#so this is the quantity content I’ll provide

[chaoticace2005]

Okay but why is Alastor’s name “Alastor” when he’s the least ALLO person to ever STIR. False advertising Mr Radio Demon, sir.

[i-eat-worlds]

Starcross Part 6

We’re Back to the present day! This chapter is early because I’ll be going to do nerd shit in the woods for the weekend

Content: vomiting/emeto, food mentions, fear of punishent, conditioned whumpee, comfort

Free Space, AFS Starcross, 5/5/4763 Ziar sat in the shower, letting the sonic waves wash over her. The vibrations were soothing, though not like warm water would’ve been. She was saving her water ration for Kim, since they’d need a bath and she doubted they’d be able to shower on their own. Stasis was exhausting, and their ankle couldn't be comfortable to stand on.

Sighing, she reached out her hand to turn off the shower. As much as she wanted to stay, there was stuff to do. The prospect of a highly caffeinated beverage was starting to sound more appealing. She wrapped a towel around her waist then stepped out of the shower, using the railings to support herself until she could reach her crutches.

The showers and the berths had the advantage of being close, just a couple meters across the hallway, and Ziar gratefully collapsed back into the mattress. It was tempting to let her eyes close and drift off, but she forced herself to stay awake.

After a couple minutes of blissful laying down, she heaved herself back up. She needed to redress the bite wound and replace the dermafibran around her connector. Osteomyelitis was not all it was cracked up to be. When they landed, she’d needed to go out and buy more. Just another thing for the list.

Reaching under the bed, she pulled out the small box of wound care supplies she kept underneath for when she was too tired or sore to get to the infirmary. She pulled the latch open and pulled out what she’d need, grabbing the DF pack and some dressings.

Carefully, she peeled off the bandage on her upper arm. The double-crescent shaped wound was looking better than it had last night, with the bleeding stopped and wiped away. It only produced a dull throb now, and was clear of any pus or redness. And really, what more could she ask for?

She pressed another bandage over it, feeling the cold tissue growth solution it was impregnated with fill the wound. After crumpling up the trash and tossing it into the bin, she reached for the drape so she could take care of the stump. Before she could get it unfolded, her communicator buzzed with Oka’s ringtone.

This was gonna be good.

“What’cha need?”

*** The weapon had tried to eat the food. It really had.

Oka had been so nice, letting it eat real food, people food, instead of bland slurries and nutritive bricks with the texture of concrete.

Previously, it had only ever been fed people food as a treat. A scrap off the table for breaking a course record. This was so much more than that.

The meat was smokey and salty, and the fruit was sweet but also a little bit tart. This was already a lot, but the bread was fluffy and soft. Despite it being relatively small in quantity, it sat heavy in their stomach, like a bowling ball.

Just as it had opened its mouth to thank them, its stomach rolled and squeezed. Its eyes went wide as every piece of food it had just eaten came back up.

No, no, no!

Vomit splattered all over the blanket that they’d given it, chunks of meat and half-digested fruit still visible. Its throat was on fire, acid burning at the back of its mouth, as it stared in horror at the mess it had made.

In its peripheral vision, it could see Oka moving around it, and braced itself for the blow. They had provided with food, real food, good food, and it had made a mess. It had been trained to have more self control than that, to be better. It could already feel the acid burns on its hands from having to scrub the floor until it could see its face in it.

Would it even be able to stand on its ankle?

A green bag with a plastic rim appeared in front of it. “Here, use this.” They didn’t sound angry or annoyed. They must’ve been the type who enjoyed meeting it out, then. Just great.

The blanket was pulled away from their legs, and even though Ziar had given it some sort of loose fitting tunic to cover it up, it still felt entirely exposed. Goosebumps raised on its skin.“I’ll get you something clean.”

It swallowed, gripping the bag tightly as Oka dug through a cabinet. When its stomach turned again, the vomit thankfully landed in the bag. The contents were mostly bile; there wasn’t much left in its stomach for it to throw up.

Another blanket was tossed over its legs, shielding them from the cool air. “Do you want some water?”

Their words washed over it as it tried to get its mouth to work. “Yes. Thank you, sir.”

The sound of the sink felt a thousand times louder than it probably was as they filled up a small cup. Oka carefully nestled the cup in between its shaking hands. It was half full, probably in an effort to conserve water. “Take small sips, alright. I don’t want to upset your stomach more.”

It obeyed, taking small sips while they watched it. Maybe they were waiting for a functionality report? Then it hit them. It needed to clean up its mess. They wanted to see if it would be responsible and solve its own problems. They didn’t want an automaton with no thoughts. It needed to make itself useful.

The blanket was resting in a bright orange bag on the sink. It finished the last of the water so that it wouldn’t spill, then pulled the blanket away from it. While the sink wasn’t exactly close, it could make it, bad ankle notwithstanding. It pushed its legs over the edge of the bed.

It needed to be useful.

“Kim-” Oka said, stepping forward, but it was too late.

It pushed off the bed, letting its uninjured foot hit the oor st. Assuming success, it took another step.

The moment its second foot contacted the oor it crumbled, letting out a yelp as it came crashing down. Pain pulsed up its leg, and it couldn't help the tears that well up in its eyes. It knew that it wouldn’t be able to get back up.

All it did was make things worse.

Oka squatted down next to it. “It’s okay,” they said, reaching out a hand and placing it on its shoulder.

It shuddered, and they pulled their hand away. “It was-Unit KM-4682 was going to clean its…its…” it choked out, body racked by sobs.

“You don’t need to do that, aza.” It wasn’t familiar with that word. It probably meant “stupid,” if it had to guess.

All it could do was cry harder. It was falling apart, on the floor, like a fucking baby. It was weak and useless and it was a small wonder that it had been kept alive as long as it had. Maybe they were right to kill it, to remove its useless body from the universe.

“You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” A blanket settled over its shoulders.

It pulled the edges closer, wrapping itself tighter. Oka smiled at it gently. “It’s alright, aza. I’m going to call Ziar so we can get you back up on the table, alright. You just stay still.”

It nodded. An order. Something it could do without trying to guess if it was right. Something easy.

“You’re safe now. We’re not going to hurt you,” they repeated.

It wasn't quite sure what that was supposed to mean. The weapon had always been safe, from everything but its own failures. And maybe things could be painful, maybe punishments and corrections weren’t fun, but it had never been hurt.

Still, Oka seemed to think that what was happening to it now was better. It bowed its head in respect. “Thank you, sir.”

Taglist: @whump-snob @whump-kia @itsoundslikeafury @blackberry-bloody @snakebites-and-ink

@whumpacabra @cepheusgalaxy @softvampirewhump @my-little-versaille @pigeonwhumps

@whumped-by-glitter @snaillamp @rainydaywhump @platysaurus @whumpy-daydreams

@whiskygoldwings @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees @rainbowsandwhumperflies @risk606 @starfields08000

[flock-talk]

Can answer this privately or publicly! Was just curious if you know of the Avian Raw Whole Food Nutrition FB group with Jason Crean & if you had any thoughts on good resource or no. I've been in it for ages out of casual interest.

So I don’t use Facebook anymore and can’t see any of their content as a result but I’ll use this as an opportunity to talk about raw fed parrots in general!

((Since I can’t access any of their info none of this is reflecting on the page or the biologist who created it either))

I love the idea but it’s likely not the ideal way for the majority to feed their pets. Raw feeding just isn’t very accessible for a myriad of reasons: sourcing ingredients, prep time, expenses with the tools needed for prep, and the severe amount of guesswork.

Getting things balanced properly is hard! We don’t have a lot of data on parrot nutrition, even some of the articles I shared today notes that some nutrient ranges they were using was from data on chickens because we simply do not have the numbers for parrots yet! That’s a tricky thing to try to figure out when scientists themselves haven’t even studied it yet.

Some pellet brands have done feeding trials and there are pellet specific studies to show the long term effects of that brand! No we don’t have all the data yet but the data we do have is pointing at (good) pellets to be the safer feeding option when it comes to nutrient availability and consistency.

On top of that produce changes a lot. The quantity of set vitamins in each produce item will be different every time you purchase that produce. In season, out of season, different fertilizers, shelf life, they all affect nutrient density, unless you’re testing produce yourself with your in-home lab you won’t know exactly how much of each vitamin your bird is actually getting. You’ll have an estimate, but you won’t know for sure, that can make homemade diets very risky.

Obviously parrots exist without extruded food nuggets, obviously they are capable of surviving on raw foods, and yes ideally I would love for us to be able to provide as close to a wild-type diet as possible to them! But presently we don’t actually know what that looks like. Until we have more solid information on what their diet exactly needs I wouldn’t personally feel confident trying to formulate it myself.

Having a group run by a biologist sounds awesome and I hope there’s lots of new information, studies, and data to be gathered there so we can get closer to that goal!

[onlinemarketingjuice]

If you’re an Etsy seller, you know how important it is to stand out and attract more customers. Your unique style and products deserve to be seen and appreciated.

But how do you reach more people and showcase your brand online? One way is to add a blog to your website.

A blog can help you:

Showcase your products and tell the stories behind them

Share your passion, inspiration, and expertise

Connect with your audience and build trust and loyalty

Improve your SEO and drive more traffic to your Etsy store

But writing a blog can also be daunting. You need to develop engaging topics, catchy headlines, and compelling content. You need to update it regularly and keep it relevant. You need to balance quality and quantity.

That’s why I’m here to help.

I’m a professional content writer who specializes in arts and crafts topics. I have a passion for handmade products and a knack for creating captivating blog posts that hook the reader.

I’m working on a pack of 30-40 blog posts perfect for Etsy sellers’ websites. They cover a variety of topics related to arts and crafts, such as:

How to choose the best materials for your projects

How to price your products for profit

How to take stunning photos of your products

How to market your products on social media

How to deal with customer feedback and complaints

And much more!

These blog posts showcase your unique style and products while providing valuable information and tips for your audience. They are also optimized for SEO, so they can help you rank higher on Google and drive more traffic to your website and Etsy store/shop.

These blog posts will be ready late next week, and I’m offering them for a minimal fee. Depending on your preference, they will be delivered in WORD or PDF format (or both). You can use them as they are or tweak them to suit your brand voice and personality.

If you’re interested, Contact me here or DM me on Twitter, and I’ll send you one complimentary blog post as a sample. You can see the quality of my writing and how it can benefit your website and business.

Don’t miss this opportunity to increase your online presence with a blog that attracts and converts. Contact me today, and let’s get started!

[prideraiised]

RULES FOR MOBILE

REGARDING REPLIES This blog is selective. This means that I reserve the right to not follow you back. Obviously this is nothing personal, but in that scenario please don’t like starter calls or anything that states ‘mutuals only’ in either the post itself or the tags. Replies might take a while from time to time. This is almost always just a matter of low motivation or muse and not an issue with you as an individual. Keeping the above in mind, please don’t pester me for replies unless its been at least a week. Again, it’s nothing personal if replies are late but its both incredibly rude and incredibly annoying if I’m constantly pestered. In general I have a preference for multi-para threads when it comes to ‘serious’ interactions. Obviously this will vary depending on the nature of the interaction itself but for the most part you can expect that from me. Saying that, you are free to reply at whatever length you feel comfortable with so long as you don’t give a single sentence reply. You’re welcome to tag me in starters or send random asks whenever you like! I always welcome interaction. It goes without saying that no art is owned by me. Due to the sheer quantity of icons that will be displayed on this blog I wont have a dedicated source page as I feel it would get hard to navigate, however if you ever want the source for something specific please feel free to DM me and I’ll provide it. REGARDING NSFW. Nsfw content may be present on this blog in all its forms (18+ content, gore, violence, mature themes) etc etc, all of the above content will be appropriately tagged. All mature content in the form of smut however will never pass one post if that before I will request it be moved to another location such as Discord. It goes without saying that smut is only available for muses that are of age. REGARDING OCS Given the fact that my presence in MHA is almost entirely OC focused it goes without saying that I’m pretty open to OC’s. That said, I’d really prefer it if there was something on your blog to give me an idea about what your OC is about. In regards to the above rule though, I may be lenient with this as given the sheer quantity of OC’s present on this blog I do understand how time consuming getting all that information down can be. REGARDING SHIPPING I am of course a tumblr rper and as such a fan of shipping to an unhealthy degree, so if you ever want to ship our muses you’re welcome to hop into dm’s and bring it up (I heavily encourage it) With the above statement in mind, I won’t ship with anybody right off the bat. Usually before I ever consider shipping I need to test the waters with the person I'm writing with before anything else since I don’t believe writing any dynamic is fun if the writers themselves do not get along. The option to pre-estab ships if you’d like is there for certain muses such as Sayaka Maizono and Makoto Naegi Danganronpa (as an example) however again, I’d usually prefer to talk a bit OOC before this is put into effect. Saying all this if its a bit of a shitpost interaction whatever man goes nuts go crazy lmao. REGARDING EVERYTHING ELSE Discord is of course open to mutuals as are dms, however in regards to discord, same with shipping I’d prefer to interact a little OOC before I give that out. I’ll do my best to tag triggers however every so often one might slip past me, if that's the case please feel free to dm me to tag it or just shoot an anon and I’ll get that fixed.

[maybebecomingms]

content/trigger warning!!!

***I will be describing non-consensual sex and the aftermath in this entry***

October 18th, 2007 was the first time I ever had sex.

What the fuck? Why do you remember this? I don’t know, man. I’m really good with dates. All kinds of ‘em; not just birthdays and anniversaries and death anniversaries.

Aside from that, it was exactly one month before my 21st birthday. That seems easy enough to remember?

I don’t remember much about the actual sex. I was on clonazepam (aka klonopin) at the time. I wasn’t “doing drugs,” so to speak; it was my prescription to take in case of emergency for panic attacks. I have one and a half clonazepam tablets in my purse right now. I have never taken clonazepam that wasn’t legally mine.

But they were dispensed more freely and in greater quantities in 2007, and I was anxious as HELL. He was coming to town from Michigan. We had a hotel room. I can’t even say he was my boyfriend; he was my “It’s Complicated” on Facebook. Is that even still a thing? We’d been kinda doing this thing for 6 months or so. He kept telling me that no self-respecting man would have ever waited this long, and if I wouldn’t get over myself and be ready soon, he’d have to move on and I’d probably be alone forever.

Oh, and I was 20 to his 27. 

So, if you don’t know about clonazepam, it’s a controlled substance and highly addictive. I save it for only the worst of mental health emergencies these days. I can’t drive when I take it. I sure as shit couldn’t consent to sex. But I took it; I don’t know if he even knew I took it. I'm the one who suggested having sex. I just wanted to get it over with so he’d shut up. He lived two states away, so I wouldn’t “have to” have sex again for a while.

Coercion is a funny thing. It’s 100% NOT consensual sex. It’s not rape, though, either. He didn’t force me. This distinction haunted me for years to come.

When I moved on and dated and later married a GoodChurchBoy™ nobody had language for coercion or consent. I was reminded time and time again that I had sinned by willingly having sex before marriage, a sin so great I didn’t deserve anything good ever again. Thankfully, my GoodChurchBoy™ made sure I knew he forgave me for “sinning against him” 3 years before we ever met. 

Such an egregious sin meant I couldn’t talk about it, either, or try to work through it. I should get over it and accept that this was my just punishment for having sinned so spectacularly. Natural consequences, baby. 

What happened after that was years and years and YEARS of getting too drunk to consent so that I could dissociate for “wifely duties.” To be fair, I don’t think he had any idea how intoxicated I was, either. I’d send him to bed first, say “I’ll be right there,” and shoot whatever liquor we had in the cupboard before joining him. I didn’t know any other way. “You’re good at keeping up with maintenance fucking, but it’d be nice to feel desired sometimes,” was a frequent, sarcastic complaint.

Being sober and clearheaded and providing an “enthusiastic yes” and being present to enjoy myself instead of dissociating is still so new to me that I feel like I have emotional whiplash.

All this to say that I think I had my first ever, full-blown PTSD flashback around these issues today and it was absolutely fucking terrifying. I’ve been hesitant to claim a PTSD diagnosis until now, even after my therapist confirmed it. Yep, this is definitely a thing.

And I feel hungover and like today was just a lost day.

Wanna love ya Wanna bug ya Wanna squeeze ya Stupid girl Wanna touch ya Wanna take ya Wanna shut ya Stupid girl

[speed-seo]

Lead Gen Rates: Tips to Quickly Improve Yours

Generating a steady flow of qualified leads is like oxygen for any business. Without it, growth stagnates, sales decline, and revenue dries up. As a marketing consultant who has helped dozens of small businesses improve their lead generation and sales, I know this struggle intimately. Many entrepreneurs and business owners I've worked with have shared frustrations about their lead gen efforts not producing enough results. But the good news is - with the right strategies and optimization, you can significantly increase the number of quality leads your business captures. In this comprehensive guide, I'll be sharing my proven tips and recommendations that you can start implementing right away to see a noticeable lift in your lead gen rates. Whether you're running a small shop or a funded startup, this guide is designed to provide actionable insights that will help you: - Better understand your target audience and their motivations - Set achievable lead generation goals tied to revenue growth - Optimize your website and landing pages for maximum conversions - Create compelling content that attracts and engages potential customers - Leverage social media, email marketing, and other channels to drive targeted traffic - Measure results accurately and double down on what works By the end of this guide, you'll have a revamped lead generation strategy that brings in more prospects interested in your products or services. Let's get started! The first step is understanding the fundamentals of lead generation and why it's so critical for business growth. Understanding Lead Generation Lead generation is the process of attracting prospective customers and capturing their contact information and details, with the goal of eventually converting them into paying customers. It's one of the most important aspects of digital marketing and sales, as it focuses on generating interest in your business and products early in the buyer's journey. Without lead generation, you miss out on opportunities to engage with potential customers and nurture them towards a purchase. Here are some key things to know about lead generation: - It involves creating content, running campaigns, and implementing strategies specifically designed to convert strangers into prospects or leads. This includes things like email newsletters, social media ads, SEO, etc. - Leads can be captured through various channels like your website, landing pages, online ads, email signups, content offers, and more. The key is to make it easy and appealing for visitors to exchange their contact information for something of value. - Higher quality leads are people who fit your ideal customer profile and are more likely to convert down the funnel. Lead quality is more important than quantity. - Leads then enter your sales funnel where they can be nurtured via email, content, and promotions. The goal is to develop relationships and build trust that eventually leads to a sale. - Lead generation and sales go hand-in-hand. More leads result in more sales opportunities. Lead gen is the first step to driving business growth. As you can see, lead generation plays a foundational role in your overall marketing and sales process. Now let's look at how to understand your audience better and set achievable lead gen goals. Understanding Your Audience and Goals When it comes to lead generation, it all starts with understanding who you want to target and what you want to accomplish. Defining your ideal customer and setting SMART goals are key steps that will inform your overall strategy. Know Your Ideal Customer Creating detailed buyer personas is crucial for effective lead gen. Buyer personas are fictional representations of your ideal customers based on market research and data. Some key things your personas should include: - Demographics - age, gender, income, location etc. - Motivations - their goals and challenges. Why would they be interested in your product? - Pain points - what problems are they facing? What needs are they looking to fulfill? Thoroughly researching your target audience will help you create personas that reflect real potential customers. This allows you to tailor content and messaging to resonate with their concerns. You should also research where your ideal customers spend their time, both online and offline. This can reveal opportunities to connect with them through various channels. Setting SMART Lead Generation Goals With your personas defined, you can set more strategic lead generation goals using the SMART framework: - Specific - Clearly define what you want to achieve. Example: Generate 50 leads for our email newsletter per month. - Measurable - Quantify your goals so progress can be tracked. Example: Increase website conversion rate from 2% to 4%. - Achievable - Goals should be realistic given your resources and capabilities. - Relevant - Goals should align with your overall business objectives. - Time-bound - Set a specific timeframe to accomplish the goal. Example: Get 100 leads in the next quarter. Tying your goals directly to revenue targets and growth plans will help maintain focus on lead gen activities that provide ROI. Now let's look at some common challenges businesses face when generating leads, and how to overcome them. Common Challenges in Lead Generation Generating a steady stream of quality leads is crucial, but it’s not always easy. Many businesses face common struggles that hinder their lead gen efforts and impact growth. Being aware of these challenges is the first step to overcoming them. Not Having a Clear Customer Avatar Without properly defining your ideal customer profile, it’s difficult to create targeted campaigns that resonate. Generic messaging attracts the wrong types of leads. Build detailed buyer personas to understand your best-fit audience. Failing to Set Measurable Goals If you don’t have clearly defined lead gen goals, it’s impossible to track progress. Set goals around lead volume, conversion rate, cost per lead, etc. so you can monitor and optimize performance. Creating Poor Landing Pages Lead capture depends heavily on your website and landing pages. Pages that are poorly designed or lack clear calls-to-action will hamper conversion rates. Optimize these critical touchpoints. Not Leveraging Enough Channels Focusing on only one or two lead gen channels limits your reach. Employ a combination of organic and paid tactics across multiple channels - content, email, social media, SEO etc. Providing No Lead Nurturing Collecting leads is only the first step. Lack of follow-up and nurturing leads to high attrition. Continue engaging new leads with valuable content to convert them into sales. Failing to Track and Measure Many businesses fail to accurately measure lead gen KPIs like cost per lead, conversion rate, sales velocity etc. Robust analytics are vital to optimize campaigns and prove ROI. With the right strategies, you can overcome these challenges and boost lead capture significantly. Next let's discuss optimizing your website for maximum conversions. Optimizing Your Website for Lead Capture Your website is the digital hub of your lead generation efforts. If it's not optimized for converting visitors into leads, you're missing out on huge opportunities. Here are proven tips to maximize lead capture through your site. Creating High-Converting Landing Pages Dedicated landing pages play a crucial role in lead gen. These are pages built specifically to convert visitors into leads for a particular offer or campaign. Elements of a high-converting landing page include: - Clear, benefit-driven headline and sub-headers - Compelling copy that speaks directly to the visitor - Relevant images, videos, or graphics - Strong call-to-action button above the fold - Minimal distractions - no sidebars or excessive links It's also important to A/B test different landing page designs to figure out what converts best for your audience. Testing elements like headlines, copy, layouts, images etc. can significantly lift conversions. For example, here you will find 15 A/B Testing Ideas To Increase Conversion Rate from Invesp:https://www.invespcro.com/blog/ab-tests-lead-generation-conversions/ Lead Capture Forms and Optimization Lead capture forms are where visitors trade their contact information in exchange for an offer or content. Strategically placing forms above the fold or at the end of blogs can lift conversions. However, you want to balance information gathering with providing a smooth user experience. Long, multi-field forms can cause drop-offs. Only ask for essential info like name, email, and phone number. Other lead capture optimization tips include: - Using exit-intent popups to grab attention as visitors are about to leave - Offering a compelling lead magnet (ebook, template, guide) in exchange for contact details - Sending follow-up emails to recover lost leads from form drop-offs Optimizing your website for lead capture is an ongoing process of testing and refinement. But it's worth the effort - your website is often the first touchpoint for generating interest and capturing leads. Do it right, and you'll see a significant impact on your sales pipeline. Next let's discuss how to leverage content marketing to attract and engage more prospects. Tip 1: Leverage Content Marketing One of the most effective ways to generate more quality leads is through content marketing. By consistently creating valuable, relevant content, you attract and engage potential customers early in their buyer's journey. Some tips for leveraging content marketing: - Understand your audience's needs and pain points. Develop content that directly addresses their concerns. This content should aim to inform, educate, or entertain them. - Produce a variety of content types. This includes blog posts, videos, infographics, ebooks, checklists, and more. Different types of content appeal to different audiences. - Promote your content across channels. Share your content on social media, email newsletters, paid ads, website, and other channels to extend reach. - Optimize content for SEO. Use target keywords, meta descriptions, alt text, headings, etc. to boost content visibility in search engines. - Gate some content behind lead capture forms. Offering exclusive content in exchange for contact information generates more leads. For example, locking premium content behind email signup forms. - Repurpose content into multiple formats. Turn a blog post into a video or infographic. This maximizes your content production efforts. Consistency and quality are key - aim to publish optimized content on a regular basis. This establishes your brand as an authority and brings more visitors into your funnel. Next, let's explore how to turn social media platforms into lead generation powerhouses. Tip 2: Utilize Social Media Platforms Social media presents a significant opportunity to generate more leads if used strategically. Here are some tips to maximize lead gen through social platforms: - Identify where your audience is most active. Conduct research to determine which social platforms your ideal customers use, whether it's Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or others. - Engage and build relationships. Don't just broadcast content. Actively engage with other users through comments, shares, and messages. Building connections leads to more trust. - Share a variety of content. Post a healthy mix of content types like articles, infographics, videos, quotes, and more. This keeps followers engaged. - Promote lead magnets. Share links to landing pages and lead capture forms. Incentivize followers to provide their details in exchange for exclusive content. - Run lead gen ads. Use highly targeted Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram ads to reach your ideal customers. Send traffic to lead capture pages. - Partner with influencers. Work with relevant influencers in your industry to help promote your lead gen offers to their engaged follower base. - Add social follow buttons to your website and landing pages to make it easy for visitors to connect with you. The key is consistency. Commit to regularly publishing engaging content and interacting with followers across your chosen platforms. This visibility and relationship-building converts social media traffic into quality leads over time. Next, let's explore how to design and execute effective email marketing campaigns for lead generation. Tip 3: Implement Email Marketing Campaigns Email marketing is a reliable channel for generating more leads on an ongoing basis. Here are some best practices for running lead gen email campaigns: - Segment your audience into groups like customers, subscribers, engaged leads etc. This allows you to personalize emails and offers. - Offer a compelling lead magnet like a guide, template, or checklist in exchange for an email signup. This captures new leads. - Craft attention-grabbing subject lines that convey value and encourage opens. Avoid spammy or misleading language. - Deliver value in every email through useful tips, exclusive content, or special promotions. Don't make every email a sales pitch. - Automate lead nurturing via email drip campaigns that provide helpful follow-up to prospects based on their actions and interests. - Test different elements like send times, subject lines, content format etc. to optimize open and clickthrough rates. - Make it mobile-friendly. Ensure your email template and content renders well on mobile devices. Mobile opens are increasing. - Use email analytics to identify which types of emails get engagement, and double down on those. Continually refine based on data. Email marketing complements your other lead generation efforts by allowing consistent, scalable and automated outreach on autopilot. Segmenting and optimizing your campaigns drives more conversions over time. Next let's explore how to leverage SEO to attract more organic traffic and leads. Tip 4: Use SEO to Your Advantage When it comes to lead generation, SEO (search engine optimization) should be a core component of your strategy. By optimizing your website and content for search engines, you can attract qualified organic traffic that converts into leads. Here are some key SEO tips for lead gen: - Conduct keyword research to identify high-volume, low-competition terms that prospective customers are searching for related to your business and offerings. Optimizing for these terms boosts visibility. - Optimize website pages including title tags, URLs, headings, image alt text, etc. to target your primary keywords. This helps search engines understand your content focus. - Create SEO-friendly content like blog posts that incorporate relevant keywords naturally while providing value. Optimizing content for SEO and conversions is crucial. - Improve website speed and mobile optimization. Faster loading pages with responsive design lead to higher rankings and lower bounce rates. - Build high-quality backlinks from other authoritative websites to signal trust and authority to search engines. But avoid shady link building tactics. - Check analytics to identify which keywords and content are driving the most organic traffic and conversions. Double down on those areas. With a sound SEO strategy, you can generate more qualified visitors that search for solutions you offer. SEO and content should be core components of any lead generation marketing plan. Next, let's explore how paid advertising can accelerate lead capture. Tip 5: Invest in Paid Advertising While organic tactics like SEO are invaluable for long-term lead generation, paid advertising can provide a crucial short-term boost. Paid ads allow you to get your offer in front of motivated prospects instantly. Here are some ways to leverage paid ads for lead gen: - Run pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns on Google Ads and Microsoft Ads targeting keywords related to your products or services. Drive traffic to optimized landing pages. - Retarget website visitors with ads across the web to capture leads who previously showed interest. This targets warmed-up prospects. - Test Facebook and Instagram lead ads that allow capturing contact info right within the ad units. Highly targeted to specific demographics and interests. - Promote lead magnet offers on social media platforms via boosted posts, sponsored content and influencer posts to gain more opt-ins. - Advertise lead magnets on Outbrain, Taboola and other content recommendation platforms to reach broader audiences. - Track cost per lead (CPL) and return on ad spend (ROAS) to identify winning platforms, creatives and placements. Continually optimize for conversions. The key with paid ads is narrowly defining your target audience and relentlessly A/B testing ad creative, landing pages, and calls-to-action. Paid ads complement organic lead generation efforts for a complete approach. Next let's discuss how to optimize your website itself to convert more visitors into leads. Tip 6: Optimize Your Website for Lead Generation Your website is the hub of all your lead gen efforts. An unoptimized site that fails to engage visitors and guide them to convert will severely limit your lead generation potential. Here are some tips for optimizing your website for more leads: - Focus on a single, clear goal for each page - whether it's capturing a lead or driving a specific action. Don't distract visitors with too many options. - Highlight a strong value proposition explaining your competitive advantage. Communicate how you solve your prospect's needs quickly. - Make calls-to-action prominent using high contrast buttons and placement both above the fold and below content. - Reduce friction in the conversion process by minimizing required fields and steps in forms. Don't force prospects to create accounts to convert. - Use exit-intent popups to capture leads who are about to leave your site. Offer an irresistible lead magnet or discount to incentivize signups. - Optimize site speed and mobile experience. Slow loading sites lead to high bounce rates. Ensure fast load times and a seamless experience on mobile. - Include social proof elements like testimonials, customer logos and reviews to establish credibility and trust. This increases conversion confidence. Continually test and refine your website to remove any friction in the lead capture process. Smooth onboarding experiences lead to more qualified prospects entering your funnel. Next, let's explore how leveraging technology and automation can boost the productivity and effectiveness of your lead generation activities. Leveraging Technology and Tools Implementing the right technology and tools is crucial for scaling and optimizing your lead generation efforts. Here are some key technologies worth leveraging: Automation Tools Marketing automation tools help streamline repetitive lead gen tasks to boost productivity. Some examples include: - Email marketing automation platforms like Mailchimp and ConvertKit to set up drip campaigns and email sequences. - CRM automation using Zapier and IFTTT to trigger actions like sending welcome emails when a new lead is captured. - Social media scheduling tools like Buffer and Hootsuite to auto-publish content. - Web push notification tools like PushCrew to re-engage site visitors. Automation enables you to spend more time on high-value strategy and content while ensuring critical lead nurturing touchpoints are not missed. CRM Systems A CRM like Salesforce, HubSpot or Zoho CRM centralizes all your prospect details and interactions in one place for more organized lead management. Read the full article

[onkarshah]

How to improve your English vocabulary easily

The most important thing for foreign language learners to undertake is to expand their vocabulary. Not only does knowing a lot of words make you sound knowledgeable, but words and phrases are the foundation of all languages.

As you may have read in my "How to Form Sentences" post, we build sentences from words, and the more words you know, the easier it is to form sentences.

However, we require vocabulary not only for sentence formation, but also for reading. To fully understand a document, you must know at least 98% of the words in the text (including non-content words like the, but, and so on), and you can imagine how long it takes to grasp a text if you only know 70% or 50% of the words in the text.

Fortunately, based on language acquisition studies, I'll provide you some pointers on how to broaden and expand your English vocabulary.

Increase your exposure!

I can't emphasise this enough: EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE! Language learning requires exposure, and research has shown that the more exposure you have to English, the faster you will learn the language. The same is true for vocabulary: the more exposure you have, the more incidental learning occurs and the faster your vocabulary expands. However, you will discover later on that you need to do more to truly broaden your vocabulary.

Incidental vocabulary acquisition is when you acquire vocabulary simply by being exposed to it. This means that you encounter a word repeatedly (in a video, in a text, in a song) and at some point will understand what the word means. There’s one caveat with this: make sure you encounter the words in different contexts and more than once.

What's more intriguing is that the more you encounter the word in a text, the less time you'll need to process it. It soon "blends in" with other words you know, and you become acquainted with the word.

Do you want subtitles with that?

What are you going to do with your subtitles? Should you have them on in your first language or in English? Having English subtitles is the most effective way to get the proper blend of visual and audio input. Just make sure that if you're viewing something to help you enhance your vocabulary, it's not too challenging. Select something that is somewhat over your skill level.

A vocabulary notebook is a useful tool for expanding your vocabulary. This is basically a notepad in which you record new words and their definitions. There are diaries and notebooks designed specifically for keeping track of vocabulary, but a typical old-fashioned journal will suffice.

Because they involve more brain work than just searching up a word in a dictionary, vocabulary notebooks promote language acquisition. The Involvement Load Hypothesis asserts that "retention of unfamiliar words is dependent on the involvement load of a task, i.e. the amount of need, search, and evaluation it imposes."

When seeking up meanings for terms for your vocabulary organizer, you search for the word in a dictionary and evaluate whether the definition fits the context and your needs. This level of participation makes this technique incredibly beneficial for expanding your vocabulary.

Using a vocabulary notebook also boosts the quantity of words you may employ in your active vocabulary while practising productive skills, according to research.

By employing a vocabulary organizer, you will amass a personal dictionary of words, phrases, collocations, and phrasal verbs that you are unfamiliar with. Bonus tip: look for synonyms for phrases you use every day and add them to your personal lexicon!

Are you looking for spoken english classes in ahmedabad, Contact us BeAlpha

I feel that exercising your productive abilities is just as important as exposure for language learning, and there is data to back me up. This also applies to language acquisition: if you utilise the words you've encountered, you'll internalise them faster.

You could try using the terms in your work or when speaking to someone. You might also put post-its with your words all about your house to enhance your exposure to them.

Hopefully, these suggestions may assist you in expanding your vocabulary. Do you require additional assistance? Use the Oxford 3000 or Oxford 5000 word lists to determine which words you should know at which CEFR level. Excellent resources for studying for the Cambridge exams.

[zintranslations]

Kaleidoscope of Death, Ch. 119

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu Link to Chinese / Novel Updates

Chapter 119: Real Life

There were a total of eight chests in the kitchen. Xiao Ji had opened three, and Xiao Mei had opened three. There were two left.

Lin Qiushi went and gave these two chests a listen, confirming that one chest had something inside and the other was empty.

After the contents of the chests were confirmed, things got a lot easier. Lin Qiushi opened the empty chest and made sure the tunnel wasn't inside. Then beside him, Ruan Nanzhu used the wooden stake in his hands on the other chest. He stabbed the stake straight through the top of the chest and then used a dining room stool as a hammer, pounding the stake in inch by inch.

Following the stake's puncturing, an awful scream came from inside the chest. Large quantities of bright red blood seeped forth from the top, soaking the black wood through.

This was a cry they'd heard many times before—the cry of the Hako Onna. It was just that this time, her crying felt somewhat more wretched. Those standing around the chest listened on, silent and numb.

They were already used to death. Facing the Hako Onna once more, their senses of fright had already been sanded down flat. Luck was too large a component of this game; had they not been able to find the wooden stake, or had they not met the self-sacrificing Xiao Mei, this matter likely would've involved a lot more twists and turns, as well as several more victims.

Compared to when they first came in, there was more exhaustion on everybody's faces.

Ruan Nanzhu held Lin Qiushi's hand and stood in front of the wooden chest, listening as the cries inside got weaker and weaker.

"Who's opening it?" Sun Yuanzhou's companion asked once the crying died down.

"I'll do it," Sun Yuanzhou said. "We've been under your care these past few days."

He obviously had some lifesaver item as well. Had Ruan Nanzhu not expended the Hako Onna's power cards, more people likely would've died.

He took a step forward and grabbed hold of the chest. With a light application of force, he lifted the lid.

When he did so everybody held their breaths, but it was about as they expected—the Hako Onna inside the chest had disappeared, leaving behind only a puddle of blood. Behind the blood was a dark cavity, and at the bottom of that cavity there was a long set of stairs leading off into the distance.

The group entered the tunnel and followed the stairs all the way down.

Finally, at the end of the stairs, they saw a black metal door.

Ruan Nanzhu brought out the key, stepped forward, and opened the door. After it opened, he picked up the fallen hint slip.

And so the tenth door ended just like that. Both Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi got out safely and took the tenth door's hint slip with them.

Before taking off, Sun Yuanzhou tactfully expressed to Ruan Nanzhu a desire to work with them again.

Ruan Nanzhu was noncommittal and only took down his contact information. After that, he and Lin Qiushi followed that glowing tunnel into the real world.

Coming back to reality and getting to breathe this air again, Lin Qiushi once again felt the beauty of being alive. He rushed up the stairs, only to find Ruan Nanzhu standing at the other end like he'd just been ready to come down.

Then the two wordlessly caught each other in a hug, taking in the heat that emanated from each other's bodies. Only this way could they be certain that they'd survived the door.

Cheng Qianli just happened to be passing by, and when he saw the two wrapped around each other, he could only swallow the dog food and mutter about how it was the middle of the day, and he was a minor, could you guys please check yourselves.

Ruan Nanzhu shot him a glare and Cheng Qianli scampered away.

"Did you get the hint?" Lin Qiushi asked Ruan Nanzhu.

"I got it," Ruan Nanzhu answered.

"How does it compare to the one you got last time?"

Ruan Nanzhu thought for a moment and, without answering, took the hint slip from his pocket to hand to Lin Qiushi. Lin Qiushi took the hint and read the words on it, expression turning into one of consternation. On the tiny paper hint slip, there were only two words written: No Solution.

"How could this be?!" Lin Qiushi asked, stunned.

From the first through tenth door, the hint that each door offered provided them with some information. But the hint to the eleventh door was somehow "no solution."

He glanced up at Ruan Nanzhu. "The one you got before is the same?"

"Mh," Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

This was why he went through the tenth door again, because the hint he'd gotten last time was utterly useless and wasn't of any help at all.

The eleventh door did not provide them with a hint for use; the hint slip this time proved it hadn't been an anomaly.

Looking at the hint, Lin Qiushi's heart sank. But after some thought, he told Ruan Nanzhu: "That's okay. As long as I'm with you, I don’t feel so scared."

Ruan Nanzhu couldn't help but grin, pressing a kiss to Lin Qiushi's forehead.

Though the eleventh door's hint slip was a heavy weight to bear, they had to go on living.

That night, Lin Qiushi saw a piece of news on the television. It said that there had been a serious car accident downtown, and that a bus carrying more than a dozen people drove right off the bridge, resulting in six deaths and over twenty injuries.

In the list of fatalities, Lin Qiushi saw a young man named Li Bomei. It reminded him of something, and he let out a soft breath.

At least Xiao Mei and her lover had one last chance to say goodbye. In reality, they could hold each other and die happy. They might have even been able to give each other one gentle kiss, and make promises for the next life.

Ruan Nanzhu understood as well, but he picked up the remote and changed the channel.

"It's always worse to be the one left behind," Lin Qiushi said. "It's much better if they could leave together."

"It's hard to let that happen though," Ruan Nanzhu said. It was hard to let a lover die; you only hoped he could live on happily.

Lin Qiushi turned around to look at him.

"Then have you thought of the fact that once you come out, you have to face your lover leaving a second time?" And you had to see him die right in front of you. That was surely a bit too cruel.

"True."

Though Ruan Nanzhu's voice was faint, he agreed with what Lin Qiushi said.

There was a long time still between the tenth and the eleventh doors. They didn't have to be in a hurry.

But in a few more months, Cheng Yixie and Cheng Qianli would be going into their tenth door.

That was why in this period of time, Lin Qiushi basically didn't see the twins at all. It seemed that Cheng Yixie was taking Cheng Qianli through a crazy amount of doors, so many that Cheng Yixie nearly lost his mind.

"Uwaaa why me," Cheng Qianli wept in complaint to Lin Qiushi. "My brother's taking me through a door every three days, I really can't take it anymore!"

Lin Qiushi watched him in sympathy.

"Go on, don't worry about it. I'll take care of Toast for you," he said while he petted Toast's fat little butt.

Cheng Qianli had more to say, but Cheng Yixie came and whisked him away. Watching these brothers, Lin Qiushi thought this was quite funny.

Due to Ruan Nanzhu's presence, Obsidian had always commanded high prices and huge quantities of commissions. Countless people wanted to hire Ruan Nanzhu to take them through their doors.

Gu Longming contacted Lin Qiushi over the internet with a tactful message about how he would like to join Obsidian.

Once Lin Qiushi received Gu Longming's intentions, he went and spoke to Ruan Nanzhu about it.

"What are your thoughts?" Ruan Nanzhu asked Lin Qiushi.

"I think he's got a lot of potential." Lin Qiushi spoke his assessment of Gu Longming. "He's a good seed."

Ruan Nanzhu gave it some thought.

"When's his sixth door?"

"The beginning of next year, I think." Lin Qiushi made some simple calculations. "It should be around new years exactly."

"Don't give him an answer yet," Ruan Nanzhu said. "I want to meet him inside the doors first."

It wouldn't be too late to bring Gu Longming into Obsidian after he made certain Gu Longming had the qualifications. Not just anyone could join Obsidian, after all.

For a while, the mansion stayed busy. Those who did gigs did their gigs and those who trained trained. Only Lin Qiushi had absolutely nothing to do. At first he'd wanted to take some jobs from the forum, but Ruan Nanzhu had stopped him, telling him to wait until after the new year to take jobs. He ought to take this time to rest and replenish his spirits.

When December came, the weather grew cold. A snowstorm came about ten days in.

The heater was on inside the mansion, and Lin Qiushi was curled up on the couch, nodding off.

He didn't know where Ruan Nanzhu had gone off too. Ruan Nanzhu had been busy recently. It seemed to have something to do with White Deer.

Zhuang Rujiao returned to the mansion with snowflakes on her shoulders and hair. When Lin Qiushi heard noise, he looked up, saw her covered in snow, and asked, "you didn't bring an umbrella?"

"I didn't think it'd snow," Zhuang Rujiao said.

At this point, Lin Qiushi could see no hint of Xia Rubei on Zhuang Rujiao still. That cute, innocent scaredy-cat of a girl seemed to have been an illusion; only the woman before him now with the distant eyes was real.

"Something's happened at White Deer," Zhuang Rujiao spoke as she wiped her hair with a towel. "Jin Yurui is dead."

She announced Jin Yurui's death like she was talking about a matter of no importance at all.

Jin Yurui was the one who took over as White Deer's leader after Li Dongyuan's death. Lin Qiushi had only met her once before, and didn't think that she'd be gone not so long after.

"Because of a door?" Lin Qiushi asked.

"Mh," Zhuang Rujiao said. "I'm leaving." She picked up the hot tea on the table, taking a slow and neat sip. "I'll be the leader over at White Deer."

Lin Qiushi: "Can you do it?"

Zhuang Rujiao laughed: "I've got to, even if I can't. You have Ruan Nanzhu to protect you. The one protecting me is gone."

Lin Qiushi was silent.

"I really do envy you two. If I'd been able to become like you sooner, then he might not be dead." Zhuang Rujiao was talking about Li Dongyuan. "But the world never does sell medicine for regrets. I've been in your care these past months, thank you."

Though she'd lived at Obsidian for a while, she'd never truly become part of the group. Clearly, she'd anticipated leaving one day.

Lin Qiushi: "I hope everything goes well."

"Mh," Zhuang Rujiao said. "I'll take your well wishes."

After that, she went upstairs to pack up her stuff. Lin Qiushi went to the doorway and saw through the french windows that Ruan Nanzhu was back as well. Ruan Nanzhu wasn't coming inside though, only stood silently by the car at the front door.

White snowflakes fell on his raven-black hair, and his dark eyes were looking slightly down. His pretty lips were pressed together in a thin, taut line.

Lin Qiushi called out: "Ruan Nanzhu."

Ruan Nanzhu glanced up, and the corners of his mouth flicked up just for Lin Qiushi. Smiling sentiment tinted his eyes—nothing too strong, but plenty enough to warm Lin Qiushi's chest.

Lin Qiushi fetched an umbrella from the side of the door and went outside, opening it beside Ruan Nanzhu.

"Why don't you have an umbrella?"

Snow in the south was different from snow in the north; once fallen, it melted easily on a person. Ruan Nanzhu's shoulders and hair, therefore, all bore traces of wetness.

Ruan Nanzhu: "I forgot."

Lin Qiushi: "Are you driving her there?"

"Mh," Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

"What's the situation like at White Deer?" Lin Qiushi felt that things weren't actually so simple.

"Not great," Ruan Nanzhu said. "I'm not sure if she'll be able to hold it down."

Changing leaders twice in a row was not a good thing for White Deer. Had it been the Zhuang Rujiao of the past, then Ruan Nanzhu would definitely have not agreed to let her go. Now, however, Ruan Nanzhu chose to respect Zhuang Rujiao's wishes. Though Li Dongyuan wanted Zhuang Rujiao to live on well, did this sort of living at some point become a kind of torment?

This was a lesson that Lin Qiushi had taught Ruan Nanzhu, at least.

Zhuang Rujiao quickly packed up her stuff and came out. She did not have much with her; whether coming or going, she seemed like just a passerby.

"Safe travels," Lin Qiushi said to her.

"Thank you," Zhuang Rujiao replied, getting into Ruan Nanzhu's car.

So Lin Qiushi stood under the umbrella and watched as the car disappeared into the snowy distance.

This was the last time he'd see Zhuang Rujiao. Later, he'd learn from Ruan Nanzhu that Zhuang Rujiao did manage to hold White Deer down. She'd perfectly inherit Li Dongyuan's legacy.

"Did she kill Jin Yurui?" Lin Qiushi would ask Ruan Nanzhu when the time came.

"I don't know," Ruan Nanzhu would say. "I'm not sure, so I can't say either way. However, Jin Yurui did fail in a door that she and Zhuang Rujiao were passing together."

"Oh," Lin Qiushi said. "Then how did Li Dongyuan die?"

"Zhuang Rujiao says it has something to do with Jin Yurui. As for the truth, I don't know that either."

"Oh."

Not long after Zhuang Rujiao left, the new year came around. But because Cheng Yixie and Cheng Qianli were entering a door after the new year, they didn't go very over-the-top with this year's celebrations. The twins who usually headed home didn't go this time either, instead seizing the time to train on more doors.

Gu Longming's sixth door would be after the new year, around the tenth or so. When he learned that Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu were going into his sixth door with him, he was naturally ecstatic.

But Ruan Nanzhu still made it clear to him that they could not be protecting Gu Longming this time, nor could they make any guarantees about Gu Longming's survival, so Gu Longming should prepare himself for any incidents. Reading between the lines, he was basically telling Gu Longming to prepare a will, in case when the time came he’d come out the door, die, and have nothing arranged.

Gu Longming was shocked by how blunt this girl Zhu Meng was, and said Linlin ah, is this your girlfriend?

Lin Qiushi thought for a bit before answering yeah.

Gu Longming: "She's going in with us this time?"

Lin Qiushi: "Yes."

Gu Longming: "Is she good then?"

Lin Qiushi: "Better than me."

Gu Longming nodded, thinking that if she was better than Lin Qiushi, then she really must be amazing. And so he grew much happier.

As for the sixth door's hint, Ruan Nanzhu would be providing it. It was still being selected, and Lin Qiushi wasn't too worried.

The few days around the new year, the mansion was particularly lively.

Cheng Qianli finally got a couple of days off from Cheng Yixie, brazenly dragging Lin Qiushi with him to buy a bunch of fireworks in secret.

Lin Qiushi said, "but isn't it illegal to set off fireworks in this city?"

"We're the suburbs, sub-urban! Nobody cares."

Lin Qiushi looked at him in doubt.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Cheng Qianli put on a pitiful face. "I've only got this one hobby, can't you indulge me a little bit?"

"Fine fine fine, I'll indulge you."

Then the two found a clearing to start lighting fireworks. Everybody else from the mansion watched from afar, and Lin Qiushi called, "come over and join us."

"That’s for kids," Chen Fei said. "Us adults couldn't possibly join you."

Lin Qiushi, "…"

Forget Chen Fei. Even Cheng Yixie beside him had the same sort of expression, the you guys are so childish I don't even want to speak to you kind of look.

Lin Qiushi glanced at Cheng Qianli grinning like a fool beside him and didn't know what to say for a whole minute.

But foolish Cheng Qianli didn't seem to know he was being judged, cackling with his butt stuck out as he lit the fireworks. He watched the fireworks shoot up off the ground and explode open in the night sky, bursting out into laughter.

"It's so pretty." His eyes curved up, grinning like a kid, pupils dyed the fireworks' rich colors.

Lin Qiushi looked over at Ruan Nanzhu, standing far away. Their gazes met, and saw a smile in each other's eyes.

But these smiles only lasted a few seconds before disappearing, because there came the sound of police sirens from the distance.

"Oh shit, run!!" Yi Manman roared. "If we're caught we'll be fined!"

So the group took off, Cheng Qianli darting and leaping like a rabbit. Lu Yanxue, who ran the slowest, was stomping her feet by the end, cursing, "if I'd known I wouldn't have worn heels today!"

They were quick to escape, and luckily did not get caught. They all got back into the mansion, laughing in living room, and Cheng Qianli still had the nerve to pout, complaining that the police came too quickly, he still had a bunch he hadn't lit yet!

"I told you not to get the rocket fireworks, but you wouldn't listen," Chen Fei said. "And look what's happened now."

Cheng Qianli's dream of beautiful fireworks was completely destroyed. The group cooked up the dumplings they’d prepared before and ate while they chatted, passing this lively new year's eve together.

After the countdown, Lin Qiushi snuck into Ruan Nanzhu's room, and the two slept in the same bed all evening.

This was the happiest new year's eve that Lin Qiushi had ever had. Last year, he hadn't been too familiar with Obsidian, but this year, he'd basically made it his home.

Ruan Nanzhu slept on his side with a hand on Lin Qiushi's waist, breaths hitting Lin Qiushi's neck.

It didn't take long for Lin Qiushi to grow sleepy, the two sinking into deep slumber.

The next morning, there were new guests at the mansion. Lin Qiushi first thought it was another organization, but when he went downstairs to look, he found that it was Cheng Yixie and Cheng Qianli's parents.

They'd brought with them a bunch of local specialties, and were passing them out with big smiles.

Lin Qiushi had heard about his parents from Cheng Qianli before, and that they didn't really know what their sons were doing. Cheng Yixie had lied and told them that they treated hereditary diseases here, but as for how they did so, he'd never told them in detail.

But for a once-hopeless family, the method no longer mattered. Tacitly, the parents didn't ask more questions—as long as their kids could survive, whatever the method, it didn't matter at all.

Cheng Qianli spotted Lin Qiushi standing in the second-floor hallway and waved him over, calling, "Qiushi, come down! My parents brought you a present!"

Lin Qiushi went downstairs and greeted Cheng Qianli's parents. Cheng Qianli stuffed a giant bag of candy into his arms.

"You like candy, don't you? My parents got these just for you."

Lin Qiushi thanked them with sincerity, but the father only gave him a smile filled with gratitude, saying his son's been in their care.

After that they all ate lunch together. Chen Fei had wanted to keep them here for a few more days, but the parents were staunch about still having things to do, so they had to leave first.

Cheng Yixie wanted to say something, but in the end, didn't try to keep them.

"Do they know?"

After they left, Lin Qiushi asked Cheng Yixie this.

"Probably not," Cheng Yixie said. "They seem to think we're doing something bad." Then, after a beat of silence, "but they also don't stop me or anything."

To a mother and father, the survival of their children was the biggest blessing, particularly for a pair of terminally ill twins. It was hard to imagine the sort of difficulty they’d faced when they thought they were losing both of their kids at once.

"Mh," Lin Qiushi said. "Maybe you can explain it to them."

"I have. They don't really believe it." Cheng Yixie glanced at the mansion. "But they should be less worried this time."

"Do they come often?" Lin Qiushi asked.

"Rarely," Cheng Yixie said. "This is the second time."

The first time was when Cheng Yixie brought Cheng Qianli over. Cheng Qianli had been just a kid then, passing his first door on luck and calling his brother in tears. Cheng Yixie rushed home overnight to take his little brother away with him. When his mother had learned what he wanted to do, her gaze had been filled with melancholy. But she hadn't stopped him, asking only: "Can Qianli really survive?"

Cheng Yixie had answered: "I'll do my best."

After that, she never asked again.

Cheng Qianli, who should've died years ago, was still alive and well; Cheng Yixie had kept his promise. He'd gotten that foolish brother of his past the torment of their sickness and made sure he lived on in health.

[Ch. 118] | [Ch. 120]

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama - Hijikata Biyori Track 13 - A Cold Day English translation

This is my first post of the month, so I’ll start by asking you to please support me if you can through my ko-fi, and paypal or patreon which provides access to my hakuoki blog translations and early access to my postings. Also, please let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my Lookout List since i either do not have audio for those cds or do not have audio that I can share...

man... its been a long time since i last translated a Hijikata Biyori... so of course i start with one with Saito in it hahaha. counting what’s scheduled next month, there are at least 16 biyoris that remain untranslated (not including the specials since im not entirely sure how many there were though im pretty sure i have tl for them)... and i can’t say im not tempted to just translate those now. i mean, they’re all fairly short so it’d be easy to get almost 3 months worth of stuff for my queue... 

well, as much as i like having a variety of content available, i suppose i might actually do that if i get really busy again or if i can’t finish translate a number of things by when i want them done by.... and well, with the amount of stuff i post, im more concerned about quantity. 

Hakuoki Drama - Hijikata Biyori Track 13 - A Cold Day

Translation by KumoriYami

Saito: Vice-Commander, it's Saito.

Hijikata: What's up? Come in.

(door opens)

HIjikata:....Ah, today's really cold.

Saito: Ah, my apologies. The wind seems quite strong. Moreover, it feels colder than usual today.

Hijikata: Ah, yes. Anyway/Then, what's the matter?

Saito: yes. Then, here you go.

Hijikata: Nn? A cotton-padded jacket [I have no idea how else to translate that.... though the translation i used actually included a Japanese text version, and since jisho translate gave me "garment padded with cotton" and "wadded clothes" for "'綿入れ," I'll probably go with "lined'" or "padded" jacket when i get to the subtitles]?

Saito: This was given by one of the nearby residents [technically tl says neighbour]. It's from the resident who sometimes brings us wild vegetables and other foods. He said that no one in his family could wear this, so he sent it over.

Hijikata: Really, thanks a lot. I'll have to thank them next time.

Saito: Yes.

Hijikata: Hm, and so?

Saito: Yes?

Hijikata: Then, what about this cotton-padded jacket?

Saito: Yes. I was thinking that the Vice-Commander would be able to use it, so I brought it over here.

Hijikata: Ah... Rather than me, it'd have better to send this over to Kondou-san first.

Saito: Nn. I thought so too, but the size...

Hijikata: The size? Look, um... this is a bit small.

Saito: Ah, does the Vice-Commander think that this is too small? That's troublesome.

Hijikata: Saito, doesn't this fit you? Put it on.

Saito: Me? No, I will pass.

Hijikata: Why?

Saito: I wouldn't be able to wear such an extravagant thing when the Chief and Vice-Commander are not.

Hijikata: Don't say that. This was specifically sent by someone else. If you don't use it, I'll be inconvenienced [i think?]. This place is terribly cold, and you should feel cold too.

Saito: But, that doesn't matter to me.

Hijikata;...You're always stubborn in strange aspects.

Saito: Yes?

Hijikata: Give it to that guy.

Saito: Eh? Ah...

Hijikata: This isn't too big for that guy, right [check audio. can't tell if this is a question or not]? It can be also used while sleeping.

Saito: That is the case. I understand. Apologies for intruding on your busy schedule. Then, goodbye.

Hijikata: Saito.

Saito: yes.

Hijikata: Don't catch a cold. It's not good to just suffer.

Saito: I'm not suffering.

Hijikata:....heh, I get it.

Saito: Well then, goodbye.

(door closes and Saito leaves, but he also sneezes)

Hijikata:.....How stubborn.

-end-

[saturatedboy]

The Paw of a Lion (Ethan!Winters x Karl!Heisenberg)

TW-THERE IS A MNETION ON NEEDLES USED WITHIN THIS CHAPTER!

(This is my work, can be found on AO3 using the title above.)

Word count: 4.6K

Chapter 4 is under the cut

The metal box had come to an abrupt stop, the halt causing both males to stumble around until they had successfully stabilised themselves. The doors had not opened, instead the elevator had its lights turned out suddenly. The light falling into darkness had caused Heisenberg to shriek out and shrink against the wall, holding tightly onto the railing that was provided. “Ethan, what the fuck is happening.”

The blonde male had turned to face the other, brows turned down as he snarled his words out. “Don’t you dare say my name, not after what you have just done. You just can’t stay out of trouble can you.” Although his words were meant to be hurtful, the Lord had taken them as praise and spoke with a toothy grin in return, irritating the other.

“Aww, you think I’m good at getting into trouble. Why thank you, I try my best for you.”

“Oh, try you best? Then try your best to get us out of here then colour me impress.” Ethan sighed deeply, watching as a small light in the top corner of the elevator had flashed red, filling the blackness with a deep red. His mood had turned sour. And to just think he was starting to think that maybe he could get along with his neighbours, all thoughts come crushing down and have him start back at step one. Trying to enjoy their presence.

Furthermore, unlucky for Ethan, the lord had taken it upon himself to follow Ethan’s demands. First, Heisenberg had latched himself away from the railing and take a closer look at the buttons that were planted on the wall. The ‘STOP’ button glowing brightly. He leaned down and pulled his shades to rest just at the end of his nose. “Hmm,” The Lord had felt over the buttons and tried his best to read them in the dim glowing red.  

“Oh no you don’t,” The father had grabbed the back of Heisenberg's shirt and pulled him back towards the railings on the back wall. When Heisenberg felt the railing against his back, Ethan had quickly moved his hand that he had pulled Heisenberg with and pressed it securely over the Lord’s chest, still standing beside him and holding Rose within his arms.

“I can get us out you know,” The lord spoke with an irritated tone.

“No. We will wait for the agents to collect us.” Ethan responded, moving his hand off the Lord’s chest and using it to hold Rose safely. The taller had looked down to his daughter, seeing her eyelashes flicker as her face scrunched up on itself. “I should be home now,” Using the back of his two stumps on his left hand, he caressed his daughter’s cheek, seeing her softly giggle at the known feeling off her father. Her eyes had soon opened, looking up at Ethan and reaching out for him.

On the side lines, Heisenberg watched Ethan’s actions with a raised brow. It was...interesting to see what he was doing. Even with the lack of fingers, his daughter in his arms still knew that it was her father. Maybe their bond was stronger because of the mould? Maybe it was just something Karl didn’t understand because his memories of his own family had faded away as time and pain consumed his own mind. “You’re a good father,” He mumbled out, turning his attention away from the two to look at the closed doors.

There it was again. The same sentence coming from the other. He had said it earlier, In the meeting on the first day-. “You said in the meeting.” Ethan had trailed of, settling with Rose playing with his hands instead of stroking her cheek. Seeing her suckle on his pointer finger changed Ethan’s expression to a petit frown. He had to get out of here soon, she needed to be fed. And he didn’t want her to start getting fussy and crying.

Karl looked back at Ethan; eyes grown wide from his remembrance of his words. He wanted to ask why he remembered the simple small sentence, but he left it. “I mean it,” His teeth grazed his bottom lip before biting down on it and then sucking inwards slightly. The action so far helped him cope through awkward situations, set as a reminder that he could get through whatever he was stuck in. It was a comfort motion. “I’m sure Rosemary would turn out to be strong just like her papa.”

Ethan inhaled at the words, finding himself feeling a little more steamed than normal and his stomach jumping. He quickly brushed the feeling in his stomach as a sudden tickle and released a small chuckle. “Let’s hope she keeps all her fingers then.” The amusement in his voice had set the other to speak his own laughter, a hand being raised to cover his mouth and hunch over slightly and raised the other hand in surrender at Ethan.

Soon though, their laughter had died down and became a settling silence between them. They felt at peace, stealing glances from the other to see if they were also content with the given situation. As the red light still flickered, it only brought Ethan to the negative reality of their placement “They’ll come soon,” He voiced his thoughts, watching as Heisenberg looked right back at him, both locking eyes- not that Ethan could see anyway.

“ ‘m sorry ‘bout that. I shouldn’t have dragged you into my mess anyway.” Karl sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, his glove collecting the sweat there that had been formed within the warm building.

“What did you do anyway?” Ethan had popped a squat onto the ground, sitting on his heels as he looked up to the Lord. Deciding to join him and not wanting to imitate the other in any way, Karl too joined him near the ground. However, he sat straight onto the floor, being protected from the germs because of his long trench coat. First, he ran a hand through his hair and knocked his hat off, placing it onto his lap where his legs were outstretched in front of him.

“I don’t like the idea of having needles in me. It was a fucking big one, let me tell ya that. It was like the same size of my whole arm!” As he was talking, Heisenberg had flung his arms out, trying to mimic the size of the needle. The blonde by him stared at him with a growing smirk.

“So, you’re afraid of tiny needles?” He piped up, being taken back after by when Karl shot him a deadly look.

“Small? SMALL! It was massive, would be used on that big bitch I tell ya!” Out of frustration, Karl flung his shades off his nose and onto the ground in between Ethan and himself. “Tiny needle? Pft, yeah sure.”

“You know we all get the same shot, right? Same quantity, same thing...” Ethan had explained, watching as the Lord had turned his skull slowly away from Ethan’s point of view. His arms soon following and crossing over his chest.

“Still big...” His voice had failed him as it cracked near the end. Just the thought of needles got the man worked up. As long as it wasn’t being used on him, he was okay. But having someone take advantage and try use it on him? Those memories were too much.

With a roll of the eyes and a grimaced expression, Ethan took his hand back from Rose, who voiced her own sadness by whining and babbling, and used it to help him budged up to be right by Karl’s side. Once there, he placed his hand to rest on the other’s shoulder, feeling it quiver under his touch. “You know,” He first spoke, “I’m actually scared of the ocean...”

Now that, caught Karl’s interest. Seeing the quivering slightly stop, Ethan carried on with his words after brining the hand that was on Karl’s shoulder back to Rose. “When I was younger, I had slipped off the edge of a pier and fell in. It was so sudden; my body had frozen up and I couldn’t move. Luckily I was quickly moved to lay on my back after I submerged and floated back up.” Over the time Ethan was speaking, Karl had turned his way back to look at Ethan. Watching as his expression slightly changed when he talked about his fears. “To this day, I didn't go back to a beach. When I was fighting Moreau, it felt like I was on my own. But then I believed Rose was by me, and suddenly I managed to get out fine.” Karl clung to his words and nodded for him to carry one. Swallowing a ball of built-up saliva, Ethan asked a favour. “How about after all this, I come with you for your shot. I’ll be by your side so you don’t go running off and getting others stuck in an elevator?”

The request was so sweet, it made Karl thankful for the red lights. “That sounds...nice.” The Lord grinned at the favour. The feeling swelling inside of him made him slightly giddy. Ethan. Ethan Winters would be there to help him face his fears. Maybe he was back in the good books for the Winters man. He still had his chances to woo the man. Out-stretching his hand, The Lord waited for the other to shake on it.

“Sorry, maybe later. I got this little cub nibbling on my fingers because she’s hungry.” Ethan nodded down to Rose for Karl to understand. Indeed, she was nibbling on his fingers when Karl looked down. A frown had quickly made its way on his bearded face.

“That’s my fault. I shouldn’t have brought you into this mess.”

“Hey, don’t-” Ethan released a yawn and shook his head, trying to rid the feeling of tiredness that had crept up on him again. “-don’t be. They’ll be here soon.” Karl nodded, watching as Ethan swayed to his left and right, lulling Rose back to sleep. Seeing the father so content, made Karl’s heart swell slightly. The show of affection was an adorable sight to see.

“Maybe papa also needs to sleep.” He had suggested, seeing as Ethan’s eyes had become hooded with drowsiness. Ethan groaned and shook his head, denying the facts that he was even tired in the first place. “C’mon papa,” Karl dragged his arm over Ethan’s shoulder and pulled him to rest against his side, his gloved hand settling against his shoulder. Protesting, Ethan had squirmed in the others grasp, only to stop when he realised his shaking movements were causing Rose to stir more. “See, if you move, you’ll wake Rose there.”

“Shut up, I’m staying here cause of Rose.”  

“Mhm sure. Now rest.” Using his glove hand from his unoccupied arm, Karl playfully rested the tips of his fingers on Ethan’s eyelids and pushed them down softly. He could feel his eyes moving under them but it only brought a great sense of softness to his heart as the other didn’t complain against it. “That’s it, you’ll be safe. I won’t let anything happen to us. I’ll wake you when they come to get us.”  

“Thank you...Karl.” Even if it was because he was sleep drunk- or maybe he actually meant it. Those words, the praise and the thankfulness that came from the father’s lips, melted the tension between the both. Being happy with the atmosphere he had created between them both, Karl had rested his head onto of an asleep Ethan's and sat waiting for the agents to collect them from the elevator.  

He was glad he messed with the buttons.

The lights had quickly turned from their red to the glow of white after what Karl could only guess to be two hours. Why was it taking them so long- he didn’t know but he was dammed that this physically interaction was going to end soon. Staring down at Ethan might of became his new hobby, not that he would admit it out-loud. He pushed his lips out, looking at the way Ethan’s mouth had curled into a heart-warming smirk, small but none-the-less still noticeable now in the bright light. ‘You got me wrapped around your finger without noticing it.’ Slightly nudging the taller male further into his side, Karl planted a soft kiss upon his forehead. His lips lingered against his skin, only pulling back in to press a firmer kiss in the same spot. Karl closed his eyes, enjoy the touch that his lips could feel. To say Ethan sweats a lot and has swum in murky water not too long ago, his skin was smooth to the touch.  

Bang

Karl pulled his lips off Ethan who had raised quickly to the sudden noise that enveloped his mind. Spinning his head left and right, his eyes that were consumed by the need to attack softened when he saw Karl looking down at him. “We are here to get you out!” A voice had cried, making both men in the closed space together stare at where it had come from. It turns out, the agents to rescue them both had finally arrived and were now doing something with the door that had locked them.

Ethan rested his head back onto Karl’s shoulder, his shoulders dropping as a relieved noise was released from his throat. “Finally,” His voice was hushed, almost like he was afraid to disturb the silence that was once settled amongst them. Karl watched as Ethan settle down, his breathing setting a pace that the older felt calming against. Being gentle as he could, Karl removed his arm from around Ethan and brought it back to rest on his lap. He gave out a rough chuckle.

“If I knew you wanted to get away from me that fast, I would have moved away.” A flick to his hat made him chuckle even louder. Ethan had placed his hand to rest on Heisenberg’s shoulder, giving it a strong squeeze.

“You may have just got into my good list, seemingly you’re an amazing pillow.” Ethan backed up his point as he poked the other man’s stomach watching as the diaphragm retreated back. The reaction was, somewhat humorous to Ethan. Thinking the Lord was ticklish, Ethan had rested his palm against stomach and started to rub it in circles. A soft growl erupted from Karl as he closed his eyes and breathed heavily in. As he exhaled, a whine had followed through, like a puppy watching its owner leave him. “Awww, does the fourth lord enjoy belly rubs~” Ethan teased, going as far as to rub circles on his stomach faster as he rested his head still on the Lord’s shoulder. A small pant came from Heisenberg, only making the Winter man laugh. “I think I found my new favourite thing.” He returned his hand back to himself, watching as heat took over Heisenberg’s ears and end of his nose. Karl had craned his neck to look the other way in hopes of hiding his blush from the Winters. A growl came from Heisenberg as he spoke.

“You dare say anything about this to anyone-”

“Ethan!” Both males had retreated to opposite ends of the elevator at the sudden noise of a voice. The elevator had shaken slightly, only for the metal doors in front of the males to open up by force. With the light already in the elevator, it was no surprise when they could see immediately who had spoken the Winters first name. “We were getting worried about you- OI! What are you doing here?”

Heisenberg showed a toothy grin towards the new comer, Chris Redfield. Tipping his hat, he stood back up and leaned back a bit to crack his back. “I’m here because I saw Winters here and was edging to get a conversation to him obviously.” A flat out lie came from him as he started to walk out the elevator. Just as he stood out, the sound of a taser was quickly heard behind him.

“Listen here, Heisenberg. That’s some bullshit and you and I know that. So, tell the truth or else you're staying in confinement here for three days.” Chris lowered his taser and walked to stand right behind Heisenberg, a way to intimidate the other into talking the truth. Groaning loudly, Heisenberg quickly turned around and crossed his arms whilst leaning on his side, being supported by his right leg and popping his hip out a little.

“Fine fine fine. You caught me. I was-”

“I was on the brink of collapsing and he caught me. I must have pressed the wrong button when I was about to pass out.” Both Chris and Karl raised a brow as Chris turned to look back at Ethan whilst Karl stood behind him, looking at Winters. “It’s the truth. If it wasn’t for him, I might have hurt Rose.” Behind Chris, Karl stood with his mouth-agape, shocked at the father’s lying towards what could be one of his friends.

Chris looked back and forward between Ethan and Karl, trying to see if they were lying or not. All it took was Ethan to step out of the elevator and rub his eyes with his left hand whilst balancing Rose in the other to prove his story was ‘true’. The buff male had shaken his head, ordering the agents around them to stand down. Karl raised a brow at the armed agents. Does he really need armed people around him? Actually, he decided to even ask about it. “Okay, I believe you. However, you-” Chris turned back to face Karl with arms by his side, “You need to go back and get your shots done already. Heard you had ran out before they could even stick you.” The amusement tone didn’t go unnoticed, by Karl. Oh, how he wanted to rip Redfield’s throat out, but he wouldn't. He was too close to Ethan.

“I’ll only go if Ethan comes with.” He amused back, standing back up straight and sorting his hat out to sit right on his head of silver locks.

Chris was taken back by the request, going as far as to turn back to Ethan was a joking smile.

“Hm? And why would Mr Winters want to come with you?” He asked, waiting for Ethan’s reply with scrunched eyes.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders the best he could with a child in his arms, finally taking the move to stand out fully from the elevator. “I’ll go with. Got to make my bond strong anyway with the new neighbours.” He strode passed Chris and went to stand by the side of Karl. Karl had the same giddiness feeling from earlier wash over him and had motioned the agents to lead the way with Ethan by his side.

“Let’s go and get me sticked!” He had shouted, resting a hand on the back of Ethan’s back and pushing him to follow. As they both walked with agents in front leading them back to Karl’s doctors' room, Karl had turned his head slightly and smirked back to Chris who was still stood in the same place. Swinging his tongue over his teeth, Karl had given him the bird and looked back forward to see his doom was coming closer. Ethan saw his actions and was a little taken back from them but chose he may question him later when the time felt right. Karl had visibly started to swallow his self-pity. He could do this, he's been through worse he tried to reason with himself.

“You’ll be fine,” A whisper came from next to him, making him feel slightly better.

“Course I’ll be fine. It’s just a poke...right?” He turned to face the other, looking slightly up to see Ethan smiling down at him.

“You really are small aren’t you.”

“Don’t change the subject. It’s just a poke, right?” He asked again, feeling himself have a brick come out of this whole wall he had built his life within. Karl waited for Ethan to answer him. The longer he didn’t say anything, the more Karl had felt vulnerable, until Ethan had made the movement of placing Rose to balance in his right hand and made a grab for Karl’s hand. With a reassuring squeeze, Ethan had spoken in a caring tone.

“It’s just a poke and that’s it. Think of it like nicking your finger on a sharp piece of metal, but less painful.” He tried to assure Karl.

Karl just raised a brow and tried his best to hold back the smile that was growing on his bearded face. “That’s not a good way to describe it, but thank you.” He returned the favour of giving Ethan’s hand a squeeze of his own. What he didn’t expect however was Ethan to keep hold of his hand as they entered the room Karl had previously been in. His hand felt nice in his own, but darn it he hated the fact he had his gloves on. To know if Ethan's hands were the same smooth skin as his forehead would just have to be left to Karl's imagination for now. As both men entered through the slightly tinted door to Karl's Doctor's room, there was at least three doctors who stood around the place fiddling with clipboards and computers.

“Ah, you’re back. Ready for your shot?” One asked, going over to a small metal table by a lone chair, grabbing blue gloves to place on. Karl focused on the blue gloves watching as they smacked back against his skin as he placed them all. The older man had gulped deeply.

“Pft yeah I am. I’m not scared or anything for fuck's sake.” Letting go of Ethan’s hand, Karl had stridden back to the chair he was once sat in before the elevator incident. Heaving a heavy sigh, he let himself drop in it and placed both of his hands on the armrests feeling a little dizzy and finding it more tougher to keep a calm and repeated breathing pace.

“I’ll need you to take your coat off and to roll your shirt sleeve up please.” The same doctor suggested, turning his back to head to where the other two doctors had stood around a computer talking. As soon as Karl stood up to take his coat off, he took his shades off after at the same time and gave a pleading look to Ethan, pouting childishly as well.  

“Stand by me.” He mouthed, as he nodded to his side for Ethan to stand near him whilst pocketing his shades to hang on the top of his shirt between the collars. Rolling his eyes with a half-smirk, Ethan made his way to stand next to Karl as he went back to sit down on the chair feeling tenderness as the father stood right by him. As the doctor was coming back, holding a needle in his hand, he was a little taken back seeing Mr Winter stand by Heisenberg. “He gets a kick of watching things sink into skin. Said he finds it satisfying.” Karl had provided an answer, reeling forward ad jumping a bit as he felt Ethan kick his leg as he tried to pull his sleeve up his arm to rest just above the elbow. Shooting a glare at Ethan, he went back to rolling his sleeve up.

“No, I do not. I’m here for support.” Ethan defended himself, even though he was telling the truth and Karl was just being an idiot.

The doctor had beamed at the two, finding their quarrel sort of cute. “You act like a couple,” they had said, flicking the end of the needle and pressing down a little on the plunger to make sure it was working. Karl’s breath hitched before he could respond back to the doctor’s remark, seeing the fluid shoot out at the end of the needle. And to think for a moment he had forgot about it all as well. “Never mind me, now this will hurt a pinch. But I’m sure it’s nothing you can't handle it Mr Heisenberg.”

Karl only nodded and turned to stare at Ethan with panic passing his eyes. He couldn’t look, not when Miranda was still present in his mind after the whole fight. ‘This is for your freedom. Be strong for Ethan’ he spoke in his mind, feeling his muscle flex in his forearm as he felt a tight pinch pass through him. He squinted his eyes as he felt it pass through him, a sharp pain coming from his forearm.  

“Mr Heisenberg, I need you to relax.” The doctor had claimed, pulling the needle out of his arm and looking at Heisenberg, seeing his head was turned away. Covering his panic with a cough, Heisenberg had nodded and did his best to relax his muscles. He kept staring at Ethan after he had let loose of his eyes, seeing the blonde look down at him with a small pout. Gentle, Ethan had kneeled down to Heisenberg's height and slowly made a choice, though Karl could see the slight worry in his own brown eyes as he had moved himself to sit facing the Lord, in front of his legs.

Ethan had placed Rose onto Karl’s lap, only moving his hands to rest on Karl’s thighs keeping Rose safely leaned back against the Lord’s stomach. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, looking towards the doctor. “My arms were hurting a little from carrying my child,” He lied again, gripping onto the thighs of the Lord.  

‘My gosh you truly are an angel’ Karl had engrossed into his mind, feeling the touch of Ethan over his clothes. He had immediately relaxed, keeping his gaze on Ethan as he once again felt the needle go into his arm. However, this time, he felt safer than ever. Although he did tense slightly, he soon calmed as he felt the small circles being rubbed on the side of his thighs. Mentally, Karl’s thoughts were everywhere but they all linked back to Ethan. Wanting to praise him in every way for helping him face his fear here, for keeping him calm and for helping Karl express his feelings like a human. It was this moment that Karl actually felt real, felt like he was being treated like any other human would be treated at the doctor's office. And it was all thanks to Ethan Winters, his saviour.

“And that’s it. You are free to go now.” The doctor broke Karl’s thoughts, making them all crumble away. He cleared his throat and nodded, standing up immediately after Ethan had taken Rose back into his arms. Pulling his sleeve back down feeling a cold rush wash over him, Karl had taken hold of Ethan’s waist and dragged him out of the office as hasty as he could.

As they exited the room, agents had swiftly led them back to the BMW they first came in. A once calm Karl had turned sour when seeing Redfield stand next to their car. “Hop in, time to go.” He voiced, jumping in the passenger seat at the front of the vehicle. Turning to Ethan, Karl had licked his lips slightly and rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he turned slightly away. Time to take another big jump.

“I want to..t-thank you for doing that.” He stammered, shuffling slightly so he could stand in front of Ethan instead side by side. “It meant a whole lot and I want to do something in return. So, how about a meal at my place tonight. I’ll cook! B-but if you want to help then come over early and we...we could.” Karl had lost his words whilst thinking. He felt buffered after realising he had just asked Winters to come join him for dinner at his place. The same night of that day!

Giggling, Ethan had nodded making the other raise his head in surprise. ”Cooking together after this long day sounds worth it.” He began to walk, Karl following him like a lost puppy in tow. “But I’ll have to bring Rose if you’re okay with that?” Ethan asked, looking back over his shoulder to see Karl thinking for a moment.

“You know what, yeah. We could play house.” he suggested, laughing when he saw Ethan blushing slightly.

“You’re the mum then!” He called, speed walking to the car.

“Rose can have two papa’s!” Karl called back, running to catch the laughing blonde in the car.

[babygirlgalitzine]

trick or treat (ao3)

It's only a few short weeks until Halloween night descends on Walford, and already there's a festive buzz about the place. The weather is nothing short of perfect for this time of year, a nippy wind providing cold mornings and evenings, a few days of rain here and there, but cloudless blue skies normally, disguising just how cold it actually is outside. There's decorations everywhere, carved out pumpkins sitting on garden walls, already turning brown and decaying. Jelly skeletons stick to the inside of windows, probably already starting to stain the glass. The shops are no different, with garish orange suddenly the only colour scheme people have ever heard of, cut out bats and fake blood all over.  

Ben sighs as he stands outside the Minute Mart, noticing that the doorway is holding up some bat streamers, guarding the way inside. He walks in, and instantly the streamers tangle around his arms. He's only come in for some milk, not to deal with this. He untangles himself quickly, trying to not break the stupid things, because he really doesn't want to be accused with vandalism. "Is that thing not turning away customers?" He grumbles to Honey, who's standing behind the till with a sickly sweet grin on her face. Her name is a likeness to her personality. 

"I think it's quite nice actually." She says. "The children enjoy it." 

Ben picks up his usual milk from the refrigerated area and plonks it down at the till. 

"Will that be all?" Honey asks, pressing a few buttons. 

Ben looks around at the till area, noticing that, as well as the garish decorations that litter the shop, there's also large quantities of sweets that are already on sale. He picks up a jumbo pack. "Those too." He says, taking his wallet out of his back pocket. "We're running low on them, with the amount of people in the house. It seems to be a free for all." 

He pays, and leaves the shop, but not before having the bat decorations tangle around his body once more, with a vengeance this time, unrelenting and not willing to let him escape their grasp. He finally breaks free, and walks back towards his home, head hanging low, hand carrying the milk already cold with the air, and now even colder with the item in his hand. He steps out onto the road, and looks up, finally, and something is different. The house next to his. The 'for sale' sign is being dismantled. It's been standing empty for months, the front garden starting to grow a little bit wild. But now, it seems someones moving in there after all. There's a moving van parked up, two wheels on the curb, blocking off people from walking on the pavement, and the doors are swinging open, exposing furniture and boxes upon boxes. 

Ben shakes his head slightly, and carries on walking, taking his collection of keys out of his pocket and letting them jangle and clash together. He's walking towards the van, and notices when he gets closer to it, the man standing inside of it, looking at all the boxes. 

"You alright there?" Ben asks, and maybe there's a chuckle that's threatening to bubble out of his throat when he sees the man jump at his voice.

That is, until he turns around, and Ben has to physically stop himself from his jaw dropping open. 

There he is, this gorgeous man, all tall and slim and cheeky grin. His eyes are bright blue, and his cheeks cherry blossom pink. And then he speaks. "I'm Callum." He says, and if it was possible to love a voice, Ben's just gone and done it. 

Ben lets out a throaty rumble, clearing his throat in anticipation of speaky. His hand is ice cold now, and he'll regret staying out this long without gloves no doubt. "Ben. I mean, my name's Ben. I live next door."

"Ah so you're my new neighbour then!" Callum grins and he steps down out of the van, standing closer to Ben now. 

"Sounds like it." Ben nods, and it doesn't go amiss that he's feeling like a giddy schoolkid just looking at Callum. 

"Is it a good area?" Callum asks. "I didn't exactly do my research before buying the place." 

Ben tilts his head to the side and smiles, because well, it's Walford. "It's alright yeah. It's the sort of place everyone knows everyone, so you shouldn't have any trouble trying to make friends. There's a few people to watch out for, but other than that, it's good."

Callum takes his words in and nods, turning to pick up a box. "I look forward to meeting everyone then." He says, and then jerks his head to the box in his arms. "I should, er, carry on moving." 

"Yeah, course." Ben says, moving out of the way so Callum can walk past him and into the front garden. "I should be putting this in the fridge anyway, and then I need to pick up a Halloween costume." 

Callum chuckles slightly. "What are you dressing up as?" He inquires.

"Oh it's not for me!" Ben laughs, putting his key into his keyhole, but not yet turning it to unlock the door. "It's for my daughter, so she can go trick or treating. She wants to be a witch, apparently. But I'm also under the strictest orders to pick up some fake blood for her too."

Callum giggles, and shakes his head. "So a witch with blood everywhere? Sounds very unique."

Ben bites his lip in retaliation to Callum's laugh, trying not to smile wildly. "That's one word for her." He admits.

"I'll let you get on then. Can't let your daughter down." Callum grins. "I'll make sure to buy some sweets as well, if she's trick or treating."

Ben smiles at Callum, his mind racing as he thinks of something to say, but unable to speak all the same. Callum just smiles too, and a blush rises on both their cheeks, definitely not helped at all by the swirl of bitterly cold wind that makes its way to them, piercing their skin. Ben looks down, trying to hide his cheeks, but it's too late because Callum has definitely already seen. He twists his key in the lock, and hears a faint click, and he pushes the door open, feeling the warmth of his home hitting him instantly. When he's standing inside, he half looks back out, and notices that Callum and his box have disappeared. 

It's dark, when it comes to trick or treating. The moon's out, hanging high in the sky, bright and bold and beautiful, although the faint clouds often obscure it from view. There's a littering of stars surrounding it, and it's a crisp evening - thankfully without rain.

Lexi's standing in the corridor, wearing her witches costume, all black and purple and she has the matching stripy tights on her legs. Her coat is hiding most of the costume, but that's a price she has to pay, because it's so cold outside. The hat is too big for her, sliding off in all directions, but it's pointed high and she loves it. She's been wearing it since she woke up. She jumps up and down on the spot, her plastic orange bucket swinging back and forwards, hitting her leg.  

"Daddy!" She shouts. "Hurry up! I don't want people nicking all the good sweets!" 

There's a laugh that floats through the house and Ben appears, with fake blood smeared on his face. 

"Where's your fangs?" Lexi asks, hands on her hips. 

Ben holds his hand up, revealing plastic teeth. "Here." He says. "They don't fit me properly."

Lexi sighs. "You can't be a vampire if you don't have fangs, Daddy. That doesn't make sense."

Ben chuckles softly. She's growing up too fast, he thinks. "Thought you wanted to go?"

She jumps up and down on the spot excitably, and then opens up the front door, running out into the cold of the night, swinging her empty bucket vigorously with every movement. Ben follows behind her, watching her carefully. There's more children out than he thought there would be, and it's noisy. 

"Can I go here daddy?" Lexi asks, and Ben looks to see where she's pointing. 

Callum's house.

There's already children at the door, and Callum's standing there holding out a bucket of sweets, half bending over yet somehow still towering over everyone in front of him. 

Ben nods. "Yeah. Go on princess." He smiles. 

Lexi runs up the pathway, and stands at the back of the group of children, a bright smile on her face. One by one, the rest of the children fall away, walking past Lexi and towards their next houses. She steps forward, and beams up at Callum who crouches down and hands his bucket of sweets out to her. As she's rummaging through, more than likely to search for her favourite sweets, Callum looks up at Ben, and is surprised to see that he's already looking his way.

"Nice fake blood." Callum chuckles.

Lexi looks up at him and smiles, and then looks at her dad. "He's got vampire fangs too, but won't wear them."

Ben shakes his head, but there's a soft smile on his face - content. "Because they don't fit. I got kids ones."

Callum chuckles out a laugh, and stands up to full length when Lexi picks out a packet of fizzy Haribo's. "Is she alright with them?" Callum asks, directing the question to Ben. 

"Yeah." Ben nods. "She's under strict orders to only get one sweet per house anyway, but even that will send her hyperactive."

"At least it's only once a year." Callum says, and notices that Lexi is standing next to his gate, looking as though she's ready to move onto the next house already. "I'll let you get going then. Have fun." 

Ben huffs out a laugh. "You too."

Callum stands at his front door, and watches as Ben follows behind his daughter, both of them giggling away. It's moments before they're out of sight, and Callum looks down at the slippers on his feet, letting the butterflies exploding in his stomach wash over him. He steps inside and puts the rest of the sweets on his coffee table, ready for his doorbell to ring again. 

---

It's a lot colder, when they're making their way back. The wind is picking up, whistling all around them, and even Ben is shivering. He's holding Lexi's hat now, after it's blown off her head multiple times, leaving him to run after it. Lexi's bucket rattles with every step, and Ben dreads to think about how many sweets she's managed to swindle, knowing full well she hasn't stuck to the rules of one sweet per house. They're edging ever closer to home now, and Ben can tell that his daughter is finally starting to get tired, her little legs struggling to keep up, even if she's the sort of child to say she's definitely not tired. There's nobody around them, all the other trick or treaters retiring back to their home to shelter away from the coldness of the night. Ben notices that Callum's hallway light is still on, shining out of the top of his door.

"Go and knock on Callum's door again Lex." Ben says when they're only a few steps away. "He'll give you more sweets if you ask nicely." 

Lexi looks up at him, and Ben can see in her face that she's tired, her cheeks stained a bright red from the wind. "Mummy said I can only go to a house once." She says.

"I won't tell if you don't." Ben says. "Don't forget your hat." He places it back on her head, and watches as she knocks on Callum's door, a quiet tapping noise.  

A few moments later, the doors opening, and Callum's standing there with his hood up, bucket of sweets still in his hand, but with significantly less in it now. 

"Trick or treat!" Lexi yells, grin on her face, trying to fight the tiredness that's taking over her. 

Callum chuckles, and lets her look into the bucket of sweets again as he looks up at Ben, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Sorry." Ben whispers an apology. "She must really like your door." 

Callum lets out a giggle - an actual giggle - and he struggles to look at Ben as shyness takes over him. 

Ben feels the same, all lightheaded and dizzy and he combats it by taking an interest in his feet all of a sudden. 

Lexi looks between the pair of them, confusion written all over her face. "You forced me over here." She admits. "I took all the good sweets the first time." 

Callum looks at Lexi and his mouth hangs open, a laugh bubbling out. He peers up at Ben, who's now completely red in the face, aflame.

"Busted." Ben chuckles. He looks at Lexi, mainly to avoid looking at Callum. "Go on you. Show your mum your sweets." 

Lexi shrugs her shoulders but walks towards the house anyway, Ben watching to make sure she gets in, even though it's just metres away from where he's standing. The door clicks shut, and they can both just about make out the flurry of taps coming from Lexi's feet as she runs down the hallway. 

It's quiet between them for a few moments, both of them just basking in the peacefulness. Ben leans his head against the brick wall, instantly regretting it when his skin suddenly runs cold at the touch. He closes his eyes for just a second, and then speaks. "Sorry. About coming here again. I just - from when I saw you, I thought you were fit, and I guess this was my attempt at flirting with you." 

Callum huffs out a soft laugh, watching as Ben gets more and more flustered with every word he speaks, rambling on. It's cute. He's cute. Callum leans forward, soft smile on face, and gently takes Ben's head between his hands. He stops in his tracks for a moment, scanning his eyes over Ben's face just to check that everything is fine, that he hasn't taken this too far. He can see Ben gulp, his eyes looking up directly into Callum's, anticipating his next move. The smile spreads further over Callum's face, and he inches forward until finally, finally, his lips touch Ben's and everything just seems right. 

Ben grins into the kiss, reaching out to hold onto Callum, grabbing his waist, pulling the two of their bodies together. He instantly warms up with Callum's touch, heat bubbling away inside of him, unrelenting. 

It's calming, their touch. It's shy, yet wanting. Peaceful, with no sound around them other than the ambience of the wind whistling through trees. 

Until.

The door creaks open and a little voice calls out. "Daddy! Mummy said I'm not allowed any sweeties until tomorrow!"

[lvrexe]

Wild Ride | [2] Hatake

ughhh finally this is completed... it took me a month and some revisions but I got it out. s/n: it’s hardly edited.

[ AO3 ] [ CHAPTER ONE ]

General Fic Info

Rating — Explicit Category — M/M

Content Warnings — None apply Completion — Unfinished

Ships; Hatake Kakashi/Shiranui Genma, Sarutobi Asuma/Shiranui Genma, Hatake Kakashi/Shiranui Genma/Sarutobi Asuma, Nohara Rin/Uchiha Obito

Genre; Romance, Angst, Modern! AU, Occasional Fluff

Tags; Porn with Plot, Poly Relationships, Friends with Benefits, Eventual Romance, Alternative Universe, Semi-Modern AU, Anal sex, Explicit Content, Misinterpreted Relationships, Misunderstandings, Drinking, Alcoholism

Chapter Specific Tags; SFW, just Kakashi set-up, Kakashi mistaking a hook-up as a romantic relationship

Kakashi stirred awake with a heavy weight on his chest. Propping one eye open, he was greeted with the sight of Genma sleeping soundly in his bare chest. Rays of sunlight highlighted most of his features, shining parts of Genma’s peaceful expression, strands of chestnut brown bangs covered parts of his face. His lips gently parted as his body rose and fell with each subtle and calm breath he took.

His eyes narrowed as he inspected the brunette; Genma was an oddity to him— not that he actually minded, quite the opposite. Now, he looked peaceful and sweet, as if he didn’t just ride Kakashi’s dick the previous night. Surprisingly, Genma was well-versed in hiding his more… “slutty” side, to put it bluntly— not many outside of the close-knit friend group knew of his nightly activities. To outsiders, Genma was a man of a calm and collected nature and truly, he was. There just was this hidden side to him.

Slipping Genma off him, Kakashi slowly peeled himself off his bed. He stumbled across his room, stepping over his clothes scattered around his floor. He had expected several sights to be regular occurrences; Naruto and Sasuke fighting, Sakura stopping them; Gai challenging him to any sort of test of skill; Obito and Rin dragging him out of his house. Was him waking up to Genma in his bed and their clothes scattered across his house going to be another recurring scene?

He scrounged around in his drawers for a pair of boxers, some loose pants and fished out a plain white tee. He headed for his bathroom silently, slipping out of his room to not disturb his sleeping… Well, he assumed “partner”. A warm sensation filled his chest as he thought about that. Genma as his partner. Huh, that sounded oddly nice.

He was quick to snap out of it once he reached the door to his bathroom. He shook off the thoughts and let out a sigh. He disregarded the warmth those thoughts brung and pushed into his bathroom.

By the time Kakashi was finished with his shower, Genma was still in his deep slumber. He decided to let him sleep in. His bedroom was just Genma’s for now. Though, Kakashi managed to snag his favourite book series, Icha Icha Paradise. His living area was better lit than his bedroom; a near perfect quantity of natural light peering through the kitchen window, some wandering into his attached living room, the glass sliding doors also provided a fair amount of light as well. He plopped down on his couch and he momentarily froze when his eyes landed on the open whiskey bottle Genma had left. Beside it was Genma’s buzzing phone. It stopped and the screen went black before Kakashi could see what the notification was.

Kakashi was a simple man; he saw a phone buzz from a notification, he got curious. Interest piqued, he reached down and snatched up the phone. It lit up as he pressed the power button. A monochromatic picture of a hand lazily holding a cigarette between two fingers was set as the background. Kakashi cocked his eyebrows at Genma’s set background, it was a bit odd to him but it oddly fit Genma. His attention switched over to the notifications on the screen. A few missed calls, some unanswered messages from Hayate and Shizune, all previews hidden until unlocked, and at the top of it was a reminder. “Tell squads of Chunin Exams” was the title. Guess Genma couldn’t tell all of them the day before.

A tinge of guilt pulled at his chest, he shouldn’t be snooping around. He followed his gut and shut off the phone and placed it back on his coffee table. He grabbed his book and leaned back into his couch, kicking up his feet on his table. Flipping his book open, he tore his attention away from Genma’s phone.

He wasn’t certain how much time had passed after he started a new chapter, but a knock pulled his head out from the pages of his book. He snapped his book closed and pulled himself up from the couch, tossing his book onto the table. He peered through the peephole and stood outside his door was his old teammate, Obito.

Obito’s scarred but bright face beamed at his door, as if he could tell Kakashi was peeking through the hole. His right side was heavily scarred and deformed, a lifetime reminder of the consequences of war. It was a damn miracle Obito survived the war, especially after getting crushed. Kakashi insisted that he return his Sharingan but Obito denied no matter the protest. Now, Obito’s left eye bore the late Fourth Hokage’s eye. Kakashi never got the story of how he received it, but regardless, he was grateful to the Gods, or the Heavens, or whatever, that Obito still stood tall beside him nonetheless.

Unlocking the door, the silver-haired shinobi swung his front door open. Obito grinned ear-to-ear as the white door opened. “Kakashi!” he blurted out, arms spread wide in an exaggerated way to greet the tired shinobi before him. Without warning, he hooked around Kakashi’s neck, pulling the man close. “How’s it going, huh?”

“Obito… it’s only…” Kakashi peeled himself away from his friend and leaned backwards to peer back into his kitchen. “9:30 in the morning.”

“Yeah, but didja forget already?” Obito chirped up as he tugged his best friend close once more, “Breakfast with me and Rin?”

Kakashi’s face recoiled with regret as a hiss left his throat— aimed towards him obviously. “Shit… I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Uh... Just give me a moment. Just stay here.”

As Obito released his grip, Kakashi pushed away from him. “No worries, ‘Kashi,” he replied. He peered over the shoulder of the silver-haired shinobi as Kakashi scrambled around in his house. He took note of the open whiskey bottle in the open living room and the extra pair of shinobi sandals. Obito wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he also wasn’t naive.

A grin pried at the corners of the Uchiha’s lips as he peered over to Kakashi hovering over his kitchen table, scribbling something down. “Hey, Kakashi, it’s a bit rude to not invite someone in, right?” he teasingly piped up.

Kakashi immediately flinched and sputtered a bit. He knew Obito knew. He turned his head and shakingly looked over at his teammate. “Uh… Well, we’re heading out in a minute, right?” he blurted out. He pushed the cap onto the pen and tossed it to the side. He ripped off the sticky note from the stack and slapped it onto his fridge. As Obito leaned forward in an attempt to read the note, he huffed and covered the side with his hand. Obito backed off and he let out a sigh before reading over the note;

Genma,

I’m heading out for the day. Help yourself to some coffee and breakfast. Make sure to lock the door on your way out. If you’re free, come by tonight.

Kakashi

That was inviting enough, right?... Yeah, probably. Kakashi pushed himself away from his fridge and gathered himself. He slipped on his shoes and pushed Obito out of his house by stepping out himself. He locked the door and shoved the key into his pocket. “Ready to go?” he asked his friend.

Obito, his prying now diminished by the front door shutting, sighed but shrugged his shoulders. He stuffed his hands in his pocket and nodded. “Guess so,” he murmured. Kakashi walked past him and he took one final glance at the house, hoping to spot any sort of movement in the house. But alas, the person in Kakashi’s house was still out-cold sleeping.

“Obito.”

He jolted a bit before scurrying off the porch to catch up with Kakashi.

Rin gazed through the large windows of the small cafe, the lines were long and most tables were filled. She had expected the long lines but not the tables being filled, it was a week day, shouldn’t people be hurrying off to their jobs?

She cursed to herself, silently lecturing to herself for not going in sooner. She took a glance around before slipping inside the shop and sneaking off to the back where one table was clear and free for the taking. The smell of brewing coffee, freshly baked bagels and muffins reached her nostrils and left her a warm, fuzzy feeling blooming in her chest. Nostalgia? Maybe. Team Minato did share several memories here. She slipped into the booth seat and pulled out her phone from her back pocket. Two messages from Obito popped up when her lock screen lit up; “Got Kakashi.”, and “Heading over now~ <3”. She simply sent a thumbs up back, then added a heart emoji for good measure.

It didn’t take the two long before they arrived through the glass doors, bell ringing to alert the baristas of new customers. Rin raised up and a smile grew on her glossy lips. She waved the two Jounin over and closed her mobile game. Kakashi slid onto the seat across from her and Obito walked over to her side, leaning in for a quick kiss of greeting. She shifted over and gave him a spot to sit.

“Didn’t order us drinks?” Obito questioned.

She shook her head and sighed. “Not yet. Line’s been busy and I wanted to grab a good table.” She leaned back into the booth as she gazed over to the two lines at the counters. The cafe had died down a bit in noise but a good five or six people still stood in line. “Here, scoot out, I’ll go order now.”

Kakashi raised his hand in quick protest. “No, no,” he was quick to speak up. He smiled under his mask and stood up. “I’ll pay for our drinks,” he assured as he shifted out of their booth. If Rin or Obito had any objections, he didn’t wait to hear them as he walked into the nearest line.

It took a few minutes but Kakashi finally arrived at the front of the line, tapping on the counter with two fingers as he waited for the barista to come back around. He stood up straight as the employee approached the counter after handing over another customer’s order. His cheeks heated up under his mask as the man approached him. He wore the company uniform of a plain white shirt, black pants and a dark green apron wrapped around his front. Attached to his apron was a nametag: “Touma”.

“Sorry about that, just a busy day today,” Touma excused with a quick chuckle. His face beamed with happiness, a bright smile upon his lips. Kakashi couldn’t tell if it was genuine or if it was forced, but it felt genuine. “What can I get you today?”

Kakashi was grateful he always wore masks, he knew he was a blushing mess underneath. “Urm, well,” he sputtered for a moment, “A medium espresso, large iced coffee and a large mocha coffee.”

Touma hummed in response as he punched in the order. “Anything else today?” he asked.

Kakashi shook his head. “Uh, no, that’s all,” he replied.

“Alright,” Touma nodded. “Your total is 1,212 yen.”

He was quick to pay in cash and slid off to the side, waiting for his order. His eyes lingered on the barista he spoke to. Touma was his type. Shoulder-length dark hair, average height and slender. Touma also held his hair back— but the more Kakashi thought about it, it was probably a requirement for work—, pinning his bangs out of eyes, hair placed in a low, short ponytail. Walnut brown hair, pale skin and deep brown eyes. Touma wasn’t too extraordinary but God, he was attractive.

As he stared, Touma looked familiar. It most definitely wasn’t from him being a regular; Kakashi never paid much attention to the workers. The long locks of brown hair, the deep brown eyes, the pale skin. The same height too. As his eyes lingered on Touma, the barista shifted from himself to another Jounin. Genma.

Touma was a near-perfect doppelganger of Genma.

The three drinks were pushed onto the counter in front of him. He snapped out of his daze and gripped the edge of the cardboard cup tray. As he picked it up, Touma spoke up: “Hey, uh, you’re a shinobi, right?”

“Huh? Yeah, I am,” he answered. “Oh good, I could tell by your headband,” Touma explained. He scratched the back of his neck and chuckled a bit. “If you’re free, come by on Sunday. We do this thing called ‘Shinobi Sunday’ every month. Shinobi of the Leaf get discounts on their orders.”

Kakashi raised his brows in surprise; it must’ve been something new. He nodded and cleared his throat. “Yeah… I’ll see if I’m free.” Not sure how to continue the conversation, or if he even should, Kakashi nodded his head goodbye and slipped away from the counter, letting Touma return to his work.

As he returned to his table, the first thing he noticed was Rin staring intently at him, head resting between her hands. He sighed, preparing for Rin’s antics, and slid the tray onto the table as he sat down.

Rin grabbed her iced coffee and pulled her straw out of its paper wrapping. She grinned as she stabbed her straw into the lid. “Soooo~...?” she sang, giggling to herself. “Did you get his number?”

“I’m– I’m sorry?”

“Did you get that guy’s number?” she repeated. She sipped on her iced coffee and leaned on the table. She had watched the entire interaction but she lacked the audio. “He seemed into you, y’know,” she whispered, as if Obito couldn’t hear. “You should totally ask him out.”

Kakashi’s entire face turned a deep shade of red, face practically steaming, body melting away in embarrassment. “I—! N-no, I couldn’t… He’s just an employee, he’s just doing his job,” he excused, waving off Rin’s pushing. He took a glance over to Touma as he grabbed his espresso. He turned his head down and stared into his cup before prying off his mask to take a sip. “Besides, we hardly know each other. It’d be awkward, right?”

Rin, used to Kakashi’s dismissals, only sighed and slumped her shoulders, sinking back into her seat, sipping on her iced coffee. This was a regular affair between the two, ever since the two were in their teens. Of course, back then, Rin had assumed Kakashi was straight and constantly tried to set him up with any girl who indicated the slightest interest in the son of the White Fang. She had apologized a million times over when he had revealed he was actually gay when the three of them were 17. But that hardly stopped her from her self-promoted role of ‘matchmaker’.

One advantage of being so close with Kakashi was the fact Rin understood his mannerisms. It took her a couple of years but she could tell who and what he was attracted to— probably quicker than he would. But alas, no matter how hard she pushed, Kakashi would retreat back into his shell of solitude. It was a back-and-forth between the two and Kakashi always remained the victor each and every single time.

Defeated, Rin sipped on her iced coffee, ready to change the topic, perhaps about her or Kakashi’s team— oh, how she wondered how Kakashi’s students were doing. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen them. As she finished off her few sips, she opened her mouth to direct the conversation elsewhere, but Obito had other plans.

“You should ask him out,” Obito insisted.

Kakashi jerked forward as his drink got stuck in his throat from pure shock. He coughed and hid his face in his arm as he slowly recovered. “I’m sorry?”

“Come on, Kakashi. You can’t honestly expect love to just fall into your arms, do you?”

“Well no but—”

Obito leaned forward onto the table. “Then go ask him out. You find him attractive, he probably finds you attractive— half of this damn village does, so take the risk, Kakashi.”

Rin huffed and smacked Obito in the arm. “Come on, Obito, he already said he won’t.”

“Well, he never tries. He should just this once,” Obito insisted. “He’s missed out on so many opportunities already.”

“Obito!” Rin badgered.

Kakashi sighed and finished off his drink with large gulps. He tugged his mask back up his face and over his nose. He raised his hand, butting into the argument. “Rin, it’s fine,” he assured as he spoke up. “Obito’s right.”

Rin turned her head. “What? So you’ll ask the barista out?”

He shook his head, “I never said that. I just said Obito’s right in me never trying.”

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. His cheeks tinted a shade of red. “I guess I’m trying to… not miss an opportunity this time,” he admitted sheepishly to his teammates. “There’s someone, I suppose…”

That caught Rin’s attention. Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on the table. “Oh~?” she sang, “Who is it? How’d you two finally start things? Is he cute? I bet he’s cute.”

“Well, I-.. I wouldn’t want to share his personal information…”

“Oh come on, just a name Kakashi? Please?”

Obito took a few sips out of his drink as he watched Rin pester Kakashi for answers but he remained strong in holding back any information she pried for. His mind wandered for a moment before it snapped back to the extra shoes he had seen before. “Wait, is it the guy you—”

“Yes.” Kakashi was quick to butt in.

“Huh. You sure he’s who you want?”

The silver-haired shinobi nodded. He sighed with content and thought back to the brunette man who drove him utterly crazy. “... Yeah,” he affirmed as he thought of Genma.

“He’s who I want.”

“Bye Kakashi!” Rin called out one last time as she and Obito parted ways with him.

Kakashi smiled under his mask, waving goodbye to the other two Jounin. He ambled down the streets of Konoha, shuffling past the groups and gatherings that crowded the roads. His mind lingered back to the upcoming Chunin Exams as he passed by some excited Genin team rambling about it. He’d have to tell his own team about it soon. That, and he’d have to send a message to the Fifth assuring her the three were ready for their second Chunin Exam. He could go visit her personally as well, but Genma’s words from the day before advised him against it; she was probably busied to the bone.

“Kakashi-senpai.”

He recognized that tranquil and composed voice and he shifted around on his heels. A man with cedar brown hair landed on the dirt street before him. His face lit up when he saw the face of an old ANBU friend. “Ah, Tenzo,” he greeted, “It’s nice to finally see you once again. Been awhile.”

Tenzo had a gentle smile on his lips as he approached Kakashi. “It has,” he replied. “Since the disbandment of the ANBU, correct?” Kakashi nodded. Tenzo only nodded in response. “... So, why’d you stop by?” the silver-haired shinobi questioned. He cleared his throat before swiftly changing the subject. “Ah, right, I came to ask about the Chunin Exams on Lady Tsunade’s behalf.”

“Chunin Exams? For what?”

“Lady Tsunade has tasked me with gathering the confirmations of each team’s leader,” Tenzo explained. “And I’ve received confirmation from Team 3’s sensei. But I still need some confirmation from Team 8, Team 10 when they come back from their mission, and of course, your Team 7, Kakashi-senpai.”

He let out a sigh. “Official statement?”

Tenzo gave him a nod. “More or less.”

“Ah, I see…” Kakashi let out another sigh as his shoulders dropped. He straightened himself up and cleared his throat. “The Kakashi led team of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura… Under the name of Hatake Kakashi, I nominate the three for the Chunin Exams.” Same spiel as always, or maybe he got some words wrong. Nonetheless, same format but with different names.

It was enough for Tenzo apparently as he nodded. “Alright, that’s good…” he murmured. “I’d love to keep chatting, but I need to gather more confirmations.”

As Tenzo readied to disappear, Kakashi was quick to raise his hand to grab Tenzo’s attention. “Wait, Tenzo,” he called, “Just a quick question.”

“Yes?”

“Will you be around during the Chunin Exams?”

“Of course, why?”

Kakashi pursed his lips under his mask and his brows furrowed. “I have a feeling you’ll need to be there, Tenzo,” he asserted.

Tenzo didn’t need details; the look in Kakashi’s uncovered eye told him enough. “Understood… I’ll be sure to attend. I’ll let Lady Tsunade know,” he assured.

As he took a step to hop off, Tenzo stopped for a moment. “Oh yes, I nearly forgot…” he turned on his heel again to face Kakashi one last time. His hand shuffled around in his back pouch before he pulled out a scroll and tossed it to his superior. “New mission for Team Kakashi, assigned specifically from the Fifth herself.”

Kakashi caught the scroll and rotated it in his hand to eye down the seal. He sighed. No free time anymore.

With a grunt, Naruto collided with the ground, face digging into the ground as Kakashi swung him off his shoulders. And finally, that was it. Team 7 laid defeated before him. Sasuke laid stuck under a fallen tree, Sakura trembling on the dirt ground as she slowly tended to her wounds through medical ninjutsu, and Naruto had his face buried deep in the dirt, his shadow clones poofing away with clouds of smoke.

Kakashi sighed and lowered his guard finally. He frowned his brows as he thought back to the beginning days of their team. ‘I miss when a simple Genjutsu put all of them out of commission…’

His attention was brought to his blonde student behind him as the Genin groaned. Naruto growled and pushed himself up. “That’s it, Kakashi-sensei! Rematch! Right now!!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “That ain’t fair at all!”

“Now, now, maybe another time, Naruto,” Kakashi denied with a small chuckle. He shifted over to Sakura who was pushing herself up off the ground. “Think you can get Sasuke?”

“Yes, Kakashi-sensei,” she nodded as she scurried off to her teammate.

He swung his open hand out and caught Naruto’s forehead in his palm. “Naruto, I told you we’ll have a rematch another day.”

Sakura pried the tree log off of Sasuke and after some medical ninjutsu, got Sasuke on his feet. With the three Genin settled, Kakashi let out a deep sigh. He had two announcements to make. He pondered which to state first.

“Well… To start this off, we have a mission today,” he finally stated, “and then, the Chunin Exams are also around the corner. If I’m not mistaken, you should be given enough time to squeeze in some additional training by the time we return.”

“The Chunin Exams? You’ve referred us again?” Sakura butted in.

“I’ve nominated you, yes. But you must be the ones to sign up.”

He reached into his pouch, pulled out the Exams registration sheets and tossed them to the three. “Feel free to sign them when you’re gathering supplies for the mission. Have your parents drop them off at the Hokage’s residence,” he instructed.

“About our mission, Kakashi,” Sasuke spoke up, “What is it?”

“Ah, right, our mission…” Kakashi hummed, bringing his hand to his chin. “Well, Suna has requested aid from Konoha shinobi. Apparently, one of their own S-ranked criminals is running about, poisoning their shinobi. Not only are we to aid them in capturing Sasori of the Red Sand but we’ll also need to help them cure the poison.”

Kakashi brought his eyes to Sakura. “We’ll need you to assist with finding that cure as well as aiding our team against the fight with Sasori.” Sakura nodded in response.

This would be the team’s second time taking a mission outside the Land of Fire so it was evident that the three Genin were excited but nervous lingered behind their thrilled expressions. Their first time out of the Land of Fire was their time in the Land of Waves and with that as their only experience, it was understandable to Kakashi.

“I’ll let you go to properly gather what you need,” Kakashi waved off his students. “Please don’t be too late.”

The three Genin nodded and Sasuke was the first to scurry off, heading off in the direction of the Uchiha district. Sakura was next upon the completion of patching up her blonde boyfriend. As Naruto turned on his heels, Kakashi called out, “Naruto.”

“Eh? Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto turned to his teacher. “What is it?”

He took a deep breath. “Be careful, Naruto. Both in mission and the Chunin Exams. You can’t let your anger overwhelm you,” he insisted.

“Try as you might, you cannot deny that seal is cracking, Naruto.”

[fanfic-corner]

Under 10,000 Words Pt 2

I promised (quite a while ago) and I’m finally delivering... more fics between 2k and 10k words! Same as last time, they are organised by word count for your browsing pleasure.

Walk Through Fire For You by purple_charlie on AO3. (2,335 words).

Tags: John Winchester’s A+ Parenting, Angst, Pride, Marijuana Use, Polyamory, Gay Cas, Bisexual Dean, Bisexual Gabriel, Everyone is Queer.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Boyfriend. The word still feels foreign in Dean’s mouth, still brings back echoes of John Winchester’s thinly-veiled (if even that) homophobia. “Man up, don’t be a sissy, I didn’t raise a fairy”. It’s a swollen blister in the back of Dean’s mind, throbbing with pain whenever a stranger’s eyes linger too long on Cas’ hand in his, whenever a waitress double-takes at how close they sit in diner booths. But here, dirty dancing with Cas in a warehouse full of other queer folks, Dean wants to shout from the rooftops- I’m Dean Winchester, I drive the baddest car in town, I lift heavy things for a living, and this is my boyfriend.

Notes: This was so sweet it nearly made me start crying - Cas deserved to be told that he was loved!

Boneless Wings by PallasPerilous on AO3. (4,333 words).

Tags: Crack, Wingfic, Domestic Fluff, Canon Compliant, Angel Castiel, Suburbia.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: For those of you perving along at home, Dean could absolutely provide a list of the hundred or so ways that having a boyfriend with giant fucking actual wings is super hot and/or awesome. This is not that list.

Notes: The art is gorgeous and this is such a brilliant parody of so many wing fics out there, I loved it!

Stories Are Made Of Mistakes by wildhoneypie on AO3. (4,942 words).

Tags: Human Castiel, Diners, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Dean, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Slow Build, Case Fic, Domestic, Didn’t Know They Were Dating. My Rating: 4 stars. Description: In which Cas is human and doesn’t understand basic concepts like: clothing, Mythbusters, moisturizer, and Greek food. Dean is…Dean and doesn’t understand basic concepts like: boyfriends, language, how to tell your friend that he’s a walking miracle, and when not to quip. Notes: This was so cute and I live for human Cas. I also love the recurring ‘no fucking quipping’ joke in this, although the idea of Cas swearing broke me a bit!

The Cry of Elisha After Elijah by intothesilentland on AO3. (5,844 words).

Tags: Episode Fix-It: s15e20 Carry On, Post-Episode: s15e20 Carry On, First Kiss, Reunion, Canon Compliant, Heaven.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: The kicker is, Dean had been trying to live. Really live. And not bite out in anger at the fraying of his heart: Cas, gone, Jack, gone—all that was left was him and his brother, and Dean had been trying to live, in spite, in light of that. In a world like the unsteady first steps of a child, apprehensive arms and hands cradling the air around them, ready for a slip, excited for a step, Dean had been trying to walk forward, too. Though every step had meant every pain. Upon his death, and arrival in heaven, Dean sets out to find the angel. He has to tell him. Cas has to know.

Notes: That poem at the start was really moving in this context, and the dialogue was so weirdly in character that everything was so real. It was definitely written better than the actual ending.

My Own Little World by tale_to_tell on AO3. (6,858 words).

Tags: Hurt Dean, Protective Castiel, Meet-Cute, Fluff, Pining, Coffee Shops, Implied Domestic Violence, Abusive Alistair, Abusive Relationships, First Kiss, Human Castiel, Protective Sam Winchester, Dean Has Self-Worth Issues, POV Castiel, Love Confessions, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, Happy Ending.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Castiel stumbles into a local café in order to avoid the rain, and during the process he meets a very attractive barista by the name of Dean Winchester. It doesn’t take long for Castiel to fall in love with Dean’s wit and charm.Too bad that Dean has a boyfriend.

Notes: This was fairly sweet, and I was not expecting the Sabriel content (always read the tags, folks). Also, return of Alistair being an asshole! I would have forgot he existed if he didn’t keep popping up in these fics.

broken when I’m lonesome by SailorChibi on AO3. (7,015 words).

Tags: Asexual Castiel, Demisexual Dean, Panromantic Castiel, Biromantic Dean, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, Dean Has Self-Esteem Issues, Dean Has a Sexuality Crisis, Angst, Fluff, Touch-Starved, Comfort, Platonic Cuddling, Castiel is Not Oblivious, comments that could be taken as ace-phobic.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: After being saved from hell, Dean’s old methods of coping aren’t working anymore: he’s not sexually attracted to anyone, and he’s not interested in sex no matter how many times he climbs into bed with hot, naked women. Sam is convinced that his brother is just depressed, but Dean knows this goes deeper than that. He still craves the intimacy that can make him feel safe. Fortunately, Castiel is there to both understand and provide.

Notes: This fic really hit home. I’m not sure if it is because almost every person I have ever talked to has had some form of this conversation, but it was still cute.

Lost and Found by whelvenwings on AO3. (7,762 words).

Tags: Writer Castiel, Mechanic Dean, Demisexual Castiel.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: “Chuck Shurley? Sure, I’ve read his books. Kinda Vonnegut, but like, Kilgore-Trout Vonnegut, you know?” Dean took another gulp of his whisky, and smacked his lips like an adult. The guy sitting beside him at the bar, however, did not look suitably impressed. In fact, he was staring down into the bubbles of his cider, not even noticing the way that Dean was smiling at him, giving him the eyes. “I thought his stuff was pretty good, in a kinda metamodern way,” Dean added airily, and a little more loudly. The guy only nodded gloomily. Dean almost clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in frustration. C’mon, dude, I’m trying to impress you. Twenty minutes of talking and all Dean had to show for it was a weird first name, a series of dour stares and the strangest need to know more about this – Castiel.

Notes: This was written so well that I wanted to cry at Cas’ story of the stars, even though it wasn’t particularly sad. Now I want to go and stargaze with someone.

Say Yes by MaggieMaybe160 on AO3. (7,996 words).

Tags: Episode s5e4 The End, Established Relationship, Secret Relationship, Drug Use, Fluff and Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon Divergence, POV Alternating, Love Triangles, Idiots in Love, Wedding Rings, Chronic Pain.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Endverse!Dean's life is going pretty well with Endverse!Cas until Dean's past self shows up.A look at the episode "The End" from Season 5 from Endverse!Dean's point of view.

Notes: Quite cute, almost entirely canon compliant, and the ending gave me chills.

Carry On by Castielslostwings on AO3. (8,039 words).

Tags: Coda, Episode Fix-It: s15e20 Carry On, Heaven, Castiel Deserves Better, Love Confessions, First Kiss, First Time, Reunions, Explicit Sexual Content.

My Ratings: 5 stars.

Description: “I think I’ll go for a drive.” This is what happened between that moment, and Dean meeting Sam on that bridge.

Notes: This was written beautifully and was genuinely the ending that Dean and Cas deserved.

Unknown Quantities by xylodemon on AO3. (8,570 words).

Tags: Future Fic, Getting Together, Didn’t Know They Were Dating, Human Castiel, Bottom Dean, Angst and Humour, First Time.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: No one ever tells Dean anything.(or: Dean Winchester and the not-relationship crisis of 2014)

Notes: There’s more smut in this than I expected, but Dean is so oblivious that it is really funny.

Bing Crosby’s Pennies From Heaven by twentysomething on AO3. (9,613 words).

Tags: Castiel, Dean Winchester, Gabriel, Sam Winchester, Bobby Singer, Death.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Sam always asks inappropriate, poorly-timed questions, so what comes out of his mouth doesn’t exactly surprise himself. “Where were you?”

Notes: This was brilliant - the little gifts that Gabe left for Sam were adorable, and I burst out laughing at the image of trying to get Bobby’s wheelchair on top of a toilet.

So there we are! I hope you enjoy these slightly shorter fics, and hopefully there will be another load of fic recs for next week!

[fyrapartnersearch]

❀ Fandom Cravings ❀

About me: ✦ Feel free to call me MC. ✦ I’m over 21 and asking only those 21+ to contact me. ✦ Open to writing more smut based stories/smut with plot. ✦ Only looking to roleplay through Google Docs. ✦ I’m fairly open to playing with/against any sexuality or gender. (trans/nonbinary/genderfluid+ inclusive) ✦ My preference is typically m/f as my “main” pairing. (I hate calling it that but I genuinely have no clue how else to phrase it.) ✦ Primarily Canon x OC (open to OC x OC, could be convinced to do Canon x Canon) ✦ I have no problem doubling to suit my partner’s own cravings.

✦ Able to write anywhere from 1-10+ paragraphs.

✦ Hit me up with those AUs and clichés~! ♡ ♡ ♡ Extra: ✧ I expect my partner to put effort in detail, grammar and punctuation, ideally providing at least two paragraphs for me to work with. With that said I will always be a firm believer of quality over quantity. ✧ No one-liners, no first-person. I write in third-person.

✧ I must add that I need a flexible partner, meaning someone who doesn’t demand a response every single day. I’m sorry, if that’s what you’re looking for then it’s unlikely we’d be a good match. Sometimes I can post multiple times a day, sometimes it’s once a week. I try to let any and all partners know if I’m unable to reply after a week if you see nothing new from me. Just putting that out there so there’s no surprises. Adding on I do my best to be active in OOC chatter, typically through discord.

✧ OOC chatter greatly appreciated to the point I would even dare to say it's a "must", to an extent. Communication in general keeps interest alive and I genuinely value establishing a friendly relationship with all my RP partners. Makes a world of difference aiding the creative flow. ✧ Even if our roleplay is mostly story focused, I would consider it a “requirement” of sorts that any and all future partners has to be comfortable writing out “mature” content. Broad phrasing, I know, and I do sincerely mean that beyond just the obvious being NSFW scenes. ✧ Please do not contact me if you’re the type to “ghost”. I don’t have the energy to deal with flaky people. I’m a big kid; just be upfront if there’s a loss of interest or you simply feel we don’t vibe/our styles don’t mesh well. ✧ If you read my expectations of sorts, please title your message with the last song you listened to and your favorite color.  What I’m looking for:

Current fandoms I’m interested in -- Attack on Titan ; My Hero Academia ; Marvel. 

Attack on Titan: I primarily had watched the anime then finished the series reading the manga where it left off and yes, this is fairly crucial to me. Even if we heavily diverge from the story, I would prefer to write with someone familiar with what’s covered in the manga versus solely what’s been animated thus far. I'm looking for someone to play Levi as my OC's love interest. Overall I want to stay true to canon, to an extent. Though I'm not totally opposed to going original, it doesn't appeal to me much. As you may notice with my other fandom listings, A/B/O or Omegaverse, is my favored AU to use and one I am strongly craving at the moment. This includes a potential AOT roleplay. 

My Hero Academia: I'm caught up on the manga and would strongly prefer to write with someone similarly up to date with the series. At the moment these are the canons I'd like potentially matched against my OC by order of current favorites; Tomura Shigaraki, Kai Chisaki, and Shota Aizawa. 

For Shigaraki and Chisaki I'd want to include "yandere" like qualities, so please bear that in mind before contacting me. This is a very specific craving and a particular version I personally enjoy that differs from your traditional "yandere". Additionally I would love any excuse to go the A/B/O or Omegaverse AU route as well. Other than that, for the most part I would like to follow the canon plot, to an extent, taking into account OC(s) and potential AUs used of course. 

Marvel: I'm looking for someone to play Bucky opposite of my OC. I fell in love with Bucky's character all over again after recently binging FATWS. It should be noted that I have not read any of the comics, but there are some basic details I've come across over the years and would love to incorporate in an RP. One being to bring in Bucky's cat, Alpine. 

Should probably also mention I have no prior experience writing a Marvel related story. What I lack in experience I hope to make up for in enthusiasm! All I really ask is if I double for any partner(s), they will be patient with me in figuring out how to play their canon favorite. Moving on, there is a lot from the movies I do not like; I'll explain to any potential partners that reach out. 

It's safe to assume I'm heavily interested in an AU, or multiple AUs used, while still mostly staying true to canon. Some prime examples of AUs I favor -- A/B/O or Omegaverse and Soulmate AU. Even better if we can do both! I've written stories before doing so, they're an absolute blast. I'm also immensely interested in playing around with multiverse, as it is related to the OC I have in mind to write against Bucky. Do bear that in mind. Of course I'm plenty interested in hearing any ideas my potential RP partner(s) might have too! Please feel free to gush over your canon fav/your OC and anything in particular you might be craving at the moment for the Marvel verse. 

Though this post is primarily focused on Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia and Marvel I'm more than happy to write a different fandom for my partner(s) ; I'm all for equal play. Do feel free to reach out and request another fandom you might be craving at the moment in exchange for playing one of my requested canons for me. 

Note: Any characters involved romantically will all be 18+.

If interested you can reach me by email: wellsotheysay@gmail.com

[emmerrr]

@cowboyformitski asked: For a prompt inspired by you being wine drunk, what do you think about: Declan being wine drunk in front of Jordan?

@toast-the-unknowing asked: honestly I would love to see “wine drunk” as a jordeclan prompt!

i’m posting this again because something went screwy on the original post and i couldn’t fix it, but you can also find this fic on ao3 here :)

-

“A wine-tasting? Really?”

Declan looked up from his phone and allowed himself a smile as Jordan approached, shrugging off her fabulous coat and revealing a neon-green crop top and high-waisted black jeans. She was by far the brightest light in the room, but then again, Declan was yet to be in a room with her in which she didn’t outshine literally everybody else.

Least of all him in his white button-down and grey slacks.

“What’s wrong with a wine-tasting?” he said when she hoisted herself into the stool opposite his.

“Nothing at all,” Jordan shrugged. “I don’t know, I just figured you as more of a whiskey person.”

Declan could see why someone might make that assumption. Whiskey seemed like it was for boring old men, and Declan was very deliberately boring, and definitely old before his time. In practice, however, he wasn’t much of a drinker at all. Drinking too much was a slippery slope.

A wine-tasting seemed safe enough, though. Small quantities.

“I’m…trying new things,” he settled on at last.

Jordan nodded sagely. “As you should. Good for the soul and all that.”

“So I’ve heard.”

They grinned at each other, but then were interrupted by the event starting.

“Hi, everyone, I’m Mindy, thanks for coming,” said a smiling woman from the middle of the room, the tall tables where people were sitting spread around her. “I’ll pass out tasting notes for you in just a moment, and you’ll notice there’s a spittoon on each table. Please don’t be shy about using them! You can, of course, drink some of the wines, but we recommend you wait until nearer the end of the tasting before you start to do that, otherwise your tasting abilities will be hindered.”

Declan looked at the spittoon, horrified. “I have to spit in that?” he whispered, and Jordan burst out laughing, before swiftly managing to turn it into a throat-clearing when Mindy shot a look their way.

Mindy clapped her hands together. “Okay, first up we have a Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia!”

As soon as she finished saying it, a server with a tray full of glasses containing a small amount of red wine appeared and handed them all out. Mindy was quick to follow, dropping off tasting notes on each table.

Jordan looked at the wine, then at the notes, then at Declan. “What now?”

“I don’t know. They always smell it on the TV.”

Jordan picked up her glass and took a big whiff. “Hmm. Excellent. What a wonderful…uh, fruity…bouquet?”

Declan snorted and picked up his own glass. He gave the wine a swirl and then lifted it to his nose. “Aromas of campfire and manure. Just exquisite.”

“Yes. Exquisite. Quite,” Jordan agreed.

“Okay, I think we taste it now,” Declan said, looking around the room and making sure that’s what everyone else was doing. “I think you’re supposed to hold it on your tongue for a moment.”

Jordan held her glass up. “Cheers.”

Declan smiled and clinked his glass against hers. “Cheers.”

They knocked the wine back as one. Declan immediately, on instinct, swallowed it.

“Oh fuck,” he said when he realised, Jordan valiantly trying not to laugh as she still had a mouthful of wine. He quirked an eyebrow at her. “You getting…” he checked the tasting notes, “hints of black cherry? Full-bodied texture?” Jordan’s cheeks puffed out and Declan grinned. “Pairs excellently with red meats, this one.”

Jordan grabbed the spittoon and not-so elegantly spat the wine into it. She smiled sweetly at him, and his traitorous heart skipped a beat. “You don’t want to play this game with me, Declan Lynch.”

He shouldn’t really. It was childish, he knew. But there was a new lightness in his chest that he was starting to associate with being around Jordan, and it felt so good to laugh for real, without it costing him anything.

“Oh, Jordan,” he said. “I think I do.”

The evening devolved from there.

It was harder than Declan had anticipated not to drink the wine; it went against all his instincts to actually spit it out. And Jordan was very good at making him laugh, which meant that often he’d end up almost choking on the wine and being forced to swallow it anyway, as he was otherwise at risk of spitting red wine not into the spittoon, but all over the table.

He gradually felt his cheeks get rosier, his thoughts get hazier. He felt like he was talking and laughing too loud; words got harder to say, certain letters just out of his reach. He was distantly aware that they were drawing attention to themselves, but he couldn’t quite find it in him to care.

Jordan, although not quite at his level, had still drank far more of the wine than she was technically supposed to. They’d both slowly gravitated towards each other, arms leaning on the table, heads close together. Jordan had doodled a little Declan on the tasting notes. It was sketchy and rough, but still unimaginably good. In it, he was smiling, just like he was smiling now.

When Mindy came around with their last glass of wine, she asked them with forced politeness if they’d mind keeping it down.

Declan apologised profusely while Jordan pulled faces behind Mindy’s back. When Mindy walked off to the next table, he looked at Jordan sheepishly. “Think we’re making a scene.”

Jordan shrugged, unconcerned. “Well, they should be grateful we’re giving them something to look at. They’d all be having dull evenings without us. We’re basically providing a public service.” She cocked her head to the side and offered him a lazy half-smile that he found almost unbearably attractive. “I suppose you don’t make too many scenes, then?”

“No,” he said mournfully, but then brightened. “Oh! I did once.”

Jordan leaned imperceptibly closer. “Do tell.”

“I had a fight with my brother in the parking lot of a pizza place.” It wasn’t a good memory really, but the years had softened it somewhat.

“Did you win?”

“‘Uhhh…it was more of a mutual surrender.”

Jordan laughed, immediately bringing out a laugh of Declan’s own, and she patted his arm. “Finish your wine, mate, we’re leaving.”

He took a last swig and swiped the tasting notes with Jordan’s drawing off the table and into his pocket. Jordan threw her coat over one arm and tucked the other through Declan’s as they headed towards the door.

“Mindy, darling, it’s been wonderful,” Jordan called out, blowing a glaring Mindy air-kisses as Declan doubled over laughing and had to be half-dragged outside onto the street.

“We are absolutely gonna be banned from going back in there,” Declan said when he’d regained some of his composure. The night air felt nice and cool, and would probably do wonders for sobering him up.

“Ah well, it’s nice to be banned from doing something myself for a change.”

Declan paused, trying to assess her tone. She didn’t look particularly upset, but her words betrayed just a hint of bitterness. Everyone had stuff that they had to just carry around.

He stood before her, and cupped her face in his hands as gently as he knew how to. “You,” he said, “are one of a kind.”

She rolled her eyes, but she smiled too, and brought a hand of her own up to rest on Declan’s wrist. “That’s me,” she said.

They stayed that way for a mere moment more, but then Jordan nodded, and together they set off down the street. She pulled Declan’s arm around her shoulders and kept hold of his hand, wrapping her free arm around his waist.

They swayed together, both helping each other keep upright whilst somehow simultaneously hindering each other’s movements.

It was okay. It was nice just to be touching, even if it took them longer to get anywhere.

“Where to now?” Jordan asked.

“Food. I’m starving.”

“What do you fancy?”

“You,” Declan said, then laughed. “I dunno. Something greasy that I’ll regret in the morning.”

“Best stock up on antacids,” Jordan quipped.

“Hey,” Declan complained, but grinned, because he felt known.

She squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. “So. The wine-tasting. Did you have a favourite?”

“Honestly?” He leaned close to her ear like he was telling her a secret, and whispered with drunken exaggeration, “They all kinda tasted the same to me.”

“Oh thank fuck for that, I thought it was just me. They all just tasted like…wine.”

Declan nodded. “The winiest.”

“That’s not a word.”

“Is too, I just said it. Anyway, I swiped the tasting notes so we can still sound like connoisseurs if anyone asks.”

“You kept the notes?”

“Of course I did, you drew an original on this. It’ll be worth a fortune.”

Jordan laughed lightly. “Well,” she said, and rested her head against his shoulder. “One day, maybe.”

They walked further along in companionable silence for a while. Declan tried to parse out how he was feeling, and realised that he was just content to be in the company of someone who didn’t expect anything from him.

“Declan?”

“Jordan.”

“Next time, I get to choose the date.”

Declan smiled. “Deal.”