#so the place i live they're doing firework shows but people are doing their own in typical american fashion

[anomiidae]

not to be vulnerable on main but i was uh in a situation with an active shooter and uh hearing fireworks is really getting to me

[atskiruma]

his reaction to your pajamas

expl: they pay your house a visit and see you in your pajamas, flustered by the exposed skin when they're so used to seeing you in your regular outfit

a/n: back

second person writing no pronouns used

Diluc didn't often pay your home a visit because he never had a reason to do so. You were always on time to the tavern, so today, when you had shown up late he decided he'd pay a visit just to make sure you were alright!

It wasn't often that he took this trip to the other side of the city of Mondstat. He only really saw these parts when he was doing his justice as the "Darknight Hero," but he knew you lived here when he had to drop you off after a couple too many drinks. Which was a shame because you also never remembered when you practically clung to him the whole way while flirting.

He took a couple steps towards your door and knocked 3 times. Standing in silence for a bit before hearing the sounds of some clattering objects in the house. Along with the sound of your voice cursing when something fell with it.

The door swung open and you appeared before it, disheveled, and looking like you just woke up. Your expression immediately turning flustered when you realized your boss was at your front door, and you were dressed in your pajamas.

Diluc's eyes flew to your appearance, especially the fact that the clothes you were wearing were very uneven, along with a lot of skin being shown. You seemed to notice his glance going down further and further, before raking back up to your eyes. Lifting the bottoms that were slowly falling down your hips, you sheepishly smiled before speaking,

"Diluc! Can I ask why you-" This was when your face dropped in immediate realization. Unfortunately, your brain chose at that moment to catch up with everything surrounding you. It was the afternoon, you just woke up, and it was Sunday. Wait? It's Sunday.

You jumped nearly 50 feet, scattering to explain with your hands in the air. "Oh my god! I am so sorry! I was out really late last night and I- God I'm so sorry! I will be down there in 5 minutes trust me I promise!"

Rushing back into your house, slamming the door and the sound of more clattering objects and your cursing reached Diluc's ears. He finally allowed his face to dust a shade of pink, pulling his hand over to his mouth and rubbing it in an embarrassing matter.

Xiao was the "Conquerer of Demons" he was vicious, strong, and scary. Xiao was the "Conquerer of Demons" but here he was, doing an errand. Ridiculous, an errand? All he was trying to do was make his way up to the top of the Wangshu Inn when Verr Goldet practically cornered him and asked him for a favor.

And how can Xiao say no? She gave him a place of safety and he would do anything to repay her for the kindness she's shown. Verr had asked him if he could deliver a package to a room closer to the top floor. He knew it was your room just by the number, often walking by and waiting a few seconds to hear any noises in there.

Xiao knocked on your door, silently hoping you wouldn't take your time getting to the door and this could end quickly. He waited a couple more seconds before hearing the sounds of you walking towards the door. The door opened slower than he thought it would and you came out looking like you had just woken up the minute he knocked.

Your pajamas were hanging loosely off you and Xiao's eyes wasted no time looking down at all the exposed skin that was showing. Your eyes squinted so much that you couldn't see the way his face lit up like a firework at the sight of you.

"Xiao? What're you doing here?" The voice you spoke with sounded groggy. Still unaware of The Conquerer of Demons losing it at your appearance. He said no word and quickly handed over the package, nearly making you lose your balance before disappearing away.

Scaramouche was not an observer, he didn't care what people were doing or what they looked like. All he was focused on was doing his own thing. Which was why it confused him to no end why Kusanali was managing to keep his attention right now.

At least, to Scaramouche. it was confusing, but the Dendro Archon knew what she needed to say in order to keep the wanderer's attention. Your name alone kept him focused on her words and she continued to manage to add you to the problem in order for him to find the solution.

"And that's why I think if we manage to get-"

The sound of a door slamming alerted both Kusanali and Scaramouche, along with the Traveler and Paimon across the room. Your flustered appearance entered the room, clearly out of breath from running all the way up here. Why did they put so many stairs leading up to the Sanctuary?

"Nahida. I am. So sorry. That I missed-" The sounds of your out-of-breath panting were in between every word you spoke, which eventually just led you to put your hands on your knees to catch it. You ran all the way up here as soon as you woke up, seeing the sunshine high in the sky and knowing you forgot to meet up with Nahida about the plan she had. Which led you to rush out in your pajamas, earning a few strange looks from passers-by on your way up.

"I had totally overslept and forgot about the plan..." Your words trailed off when you finally looked up and saw Scaramouche gleaming a bright red at your outfit. His eyes were anywhere but your own, examining your body like he was trying to engrave the image in front of him.

"Scaramouche? Are you okay?" Your voice finally reached his ears as he recollected himself from the shock, shooting his eyes back up to your own. The emotions that ran through were clear, confusion, embarrassment, and then finally anger. He shot up from his seat startling both Paimon and the Traveler, Nahida remaining unfazed.

"This is stupid! I'm out of here!" His voice trailed off as he stomped away from the scene. Knowing that when he was out of shot, another glance at your back would send him red-faced again.

Cyno found himself once again back in the desert visiting the Traveler and their flying white-haired companion in order to help with another quest. Back in the village of Aaru Village, the 3 traveled around asking about something the quest giver was looking for.

"And I told her there was no way I was falling for- Hey look, it's Candace!" Paimon exclaimed, pointing in the direction where the indigo-haired woman was walking. They managed to catch up with her after Paimon's screeching caught her attention.

She told them that she was going back to the main building where they had first gathered when the Traveler visited, saying she was finished running her errands and was returning back. Cyno nodded in silence while he let Paimon do most of the talking, letting his mind wander what you were up to right now.

The 3 entered the building and quickly helped Candace settle her bags onto the table. Paimon was just to go back to squeaking before Cadance quickly threw a finger over her mouth and pointed towards the couch in the corner.

There you slept, half off the couch with your pajamas nearly falling off your shoulder and hips. Cyno knew you were in the room since he entered, and didn't let his eyes leave your figure in the corner once. His face was blank, but anyone who knew him closer than others would know he was flustered by all means. Which meant Cadance's smile didn't leave her face either when she watched him move his eyes across your whole body.

"Cyno! Cyno!" Paimons voice returned to his consciousness and he quickly looked over at her, not before shooting an extra glance toward you again.

"We're leaving now? Are you gonna come with us?" She said, floating around in an impatient manner. He shook his head and spoke, "No, I have other matters I need to catch up with here as well. You can go on ahead."

The Traveler nodded before Paimon could complain and walked off back to where the original quester was waiting. Cyno turned back to you before realizing Cadance had left the room too.

You later woke up with the General Mahamatra's sleeping form in the chair near you, and a blanket covering your whole body.

alhaitham visited and cyno nearly broke his skull in when he saw his eyes shoot to your body

[takochan-writes]

Don't Make a Sound - DBF!Javier Pena x f!reader

Pairing: DBF!Javier Pena x f!reader

W/C: 900

Tags/Warnings: 18+ MDNI, DBF (Dad's bestfriend), pwp, p in v, creampie

A/N: sex with fireworks view on your bedroom window? HELL YEA 'MURICA! Lmao. It's not even the 4th of July… but fuck it, right? It's STILL July after all lmao

Summary: Your family is hosting a party for the 4th of July in your family house until midnight. But, a certain someone comes into your room to have some alone time with you.

It's the 4th of July and your family decided to invite their friends and neighbors to have some barbeque in your family house. It's a big day for them, but you can't help it to wait for someone special that you know he's gonna come tonight. It's your dad's best friend, Javier Pena.

And you're not even going to lie, Javier is one of the most attractive people on this planet. You have known him since you were in middle school. When your dad invites his best friends to look at his new car, he introduces you to all of them. But, you were smitten by him, because of his broad shoulders and that handsome face of his. His tight pants and those beautiful brown eyes keep you on the edge every time he comes over to your family home.

You've been thinking about him ever since. You think that he's taken an interest in you too. You always catch him looking at you with…. hungry eyes. Like a predator trying to keep an eye on his prey before anyone or anything else can catch you before him. Every time you catch him looking at you, he'll look the other way real quick. But, you noticed him every time.

But today was different. Today, you're excited to go see the fireworks, especially him. Your parents and their friends are already on the porch, barbequing, drinking, and having some fun talking about their lives. They seem busy with what they're doing. You finally catch his eyes in the crowds of people. You both start a starring contest for a while with flirty eyes. But, you suddenly break the eye contact to wink and start walking to your bedroom upstairs. You hope he got the hint.

So here you are now, sitting on your bed in your white nightgown, waiting for Javier to show up with all your hopes and dreams riding high in the air. Finally, Javier knocked on your door and started making his way inside your room.

He walks into your room like he owns the place and closes the door. "You waitin' for me, darling?"

You just nodded and gave your best puppy dog eyes.

He chuckles lightly and pulls his shirt off. You gasp quietly, watching him take his pants off and then lay them down somewhere on the floor next to his shoes and shirt. He turns back to face you and gives you a devilish grin.

"Are we going to do things or just stare at each other?" He raises a brow and you giggle a little.

He got on top of you and your breath hitches when you feel his hand rest on your hip as you close your eyes. You open your eyes to find him smirking at you. He didn't let you wait and slowly slide his cock into your wet cunt. You groan as you feel the head stretching you.

"Shhh, baby girl, shhhh.. It won't hurt so much if you stay quiet"

You close your eyes and just enjoy the feeling of having him inside you. But the feeling of him stretching you was almost too much. You have enough experience with sex, but you didn't expect him to be this big. You start to whimper and cry a little bit because of the overwhelming feelings you experienced.

"Shhh, babygirl. Don't cry. I know it's too much for you, huh? My cock is too big for your cute little cunt? Just breathe in, honey. You're taking me so well. I'm almost all the way inside of ya, honey"

He keeps his body as still as possible to let you adjust to his bulbous head before he thrust forward and pushes his full length inside of you.

"God dammit, honey. You're squeezing me so much. I'm trying so hard not to fuck you like a fuck toy that you are. Do you like this, babygirl? Huh? You like my cock so much that you squeeze me this hard to keep me inside of you? I know you fucking like this because I can feel you dripping all over my balls, honey"

Soon enough you feel the familiar wave of pleasure washing over you and you cry out loud. You hear Javier moan loudly along with you. He finally, slowly thrusting into you.

"Oh fuuucck… that's it, babygirl. You've taken all of me inside of you. Fuck, you squeezing me so much, babygirl. You feel so good, so warm. I'm so proud of you, honey. You are my perfect little toy, huh?" he murmurs against your ear and you just whimper in response.

He starts thrusting into you fast. As he hits the spot that you need, you start screaming his name. You can hear him moaning as he pumps his cock faster. The waves of pleasure are crashing and crashing over you and your legs are shaking uncontrollably. You feel his cock twitch in your tight pussy and you feel him fill you completely. A few seconds later, you finally reach your climax and he comes deep into you. He grabs you tightly with his arms and collapses on top of you.

"I love you, babygirl. I love you so much," he mutters and pulls his head from the crook between your neck and shoulder and kisses you passionately.

[mdhwrites]

The Point of Asking How Bad a Parent Odalia is

My last blog was asking this question. However, with many of the responses I got, I feel like I failed to articulate the why for that question. The importance of it and I answered and then deleted an ask that gave me a chance to answer that because it ended up muddying the point by being a response. So, here it is:

If you cannot understand cultural perspective in fiction, how do you ever write a convincing world that is anything other than our own?

Most of Odalia's actions are deplorable... By our standards and sensibilities. When taken out of context. The problem is that unless a work is ENTIRELY allegorical, and incredibly smart with those allegories, that approach never works. In fact, the most effective speculative fiction takes the context of the world they've made and uses it to AMPLIFY the point they're making. To further reinforce the concepts they're going for. As such, questioning if someone who is framed as evil within a text whether they would be actually evil by the merits of their society is kind of important because that contrast can say a lot.

In TOH's case, this never coalesces into anything. Odalia being a good parent from the perspective of not wanting her child to be a criminal and so not wanting her to interact with rulebreakers or literal criminals... It doesn't say anything. After all, it's not like the rules dictate you must let someone else die or must be cruel. No, the rules they're breaking are things like "You need to be registered with the state," and "Don't skip class." I'm sorry but that isn't extreme in any way? Not unless we're supposed to just coddle people who don't want to participate in society and ignore them ignoring their social obligations? Like the coven system is the Isle's ONE real law and the covens aren't even jobs. You are beholden to no one getting a coven sigil because you still have to go get a job. It's like saying requiring citizenship in ANY country is bad because it holds you accountable to anyone. Because someone is placing any sort of restriction on you. That... That's a pretty shitty theme.

And it IS a theme. It's why the show essentially claims Camila to be a bad parent until For the Future. She renounces her ONE time that she ever held Luz back from being full force her and the audience, and Luz, are meant to cheer for this. That this is taking away some cardinal sin when, and this is in our context because it's supposedly Earth, the reason Luz was sent to Summer Camp, to make friends, was:

She brought a BOMB to school in the form of fireworks, which is against the rules, if not law, in any school, especially without advance permission.

She assaulted people with wild animals she could not control which is a crime literally anywhere.

She brought live, WILD. ANIMALS. into a school without permission, nor without a way to control them and keep others safe which is again, in most circumstances, a crime. And she does this one TWICE. Explicitly.

She is not sent to Juvy, or military camp or ANY sort of real correctional facility. She is sent to a life skills camp instead. Not a conversion camp of any sort, just one meant to teach her basic necessities of being an adult someday, something a lot of people actually argue should be a regular part of school curriculum for good reason. And this, THIS, was her going too far as a parent.

All Odalia being the worst parent ever is further reinforcement of a theme that claims being a parent is a bad thing. Flatly. If you are doing more than strictly keeping your child alive, you are a bad parent. I'm sorry but that feels really bad and like a pretty shitty theme if you ask me. It honest to god, more so proponents that neglect is good. Give them a room, give them access to food, then fuck off. That's... That's not what 99% of kids want from a parent. They want an actual parent. I mean, it even understands this with Reaching Out but even then, the final agreement is "I won't tell you what to do ever and when you want me, I will be available." Parents are more than just toys for their kids. I'm sorry to anyone who's finding this out now somehow. They are meant to teach you morals, how to interact with society, to prepare you for your future, etc. like that. They are also there to take care of you but they are not strictly your friends because they're there to help you improve to be a better person, much like how a therapist isn't your friend. This is a LARGE part of why parenting is so difficult.

To simplify it in the way so many lazy analysts do by going "X person was mean so they're abusive," is... Dumb. And bad. And helps no one. It also breaks your fantasy worlds so maybe try a little harder? Or just keep using buzzwords. It is the easier way to do it.

See you next tale.

======+++++======

The ask that brought this about mentioned Mother Gothel like Odalia and Gothel are even comparable in their writing which... No. Mother Gothel is praised for good reason because she 1000%, in universe and out, is abusive. Period. In every possible way, including Rapunzel's reactions about her.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[dephellseed]

Fourth of July specific Headcannons

• John makes the entire holiday his own personal runway, always has. His parties back in Atlanta were the biggest and most exclusive events in the state. He had the best food flown in, the best music, the best drinks, and the best people. Sure, now in Hope County he can't exactly fly in anyone to cook but he can cater, and yeah there's no liquor allowed but what Joe doesn't know won't hurt him, will it? Lightly spike the punch bowl. Live music is just the Eden's Gate choir now but hey, they learned new songs for this and they're quite proud. But no one, and I mean no one, can stop him from dressing up for the occasion. It'd be a sin not to, wouldn't it?

• Joseph spends the entire day reading old historical texts from the nation's inception to Jacob, hoping it helps soothe him. He pretends its just because he's concerned about Jacob but he also just really hates parties. He makes an appearance at the end to make a speech about how this country might have failed them now, but it started with a dream very similar to theirs: freedom, faith, and guns.

• Jacob hates this fucking holiday. Hates it. The fireworks sound like mortar fire to him. This country has done nothing but use and abuse him his entire life. But, his brother likes it, so he tries to. Demands to be in charge of grilling, absolutely destroys the dance floor. Knows exactly what's in the punch, steals the entire bowl for himself. Locks himself in his room before the heretics start their firework displays so he can't accidentally hurt someone during a flashback.

• Faith absolutely adores any excuse to make everyone in Eden's Gate be outside and cheerful. Everyone's so sad and pale! They need fresh air and Bliss! They need joy! They need to celebrate The Father! Like she does! The Angels set up the entire party, she's the queen of decorating. There's fun activities, corn hole, water balloon fights, sparklers. She's in charge of deserts so there's cute little cakes and candies. The priestesses brings the kids out to celebrate with them.

•On the flip side, The Rye family has hosted a Forth of July party every year as well. Chad's bbq is there, there's usually some recreation of the Teasty Festy treats, Nick flies all the little kids around in his plane to see the fireworks from the sky. Pretty much everyone who doesn't show up here is at the Spread Eagle doin half price shots or doing whatever the hell Sharky is doing. The Ryes really just love any excuse to gather everyone together for something positive, something happy. Kim's Canadian. Nick has average levels of patriotism (aka hey! Its an excuse to grill and drink)

• Charlemagne Victor Boshaw is holding his own shindig at his place. There's pizza, and beer and weed. Do many people show up? No, but its hard to compete with Chad so he isn't complaining, really. Plus it means more for him! He and Hurk spend the whole day drinking, watching movies, and then spend all night lighting their ridiculously complicated homemade firework setup with flamethrowers and watching the whole sky turn white. God bless America for not making laws about flamethrower ownership.

[littleblueberryartist]

Genshin Neurodivergent Headcanons!

Note: Most of the hcs I have are ADHD related! I know that there's a lot more to neurodivergency than just ADHD, however as someone with ADHD myself I tend to base hcs off on my own experiences and projections lol so if you were wondering this is why

Anyway on with the hcs!

Venti: ADHD

He is. So full of love. He loves deeply and wholeheartedly and cares so damn much be it romantic or platonic attraction (adhd making your feelings feel so big they'll burst right out of your chest)

I think they used to be a lot more emotional back when they first became a god (he's far from stoic and still super expressive now, but he keeps his true emotions under lock and key)

the NB and the Old Mond Gang taught him to love and care and fight for freedom, but they weren't used to the sheer intensity of human emotion (emotional disregulation go brrrr)

holds strong to his ideals and beliefs

the wind is constantly blowing and venti is constantly moving

tons of dopamine from music fr

Coming up with sick rhymes is really mentally stimulating

fast paced brain + 2.6k years worth of experience is how he comes up with new songs and rhymes so fast

Good with words but can get rambly and a bit long winded (not as long winded as ZL tho)

He would do the stimming hand flaps he absolutely would

wing flap stims in archon form too

vocal stims this guy thrills like a bird and makes wind chime noises

hates the texture of cheese specifically but I don't think he says much about the actual taste?? kinda like me with tuna so sensory sensitivity???? (I love cheese tho)

despite being my most brainrotted character I don't have too much in game evidence for ADHD Venti lol it's all vibes

also he's my comfort character so they're just like me fr (and that includes the they/them pronouns)

Yoimiya: ADHD

Easily excited and feels deeply and wholeheartedly (adhd dials feelings up to 100 and that includes the positive ones)

She talks a lot, runs on sentences and sometimes doesn't even realise that she's doing it, changes topics a ton

talkativeness is a way that adhd can manifest and it's one of the ways it shows up in me

her vibes and how she talks reminded me a lot of myself and I got attached (she's just like me fr)

hyperfixates on fireworks don't @ me

Man I sure am lucky I hyperfixated on my family business and never stopped

the colourful lights of the fireworks are a visual stim for her

vocal stims and echolalia

the latter happens a lot when she's hanging around kids bc I do it with little sister

She runs all over the place and is just generally super active and lively (see: her dashing around in the genshin lantern rite promotional vid)

Albedo: ADHD + Autism

only puts in effort and excels in shit that interests him

hyperfixates on art and alchemy he's my inattentive adhd bestie

absolutely twice exceptional (gifted + neurodivergent)

this entire link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Impact/comments/mehjk5/hypothesis_albedo_has_adhd_inattentive_type/

He doesn't exhibit many outwardly hyperactive traits but his mind is constantly going

I've seen the Autistic Albedo hc much more than I've seen the ADHD one and I agree with both. Co-morbid king

He likes Dragonspine bc the snow absorbs sound and helps with overstimulation

Sucrose: ADHD + Anxiety

lost her friends before. I'm a bit luckier in this aspect I think, but a lot of adhd peeps have a hard time making and keeping friends

Past rejections have affected how she views herself and her relationships

RSD from both the anxiety and ADHD god help her

This sense of guilt for bothering people just by talking to them even though she knows logically that that's not how it works (aqua your projection is showing-)

Particularly prone to overstimulation by noise because of her enhanced hearing

ND to ND communication with Albedo (and honestly Timaeus too)

Alchemy hyperfixation. Specifically bioalchemy and sweet flower modifications

either way she's the genshin ver of my biology special interest so I want to be friends

Hutao: ADHD (This hc was absorbed over from a friend bc I don't actually know her lore that well)

Whismy!!! Sillay gal!!!

she pulled a me when she was younger and decided "Oh I'm weird? Well guess what I think it's cool so now I will be cringe and free"

would rather die than be bored (me too)

loves pranking and poking reactions out of ppl

Some ADHD ppl like to start drama for the thrill/stimulation

This entire chunk of her character story 1

A lot of ppl with ADHD study or read better while moving around or standing

Doing handstands can also be her way of making things more interesting or challenging (gamification to get rid of boredom)

She's very whimsy as a character but takes her job as a funeral director very seriously

Man I sure am lucky I hyperfixated on my family business and never stopped

Kazuha: some flavour of nd but also ???

very in tune with the environment and good with slight sounds and smells

adhd brain taking in all the sudden random changes maybe???? nature is his interest so it catches his eye and keeps his focus perhaps???? idk the adhd "hey look at that bug" meme

particular about how his food is made even tho he may not always get that luxury with his life as a wanderer, food/sensory sensitivities?????

yeah not too sure on this one but putting here anyway bc I like him

[bitegore]

🍄♻️🤔

🍄Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “_ + =__”

okay for the sake of my fucking sanity i am NOT going to presume I get any real wiggle room here. or i will do another 400 line proof. because it is fun but oh my god it takes so long.

((Felyx + Taran)(Rex + Haven + Taran) + fake dating)^spite = fireworks

♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP(s)

not sure it qualifies as a "wip" because I haven't actually decided to pull it out of the graveyard of abandoned-works out-of-progress yet - call it a wip-aspirational or something lol - but the more I poke at Haven and Taran's actual story the more fun I have thinking about siccing Rex on the two of them. In like 2020 or 2021, so, a good while ago at this point and at a time I'd describe myself as "rusty" I started working on whatever the worst version of a meetcute is (ending in the equation above) lol. If I recall correctly my endgame then was that the three of them would fall into a stable orbit. I think that's kind of silly now. They're not that kind of people.

other scrapped idea, same story: Rex and Taran were meant to get along. That's not happening. It's a lot funnier if Rex and Haven (both deeply, deeply difficult people to get along with who hate accommodating for other people) can find a way to coexist pleasantly but Taran, resident NormalGuy who is extremely accustomed to unpleasant asshole bullshit, genuinely cannot get over Rex's various fuckeries beyond, like, the civility of "I recognize that you are living in my house now because the other person who lives here really likes you, and I don't want to have a screaming match in my own fucking kitchen." I tend to make Rex tolerable to speak to when I write him on his own because it's narratively difficult to use a protagonist who will just spit anything handed to him in someone else's face, but in this particular setup he is actively attempting to get Taran's genuine actual hatred on purpose because he's under the impression that's the goal and he's having fun with it also, so it lets me just make him a huge cunt asshole too which is more fun than having him show any scraps of humanity anyway :D

ok let me come up with something you have actual interest in lol

The Rex & Casey conversation fic I was working on ran into an unrecoverable roadblock (I decided the premise needed work) and has to be restarted in a different place with a slightly different version of Casey (tragic!), so one of the things I had to scrap to keep it rolling is Rex commenting on the color of the sky. It's really sad for me because I always think it's funny when you have a guy In a hell dimension like "damn... this place is weird.... the sky isn't bright red, it's eerie". But I can't justify The Story bringing Rex into The Real World as a Plot Element now that I know more about how it works, so I

......

Aha. Well. Actually. I can't justify Alan using The Story to bring Rex into The Real World, because I know how he works. Might have fixed my opinion on my own premise.

We'll see, I'll sleep on it. It needs to cook longer anyway. I also realized (aw2 spoilers) (for serious) (skip this paragraph now if you havent at least finished the first run of the game) if it happens in The Story In The Real World it's got to be situated between Saga's first time going through the loop with Alan and the Final Draft, but I still haven't found enough time to watch t full playthrough of Final Draft, so I'm sure when I hit Zane's part in there and then endgame I'll know a bit more about the direction I want to take.

🤔What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet

Anything like that I have, either it's so busy being a concept I cannot write it yet, or I've started it just to make sure I won't forget it XD so it's hard to come up with. And most of the concepts are less "this is the kind of story I want to write", so much as "this is the kind of effect I want it to have". You know. I want to write something ~mind-bending~ or I want to ~do talking animals but cool~ or whatever.

A lot of words to say I'm drawing a huge blank on this question.

I think - and this is something I keep approaching with different stories but not leaning into, because, frankly, I'm the first line of concept-check for myself, and i get bored - I'd really like to try a story that works as one extended record-scratch. You start at the very end, in a scene that means basically nothing to anyone, and then in the events of reading the entire rest of the story you get more and more context until the very end of the book is the exact same scene as the first part, like, down to the description, and then it just loops infinitely. Something you could read spiral-binding style so it doesn't really have a "start" or an "end", just points between chapters with cardboard so you can close it anywhere, if it's a physical book. you know, some experimental shit.

Unfortunately I find time loops boring as hell to write. This would be ONE loop, so it'd maybe be better, but I'm still kind of burnt on being willing to touch another timeloop from how badly I did not enjoy the one I wrote for an exchange like two full calendar years ago. And also I do have other things to be doing.

That's also not a story! That's a plot structure! I might as well say I want to write The Hero's Journey for all it really tells you 😂 at my heart I'm a parodist, I'm going to need to see someone do it wrong and decide to do a better job than they did to really get a fire lit for an actual narrative here. I do love me some themes of insurmountable stupid bullshit you put yourself into on purpose because you decided you could surmount it and then discovered you couldn't, and some futile attempts at some stupid shit for retroactively-really-dumb reasons that weren't worth it, so it'll have that. as seasoning. because what is a permanent stable timeloop but one person committing suicide over and over? I'm only really able to approach the properly frozen-in-sequence ones as either Hand Of God (boring) or Sunk Cost Fallacy On Steroids (fun! interesting! miserable in a slightly unusual way!) so...

....well, it's going to have to keep simmering, because I like what I've got in the broth, but there's no meat in there yet, only spices. It would make a terrible meal right now. But it answers the question, I think.

[silverstarssart]

Aruden As Taylor Swift Songs + POVS BY BOOKS

(IF ANYONE WANTS TO ADD GO AHEAD)

Aru POV: 

End Of Time: 

Enchanted

“This night is sparkling, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

This night is flawless, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you”

Song Of Death: 

Gold Rush

“What must it be like To grow up that beautiful? With your hair falling into place like dominos I see me padding across your wooden floors”

Tree Of Wishes: 

Sparks Fly

“I run my fingers through your hair

And watch the lights go wild

Just keep on keeping your eyes on me

It's just wrong enough to make it feel right

And lead me up the staircase

Won't you whisper soft and slow

I'm captivated by you, baby

Like a fireworks show”

Ours

“And it's not theirs to speculate if it's wrong and

Your hands are tough, but they are where mine belong and”

City Of Gold:

August

“Back when we were still changin' for the better

Wanting was enough

For me, it was enough

To live for the hope of it all

Cancel plans just in case you'd call

And say, "Meet me behind the mall"

So much for summer love and saying "us"

'Cause you weren't mine to lose

You weren't mine to lose, no"

Foolish One

“Now I'm slidin' down the wall with my head in my hands

Sayin', "How could I not see the signs?"

Oh, you haven't written me or called

But goodbye screamin' in the silence

And the voices in my head are tellin' me why

'Cause you got her on your arm and me in the wings

I'll get your longing glances, but she'll get your ring

And you will say you had the best of intentions

And maybe I will finally learn my lesson

Foolish one

Stop checkin' your mailbox for confessions of love

That ain't never gonna come

You will take the long way, you will take the long way down”

The Moment I Knew

“And it was like slow motion

Standing there in my party dress

In red lipstick

With no one to impress

And they're all laughing

As I'm looking around the room

But there was one thing missing

And that was the moment I knew”

When Kara Emma Falls In Love

“When Emma falls in love, it's all on her face

Hangs in the air like stars in outer space

When Emma falls in love, she disappears

And we all just laugh after seein' it all these years

When Emma falls apart, it's when she's alone

She takes on the pain and bears it on her own

'Cause when Emma falls in love, she's in it for keeps

She won't walk away unless she knows she absolutely has to leave”

'Cause she's the kind of book that you can't put down

Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town

And all the bad boys would be good boys

If they only had a chance to love her

And to tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I was her

Nectar Of Immortality:

Your Losing Me

“Do I throw out everything we built or keep it?

I'm getting tired even for a phoenix

Always risin' from the ashes

Mendin' all her gashes

You might just have dealt the final blow’

‘How long, could we be a sad song?

'Til we were too far gone to bring back to life?

I gave you all my best me's, my endless empathy

And all I did was bleed as I tried to be the bravest soldier

Fighting in only your army

Frontlines, don't you ignore me

I'm the best thing at this party

(You're losin' me)

And I wouldn't marry me either

A pathological people pleaser

Who only wanted you to see her

And I'm fadin', thinkin'

"Do something, babe, say something" (say something)

"Lose something, babe, risk something" (you're losin' me)

"Choose something, babe, I got nothing (got nothing)

To believe

Unless you're choosin' me"

All Too Well

“And maybe we got lost in translation

Maybe I asked for too much

But maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up

Running scared, I was there

I remember it all too well

And you call me up again just to break me like a promise

So casually cruel in the name of being honest

I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here

'Cause I remember it all, all, all

Too well

Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it

I'd like to be my old self again

But I'm still trying to find it

After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own

Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone

But you keep my old scarf from that very first week

'Cause it reminds you of innocence

And it smells like me

You can't get rid of it

'Cause you remember it all too well, yeah”

Timeless

That's when I came upon a book covered in cobwebs

Story of a romance torn apart by fate

Hundreds of years ago, they fell in love, like we did

And I'd die for you in the same way if I first saw your face

In the 1500s off in a foreign land

And I was forced to marry another man

You still would've been mine

We would have been timeless

I would've read your love letters every single night

And run away and left it all behind

You still would've been mine

We would've been timeless

'Cause I believe that we were supposed to find this

So, even in a different life, you still would've been mine

We would've been timeless

Aiden POV: 

Song Of Death: 

Everything Has Changed 

'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello"

And your eyes look like comin' home

All I know is a simple name

And everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

You'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday

Is everything has changed

Tree Of Wishes: 

Electric Touch

All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life

Got a feelin' your electric touch could fill this ghost town up with life

And I want you now, wanna need you forever

In the heat of your electric touch, mmm

I've been left in the rain lost and pining

I'm tryin' hard not to look like I'm trying

'Cause every time I tried hard for love, it fell apart (whoa)

I've gotten used to no one callin' my phone

I've grown accustomed to sleepin' alone

Still, I know that all it takes is to get it right

Just one time, just one time

City Of Gold: 

Back To December

I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile

So good to me, so right

And how you held me in your arms that September night

The first time you ever saw me cry

Maybe this is wishful thinkin'

Probably mindless dreamin'

But if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right

I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't

So if the chain is on your door, I understand

But this is me swallowin' my pride

Standin' in front of you sayin' I'm sorry for that night

And I go back to December

It turns out freedom ain't nothin' but missin' you

Wishin' I'd realized what I had when you were mine

I'd go back to December, turn around and make it alright

I'd go back to December, turn around and change my own mind

I go back to December all the time

Champagne Problems

Your Midas touch on the Chevy door

November flush and your flannel cure

"This dorm was once a madhouse"

I made a joke, "Well, it's made for me"

How evergreen, our group of friends

Don't think we'll say that word again

And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls

That we once walked through

One for the money, two for the show

I never was ready, so I watch you go

Sometimes you just don't know the answer

'Til someone's on their knees and asks you

"She would've made such a lovely bride

What a shame she's fucked in the head, " they said

But you'll find the real thing instead

She'll patch up your tapestry that I shred

Cornelia Street

And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends

I'd never walk Cornelia Street again

That's the kind of heartbreak time could never mend

I'd never walk Cornelia Street again

And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your name

And baby, I'm so terrified of if you ever walk away

I'd never walk Cornelia Street again

I'd never walk Cornelia Street again

The Great War

You drew up some good faith treaties

I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone

You said I have to trust more freely

But diesel is desire, you were playin' with fire

And maybe it's the past that's talkin'

Screamin' from the crypt

Tellin' me to punish you for things you never did

So I justified it

It turned into something bigger

Somewhere in the haze, got a sense I'd been betrayed

Your finger on my hair pin triggers

Soldier down on that icy ground

Looked up at me with honor and truth

Broken and blue, so I called off the troops

That was the night I nearly lost you

I really thought I lost you

We can plant a memory garden

Say a solemn prayer, place a poppy in my hair

There's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair

And we will never go back

The Story Of Us

This is looking like a contest

Of who can act like they care less

But I liked it better when you were on my side

The battle's in your hands now

But I would lay my armor down

If you'd say you'd rather love than fight

So many things that you wish I knew

But the story of us might be ending soon

Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room

And we're not speaking and I'm dying to know

Is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah

But I don't know what to say since the twist of fate

When it all broke down 

And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now, now, now

Nectar Of Immortality:

Mine

Do you remember, we were sittin' there by the water?

You put your arm around me for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Flash forward, and we're takin' on the world together

And there's a drawer of my things at your place

You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded

You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes

Long Live

Long live the walls we crashed through

How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you

I was screaming, "Long live all the magic we made"

And bring on all the pretenders, I'm not afraid

Long live all the mountains we moved

I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you

I was screaming, "Long live the look on your face"

And bring on all the pretenders

One day we will be remembered

Hold on to spinning around

Confetti falls to the ground

May these memories break our fall

Will you take a moment?

Promise me this

That you'll stand by me forever

But if, God forbid, fate should step in

And force us into a goodbye

If you have children someday

When they point to the pictures

Please tell them my name

Tell them how the crowds went wild

Tell them how I hope they shine

[starleska]

aaaa I kinda wanna make a DHMIS side blog and write some fic but seeing so many ppl start getting harassment out of nowhere is so discouraging 😂 wishing you all the best, I love your warren stuff (and sorry about those mean anons!!)

oh, sweetheart. i'm so, so sorry that you feel this way. this is dreadful. Don't Hug Me I'm Scared fandom, look at this ask. over the past week myself and many other fans of the shorts and show have been receiving vile messages. death threats, wishes that our favourite characters should die in horrible ways, and personal attacks. the level of harassment the fandom has reached is unconscionable. if you're one of those individuals who thinks it's a great time to spew filth into people's inboxes, or to scream at artists/writers/theorists through tags because you really don't like a fictional character, or even enjoy watching the fireworks like people's emotions are some kind of sport? re-evaluate your life for a moment. right here, you have an individual who is too scared to engage with their interest because of this harassment. now, i'm thankful i'm in a good place mentally and am able to laugh this stuff off. i've liked weird characters and been bashed for it before, and it will happen again. but these people are forming an unsafe, toxic environment. it's not 'lmao this freak likes the worm i'm gonna send death threats 😂'. it's them taking time out of their day to make others miserable because they can't handle other people liking something they don't. i find it unbelievably ironic that it's posting about Warren, of all characters, that is drawing such ire. joking about how he's ugly and a terrible person is one thing, that's all in good fun - he's both! but did the actual message of that episode go entirely over their heads, or is their media comprehension so dim they believe it to be a one-to-one depiction of reality? for anyone who has been made to feel unsafe in this manner - whether in this fandom or another, for liking an unpopular character or for just trying to enjoy themselves - you don't need to give these people your energy. go ahead and make that sideblog. post those headcanons. make your art and write about your ships and create your AMVs. and do everything you need to do to keep yourself and your mental health safe. it's okay to turn off anon, it's okay to delete replies, and it's okay to block liberally when assholes come into your space looking to ruin your day because their own lives are so vapid and hollow. anon, thank you so much for your kind words and for being so sweet to me - i'm really glad you like my silly Warren content! i think you should make that sideblog and have a blast with it. for every awful ask i've received, there's been a hundred other messages, reblogs, tags and more gushing and theorising and just having a great time. the fandom as a whole isn't bad - it's just a couple of people who have nothing better to do and want to project their insecurities outwards. don't worry about them. they're leading profoundly sad lives. take care of yourself, and i hope, with time, these people grow up a little and learn to enjoy themselves. 💖

[factorialsotherfandoms]

Some fun extra Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night trivia to supplement the QSMP Global twitter's summary! The trivia bit is fun, the history bit less so. As is often the way.

The effigies burnt on the bonfires are literally called 'Guys'.

In my village the scout group who also organised the fireworks (with the fire service) made the Guy and it was already on there when the bonfire was lit, but in other towns and villages locally they'd sometimes be paraded through the streets on the way to their execution.

While Guy Fawkes is of course the traditional form of the Guy, unpopular politicians, celebrities, or other public figures are often used instead. Sometimes this is a mark of the sheer deep distain of a local area for someone, other times it is wanting to keep the tradition while moving away from the traditional anti-Catholic sentiment.

The twitter says respectfully remember history, but we burn an effigy of Guy yearly, in many places over the country, and have for 400 years. It doesn't seem super respectful tbh, but it is kinda fun. Even when some areas don't use a Guy of Guy Fawkes, somewhere else will be using one.

A number of places no longer use Guys at all. Which is a bit sad, but maybe better on the respectful front.

Guy Fawkes was neither the person who started nor funded the conspiracy to assassination! He was, however, the person incharge of the gunpowder as the person with military experience, and the first person caught. Hence being the famous one.

Roasted chestnuts are a bonfire night thing (where I grew up tended to call it bonfire night, not guy fawkes night), but are also just a general autumn and early winter food here! Buying them fresh on street corners is very much a thing, at least in more rural parts of England. Where I grew up they can be bought every day from mid-October through early December, but where I live now only sometimes on market days.

For ease of not needing spoons and the like, a lot of fireworks and bonfire shows now sell basic burgers and sausages in bread rather than soup. It's a bit messy ^^; especially for smaller displays.

If you're unfamiliar with sparklers, they're a form of hand-held firework often given to children to hold and make patterns with. I adored them, though we'd only have them in the garden at home, not at the actual bonfire - too many people and too likely to hit someone.

Doing your own fireworks is a thing, but also dangerous. Having been to both its also just more fun as a community thing with the bonfire. And a lot warmer. Very very few people have space for a bonfire, but in November you do kinda need it if outside that long. Especially if it decides to rain.

While fireworks arranged by local groups (council, charities, scouts/guides, etc) tend to have payment towards them, everything but the bonfire can usually be seen from a long way away, and most of the food you can just buy (never as nice as from a van or market stall at an event, but you can). The one where I grew up was not paid for, though food was and you were expected to bring a firework per family to donate to the display. This was actually really neat, but I get why it doesn't work for larger sized communities. (under the cut is some of the context and history to the attempted assassination, but its kinda long and really poorly explained - I'm a physicist not a historian - so... take it as a starting point to look up more if interested. It does contain talk of religious persecution and yk execution and assassination stuff. So. Not the fun bits.)

The buildup to the assassination attempt was that being Catholic was illegal. As James I's mother had been Catholic, and understood at the time as a martyr at that, there was hope that while maybe Protestantism would continue to be favoured, there would be greater religious tolerance and their practices would become legal - early in his reign he had talked about ignoring quiet Catholics and favouring exile to execution for convicted Catholics. This didn't happen. There were a whole series of attempted assassinations and wars on the European continent between Catholics and Protestants at the time, too, which likely made the king wary.

It was also not the first plot for the king to be assassinated due to religious matters - in 1603 some priests attempted to kidnap him (the Bye Plot), which was found out when some other Catholics reported on them (and likely saved more people from persecution; the priests were executed, but the others involved pardoned and a blind eye turned to Catholicism a while longer). In 1604, however, Queen Anne was given a rosary from the Pope, and King James discovered this. In response he ordered all Catholic priests to immediately leave the country, and reimposed fines for being Catholic - something he had suspended earlier in his reign.

After this he made a number of politically unfavourable appointments in court - mostly by bringing more Scots to parliament (James I of England was first James VI of Scotland, inheriting the English throne when the last of the Tudors died without an heir). And /then/ he made speeches about wanting to secure peace, but only peace for the 'true' form of Christianity, ie Protestants. An act was also introduced to Parliament that would have made all English Catholics outlaws.

This understandably really upset a lot of Catholics, who had seen things get a little better and then go a lot downhill.

And thus formed the plan. It was actually more complicated than just an assassination! By taking out the houses of Parliament they would also take out most of the ruling parties of the country as well as the King, and they had arranged to kidnap James' young daughter, Elizabeth. Their plan was to install her as Queen, replace Parliament with either Catholics or those sympathetic to them, and raise the young Queen to their religion and politics.

The attempt was supposed to be made much much earlier in the year, but concerns about plague meant that Parliament did not meet for most of 1605. This ended up causing a lot of the gunpowder to go bad, and need replacing. This was done.

The plan was for only Guy Fawkes to be present with the gunpowder, lighting it and escaping into the Thames and then to Europe to explain to Catholic powers there, while his co-conspirators installed Princess Elizabeth as Queen. It was finalised over October, but the plan interrupted as the wives of the conspirators grew suspicious of their husbands, and some of the men grew concerned about backlash on other Catholics should they go through with it. A number of them also had friends or employers in the House of Lords; one of these was warned very vaguely to be away from Parliament on the date planned. However he did not quite grasp the letter, and reported it immediately. (The Monteagle Letter).

The letter eventually shown to the King, who returned to London in early November. Noticing the mention of blows, explosives were considered, and a search of Parliament ordered. On 4th Novemeber, as final preparations were being made, Guy Fawkes was found first with firewood - that could be explained away as him as a servant - and then with the gunpowder late on the 4th. As the person found he was taken to see the King on the 5th. As news of the arrest spread the co-conspirators fled - Guy Fawkes had given a fake name but time would show. The 5th should have been the day of the assassination. Instead over the following days Fawkes was tortured for information, and others investigated to find out who else was in on the plot. The head of investigations was famously anti-Catholic. Eventually they were found, and a few of the co-conspitators were killed there and then in a firefight, while others were also arrested. When those arrested were executed, the corpses of the already dead were dug up so that their heads could be displayed in London. Rather than be fully hung, drawn, and quartered, Fawkes managed to jump such that the hanging snapped his neck, killing him instantly, rather than suffer through suffocation then being stretched then cut apart as his fellows were.

While other Catholics denounced the plot, it was still used as an excuse to speed up the legal persecution of Catholics in the country. While some prominent Catholics did keep senior government jobs, the laws required them to make Oaths and pay fines, and for less prominent Catholics were stricter. Many refused to make the Oaths, as they would be a betrayal of their religion. It took over 200 years for the anti-Catholic laws to be repealed.

From 1606 to 1859 it was a legal requirement for Churches in the country to give special sermons on November 5th to give prayers thanking God for the saving of the King. The bonfire thing also dates back about this long, and gunpowder being used in the celebrations from some time before 1610. Guys are more recent additions, though not by a whole lot.

[kanjukucompany]

【A3! Translation】 Citron SR: Accessorized with Flowering Dogwood (2/2)

PART 1 / PART 2

(translation under the cut)

Fireworks Through a Screen

Child A: Then we'll see you tonight!

Citron: Alrighty~.

Izumi: (Huh? It's Citron-kun and the neighborhood kids. Hm, they look like they're having a good time, I won't disturb them.)

Citron: Oh, Director! Were you shopping?

Izumi: Ah, yeah. Were you having fun with the others?

Citron: I was! But, now we must temporarily go our separate ways.

Izumi: Temporarily separate...?

Child B: We're meeting up again tonight at Citron's place!

Izumi: Eh? Tonight? Did you tell your parents?

Child C: We don't need to tell them anything.

Izumi: But...

Citron: Director, it's fine, really!

Child D: I'm gonna bring a big cake with me when I come!

Child A: I'll bring my golden knife!

Izumi: (A golden knife....? I guess that's to cut the cake.)

Izumi: (Then again, Citron-kun's place is the dorms. If the kids are coming over, should we prepare some sweets or something..?)

Citron: And once everyone arrives, I going to shoot off a huge fireworks display!

Izumi: HUH!?

Child B: I'm sooo excited--!

Izumi: No, fireworks are seriously...!

Citron: Don't worry, Director, I'll launch them safely! I hope you're also looking forward to it~.

Izumi: (I can't tell if he's joking or not...)

Child C: See ya tonight!

Child D: Bye-bye!

Citron: I'll be waiting~.

Citron: Now, Director, let's get home! I'll carry your bags.

Izumi: T-Thank you.

Izumi: ....Hey, Citron-kun. Are they all coming over later?

Citron: They're all coming to my place!

Izumi: O....kay? It'd probably be a good idea to tidy up the living room, then.

Citron: There's no need for that~.

Citron: Director, everyone will be here soon!

Izumi: Eh, I haven't prepared anything, or even cleaned--!

Izumi: ....Wait, is that a game console?

Citron: Everyone's gathering at my village in the game!

Itaru: And somehow I got roped in, too.

Izumi: W-What... Is that what all of this about...

Itaru: Director, did you think people were coming over IRL?

Izumi: Because everyone was saying they were meeting at Citron-kun's place, I thought they meant the dorms....

Izumi: And Citron-kun, you knew I was mistaken, didn't you? I wish you'd told me!

Citron: Sorry. Director is just so cute when she's flustered, I was a little mean~.

Izumi: You can't just say stuff like that.

Citron: Oh, don't be like that! Our super fun fireworks show is starting soon. Watch it, I'm sure it'll make you feel better.

Izumi: That's not going to--.

Itaru: Alright, TV's all connected. Should be able to see it perfectly on the big screen now.

Citron: Look, it's starting!

*fireworks*

Izumi: Woah, it's beautiful....! Even though it's a game, it looks just like real fireworks!

Itaru: The quality's really impressive.

Citron: So, Director?

CHOICE 1: This is fun.

Izumi: I had no clue firework displays like this even existed, but this is fun, too!

Citron: Oh, I'm so happy you like it!

Citron: ....That reminds me, Director, I have an idea!

Izumi: What is it?

Citron: Next time I want to invite Sakuya, and everyone else in the dorms, and have a huuuuge fireworks display~!

Citron: If we prepared sweets and drinks, and got together to watch the fireworks, I'm certain it would be loads more fun!

Izumi: That sounds great! I think that'd make everyone very happy!

Citron: Watching the fireworks with everyone, now I'm excited~!

CHOICE 2: I'm still angry.

Izumi: The fireworks are beautiful, but I'm still mad at you, okay?

Citron: Ehh~, I really am sorry...

Izumi: ....Fufu. I'm just kidding, it's okay! I'm not upset anymore.

Citron: Oh, I've been given a taste of my own medicine!

Citron: Having deceitful acting battles with you is fun, Director! We'll have to set up more if the chance arises.

Izumi: I really will be angry with you if you do that again, got it?

Citron: You can't even bring yourself to look angry when saying that, I love it~!

-

Citron: Oh, this next firework is one I made!

Izumi: What, you can make them yourself?

Itaru: You can design one in-game and launch it.

*firework*

Citron: Perfect! Tamayaaa~!*

Itaru: Uh... what was that just now?

Izumi: That didn't look like an ordinary round firework...

Citron: This one's for you, Director!

Izumi: Umm... Yellow and white... Oh, I got it! Curry, right!?

Citron: Right answer! As expected of our Director~.

Itaru: No way, how the hell did you get that...

*"tamaya!" and "kagiya!" are common ways of cheering at fireworks displays. the expressions come from the names of the tamaya and kagiya clans, who would host annual fireworks 'battles' during the edo period.

[petrichorpetals]

So from the evidence I've collected, I'm very sure my Yeosang came here from another timeline/world theory is correct.

This mostly stems from what we learned from fever part 3 and the deja vu mv but honestly the Yeosang being sus about this had already been foreshadowed in his diary entry of fever part 2. (You'll have to forgive my terrible pictures I have fever part 3 in front of me and I'm too lazy to grab fever part 2 to take better pics)

Basically our setup to this was how at the end of the diary film we switched dimensions into the world of fireworks which I'm fairly sure is called Strictland. Everyone basically says how much the new world feels like their old one but different. The first time I read this I wasn't sure what he meant by "Everyone says this is a new world but somehow, I'm familiar with the scenery here. " line and just took it at face value to be metaphor. But given his repetition of staring down the camera to say "I remember" in Deja Vu, it would make a lot more sense if we take it quite literally too mean I remember this place because I'm from here. There's also a lot of talk about the word world in "wanting to escape the world I've lived in, the world I've been trapped in" as well as "the friends who have willingly invited me to their world". Basically the tldr of the matter is that yeosang escaped from the world of Fireworks into the world of school!Ateez using a chromer that breaks. (IMO we see this exact moment where it breaks at the end of Deja Vu) I say it's likely a chromer since Yeosang shows an at least approximate knowledge of what would happen if he breaks one when he breaks the one the black pirates/halateez gave to hongjoong while the android guardian/white mask holds him hostage.

Yeosang seems to have an approximate knowledge here of what would happen if the Chromer broke, to the point where he doesn't even call it the Chromer when he's thinking about what they know about the object, he specifically calls it a sandglass when any other mention of it has been the Chromer.

There's also the matter of him going out of the way of saying "My friends would not have been all scattered if I had not met them at first". This could very well be talking about where they lost Yeosang and scattered in the hallway but given his wording of at first, I'm putting this as evidence that Yeosang was a newcomer to their world when he got here with the chromer and wasn't a part of their friend group originally.

This theory gets backed up by the ending bit of Not Too Late playing at the end of Deja Vu and if you do a quick look into the lyrics, Not Too Late comes across very much as the beginning of school Ateez where they're all lamenting about being lonely before they all get together to make friends.

Except for two things.

One of which is Wooyoung and Yeosang talking about not being able to get out or escape (Which lines up for Yeosang if he's trapped in this new timeline and adds some interesting implications for Wooyoung I'll get into on a post about him later).

The second of which is Mingi's part. Mingi brings up killing and saving, both things that happen and we see happening during Inception and Thanxx in Fever Part 1 when Hongjoong keeps resetting the timeline using the chromer. There's two implications here: one, Mingi is aware of the timeline resetting (something that I already suspected but is now confirmed) and two, while this might seem like a song from the very beginning of school Ateez, Mingi gives us the added context that it is very much not. (It's also interesting that Yeosang's the one that pulled out Mingi's headphones to make him past attention to the world around him in diary film but like Wooyoung, I'll get into Mingi later in another post)

Since we're assumedly several timeline cycles in, why is this song playing over Yeosang breaking the Chromer? I posit that instead of this being the moment where Yeosang breaks the Chromer while escaping the white Android, this is instead either the moment Yeosang crash lands into school Ateez's world via his own "sandglass" for the first time or this still is that moment, but due to time shenanigans, the Yeosang that escaped just so happens to have escaped back to when he first got to their world making him trapped not only in school Ateez's world, but in an endless cycle of breaking the Chromer to get there in the first place.

We see that Yeosang doesn't go back to their original world and warehouse with them afterwards. Likely because he wasn't a part of their world to begin with to return back with them.

There's other bits of evidence that say that Yeosang with the broken Chromer at the end of Deja Vu is going to school Ateez like the hand that reached for Yeosang had a sleeve similar to their school uniform in Inception.

(Interestingly enough, Yeosang has an emblem that isn't like anyone else's on his uniform and Wooyoung has several emblems. Not necessarily relevant to my current point but food for thought.)

I'm not one of those people that obsess over hands, so idk whose hand that is exactly, but I do have suspicions.

If we're looking at the rings and at how one hand kind of mirrors the other, we can come to the conclusion that it might be the same person. We can go so far as to think that maybe, that hand might even belong to another version of Yeosang. Potentially even the hala!Yeosang that we catch a glimpse of in the diary film giving Hongjoong the chromer. (Side note: I only just realized that it was actually hala!yeosang that gave hongjoong the chromer and not hala!hongjoong like I thought going in. Yeosang really does just have a longstanding history with the Chromer huh.)

Edit: it's now basically been confirmed by the making of deja vu mv that the hand is Hongjoong's so basically depicting the moment Hongjoong reached out for yeosang when the timelines reset. I still standby the rest of my theory. Here's the screenshot I grabbed off the alternate hand angle in the mv making video:

For me personally, a lot of things start to click into place when we consider the possibility that Yeosang is actually from another world. Even his like a bird in a cage stuff makes sense when viewed in this light. He has the freedom of song and dance that he didn't have in Strictland, which banned any form of music or dance thinking it would lead to human emotion, but is stuck in this new world with no other option but to potentially repeat the cycle of when he got here.

[iamnightduchess]

ReinerxMikasa (ReiKasa) Extremely Kinky A to Z Ask Game (R20+) Headcanon #19

*Update: 24 March 2021

A continuation of this ask & inspired by this original post. Dedicated to @xrocketmanx for their amazing 💖 on my ko-fi page!

(A/N: ‼️WARNING‼️Graphic description of very explicit smut with potentially provocative images ⛔ Please don't click Keep Reading if you're below 20 🙅‍♀️ Sorry kiddos! To my more adult readers, please absorb this post's content with appropriate discretion & maturity)

(In complete Alphabetical Order)

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

People expect Reiner to be the one who would jump off the bed immediately soon after when they’re done but on the contrary, he just loves lying there and holding Mikasa in his arms post-coitus. Although, they do sleep with Mikasa lying on his chest most nights. Mikasa wasn’t used to be held intimately in the first few months of their relationship, so the first time they made love, Reiner gave her the space that she needed before, during and after. It was Mikasa who finally initiated their first cuddle post-coitus after the next several weeks.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Reiner: Very confident of his physical appearance and in his skin. He really loves everything on and about Mikasa. He loves her body type the way she is - to him, hers is just perfect. But, his most favorite body part of hers he'd like to touch first every time he could is her hands. He just like holding her hands when he wakes up, winding down for the night & even when he's asleep.

Mikasa: This woman, despite having a bombshell athletic figure, still secretly feels insecure of the way she looks. She loves Reiner's biceps the most - at home, she'll sneak a quick peck or a nibble on his biceps when he's doing the dishes or making dinner. She also likes to snuggle up to him on the couch with his arm draped around her shoulders, sometimes until she falls asleep.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… lol)

She...swallows? 🙈 (holy shizz i'm not so sure of this one. Can't think of a suitable answer without being cringey 🤣)

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Reiner & Mikasa once had a quickie inside the changing booth during a beach trip with their friends. Reiner had also went down on Mikasa after dinner at his mum's place, right in Karina's laundry room because he 'accidentally' spilt some wine on her dress & wanted to get her dress cleaned up. He ended up having her as dessert on top of the moving dryer & she left her underwear there by accident.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

They were both not each other’s first lovers but when they first got together, the experience is like being with no other. They discovered new parts & points of not only their significant other’s physical & spiritual strengths but also their own respective preferences as well. Reiner’s quite a ladies’ man during his early years in the military but after a while, he got bored of the game. Meeting Mikasa, he realised he wants to play the game again but this time to win it for good. Mikasa has only been with one boyfriend since college & being with Reiner opened her eyes up to vast possibilities.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

No, Reiner doesn't do the Military Style despite being a military man 🤣 Missionary & Cow Girl are their standard starting positions. Despite Mikasa being very flexible, which gave them more advantage in attempting the more physically-challenging positions, but the following are their more favorite experimental ones:

Oasis

Basket

Watering Can

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

A little bit of both, no doubt. Reiner has a dorky sense of humor & Mikasa's odd humor makes for a good tension-breaking combination. Their foreplays always begin with a good laugh - with Reiner ghosting his teasing touches on her love handles. Gets her in the mood for some serious sexing every time.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

For both, the carpets matched the drapes. Mikasa tried Brazillian wax once and uhh...Reiner abstained for a week & a half because he prefers her au naturalé 🙈 He said it felt odd from what he's used to haha

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

There are days they’ll just have a quickie if they get in the mood while just chilling, watching TV together after dinner. Before the children came, they would always have slow, intense eye-gazing, tantric, unrushed lovemaking. After the twins came into the picture, they’ll be lucky if they can even have cuddle time together >D Mikasa doesn’t say “I love you” out-loud but showed it in the way she touches & kisses Reiner’s arm when he’s in the kitchen making dinner or when he’s giving the twins a bath.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Oooh...Reiner rarely does this after he dated Mikasa & married her. But he loves getting her to touch herself in the showers. While he watches.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Did i tell you about their muscle kink & how much they love each other’s muscles?? Roleplay :) They like to pretend they’re strangers meeting in a cafe or a hotel bar and later have a ‘pretend one-night stand’ with each other haha It keeps the flame burning! (i posted a oneshot on this.)

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

Home: bedroom, kitchen and in his home office. In the showers too!

They're not one to do it in public but they did have several outdoor trysts on the back of his 4WD while having a romantic night under the stars.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going) haha can't help not including this gif

When Mikasa rubs one of Reiner's thighs, rest assured that his gears will be running. Meanwhile when Reiner nuzzles her neck and started caressing her abs, oh it's an on for her alright.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

⛔ Backdoors are a big N.O ⛔

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

They're both amazing givers... You know what it means: 34 + 35 🤫 Reiner would sometimes initiates when Mikasa's already asleep. Remember that Zoom Conference & online gaming session? Mikasa likes to get back at Reiner when he least expects it.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Both depending on their moods...quickies are usually fast pounding yet not too rough, Reiner respects Mikasa too much to ever be at risk of hurting her. Usually their lovemaking would be sensual & soul-bonding at the same time.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Mikasa prefers to wear pants when they ever go for outings, movie trips, hiking trips. But, she wears skirts when they're visiting their families for a reason: smoother access for quickies. The moment she walks down the stairs in a beautiful dress before they head to his mum's or her aunts', Reiner already knows it. They be getting freaky with a quickie later 🙈

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Reiner & Mikasa are very experimental in the bedroom. Sure, they don’t have frequent lovemaking but when they’re in the mood, fireworks are a guarantee throughout with different new positions ;) Risk-taker? Let’s just say Reiner’s virility and Mikasa’s flexibility provided a lot of perks in their love lives together (and some pregnancy scares too! before they were ready to conceive) Mikasa once gave Reiner head while they're stuck in traffic heading into a road block. He'd finished just before the the car in front of them pass the inspection 🙈

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Ooh boy, all night haha Rounds: 2 max at one time. Duration: At least 1.5hours X) They both are super fit, athletic people so one can expect their staminas to be nothing less than subpar. *cough* In Canon AU: Max 4 times or 1/3 of the night *winks* because supernatural & acker powers!

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

No, they don't 🙈

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Goes without saying: a lot. Mikasa likes to wear Reiner's tshirts/ dress shirts at home to tease him. While Reiner likes to wear his reading glasses a lot at home because that is one of her biggest turn ons from him.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Mikasa's the quiet one between the two and the loudest she'd ever been was just a deep, heavy whimper. Reiner's the louder one that sometimes Mikasa would have to smother him when they're having a quickie 🤣

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Even after more than 20 years together, Reiner and Mikasa still make out like they're teenagers - pretending to sneak around and grinding in hidden, cramped spaces away from their kids.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Mikasa : Dynamite & powerful grip - thighs and you-know-what (even after 3 kids!)

Reiner : Thicc - ass & this man is packing. He has girth!

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest: 15 🤣 There's something about getting Mikasa to relax and laugh during their chill time, that just instantaneously revved up their engines at the same time. Reiner is a very tender, romantic person & Mikasa cannot resist it when he starts to tell her how much he loves her & appreciates her. He likes to kiss her hand when they're just hanging out even with friends. Everything Reiner does is genuine & that warms her heart everytime.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Reiner would be the first to go out like a light & Mikasa just likes to rest her head on his chest and hear his beating heart & relaxed breathing. Mikasa thinks Reiner's little snores are adorable. But when they're just cuddling on the couch, Mikasa would fall asleep first & Reiner would carry her to the bed.

-------------------

A/N: I had a lot of fun with this & I hope you'll enjoy it too! Thank you so much for the support & love 💖 xoxo More asks to come!

[shaggi]

if i could stop time, i would

info ; eren x reader ; soulmates ; 1.8k

content warning ; end of the world concept, mentions of not really wanting to live lol, gentle angst

Day one. 72 hours until the world ends.

The world is going to shit. I know it is because I can hear the panicked buzz of mothers holding their children close and reassuring them as the news practically burned "we're all going to die" into our heads.

My fingers twitched as they held the dark blue fabric of my jeans. I'm terrified ㅡ as is the rest of the people watching the news ㅡ and it most definitely doesnt help when they plaster a large timer onto the screen counting down our days and hours left on our beloved blue planet.

"We never thought this day would come.. Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached the end of the chapter." The words echoed into the back of my mind. 'The end of the chapter'? I havent even really lived my life? I'm only seventeen.. I barely made it to graduation. I suck in a deep breath, filling my lungs fully before releasing the built up pressure.

Theres a burning sensation on my waterline, tears threatening to roll down my cheeks. My hands begin to shake when I think back to all the sleepless nights I spent not enjoying life. I took life for granted ㅡ and now it's going to end in three days. In seventy-two hours, it's all going to go away. That's not enough time to say all the things I didnt have a chance to say.

Wasted opportunities.

Wasted chances that I now no longer have control over.

My legs suddenly feel like spaghetti and walking seems like a foriegn topic to me. I just need to sit down, take a breather.

Who am I kidding. The storm inside me is raging on tonight and my hands have a handful of messy locks.

I catch glimpse of inked red calligraphy spelling out the name 'Eren' that is marked onto the inside of my forearm in small writing just an inch below my wrist. My heart swells with sadness.

The sense of realization settles in, practically telling me to 'let this sink in for a little'. I'm not ever going to get the chance to meet my soulmate. I'll never get the satisfaction of weaving their fingers with mine, to lay on the couch on cold winter nights with blankets drooped over our shoulders. Never get the chance to tell them I love them over and over again, to brush their hair behind their ears, grab them by the smooth skin of theirs and feel the fireworks of pressing my lips against their own.

I wont feel the sweet electricity course through me like people explained would happen when they touched their soulmate for the first time. I've spent seventeen years searching for this perfect person in the happiness of this little town. The universe promised a perfect person, they never promised me to meet them though.

The younger generations were lucky, for they werent born with marks. They werent tied to someone, so they dont have anything to lose other than the fact that they're too young to leave this world.

A crowd begins to pull outside, staring at the sky with both a mix of admiration and fear. The blue sky has begun to turn itself into a peach color. My town's happy vibe has now turned uneasy, scared, unsure.

That day, I walk home slowly when the sky begins to darken, taking the scenery of the autumn leaves disarray upon the concrete sidewalk. If the world is ending in three days, I'm going to make the most of it. Soak it up like a sponge. Do what I should've been doing these past seventeen years and love life for once ㅡ despite all the wrong. Despite the fact that I'll never graduate, and never meet my soulmate. I force myself to disregard the nagging thoughts that tug at my conscious.

I dont think about the fact that I'll never get a chance to buy my first apartment.

I dont think about how I wont be able to wake up every morning to make my significant other breakfast.

And I most certainly dont think about how I'll never be able to take my lovers hand at the alter and say with great pride, "I do."

Day 2. 48 hours until the world ends.

Today, I woke up early. Early enough that the sun still hasn't peaked over the clouds. They say that if you wake up early enough the day takes longer to end.

The aching pain in my chest never seems to cease. I laugh a little bitterly at the calander on the wall, I feel like its mocking me now. A part of me wants to rip the thing to shreds and scream until my throat is raw ㅡ but I said I'd make the best of these last days. So, I push these bitter thoughts from my mind and start up a warm shower.

Seventeen years of not wanting to be alive, and now I only have two days to live until the entire world completely goes to shit. Ironic, isn’t it? Why now am I so angry? The water is warm trickling down my bare body, as my shower thoughts continue treading forward to how I could make life better in less than forty-eight hours.

I walk down a different road today, deciding that routine wasnt necessary when the world is going to end in forty-eight hours. The countdown continues on nearby TVs, the bright white luminous against the dark morning sky.

It makes me feel anxious.

Destruction clouds my mind, but I bite my lip and hold my ground. This situation will not drive me crazy.

The town is a lot quieter than I expected, then again it's only 6 in the morning.

The day carries on just as any other day, the air seems heavier though. It's the night time that brings chaos.

You see, I've been walking around town all day blowing that last little bits of money I have on little things that have no purpose. The sky is the same sunset peach as it was yesterday, only barely hinting at a blue color.

There's a faint noise a few blocks from where I am standing, and at first I chose the ignore it. The yelling got louder and louder until I felt my feet pull like magnets to what was going on.

Chocolate hair, smooth tan skin shining under the soft orange of the sky, handfuls of someones shirt as this mystery man pinned some junky against the rough brick wall. His eyes held a killer glow, practically fuming from the ears. I was going to mind my own business, but then I saw the other strike at the brunette ㅡ and I dont know why, but I stepped in.

A surprise attack, a blow right to the face, maybe a minor bruise on my cheek from when the other decided to attack back ㅡ but soon he left. I turn my gaze back to the brunette who still sits on the floor, palms pressed into the concrete.

"I didnt need your help," he hissed, dusting his hands against the black fabric of his jeans.

"Oh you're welcome for saving your ass, wasnt a problem at all." My hand lifts to my face, pressing onto the bruise and wincing before squatting next to this stranger. "Is it bad? Let me see," The moment my hand makes contact with the others chin I feel the rush of electricity course through me.

Overwhelming is an understatement. Sweet emotions flooded through my mind but I can feel the pounding of fear in my veins, and bittersweet it was. When I retract my hand, I see that he's mirrored the exact expression I have; eyes blown wide, fear in the darks of his pupils.

"Eren..?" trying to keep my voice from cracking seems hard, and it comes out more like a whisper. This situation leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Where the hell has he been for seventeen years? Why is he just now showing up?

Eren immediately sprung to his feet, taking a few steps back with no words to say. I snatched at his left arm, pushing the sweaters sleeve up and over his forearm to see my name inked in blue against his paper skin. "So.. you're my soulmate?" I promise I didnt mean to make it sound disappointed ㅡ but in a way, I guess you could say I was.

So many questions raced through my mind; but the biggest question of all was why? Why now of all times we could've met? Why must I be gifted with the worst luck.

Eren isnt a bad person though, and in the few hours we've spent together I can tell you this; His favorite color is red, he lives with his mother and a girl that his family took in when they were very little - who he loves dearly, he can play guitar very well, he looks absolutely adorable with his hair tied up, and that's only the stuff he's told me within the first hour.

Words cannot express how much I wished we could have more time together, but the bright TV clocks continue to remind me that our time is running out.

"There's nothing more I'd rather do than to spend my last moments with you," Eren whispered, golden flecks in his beautiful ocean eyes. His hand was held in mine as the pained expression washed over his face. Somewhere in the conversation led us to this point of heartbreak. We both explained how we wanted nothing more than to meet earlier in life, but apparently the universe had a different plan.

The idea of parting with Eren now just seemed like a waste, and I'd much rather take my dying last breath next to the one I looked for my entire life. Falling in love is easy when you've got nothing to live for.

The walk back to my house is silent, but it's a comfortable silence, and we never seem to let go of each others hands. The house is quiet and dark when we enter.

The rest of the remaining night we have is spent cuddled under the thick blanket of mine, Eren held me close to his chest as we whisper sweet things that wont mean much in a few hours. Chaste kisses are showered over the male as I remind him of how I never stopped searching for him.

He studied my face, moving a strand of hair behind my ear before placing his palm onto my cheek and rubbing his thumb across the smoothness underneath my eye. I could feel my breath begin to shallow and my heart skip a beat. I loved the way his eyes sparkled under my dim-lit room, the way I could feel his heartbeat pulsing from how close we lay where, how steady his breathing was, and how gentle he caressed me.

Its bittersweet, and I never believed in the after life, but with him - maybe, just maybe, we will meet again in the next life.

[trixcuomo]

Desperate Alts' Lives

((It's a good time for Trix and Sharpen to get into a fun storyline together, right? Last week at the Legedermain Lounge, Dalaran...))

Sharpen: *finally sets his coffee mug down* You're hiding, aren't you? Eversince that GNOMEADE showdown in Stormwind, right? I've been keeping track of what's in the papers, and it's definitely not your usual. It's almost as if you're trying to become a normal person. Which is hella-odd, Trixany.

Trixany: ...

Sharpen: I'm right, aren't I? You've somehow lost your spark. What's gone wrong now, Trix?

Trixany: 'So, how've you been, Trixany?' 'Hope you're well?' That's what friends are supposed to ask each other. Actually, they're supposed to know already and not come out of nowhere, making up weird accusations. For example, I heard you picked up Rexxar but that flopped. *harrumphs* Poor you.

Sharpen: *sips coffee, smirking at Trixany's dainty tea cup* Came and went. But that doesn't mean we didn't have a good time together. And then there was Mandy... she was a very nice druid, made her own fireworks which amazed me. We watched them together at her place in Moonglade. This month, I've mostly been hanging out with this cool drogbar guy I met doing deadweights, at the gym.

Trixany: You're a man-ho aren't you?

Sharpen: Wow. So people have been warning me to be careful about Horde friendships; it's like we're back in Warsong Gulch! I genuinely care about how you're doing, but you're keeping everything I say so surface. I'm dodging daggers over here, Trixany.

Trixany: Because you're a liar. *crosses her arms* I refuse to believe you plow through your love affairs so fast.

Sharpen: I thought I was a ho, not a plow. At least get your garden tools right, Trix--

Trixany: I want to know this made up super-over-the-top-exotic cool guy's name. Let's see what you can come up with. And it's not lost on me that you claim to be dating a man three times your size. As if that's even physically possible.

Sharpen: *waggles his eyebrows*

Trixany: Ugh, forget I said that.

Sharpen: I'm simply being discreet about... this guy. Isn't that easy enough to believe? He has an important job.

Trixany: *narrows eyes* Shut up. No... *then like a true gossip girl* SHUT! UP!

Sharpen: What--I didn't even say anything?

Trixany: No. You're being humble, which is worse. This is some kind of... humble himbo brag! 'Oh, my new boyfriend is too famous to even mention, better not'. That only leaves one possibility.

Sharpen: Don't make yourself hysterical. This is what I meant, you're not doing well, Trixany. This is me, Sharpen. I'm not one of your rivals. This isn't some reality show... Wait, I know you... *glances around the cafe for hidden scrying orbs*

Trixany: *suddenly stands up in the middle of the quiet coffee shop, glowering* You... you're dating Navarrogg! You ARE!

Sharpen: WILL you sit back down.

Trixany: How are you meeting better people than me? I just... I do this professionally, I start drama and do famous things in order to keep up. I go to all the parties... But you just keep falling into the -laps- of all these brilliant people? What are you doin' to me, Sharpen?

Sharpen: I said sit.

Trixany: /sit

Sharpen: You've obviously been feeling low. And jealous. *mutters* And nuts. Will you finally tell me what's wrong? What's been going on with you?

Trixany: ... Maybe the Kaja-Cola company fired me.

Sharpen: WHAT?!

Trixany: *sighs, as the entire coffee shop just got EVEN quieter.* Yeah, if you look real hard you can see 'Kaja-Failure' still stamped on my forehead.

Sharpen: *Squints at her*

Trixany: *swats him away* Not literally! Geez!

[therunawaystudent]

You Can Come Home Again

He doesn't even get a chance to compose himself outside. She's opening the door before he even reaches for the knob.

“Come inside Miguel.”

She closes the front door with a little more force than necessary. She's even angrier than the wedding night fiasco. He stands, awkwardly in the entrance.

“I'm sorry…”

“How'd you break your nose?” She's calm. Too calm. Early calm and deadpan in her voice.

His eyes go to the floor. “I tripped.”

She looks at his mouth. “Smile.”

“Mom–”

“Show me your teeth! I want to see what you've done.”

Sighing, he reluctantly bears his teeth, smiling without joy and internally cringing at the expression on her face.

“Four thousand for goddamn braces and you nearly knock your tooth out! This is going to cost more money that we don't have right now.”

“I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, okay?” He didn't mean to fuck up his face. He didn't mean for anything else to happen other than to light off a stupid firework.  

“I cannot believe you!”  

“I'm sorry.”  

“Did you not think I would worry when you didn't come home yesterday? You're lucky Johnny let me know where you were! Did you not think I'd be worried sick over the fact that you hadn't come home all night!”

“I didn't… I wasn't thinking.”

“Well no kidding!”

He practically walked into that one.

“I'm sorry, really!”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry…” She's not having it. “You know after a while ‘I'm sorry’ stops meaning anything."

“I know.”

“Do you?”

He sighs.

“You can't just run away like this! You're lucky nobody got hurt, but you can't just do these things! You can't!”

“I didn't mean to blow up anything important, it was an accident.”

“Anything important... " That may have been the wrong thing to say to her. "Where did you even get explosives, hmm?”

Miguel tugs at his hair. “I bought them when we were in Arizona…”

“Who the hell sells those to teenagers! Putos imbéciles… increíble…”

She's just swearing at everything now.  

“Mom please... por favor, si sólo pudiera calmarse."

“Dios mío Miguel! ¿Quieres que me quede tranquilo? Yo realmente, no puedo mirarte…”

He walks to the living room, right past her, sitting on the couch.

“What do you want me to say?” He's frustrated, prepared for yelling of course, but he could never quite get used to talking in circles.

“Why didn't you just come home?”

He gestures grandly to the room, to her. “This! I was worried about this!”

“Worried about me yelling at you?”

“Yes!”

“Of course I'm gonna yell at you, what the hell did you think was going to happen? You know what those things do, right? What if you had hurt yourselves? Would you have thrown it with people around?”

“Of course not! I'm not an idiot.”

She puts a hand up, the irony clearly lost on him. “You blew up a mailbox. I think it's a little late for that."

She walks into the kitchen, rummaging in the freezer until she pulls out an ice pack. She stands at the side of the room, and he keeps trying to explain himself.

“I just didn't want anything catching on fire… I didn't mean for any of it to happen, it just got way out of hand.”

“Here,” She hands it to him. “What you did was stupid. I don't know why you did it but you did it, and you should've just came home.”

“I was worried.”

To her, the statement is ridiculous. “When you do stupid things like that, you can't be afraid of the consequences, you understand?”

“Yes.” Gingerly, he presses the coldpack to his face, wincing a little.

“You shouldn't be worried about coming home to me. Home should be where you run to when you get in trouble… not a friend's house or the dojo or anywhere else, just home, you should always come home.”

“I wasn’t expecting anything to happen. It was just meant to be a stupid joke but then everything got way out of control.”

She’s pacing the living room now. "Miguel, look at you! Your nose is broken! Your beautiful smile–"

He cuts her off. "Ruined, I know." More things for people to make fun.

"You've been coming home beat up, drunk, getting into serious trouble for months now! I just…  what’s wrong? Am I not doing enough for you? What is it?”

“No, no it's not that!”

“What is it? Tell me please, I can't make it better unless you let me know what's going on.”

I just… I….” He can't make the words come out. He tries to talk without choking up. He’s cried too much today.

She huffs, tired with his excuses, tired of dealing with his not-talking and his avoidance. “I’m not dealing with this anymore, Miguel. You've been all over the place lately, I don't know what's gotten into you!”

Her words get under his skin, another straw in a pile that had been growing for months.

“Then don't deal with it...” He's yelling now. “Just let me handle things then! I don't need you to worry about me all the time! I can handle myself okay?”

His brain is screaming at him too now, chastising him for letting go.

Jesus Christ, aren't you cried out yet! Stop fucking crying!

It's no use though, the proverbial dam broke a long time ago and he can’t for the life of him pick the pieces back up again.

He continues, voice a tad nasally and much too thick for his liking. “I'm sorry I'm screwing things up, I'm sorry I get beat up at school, I'm sorry I broke my teeth and I'm sorry you’ve had to throw away your whole life for me!”

She’s confused now. “What are you talking about?”

“You work and you take care of me, that's it. I mean, don't you miss spending time with your friends? Going out on dates or outing or something? I don't wanna be a burden, and I'm sorry I keep doing this and...”

He goes to wipe his nose, so used to it running but remembers the packing.

“I'm sorry you have to raise a kid you didn't even want!”

“Miguel!” She can't believe her ears. Why, why would he even–

“It’s true!”

“Why are you saying this!”

He frowns, as if all this is obvious and he shouldn't even have to explain it to her. “You're still young... you're not even 40 yet and you're working all the time, you don't go out or have fun. You're always at home or at work. You don't even have…” He doesn’t wanna say it.

“A what? A husband?”

He shrugs. “Yes… I mean, aren't you lonely? I can't imagine anyone being happy with this.”

She looks at him, at his bruised face, his wet and flushed cheeks, his bloodshot, guilty eyes.

“I'm so sorry…” He hangs his head, and she suddenly feels stupid for not realizing it sooner.

She wonders; had she complained to him one day, making it seem like that's how she felt all the time? Had he heard her talk to her own mother about the state of things and think that she secretly hated him because of it? Sitting beside him, she puts her hands on his face as gently as she can, turning his gaze from the ground to look at her.

“Miguel, listen to me...”

Breathing through his mouth, he hiccups.

“I love you, nothing in my life is more important than what's in this house, understand that? I don't care about getting out. I'll date when I'm ready. I'm working, I have you two to keep me happy…” With one hand, very gently, she dabs away his tears with her sleeve.

She wants to hug him, just cuddle the hurt away and make sure he never has the same look on his face again. She wanted to make sure he knew he could always still come to her. She didn't know when he stopped coming to her when he was in trouble anymore, or what made him think that being home was something to avoid. She never wanted him to feel like that again.

“You are what keeps me happy, not what keeps me from being happy.”

He nods, as much as he can while she's still holding his face in her hands. She remembers a little joke that always used to make him smile.

He was talking about superheros. Their strength, their agility, their speed. The superpowers he always envied.

"Superman can move entire planets!"

“Oh yeah? Well... " She thought a moment. "I can hold the entire world in both my hands.” She asserted, watching as his 7-year old brain tried to comprehend it.

He'd scrunch his face up in derision. “That's impossible...”

“You want to see how I do it?”

He nods of course, intent on proving her wrong. What a ridiculous assertion. The world was much too big!

She put both hand on either side of his face, watching him smile with slow realization.

“See, the whole world, right here.”

...

She wants to see that smile again.

“My whole world is still right here,” Her fingers wipe at his darkened eyes, a smidgen of sadness in the corners. “See. I can still do it.”

He looks a little lost, until he remembers it too.

His smile is less goofy, more grown up and a little sadder-looking when he's in this state, but it's there. “You have nothing to be sorry for. There has not been one single day where I have regretted having you in my life.”

He hugs her like he's holding on for dear life, and by the time he's stopped crying again, he's practically falling asleep on the couch.

She can't recall when she stopped tucking him in or hugging him goodnight. Maybe it was when she started working nights, coming home when he'd be waking up, or maybe it was around the same time that picking him up at school became embarrassing for him.

For her though, she could find no real reason not to do it.

She lays him on the couch, head propped up by pillows and a blanket draped over him. She wants to carry him to his bed, but ever since he reached 14 he'd become too tall for her to carry like that.

He's getting bigger. Getting older before her very eyes.

She doesn't want to leave him and he doesn't object when she tucks herself into the same spot on the couch, his head under her chin like her used to before it became something too childish.

They're both exhausted, asleep within minutes.