#sleeping cat rules still apply

[dramat-ique]

Bart’s high speed chatter is basically white noise at this point. Timmy’s in for the best sleep of his life.

[cephalog0d]

Batkid Drabble - "Trapped"

((For @dangerousdan-dan because I couldn't get this image out of my head and it makes me laugh.))

“Stop taking pictures and help,” Tim hissed as loudly as he dared. Steph absolutely did not do either, instead shifting to get a better angle of both Tim’s panicked expression and Damian’s cheek smushed against his shoulder.

“Cat rules, Timothan, you’re stuck.”

“I’m gonna be stuck with a knife when he wakes up!”

Steph sent the picture to the group chat, then immediately had to silence her phone as people responded. Tim winced and made an unsuccessful swipe for it, then went utterly still as either the sound or his movement abruptly roused Damian from his sleep.

For a long, tense moment nobody moved. Steph leaned back precariously over the coffee table, out of reach, while Tim sat frozen, one arm outstretched. Neither of them dared to even breathe.

Damian blinked slowly, muttered something unintelligible, then shifted to close the distance between him and Tim again before dropping his head heavily onto Tim’s shoulder and going back asleep almost instantly.

“Oh my god,” Steph breathed, hastily reopening the group chat. Tim looked, if anything, even more distressed.

“Stephanie. Help.”

“Shh, the baby’s sleeping.”

Tim’s face said she would pay for this later, but the photos would be worth it. Probably.

((Also on AO3))

[malusokay]

Glow-up tips that actually work from your favourite beauty girly (me)

Hot girls don't gatekeep, so here are some of my favourite glow-up tips that actually work. <3

Skin

Find a skincare routine that works for you!! It took me years to find mine, but now my skin is literally perfect. <3 (let me know if you guys want a detailed skincare routine!!)

Don't pick your skin, the less you touch your face, the better.

I believe ice rollers are bs…

If you struggle with dark circles, don't try fixing them through skincare. Most likely, the problem comes from your diet or stress.

Dry brushing is a game-changer!!

Use lotion after every shower and apply a body spray before the lotion is fully absorbed into your skin. You'll smell amazing for DAYS.

Don't try homemade skincare if you already struggle with your skin. I learned it the hard way, lol…

WASH YOUR MAKEUP BRUSHES

Hair

The more heat you use, the more damage you'll have.

SILK PILLOWCASES

Never sleep with wet or damp hair.

Stop buying cheap shampoo and conditioner, also make sure to check the ingredients!!

Some ingredients to avoid: Sulfates, Parabens, Polyethene Glycols, Triclosan, Formaldehyde, Synthetic Fragrances and Colors, Dimethicone, Retinyl Palmitate.

I trim my hair every 3 months.

If you have damaged hair, invest in some Olaplex!! my favourites are N4c, N6 and N7. <3

Diet

green juice actually makes you feel better. I make mine at home and LOVE it :)

Balance is key!! I swear by the 80/20 rule.

Drink more water, even if you think you're drinking enough. DRINK MORE

Keto is BS <3

Focus on eating more protein. Usually, low-fat products have more protein, so I just try to buy those, lol.

I eat gluten-free, not by choice… But it did clear my acne, so…

Take supplements, get a blood test done, discuss it with a doctor and start taking whatever they recommend. GAME CHANGER.

EAT MORE VEGETABLES and fruits.

Lifestyle

Focus on being more active, walk more, workout, join a club or sport, dance, whatever works for you!!

I aim for 10K steps, I live in a big city, so I usually walk more than that but still.

Hobbies that don't include screen time. Trust me.

Find your personal style and ALWAYS dress up. <3

TREAT YOURSELF. Buy yourself flowers, and presents, go to your favourite restaurants, vacations!!

Read more. As a classics lover, I can't imagine a life without literature, but even if you don't like classics, any book is better than no book!!

Take more pictures. I've noticed that I have become a lot more present since I've started taking more pictures!! highly recommend :)

I hate to say this, but getting up earlier is lowkey kinda great... been doing it for a few weeks, and unfortunately, I do feel better... they were right...

Get a cat. :)

Mindset

Stop assuming that everyone hates you, they don't, trust me.

Journaling, manifesting, law of attraction, affirmations.

one of my favourite affirmations: "if I weren't capable, the opportunity wouldn't have come my way; I belong here." <3

Stop hanging out with people who drain your energy

stop consuming media that makes you feel bad.

What would the highest version of yourself do?

If you change your mindset, you will change your life.

Romanticise every aspect of your life. <3

As always, please feel free to share your own suggestions and glow-up tips in the comments! <3

✩‧₊*:・love ya ･:*₊‧✩

[pinksugardollz]

Self Care Guide For Bad Mental Health Days

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

♡ let yourself cry! feeling sad when you have bpd can feel like the world is ending, but it isn’t. feeling sad is normal, and it’s completely okay. don’t demonise your emotions. let it out

♡ cuddle with your pets! cats are absolutely amazing for this, dogs too. lil furry babies make me so happy and cheer me up so much when im feeling low

♡ take as many naps as you need without guilt. rest rest rest, even on your good days! stop overworking yourself

♡ shower, you don’t have to do your full routine, just make sure you wash yourself then apply your favourite lotion and sweet scented perfume

♡ cosy up and watch something that makes you happy. nostalgic tv shows are great, on my bad days i really love watching spongebob bratz or strawberry shortcake

♡ invest in a 2L water bottle and keep it by your bed for those low motivation days

♡ light your favourite bakery scented candle, sweet scents always uplift my mood

♡ do not isolate yourself, try to keep in contact with friends or family

♡ eat some chocolate or chips, whatever your favourite comfort food is. your happiness is more important than your diet

♡ if you’re struggling to get out of bed, try keeping everything you need on your bedside table so you can still do your skincare routines and take your daily vitamins from your bed

♡ run a nice relaxing bubble bath!!!

♡ put on some cosy pjs & grab a pink fluffy blanket and snuggle on the sofa instead of staying in bed all day

♡ set rules for yourself, write some things you that want to achieve in a day. such as keeping your skin moisturised, shower twice a day, drink enough water, getting out of bed. anything that applies to you. self care can become confusing and daunting, so write everything down to remind yourself to look after and cherish yourself

♡ make sure you’re eating enough. even if you’re not feeling hungry, if you don’t have the energy to cook, order takeout! it’s ok to eat takeout sometimes, just not all of the time as junk food can be highly addictive, and obviously isn’t very good for you

♡ try writing down your thoughts and feelings. i love journaling and covering the pages with pink stickers and making it look all pretty, it’s so therapeutic

♡ reach out to a mental health professional if things get too bad. this may feel hard, but if you need help desperately pls get it

♡ acknowledge that what you’re feeling is just temporary, whatever you’re feeling won’t last forever

♡ make sure you’re getting enough sleep. whenever i didn’t get enough sleep in the past, i would sometimes start seeing and hearing things, and would become very paranoid and disassociated, which is obviously not what anyone wants. so pls pls pls make sure you’re prioritising your sleep

♡ treat yourself, buy something pink and pretty just because you can

♡ take a day or 2 off work (if allowed)

tiny disclaimer: these tips may seem obvious to those of you without serious mental health problems, and they may be things you do everyday but when someone with mental health problems is in a really bad place, they can sometimes forget how to look after themselves properly, or in my case a few years ago i would just stop caring about myself. i love all of my pretty sugar dollies so much, look after yourselves and i really hope some of these tips help you 🎀🦢

[amoebaforce]

scions at a sleepover

it's Krile's nameday, and to celebrate, the former scions are spending the night in the Baldesion Annex. let's see what hijinks ensue. (inspired by this image of pajama Y'shtola)

Krile

truly the hostess with the most-est.

she let Tataru order the nameday cake, but Krile picks out all the snacks and beverages herself. her favorites, of course, but she makes sure everyone has something they like.

insists that everyone arrive in their pajamas. hers are yellow with little blue cats on them.

pulls out three different board games to pick from, some of them hers and some of them from her grandfather's old collection.

keeps the orchestration rolls pumping until the neighbors complain.

takes a commemorative photo and hangs it on her wall afterward.

Y'shtola

knows full well that there will be drinks and food, but still shows up with wine and chocolate bonbons to share.

wears a black satin nightgown and robe, with matching slippers and eye mask.

ropes Alisaie, Krile, Urianger, and the WoL into doing skincare masks with her, giggling the entire time.

even convinces Alphinaud to let her paint his nails. it isn't a very difficult task, all things considered.

doesn't start the pillow fight, just watches it unfold as she sips her wine.

passes out at midnight and doesn't move until dawn, missing a few late-night activities but waking up fresher than anyone.

Alisaie

starts the pillow fight.

eats half the candy and drinks 75% of the fruit juice. still high on sugar 36 hours later but has no regrets.

challenges Thancred to an arm-wrestling match, the results of which are hotly contested to this day.

spends a good portion of the night making up a very-elaborate secret handshake with the Warrior. they practice it over and over until they can do it with their eyes closed.

loudest "happy nameday" singer in the room.

her "pajamas" consist of a big t-shirt and chocobo-print shorts.

Alphinaud

wearing a classic button-up pajama set, blue with white polka dots, and bunny slippers.

says he doesn't want his nails painted, but then gets very invested in the color-selecting process and watches intently as the varnish is applied. scolds his sister when she almost smudges the finished product.

gets WAAYYY too competitive in their board game, insists they play 100% by the rules. loses to Estinien anyway.

ends up in the corner with Urianger eventually. he pulls out his drawing pad and sketches a few candid portraits: G'raha getting his hair braided, Krile blowing out the candles, the Warrior studying a hand of cards.

falls asleep first... wakes up with fake eyeglasses drawn onto his face.

Thancred

draws eyeglasses on Alphinaud's face with Krile's paints. careful fingers are quite handy (pun intended) in times like these.

absentmindedly downs an entire plate of candied chestnuts by himself while he watches Estinien cheat at their board game.

refuses a skincare treatment while Y'shtola's awake, then puts one on himself after she's fallen asleep. eye cucumbers and all.

when it gets late, he blows out most of the candles and tells a ghost story, putting on voices and using blankets and pillows as costumes.

gets admonished by Urianger because his story was "too scary".

eventually dozes off sitting upright in the corner, arms crossed like he fell asleep waiting for a wagon.

Urianger

arrives in a full old-man nightgown, gets mercilessly clowned for it by Estinien and the WoL

genuinely thinks the purpose of a sleepover is to sleep. starts drinking chamomile tea at 9 pm.

Krile requests a birthday card reading. Urianger obliges, and the next thing he knows, everyone wants one.

enjoys his facemask so much, he leaves it on for ten minutes longer than he's meant to.

does a puppet show to "make up for" Thancred's scary story, except he chooses an epic tragedy whose ending makes everyone cry.

yells at G'raha and the WoL for giggling at 5 am.

Estinien

didn't own pajamas until the day before, so he went out and bought a simple pair for the party. chooses a plain t-shirt and cotton plaid pants.

brings flowers as a gift for Krile, even though she said no gifts. grins to himself when she blushes.

wasn't paying attention when the board game rules were explained. doesn't even realize he was cheating until hours after he won.

laughs his ass off while Thancred draws on Alphinaud. suggests other "art" to add to the canvas, but Krile says one is enough, and he doesn't dare cross the nameday girl.

pounds back three bottles of wine between himself and Y'shtola. he's a pretty calm drunk, but the hangover is killer.

G'raha

he and the WoL arrive in matching attire, each carrying a plate of cookies.

lets Alisaie and Krile braid his hair into a bunch of different styles. models them for the adoring crowd.

persuaded into dancing by the WoL, surprises everyone by actually being good at it.

"judges" the much-contested arm wrestling match, but his official ruling of "too close to call" is still under question.

eats too many sweets and gives himself a stomach ache, has to bum some tea from Urianger.

is so traumatized by Thancred's terrifying tale that he can't sleep. even after the puppet show.

[ciaossu-imagines]

Hello, hello, my lovelies 💜 First off, thank you so much to the couple of people who have commissioned paid fics, and to those who have commissioned their free spots and agreed to help me provide examples! Just a reminder that my commissions are indeed open. I will be posting a list of commissions received, in the order they will be done below but I want to take the time to mention I still have the following spots available for FREE commission-level works for any of my current 62 fandoms written for, all you need to do is send me a message or drop anonymously into the ask box here (and a reminder that your identity will not be mentioned unless you are comfortable with it).

a smutty matchup - this gets you a detailed description of which character you, your OC, or a canon character of your choice would be most sexually compatible with and why, plus at least two other characters you or they are close to being sexually compatible with, along with the areas you or they would struggle to connect sexually with those characters

a romantic matchup - this gets you a detailed description of which character you, your OC, or a canon character of your choice would be most compatible with romantically and the reasoning behind that decision and thoughts about what your life would be like together, plus at least two other potential characters who would be close to compatible, with detailed reasonings on where those characters fall short of being perfect matches and where they might fit into your (or your OC, or canon character of your choice's) story.

a platonic matchup - this gets you a detailed description of who you, your OC, or a canon character of your choice would ideally be best friends with. This includes the reasoning behind the decision and thoughts about what your or their life would be like with this character, plus at least two other potential best friends, along with detailed reasons as to why they're not quite as compatible and where those characters might fit into yours, your OC, or the canon character of your choice's story.

help with world-building/create a world - this gets you either help fleshing out and creating a fictional world you want to use, either for canon or as an AU, or the author will collaborate to build you a complete world to use as you wish. This includes all information on the layout of the world, any magic or power systems should those be your wish, any important information on the politics of the world, the currency system, technology used, any class systems they have, etc.

help with character-building/create a character - this gets you either help fleshing out and creating an original character you want to use, either for canon or your own personal works, or the author will collaborate to build you an original character to use as you wish. This includes how the character looks, how they sound, their personality, a detailed backstory for them, how they tend to interact with the world around them and other people, their inner persona vs. their public persona, how they feel about certain large topics, etc.

short-fic - this gets you a fic of 5-6 pages maximum hopefully (unless the author bloats). Again, regular rules of the blog do not apply and I will write any genres or pairings, work with OC's, etc.

medium-fic - this gets you a fic of no more than 15 pages maximum hopefully (unless the author bloats). Again, regular rules of the blog do not apply and I will write any genres or pairings, work with OC's, etc.

As soon as my charger arrives Thursday, I will start dedicating any time that I am not at my regular job or not sleeping/showering to writing commissions. My commission schedule currently looks like this and should be completed by the end of October:

Long-fic free commission (this one is being done first mostly because the person this commission is being done for has been waiting for almost a year to see Cat & Mouse in its finished state)

Paid romantic/platonic match-up for K1

Paid short fic for K1

Music mix free commission

Paid romantic/platonic match-up for K2

Paid short fic for K2

Character exploration free commission

Paid Romantic matchup for HQ

Paid Platonic matchup for HQ

Paid Smutty matchup for HQ

Paid Romantic matchup for YP

Paid Platonic matchup for YP

Paid Smutty matchup for YP

Paid Intermediate fic

Paid Music Mix

Paid Romantic/Platonic match

Headcanons free commission

[twst-drabbles]

Riddle 13

Summary: With your dorm spick and span, for now, your boss Dire Crowley decided to have you temporarily move into the Heartslabyul dorm to clean. You’re kinda irritated at the workload but at least you’re being paid. Unfortunately, it seems you ticked off the housewarden, Riddle Rosehearts.

“Ugh, my eyes…” Being in a new environment is really messing with your sleep. And brain. The paint job, the way the floor meets the walls, even the furniture is just…weird, uneven. The colors are nice and does give a sense of deliberate chaos that doesn’t suddenly jut out at you but ugh, this will be torture if you ever end up dizzy or nauseated.

You shouldn’t have spent all night studying the historical origins of the Queen of Heart’s rules. That shit was hilarious. Really, thirty rules made in one day all because a cat stole her tart. So petty. A comedy in the pages of history. You couldn’t help but flip back to the page containing those rules as you laid in bed.

A strong knock on the door almost made you drop it on your face. “What?”

Come on, you wanted to lay here more.

“This is Riddle Rosehearts. Open the door, please.”

Ah, did somebody already make a mess? Wouldn’t shock you. Ace and Deuce already make messes by themselves, you can’t imagine what the rest of the student population is like.

You got up and opened the door, rule book still in hand. “Housewarden Rosehearts. What is it?”

You were still in your pajamas, everything about you unkempt. You’re not exactly insulted by the way this man looked you up and down, you know you probably look like shit. The light narrowing of his eyes and the sigh through his mouth did annoy you a bit.

“Setting aside that you’re not wearing the proper uniform,” oh yeah, that colorful thing was placed on your bed when you moved in, “did you read at least rules one through two hundred and fifty?”

“Huh? Oh yeah,” you waved the very book in your hand, “Read all of them actually. It was hilarious, reading why the rules were made.”

You had a real good time too.

“’Hilarious?’” He cleared his throat. You didn’t miss the frown that crossed his face for a moment. “Well, as long as you fully studied them, then I don’t have to worry about you breaking any of them.”

Wait…

“Hold on, you wanted me to follow all of them?” He’s fucking with you, right? “Really?”

“That was the task given to you,” He nodded. “Now I would appreciate if you didn’t refer to these rules as ‘hilarious,’ as you say. That’s entirely disrespectful, and even if you are not officially part of this dorm, you do have to—”

“No can do.” You’re gonna have to stop him right there. “Eight hundred and ten rules, on top of the fact that I have to follow Crowley’s specific rules. Trying to follow them all would hinder me. You did get the letter he sent you, right?”

You're here to clean and inspect what should be repaired. Things such as curfew don't apply to you, among a number of other things.

“I’m well aware of the context of why you’re here, but that doesn’t stop me from enforcing these rules. As someone in a unique position, you have a standard to set along with myself.” His shoulders were raised, lifting up his head as though to reassert himself as your judge and punisher. “As Housewarden, that is my right for as long as you stay here.”

You smiled, an expression with a hint of teeth, as though you’re ready to take a bite. “We’re not gonna to get along, huh?”

“Whether we get along is irrelevant to the matter at hand,” The crossing of his arms, the re-positioning of his feet that made his heels click against the wood floor, this housewarden isn’t going to back down, is he? “These rules are the foundation of the Heartslabyul dorm, a respect to pay special attention to for as long as you’re here. If I were to make a special exception for you, then it won’t be long before chaos is sewn, watered, and made to bloom.”

Fancy little brat ain’t he? Like that’ll convince you to value these inane rules over your paying job.

You tossed the rule book over your shoulder. It missed the bed and smacked against the floor. Whoops. Oh well. You would’ve snorted at the vein popping out of his neck had the irritation not been building in you. You can’t help it. It’s early in the morning.

“Whatever rules I have to follow that relate to cleaning, I’ll follow those. I even have them marked down in my little notebook right here,” you never go outside without it. Has your checklist, calendar and everything on it. “But if you expect me to follow every single one of them at the expense of my schedule, I’ll have to reject that. This dorm is not my sole focus, I still have to clean the main campus of Night Raven College. Simply put, Housewarden Rosehearts, I’m a staff member before I am a student. My priorities are to my cleaning and my studies. You have no choice but to swallow that.”

Before Housewarden Rosehearts could retort, you closed and locked the door. You have no classes to attend to anyway. Your cleaning shift doesn’t start until well after their classes start, when the dorm is nearly empty.

You heard a hiss, probably behind clenched teeth. The sound of heels fading away made you sigh. Finally you can get more sleep.

[tatertato]

life series smp winners playlists part 2

we're back! for those who don't know, i'm putting together songs that i think fit each of the life series winners, and they're either songs i've seen work really really well in animatics already or songs that would probably work really well, but are less popular or not associated with this fandom (yet)

i'll be linking+listing them here as well as providing little snippets of explanation for why i think the song fits, but i don't feel like making actual spotify playlists or smth, so if anyone else wants to do that, be my guest.

i still had trouble finding good songs for some of them (this one especially)- if anyone seeing this has a good idea that i missed, lmk and i'll update these posts (no promises tho)

pt 1 (3L!Grian)

pt 3 (DL!Pearl)

Last Life: Scott

Boss Bitch - Doja Cat: alright, kickin it off strong! picked this song for the gaslight gatekeep girlboss energy and little else

Yeah, ain't tryna be cool like you Wobblin' around in your high-heeled shoes I'm clumsy, made friends with the floor Two for one, you know a bitch buy four And two left feet, you know I always drop (this line because of this post and this post alone)

I'm a bitch, I'm a boss I'm a bitch and a boss, I'ma shine like gloss (need i say more)

Said, I took it and I ran for it I won it then I stand on it (NEED I SAY MORE)

2. Two - Sleeping at Last: as i mentioned i had some trouble finding songs for scott since i dont watch his pov too often, so some of these are less exclusively last life and more just his character in general. that being said, i do feel like this still fits to an extent for LL!Scott

Sweetheart, you look a little tired When did you last eat? Come in and make yourself right at home Stay as long as you need (this is scott's total eldest sibling energy, always helping and trying to be friends before anything- ex: taking in cleo, being friendly to scar)

You know I'll take my heart clean apart if it helps yours beat (this applies more after last life, see: the many many many times he offers to sacrifice himself, but also the fact that he refuses to betray his friends as the boogeyman)

Like a force to be reckoned with A mighty ocean or a gentle kiss I will love you without any strings attached And what a privilege it is to love A great honour to hold you up (very representative of scott's trust and loyalty to his allies in every series, through both chaos and peace)

3. Constellations - The Oh Hellos: at first this one was only here for the star symbolism, but after listening to it a couple more times it does fit pretty well (also the oh hellos is very scottagecore)

'Cause like constellations a million years away Every good intention, every good intention Is interpolation, a line we drew in the array Looking for the faces Looking for the shapes in the silence (despite all his efforts to maintain alliances throughout the series, everything inevitably falls apart in the chaos of the finale)

Like constellations imploding in the night Everything is turning, everything is turning The shapes that you drew may change beneath a different light And everything you thought you knew Will fall apart, but you'll be all right (LL was really the only series in which they made a point to isolate the reds- in DL, there was always a pair, and alliances stayed solid despite name color in LimL and SL- but in LL, alliances could be torn apart so quickly, loyalties constantly changing which made it hard to trust others and that shows why scott's loyalty stood out)

4. How to Be a Heartbreaker - Marina and the Diamonds: this is another one that isn't exclusively LL, i just had to put one in abt scotts many ex's.

Rule number one is that you gotta have fun But, baby, when you're done, you gotta be the first to run Rule number two, just don't get attached to Somebody you could lose (i see these "rules" kind of as lessons learned from each season instead, like things he tells himself he'll do next time, but because of his loyal and caring nature, never can)

How to be a heartbreaker Boys they like the look of danger We'll get him falling for a stranger A player, singing I lo-lo-love you At least I think I do (really like i said, a play on the ex's)

5. The Garden - The Crane Wives: here it is, the obligatory crane wives song

Put your ear to my heart or set your teeth against my throat Give me something pretty to wear beneath my blood-stained clothes (something abt this line is just very scott to me)

Lay me down Pour the dirt into our bed Tell the crows They can have their pound of flesh The ghosts at the window echo all our quiet prayers When they come for us, they'll come with hammers and nails My darling, the devil knows my name My name My name (this comes from the things i've seen about how the watchers hate scott, the watchers here symbolized as "the crows" and "the devil")

6. A Terrible Ride - Lizard Boy: this one is an animatic recommendation! here's the animatic -also i think this is applies to most of the winners very angst

I used to be calm But now this ticking bomb is gonna go off (the way he goes after ren for revenge after pearl's death)

I fought and fought hard And I could've died But I got scarred A terrible ride Ride This game was not fun I thought it was right Because I won Was it worth the fight? Fight? (WATCH THE ANIMATIC)

Written in the starss This could have been ours (what can i say, im a sucker for the star symbolism)

and that's all for scott! DL!pearl coming soon!

[freetobeeyouandme]

Sunshine, Spun of Gold

Tags: Rated M, No Archive Warnings Apply; Jeremy Knox/Jean Moreau; Alternate Universe - Historical, First Kiss, references to past abuse, references to past sexual abuse, Internalized Homophobia, references to historically accurate homophobia

Length: 5.8k

Summary:

Go. Be safe: Three words Jean has been trying to live by as he tries to make a life for himself in a small town on the other side of the country, far away from the Nest and anyone who knows about it. Here he is just another stranger come to seek a future in the hills. Faceless, blameless. But even the golden California sun cannot cleanse him of the sins of the Nest and the needful thing coiled tightly inside of him. Not even as it continues to seek him out in the figure of a bright and beautiful boy, offering warm smiles and gentle touches. After all, those are the opposite of safety, and past the ocean there is nowhere left to run. - Or, Jeremy and Jean fall for each other in the midst of the California gold rush.

Read on Ao3, see whole collection

Excerpt:

California, 1849

Jean woke to grass tickling his nose and his heart in his throat, choking him in disoriented panic. The sun flickered behind his eyes in disjointed patches, filtered through the canopy of the maple tree, reminding him of where he was – but the recollection brought no relief. Nor did the fact that at least the sun was still up.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” a soft voice said to his side.

A hand, belonging to that voice, came up to run gentle fingers through his hair. It wasn’t enough to force the thing constricting his chest into releasing him, but it made space for another instinct: to stay where he was not out of fear but to bask in the warmth of that other sensation. It made nothing better, but at least it was easier to breathe around.

“Well, it’s more afternoon. Did you have a nice nap?”

Jean ran his hands over his eyes, trying to dispel the sleepiness and succeeding only partially. This wasbad. He was supposed to be working, was supposed to make himself useful.

“You shouldn’t have let me sleep.”

Jeremy sat beside him, hat pulled over his face and chewing on a blade of grass that Jean had no idea where he had gotten it from, and shrugged with the innocence of a man who did not have to care for such things. A respectable young man who had taken his grandfather’s money and done something with it, Jeremy ran the most well known drinking establishment in town with the help of his wife. Both were happily received guests everywhere they went, although more often than not it was the Knoxes who hosted, and any newcomer, of which the burgeoning town of Troy, California saw more and more every day, inevitably ended up at the Golden Court looking for work, a bed, or simply a drink. They knew everyone and everything, and in turn everyone knew them – mostly, though, in passing.

Jean had been no exception to the rule, finding his way there on the back of Cat’s cart, clutching a barrel of wine to keep himself steady. Except once Jeremy was done laughing about the story of how Cat had almost run Jean over and had finished reprimanding Jean for helping unload the cart when he had just arrived and was, by all definitions of the word, a guest, he had stuck by Jean’s side. Jean knew he did not deserve that friendship by any means: he was the silent stranger from France who had simply one day appeared, attached to a small train of wagons who had picked him up in Nebraska, where he’d been left behind by his previous travel companions who refused to winter there. He had no connections and no one to vouch for him, and so the rumors about his flight from the east coast abounded, each more colorful and far removed from the truth as the one before. It made him an unlikely candidate for the friendship of anyone, much less the town’s golden boy, and Jean patiently waited for the moment that Jeremy realized that Jean was not worth the tarnish on his reputation.

[blackoutbugza]

hey beetles!

introduction

🪲🐌🐛🐞

☆……………….

hey there! my name’s blackoutbugza. 

“what do i call you?”

you can call me by my username, or you can call me by my nicknames: bugza, bob, and cam. :)

“who is your target audience?”

my blog is mostly ages 13+ for explicit language, in-character art which may involve sensitive content such as blood, knives, scissors, cuts, scars, suicide, sexual innuendo, injuries, or even death. this sounds like an ad for medicine. of course, i will have warnings on my posts if any of these apply to them. 

(note: 13+ DOES NOT mean 18+. please keep this in mind, im still a minor too.)

“what fandoms are you in?”

in order from most to least currently hyperfixated:

sanders sides

bfdi/osc community

bee and puppycat

omori

boisvert

south park

spooky month

five nights at freddy’s

scott pilgrim

hilda

stanley parable

^i’m more than happy to talk about any of these fandoms if you’re interested!

“do you support multishippers?”

yes! i find no harm in shipping someone with more than one person (if they’re not anyone from real life). in fact, i’m a multishipper myself!

“do you take art requests?”

you betcha! any day, any time. but i do have some rules however for what i can and cannot draw for you:

i’m totally okay with ship art. as long as it’s not anything involving p*dophelia, inc*st, r*cism, some kind of f*tish, or anything else falling under that umbrella.

following that “ship art” thing, poly ships are just as valid too. follow the the rules as rule 1 please.

although i may post this art from time to time on my own, i will not do any personal OCs or AUs. i love them very much and you have interesting characters, but this is basically the equivalent to asking, “can you draw me?”

i can draw theories as long as they’re not harmful ones, and as long as they at least make sense.

i won’t take requests for any fandom outside of the list i have above. (however of course, let’s if you wanted a sanders sides art request and you asked for emile picani or remy sleep, that would be fine since sanders sides, the sleep shorts, and cartoon therapy are all in the same universe.)

“who’s on your DNI list?”

p*dophiles, inc*sts, pro-lifers, anyone who will go out of their way to hate on furries or alterhumans (or claims they are the same), harmful f*tish artists/enjoyers, NSFW artists/enjoyers, r*cists, misogynists and misandrists, ableists, homophobes, transphobes, or anyone pro-israel. ^anyone who interacts with me who’s on this list WILL be unfollowed/blocked, and will not receive any sort of contact from me.

“what if i have a question you don’t answer in this introduction post?”

my “send art requests!” button also works as an answering service for any further questions you may have.

“what sanders sides ships will you and will you not do art requests for?”

(not in order from favorites)

will:

logicality

prinxiety

dukeceit

moceit

analogical

loceit

intrulogical

intruloceit

logicaliceit

remile

royality

anxceit

intruality

logince

karrot kings

literally anything else as long as it’s not in the wont list

won’t:

romrem

LAMP

GET TO KNOW ME!!!

———————————————

what’s your favorite color(s)?”

peach, ivory, mango orange, and taupe :)

“why do you only talk in lowercase?”

because i can

“dogs or cats?”

snails

“what’s your favorite holiday?”

i like my birthday!

“are you dating someone?”

nope ;_;

“what’s your favorite object show(s)?”

hfjone, happy star’s gtos, xfohv/the subscriber count, tdos, and the nightly manor

“who’s your favorite sanders sides character(s)?”

logan and c!joan (it may seem like it’s remus but he’s just the funnest to draw)

“why do you take so long to answer art requests?”

i’m lazy (and dried of motivation)

“what’s your favorite pattycake style?”

peppermint patty

“what’s your favorite pokémon?”

mimikyu (basic autism stuff ik)

“oh! do you have autism?”

yep

“what’s your favorite breakfast food?”

bacon

“how do you color your art?”

i make 3 layers. top layer is for outline, bottom layer is for the coloring, and the middle layer is for potential shading or watermarks i may want to remove.

“why did you make a tumblr acc?”

i wanted to post my art on a platform where sanders sides is fairly known and the fandom is stable.

“what’s your favorite book series?”

i don’t like reading :/ if i had to choose one it would probably be the fazbear frights books

“favorite musical artist(s)?”

jack stauber, madilyn mei, tally hall, thomas sanders (if he counts-)

“friends you wanna tag?”

@thegoldenduckie

@not-sure-what-im-feeling

@logan-the-artist

@simply-a-moth

@literallyblanc

@oatmeal-stans-the-trash-rat

@darksides-dutchess

@starshard17

@theelectricalcity

(anyone who wants to be added/removed just message me & i’ll do it)

i think that’s all. you know the drill.

drink water, eat a snack, take a shower, brush those teeth, and love yourself so much you can shatter the multiverse with just how much you can say “i love me” and mean it. (that would be funny if that actually happened be the one to do it pls)

seriously though. love you.

🪲🐌🐛🐞

☆………………..…………………

[byjillianmaria]

That’s right, it’s time for my “messed up fairy tale novella” to get some beta reader eyes on it. Since it’s short, my turnaround time is a little quicker than usual (about a month and a half), mostly because I’d really like to get it out later this year. But I still hope you’ll be able to read!

What do I need from you? Basically, you’d be reading through the draft and taking notes. Every 5 chapters, I’ll ask for your feedback in a google form. You can format your feedback however is most convenient to you — as bullet points, or paragraphs, or whatever! There will be a few questions in each section to use as prompts if you need them, but I encourage freeform feedback with this one. For more information on the book, including trigger warnings and sample chapters, please read on!

Title: Curiouser And… Age Range: Young Adult Genre: Fantasy, Alice in Wonderland Retelling Length: Approx 30k Deadline for Application: April 3, 8 PM EST Deadline for Reading: May 15

Description:

Ashlyn Jones was an obedient child. This was not enough to save her.

After falling down a well and into a strange forest where nothing follows the rules, Ashlyn is determined to make her way home. Following a smiling cat and a mad hatter, she finds an ally in Azalea, a strange but steady girl found sleeping in a tree. But not everyone in this strange new world is an ally—Ashlyn is warned early on about the wicked queen, who lives in a gilded red palace that all paths in the forest seem to lead to. Will Ashlyn find her way home, or will she fall into the queen's clutches?

Trigger Warnings:

On-page depiction of a panic attack

On-page depiction of dissociation

Explicit description of depression, from a depressed character

Ableism toward mental health issues, including internalized ableism (this is refuted on-page)

Discussion of a suicide (does not give specifics of the method, only the emotions that led up to it)

Discussions of grief, mortality, and similar topics

Discussion of a terminal illness, somewhat graphic

Body horror, somewhat graphic

Brief mentions of homophobia, nothing violent

Character death

If you would like further details on any of these topics, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Read the first two chapters here, and then fill out this form to apply as a beta reader. Thank you so much for your time!

[blackleatherjacketz]

Forbidden Fruit: Chapter 2

Jack Russell x Female Reader

Summary: Jack saves you from a vicious vampire attack and you discover you might be more entangled than you thought.

This Chapter: Jack makes sure your home is safe, and you help him out of his wet clothes.

Warnings: Jack Sniffing Around, Heavy Eye Contact, You Helping Jack Undress, Protective Jack, Nightmares, Kissing, Biting, Implied Sexual Content

Word Count: 2.3k+

Tags: @skittle479 @acutecupidity @bullet-prooflove

Read the rest of the story HERE!

Rays of light shine through your windows as his presence fills your home with a sort of calm that you hadn’t expected to ever feel again, at least not this soon after last night. That balm he provides barely manages to assuage the fears that keep creeping up on you, though. They build onto each other in the back of your head, piecing themselves together with each recovered memory as you watch him touch your belongings and smell the air.

Like a bloodhound on the hunt, he follows a trail that only he can see, picking up a towel in your kitchen, bending down to smell your couch before moving past your bathroom altogether. He runs his fingers along your walls and around your picture frames, almost as if he could feel the remnants of the sinister presence before stopping in front of your bedroom door. He takes a deep breath, pausing before looking over at you to gain permission to enter the room Alan most likely visited you in. Your memories of him don’t include any part of this room or your home, but you know it wouldn’t hurt for him to check.

“May I?” He raises his eyebrows with the question, his forehead wrinkling as he points toward the open doorway.

“Of course.” You motion in that direction as he enters your private sanctuary, his hands gracing the metal of your bedframe and the fabric of your comforter.

He pulls back each layer of covers, getting onto his knees to properly reach the level of your bed as he looks up at you from across the room. He carefully inhales your scent, those eyes of his growing brighter in the light of day as they send an unexpected spark of heat into your core, exciting you more than you care to admit. You may be traumatized and severely sleep deprived at the moment, but you swear that there is something absolutely feral about the way he’s looking at you.

With nothing more than a blink of an eye he breaks contact, bringing you back from the brink of fantasy as he picks up each individual pillow, closing his eyes as if to envision whatever it is he might be smelling. You hold your breath and hope to God that he isn’t getting any traces of the mysterious vampire you both apparently share some history with. You didn’t know exactly what to expect when he said he would be able to identify Alan’s presence here, but this definitely wasn’t what you originally pictured.

“All I smell is you,” he reports with a sigh of relief as he sets the last of the pillows back down onto the bed. “And your cat.” He pats them awkwardly to keep them in place, looking up at you as they finally settle, running a hand nervously through his hair as he catches your eye.

“So, we’re safe here?” You recall the rest of your vampire knowledge from every horror movie and Halloween special you’ve ever seen, remembering that not all rules apply to every vampire. “Unless I invite him in, right?”

“Right,” he nods, shaking off his awkward stance in order to face you. “He won’t be able to enter here unless you allow it, and I didn’t smell any roommates, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“How does that work, exactly?” You fold your arms across your chest, leaning against the wall for physical support as much as dramatic effect as you stare blankly at his handsome face. “Did you learn that in vampire hunting school, or were you born with a super human sense of smell?”

He pauses, opening his mouth as if to answer you but stops himself once he thinks better of the idea. “We should both get some rest while the sun is still up. I can sleep out in my car if that makes you more comfortable, that way I can see if…”

“You’re not gonna stay here?” You take a step toward him, not caring how transparent your lack of sleep has suddenly made you. All you can think about now is how much safer you’d feel if you harbor him here in your home until all this is over. “After everything that’s happened?”

“I can if you want,” he offers genuinely, palms open toward the sky. “I just didn’t think… I didn’t want to assume anything.”

“No, I know… you know what? I’m sorry.” You’re not exactly sure what you’re sorry for, if you’re being completely honest with yourself. What you are exactly sure of, is that it’s definitely time for you both to get some sleep so you can start forming coherent thoughts again. “I guess I’m just a little scared to be alone right now,” you admit, uncrossing your arms as you take a few more steps in his direction.

“I get that,” he whispers, parting his lips as you get closer to him. “I do.”

You smile and notice that the shirt he’s wearing is still damp and nearly ripped to shreds, his own blood staining the few spots a dark faded brown. The section he’d ripped off to help you leaves a giant gap exposing the hair just below his navel and the bend of his hip. “You really should take this off,” you start, lifting your hands up to touch his wet, crumpled collar. “I have a dry shirt you can borrow.”

“Thank you.” A smile just big enough to show his teeth graces his features as he lets you unbutton his shirt, his hands nervously pulsing themselves into fists by his side. He looks into your eyes for a split second as you work to disrobe him; that warm, soothing calm resting between you both as you return his smile and slowly pull his shirt apart. Your lips nearly touch, your nose brushing against his before he bashfully looks down at his feet until you slide the wet and dirty cloth off his shoulders. “You should change, too… so you don’t catch a cold.”

“I will.” You run your palms over his terribly scarred biceps, just barely touching them as their tiny hairs stand on end, acting as a conduit for the invisible electricity between you two. They follow the path of least resistance, connecting your hands to his skin as they make their way down his elbows and forearms until they finally reach his hands that squeeze your fingers. No longer wrinkled from the rain, they warm your palms before intertwining themselves with yours, pulling you in and keeping you near.

Part of you wants to kiss him as you look into his eyes once more, to lean into this sudden and strange connection forged through blood, sweat and tears, but the other part of you is begging for sleep. You can feel the muscles in your calves twitching from fatigue, the insane amount of stress you just put them through forcing them into failure much earlier than you anticipated. You squeeze his hands affectionately as he holds your gaze, kind and patient as your eyes flutter shut before you open them up again, through nothing more than sheer force of will.

This can wait.

“Let me get you that shirt,” you tell him as you let go of his hands, nodding your head in the direction of your closet to free yourself from any further temptation.

A pale figure takes shape before your eyes, blurry at first as it contrasts against the surrounding darkness like smoke creeping across the air. It slowly comes into focus, unveiling high cheekbones hollowed out in the shape of a man’s face, one that you’ve seen before, but can’t quite place. The figure before you is dangerously handsome, jet black hair falling in front of charcoal eyes as he seems to slither up to you, a knowing glance painting his sharp features into a satisfied, smug look.

“Leaving so soon?” He traces the outline of your face, tickling the fine hair along your jawline before curling his fingers up under your chin. That sly smile of his bends into a smirk as he leans forward, taking his time to meticulously look you up and down. “After I’ve been waiting all this time to be with you? After all that we’ve shared together?”

“All that we’ve shared?” You hear yourself ask as if you have no control over your body, a tingling chill suddenly flowing through you as he touches your face. You’re unsure if this is a memory playing out in your head, or a more clear and present danger as you’re able to feel your surroundings with all five senses. Your brain may be foggy in telling you that this is a dream, but your body is narrating a completely different story altogether. “We’ve only just met.”

“Have we?” he implores, those inky black eyes of his getting darker as he grabs onto your chin, matching the vaporous void behind him. He grins and brings his lips that much closer to yours as you begin to shiver beneath his grasp, your breath becoming more shallow with each inhalation. “Try again.”

He has some sort of power over you, keeping you still without the aid of chemicals or restraints as you try your best to escape. You attempt to move your face away from his, to lift your arms to maybe push him off of you, but it doesn’t work. You try to run forwards and then backwards but your feet are somehow glued to the ground, locking you in place. You want to yell and scream, to possibly deafen him into letting you go, but you can’t seem to find any part of your voice.

It isn’t until you’ve exhausted all of your options that you decide to give up and submit to his will. Instead of fighting against him, you allow yourself to look into his eyes, ready to see the truth about what brought him to you in the first place, or vice versa.

“I came to you.” You hear yourself calmly realize out loud.

“That’s right.” His smile widens as you play his game, his other hand smoothing his fingers through your hair then down the back of your spine. “And why is that?”

“I was drawn to you… called to you somehow before I even met you, and when I did it was like…” You pause as he gently squeezes the base of your neck, his thumb following your pulse down your throat and into your clavicle. All of the sudden you recall him delivering endless nights of pleasure in an almost shamefully passionate union forged just as instantly as he had graced you with his presence. “It was like magic.”

“Good.” He smiles, his pointed teeth shining through his lips as he whispers against your cheek. “I can’t imagine you’d want to throw all that away, little lamb.”He feathers his words against the shell of your ear, sending another shiver down your spine that morphs your initial sense of intrigue into a deepening shade of desire.

You feel him press his lips against yours in an all too familiar flavor, that initial memory resurfacing from within your subconscious as he kisses you. His tongue is slow and gentle, colliding along with yours as your lips part even further to grant him access. His hands caress your neck and shoulders as you feel yourself give in to the pleasure he so generously provides, surrendering to his touch completely. You somehow feel your own hands touch the icy cold skin of his face and arms, wrapping yourself around him until something sharp catches on your bottom lip. You hiss as the cool, crisp air shocks your open flesh, the salty taste of blood lingering on your lips as it drips from his teeth.

“Come back to me.” He orders, licking the blood off your lips and tongue before making a gratuitous display of clearing it from his teeth. “Can you do that for me?”

You feel yourself nodding your head, letting him kiss you again as the blood pours out of your lips and into his mouth. That bitter chill inside you grows as you kiss him back, forcing every cell within your body to shiver as the blood runs down your chin and onto your pillow. Your pillow…your bed…wait a minute…

You blink a few times as your eyes begin to focus on their new surroundings, your half-open closet and dresser bringing you back to reality as you finally lift your head off the pillow. Thank God. You bring your hand up to your mouth to make sure that you’re no longer bleeding from that imaginary wound, that what you just experienced was nothing more than a hyper realistic dream. Your lips are dry and chapped, moistened only by the tiny hint of drool that always accompanies you into slumber as you check your sheets for any more evidence of foul play.

Nothing.

You glance over at the clock on your bedside table and realize that it’s almost four in the afternoon, the sun glowing a burnt orange behind your curtains as you gather the strength to sit up. The dried gauze on your neck serves as a reminder of the chaotic events of the past twenty-four hours, cleaving your actual memories from the nightmare that still lingers in the recesses of your mind. It starts to fade away just as soon as it came upon you, like grains of sand sifting through your fingers no matter how hard you try to keep it in your palms. As most of the details dissipate into the void, the main idea still remains.

You stand up and walk into the living room, only to find that Jack is still there at your request, fast asleep on your couch in your Hamilton sweatshirt with your cat curled up next to him.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super manga Ch.55-58

What a bunch of grap.

Okay, so last time, Whis went to talk to the Grand Minister about Merus.  Turns out Merus is an angel, just like they are, and that’s why he’s been so secretive about his abilities.  The problem is that angels are forbidden from taking sides in mortal affairs. They have to be impartial in all things.  Beyond this, however, there’s no restrictions on what they can and can’t do.  So the Grand Minister allowed Merus to join the Galactic Patrol, since it was a way for him to learn about mortals, but he’s clearly developed a bias from his time with the organization.  He hasn’t violated the rule yet, but he’s come extremely close. Whis asks permission to deal with Merus himself, and the Grand Minister allows him to proceed.

So Whis shows up at the end of Merus and Goku’s training, when they’re preparing to fight each other at full power.  That’s a bridge too far.  Whis has trained Goku himself, obviously, but an actual battle goes against what the angels are supposed to be about.  Also, Whis knows that Merus was planning to join the battle against Moro on Earth.  With the cat out of the bag, Merus agrees to go with Whis, leaving Goku on his own.

Which would be okay, except Goku has to take Merus’ ship back to Earth, and he doesn’t know how to navigate.

Meanwhile, Vegeta has completed the first stage of his training on Yardrat, and Pybara is ready to show Vegeta how to apply what he’s learned. 

But before they can start, Yardrat is attacked by Moro’s scouts, led by a Zarbon knockoff.   Vegeta defeats him with ease, and he’s astonished by how much his power has increased, simply from learning how to balance his body and ki in the Yardratti way.

By now, Moro’s henchmen have reached Earth, but Vegeta still refuses to go back there, since he hasn’t learned a technique that will even the odds against Moro.  Pybara agrees to skip Instant Transmission and show him something more useful for this situation, but he still doesn’t have much time to work with.

Meanwhile, the Z-Fighters have prepared for Moro’s invasion... just like they did in Resurrection F.  This arc is just one callback after another.  I can see why fans were so hard on Toyotaro while this thing was being published.  Merus seems to be the only original idea in this whole story, and we’ve just learned that he’s been forbidden from interfering, so what good is he?

Oh, and Majin Buu’s still fucking asleep.  Keep in mind he fell asleep right before the Tournament of Power started, and didn’t wake up until well into this arc, and then he fell asleep again right after he fought Moro.  And now it looks like he’s on track to sleep through the rest of this arc. 

So Seven Three goes after Gohan and Piccolo and he uses his copy ability on both of them, so he can match their powers completely.  This would seem to negate all the training they did leading up to this battle, except Seven-Three can only use one guy’s power set at a time.  So he can be as powerful as Piccolo or Gohan, but he has to fight Piccolo and Gohan at the same time, and they know a bunch of combo attacks that he can’t handle. 

So Seven Three uses his trump card, which is to use the powers he copied from Moro, except this time 17 and 18 join the battle, and Seven Three can’t drain their ki because they don’t have any.  Well, why doesn’t Seven Three just use Moro’s other abilities?  Like how he made his allies stronger, or the way he could beat the shit out of Goku and Vegeta?   Moro couldn’t drain Buu’s energy either, but he beat him just fine, so why can’t Seven Three defeat 17 and 18?

Here’s a bonus comic about Frieza’s whole deal during this Moro business.  He decides he’s just gonna stay out of this one.  I’m so glad we wasted two pages to explain that Frieza’s not going to do anything.  Maybe we could have a two page comic about how Yajirobe’s decided to sit this one out.  Or a comic about Bulma’s mom staying home to water the plants.

Seriously, fuck this Moro Saga.  We started with this whole bit about how Buu was the key to victory, and that went nowhere, then Merus’ dad made him quit the story early, and now Frieza’s just popping in to tell us he doesn’t give a shit.  Oh, and Moro keeps holding back because he doesn’t see any of the good guys as a threat, so most of the fighting in this arc has been pointless.

So Moro’s group splits up to loot the Earth of its treasures before Moro consumes its life energy.  This means the Z-Fighters have to split up and tackle the henchmen.  Yamcha fights some guys, Master Roshi takes on some girl henchmen, and Tien and Chiaotzu get stuck with an Auta Magetta knockoff.  His species are vulnerable to insults, but Tien doesn’t know how to dis people, so Chiaotzu does it for him.  Excuse me, but Tien was insulting people all the time during the 22nd Budokai.  He was a colossal dick back then.  Sure, he became all polite and proper, but it’s not like he forgot how to be a raging asshole.

Finally, Moro steps in to handle things himself, and Goku shows up soon after, when he gets close enough to Earth to sense Krillin charging his ki.  He prepares to fight Moro, but Moro empowers one of his goons more and more, in order to force Goku to show more of his true power. 

So Goku finally obliges by using Ultra Instinct.  Specifically, he uses the incomplete version he had when he first discovered the ability.  Goku calls this “Ultra Instinct Sign”, like it’s some distinct thing separate from the complete version of UI.  That’s like saying half a cup of coffee is the “initial stage” of a full cup of coffee. 

The manga has been doing this crap all along, and I think I’m finally getting tired of it.  Toyotaro really, really likes showing off all of Goku’s forms, and now there’s so many of them that it’s becoming very cumbersome to go through them all.  Super Saiyan 3 and Super Saiyan God pretty much became obsolete once Super Saiyan Blue was available, but Toyotaro seems to feel obligated to cycle through all of them whether it’s justified or not.  Likewise, why would Goku ever bother using “Ultra Instinct Sign” when he knows how to use full-on Ultra Instinct?  This wasn’t an intermediate power-up, it was Goku discovering a power and not knowing how to use it.

Anyway, we’re about halfway through this arc, and I guess we’re officially in the final battle, so maybe things will get better from here, but I’m not optimistic.  Everything that led up to this moment has been a giant waste of time.

[silentwillowwhisperer]

Wow, I am overthinking this.

*giggle.* Imagine seeing Keef staring at you at 3am with big yellow glowy eyes and bat ears and fangs. And Lance walks in. And he sees it. And he almost proposes.

This seems to be a common thought that I have. Keith not being able to sleep so he hides in the kitchen?

Like, just think about it for a second. The castle is GIANT, bright, and everything looks the same. Also the walls are metal and completely smooth for probably 20 feet up, so they're unclimbable.

And when it's waaay early in the morning and your brain is fuzzy, people tend to do some weird crap. So Keef's Galra instincts would probably over. Which means kitty instincts. Galra= cat, cat=Galra, the words are synonyms in my head, I can't tell them apart.

SO. Naturally, he would want to go to a place with lots of small places, hiding spots, and climbable surfaces.

Sadly, his room is immediately ruled out. Despite it being a place intended for rest and security/familiarity, the canon images of the paladin rooms show that they are bare and do not have many potential hiding spots. There is a small trunk (?) next to the door, but Keith would keep his limited belongings in there and he seems to be too big to fit inside. Sure, his impulse would tell him to crawl inside, but the potential embarrassment of having to ask someone to pull him out outweighs that. His bed is exposed and there is no other furniture. Get some bookshelves! Please!

Ok the kitchen. NOW. I'm just gonna say, I don't love the design. Like, yes, I get it, for some reasons Alteans just HAD to be posh freaking minimalists and apparently never felt the need for the comfort of an enclosed space. If you're claustrophobic, this might not apply well to you, but I find that large spaces sometimes stress me out and I think better in a little corner or on a spot on the floor.

I think to start, the kitchen island thingy needs to be turned so that the person cooking is across from the door. As it is right now, someone could 100% sneak right in thanks to the door being conveniently placed right BEHIND the cook's line of sight.

Also, would it hurt to have the counter against a wall or something? It would divide the room nicely and make it look a a lot more cohesive and less like the animators were just trying to throw in a background for our characters. This is nice in some situations so that breathtaking backdrops don't take away from the characters, but have you ever noticed that they only appear in the kitchen maybe twice? That happened for a reason. If we had this dividing feature, you could put on a small table or some chairs along the long side of the counter! Why should our lovely Hunk have to cook in solitude? A good 50% of his character is centered around him seeing cooking as a love language and cooking with his loved ones.

Wow sorry I got off topic. Anyway, with these changes and maybe a bit more furniture and cabinets around the room (again, why are the walls so blank?) Keith would be very comfortable here. Maybe even comfortable enough to display Galra features because no one would expect to find him there so he would be well-hidden. Also, if the chairs along the counter were there, they face away from the door, so no one would see his Galra features.

Lets ignore the fact that this is a badly-drawn finger picture. But doesn't the whole room seem more put together? Lets say we take out the table for more space, it's still a much more effective use of this HUGE room that's being wasted by a random counter thrown in the middle.

: )

[messenger-of-stupidity]

Mundane

Oh here we fuckin go. I'm not sure whether I'll make a continuation to this. I lost motivation for the rest of it, even though I have a goal for it. So maybe. Maybe not.

CW: Canon divergence, cursing, Asher trying to be a wingman, Angel is underprepared, David is just trying to follow the rules.

Redacted Masterlist

Summary: Mundane was not what they were looking for, and maybe they weren't as stuck with it as they thought they were

Angel, in all honesty, never planned ahead by more than a few days. Outside of a professional capacity of course. They wouldn't be able to keep their job if they were irresponsible. But after they came home, they never had a plan for what they would do for the rest of the day, what they would eat for dinner, when they would go to sleep, ect. Weekends were purely for fucking up any sense of routine they had put together.

Which was how they liked it. Work had routines and those routines practically smothered them. Any time they needed to go on work trips, they were absolutely miserable for every single second of it.

"Michael, I'm home!" Angel called out, setting their bag and keys down on the entrance to the apartment they shared with their boyfriend. Their cat quickly came over, winding between their feet and purring loud enough that Angel was sure the neighbors could hear through the door. Not that it was much of a feat, that door was frustratingly thin. Noise complaints were a constant and consistently ignored by the landlord.

"Welcome back!" Michael called from another room. Angel squatted down and picked up the cat, holding her to their chest as they ventured deeper into the shared home. They had been living with Michael for almost half a year now, dating him for four months prior to that. They were steadily approaching the one year anniversary. Angel tried to ignore how they didn't feel anything towards that milestone.

"Hey." They said upon finding their boyfriend sitting on the couch, gaze lazily watching the show playing on the TV in front of him. He waved a hand to them in response to their greeting. Conversations were steadily losing their momentum with him. "... How was your day, babe?" They asked, fingers still gently scratching the old feline's neck.

"It was fine. Boring mostly." He answered and glanced towards them. "What do you want for dinner?" Mundane. That was a good way of describing how their relationship felt sometimes. To be fair to Michael, it didn't always feel mundane. Sometimes there was soft domesticity. Or heated passion on the nights they indulged in each other's bodies. But mundane was better than toxic or violent, so Angel would take it.

"Dunno. I'm gonna go change." They answered and placed the cat down. She quickly jumped up to lay on Michael's chest and Angel left the room to the sound of purring and the TV.

Mundane was good. Mundane was fine. Mundane was healthy. Mundane was comfortable. Mundane was... boring. They shouldn't find their relationship boring. They sighed and pulled out a sweater and pajama pants.

ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

Angel stared down at the dead battery screen on their phone, hopping from foot to foot as they waited for Michael to arrive. Their car had a flat tire and since Murphy's Law loved to apply at the most inconvenient of times - yes they know that's the point, let them be upset - Angel didn't have a spare tire. They barely had enough battery to let Michael know what happened before their phone decided to be a weak little bitch and die on them.

"Oh come on." They muttered and tried to rub away the goosebumps. It wasn't too cold considering the typical weather, but the sun setting meant some of the warm sun rays were fading with it and late fall wasn't kind to those left behind in the shadows.

"Hey, you good?" A voice called out and Angel looked up. A truck had stopped and the person in the passenger seat was leaning halfway out the window, eyes glued to them. They hesitated before shaking their head.

"Not really. I got a flat and no spare." They called back. The guy clicked his tongue and sat back into the truck. Angel couldn't hear what was said between him and the driver, but the truck pulled closer and he ended hopping out of the truck. They took a quick inventory of him. He was pretty good looking, if not quite their type. He seemed more... golden retriever. Matched their own energy though, when they weren't pissed and getting cold.

He squatted down to examine the flattened tire, reaching out to poke it.

"Holy hell. This shit is flatter than the bell curve of my grades." He said and Angel snorted. The driver inside the truck groaned and climbed out. Angel's heart stuttered when he rounded the dark vehicle and put his hands in his pockets.

"He's right. Even if you tried driving home, you would only damage your rims." He muttered. Pierce their heart with a nail gun, his voice sent a shiver down their spine. Black cat personality type for sure.

"Hey David, do you have a spare in the back?" The first guy asked. Angel's eyes hadn't left from staring at David. He seemed focused on his friend and the flat tire though. Unfortunately, but for the better.

"Usually yes. But Amanda needed a tire change and I haven't had the chance to replace it yet." He answered. Angel sighed, momentarily distracted as their disappointment sank in again.

"My boyfriend should be coming any minute." They mumbled, partially to remind themselves and partially to assuage any feeling of obligation these two might have gathered. The first guy straightened up, tilting his head. Definitely like a puppy.

"How far out is he? I'd feel bad if you were just standing out here by yourself." David groaned at his friend's words but didn't move. It seemed like he was used to this. Whatever this was.

"I'm... not sure. I texted him just before my phone died. I don't... really know if he saw my text." They admitted, that nagging worry finally being pushed into words. They hadn't seen the read tag switch on before the device perished. The friendlier of the two held out his own phone.

"You can call him if you want and check." He offered. David glanced at the other, but stayed silent. Brooding. Kind of like batman. Angel grinned at him and took the phone.

"Thanks..." Their voice trailed off, quietly searching for a name.

"I'm Asher. That's David." Asher said, pointing to himself and then to his extremely attractive companion. Angel nodded and introduced themselves in turn before taking a couple steps away to dial Michael's number.

ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

"It doesn't matter what Christian said, it's not his choice." David said as he continued driving down the road, Asher sighing next to him. The latest pack meeting was bumpy - as usual. Everyone was still trying to adjust to the sudden change in authority. They had all been expecting it, just not so soon. Although apparently Christian hadn't been expecting Asher to become David's beta. Which was a load of bullshit, but he kept that to himself.

"I know. It's just that... wait... David stop driving." Asher said, quickly jumping ship of the topic. David's brow furrowed in confusion, but complied with his best friend's request, pressing the truck into a stop. Asher quickly rolled the window down and leaned out of the truck. He almost reached out to yank the other shifter back in before he toppled his ass out the fucking window.

"Hey you good?" Asher called out. David sighed, but stayed quiet. A couple seconds pause before a voice returned an answer to his friend's question.

"Not really. I got a flat and no spare." A rush of sympathy flashed through him. It was always an annoyance to have to deal with something like that. God knows he had his own fair share of getting flat tires with all the back alley paths Asher had David dragging his truck through. Asher sat back into his seat and looked to David, face already pressed into a pleading expression.

"Can we help them, David? A way to make the day better and shit?" He asked. David sighed and took his foot off the break, and moved closer to the pour soul with the bad luck. Asher jumped out of the truck before David set it into park. Asher's next words had him climbing out of the truck, bumping the door closed with his elbow.

"Holy hell. This shit is flatter than the bell curve of my grades." Asher was trying to cheer them up. Which was good of him, but David doubted it would lead to a permanent effect. He rounded the corner, examining the tire to give a genuine assessment of the damage.

"He's right. If you tried driving home, you would only damage your rims." He ignored the quiet gasp that the stranger inhaled. Believe it or not, he was aware that he gave off an intimidating appearance, even if you didn't know who he was within empowered society. He was used to reactions in his presence. But he could already feel Asher's amused gaze on him.

But this stranger was wholly unempowered and that meant chances were they were also uninformed. Which only added pressure to exercise caution. Asher and him should leave before they - or more accurately, Asher - let something slip that made it a breach of covert. Better safe than sorry.

"Hey David, do you have a spare in the back?" Asher asked, smirking at him. David glared at the beta, who knew damn well that he didn't.

"Usually yes. But Amanda needed a tire change and I haven't had the chance to replace it yet." He answered through gritted teeth. He could practically hear the snicker that wanted to leave the other.

"My boyfriend should be coming any minute." The stranger said and David finally looked at them. They looked kind of pitiful, clutching onto their phone and the sleeves of their sweater. He pressed his lips together.

"How far out is he? I'd feel bad if you were just standing out here by yourself." David couldn't stop the groan at Asher's words. A silent invitation to wait with them. And additional chances to risk covert breach chances. They needed to go.

"I'm... not sure. I texted him just before my phone died. I don't... really know if he saw my text." They answered, waving their phone gently as if trying to prove it. David was about to reach into his pocket to offer his own phone before Asher quickly held out his. Probably for the best. David didn't want random numbers in his phone. Nor did he want complete strangers having his number.

"You can call him if you want and check." Asher said. David sent a grateful glance towards his friend. While a part of him wished that the beta was more careful with what information was thrown about. he was glad that the other understood David's own paranoia and caution.

"Thanks..."

"I'm Asher. That's David." Yeah. Asher really needed to be more careful with what information. At this point the stranger now had his phone, his name, and giving his number to their boyfriend by call history. That was all the information you really needed about someone to go through some online research and find out addresses, employment - even though Shaw Security was a private company, it was still registered with the unempowered government as a business for tax reasons - and other private information. David kept the lecture on his tongue and simply offered a nod of greeting to them. He watched as they stepped away to call their boyfriend and looked at Asher.

"We can't stay." He muttered, keeping his voice low. Asher waved a hand as he leaned against David's truck.

"Don't worry so much. Nothing is gonna happen." He answered and gestured towards them. "Besides, they need help. And they're cute." Asher said with a shrug. Then he smirked at David. "They're your type right?"

"They have a boyfriend so whether or not they're attractive is irrelevant to me." David retorted. The harsh sigh that came from them - they introduced themselves as Angel - had David glancing over.

"Please, Michael? It's getting late and I just want to go home." Angel said. Asher sent a worried glance at David, who returned the sentiment but both shifters stayed quiet. They weren't eavesdropping, but David wanted to make sure everything was fine before he packed Asher back into the truck and continued driving. Angel sighed again. "Yeah okay. I'll just call a cab or something and see if I can get it towed. See ya." They muttered before returning to the two and handing the phone back to Asher.

ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

Schedules were well and truly annoying. Or timing was anyways. Michael was in the middle of a meeting and couldn't come get them. Which meant they were going to need to find where the hell they could catch a cab nowadays.

"Is everything alright?" Asher asked, tucking the phone back into his pocket. Both men looked worried and Angel felt a stab of guilt at making complete strangers feel that way.

"Yeah. He's just busy right now, so he can't come get me. Do either of you know where I can find a cab?" They asked, feeling sheepish at continuing to bother them. Asher glanced at David, silently asking and the other sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"If... fucking hell, if you need a ride, I can give you one. If you decide you trust us anyways. It'll be easier than trying to find where you can flag a cab down and cheaper." David said. Angel paused.

On one hand, these two seemed friendly and nice. On the other hand, serial killers were usually the charismatic ones. At least if they died, it would be a nice view though. And warm inside the truck.

"Yes please." Angel said, putting their phone in their pocket. David seemed startled at the speed of their decision while Asher grinned.

"You can have shotgun. I don't mind hanging out in the back." Asher chirped, opening the shotgun door for Angel before getting into the backseat. David glared at Asher before looking to Angel.

"You got everything?" He said, sounding more unsure than Angel had heard him so far. They nodded and he sighed before going towards the other side. "You trust people too easily, the both of you." He said, muttering as he went.

Angel climbed into shotgun, closing the door behind them and putting in their seatbelt. They weren't sure why Asher laughed or David told him to shut up afterwards. It seemed random, but the two men were obviously close friends. Interactions between close friends were usually random to an outside observer. As David started the truck, Asher leaned closer to the center console.

"So where do you live, Angel?" He asked. David glanced at Angel.

"Don't tell us the specific address. That's not safe, considering you don't know us." He warned. Angel shrugged.

"It's an apartment complex, so if you figured out my exact unit I'd be hella surprised." They said before giving the address. They watched as David entered it into the GPS on his phone, but their attention was quickly pulled away by Asher again.

"Any clue why your tire went flat? Like was there a nail or something you ran over?" He asked, curiosity heavy in his tone. Angel didn't blame him for the interest. But they only had boring answers.

"Dunno. Just went flat at some point between home and work. Although it would make for a much cooler story if there was some plot to keep me in one place for a murder so a villain planted spikes or something." Angel said with a laugh. David frowned.

"You mean unsafe." He corrected. Angel bit back the first response that jumped to their tongue.

"Yeah. But it'd be more interesting than just a random flat, wouldn't it be?" Asher agreed, which had Angel sending a victorious grin at David. He merely rolled his eyes and Angel practically swooned at the look he gave them after.

"Do you like dogs?" Asher asked next. Before Angel could respond, David's grip on the wheel tightened.

"Asher. Stop pushing it." He growled out. Confusion clouded their veins at Asher's laugh. These two were weird. Exciting. Definitely not mundane.

[cats-of-eden-valley]

I absolutely adore this project and since I've been thinking about my own xenomoggy WIP a lot recently, I now have a bunch of very niche questions.

1) How similar to real-world felines are these guys? Like, what things can they eat? Are citrus-like fruits poisonous to them? Are things like mint poisonous?

2) Are they obligate carnivores or do they lean a bit more omnivorous, like canines?

3) Can they taste sweetness? If so, what kind of sweet food do they eat?

4) How technologically advanced are they? Do they cook their food? If they do, what foods are different in each pride? Do they use spices?

5) Can they make tea? Because the idea of someone's mother or friends making them tea when they're upset/sad is absolutely adorable.

Sorry for the obnoxious amount of questions, this project is giving me major brainworms 😅

Don't feel pressured to answer if you don't want to, or the questions are too spoiler-y!

Hope you have a good day/night!

-🦇 (can I sign off as bat anon? I've seen that done on other blogs, but I'm not sure is it okay here)

THANK YOU you're so sweet!! (and yes please join the xenomoggies)

I kinda just dumped these thoughts into point form in the notes app so I'm giving you these answers fresh and unadulterated

There's a solid mix of fantasy and realism. For instance, their colour vision is roughly equal to ours, but they still have good night vision (or maybe it's just that two moons means the night vision isn't actually as good). Overall anatomy and function is otherwise p similar (which some exceptions) and I do have thoughts on what they eat.

Their diet relies heavily on meat, but fruits and mushrooms frequently end up in the mix. Canines are a good comparison!

The acidic aspect of citrus-like fruits wouldn't appeal to them, and they still can't taste sweet, but other more mild fruits have high water content that make them an important addition to the diet even if the taste doesn't appeal.

Mushrooms are important because they are the only thing that really actively grows during the Sleeping Year, but they don't contain much water.  Still, nutrients is nutrients.

There's also a number of plants that can be safely ingested and which can provide medicinal value, but here's something most people don't realize: medicine is usually just poison, but in small enough amounts to help you instead of kill you.

Regardless, most of the plants are made-up (the ones that aren't, still have different names (what im saying is most ppl wouldn't realize they are real)) so the I Do What I Want rule applies to poison vs medicine vs edible uwu

Unsure of the specifics of cooking yet, though it's a tentative yes. Strongly considering giving Goldspring a sort of endless stew situation that they just keep adding to and maintain for the course of a year. Fire is risky business in this setting, but given the fact they live in a volcanic region, there are other ways to cook one's food. Hell, maybe that's what allowed these cat societies to exist in the first place

spices is an interesting question, like I'd guess they would mix foods for the sake of taste so it doesn't seem too much a stretch that they would add in normally non-edible plants to enhance flavour. So yeah, it prolly happens.

Teas would mostly be medicinal, and probably frequently mixed with animal blood.  Everyone complains about it but at least it does what the healers say it does.  Plus, the inability to taste sweet I think would take most of the pleasure out of it??? Listen I don't drink tea but if someone who does has a better take, I'm all ears lol

As for their technological advancement, think of humans around mid ice age era. They have elegantly designed tools (ranging from knives to sewing needles to hammers), impressive leatherworking (tanning, cleaning, sewing), some textiles (associated dyes included), and limited infrastructure (consisting largely of living infrastructure woven from milksap aerial roots and occasional supports and modifications to existing natural shelters, also natural paths are maintained throughout the area)

But they lack weaponry (hard-baked into honour code systems that are enforced by the prides) and anything requiring multiple bodies to build/maintain (can't sustain population density). No farming (though I'm itching for some Weird Bird Domestication taking its first shaky steps in one of the prides, prolly Bogden)