  The King: Eternal Monarch: Maybe KES dramas just aren’t for me, I didn’t like the plot or the main couple. Woo Do Hwan and Kim Kyung Nam were amazing though and please please I beg both of you do more stuff. 

18 Again: Nope. Lee Do Hyun is pretty, but the setup drove me bonkers and I pretty much liked no one. 

Zombie Detective: Yikes no thank you. Complete mismatch of tones I wanted and the drama gave me. 

Romantic Teacher Dr. Kim 2: Zzzzzzzzz. I found the first one mildly entertaining at least but this one just made me fall asleep immediately. 

Black Dog: Yeah I watched like 2 Episodes of this and lost interest. 

Search: I’ve watched like 6 eps and I know there’s zombies, but I couldn’t tell you much more tbh.

Start-Up: I watched 2 episodes in the beginning, didn’t think I’d want to live watch this and then just popcorned the tag until it got insufferable with the ship wars and this dropped out of my watch list pretty immediately.

Record of Youth: Pretty much the same deal as with Start-Up only in this case there wasn’t so much a shipwar as the tag showing me that this drama would *not* be my bag at all. 

Still Watching: 

Kairos: Hmmmm timey-wimey stuff. The FL is this close to losing me though. The fact I thought it plausible that she would murder someone just based on a TEXT from someone else says it all. (She didn’t, thank god, and seems to have found a few of her lost braincells, but by god she was frustrating). 

Birthcare Center: I like what it’s trying to say and the main character and her husband are very cute, but a lot of the side characters don’t really interest me. It’s only an 8 ep drama, so I might finish this.

The Spies Who Loved Me: Honestly I’m this close to dropping it. Only my intense love for Yoo In Na and fondness for Eric are keeping me going. But she might not end up with Eric and I’m gonna be mad. Honestly if they just went OT3 I’d be really cool with this, but despite the small advancements in dramaland, they aint ready for that yet. 

Lies of Lies: I watched 2 eps and I might continue (the premise seems hilariously makjang and sometimes I’m into that, but it’s *very* much on the backburner)

The Uncanny Counter: Delightful Webtoon vibe, with some great visuals and actually nice action. I’ve only seen 2 eps so far but at least they don’t want to make me poke my eyes out or make me fall asleep. Let’s hope it avoids the DPD2020 plague. 

[rainbowwhimsyart]

Faedom Week Day One : Alternate Universe

Okay, here it is. A modern au (well, the rough outline for one anyway, lol. Didn't get a chance to write it out fully, but here's a general summary.)

This is for the 2019 Faedom challenge week, which is all about creating fanworks for @not-poignant 's Faetales verse.

Okay, so imagine that modern AU Augus owns a cafe. They make vegan fusion dishes. It's called Balance. Eran is the head chef, specializes in cooking directly over live flame and charcoal in an open - air cooking pit outside. The fact that they even were able to get the licenses for that kind of set up is suspicious. Other business owners in the area joke that Augus must have used some kind of mind- control powers to have gotten that zoning pushed through. 

Mosk is homeless and squatting in the area. He meets Mikkel, who is doing homeless outreach for the local community mental health. Mikkel can get him a job, and a bed at one of the local shelters. Mosk doesn't want to stay at the shelter, he's got a system. Gym membership, laundromats for washing clothes, and if he does some sex work, it's nobody's business but his. 

Mikkel reminds him that winter will be here soon, and if he works a steady job and saves enough, Mikkel says he can get him actual housing. Mikkel knows some people who are looking for a full time barrista/cashier. Best part? Mosk will eat for free while he's on shift. 

Mosk reluctantly agrees. Meets at Balance, Mikkel introduces him to Augus, the owner. Augus talks to him for 5 minutes and is like, yeah fine. He can work for a trial period, we'll see how it goes. $15 an hour plus tips during the trial period, with a raise of he gets hired permanently, which is wildly generous for a barista. Mosk just stares at Augus, wondering if he's going to be expected to blow him for the job. 

It turns out that Augus doesn't spend a ton of time on site, he spends most of his time cultivating and caring for the gardens and grounds of the historical manor his husband inherited, that they now rent out for events. 

Augus introduces him to Julvia, the manager of the cafe, and then leaves. She shows him how the shop runs, starts training him a little bit, and has him jump on register then and there. Mosk is surprised that they already trust him with the money. But she does, and even stranger, she is kind to him. She doesn't seem to care that he's awkward and abrupt with the customers. Doesn't seem to care that his clothes are worn and a little tattered, that his sneakers have holes in them.

 She tells him that Mosk will meet Eran, the head chef, soon. He's on vacation visiting his family, but he should be back in a week or so.

 In the meantime, an easygoing and extroverted man named Ash is covering for Eran. Apparently he steps in sometimes to help with large catering orders, and covers for Eran sometimes.  At the end of shift, Ash brings up an opportunity for Mosk to make some extra money on the side. Mosk immediately assumes that he means sex, and since Ash isn't unattractive at all and doesn't seem inclined to damage him, Mosk decides that he could use the extra money, and goes for it. It's a painfully  awkward moment. 

Ash clarifies that there are frequently events that Balance caters at the manor, and they always need servers.  If he's interested, he should ask Julvia to put him in touch with Ash, who is apparently August's brother and the hospitality manager of the Manor.

Mosk is mortified but Ash handles it pretty gracefully and even winks at Mosk before he leaves. 

Mosk settles in, and is cautiously hopeful that he might be able to get his own place, to grow a new life there. He's saving his money, keeps it on him at all times, changes out small bills for larger bills and keeps them tucked in his shoes. 

Eran comes back and Mosk finally gets to meet him. Of course he's gorgeous. Of course he's a little bit of a hipster and his ass looks amazing in those jeans, the jerk. Of course he wears eyeliner (though Mosk thinks, resentfully, that his eyes do look beautiful to a nearly otherworldly degree when smudged with black and gold) . 

Even worse, Eran is constantly condescending to him. I mean, isn't it obvious that's what he's doing whenever he is so persistently kind to Mosk? Why else would he be so nice? I mean, the nerve, always trying to feed him and asking him how his day is going and flirting with him. It has to be some kind of joke.

Mosk is flustered and, remembering his awkward encounter with Ash (and assuming Ash passed the story along), is caustic and rude back. Eran's food is 'hippy new age bullshit', Mosk obviously hates it (even though he eats every bite), and Eran can fuck off with trying to feed him that 'rich-bitch burnt grass garbage'.

Eran just laughs it off and keeps making him new dishes, until he finds a few that Mosk 'Doesn't hate, I guess'. It must be a coincidence when those dishes become regular offerings on the menu, allowing Mosk to eat them daily when he's at work. 

One day, walking back to where he is squatting, Mosk is jumped and beaten up really badly. They rob him, beat him, and even take his shoes, which means his money is gone. He is found and taken to the hospital, and when they need to contact someone, Mosk gives them Mikkel's number.  Mosk's leg has been broken, and several of his fingers. 

Unbeknownst to Mosk, Mikkel can't come get him, he's out of town. He calls Augus, who is in the middle of an event at the manor. Ash is there too, and he can't leave either, so he sends Eran. 

Eran goes to pick up Mosk at the hospital, Mosk argues. The hospital won't release him without a ride. Mosk finally agrees just so he can get out of there. The hospital gives him crutches which he can't fully use because of his fingers. 

Eran takes him to go get his prescriptions filled, and then asks him where to drop him off. Mosk tries to get him to let him out several blocks away, but Eran insists that Mosk let him help him inside. Mosk gets angry and finally agrees, directs Eran to building he's squatting at. 

Eran is horrified at the conditions Mosk has been living in, tells him that he's not staying there. Mosk is too tired to argue. They grab Mosk's backpack and Eran takes him back to his house. 

Mosk doesn't want to stay there, only agrees to stay until he's well enough to leave on his own. Eran doesn't agree but doesn't disagree (plans on convincing Mosk to stay). 

Eran puts Mosk up in his guest room. Mosk is terrified that he's going to lose his job. Admits that he's lost his entire savings when he got jumped. Eran assures him that he'll still have a job. 

Augus and Ash come by the next day, and promise that he's not going to lose his job. In fact, in the meantime, Augus has a bunch of electronic files and paperwork that need to be organized, and Mosk can do that remotely and be relatively stationary, yes? He says that, factoring in the tips Mosk would have been making, that would have been roughly $20 an hour, so that's what Augus will pay him. Mosk is stunned. Augus leaves him a potted plant. Ash leaves him his old Nintendo DS.

Cue 'and they were roommates!' / sick fic bits, with Mosk being the WORST patient ever. Of course, Eran and Mosk start slowly bonding despite Mosk's resistance. Eran gets a little black cat, says it's for him but really it's for Mosk. Mosk pretends to hate it but secretly (and then not so secretly) loves it more than anything. Mosk names him Raven, and Eran jokes that Mosk treats him like a little prince. They start calling him The Raven Prince. Eran gets strangely jealous that Mosk loves on the cat so much, wishes that Mosk would pet HIM like that. 

When Mosk starts getting a little more mobile, he starts cleaning the apartment, doing Eran's laundry, making his bed in the morning, etc. Eran tries to tell him that he doesn't have to do that, but Mosk seems ready to bolt otherwise, so Eran just starts praising him for it instead. Eran notices how much Mosk loves the plant that Augus brought him, starts bringing him home little succulents and plants. Mosk is flustered but accepts the plants, claiming that 'he'll take care of them for Eran'. Mosk asks Eran to teach him how to cook. Eran does. It's super cute. 

Eventually, Mosk goes back to working at the cafe, and starts talking about moving out. Eran tells him that "The Raven Prince would be so sad if you left, he would be heartbroken." (Suuuure, Eran. TRP would be the one who is  heartbroken. Suure.)

 Mosk decides to stay a little longer, because who would do Eran's laundry for him if he wasn't there? Who would make sure that Eran's bed was perfectly made? Eran surely wouldn't do it for himself, considering the state of his apartment before Mosk came. Mosk is obviously doing him a favor by staying. 

One day at work, one of his old clients shows up and gives him a hard time, tells Mosk he's going to show up at closing and fuck him in the alleyway out back. Mosk walks out without telling anyone, just straight up leaves without telling anyone. It is not great at the cafe, and Augus ends up having to come in and run the cash register. He is NOT happy. He asks Eran what happened, Eran has no idea. 

Mosk doesn't come home that night, and Eran goes looking for him. Finds him back outside of where he was squatting before, but now that building has been knocked down and construction has started on new overpriced condos (Built by Davix and Olphix Associates, who seem to be buying up A LOT of property in the area. But that's neither here nor there). Mosk is pretty dissociated, but when Eran shows up, he's snaps back enough to be crushingly embarrasses and ashamed at what happened, and defensively lashes out at Eran, like is genuinely mean,and says some truly horrible things to Eran. Eran ends up leaving. Mosk doesn't come back to work. Doesn't go back to Eran's house. Just disappears. Eran lies to himself and says it's fine. It's not fine.

One day the next week, Mikkel comes in and asks where Mosk is. Eran tells him his version of the events as he knows them (which may be just a tad bit colored by his own hurt feelings). Mikkel demands to see the footage (of course there are security cameras. Augus's husband INSISTED on it. ) of what happened before Mosk left. He calls them all idiots for not checking it sooner. 

Now they have to find Mosk, but he's not at any of his old haunts. Eventually Mikkel tracks him down to a very shady pay-by-the-week motel. He's almost out of his savings. He's been planning on going back to sex work. Mikkel tells him he could do that, or he could have his old job back. They watched the footage. They know he was threatened. 

Mosk is humiliated, because now everyone knows about his history. Eventually Mikkel talks him into going back to the cafe. Mosk ignores Eran to the best of his ability. Eran is apologetic and tries to convince Mosk to 'come home'. He refuses. 

Eventually Eran gets him to at least come over and visit with TRP. He cooks Mosk his favorite meal. He kisses Mosk for the first time. Mosk is the physical embodiment of Gay Panic, but he doesn't run. Eran has FEELINGS. 

They start dating, though Mosk refuses to call Eran his boyfriend. Eran keeps trying to convince him to move back in, but Mosk refuses. Eran is worried about Mosk's independence, about his lack of protection, but he has to let Mosk do what he's going to do. 

When Eran's family has a disaster (plane crash in Alaska, multiple family members killed), Mosk steps in and comes to take care of him. Eran is in a deep depression, is grieving. Mosk is strangely good at holding space for Eran. Eran begs him to stay. Mosk agrees, but won't share a room with Eran. 

Eran slowly comes out of the deepest part of his depression, and he and Mosk grow even closer. Mosk gets another raise at the cafe. Eran goes back to work. 

Cue some major drama with Davix & Olphix Associates trying to buy up Balance. It looks like all of their jobs are in jeopardy due to some kind of legal loophole.  It looks like Balance may have to close its doors forever. 

But wait! Mosk remembers some important piece of paperwork that he filed for Augus, and it's the critical piece of information that saves the day! Davix and Olphix give up (for now), and their jobs are safe. Eran tells Mosk that he loves him. Mosk…doesn't run away. Eran thinks that is enough.

Time skip, several months in the future. It's Christmas time, and today, the cafe is closed to customers, because Augus and Gwyn are throwing the staff a holiday party. 

They have karaoke. Everyone gets tipsy, including Mosk. Mosk gets up on the karaoke machine, sings a love song to Eran (in a surprisingly sweet tenor). Tells Eran that he loves him. Eran is like, ohhh bby are you SURE you wanted to do this in front of all of our coworkers? And Mosk is like, you're an idiot, who do you think organized this party? And then… 

MOSK PROPOSES TO ERAN IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. 

ERAN OF COURSE SAYS YES. 

Epilogue: Eran is hovering around the food tent at the manor. There's an event that's going on, and he wants to make sure everything is running smoothly. Ash tells him that it is, and promises that he won't miss the ceremony.

Augus comes and grabs Eran and tells him to leave the food staff alone, that he's not allowed anywhere near the food tent again for the rest of the night. It's Eran's wedding, after all. He shouldn't be be working. Eran agrees.

 Augus is tipsy, regales him with the story of his and Gwyn's wedding. Gives him slightly - drunken, very TMI advice for his honeymoon. Eran just nods and manages to keep a straight face.

Eran gets ready to walk down the aisle, which is filled with his friends and what's left of his family. He sees his husband to be, and thinks about the life they will build together, about all they've overcome.

Eran and Mosk read their vows. Augus is crying. Gwyn is holding his hand.

They say 'I do' and kiss. And step into their brand new future. Together. 

[popatochisssp]

Fur a Good Time, Call... 15/15

Series: Undertale, Horrortale Relationship(s): HT!Sans/Reader, HT!Papyrus & Reader, HT!Sans & HT!Papyrus, ensemble Chapter Warnings: none 

You work at an animal shelter. You love all your fuzzy buddies and can’t imagine a better job for yourself than looking after cats and dogs all day, even when the work is hard and often gross. What can you say? You’ve got a lot of love to give!

You’re just not quite sure yet how you feel about the new monster who’s been helping out these days, and this riddle wrapped up in an enigma is something you just can’t resist investigating…

AO3 Link

Epilogue - Family

They say time flies when you’re having fun.

If that’s true, you must have been having a skeleton of fun, because the next few years feel like they’ve breezed right on by.

You finally pulled the trigger and moved yourself in with the brothers after a lot of encouragement and not-so-subtle hints.

You were right, it didn’t really change anything, except that now when you come home after a long day, you have your dog right there waiting for you and roughly eighty percent of the time, a delicious home-cooked meal from Papyrus instead of something you have to toss in the microwave or eat right out of a bag.

When you find a particularly rib-tickling meme in the middle of the night, you no longer have to text it to Sans to share it. All you have to do is give the big skeleton next to you in bed a little nudge, and you get to enjoy the wonderful sound of his sleepy chuckle in person instead of just an ‘lol’ on a screen.

It’s not a big difference, but it feels like an important one.

Nothing much has changed at the shelter either, excepting maybe your promotion to assistant manager.

When your boss had first pulled you into her office and offered you the change in position, your instinct had been to turn it down. You were just a worker, after all, and ‘assistant manager,’ well, that sounded important, not something you could do…

Except you’d started working on that a lot lately, recognizing your own self-deprecating thoughts as you were having them and shutting them down when you could.

Papyrus had been a huge help with that once he’d noticed it was something you struggled with, and he had actually let you in on some of the techniques he used to power through similar feelings.

The most helpful had probably been when he told you to, “Imagine Those Thoughts Are Coming From Somebody You Loathe With Every Fiber Of Your Being! That Way When They Tell You That You Can’t Do Something And You Do It Anyway Because You’re Super-Cool, It’s Like You’re Proving Them Wrong And Rubbing His Gross, Greasy Face In It, I’M AMAZING, JERRY, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT AND YOU CAN’T HOLD ME BACK!”

You’d only asked once who the hell ‘Jerry’ was, in the middle of a Grillby’s date.

Every single monster in the vicinity, even Sans had just grimaced and looked away, pretending you hadn’t spoken and eagerly leaping onto a different subject.

You decided that maybe it was better you didn’t know.

In any case, with Papyrus’ advice in the back of your mind, you managed to accept your promotion with hesitant grace and to your pleasant surprise you were able to handle it just fine.

You already did so much at the shelter that the new job title barely added a handful of responsibilities that your workaholic self wasn’t already doing, and certainly nothing you weren’t capable of getting the hang of quickly. You make a little bit more money now and you have more control over your own hours than you ever did before, which is a very nice perk!

Actually taking time off for yourself…that’s admittedly still a work in progress, but you’re lucky: if there’s one thing your Sans is good at, it’s knowing when you need some self-care time and he’s always ready to con sweet-talk you into taking a break now and then.

You’re actually taking the day off right now, though not because of Sans.

Today is for Papyrus, because after years of study and hard work, your favorite skeleton has made it—finally about to become a boneafide nursing school graduate!

…Pap refused to speak to you for a solid three hours after you made that joke.

Sans, on the other hand, looked at you like he might legitimately cry over it.

His emotions had been pretty high lately, actually, what with his little bro’s big accomplishment and it seems like all the pride and joy in his soul the past few weeks has left him just a teensy bit of a walking disaster.

He can barely focus on anything else for the life of him, so this day off of yours was kind of a necessity. Sans is in absolutely no state to be remembering things like finding the camera, making sure it has memory, ordering the most gaudy and colorful bouquet you could possibly find, figuring out the itinerary…

You handle all of that for him so that all your scatterbrained bonefriend has had to do for the past two weeks was gush to literally anyone who stood still longer than a minute—friend, acquaintance, or complete stranger—about how his bro was graduating and isn’t he just the coolest?

With the way he’s been talking it up, you honestly wouldn’t be surprised if half the shelter staff showed up, plus the entirety of monsterkind.

You hope they all do come: your Papy deserves as much recognition he can get!

-

Sans shortcuts you onto the neatly manicured lawn of Papyrus’ campus, not far from the auditorium where the little ceremony is going to be held.

He’s practically vibrating with excitement and it’s so different from his usual chill persona that it makes you laugh.

“Are you actually gonna be able to sit still the whole time?” you ask with a grin.

“what?” Sans barely glances at you, smoothing his clothes down a little. He processes your question belatedly and when he’s done buffering, he huffs. “oh. pfft. i’m fine.”

He’s back in that tie/sweater-vest combo he wore on your first date—the only ‘nice’ clothing he owns, you think—after Papyrus begged him to please, please not embarrass him by wearing that ratty old hoodie of his.

You’re a little dressed up yourself and so is the dog between you, Buddy in a novelty bone-print bow-tie and a knock-off service animal vest that had been bought online at the last minute.

He hadn’t earned it with any kind of training. It was just a way to sneak him into the place and keep people from questioning his quadrupedal presence, thought up because if there was anybody who looked like they needed a support animal, it was Sans with the giant, debilitating-looking hole in his head.

You weren’t sure you were a hundred percent on board with the deception, but both of the brothers had outvoted you on this one: Buddy was family, too, and he should be there to see Pap graduate!

Sans had (mostly) eased your concerns by pointing out how well-behaved and unlikely to cause a scene your son was, and also by promising that you could leave to escort him out if there was any kind of trouble.

Buddy is so calm right now that you're actually starting to think there won’t be any trouble.

It’s only Sans you’re still worried about.

“Are you fine?” you have to wonder teasingly. “You know Pap’s not the only one graduating, right? We’re gonna have to sit through speeches and other graduates, real boring stuff.”

Sans rolls his eye-light at you. “duh. why do ya’ think i skipped my own graduation? ya’ think i’m gonna waste my whole day at a snoozefest? keep dreamin’.”

Your laugh turns to a soft, affectionate smile as he duly continues, “but this one’s for pap. i don’t mind doin’ it for him.”

What a sweetheart…

You pass him the camera, knowing he’s going to want to be the one to record everything, and with your lightened burden of only flowers and a dog leash, you start walking.

“C’mon,” you say, “we better get in before all the good seats are taken. Unless you want to try taking video from the nosebleeds?”

Sans looks mortally offended by the very notion and follows right after you with an indignant little, “how dare you,” that gets you snickering all over again.

In spite of your warnings about boredom, you’re pretty excited for this, too.

You get to be present for a huge moment in the life of somebody really important to you, with just about everybody else who’s important to you by your side.

It’s a momentous occasion and you can’t wait to see it.

-

Turns out getting in early was a good idea—the auditorium is quickly packed with people, mostly humans come to see loved ones graduate, but also monsters, and lots of them.

You remember learning from Sans that monsters are made of love and compassion and you see it now in spades as all the familiar faces pour in and take seats toward the back or choose to stand, perfectly willing to give priority to people who had actual family in the ceremony but still wanting to be here to show support for one of their own.

You wave hello to everyone you know from your seat and beside you, Sans just beams.

Another thing you were right about was the boring speeches.

There’s two separate addresses once everything gets underway, with the usual types of academic buzzwords liberally tossed about: hard work, dedication, responsibility, ambition…

Sans dozes off halfway through the first one and you just barely manage to snag the camera back from him before it falls out of his lax grip.

You decide to let him sleep, though, knowing it’s not going to get more interesting for awhile yet and what Papyrus doesn’t know won’t earn Sans a lecture.

For his sake, you hope his quiet snoring is too soft to be picked up by the recording. If it isn’t…

Well, that’ll at least be funny to find out when you play the video back later!

It’s not until they finally get to the heart of things, calling up the graduates for their photo-op walk across the stage, that you give Sans a gentle elbow to the ribs.

He snorts awake and gives an appropriately sheepish look to your teasingly raised eyebrow, but he also leans over to nuzzle your cheek as he takes back the camera with a grateful little, “thanks,” that melts your heart.

You spot Papyrus well before it’s his turn, standing off to the side in the line-up. He’s simply too tall and noticeably nonhuman to be missed, especially among his slightly younger and much smaller peers.

He’d done such a good job of being all cool and unaffected in the days leading up to this…but not anymore.

Even from here you can see Pap struggling not to cry a bit at the sight of just how many of your friends had come out to see him today.

Sans’ eye-sockets are starting to look suspiciously wet, too, and if it weren’t for that ‘Don’t Embarrass Me’ promise he’d made, you have a feeling he’d be on his feet bragging to everyone around you about how that’s his brother! Get a load of that skeleton! Ain’t he the coolest?

When it’s Papyrus’ turn to cross the stage and accept his window-dressing diploma, Sans is back to nearly vibrating and you clap as hard as you can on his behalf.

He surprises you, though—holding the camera steady in one hand, he puts the phalanges of the other between his teeth and defies every rule of acoustics and logic itself with a loud, impossible whistle that pierces the auditorium even through all the applause.

You smile when Pap’s skull swivels right over to where the two of you are sitting and he scowls at you in that unique, ‘I Cannot Believe You Right Now’ way of his.

But then he looks…surprised.

And then happy?

Happier, anyway.

You wonder why the change of heart, but they’re already calling the next name and he’s walking back off stage to let all the other grads have their turn in the spotlight, too.

Sans pauses filming and turns to you, grinning so wide you’re surprised his mandible is still attached.

“you know what this means, right?” he asks in an eager whisper.

No, but you think you can guess.

Still, you want to hear the punch-line, so you ask, “What?”

“Pap’s a nurse now—he gets to call the shots.”

“Pfft! Do not say that to him today!”

“why not?” Sans scoffs, feigning realization. “oh, you’re right, no job yet. he wouldn’t have the patients for my jokes.”

You press your hand over your mouth, trying to stifle your giggles.

“Shhhhhut up…!” you hiss.

He sighs. “guess ya’ don’t wanna hear the one about surgeries, huh? ah, suture self.”

Damn him.

Damn him, you are trying to be courteous to everyone still trying to pay attention to the ceremony, but judging by the amount of whispering and secretive glances in your direction you must not be doing a good job.

……Or so you think, until Sans goes very, very still beside you.

“Babe? …Are you okay?”

He doesn’t answer you, which is concerning.

Concerning enough that you frown and follow his gaze, just behind you to the very back of the auditorium where…

Oh.

Oh stars.

There’s another familiar face in the room today, but this one you’d only ever seen in pictures, maybe once in some distant footage aired in the news, right when monsters had surfaced.

You understand that surprised look on Papyrus’ face now, and the wide-eyed stares and whispers from the people sitting around you.

Even shadowed and silent, flanked by armed guards, Queen Undyne cuts an incredibly imposing figure in person.

Former queen, you suppose, but her very bearing could only be described as regal…or maybe military. She’d captained the Royal Guard once and you can see that now in her posture, parade rest if not for her hands cuffed in front of her instead of behind.

Her expression is stony and utterly unreadable to you, but there’s only one reason she could possibly be here, today, and he’s probably ecstatic backstage right now waiting to come greet his oldest friend.

And his brother is here next to you, hands starting to tremble as he stares blankly at the woman who broke his head and Papyrus’ teeth all in the same day.

“Oh, stars, Sans, are you…? Do…do you—”

You cut yourself off as Sans suddenly moves, taking the dog leash out of your hand. Buddy, lying obliviously at your feet, perks up a little in curiosity.

“gonna…take buddy out for awhile,” he says quietly. “back later.”

And with that, the seat beside you is empty, just you and the vibrant bouquet of flowers in your lap.

…Oh, boy.

-

The ceremony can’t end quickly enough.

It’s a struggle to remain politely seated through the rest of the proceedings and when it all wraps up and people start to get up and mill about, you can’t help but feel a little lost.

You can’t see the ex-queen anymore in the crowd, but you also can’t see Sans or Papyrus and you’re not sure which of them needs you more right now.

It’s a tough choice, but in the end you settle on Papyrus—as much as you love Sans, it’s Pap’s day and he needs to get these flowers and a ‘congratulations’ straight from your lips.

Plus it’s not like Sans is alone right now. He took your ‘service dog’ with him and Buddy is probably getting some on-the-job training about emotional support right about now.

They’ll be fine.

It takes some searching, but you do eventually find Papyrus…and you’re not the only one because Undyne is there, too, listening patiently to whatever Pap is talking about with such broad and animated gestures.

You stand there for a long, indecisive moment.

Should you…just go over there and…interrupt? Wait until they’re finished?

…At least one very cowardly part of you thinks Sans had the right idea just peacing out like he did.

Even this close, Undyne is beyond intimidating, as massive as Papyrus with none of the gentle friendliness to soften it and not even the orange prison jumpsuit she’s wearing can cover all of her sharpest features—spines, scales, teeth, all razor-sharp and terrifying.

(You wonder if the officers escorting her here today would stand any kind of chance if she decided to escape custody, even with their side-arms.)

Ultimately, the choice of what to do is taken out of your hands.

Papyrus spots you and calls your name, eagerly waving you over, and well…

Here goes nothing.

You walk over with your best winning smile, presenting your bouquet to the new grad.

“Happy graduation, Pap!” you say brightly, feeling one yellow eye burning through you. “We’re so proud!”

Papyrus takes the flowers with a crinkle of the plastic around them, looking like he’s ready to start sparkling any moment now. “Thank You! Wowie, I’ve Never Seen Glitter On Roses Before!”

“Sans’ idea,” you admit.

“Oh!” Papyrus frowns, seeming to notice his brother’s absence. “Oh, Is He…Did He…?”

Need to go get some air because Undyne was here and he hasn’t forgiven her, but he also wanted to let Papyrus have a moment with his friend on his big day?

Probably.

But what you say is, “He went to take Buddy outside. He said he’d be back, though!”

You trust the sharp and clever Papyrus to be able to read through the lines, and by the relieved and undeniably fond smile on his face you’re pretty sure he understood.

The amused-sounding snort from Undyne suggests he’s not the only one.

Papyrus perks up at the sound, suddenly tugging you closer. “Stars, I Almost Forgot! Human, This Is My Friend, Undyne! Undyne, This Is Sans’ Human, I’ve Told You About Them Before!”

You crane your neck, meeting the fish-monster’s piercing gaze for the first time. She certainly doesn’t look very impressed with you, making no move to offer you a hand to shake or even speak.

Considering her history with humans…you’re not surprised.

Still, Pap is watching you expectantly, so you smile and introduce yourself, saying, “It’s nice to meet you!”

Is it, though…?

Maybe. Maybe not.

You know this person by reputation only, and the brothers’ opinions on her are from two opposite ends of a spectrum. You don’t know her for yourself and all you have to judge her on is her actions.

You know what she did to Sans and Papyrus. You don’t like that at all.

But the sight of her standing here in flimsy handcuffs that she could probably break just by flexing a little too hard…it reminds you that she chose to wear them so that Sans wouldn’t have to.

And the fact that she’s here is a whole other layer. How hard must it have been to finagle something like this? You can’t imagine how frustrating and redundant the maze of human politics and legal proceedings must’ve been, even for someone with literally royal clout, trying to arrange leave from prison to be here today, just to be able to see Papyrus graduate.

Undyne did it anyway.

She must really care about Papyrus and as someone with that same level of investment…

Well, that has to earn her back a few brownie points with you.

You can at least be polite.

“So…you’re the punk Papyrus won’t shut up about, huh?” Undyne sneers down at you.

…You can try to be polite.

“Yeah, I suppose that’s me!” you say easily, sparing a glance up at the skeleton in question. “Unless Pap’s been talking up some other humans I don’t know about, I guess.”

Papyrus gasps as if greatly offended. “I Would Never!” he exclaims. “You’re The Best Human!”

You laugh. “‘The best’? Really? I’m the best one?”

“Of Course You Are!” Papyrus says, as if it ought to be obvious. He bends down a little to more easily hug you, explaining, “You’re Our Human. That Makes You The Best!”

Oh…oh, jeez, Papyrus…!

You hug him back.

“Is that true?” You turn to find Undyne watching the two of you, her eye narrowed. “They’re your human, too, Papyrus?”

Papyrus doesn’t hesitate to answer with a firm ‘yes.’

Undyne huffs, making a face.

“Man,” she grumbles, before turning to you with a stern expression. “Hey, human—you know you have to be good to these skeletons, don’t you?”

Your eyebrows shoot up. “Uh… I—”

“‘Cause they’re real important!”

“…Well…yeah, they—”

“It looks like you’re doing okay so far,” she says, which sounds almost like a concession, “even…even…but! You better keep it up, alright?! Queen’s orders!”

“You’re Not The Queen Anymore, Undyne,” Papyrus tries to cut in, but she just glares at him.

“Cherish these skeletons, human!” she demands of you, making it sound like a proclamation. “Cherish them!”

“……”

You…

You kinda want to laugh.

Undyne is definitely intense…but she’s hardly the cold and solemn monarch the human media’s made her out to be. Having her here in front of you, trying to intimidate you into taking care of Sans and Papyrus…

You think maybe you understand why she and Pap used to be friends.

Are friends, that’s…that’s pretty clear.

When you smile at her instead of cowering, she scowls, which really just makes you grin wider.

“I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem,” you assure her. “These guys are…they’re basically my family at this point.”

You give Papyrus a little side-squeeze and feel your expression softening at just the thought of Sans, still off somewhere settling his nonexistent nerves.

“Don’t worry,” you say, as firmly certain as your entire soul is on the sentiment. “I’m gonna cherish the hell out of these skeletons, no matter what!”

The way Undyne is looking at you now…you’d almost call it impressed.

You could probably stop there and call this a confrontation well-handled, but…

You’re not sure you’ll ever have an opportunity to talk to her again.

You might as well say everything you need to say right now.

“And hey…when Pap comes to visit you, actually see him. I don’t like hearing about the times he wasted a trip, okay?”

In your peripheral vision, you see Papyrus’ cheekbones going blue and he whines your name a little plaintively, but you hold eye-contact with Undyne.

It feels like the right thing to do.

Undyne seems surprised.

And then slowly…she starts to laugh.

“Fuhuhuhuhuhu! Okay…okay, yeah!” She grins at Papyrus, a shark-smile if you’ve ever seen one. “I guess you were right, Papyrus. They’re not a total wimp…for a human!”

You wonder if that’s her way of saying you’ve earned some brownie points with her, too.

One of the humans standing quietly beside Undyne suddenly speaks up. “Ms. Undyne? It’s time.”

She sighs, rolling her visible eye. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever…”

“It Was Good To See You Again, Undyne,” Papyrus chimes in. His smile is wide and after all these years, finally free of the corrective braces.

It brings a very nostalgic look to the former queen’s face.

“You, too, Papyrus. Congrats on doing something cool with your life. Come…come see me again soon, okay?”

“Of Course!”

“And human…” She smirks at you. “Just keep cherishing…or else!”

You give her a cheeky thumbs up and a wink that makes you feel an awful lot like you’re channeling Sans for a second. “You got it!”

That gets you a nod of approval, and in short order, Undyne is led away.

“……I Think She Likes You!” Papyrus decides after a long moment.

You snort. “Is that what that was?”

Whatever Pap says in response, you don’t hear it.

With Undyne’s departure, it’s apparently the perfect time for Papyrus to get swarmed by a whole gaggle of excited and curious people.

Some are monsters, wanting to offering congratulations and ask after the old queen, but a lot are human—fellow graduates from Pap’s class, you realize—impressed that Papyrus was apparently important enough that Undyne herself came to their graduation.

In all the bustle, you end up…kinda trapped, squished up against Papyrus’ legs.

Until he effortlessly scoops you up and sets you down just outside the circle of admirers with a patronizing little pat on the head.

“My Adoring Public Needs Me,” he proclaims grandly, to several fond laughs around him. “You Go Find Sans, I’ll Catch Up With You Later. We Still Have Those Dinner Reservations, I Haven’t Forgotten!”

You almost did, but you accept your mission with a playful salute, already looking forward to the fancy new Italian place you were going out to celebrate at later tonight.

Provided, of course, you can actually find your boyfriend somewhere around here.

Papyrus’ voice stops you again before you get too far, though.

“Oh, And Another Thing I Haven’t Forgotten! I Was Promised A Very Specific Graduation Present!” Oh…that was news to you. “When You Find Him, Tell Him To Quit Being A Snail And Make It Happen, Already!”

You chuckle but say, “Sure thing, Pap!” on your way out.

You hope Sans jotted himself a reminder for this mystery present somewhere or you weren’t gonna be much help to him.

You’ll just have to ask him yourself and you don’t think he’ll be very difficult to find.

After all, he wouldn’t go too far on Pap’s big day, and by now the sun’s been down for awhile.

You can’t think of anywhere else Sans would rather be right now, when he wanted to clear his head, than out under the stars.

-

You don’t miss your guess.

Of course you don’t: after the years you’ve been with him, you know your funnybones.

Sans is sitting there outside in the grass, stroking Buddy’s head in his lap and staring straight up at the night sky.

He looks alright, which makes the ugly knot of compartmentalized concern unravel in your chest. You’re glad tonight’s surprise guest hadn’t shaken him up too badly and you approach him with a smile.

“Hey there, sugar-skull.”

Sans looks up at you and your heart skips a beat. You don’t think you’ll ever get tired of seeing the love in that big, red eye-light of his when he looks at you, or the way it makes you feel warm inside like nothing else ever has.

“Mind if I join you?”

“thought you’d never grassk.”

That startles a laugh out of you.

“Is that a new one?” you wonder, getting down to join him. “I don’t think I’ve heard it before.”

Sans shrugs, but you see him smiling. He loves being able to pull a new pun on you. It’s happening less and less these days, the more you’re together and the more jokes you hear from him, but you never fail to laugh at even the old ones you’ve heard a dozen times before.

Funny’s funny, a joke’s a joke, and from probably your favorite person in the world, the humor never feels stale.

“undyne give ya’ a hard time?”

You shrug right back. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. …Pap thinks she likes me.”

Sans huffs, but he slings his arm around you, pulling you right up against his ribs.

“‘course she does.” His skull settles on top of your head. “you’re the best.”

Sweethearts. You’re surrounded by sweethearts.

You don’t think you’d trade a single one of them for the world.

You spend awhile out there, just cuddling out under the stars.

You point out a constellation or two that you can see, even with the urban light pollution. Sans manages to find his favorite, Scorpius, and you spot…one of? the dippers, and it’s not until you’re arguing about how he can possibly tell, without a telescope, how that particular speck of light could be Cassiopeia A that you remember.

“Oh, wait, shit, I was supposed to remind you!”

“hey, you don’t gotta make up excuses, babe. you can just admit you’re wrong, y’know i ain’t gonna make fun of you for that.”

You smack him lightly on the sternum and he snickers at your ineffective bat. “No, seriously. Papyrus wanted me to tell you something.”

“sure, i completely believe you. what’s the message from ‘Papyrus’?”

You shoot him the fiercest side-eye you can manage. “Pap says he hasn’t forgotten about his graduation present and for you to stop being a snail.”

Whatever response you were expecting, the way Sans stiffens against your side really isn’t it.

“……shit. right. yeah. that.”

“Did you forget?” you wonder, trying to hide your amusement.

“mmm, little bit.”

“I mean…you can teleport. If you need to go get it…”

Sans fidgets a little. “nah, it’s not…i already have the……have for awhile, i just haven’t…gotten around to………”

You make a noise of surprise when Sans stands up, pulling you with him. He looks awfully nervous all of a sudden, even more nervous than when Undyne had shown up.

“Oh jeez, Sans,” you murmur gently. “Relax, I’m sure Pap’ll love it!”

It doesn’t stop the sweat from beading along his skull. “that, uh…that’s the thing, it…it’s not……for Pap, actually. it’s……it’s for you.”

You frown, confused. “Pap’s present…is a present for me?”

“eheheheheh…nah, the…it’s for you, Pap’s part of it is……uh. i ‘stop bein’ a bitch about it.’ direct quote.”

Snrk… Oh, Papyrus…

“Okay. Weird, but okay. So…what is it?”

“………um. so.” Sans looks like if he had a lip, he’d be biting it right about now. “i…found a really cool rock…that i wanted to give ya’…”

Oh!

Sans had great taste in rocks, you couldn’t wait to see it.

“‘cept i…wasn’t really sure when the right…time…was…?” He chuckles a little, his eye-light darting everywhere but you. “human……customs, or, whatever. but…but Pap says i already been draggin’ my feet too long, so, uhh…”

Sans reaches into the pocket of his nice slacks and presents you with…

Oh, a crystal!

And by far, the most beautiful one you’ve ever seen: it’s a gorgeous cyan blue and glowing, actually radiating light in the darkness.

The urge to reach out and touch it is powerful and you just stare at it for a moment completely awed.

But then Sans starts talking.

“i…i got it from, uh…from waterfall. the ceiling. took a little doing, but it…it seemed right. we…monsters, we used to wish on these, y’know? did…did i tell you that?”

“Not in so many words,” you say, but you don’t need words for memories conveyed directly through the soul.

You have a clear picture in your mind of the place he’s talking about, and what it meant to monsters when they were trapped.

“well…we wished on ‘em…like how humans do with stars, for stuff we wanted…things……things we never thought we’d get to have…ever.” Sans goes a little glowy in the cheekbones himself. “stuff that was too important to give up on, no matter…how impossible it was.”

He’s still not looking at you and you have no idea where he’s going with this, but when there’s a long pause, you prompt him to continue.

“Sans…?”

He shakes his skull, like he’s trying to clear an etch-a-sketch, and seems to start again.

“i saw a documentary about…one of the animals ya’ got up here. the little…” He struggles with the name and tries, “tuxedo birds,” and you nod encouragingly that you understand.

Though you can’t for the life of you figure out why he wants to talk about penguins right now.

“it, uh…it said they…when they really want to…be with somebody, what they do is…they, they find a rock and give it to ‘em and that’s how they find their mates.” Sans laughs a little, still with that persistent edge of nervousness. “i dunno, i thought it was pretty cute. monsters don’t…we don’t have nothin’ like that, but i guess…i guess humans do?”

Sans freezes suddenly, like something’s just occurred to him.

“shit,” he mutters. “i’m supposed to be on one knee for this, right? does it matter which knee, or…?”

………

Holy shit.

“Sans, are you…are you proposing…?”

He winces at the question, a rueful expression on his skull.

“jeez……guess i’m doin’ a pretty shit job of it if ya’ gotta ask.”

If your heart skipped a beat before, you actually think it stops this time, just for a second.

Sans is proposing.

He wants to marry you.

He wants you to be a part of his life, always.

“Yes.”

Sans blinks at you, looking startled.

You’re not sure if he actually processed the thing you said or what it meant, so you say it again, as emphatically as you can.

“Yes, Sans, I want to marry you!”

He stares at you just a little bit longer…but you know your answer got through this time.

That traitorous eye-light of his can’t lie, and it’s heart-shaped and adorable.

“heheheheheh…hahahahahaha!”

You laugh, too, as you’re suddenly scooped up off the ground, literally swept right off your feet into his arms as Sans holds you up against him, fervently nuzzling at your face.

You nuzzle back, grinning so widely it actually hurts and pressing smooches against him everywhere you can reach.

Below you, Buddy has taken to darting around and barking, excited by the sudden movements his people are making. You know he has no idea what’s going on, but you’re excited, so??? He’s excited too??? Yes?!?!

Stars, you love your stupid dog-son.

You love your goofy skeleton fiancé.

You see several sudden camera flashes and hear a triumphant, “NYEH-HEH-HEH, FINALLY! YES!” off from the side, and you love your meddling, soon-to-be brother-in-law, too!

It might not be the biggest family, but it’s yours and honestly…?

Your life feels as full as it’s ever been.

You gasp as something utterly delightful occurs to you and you brace your hands against Sans’ shoulders, pulling away just enough to look him in the eye-socket.

“Sans,” you say urgently, “Sans!”

“what?” he asks, frowning a little at your tone. His eye-light pops back to its normal round shape, but if you have your way, that won’t last long.

“Do you know what this means?”

Sans can see you starting to grin, the kind of grin that goes hand-in-hand with his most favorite thing in the world, and his concern falls away.

He spares an insufferably smug smirk over at his poor, unsuspecting brother before turning back to you, as eager as you’ve ever seen him.

“what, baby? what does it mean?”

“When we get married… do you know what that’s gonna make you?”

Sans knows it’s going to be good. He’s practically vibrating again as he asks, “what’s it make me?”

“Sans……you’re gonna be my husbone.”

Papyrus shrieks in dismay, even as Sans’ eye-light blips right back into a heart-shape and he completely loses his mind, hugging you even tighter against him and laughing until delighted tears streak down his skull.

“HUMAN! Stop Ruining This Beautiful Moment For Me!” Papyrus demands, his hands on his hips.

“keep…keep enhancing this beautiful moment for me,” Sans wheezes, nuzzling at your cheek.

Buddy just keeps scurrying around Sans’ feet, jumping up and trying to be part of the action, too.

Pap corrals him for you and comes on in to join your little hug-fest with a hilariously irritated look on his face, saying that you two had better not start this up again at your celebratory graduation-slash-engagement dinner or he'll be very displeased, disowning you both!

This…

This is a very good family to be a part of.

You couldn’t be happier.

Prev Chapter | Snips & Snails

[andiesmu-archive]

CAN’T BE PERFECT ➝ GRANBINDDIE

TAGGING ➝ Grant McCarthy, Robin St. James, Addie Morgan.

LOCATION ➝ Grant & Robin’s house.

TIME FRAME ➝ 4/21, evening.

WARNINGS ➝ None.

NOTES ➝ Addie goes to Grants to try and talk Robin up to Grant’s parents. It doesn’t really work. 

ADDIE MORGAN

Addie was not really the most eloquent person, and she certainly wasn't someone that most parents loved, but for some reason Grant's parents had always taken well to her, and she cared enough about him to try and help him out when they seemed to not be showing the same kind of affection for his fiancée. She'd been there enough times that she didn't feel the need ring the doorbell, and instead let herself in. It was Caroline she stumbled on first, and grinned at her, nudging her with her elbow, "What's up, kid?" she asked, "Where is everyone?" Caroline directed Addie to the kitchen and she pulled on her best sweet smile as she entered the room. "Martha, Grant." She greeted to the two elder McCarthys as she made eye contact, "Good to see you. Grant told me you were visiting, I had to come and say hi." She grinned and then made her way to the shorter blonde in the room and wrapped her arms around her, giving her a hug. She knew that hugging Robin wasn't really something she'd normally do, Addie didn't even like giving hugs, but she'd do just about anything for Grant, and that meant putting on a show for his parents.

ROBIN ST. JAMES

This whole week had been exhausting. It was fortunate that Robin was a nice person, and that it took a lot to make her lose her temper, because there were plenty of points throughout the week that she could’ve lost it with Grant’s parents. They didn’t have to like her, but they also didn’t have to be so obvious about it. Honestly, she hated thinking it, but she was kind of excited for them to leave, and as she heard the door opening, she was really hoping it’d be one of Grant’s siblings coming to take them. Or at least to take their attention. It surprised her some to see Addie, especially without Regan by her side, but Robin flashed her a bright smile once she’d walked into the room, surprised once more by the hug. “Hi!” She grinned, happily hugging the taller girl back. It wasn’t like they were all that close, but Robin could treat anyone as if they were her best friend, so she was pretty pleased. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m complaining,” she quickly added, stepping back to lean against the counter. “It’s a nice surprise. Is everything okay? Or are you just here to see Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy? I think you came just in time. They’re leaving, um…” She turned to Grant, the look in her eyes hopeful. “When are they leaving again? Tomorrow?”

GRANT MCCARTHY

Grant felt bad for forcing Robin to deal with his parents. He wanted them to meet her. They were getting married. She was going to have his baby. They had to meet her, but they had been absolutely horrible to her over the past week. So much so, that he was just ready for them to leave. His parents didn’t really like anyone he had ever brought around. Except Addie. But that was because she was a firefighter that liked women and wasn’t trying to steal all of their son’s money. But Robin wasn’t try to do that either, but for some reason, they didn’t believe her. Either way, Grant was relieved to see Addie and super happy that she was laying it on pretty thick with that hug she greeted Robin with. “They’re leaving on Tuesday, babe,” he groaned, trying not to show just how annoyed he was with the fact they still had a few more days with those people. “We’re so happy to see you,” Grant’s mom said in Addie’s direction, causing him to roll his eyes a little. “What do you think about the new addition coming into the family? Did you tell him he was crazy?” Grant sighed as he stepped forward to drape his arm over his fiancée to offer her some comfort. “I warned you, Addie,” he shrugged, shaking his head.

ADDIE MORGAN

“Everything is fine,” Addie said cheerily to Robin. Truthfully she was dealing with a little bit of emotional turmoil of her own, but this was a welcome distraction, and it meant hopefully helping her best friend out. “I just wanted to say hi, and to see you two. It’s been too long since I got some girl time with you,” she beamed at Robin. Though Addie was sure her idea of girl time was vastly different than the colloquial meaning, she figured it sounded like they were the best of friends. Addie really did like Robin, she didn’t know her well, but she didn’t have any dislike for her, it was just hard to get to know her considering the tense relationship between her and Regan. Turning her attention back to Grant’s parents, Addie smiled again. “Crazy lucky.” She beamed without missing a beer. “I mean, Robin is going to be a great mom, I’m so excited for them. Did you guys know that I’m engaged to Robin’s sister?” She asked, holding her hand out for them to see the ring. “Talk about a family of great genes. That baby is going to be so lucky to have two parents who care so much about him or her. Plus, the St. James girls, are all so strong and independent, which means if they have a daughter she’ll probably be a total bad ass, kind of like her aunt Addie.” She was probably laying it on pretty thick, but she didn’t care. Robin and Grant didn’t deserve to be spoken to like that. Telling him he was crazy for getting Robin pregnant made her blood boil a bit and just encouraged her to climb so far up Robin’s she’d make flowers sprout out of her ears. Which probably wasn’t even that difficult to do considering it was Robin.

ROBIN ST. JAMES

As far as Robin was aware, she and Addie had never really spent any ‘girl time’ together. Other than their brief conversation at she and her sisters’ birthday party, although she wasn’t sure if that counted or not. She tried to hide her confusion as she looked up at the other woman. “That sounds awesome,” she smiled enthusiastically, nodding her head. Something was off here, Robin couldn’t quite figure it out, but she was trying not to question it. It was probably just Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy’s presence throwing her off still. They brought bad energy. “Right, Tuesday,” she nodded, turning to smile in his parents’ direction. “I knew that. I guess I’m just getting my days mixed up. Baby brain, you know?” His mother quirked a brow. “Have we outstayed our welcome?” Robin quickly shook her head. “Oh, no, definitely not. We love having you here, right, babe?” She edged a little closer to Grant, almost retreating into his side as she brought a hand up to clasp the one he’d hung over her shoulder. She wanted the focus to shift to Addie, since they seemed to actually like her. They were evidently more interested in Addie, too. Not that Robin minded. “Oh? And what does the other one do?” Mrs. McCarthy asked, a subtly smug look in her eyes, “Flowers also?” Robin chewed on the inside of her cheek, staying quiet, though it stung to hear them call Grant crazy because of their situation. She managed to bite her tongue, adamant that she wasn’t going to argue with them again, but squeezed onto Grant’s hand for reassurance.

GRANT MCCARTHY

Grant knew he was lucky to have a friend like Addie. He didn’t really have a lot of friends, but the people he did pick to stick around in his life were all loyal and great, just like Addie was. She didn’t have to show up and talk up Robin just because he’d asked her to, but she was his ride or die, so it made sense. She would do anything for him, the same way he would do absolutely anything for her as well. He couldn’t help but smile as his friend defended him. He didn’t know if it would go too far with his parents. Robin had tried as well, but it was still appreciated. “Robin likes having you guys here. I wish you’d show my fiancée some respect,” Grant offered up honestly. He was done playing this game. This game where he pretended not to hate everything his parents said about Robin. He’d warned them enough that he wasn’t going to stand for it. He raised the hand that Robin had intertwined with his and brought it to his lips, placing a small kiss on it. “Just like Robin, Regan owns her own business. Real estate, right?” He questioned in Addie’s direction. He wasn’t completely sure, but he thought he was right. “I’m sure you and the sister have known each other longer than a few months, right?” Grant’s dad questioned, shooting a glare in his son’s direction. Grant shrugged his shoulders. Still not really giving a crap. “Best few months of my life.”

ADDIE MORGAN

Addie had never been the most reserved, but she knew that flying off the handle at the sheer rudeness his parents were showing would be a bad idea. She’d dealt with a shitty mother her whole life, but she’d never had to bite her tongue and stop herself from telling her she was a shit head. “Real estate, that’s right.” Addie nodded. “And their other sister runs a non profit, and one is a hotel CEO. They’re all very successful.” Addie said, trying to guide the subject back in another direction. “Besides, have you seen Robin’s arrangement? She’s like an artists. It’s really incredible. Her assistant is dating another good friend of mine, she tells me all the time how in awe she is of the things Robin creates. Their whole family was raised to work hard, I really envy that. Having parents who are so supportive and loving. That’s another reason she’ll be such a good mom, she knows that a good mom looks like, that’s not something many of us can say.” She said, her eyes flashing to Grant’s mom as she did. Her happy facade was slipping a bit, it seemed, and she couldn’t help but throw something of a verbal jab, though subtle as it was. “I’ve known the family for about 9 years now,” she said happily, she knew the question from his dad was another dig at their relationship, “But I guess it happens differently for everyone, right?” She said, her smiling turning to Grant now. “I mean, look at Jess and Dom, they only knew each other a few months when they got married, didn’t they? And now it’s been ten years.” She really didn’t know Dom and Jess that well, but hoped that an example of another couple that rushed into things couldn’t hurt their argument. “Robin and I have been friends for a bit, not as long as Grant and I, but a bit. And they’re so happy together, who would have thought anyone could get this grump to smile more than once a month, right?” She laughed, nudging him gently, “Can’t you just tell how happy she makes him. She’s like a ray of sunshine.”

ROBIN ST. JAMES

It hadn’t taken too much to have Robin’s happy, chipper guard slipping when Grant’s parents had first arrived, and she could feel it quickly doing the same now. Because not only were they now insulting her, they seemed to somehow be insulting her sisters, too. She sucked in her cheeks, forcing herself not to say anything, and simply listened to Addie talking about them, the realization that this had been set up finally sinking in. Her free hand reached into Grant’s pocket, with Robin pulling out his phone and opening up his texts with Addie. Now it made sense. “Um, excuse me?” His mom frowned. “Did you just look at his phone? That’s private.” Robin chewed on her lip as she slipped the phone back where she’d gotten it. “Grant and I don’t have secrets from each other. He knows my passcode, I know his. And I was just checking the time.” She lied, her tone much less cheerful than it’d started out. She didn’t want to let them stress her out to the point of a breakdown again, but she was definitely growing less and less patient with them. Especially his mom. Although she smiled in Addie’s direction, appreciative of the help, she couldn’t bite her tongue anymore. Not hearing his father jabbing at the length of their relationship. Or referring to Regan as ‘the sister’. “No, they can’t tell that,” Robin laughed almost sarcastically, making eye contact with his mother. “And even if they could, even if they could see how ridiculously happy we make each other, they’d choose to ignore it, because they’ve already made up their minds about me. Isn’t that right, Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy?” She clenched her jaw, feeling herself growing heated.

GRANT MCCARTHY

This was all becoming too much for him. Listening to his parents jab at the love of his life, while his best friend tried her hardest to fight them off. He loved Addie, he really did, but her efforts were getting them nowhere. His parents were crazy people. He glanced over at his mother as Addie snarked at her, trying not to chuckle to himself at his best friend’s comment. It was funny and his mother deserved it. He shook his head when Addie mentioned Jess and Dom, trying to signal her to stop. Those were two people his parents also didn’t like. Especially Jessica. “You mean Caroline’s mother and the other man she calls Dad?” Grant wanted to react to his dad’s words, but suddenly he felt Robin’s hand in his pocket and she was looking at his phone. It didn’t take much for him to realize she had figured out their plan. It had been a nice try, but Addie’s hadn’t helped as much as he’d hoped with his shitty parents. He nodded his head as Robin spoke. Everything she was saying was the truth. His parents didn’t care what anyone said. Their minds were made up. “I’m going to get you guys a hotel room. I can’t force Paige, Reese, or Miles to take you in and I can’t let you stay here. She’s pregnant and you keep disrespecting her. This is her house,” he groaned, turning to look at his best friend. “Thank you, Addie. For trying. But they’re not worth it.”

ADDIE MORGAN

Addie didn’t accept defeat very easily, but she also wasn’t going to keep pushing when Grant and Robin seemed to have already thrown in the towel. “Well, I’m sure Roman could help you out with a hotel room, though I’d probably not mention the reason you need it, she might stick them in that room that had the bed bug infestation last week.” Addie said with a grin and then shrugged. She turned back to them one final time and frowned. “You know, Grant has always done everything you’ve ever wanted from him, and who he spends his life with is his choice. Whatever your problem is doesn’t change that, and like it or not she is pregnant, which means that she’s going to be a part of your lives forever now. If you want to be miserable about it, there’s nothing that any of us can do to stop you, but you just look like a couple of kids throwing temper tantrums.” She said, and then rolled her eyes, whatever standing she had with his parents was probably gone now. “Robin, I’m sorry you have to deal with this,” she said, giving the blonde another hug, though it was more genuine this time. “And I can’t wait to meet my future niece of nephew.” She smiled at her, then turned to Grant. “Sorry man, I’ll see you later. Good luck.” She shrugged again before turning to walk back to the front door so she could get back home to her own fiancée.

[ashxpad]

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN Sports Lens Review: Worthy of Attention

The long-awaited Sigma 150-600mm for mirrorless cameras has finally arrived. Available for Sony E-mount or Leica L-mount, does this redesigned super-telephoto zoom meet the expectations of real-world wildlife photographers?

Build Quality and Design

The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS is one of the company’s better-looking lenses. There’s no glossy finish anywhere and it’s not gaudily large and over-industrial in style. In my opinion, the matte black finish is an immediate relief compared to the unsightly off-white Sony 200-600mm lens.

In all, the lens weighs four pounds 15 ounces (2.2 kilograms) with the lens hood attached. That weight is spread across the 10.5 inches (26.7 centimeters) length and can be handheld, which is how I photographed with it for my review. At 600mm, the lens physically extends out to about 14.5 inches (36.8 centimeters). The lens diameter is 4.3 inches (10.9 centimeters) which fits well in my hand and it takes 95mm filters screwed to the front. Sigma appears to have done well to ensure there was no extra bulk here.

Sigma 150-600mm DG DN at 150mm.

Sigma 150-600mm DG DN at 600mm.

Zoom Ring

The zoom can be operated either by twisting the ring or, by design, pushing and pulling at it directly near the lens hood. There’s a three-stage switch on the left side to which controls the zoom ring tension: locked, tight, or smooth. The locked setting only works at 150mm to prevent zoom creep. I found that the tight setting adds enough tension to avoid accidental shifts in focal length. On the other hand, I felt that the smooth setting was not as smooth as I would have preferred, although this may be more of a physics issue as the weight of the lens physically extending out naturally places a certain amount of tension on the ring.

This lens has a variable aperture that from my testing breaks down as follows: from 150mm to 172mm, the widest aperture is f/5. From 173mm to 365mm, the widest aperture is f/5.6. That leaves f/6.3 being the maximum aperture through the rest of the range from 366mm to 600mm.

For comparison, the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 lens switches over right around 300mm, so for those hankering over a third-stop of light, this Sigma is an improvement.

Zoom ring tension control switch.

Focus Ring

Looping back to the focus ring, I’m not a fan of its design. It’s awfully narrow and what is worse is that only a portion of the ring that moves is covered in rubber grip. For such a small area, I wish Sigma could have at least placed the rubber ribbing over as much as possible. For wildlife photography, manual focusing becomes very important in certain situations where there are foreground elements and dense foliage at play, and I use it every day I’m out. On the plus side, it does have smooth rotation to it with an appropriate amount of tension to the glide. In the video section of this review, I will discuss its poor functionality further.

One other complaint about both the zoom and focus rings comes from Sigma’s combination of rubber hardness and the wide, triangle-shaped ribbing. After a while, the weight of my camera and this lens starts to dig into my hand and the ribbing starts to feel like little knives. This is in contrast to the Sony 200-600mm I own and Canon telephoto lenses I’ve used where the ribbing is flattened at the edge and doesn’t stick out so far. I’ve never thought of this as a possible issue until using this lens.

Tripod Collar

The tripod foot and collar feature a couple of great design choices. For one, the foot incorporates an Arca Swiss-compatible plate so that no additional add-on is necessary. The collar itself also has notches every 90 degrees so the foot can be set perfectly level by feeling the groove rather than having to eyeball the alignment with markings. This really comes in handy when shooting off a gimbal when I wanted to go from landscape to portrait orientation. Because of it, I did not have to take my eye out of the viewfinder to check level alignment.

A downside I find with the included tripod foot is that it’s quite short. As someone who shoots handheld, I still appreciate having the foot there and I use it as a carrying handle for my setup. With this foot, I can only awkwardly cram three fingers in rather than a more comfortable four. Again, with the weight being a factor, I begin to feel the discomfort of carrying like this for longer periods of time. I guess I can always buy the eye-rollingly expensive TS-81 foot that Sigma sells separately.

Image Quality

Inside, the lens uses 25 elements in 15 groups including four “F” low-dispersion elements and two extra-low dispersion elements, plus a dust and moisture resistant coating on the front element.

The image quality of this lens is where you will get your money’s worth. I find that there’s solid clarity and contrast throughout the focal range, good sharpness, well-controlled color fringing and flaring, and the bokeh shape from the nine rounded aperture blades melt away out-of-focus objects pleasingly.

As one would expect for any telephoto lens, there’s heavy vignetting when shot wide open at either end of the zoom range. At 150mm, I found that by f/7.1 the vignetting was largely relegated to the far corners and by f/13 it was completely cleared up. On the 600mm end, by f/9 the vignetting was largely moved to the far corners and by f/13 it was gone.

Likewise, sharpness improves as the aperture is stopped down to its sweet spot. Shooting at 150mm, I find that each third-stop down shows good improvement at the center up until f/7.1 where it starts peaking. By f/14 the center looks as sharp as it did wide open at f/5 and continuing to stop down from there continues to soften the image. Both f/20 and f/22 are really soft in the center. Moving to the corners, I saw that f/11 is where it meets peak sharpness for 150mm.

Looking at the center sharpness while at 600mm, things are a little bit different. My testing showed that there are big jumps in improving center sharpness when clicked from f/6.3 to f/7.1 and then again from f/7.1 to f/8. The improvements from here on out are not as drastic, but it looks like f/11 is the lens’s true peak sharpness in the center at 600mm. For the corners, I saw f/16 as the peak sharpness for 600mm.

600mm at f/6.3. Left: full image. Right: 100% crop.

Close focus at 150mm.

Close focus at 600mm.

This lens does come equipped with image stabilization which I thought worked adequately as I saw no change in what I’m used to seeing with my Sony 200-600mm. It works well for handheld shooting and I have no complaints as far as this feature goes.

It’s the same story for autofocus, likely thanks to the switch out of the Hyper Sonic Motor from the DSLR models to a stepping motor for this mirrorless-first redesign. From my experience, the Sigma 150-600mm DG DN can competently track birds in flight and quickly sweep the focus plane to hunt down subjects. I never felt I was missing anything due to the autofocusing system during my review period.

Using the Lens for Video

From the older 150-600mm lenses made for DSLR mounts to the 300-800mm f/5.6 Goliath, Sigma has been producing well-favored super-telephoto zoom lenses used by filmmaking enthusiasts and professionals for a long time. A number of pros own these Sigma lenses for their personal setups and then rent out the wildly expensive glass when out on assignment.

I spent a couple of evenings using the lens on my Sony FS5 camera rig to record video. My primary subjects were hummingbirds out in a patch of jewelweed. Everything in the video below was filmed with the Sigma 150-600mm DG DN.

The 150mm to 600mm range was very helpful to create a variety of shots just using one lens (effectively 225-900mm on my FS5). The push-pull zoom was also nice to quickly change focal lengths. While the lens is not parfocal, it does hold itself together enough to where I never lost my subject and simply needed a fine adjustment after zooming in and out.

In the end, I think the downsides outweighed the positives for me when it comes to video. The biggest issue I have is that the focus ring does not have a linear response. This is a massive disappointment, especially when you consider how well-liked Sigma’s DSLR lenses have been to wildlife filmmakers. Without a linear response focus ring, no two focus pulls are the same and instead, it all depends on how fast the ring is being twisted. As a result, smooth tracking of subjects was a big problem with this lens.

It’s not a new issue for Sigma super-telephoto zooms, but another problem is the counterbalancing. Having my fluid head balanced for the lens sitting at 150mm is going to be off when it changes to 600mm since it physically extends and the weight of the glass shifts locations. I would up balancing for around 300mm as a compromise which was okay, but not ideal considering it’s nothing I think about with the Sony 200-600mm I own where the physical size is always fixed at any focal length.

The Tradition Continues

Sigma has earned its reputation for building high-end lenses and selling them at mid-tier prices. This continues with the new 150-600mm DG DN where final image quality looks terrific and the $1,500 price makes it hard to overlook it when shopping for a super-telephoto zoom.

Are There Alternatives?

The E-mount version of this lens is clearly taking on the $2,000 Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS that came out a couple of years ago. What I find interesting is how Sigma with this lens and Tamron with its new 150-500mm lens have been picking away at the design and building features to improve certain things over what Sony made. Neither have made everything better across the board, and the Sony 200-600mm still maintains sole ownership over a few things that make it truly special, but the fact that some flaws are being patched and both Sigma and Tamron charge less for it makes coming to a decision among the three much tougher.

The Sigma features variable tension control on the zoom ring, an Arca Swiss plate built into the tripod foot, notched positions on the tripod collar, a screw-down lens hood, and can zoom out to 150mm f/5, all of which improve upon the Sony. On the flip side, the Sony doesn’t telescope and change physical size upon zooming, has a much wider focus ring that is a linear response, has a quick-release tripod foot, and can accept the company’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters.

Should You Buy It?

Yes. Undoubtedly there will always be a question of whether to buy this lens or the other options available, but looking at the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS alone it is well worth the consideration and it will not let you down.

from PetaPixel https://ift.tt/3neFPk1

[rashystreakers]

Link to Video: https://youtu.be/F_cpx8i7H6M

TONGS

Blacksmith Depot: https://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/ not cheap but solid and they sell a wide range of options. Consider a pair of Universal V-bit or some Offset tongs. Expect to spend $50 per set plus shipping.

GSTongs: https://www.gstongs.com/tongs.html these are generally shorter tongs 11”-12” but solid and heavy duty. They are $37 a piece plus shipping.

Ken’s Custom Iron: https://kensironstore.com/ these tongs are super affordable while still being good quality. However, they are not finished. Your blacksmith will have to put their skills to the test to finish these. The upside to that is they can forge them as they need and add to their experience, the downside is they aren’t ready to go right out of the box. Price is $50 for a bundle of 5 sets plus shippin.

Amazon Prime: V-Bit Bolt Blacksmith Tongs - 450mm (18")

HAMMERS

Brent Bailey Forge: http://www.brentbaileyforge.com/ Classic Cross Pein Hammer. Brent makes quite a few hammer types and they are all worth looking at. Most of them are a bit high in price for a low-budget beginner but if you have the cash you should consider purchasing one of his higher end models. If you want the quality and a good all around hammer though his cross pein comes in at $60 plus shipping. It’s a great deal and a great product.

Guildwerks: https://www.guildwerks.com/ They make a beautiful and classic American style rounding hammer. While they are not cheap, this will be a hammer that can be passed down from generation to generation. Hammers start around $250 per hammer.

Hammer Source: https://www.hammersource.com This site stocks all types of hammers. They are generally very affordable like the 1.5 lb Nordic rounding hammers $47 per hammer and the Swedish Pattern Blacksmith Hammer for $49 per hammer plus shipping. If you are looking to save some money but still get a great functioning product check them out.

FORGES

Chile Forge: http://www.chileforge.com/ Arguably one of the best propane forges on the market, they heat hot, fast and evenly. Used by smiths like Jason Knight and David DeLagardelle, you won’t be disappointed in performance. They start at $750 for a one burner and go up from there (plus shipping).

NC Tool: https://www.nctoolco.com/ A mid range forge of good quality and design, this forge is one of the popular forge makers out there. Price starts at $435 for a single burner.

Texas Forges: https://www.facebook.com/jcfuzzzyface47/ They sell a one burner forge starting at $200 and price includes shipping to continental U.S. It’s a solid forge on a budget and may just be what your blacksmith needs to get hot.

Coal Forges: http://www.centaurforge.com/ They have a huge selection of coal forges and they start around $375. They are running specials through the holidays this year.

ANVILS

Centaur Forge: http://www.centaurforge.com/Anvils/departments/141/ This distributer has quite a few options starting at about $300 for a 70 lb anvil and going up from there. The nice thing about Centaur is that they have a $9.85 flat rate shipping fee or free shipping for orders over $375.

Anvil Brand: https://www.anvilbrand.com/shop-categories/anvils/   While they have many of the same options as Centaur they have a few additional brands that may be worth a look if you have a little more jingle this holiday season. JHM Certifier 100 Lb. Anvil

Grizzly Industrial: http://www.grizzly.com/products/300-lb-Anvil/G8150 This anvil is a decent weight and the price is quite nice. Perfect beginner forge. Maybe also get a magnet and a chain with this to help turn down the ringing. Grizzly G8147 Anvil, 55-Pound

DRIFTS, CHISELS & PUNCHES

Tomahawk Drift: Sold by Brent Bailey Forge http://www.brentbaileyforge.com/ , these tomahawk drifts ($110) drifts are made to take a beating. They are forged from tool steel and have a much longer lifespan than a cast iron drift. While you are on his site check out some of his other pieces too, like the basic punch for $45.

Slot Punch: https://www.wateroakforge.com/products/blacksmith-slot-punch?variant=26989971463 The slot punch makes so many projects possible to a blacksmith. Bottle openers, axes, hammers and more will all be possible when your blacksmith has a slot punch at their disposal. Water Oak Forge sells one for $13.50 plus shipping. At that price you might as well buy 2!

Anvil Devil: http://www.piehtoolco.com/contents/en-us/p7195.html These little devils, available from Pieh Tool Co. are little anvil top chisels that can be used to hot cut, mark lines and create texture without having to see if it fits in your blacksmith’s hardy hole (the square hole on the face of the anvil). They are handy and portable cost less than $5. They are perfect for stocking stuffers!

STEEL

New Jersey Steel Baron: http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/shop/product-category/high-carbon-steel/ Okay, most steel from here is sold in 4 foot sections. So you may have to cut it up or give it in a long tube. Maybe start with some 1075, 1084 or something a little more durable like my favorite, W2. On second thought stay away from the W2 so there is plenty left for me ;)

McMaster Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-steel-rods/=1ae9p7r  They sell a decent range of steels and in various sizes. You can get some bar stock W1, the same steel I made my winning Panabas from on Forged in Fire.

Jantz Knifemaking: http://www.knifemaking.com/category-s/1502.htm They offer some smaller sized pieces, cheaper for shipping and you can pick up some other handy items from their online store.

FUEL

Propane: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Worthington-Pro-Grade-40-lb-Propane-Tank/3089595 Buy an exchange propane grill tank from a grocery store or gas station. Even if your blacksmith already has one, two is even better! You can also give a gift card to KOA, which refills propane 7 days a week.

Coal: You can order this from Ebay, Blacksmith Depot and Centaur Forge or you can just be bad and hope Santa delivers a big pile on Christmas morning.

Lump Charcoal: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Royal-Oak-100-All-Natural-Hardwood-Lump-Charcoal-4-lbs/54065925 Yes, you can use charcoal, no it’s not the best or cheapest but it’s a good fuel option and lump coal from wood is often sold in grocery stores. Make sure you are not purchasing briquettes as they really mess up the steel, burn cooler and dirtier.

BOOKS, DVDs & LESSONS

Books: The Backyard Blacksmith by Lorelei Sims, The Complete Modern Blacksmithby Alexander Weygers and The Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way To Perfectionby Jim Hrisoulas.

DVDs: J. Neilson’s How to... series http://chriscrawfordknives.com/dvds/

Classes: There are many schools and folk schools and bladesmiths that offer classes like Walter Sorrells and Alec Steele who has quite the “okaly dokaly” online course https://beginblacksmithing.com/.

SHOP SUPPLIES

Beeswax: Hansi Beeswax Premium 5 oz> Nothing shines up a freshly forged piece like a bit of wax. You can pick this up at Hobby Lobby and other crafting stores.

Rags: Blacksmith shops are messy places, our hands are dirty and are clothes are dirty, but with some good shop rags we can keep some of that dirt at bay. Shop towels, Perfect for your Shop (14x14) inches, 25 Pack, (Red)

Vinegar: It’s a great product for removing scale. I keep a bucket full at all times in my shop. We buy it in bulk sized containers from Costco. Distilled White Vinegar Jug, 1 gal

Grinder Supplies: Belts, discs and wheels get burned through pretty quickly in a blacksmith shop. A replenished supply at Christmas would go a loooooong way. Just make sure you know what type of equipment you are buying for and that your order will fit. Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware and Menards are all good places to buy many of these items. 4.5" Angle Grinder Flap Disc 40 Grit - 10 Pack

Soapstone: It’s a fireproof stone that comes in the shape of chalk like sticks that smiths can use to mark their work as they go. They aren’t very expensive and you can find them at just about any hardware store. Flat Soapstone Holder with 7 Flat Professional Quality Soapstone

Wire-brushes: These help us keep the metal clean and free of scale as we work it. We can wear them out rather quickly so we don’t usually turn our nose at them. Also readily available at most hardware stores. Steel Wire Brush

Sandpaper and Steel Wool: Also another item that seems to burn up faster than wood. Even though I have a grinder I still go through packs of 120, 220, 320, 400 and 600 grit sandpaper on a regular basis. I also use my fair share of steel wool, just make sure it’s #0000 Steel Wool #0000 Super Fine

Oils: We use oils for all kinds of things in our shops. From polishing wood to quenching knifes and sanding blades, oil helps us get the job done. Linseed is good for handles, mineral is good for quenching as is vegetable oil and even transmission fluid. Oil is good for darkening steel and giving it a rust protectant coating. Break-Free CLP-2 Cleaner Lubricant Preservative

SAFETY

Gloves: No elastic wrist bands, should be all leather. If married, order them some silicone rings so they are more likely to keep their fingers should a finger related accident occur.

Eye Protection: DEWALT DPG82-11 Concealer Clear Anti-Fog Dual Mold Safety Goggle Get something shock rated, Face Shieldsare a great investment!

Respirators: 3M(TM) Half Facepiece Respirator Assembly 6291/07002(AAD), Medium, with 3M(TM) Particulate Filters 2091/07000(AAD), P100 Blacksmith air is dirty air. Give the gift of healthy lungs this Christmas.

[rogue-snorunt]

Why I made a ko-fi

I got an anon who said that if I'm going to ask the public for money, than I need to explain why and it better be good. Which. Subtlety kind of rude but I get it. I'd want to know the story too and while I did give the explanation already in my first post about it, because I broke my own link with my incredible stupidity, I took it down.

reposted the link to my Kofi that hopefully works now but did leave out the explanation because I feel bad involving others in my problems and I don't want people to hear em and feel guilted into anything.

So here it is: the full obnoxiously long saga of the series of unfortunate events that had led me to making the Kofi from start to finish describing my 2017-2018 life presently.

It all started back in January of last year..

The cafe in which I work.. Worked? Work.. closes every January for cleaning for anywhere between 2wks and a month and in the time they encourage us to apply early and collect unemployment. This would be my first and last ever time doing this.

Why close? Mainly because my bakery is an old fashion French bakery where our lawyer city boy rich owner went to France and liked some countrymans brick oven so much he dropped I think it was a million or so to not only buy the oven, but to actually bring said oven to America brick by fucking brick.

And to clean this wood fed oven the size of a living room, you need AT LEAST 2-3 wks to let it cool down enough for some poor scrawny guy to climb in through the tiny wood stuffing hole and excerise all that soot. Plus deep cleaning a detached two story bakery; the kitchen and cafe itself..

Anyway back to the plot:

So on Jan 1st,2017 I applied and by Jan 14th2017, the place temp closed for cleaning.

I had saved 900$ for this because I'd be okay for the month.. $200/month for rent; $50 for phone, $35 for gas, $130 for groceries for me (who has strict diet of lactose and gluten free diet because I WILL die if I eat gluten because my organs swell; attack themselves and try and shut down. Rip™ my diet gets fucking hella expensive. Bread alone is &4-$5 bucks) $300 monthly student loan etc..

Well: not a week in our gas heater said fuck you. So to help repair, there went -$400 bucks. A WEEK IN. Than my grandmas car died, -$250 a week later. Fuck me gently.

Than the fateful blizzard night of Jan 31st 2017 that would be the catalyst of unfortunate bullshit leading today.. at 4:35 on my friend was bringing me home after a fun weekend, as I do not have a car, and he wanted to make sure I got home safe before the super storm hit. The cafe was reopening Feb 10th.

I was later informed that at around 4:56, my friend hit black ice and we °360 hard into a tree. I only remember seeing it about to happen and worrying about my glasses about to break, then nothing. Then looking at my blurry hand and even with my one good but still kind of blind eye, I saw that it was black; blue and I couldn't move it. Then I guess I said "well shit" and went to sleep.

I had broken not only my glasses trying to protect them, the fucking irony.. but my metacarpals; my nose, inhaled the chemical death from the airbag and recieved mild chemic Burns to face and throat. My smol rib cage was punched by the airbag so hard it got bullied out of place and was now compressing my lungs and a severe concussion.

My friend luckily being a 6' ft some man was set far away from air bag and being the impact was more my side, had only bad bruising to the limbs but okay. His truck now an accordion.

The doctor only looked at my hand and ignored my concussion, as I had an in the ambulance and was apparently making stupid nonsense jokes. So they assumed I was fine I guess.

I had to call in to my job and sadly tell them the news I would not be able to work for maybe a few months.

A month later while home and coming down the stairs, I suddenly could not breathe and got light-headed. Not good when you on stairs. I ended up refuckin up my metas and now add broken tail bone to the list.

My return to work just went from hopeful 3-4 months to 6. I was not financially equipped for this

But wait rogue! The unemployment!

Ah yes. The fucking thing that would fuck me harder then the airbag and stairs combined.. You see:

I had asked everyone I knew that had ever collected unemployment before what to do and even the girl who did the disability thing: for I was unable to work; disability would not kick in until at least a month. I got bills men, life don't stop cause bad shit you know?

Everyone told me, collect unemployment until Disability kicked in. Then stop. Okay.. these 6 people would know best right? Dingdong: unfortunate event #3 so far:

By the time disability kicked in I had collected $700 caps. Nice! Right? Well my honest naive ass thought how you cancelled unemployment was to tell em to cease and why. So I did.I explained what happened. This proved to be the biggest mistake of my pathetic life and installed the lesson of "don't be honest with big brother." They said "oh no you got injured? Well guess what fucko. You now have to pay back the $700, or else and guess what, we adding an bonus fuck you of $200 ."

Hahahahahaha-what?

I'm not able to work; disability only gave$100 some and I got friends and family I am in debt to for helping during these shenanigans.

Then unfortunate events #4-#9 took place. my aunt died.

I had to be hospitalized for pancreatitis; kidney stones and infections a few times, sometimes for all em at once.

Then my dog prostate cancer became apparent and despite the medicine and surgery every thing that could hell, he had to leave us for the rainbow bridge.

Than my grandma's car died again.

Then my stepmother died.

Grandma had to get surgery for her knees and began to complain of occasional blindness and migraines.

Went back to work early because you guys do what you gotta do man, only it's 7 months later and in a couple more, the fucking Cafe is going to close again.

By the time it did, I had been using every paycheck to catch up on bills; pay back the my friends and family lent, paying the late bills from my dog and car repairs, back owed payment and feedback to the student loan. and just as I had started seeing the light at the tunnel.. we closed and I wasn't prepared.

Unemployment have nothing but the middle finger.

It'll be fine.. I can handle a month. It'll suck but-

ITS NOW MAY AND THEY AIN'T OPEN.

During the time I was laid off this year I spent my time as follows:

Joined Tumblr and began to meme to counter that bi-polar depression and made some friends, looking at you @m-is-for-mungo 😘💞💞

A man grabbed my hand that didn't heal right and squeezed it so hard he fucked the bone. Had to go back to p.t. Hand once again fucking useless and I had posted about this way back, if you dig in my archive, you'll find the posts.

Applied for a state job at our prison with my friend whose already there, as kitchen worker

Got the surgery that I could no longer put off as it was too fix the anatomical problem contributing factor to my organs rioting like they do, but thankfully since it was considered life threatening, my insurance covered it.

Finally deal with death of my dog; and my family. Then my dad having a stroke and other family stuff.

Got that pesky rogue ribcage displacement taken care of

Fell down the fucking stairs again.

Adopted a special needs cat.

Became once again a financial burden and the moment I could, filled the still laid off time by trying to help my friend at their restaurant as much as possible.

Got the "we want you asap BUT thanks to state Bullshit like budget stuff.. We have to wait for the actual state to say yes" call from the prison call.

My uncle was discovered to cancer but by the time it was found, he had a week left. Then he died.

Got my shit broken by the scorned ex of our roommate

And then got the fucking letter from unemployment mildly threatening me to pay up.

But you said you didn't have a car in January 31st but then you do now??

After the car event, my friend told me to seek comp because I did get fucked up and being a baker who broke their hands, shit ain't good.. I did not want to because it was my friend, it wasn't their fault and if I had had my own car or just during go there in the first place this wouldn't have happened. Reluctantly after much badgering, I did.I did not get anything however until a year and half half later. and yeah, I’ll tell you how much seeing how Im being brutally honest: $10,000.

I immediately bought a $4000 car so I would never again be a burden and every single car I’ve ever owned have been $100+ garbage death traps I got from shady people and for once in my fucking life I wanted a car that wouldnt break down or try to kill me a week later; helped my grandma buy a car that wouldn't fail her, bought her a new fridge because hers died and paid some of her bills she got behind on. My friend had fallen behind on their bills as well and I owe everything I am and still being alive to these people.

You bet my stupid ass, I used almost every dime to help them. And id fucking do it again because: homies help homies.. And when your Nana whose been both mom; dad and nana to you and is the reason you weren't place in foster care needs you.. You fucking help her no matter what.I did have enough to pay the student loan for last month and this month. I got a new track phone because mine broke, bought a pair of shoes because I've only ever had my loafers and the soles fell off finally and I brought groceries. I have enough to pay rent and I am now tapped out.

My only debt is this $900 fuck you from the government and my $15000k student loan.

And now y'all caught up on the fucking disaster that is my life.

I'm sorry for this sobstory of me crying about my problems but i.. I really do not like asking for help.i hate asking for help. I hate that I have to ask for money because I've been in desperate shitty situations my whole damn life and managed to somehow scrape by but for the first time, I'm in a situation that I can't fix alone. And I fucking hate it and that I have to admit it. but I need help .

This is why I made the Kofi

A kofi that is absolutely only for and will only be used, to pay that $900. I promise you that even if I become homeless, I am going to pay that goddamn bill before anything else. Because I helped everyone with their debt and they are all good now, we all squared and now it's my turn to be okay glib-dimit

[missrkl]

Descendants Acts 2 -

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Rachel was having a very stressful day. Her parents were giving her a hard time about not being married yet whilst all their friend’s children were married and had babies. Rachel knew she could not explain to them her reason for being single still. Not only did she find it hard to let people in and trust them, she also had issues with being physically intimate with anyone. The whole thought of how it goes it down really creeped her out. Rachel sighed as she made her way out from the house. The last thing she wanted to do was hang out at home and pretend that everything was fine. The last thing she wanted was to be around her mother who kept nagging her about not having a husband and how bible school won’t exactly be reeling in profits. Her dad had suggested she become one of those mega church pastors and reel in the money through tithes and offering, he was snickering as he told her so. Her dad thought her whole faith was a joke. He had given up on God a long time ago and no longer believed he existed. Yet even after his heart attack and Rachel and her church praying for him and God healing him, he still chose to not believe in God. Rachel sighed again as she walked up the steps to her church, despite it being a weekday she always visited the place, not because it held the presence of God, but it was a place where Christians roamed the halls and by chance she might bump into one. Rachel sat in the foyer for a while, the silence of the church was quite welcoming. Rachel surveyed the entire main hall and imagined the different church services she experienced within its walls. Nothing like home to remind her of home.

Rachel decided to go back out, maybe she should go for a walk in the park. Before she could leave her phone pinged. She opened up the notifications screen and saw she had a message on The Holy Bible Game. The game was also available on the iPhone, but it did have limited features compared to the computer. She had a message from someone named David_Samuel738. She opened the message and read:

Dear Rachel,

You have the highest points ranked in this game and I was wondering if you would like to team up in saving more citizens to the kingdom of God? It would be an honour to work with someone with such a high ranking such as yourself.

David

Rachel thought about it a moment. The levels would begin to get harder and she still did not have The Blood Stained Sword for ultimate victory (overcome by the blood of the lamb). Rachel checked first David’s profile. He was quite high ranking himself, second to hers. She smiled, good, that means he could keep up. She accepted his offer and accepted his friend request. As Rachel was going to put her phone away she saw Matt Kane walking into the building. Lovely, just what she needed, a friendly happy face. Matt smiled widely when he saw Rachel and said hello, she did too. He asked her how she was doing and that they had a worship rehearsal now and the main room will be closing soon. Rachel left him and walked out to the park. She was always happy when seeing other children of God knowing full well they had a mutual understanding of the Lord of Most High. Rachel’s phone pinged again and she opened it, another message from David:

Hi there Rachel,

Thank you so much for accepting my friendship request. Looking forward to working with you. Maybe one day we could meet in person. It would be nice to meet the girl behind the screen.

David

Rachel sighed again and rolled her eyes. This was why she didn’t accept a lot of people online, especially the men. They always ‘wanted to know the girl behind the screen’ which always sounded super creepy to her. Still, the fact he was second highest ranking was something she could not ignore. So as Rachel walked into the park she sat down on the bench and logged into her programme. She changed her clothes and went to the market, as per usual, to see if anything was there to help her on today’s mission. She found Discernment Dove. This was a power that would give her greater wisdom and insight into frauds and deceivers, including wolves in sheep’s clothing. Definitely she needed that. Rachel bought the item, it was very expensive and took half of her virtual savings. It was worth the investment. You don’t get great things for free.

Suddenly David was online and standing beside her. His character was very handsome. Looking more like a warrior hero in a secular comic book than a Holy Bible hero’s of the heart. Rachel wondered if he looked like that in real life? One could only dream. Still, Rachel found herself blushing. She had to remind herself that this wasn’t real. Although there was a real person behind it. As the sun lay its heavy heat on Rachel in the park, the wind blew slightly caressing her skin and cooling her down. Here she sat under the big massive tree, with its branches and leaves giving her the shade and the breeze. The wind blew her hair around her face and David said ‘so, what’s the plan now?’ Rachel smiled, despite this being virtual, there was a real person behind that handsome virtual character and she quite liked him. He reminded her of Pastor Gabriel In her church. Handsome looking and she was glad about that. Rachel explained that she wanted to go down the south side of town to see if there was any citizens down there. She also explained that she was using her phone not her computer so her movements would be limited and would he be willing to cover her if necessary? She explained how she had not lost a life yet during this game, hence she was number one on the charts. David agreed to cover as he was at home using his computer. Where he was it was raining so he wasn’t out. Rachel realised then maybe that he lived far away. Oh well..their two characters on screen walked together in amiable silence. When they arrived at the south side of town there was many many citizens. Too many to choose from and a few specials. Rachel explained that she wasn’t equipped right now to handle any specials. David agreed and said that was a wise decision, no wonder she was number one. Rachel smiled, was he flirting or just complimenting her? Rachel had never put up her photo on this account and in no way was it connected to any of her social media accounts. Her virtual character looked nothing like her, slim and stealthy. Whilst in real life she was round and plump. This man can’t possibly believe she looked anything like her character could she?

Rachel motioned in the game to a group of citizens. None were specials. You could save an entire group of citizens, if you had backup, which she didn’t have. Rachel was usually a Lone Ranger, but maybe God in real life was trying to show her something?

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one,

    because they have a good return for their labor:

10 

If either of them falls down,

    one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

    and has no one to help them up.

David agreed and they both approached the group of citizens, about 10 in total. They were having some sort of picnic. So that meant 10 demons to fight, 5 each. As the demons manifested themselves as they began sharing the gospel story of the kingdom of heaven, Rachel got out her sword of the spirit and began wielding it against them. David too. For some reason their weapons were not working. Rachel remembered then her newly bought product she had bought today, Discernment Dove. Rachel motioned to David to cover her and as he did so, quite epically in fact, Rachel took out the Dove of Discernment and it began to shine and spoke into her characters mind, her spirit presumably in the game:

What they need is deliverance. Prayer is required. Forgiveness needed.

Rachel shouted at David what Discernment Dove had spoken and he understood. So instead of fighting at the demons floating about Rachel and David got on their knees and began to pray. They asked for (special words in the game) Deliverance and Forgiveness in Mashiac Yeshua Name. Discernment Dove spoke again and informed Rachel that the citizens had some forgiving to do, as some of them were backsliders. Rachel repeated what the Dove had told her and the citizens cried and soon was released from their bondage by forgiving. Then David and Rachel took them to the Temple of the Lord to train them. 10 citizens, each on their list. Making them almost unbeatable in the game.

Soon the sun was hiding behind some clouds and Rachel realised that some time had passed. Maybe it was time she went home. She couldn’t stay out forever. Rachel told David ‘good game’ and ‘I have to go now’ and logged out. Her character left David’s standing in the temple of Lord. David had waved. Virtually. Rachel put her phone back in her bag and decided to stop by the church again. She could use the bathroom, much cleaner than McDonald’s. They knew her face, she wasn’t a stranger, they would allow her. Rachel entered the church foyer and saw the worship team taking a break. So she went to the bathroom and one of the worship members was there, Juliet. She had her big curly hair out and Rachel loved that about her. They chatted a little and then Juliet invited Rachel to have tea and biscuits during their worship break. So Rachel joined in and had a good time, talking about the Lord, worship and their upcoming album. Rachel soon made her way home and as boarded the bus she prayed and asked God that her mum would have calmed down by now as she couldn’t handle the stress or the pressure. Rachel breathed in heavily and exhaled heavily. At least she had some fellowship today. Plus she had made a new friend, David.