#tbh red might not even use soap

[summerbummin]

Blue: has a 12 step skincare routine

Red: washes his face with dish soap

[floodthewatergates]

DON’T SUMMON THE SCHOENHEIT AT 3AM [I ALMOST DIED 😱😱]

(Cater & Trey)

a/n: hi guys! this is my second fic for the twisted wonderland gotcha for gaza run by @twstaction ! check them out if you’re interested! this fic is a gift for @convenientcalhoun :D

this features cater (mostly) and trey! their relationship isn’t specified so feel free to interpret as u wish :) characters might be a bit ooc,, it’s my first time writing for them, but hope it’s not too bad! enjoy!

summary: cater tries to summon a ghost for his magicam. the outcome is much different than whatever he expected.

word count: 1.4k words

——

Lighting? Check. Camera angle? Yep! Engaging and spooky atmosphere? Affirmative!

“Looks like everything’s in order,” Cater mumbled to himself, giving one last glance at all the items on the table before setting the timer to get the camera rolling.

3… 2… 1…

“Hey guys! Welcome to another video from your’s truly,” Cater made jazz hands, dramatically leaning towards the camera! “Cay-cay!”

The camera looked back at him, the red light being the only thing he focused on.

“Today, we are going to be doing a little challenge… We are going to summon a ghost!” He gasped, as if shocked by his own words. “And not just any ghost, but the Schoenheit! Now, I know what you’re thinking. Vil is alive so how can you summon a ghost that’s not even dead. And well, you’re correct! We aren’t actually going to summon Vil, but actually…” Cater whispered, cupping a hand beside his mouth. It was quiet, but loud enough for the camera to pick up his voice. “After a bit of research, there was once a fan that loved Vil so much that he tried to become him. Literally. Spooky right? It’s not all that PG, so I won’t go into detail for my younger audience, but well, an unfortunate accident happened, and you get the rest, right?”

“Anywaysss, there’s a rumor that if you summon him at 3am, something scary would happen! But I’m a mage at Night Raven College and I’m sure I can handle it. I’m doing this so you guys don’t have to! Don’t try this at home!” Cater winked at the camera, innocently. He gestured towards the items on the desk. A photograph of Vil and some dowel rods, along with a few more nonsensical things, like dish soap, gum, and… Cater wasn’t really sure what it all was either, but that’s what the website said! “First, we have to use the gum to stick the photo to two of the polaroids, then…”

Cater continued explaining the steps as he did them. The result was a rather strange… craft of sorts. He had absolutely no idea how to describe whatever he was looking at. He was confident a pre-schooler could create something more creative than this! “Last thing we need to do is cover the dish soap with it and blow on it! A bit of a weird step, TBH. Hopefully, this works or I would’ve done this all for nothing!” Cater chuckled, mostly to himself as he twirled a strand of his hair around his finger. He waited a couple seconds at the creation, before he spoke up again. “Um, so nothing is happen–”

“Cater?” A sudden, deep voice cut from behind him, Cater’s bedroom door opening with a loud squeak.

“GAHHHH!” Cater screamed, nearly jumping out of his skin. If he flinched harder, he was convinced he would have literally had a heart attack!

Trey froze. Cater, after trying to recover from his scare a second before, blinked.

Then, Trey grinned, amused and smug, while Cater averted his gaze.

“Trey..! What are you doing here? I’m.. uh, kinda in the middle of something.” Cater mumbled, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

“Yeah, looks like it.” Trey scanned over the room before his gaze landed on the weird looking object on Cater’s table. He raised a brow but didn’t say anything. “I heard a bit of noise. I wanted to make sure everything was fine.”

Cater was sure he wasn’t being that loud, and he thought back. When explaining the steps, he supposed he did accidentally drop a textbook he had forgotten to take off his desk. He didn’t think much of it, but Trey’s room was next to his, so he guessed it made sense he heard. “Everything’s all good!” He gave Trey a thumbs up.

Trey looked at him for another moment, giving him a once-over in case Cater had hurt himself, and was hiding it or something.

A second later and Cater remembered that the camera was still rolling. Well, he could edit this all out. He looked back at the camera, then at the object on the table. As expected, nothing had happened so he would likely have to edit some sort of.. supernatural phenomenon occurring. Ugh, editing is going to be a pain— Cater’s thoughts paused as an idea suddenly found its way into his mind. He glanced at Trey, who started his leave towards the door.

“Wait!” Cater called out and Trey stopped, turning towards him.

“Need something?”

“Yes, actually!” Cater said, before explaining his idea.

——

“No one is going to fall for this,” Trey muttered, a white sheet over his body, holes cut out in the eyes so he could see.

“So what? If it’s not realistic, be funny!” Cater told him. “As long as it’s not boring, then this video is sure to be a hit!”

Trey groaned, putting his palm to his face, though he didn’t look particularly angry. “The things I do for you…”

“Thanks, Trey-Trey!” Cater went back to the camera, which he had paused so he wouldn’t have to cut out so much of the video. Putting on the timer, he positioned himself in the center of the camera’s view.

“Sorry about that, guys!” He exclaimed when the red light turned on, indicating it was recording. “My camera was cut out! Weird, it never does that..” He added, intending to make it sound like the camera cutting out was part of it. It was a much easier alternative than explaining why he was suddenly in two different spots within a second.

“Let’s try it again! For realsies, this time!” He put dish soap on the object again, blowing on it. He looked at it, waiting. “Nothing’s happening again.”

Just after he said that, the light’s flickered off several times until they were completely shut off, leaving Cater and the room in total darkness. Cater bit his lip. “The lights…? Guys, this is getting kinda freaky!”

He walked over to the light switch, pretending to flick it on. “The lights aren’t turning on! What do I— wait! I know!” He dug out a flashlight from underneath his bed, turning it on from underneath his face, making it appear creepy. “This is better, right?”

He went back to the table, flashing the light on it and gasped in shock, seeing the creation he had made earlier had disappeared. “T-the.. it’s gone! I could’ve sworn I left it here!”

He looked at the camera again, worry written on his features. “This is getting a bit too much for me. Is someone pranking me right now? ‘Cuz this is so NOT COOL,” He said, freezing when he heard a faint voice.

“….sho…heit…”

“Huh? Did you guys hear that? I’m not tripping or anything right?” Cater said, examining the room with his flashlight. “Wait, I think I see something.” He walked closer to the side of his room, this time grabbing the camera for a closer look.

“I AM VIL SCHOENHEIT, RIGHT?” A deep, raspy, and rather unnatural voice yelled out, suddenly, as a white sheet came towards him.

“AHHH!” Cater screeched, before running out the room into a nearby bathroom. He turned the camera towards him. “What was that? That was definitely not normal. I think I’m going to have to camp out here tonight. I’ll keep you guys updated if I’m.. alive tomorrow!” Cater had to resist the urge to laugh at himself. “Bye guys! Don’t forget to like and subscribe! Pray for Cay-Cay! ”

He cut off the camera, letting out a sigh of relief. This had to be one of his longest videos yet. He walked out the bathroom, feeling exhausted and ready to dive into bed so he could sleep for the next ten years.

When he walked back into his room, Trey was already there. The object was back on the table, the lights were on, and there was no cloth on his face anymore.

“Good enough?” Trey asked, seeing Cater enter and send him a thumbs up.

“Yep! I’ll have to prepare a part two, though. You good with that?”

Trey blinked slowly. “Fine..”

“Thanks! Appreciated! This will definitely get me a lot of subscribers!” Cater exclaimed, leaning back into the bed. After a few seconds, he patted next to him. Trey knew what that meant, and half a second later, Trey was lying down next to him.

Cater resisted a giggle and shut his eyes. Logically, he should probably be cleaning the mess he made, but he was way too tired! He’ll just do it in the morning, he thought to himself, as he succumbed to his exhaustion.

[scaratrina]

I'M SORRY IF THIS IS TOO MUCH but please have these!!

🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER /💤 SLEEPING SIGN / 🚫 PROHIBITED /🍃 LEAVES FLUTTERING IN WIND /❤️ RED HEART /���� SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES /😓 DOWNCAST FACE WITH SWEAT

OMG IT'S NOT TOO MUCH!!!!!!!!! thank you!!! anyway i'm gonna start yapping

🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your oc's favorite hobbies?

She cuts up fashion magazines and tapes the clippings to the inside of her closet door, calling it her “vision board.” Officially, it's for building her “aesthetic archive,” but in reality, it’s mostly an excuse to justify the chaotic outfit choices she puts together. They’re definitely questionable, and while she might suspect it, she won’t appreciate you saying it out loud.

As a kid, she used to host elaborate soap operas starring her dolls, which, to be clear, were mostly a mildly cursed collection of thrift store finds her mother gave her, plus one slightly tragic rabbit plushie. When she said two dolls were going to “get married,” what she actually meant was that they’d hold a two-minute wedding before launching into a plot involving betrayal, poisoning, political scheming, and at least one purposeful limb loss. She could recreate five seasons of Succession using Barbies and a shoebox, it's equal parts impressive and deeply unsettling.

She also enjoys calligraphy. She even bought a fancy pen for it and made a Pinterest board titled “calligraphy vibes.” Unfortunately, she never actually has time to practice.

💤 SLEEPING SIGN — is your oc a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper? how are their sleeping habits?

She’s a light sleeper. There’s a line from dog’s dinner that captures the reason behind it: “Momo doesn’t sleep around people because sleep is a surrender, and surrender is how you die. Those voices, soft in the daylight, can twist in the dark. She remembers the sound of breaking glass like a lullaby, the weight of a body too close, the breath of something that should have been safe but wasn’t.” And while "Momo's" internal voice often leans toward the theatrical, this part is entirely sincere. Yekaterina’s fear has no embellishment, and it resurfaces even in Momo. Her early childhood in Japan was quiet and sheltered, spent mostly at her mama's side. But as she grew older, that sense of safety began to erode. By the time she entered adolescence, she had already experienced violations no child should ever face, particularly from men who recognized her vulnerability and chose to exploit it.

Her sleep schedule today reflects that history. She keeps to eight hours a day, technically, but they usually fall between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.. Because she works night shifts, she often misses daylight entirely during the winter months. There are no bedtime rituals, no tea, no calming routines, no medication.

🚫 PROHIBITED — does your oc drink/smoke? do they do it regularly, or is it more on occasion or for special events?

She’s been smoking since she was 13, snatching Irina’s cigarettes during that period when Irina was way too busy to keep tabs on her child, like genuinely too stressed to notice anything besides the next deadline and her own nicotine withdrawals. Irina was going through two packs a day, so when half a dozen cigarettes mysteriously vanished, she just assumed she had a rough day and chain-smoked through it.

Now Yekaterina has the classic morning ritual of coffee and a cigarette, the smoking breaks, time outs, all the rituals that smoking pretends to bring. She drinks on her job tbh and sometimes she just drinks herself to sleep. (why heal your inner self when you can do that hm)

🍃 LEAVES FLUTTERING IN WIND — what is/was your oc's favorite subject in school?

I'm gonna yap btw, because I overanalysed the Japanese system school for this fic (mostly because I went through a whole different system and I need to know what the fuck I'm talking about haha) In school, Yekaterina’s favorite subject was Ethics-Civics, which is a legit part of the national curriculum, especially in elementary but sometimes during high school too. The subject focuses on teaching values like empathy, respect, responsibility, and the concept of kokoro (like heart/spirit), as well as how to function harmoniously in society. Yekaterina, being an outsider in a very rule-following culture, started off side-eyeing this class like it was propaganda, but then she realized it wasn’t about being good in the obedient sense, it was about asking the big questions: Why do people lie? What does fairness actually mean? What’s the right thing to do when nobody’s watching? She aced at it because she was fascinated by the human condition (still is) She also liked Modern Literature in uni because she wanted to understand the country that shaped her and ignored her. Literature gave her an honest mirror.

❤️ RED HEART — what are three of your oc's positive traits?

Unshakable loyalty (but like, in her own cryptic way), which is the part of her I want to hover on in 'voodoo dolly', because her POV is extremely unreliable and Yekaterina doesn't really see it that way, but people around her might perceive it.

She has endured immense hardship in pursuit of a better life, so this woman is resilient. Despite the morally murky choices she’s made, she keeps pushing forward, adapting quickly to the shifting power dynamics around her.

Her adaptability is scary tbh, she can think on her feet, change tactics, and slip into any role, but she has no fixed self. That kind of mutability is the evolution that helped her survive the Borderlands.

😊 SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES — what are your oc's career/general life desires? what do they want to get the most out of life?

Her whole plan was to work in international relations or something like that, embassies, translation for high-level diplomacy. A good job, serious enough to make her mama proud, but Japan’s job market is brutal for foreigners, especially women (in MY Japan that I personally searched on the internet, I can't really know how things work there fr) After a while, trying different odd jobs y'know, she just needed more money because she was taught that mantra MORE, MORE, MORE, MORE YOU NEED MORE, YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY ENJOY BEING A CASHIER, A BARISTA, A SHOE SELLER IN A MALL??? and the last resort she took to fulfill that is all in my fic haha :(

She really wants to belong to no one and move without being questioned, just freedom of motion and identity.

😓 DOWNCAST FACE WITH SWEAT — is your oc open-minded or stubborn? are they inquisitive or do they prefer to keep to their bubble of knowledge?

She’s not open-minded, she just makes it look like she is. She'll entertain any idea if it helps her survive, but the moment something threatens her worldview, byeeeeeeeee. She’s inquisitive, yes, but selectively so. She doesn’t need to know everything, only what gives her leverage.

[tojiscrack]

'i love seeing you in my inbox, it’s soo 😋💞'

omg when's our wedding?? i am down for dual citizenship

'DON’T KNOCK IT TILL YOU TRY IT 😭'

I HAVE TRIED IT... I HAD IT IN LONDON QUEEN....

'one thing about white english ppl is that their full english breakfast is so good'

ummmmmm..... shore..... desi breakfast on top but whatever u say queen

'omg no 😟 we’re the same age 😋 i turned 18 in october'

omg i'm a month older than u... how scandalous LMAO

'just do it on ur own atp'

i might as well tbh

'‘cause i’m gonna have to mention their major exams at several points in the story 😭 just expect a note at the top going ‘yeah i’m still so lost with the US grading system, don’t expect accuracy, enjoy!’'

GIRL LITERALLY JUST HMU! I AM A RED WHITE AND BLUE AMERICAN I GOTCHUUUUUU ANY QUESTIONS U HAVE LITERALLY JUST ASK ME

'literally same. i’ve seen so many ppl say it tastes like soap and i’m just so lost?'

LOWK I THINK THATS BC PPL HAVE THE CILANTRO SOAP GENE....

i have that gene too but i dont get it w that buldak bc mine is lowk mild asf

'but unpopular opinion, i don’t really like shin ramen'

...how could u betray me like this...

i just had some like an hour ago (mixed in an egg yolk and everything)

'and i didn’t like the ending 😐'

LMFAO IT GETS WORSE

look at this text he sent me

flirty asf? while he has a gf? sus vibes

btw context was that he sent me a emo ass reel ab jjk and i said that

i'm gonna kill him in his sleep (for legal reasons this is a joke)

now when you ask me why i still text him, i will say, i do not have an answer.

we don't like text text tho

we just like send each other reels and react bc i'm one of the few jjk liking friends he has

oh also, the other day, he referenced how he used to drive me everywhere when we were talking and i almost punched myself in the throat

bc i stopped asking him to drive me places literally like the day i found out he was still talking to his ex gf

WAIT LET ME GIVE U THIS STORYTIME BC I'M 80% SURE I DIDNT TELL U IT YET

so basically, it was one of those days that he was driving me around (to get drinks) and my friends insisted on coming with (he was only lightly annoyed). one of them is a guy so he sat in the front w my ex situationship (lets call him shitbag) and me and my other friend were sitting in the back.

and shitbag gives me his phone so i can do aux bc he promised to listen to this song i had been talking ab the night before. and when he gives me his phone and i'm stalking his private playlists, i see that shitbag has spotify blends w his ex gf. but generally, he had like 3 playlists total (ONE OF THOSE DAMN PLAYLISTS IS JUST SONGS I TOLD HIM TO PUT ON IT), so i wasn't sure how old this blend was. but then as i'm typing in the song name, he gets two texts from his ex gf literally saying where she was at that exact moment.

and then i just play the song and give him his phone back in like relative silence for the rest of the car ride, just talking to my friends.

also, something i should mention, shitbag has liked me FOR YEARS. like in between getting back w his ex (all three times), he has liked me. (we also 'dated' in 6th grade LMFAOOOOOO) even when we werent as close of friends as we were during our situationship. i even accidentally went on a date with him last year. (i asked him to get me a drink while he was going out for lunch and he told me to just come with him and he ended up paying for my drink (it was like 8 bucks) and not even getting something for himself and insisted on trying it so we indirectly kissed).

i have a lot to say about this situation lowk

'okay, so listen carefully, ‘cause us girls as a community can not, will not, and will NEVER lose another girly to the ugly m*le gender again… doesn’t matter how well he treated you in that moment, if he spoke to his ex during ur situationship, he never treated you well. he was treating himself instead 🤨 and i mean that in the nicest way possible!'

unfortunately you may be right (but i unfortunately love red flags and job security and he's commited to one of the best schools in the country 💔)

'YOU DODGED A BULLET THO 😭 LIKE THIS SHOWED YOU HIS TRUE COLOURS, LIKE IF THAT’S HOW HE BEHAVES IN ANY SCENARIO, HE’S NOT WORTH ANY GIRL’S (WITH SELF RESPECT) TIME 😟'

LMAO U RIGHT U RIGHT

'leave him it in 2024 😋'

I'M TRYINGGGGGGG

'i mean i entered tt and saw everyone going back to the 2020 anime pfps and ofc i had to join innnn 😫'

STOP OMG I SAW THAT TOOOOOOOO! i want to join in but my main tiktok is followed by too many irls for me to do it...

'i’m feeling homesick for 2020, and any time i check the date and it says we’re FIVE years past that, i wanna throw up 🤧'

STOP SAME. I WAS AT MY HAPPIEST THEN LMAO

'and that is literally NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL. in fact, i encourage it, and i look forward to it 😇🫶🏽'

lets kiss pls

'I’VE ALSO SEEN SO MANY TUMBLR USERS EXPLAINING THEIR USERS THE SAME WAY YOU DID HAHAA'

LMFAOOO ITS A VERY COMMON WAY TO FIND A USERNAME! also. question for u, ml. when ur username says 'tojiscrack' do u mean like toji being funny, toji's c0c@ine, or toji's asscrack. this is a very important question that needs to be answered.

'today i got a late christmas present from my friend’s mum (fuzzy socks and a set of makeup brushes)'

AWWW YAY! i love fuzzy socks lowk.

'sorry this was responded to quite late seoups!'

POOKIE DON'T WORRRRYYY

also call me kay pookie bear

also i love going to the library it's so fun

ALSO SITUATIONSHIPS ARE TERRIBLE I DONT RECCOMEND THEM AT ALL. HOLY SHIT.

BYE POOKIE BEAR

wait while i was ending this, he texted me again (i responded to him saying 'as if' and then he said 'give me the deets and ill be there' and then i said 'not after this')

see now the context for THIS was that i invited him and like 4 other guys to my bday party, 2/4 said they couldn't go. one guy from my hr said he could and so did my neighbor and and then shitbag couldn't go because he was taking his ACT like 8 hours away LMAO

okay actually bye this time

‘omg when's our wedding?? i am down for dual citizenship’ — 😳‼️

the amount of ppl that have demanded i marry them on here 😋 i’m hot commodity clearly *debby ryan face*

LMAO I’M JK, ily all <33

‘I HAVE TRIED IT... I HAD IT IN LONDON QUEEN....’ — it’s good tho, right? like you seem sceptical but it’s not BAD 😫

‘ummmmmm..... shore..... desi breakfast on top but whatever u say queen’ — i’ve never tried a desi breakfast ☹️ but i don’t doubt that it tastes great! it looks really good too 👀

‘omg im a month older than u’ — ssshh 🤫 no one needs to know about that

‘ANY QUESTIONS U HAVE LITERALLY JUST ASK ME’ — DON’T BE SURPRISED WHEN I SLIDE INTO UR DMS INTERROGATING YOU ABOUT THE AMERICAN GRADING SYSTEM 😫🫶🏽

also when i had shin ramen, i made it the same way you did but with kewpie mayo and it was soupie and not thick like buldak, but i just don’t think shin ramen is for me 😭 not hating tho! i’ll stick to buldak 🥴

also that text is annoying me, sorry :/

“sHuT uP yOu KnOw I aM” — ok but we also know that kay comes into my inbox every other day to chat shit about you 🌝

sorry i’m growing a real sense of disgust for this thing, send it back to jupiter pls 😐

‘now when you ask me why i still text him, i will say, i do not have an answer’ — HAHA I WAS GONNA ASK 😭

me personally, i think you should cut him off completely 😬 block button is free + he has a gf so i think just out of respect for that (even if he himself doesn’t respect that) you should do ur part by untangling urself from any of that 🫡

‘WAIT LET ME GIVE U THIS STORYTIME BC I'M 80% SURE I DIDNT TELL U IT YET’ — MHM GO AHEAD

shitbag is a good name, shitbag 👽!!!

‘but then as i'm typing in the song name, he gets two texts from his ex gf literally saying where she was at that exact moment’ — hm 🌝

idk if you’re intending to make me dislike him, but i really don’t like him. like, at all. HOW IS HE EVEN PULLING YOU AND THAT OTHER GIRL?? 😭

‘and then i just play the song and give him his phone back in like relative silence for the rest of the car ride, just talking to my friends’ — this tells me enough. BLOCK BLOCK BLOCKKKK, start ur life anew (without him) and let him wonder how his life would’ve been sm better with you in it if he had treated you right and been a better person 😋

‘shitbag has liked me FOR YEARS’ — that’s more of a reason to leave him behind 😭 like if this is how you behave with a girl you like, i’d hate to see how you’d behave with a girl you DON’T like 💀

‘unfortunately you may be right’ — i’m always right. my girls irl have the best lives AFTER their situationships ‘cause of me (and i’ve never had to deal with any of that bs HAHA 😭). i sound cocky about it, and that’s ‘cause i absolutely am LOOOL

‘but i unfortunately love red flags and job security and he's commited to one of the best schools in the country 💔’ — 1. unfortunately there’s nothing u can do if u like red flags, however, you should never rely on a man for his money, being financially dependent is a necessity. 2. HE HAS A GF 😭 that’s enough reason for you to walk the other way and not look back

‘STOP OMG I SAW THAT TO0000000! i want to join in but my main tiktok is followed by too many irls for me to do it..’ — and what about it? 😟 the world won’t end ‘cause you chose to change ur pfp. everyone’s too busy caring about themselves to do anything about it :)

‘let’s kiss pls’ — not until you wipe ur mouth from that indirect kiss from that THING you call a man 😐

‘do u mean like toji being funny, toji's cOc@ine, or toji's asscrack. this is a very important question that needs to be answered’ — omg the bum crack ofc. i’ve never vaped, smoked, done drugs, drank, etc (and i don’t plan on it) so like, yeah, never tojis c0c@ine. tojis bumcrack ‘cause i find that hilarious HAHAHA 😭😭

‘also call me kay pookie bear’ — an anon made fun of me for calling everyone by their users but i had to make it clear that ppl have to specifically TELL me to use their actual names otherwise i just won’t 💀 hellooo kay :) (that’s a cute name aww)

‘ALSO SITUATIONSHIPS ARE TERRIBLE I DONT RECOMMEND THEM AT ALL’ — noted 😟

‘wait while i was ending this he texted me again’ — 😐

i was smiling at the ‘bye pookie bear’ ‘cause we’re exchanging cute nicknames but then he’s come back to ruin it :/

DO NOT INVITE HIM TO UR PARTY 🌝

k ily bye <333

[cdsillylilyposting]

Fuckin

Whatever

I'm can't find anything funny in Lily's recent crap that I haven't already said cause it's all repeating shit, complaining at people who've asked her stuff (someone of which i think are people trying to get a rise outta her, stop that if you are)

I wanna ask, anyone if they play table to gamss because I've been playing TTRPGS for a while and just kinda wanted to be unfocused ranting

I've played a Lotta stuff

5e

3.5

3.0

Advanced Dungeon & Dragons (An old player let us borrow his books, really cool)

Pathfinder

Starfinder

Mutants and Masterminds

Call of Cuthulu

City of Mist

Cyberpunk Red

Cyberpunk 2020

I really like d&d tbh and played with multiple different groups of people I'd consider friends

The other games are also fun though with less exposure i will admit i bounced off city of mist the most, I DO really badly want to play a WoD game: Vampire or Hunter

Mutants and Masterminds has a mechanic a lot LIKE insperation from 5e but more integral not an optional rule; the best part is since it's ya know a comic/superhero setting with those tropes a villain might just ESCAPE

Now the book says don't over use this DUH but even then the idea might be annoying BUUUUT if you do something like that they get a heroic inspiration (as i recall called a hero point) since some comic book silliness happened if done well it can have fun villian team ups occur UH OH THE SHOCKER & SANDMAN ARE HERE... AND WORKING TOGETHER!!!

Fun stuff there are rules for tech and how powers interact for adjudication as well as simple sample villains and giant monsters to fight, it being roughly settable in a modern setting with no baggage about it being a mystery like Call does take some getting used to oddly enough but it is weirdly fun having comic shinenigans but it's your oc do not steal with fun rules and drama you can help construct as a group after all superhero comics (most of the good ones) are either soap operas or have fascinating themes and outlooks

Gimme that crunchy combat of Pathfinder or 3.5 and I will be happy, making properly strange monsters with properly fun crunchy combat

I think 3, 3.5, path & star is crunchy while 5e is punchy

3.5 is well i uh, set up... hmmm, ah I tumble to get passed the monsters reach without an attack of opportunity I only get one attack on my turn but haste is up with meta magic swift action bulls strength so take two attacks with my modified strength so I can make a full attack next turn and immediate action close wounds (no idea what class this person is lol)

5e can go, I step up within 5 feet attack attack the creature using my feat I disarming attack for one of my 3 attacks one with haste, and second wind as a bonus action. On their turn when they try to disengage i have Sentinel so with a reaction i can attack and stop them but with warcaster ill use shocking grasp getting advantage on the roll since he has metal armor and now they are stuck in the space

Both can be equally complex if you maximize your see but

3.5 has a lot more small modifiers conditions and situations that just aren't built into 5e a lot of fiddly bits flat footed fod example but in exchange you get not a million classes and instead focuses on a core and let's subclass and build off that

[martianbugsbunny]

You know what was not fun? Suddenly out of nowhere developing eczema when I was in my mid teens.

1, it gets bad every time the season changes—every summer I'm like no yeah it gets really gnarly when it gets all hot and humid and every winter I'm like no yeah it gets really gnarly when it gets all cold and dry.

2, I'm horrible at the not-scratching thing. Do I know it will make the problem worse, and probably also cause some bleeding/weeping? Yep. Does that make it easier to resist? No. It itches. When things itch I want to scratch. I often do it without even thinking and oh shit now I feel bad because I should've "just not scratched" and also now my hands hurt more.

3, I fear even scratching what appears to be a regular itch on my hands, the insides of my elbows, or the backs of my knees, because I have it predominately on my hands but it's been really horrible on the backs of my knees especially, like before I realized there was actually something going on there I scratched so much it hurt when I ran soap over the skin while I was showering, and there were always these big red bumps with little spots of blood, and if I scratch in one of those places what if I cause it to flare up by irritating the skin?

4, I feel bad for complaining about it, because I feel like people are going to see me feeling sorry for myself about my (legitimate) skin condition and say okay dramatic bitch it's just a skin thing it's not that big a deal, and because I sometimes feel that way towards myself about it even though I live in my own body and I know it is a big deal; it itches all the time and it hurts and as you can clearly see by this post that all effects me mentally.

5, it makes me feel ugly sometimes. When I had it on my knees it was summer, and therefore I was wearing shorts, and it was visible and I knew it. I was so worried that people were going to look at it and be revulsed or make fun of me or just laugh about how ugly it was, because it's not pretty—and it's a medical condition, it's not supposed to be, but it still makes me feel lousy. On my hands, depending on how long my sleeves are, I can cover most of it, but I still know it's there and I worry that if I shift my hands too much while talking other people are going to see it and wonder ew, what's wrong with you, and not want to be near me.

6, it started at the worst possible time. I was a teenager with my first boyfriend, a very hard-won boyfriend mind you, talking to him in the first place was the boldest thing I'd ever dared to do not just because I knew he was cute and smart and that he liked superheroes, but because he was a human being and speaking to other humans is one of my greatest trials, and it was all well and fine until our second date was coming up and suddenly I had these horrible red patches all over my skin and all I wanted out of life at the time was to hold hands with my boyfriend but I felt incredibly self-conscious and sad about the idea that my eczema might gross him out and he wouldn't want to hold hands with me. (In case you're saying poor Martian, hunny did he let you down? no. he did not. I drove myself crazy not scratching and was lotioning day and night to try and get it under control and for the most part I did so I suppose I'll never know if he would've, given the opportunity, but I didn't have to worry about it on the day of the date itself so that's what counts for me.)

7, it's something I had to adapt to. not very good at doing that tbh. Every time I have a flare up I'm can't help thinking it wasn't always like this and being upset, because my skin used to act the way skin is supposed to and for some reason I don't even know, it stopped.

8, I was prescribed medicine (one that will literally do permanent damage to my skin if I use it too often but that's barely here or there), but if I forget to put my preemptive strike on for a couple of nights and there's a change in the weather and I don't use my anti-eczema lotion enough during the day then I have a flare up anyway.

9, once a flare up starts it's really hard to stop. Nine times out of ten one of the problems is that my hands are too dry to start with, but the medicine only makes them dryer, which while it does help them heal, it also creates a different secondary sort of problem that stymies the healing at a certain point. So I take a break from the medicine to focus on getting my skin to a healthy moisture level but that's really hard to do, I don't know why, and the eczema is getting worse because I'm not applying the medicine and I'm kind of stuck.

So...yeah. Eczema sucks and I'm not even a little brave about it, I'm just tired and sad.

[duchess-kyuupid]

What Color Is Their Shower Loofah?

April Fool's special! Would you be surprised if I told you that I thought of this idea when I was in the shower?

~Ft. all of the Twisted Men~

Riddle Red, obviously. It's his thing, you know? And the shape very slightly (if you squint) looks like a strawberry.

Ace Unironically, bright pink! I can't explain why, it's just a gut feeling. (I can, in fact, explain why: it's the vibes from his dorm card)

Deuce Dark blue. It's his vibe.

Cater Bright yellow, like the same shade as a lemon.

Trey Well, green, but it's one of those multi-colored ones with swirls of blue in it.

Leona You cannot tell me that he does not use one of those long body brushes that helps you reach your back. Like the color is your normal beige, but he likes the feeling of it scratching his back.

Jack Non applicable, he just uses bar soap and does the rest of the job with his hands.

Ruggie This man just uses a rag... So probably grey or brown? Doesn't really matter as long as it gets the job done.

Azul I highly doubt he (or any of the Octrio guys) actually needs to take showers with them being mermen and all, but if he did own a loofah it would probably be a light purple color, maybe grey. (When they're in the sea, the Octrio guys might also have sea sponges, but again they won't really even need it)

Jade I'm thinking a dark green, like the jewel of his namesake.

Floyd He prefers to take baths tbh, but he'd have a blue loofah with glittery swirls in it.

Kalim I'm convinced he uses one of those actual legit loofah's (like the vegetable kind), not the ones made from plastic, sooo beige?

Jamil He's got this one dark maroonish-red looking loofah, it might have a glittery swirl in it too. He also strikes me as a person to use a black loofah too.

Vil He uses an exfoliating wool sponge, and he's probably the only one here who makes sure to change it out often.

Epel Bright red, like the color of apples! (Ofc)

Rook Now hear me out here.... This man also uses bar soap, but like,, he's much more thorough than Jack and sometimes he'd rub the bar against a clean washrag and use that too.

Idia What's a shower?

Ortho Uhmm, while he is technically built to be waterproof, it's still not a good idea to get your electronics wet. Non-applicable.

Malleus He also uses one of the natural kinds of loofahs, like Kalim. He's a man of tradition, what else can I say?

Silver His loofah is just plain white. Not beige, not even a creamy off-white color- just plain white. It matches his hair quite nicely, but it's also just a little boring.

Sebek Another obvious choice, but his loofah must be bright green with some yellow thrown in there too.

Lilia Oh, his is most definitely 100% hot pink ( and this is definitely not me reflecting my old childhood obsession for Draculara from Monster High onto this old man)

Grim You have to drag this gremlin into the bathroom just to bathe him, so it's technically not his loofah, it's one that you picked out for him. You picked blue, to match his eyes!

Extra-bonus: my loofah is bright green with like dark blue swirls in it.

Does the color of your shower loofah say anything at all about your personality? Probably not. Is it fun to think about anyway? Yeah.

[ddarker-dreams]

Feitan + Cloying

Warnings: Yandere themes, unhealthy relationships, Feitan in general tbh, minor character death. 

13k follower event

You just want to wash your hands. 

Soap would be fine, but if given the opportunity, your prime choice would be bleach. You can picture it now. Sitting beneath a faucet that dispensed hot, scalding water, steam saturating the air while the deepest crevices of yourself are cleansed. You’d need a loofah, too. The kind that scratched and clawed away at the epidermis until your skin felt raw. 

“Not bad,” Feitan drawls, towering over your huddled form, a certain appreciation in his tone that grates your ears. “He died slow. Painful.” 

Your instinct is to reach out and cover your ears, muffling the damning truth Feitan took such pleasure in delivering. You can’t, though. Not yet. Not now. They still aren’t clean — they haven’t been washed. So you ball them into fists by your side. Sticky, sticky; as if you had stuck them into glue. 

He leaves your line of sight for a moment. You almost wish you never developed objective permanence, if only you could fool yourself into believing he ceased to exist for the few seconds he is gone. What a blissful lie that’d be. 

Unfortunately, Feitan does return, wielding an object you prayed to be long gone from how you tossed it out the window hours prior. Figures that he had no difficulty finding and retrieving it. 

A loose floorboard, cracked with age. Caked with the same red pigment marring your hands. Your sticky, sticky hands. 

“You use this?” 

He holds it in front of you like it was a trophy. 

Feitan may be showing you more patience now than normal, but you have no idea when that merciful well would dry up. Despite your inhibitions, you nod, remembering how it felt in your hands. The dryness of the wood, the splinters in your fingers, how its weight distributed unevenly from top to bottom. 

The resistance when you smashed it upon a solid surface. 

“Hm... quick thinking.” 

This might be the most he’s ever praised you. However, if this is what it took, you would’ve preferred to never be lavished in such sickening sweet affections. 

What were you supposed to do? A man, whose gravely voiced you recognized from long nights of it screaming in the basement, stumbled into your room. Battered, limping, eyes bloodshot. You’d like to think he would’ve hurt you. If you’re honest with yourself, there’s no way to know if he planned to or not. Had he harbored ill intent... it would’ve made what came next far more palatable. 

Feitan reaches for you and you squeeze your eyes shut. There’s a slight, almost imperceivable sensation on the crown of your head. Bewildered, you reopen your eyes to find a rare softness in his. You’d go so far as to describe it as fondness. 

He’s patting you on the head. 

“Good job. Very good.” 

Then, after some thinking, he queries, “For doing good... you can have something. What do you want?” 

Your reply comes without hesitation.

“I just want to wash my hands.” 

Even though, deep down, you know they’ll never be clean again.

[angrelysimpping]

out of curiosity, do have have any age and/or appearance headcanons for the characters?

I...probably didn't have to spend as much time on this as I did.....

Alex

Canon: red hair, fringe, farmers tan, toned body, a little older than PC

20

Freckles! Mostly on their arms and face.

Rough hands from working on the farm.

Chapped lips.

Already has lines forming around their eyes from laughing and squienting.

Often smells like sunblock, even after bathing.

Avery

Canon: old enough to be PC's parent, in good shape.

Bare minimum, 36.

Short, light-colored hair. Sharp eyes.

Very good at controlling their expressions and body language.

Spends a lot of time working on their physical appearance. Has a workout and skincare routine that they stick to religiously. Impeccable makeup. Gets manicures done regularly. Probably had their teeth whitened.

Long fingers, soft skin.

Often has a sharp, clean smell about them. Favors "cold" scents when selecting perfume or cologne.

Bailey

Canon: Dark hair

totesBruh has spoiled me, tbh. The scars! The snake and flower tattoo! 👌👌👌

Mid-20s to mid-30s

Intense eyes.

Smells like cigarettes and cloves.

Sharp canine teeth.

Resting bitch face.

Very good at faking smiles.

Runs their hand through their hair a lot.

Scratches the back of their neck when they start to get overwhelmed. An old habit that they hate.

Strong, scared hands. Flat knuckles.

Strong arms and shoulders.

Eden

Canon: Defined muscles

Early 20s to early 30s, a few months to a year younger than Bailey.

Tries so hard to take care of their physical health so they don't have to go to the hospital for anything.

Large and intimidating stature.

Very deep tan.

Thick thighs, strong arms.

Smells like the soap they/you make and fire smoke.

Rough, strong hands.

Great Hawk

Canon: Winged, claws instead of feet, dark eyes

Age:???? Do Harpies age the same as humans? Probably, right? 23. I'm feeling 23 is a good age for GH.

Intelligent eyes.

Feathers are a gradient, darker colors closer to their body, lighter colors father out.

Doesn't smell bad. Just, a bit unusual. Bathes a lot. Their scent is an acquired smell.

Kylar

Canon: Dark hair, fringe, small stature, small hands

18. The youngest.

Hair is thick and messy, often a bit greasy. Fringe long enough to cover their eyes and uses it to hide.

Their skin has a pale cast to it, as if they don't get enough sun.

Dark circles under their eyes.

Fingers are slim, hands have a few scars on them. Often puts bandaids on their nails to keep them from biting them.

Skinny. Often cold.

Has a dark, heavy smell about them. Might be from all the chemicals they like to mess about with.

Leighton

Canon: Green eyes, greying black hair, F!Leighton wears their hair in a bun, tall and stately

60? Maybe? Oh god. Do I low-key simp for a character whose 60? You know what, probably not the worst I've ever done, actually.

Angular body.

Long, slim fingers.

Smiles can sometimes be too toothy.

Has dimples.

Has a signature scent they have been wearing for at least 30 years.

Remy

Canon: Pale brown hiar, M!Remy has short hair, F!Rmey keeps their hair in a neat bun, green eyes that can 'glimmer.'

I met them first at the farm where they're described as wearing gloves and riding boots when introduced. Now I can't shake the thought of them just, always wearing gloves and riding boots. Ready to ride at a moments notice. Understandable, I suppose.

Early 20s to early 30s

Slim build. Strong, toned legs. Strong thighs.

Really good posture.

Hands are relatively smooth. Warm and strong.

Has a woody, citrus smell about them.

Can fake a smile with the best of them, but only their genuine smile reaches their eyes.

Robin

Canon: around the same age as PC

Only a few months older or younger than PC.

Androgynous looking. Fine hair, constantly fighting flyaways. Will sometimes wear hair clips to keep it out of their face.

Tall, a bit on the lanky side. Had a growth spurt recently. A bit awkward in their body still. Strong legs. Would make a good runner.

Dry hands, often needs to put on lotion. Short, clean nails.

Constantly has chaped lips from biting them.

Smells like clean laundry and cinnamon.

Whitney

Canon: Blonde hair, fringe that covers one eye.

18, almost 19.

Strong, capable hands. Dexterous fingers. Capable of soft, light touches when they want. Knuckles a bit flat from fist fights. Sometimes wears rings to act as pseudo brass knuckles.

Freckles! 👉👈

Multiple ear piercings. Tounge piercing. Maybe even an eyebrow piercing.

Clear eyes.

Sharp smile, looks aggressive even when they don't mean it to.

Athletic body. Tall.

Dark, earthy scent. Steals perfume and cologne from the shopping center.

Body is littered with little scars from previous fights.

Natural blonde. Gets bitter if people say otherwise. Soft hair.

Wren

Canon: Young adult, M!Wren has short hair, F!Wren has shoulder-length hair.

Early 20s

Idk if hair color can change game to game, but my Wren got blond hair and I can't unsee it.

Has a dimple on one cheek. Lazy grin.

Slender hands, dexterous fingers. Keeps their nails cut short but keeps them long enough to scratch if they need to.

Lean build. Flexible.

Has a mild natural scent. They can't wear perfume or cologne. Smells like whisky and smoke after playing blackjack.

Messy hair.

Sleepy eyes.

[femme-gremlin-energy]

"Omid's wife is pregnant" THATS EXACTLY WHY YOU NEED TO QUARANTINE. You wanna infect Omid's wife and kid with eye explosion larvae??

Damn, I looked it up and this movie was released before COVID

GO SIOBHAN!!

I am ready to get on my fucking soap box and put the mental image of parents mixing their baby formula up with the appropriate amount of water and lovingly testing it on their wrist to make sure its not to hot and then having to watch their babies screaming in agony as their eyes explode or a new mother bleeding out in a rocking chair at 3am while she tries to soothe her newborn because the larvae cause hemorrhaging. (Me? Traumatized by the way people treat children? No...)

Siobhan was much less brutal than I would have been but I'm glad she finally made my point

Is that infection eye rubbing or crying eye rubbing? He's also looking kind of sweaty and red but again, could be the crying

Remember when I said 'those are the words of a man who has let you down many times and will continue to do so'? As we can see, I was correct

This is interesting though because it means the whales were being normal. I mean, the host for their larvae could still be whales like siobhan suggested as they're the only mammal that I think would be big enough and live deep enough to be the intended host.

Since the parasites as far as we know grow successfully in human bodies and are seemingly able to exert some sort of control over a human host, that's more realistic the closer an animal you can get to humans. Whale's are also quite intelligent, which again would make it more likely for the larvae to be able to exert control over a human brain vs. if they were infecting like a Sunfish.

Huh...yeah Ciara's level of aggression toward siobhan even after finding out it was 2nd Mate's fault definitely gives me parasite vibes.

I was correct

I see we're both at the Denial and Acceptance stage of grief at the same time

"We're intelligent!" "That's debateable."

Honestly though they should keep it in the tank might as well have a sample creature for us to study.

You can do this Om--

Omid was taken by the monster

Damn, she's going after him

It uh...didn't try as hard as I would expect tbh

Damn...she almost made it to the end.

I really liked this movie and I appreciate that the person with the brain cell got to make it out!! It's also a fun game of speculative biology. I think its a parasitic cnidarian. There is in fact a parasitic cnidarian already (though far less dramatic) and there are also bioluminescent cnidarians. I think we can rule out being a barnacle, and while there is a bioluminescent squid, there is not a parasitic squid.

Thoughts on Sea Fever

Love the opening of "what if I just...didn't do my thesis research??" honestly such a mood.

I don't like how they're treating my girl Siobhan (?).

I've enjoyed the foreshadowing with the Irish folklore re: bioluminescent sea tendrils and then the whales ominously gtfoing

Dear fishing crew: her name is Siobhan, not Cassandra. Reel it in.

Omid is the only one with some sense around here.

HOLY FUCK IF THE SUBSTANCE IS DISSOLVING YOUR BOAT MAYBE DON'T JAB YOUR FINGER IN IT to be continued...

[harrypotter-imaginess]

Commission info for Love Letters from your favorite character here!

- Honestly, your probably meet him through his Dad or all people

- You meet Arthur at the store, you’re probably at a department store or the grocery store

- Maybe you work here, maybe you just come there weekly to run errands

- But you’re probably a personal shopper

- And you’re looking for something in particular, but every time you go to that section, there’s this lanky middle aged man just standing there

- And you really don’t want to get involved

- But your over active imagination gets the best of you

- What’s if he’s a widower? And he’s just not used to shopping because his partner did all of that

- Or what if he’s trying to get a gift for his new love interest and he’s just trying to get back out there

- And well, if he is a widower, and he just needs some help- shouldn’t you help him?

- Isn’t that just the right thing to do?

- So even though you don’t want to get involved, you very hesitantly approach this red haired man

- “Um, excuse me sir- but is there something I can help you with?”

- He lights up when you approach him

- Looks like the poor thing is a widower

- “Would you explain the purpose to me of this item?”

- He’s holding up a bath kit, one that comes with a bath bomb, some bath salts, and bubble bath soap

- “Um well it’s a bath kit sir”

- He looks at the package for several ing moments before pointing to the circular bath bomb

- “Is this a sweet? Is it a treat you eat when you’re in the bath tub?”

- You practically fall over yourself rushing to tell him that no, it is in fact not a treat

- “It’s like a bubble bath type of thing, you drop it into the water and it turns the bath a certain color, this ones a fortune type so after it’s done fizzing out you get a little fortune.”

- “Well isn’t that fascinating, you Muggles are quite remarkable”

- You don’t think it’s that amazing, just some baking soda and aromatics

- Also what’s a muggle? Is that some middle age slang for young people?

- You help him to the register, and you think that’ll be it, you’ll probably never see him

- So imagine your surprise when you see him again next week, this time in front of a completely different section with the same expression

- “Well hello again, can you help me with this?”

- It’s sort of a fast friendship, you learn a little more about him with each visit

- He is in fact, not, a widower

- He has 8, no 7 children

- And he works for the government

- “A glorified paper pusher really” he says, but you get the feeling he’s being humble

- “How old are you, if you don’t mine me asking?”

- You tell him and he smiles

- “That’s how old my Son is, you two would be a good match.”

- “Which one? Don’t you have seven?”

- He smiles, because you still count Fred as his child even though he’s gone, just like him

- “Take your pick, I’ve got a whole volleyball teams for you to pick from”

- You laugh

- He’s a nice guy, the exact image of what a dad is, you think

- You like him

- Arthur likes you too, he thinks you would be a good match for Percy, maybe George

- He wants to give Percy a fighting chance, he’s a good boy-

- But he’s got his nose stuck in a book most days, Arthur considers it lucky if he ever gets married

- So it’s in early winter that he drags Percy with him to the department store hoping he’ll run into you

- “Why do I have to come along again?”Percy asks grumbling as he walks beside his father

- “Because I’m buying gifts for my department-“

- “You never buy us any gifts” Charlie teases from his other side

- Arthur also brought Charlie, to seem a little less obvious about his intentions of setting you up with one of his children

- He figures Charlie is the most harmless, if you see Bill... well that would be disappointing for you

- considering he’s married and all

- And the scars might raise more questions than he’s willing to answer

- And then Ron was busy at the ministry today, an emergency or something.

- He’s already decided as he walks through the store that if this doesn’t work out, he’s bringing George next week-

- And if that doesn’t work out, well-

- Maybe Ginny would be more your type

- how solid are Harry and Ginny really

- He’s so caught up in his own mental gymnastics that he doesn’t realize one of his sons isn’t following him until he’s well inside the store

- “Where’s Percy?”

- “Oh, he left like 15 minutes ago to take a phone call for work, but I bet he snuck off to that bookstore across the street.” Charlie says casually eyeing a brightly colored display

- Arthur sighs, well he does need to get some gifts for the kids, almost Christmas and all

- “Hello Arthur, what are you dissecting today?” You ask when you see him

- “Just picking up gifts with my son-“

- A small frown lilts onto your face, his son?

- It’s only a little shift of your head and you see him

- Well isn’t he just gorgeous

- He’s got a firm build, toned arms littered with dozens of scars and burns

- His face is chiseled, with a light dusting of red hair, matching vivid hair is long and pulled into a bun

- And the deepest brown eyes you’ve ever seen

- Damn what a hottie

- Arthur should have told told you his son was a total smokeshow

- And he’s got 6 of them?!? Are they all this gorgeous?

- Arthur doesn’t miss the way you look at Charlie

- And one glance at Charlie is all He needs to know that the feeling is mutual

- Why didn’t he think of Charlie?

- Well- actually he had started to think that maybe Charlie just didn’t feel that way about people.

- And so, to be supportive, he wasn’t going to push him into any romantic relationship

- But well since he seems to find you pleasing-

- “This is my son Charlie-“ he says putting both his hands on Charlie’s shoulders and jerking him closer to you

- A light red begins to dust Charlie’s cheeks, wether it’s from embarrassment or attraction he’s not sure

- You fidget in front of him feeling oddly self conscious

- “Nice to meet you, I’m (Y/N)”

- He takes you hand in his with a firm squeeze and you feel a little lightheaded

- His hands are surprisingly soft

- On closer inspection he’s got a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose

- Adorable really

- “So how do you know my dad?” He asks when Arthur is busy /giving you two time to get to know each other looking through the candle selection

- “Oh um I don’t know I guess we just became friends talking about how stuff works?”

- It’s a little weird to think about it, Arthur is your dads age, but he’s like your friend?

- It’s kinda weird tbh

- You wonder how Charlie’s digesting it but he just grins

- “Yeah that sounds like Dad.”

- It’s cute, the way he looks at his Dad

- You remember hearing about Charlie, that he works far away and that Arthur and his wife worry about him. And that he likes animals

- It’s kind of like meeting a celebrity, you know all about him

- except for the fact that he’s a wizard of course

- Well, it was nice meeting one of Arthur’s famous son’s, you suppose he’ll go back to Romania soon and -

- “I was wondering-“ he leans down, his voice low “if you might do me a small favor?”

- Your eyebrows thread together and your head tilts to the side a bit

- “It depends on what it is”

- Charlie only grins

- And so you find yourself standing in front of King’s Cross Station on your next free day, wearing a nice outfit that seems neither too causal, or like you’re trying too hard

- Your fingers fiddle with the hem of your shirt until you see Charlie round the corner

- Well doesn’t he look absolutely delicious

- He’s wearing a crisp white collard shirt and a sweater over it, with a pair of khaki trousers

- Very dark academia

- “Sorry have you been waiting long?”

- You shake your head

- “No only a few minutes, have you thought about what you might want to get him?” You ask and he flashes a little and shakes his head

- “The best I could think of was a gadget of some kind?”

- You nod, you can work with that

- The favor Charlie wanted was pretty simple

- He needed help picking out a Christmas gift for his Dad

- Oddly wholesome in its own way

- You take him to a large department store

- “Maybe this pasta maker?”

- “No, Mum’s already got one”

- He should know, his dad enchanted it to make pasta on its own

- “Than maybe this waffle maker?”

- He shakes his head again, they had one and it did not end well

- You go to several stores throughout the day, but there’s nothing quite right at any of them

- Eventually you both slump down on chairs, untouched mugs of tea in front of you, both of you utterly exhausted

- “This is so much harder than I thought” you mumble, Arthur seems like such an easy to please person

- “I’m sorry” Charlie says, honestly the reason neither of you can pick something is because he can’t be honest with you

- Yeah his Dad loves muggle gadgets, but he loves them because he wants to take them apart, to see how it works

- And then he wants to enchant certain parts to make the contraption even better

- But he can’t tell you all that now can he?

- Not when you’re a muggle

- He sighs leaning back in his chair

- Maybe he shouldn’t have asked you for help, he saw how close you and his Dad were, like you were already family-

- But it’s unfair to you to monopolize all your free time like this-

- “It’s no problem really, this is actually really fun”

- You’re not lying, hanging out with Charlie is really fun.

- Usually spending time with people you’ve only just met exhausts you

- But being with him makes you feel comfortable, the two of you falling into a comfortable rhythm

- Guess he’s kinda like his Dad in that way

- You feel your mouth quirk into a small smile at the thought.

- He kinda looks like his dad too on closer inspection, around the jaw and-

- “Are your ears pierced?” You ask, and Charlie immediately flushes. A hand nervously fluttering to his ear

- “U-um yes, I did it when I was younger-“ he lets out a nervous laugh

- You raise an eyebrow

- “What did some girl break your heart?”

- He sputters at that

- “N-no of course not”

- You feel a wicked grin curling on your face, he’s awfully fun to tease

- “Boyfriend then?”

- He’s burning so bright red that you think steam might actually start coming out of his ears

- “N-no it was nothing like that,” his eyes are looking into his mug, fingers still twiddling with his earlobe.

- “My brother and I got them at the same time with our other friend. It was really their thing, wanting to get the piercing that is, I just joined to be apart of it”

- You can certainly see it, Charlie getting swept up in his friends things.

- “Besides this sort of thing... it doesn’t really suit me” he lets out a nervous laugh and you feel your heart swell

- “I think it would look great on you” The words leave your mouth without even thinking and you feel your face grow hot when they do.

- What are you saying!?!

- You’re embarrassed, but Charlie’s flattered.

- He’s never been the favorite sibling, he’s not as brave as Bill, or as funny as George, Percy’s the smart one, Ron’s the charismatic one, and Ginny’s the athletic one

- He hasn’t got anything to compete with honestly-

- All he can do is try to emulate his siblings, he guesses he’s still trying to figure out who he is

- Which is a little pathetic at his age- at least that’s how he feels

- But hearing you say it would look good on him- well it makes his heart flutter

- Meanwhile you’re completely ignorant to the fact that you’re making his heart race

- Completely caught up in your own embarrassment

- Geez you’re just blurting stuff out like a kid

- A lightbulb goes over your head

- “Hey I think I might have an idea of what your Dad might like!”

- You practically tug him into the the next shop, his face contorted in confusion until you show him what you thought of

- “Oh Merlin, it’s perfect”

- You’re both standing in the toy section of a department store

- Charlie’s watching the bubble machine like it’s the best thing he’s ever saw

- His dad is going to love enchanting it

- While Charlie’s asking the clerk about gift wrapping and other things you wander around the store

- Stopping when you see a rack of candles

- They’re the ‘homesick’ candles, with a scent that’s a place

- And then you see something else glint from the corner of your eye

- “Thank you so much for your help today-“

- You’re both standing in front of king’s cross again, you’re about to go home

- Charlie takes a deep gulp, if he was brave like Bill he might ask you on a date- a real day

- But he’s not

- So he’ll just thank you for your time, and ask for a business card so he can send you a tasteful gift with maybe a card asking to spend time again with you

- But before he can get the words out you thrust something out to him

- It’s a neat folded striped pink and green bag

- He takes it carefully on his hands, leading inside

- “Candles?”

- You nod

- “They’re those homesick candles, they have a scent for places, I got you London and then another one that says English country- it’s amber, honeysuckle and moss, I thought you might like it” you’re blabbering-

- There really wasn’t a need to do anything like this for him

- But well- you know he probably feels so homesick, not to mention his rowdy siblings

- So maybe this will offer him some comfort

- But he’s not looking at the candles he’s looking at something else that’s glinting beside them

- Thick fingers gently pinch the end of the thick paper square

- It’s a pair of earrings

- They’re Dragon Earrings

- “Oh that.” You look at the item with a wide expression “it’s really like a gag gift, I know you work with animals and you’ve got the piercing so-”

- Charlie’s grinning

- “You didn’t have to do all this.”

- “O-oh no, it was no big deal at all, I um- I wanted to.” You give him a shy smile and he feels butterflies erupt in his stomach

- He’s never going to be as brave as Bill, or as Smart as Percy, as funny as George or loyal as Ron.

- But he wants to be kind

- As kind as you, if not more

- “No, I couldn’t possibly let you do something like this for me, especially not after all your help today”

- You feel yourself deflate, ah you were overstepping weren’t you?

- It’s just- you’ve heard so much about him and you work so well together,

- You had started to think of him as a friend

- But clearly it was too much -

- “Let me take you out to dinner sometime,” your eyes snap to his face, which is dusted with pink, deep brown eyes staring into your own

- “To repay you for all the kindness you’ve shown me today”

- You feel a smile spread across your face, arching into a goofy grin

- He’s looking at you hopefully, pieces ears burning red. A matching hopeful smile curled onto his face

- “I would love to”

[takaraphoenix]

psst! have you seen the new Disney Pixar trailer for 'Turning Red'???

I... I did... And oh boy. So I can't really tell by your tone where you're leaning on it, like if you came to mutually hate on it or if you came to hype, so I am just gonna dump the honest opinion on you and uuuh might go on a slight "ffs Pixar's design quality's gone to shit since Disney same-faced them" tangine, kay? Kay.

Gotta say, this is the one that makes me definitely know that I just hate the Pixar style by now? Like, it's been a steady decline since The Good Dinosaur where the obnoxious child was just huge eyes, huge nose, huge teeth. But... it's been downhill and lazier character-design since then?

It's not even necessarily a style choice, because the style is so incredibly copy/paste the same at this point. But they keep... dumbing the style down? Making it simpler, reducing the details.

Where annoying child still had individually defined hair, Onward stylized the hair more to one form. And Luca just reduced that entirely and gave hair that cartoonish one-mass feeling again (honestly, that whole thing looks more like animated stop motion in its style).

This follows the same scheme of big eyes, big teeth (the teeth truly bother me a lot about this style, tbh), big nose, reducing details away from everything to make it more and more simple shapes. I hate the shape her mouth has. Like, genuinely loathe it.

I'm sorry. This is slightly (but truly only slightly) off-topic, but it bugs me so much and it keeps getting worse with every new Pixar movie they release. Before Disney bought them, Pixar movies were individuals, with... genuinely interesting character designs, like I greatly dislike the style of Incredibles too, but at least it did something interesting in shapes and dynamics? Bugs Life and Toy Story had their own, individual feel to it, even when technology was still in its baby-shoes, they really gave their characters personality in the design.

And now that they have so much advanced technology and so much Disney money to burn - it's all not even just the Same Face problem, no, they keep going more and more simplistic too and it's a damn shame.

Now lemme get off my soap box again; I guess the red panda looks cute. It looks so fluffy (but the face bothers me, because, again, horrid design choices are being made in that studio).

Though I gotta admit, I think even the most complex and interesting design choice could not save this movie because the premise is just... so... incredibly... stupid? And somehow, the fact that she doesn't just turn into a regular sized red panda but into a kaiju sized monstrosity makes... even dumber. Which I did not think was possible.

I used to blindly consume Disney/Pixar productions because they're, I mean, they are the big ones when it comes to animated movies and I am obsessive with animated movies. But... this year, Pixar's really making me go "yeah no if it doesn't look appealing at all, I'll skip on that" for he first time in... my life... there is no Disney/Pixar movie I haven't seen, I even fucking made myself watch N*ghtmare Before Chr*stmas. But in recent years, it's just been far too repetitive and unoriginal and the design's stopped being charming.

[eohachu]

Post pictures of your first ever (fictional/celeb) crush to the latest one and tag five others to continue the game.

Ali tagged me, thanks. I guess 😘 @lanzhansmiles​

A’ight so I’m simply taking this as an opportunity to show off my frankly impeccable taste 😌 *coughs into the crook of my elbow with my mask on and from a safe distance* More under the cut, godspeed!

I’m tagging uhh I really don’t want to expose anyone but uh. @morifinwes​ @ttaechwita​ @sunshine304​ @treemaidengeek​ @flamingwell​ no pressure tho!!

Since 2006

Janina Fautz: Die Wilden Kerle, anyone?? Tbh i had a crush on quite a lot of the characters/actors but in hindsight Janina was and is the most influential one. Also probably my first ever girl crush (again, in hindsight bc it took me until 3 years ago to finally find out i’m queer lol)

Eva-Maria May: Yeah well I’m not gonna talk about where I know her from let’s say it was an incredibly bad soap opera my mom used to watch. She was one of the reasons why I went Yeah I Have Always Been Into Girls. I was pretty obsessed with her to the point where mini me secretly printed out a photo of her to look at lmaooo the signs have always been there and it’s truly amazing how I had been missing them for years

Amy Adams: Her as Amelia Earhart in Night at the Museum was also definitely a huge Thing to young me. Again, I had been completely oblivious about this crush for years

David Luiz: HAH! This is the point where we do NOT get into my football/soccer crushes bc this list would get WAYYY too long hahaha. I had to cut loads of people from my list for this post bc I develop a new celebrity crush every 5 minutes basically but yeah. David Luiz was definitely my biggest football/soccer crush out of..... everyone else

M*rvel

I don’t have a lot to say about any of them since I’m not into m*rvel anymore TFATWS makes me want to stick the tip of my toe back into m*rvel waters but otherwise NO THANKS

Sebastian Stan was, if my judgement of my archive is right, the longest highkey celebrity crush I’ve ever had. Mostly because I love Bucky a lot and he was so amazing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I must’ve had a crush on him for as long as I had been in the m*rvel fandom

Recent Past

some celeb crushes from last year that were all more or less short-lived tbh

Ester Expósito: As it often goes I didn’t find her spectacular in the beginning but as Élite went on I started to develop a huge crush on her. I still find her pretty hot but I’m not invested in Élite so yeah..... I have no object permanence

Mina El Hammani: Got to know her through Élite, too. She’s so incredibly beautiful. Had a hard time choosing a photo of her bc I’d stare at every single one for ages. Wow.

Danger Days!Gerard Way: Hah! The ones of you who’ve been following me for longer might remember my posts about wanting to dye my hair neon red. Well, him’s the reason and also clinical depression. Ended up with natural red/ginger bc my hair is too thin for bleaching lel. ANYWAY

Maxence Danet Fauvel: Pretty short-lived crush from my Skam days

Ramy Moharam Fouad: So Ramy has a brother, Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad, who makes INCREDIBLE music. Ramy made some of his music videos (directed them? not sure), that’s how he came to my attention. Idk man he’s just so incredibly beautiful.... gives me a hint of genvy, too......

Janelle Monáe: Became a fan when Make Me Feel came out, listened to the entire album for days and eventually inevitably crushed on her

Lera Abova: Saw her in ANИА and fell in love. I screamed to my friends for weeks about how she was the most beautiful human being I’d ever seen etc etc. Eventually my crush went away mostly, but I still think she’s stunning

Keiynan Lonsdale: Keiynan said FUCK gender and I said 😍😍😍 and that’s all you need to know.

Current

*deep breath* alright let’s gooo

Bright (Wachirawit Chivaaree): Crushed on him for as long as I watched 2gether/Still 2gether lmao. I still like him a lot and sometimes lose my mind over him but I’m not exceptionally Thirsty™

Tul (Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai) and Max (Nattapol Diloknawarit): If you search either of them on tumblr you will have to scroll for a long, long time to find seperate photos of them. However, I’m not patient enough so here we are. Re: Tul, actually I want to copy/paste what Ali said bc DAMN a man who is confident about his masculinity and sexuality really is kinda hot. Same goes for Max tbh. Also Max’ lips look so soft I [redacted]

Lukas von Horbatschewsky: Also known as Lukas Alexander. He did an amazing job in Druck and he’s just a person I admire in general. As one of the few out trans actors in Germany, he had a main role as a trans boy in Druck and also co-wrote Druck’s seasons 5 and 6. He’s just a huge role model to me and, apart from that, Big Crush Material (h i s  e y e s)

Li Wei: Someone suggested him as Hua Cheng for the TGCF live action and my life hasn’t been the same since. While I’m open for whoever will get that role in the end, I could look at his face for hours and not get bored. Major Genvy, too.

Li BoWen and Liu HaiKuan: I will have to deal with these two in one paragraph bc LanLan bc they have the exact same effect on me which is. that they’re not 100% my type but I WILL go absolutely feral about them at regular intervals, if you know what I mean

Song JiYang: ohh honey. oh honey.......... hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I have a natural affinity for aquarius ppl and this one lives in my heart rent free. I’d even make him soup if he’d ask.

Wang YiBo: WELL HOLY SHIT. listen. LISTEN! the hype around him is 100% justified imo he really is That Bitch and I love him so so much for it. Fucking ICON

Honorary Mentions: Gender Envy

Here’s to the People I Thought I Had A Crush On But Not Quite until I learned the word Gender Envy:

Zhu YiLong: Man, this is the person who’s mainly responsible for me finding out AT ALL about not being entirely cis. The POWER he holds!!! His performance as Ye Zun in Guardian was like a breakthrough point for me which. certain people witnessed in real time hahaha oh I love this fandom!!

Zhu ZanJin: HIM. AAAH!! He’s literally so beautiful and whenever I see him I just go ZANZAN!! in my head and in the tags bc. well. hIM.

Xiao Zhan With Long Hair: Look, Xiao Zhan is always amazing but BLESS the person who made these manips. I can finally rest.

Wang YiBo: uhh what’s he doing here again?? Tbh YiBo is one of the few, if not the only person that gives me Major Gender Envy that I would also [redacted] if they asked. Do I want to be him or be with him? The answer is Yes.

I skipped the fictional characters bc I tend not to crush on them 👉👈 Instead I will just directly crush on the actors/actresses lol!

Thank you for bearing with me. As a prize, you can choose between a ladder supported forehead kiss, or a bowl of homemade soup. ❤

[ghostnebula]

You’re all just horn dogs aren’t you? Love that tbh <3

Part 2 of this

Richie’s by far the biggest Eddie’s ever taken, and he really doesn’t think he can handle it at first. Richie starts pressing inside and Eddie yanks hard enough to free one hand from where Richie’s still pinning his wrists together, catching him off guard (he’s intently focused on watching Eddie stretch around him, and how deliciously tight he feels). He tries to push Richie’s hips back, sharp little nails digging into his skin as he lets out a high keening sound and shakes his head, entirely unable to form words in the moment. ‘Too much,’ he wants to say, pressing back harder against Richie’s hips when he continues trying to slide forward. He can’t, but maybe Richie gets the message anyway, because he’s laughing and trailing wet kisses up the side of his throat as his hand closes around Eddie’s wrist again and slams it back onto the wall. “You can do it, kitten. I believe in you,” he taunts, sucking another hickey onto his throat. Fortunately, he doesn’t move for those few merciful seconds, and some of the pain abates, but then he’s inching forward again, and Eddie’s hands curl into fists, nails cutting crescents on his palms, because it’s too much.

By the time Richie’s all the way inside, he feels so full it hurts, and he’s crying again, tears caught in his eyelashes. He’s stretched up onto his tiptoes, most of his weight bearing down where he and Richie are joined together, and his legs are shaking. In fact, his whole fucking body is shaking. 

Richie slips out of him slowly, so he feels every inch of it, an uncomfortable friction and a sudden emptiness where he’s never even felt empty before. And then he’s pushing back in, much faster than his initial pace, and Eddie’s poor, straining legs just give out altogether as he’s filled abruptly, Richie’s cock just scraping by his prostate. It makes Richie sink deeper, somehow, when he goes boneless against him, and he lets out a sound that’s almost a scream.

“Oh, baby doll,” Richie breathes, free arm wrapping around his waist again to keep him upright. “You really are a slut for it, huh?”

Eddie can’t answer him, not properly, but he can moan loudly as Richie rocks up into him, his cheek pressed against the filthy tiles and his mouth hanging open. Richie nips at his jaw. “You gotta be quieter than that, baby. I know it’s good, but you don’t want to get caught, do you?” Does he? What would someone think, if they walked in here and saw him speared on Richie Tozier’s cock like this, red-faced and crying for it, completely gone from his own head and just floating off into space somewhere as Richie thrusts up against his prostate and punches too-loud noises out of him? He almost thinks he gets harder at the notion, if that’s even possible. 

Richie shushes him again, then he’s letting go of his wrists and telling him, “Keep those hands right there for me, alright? That’s a good boy.” His hand clamps over Eddie’s mouth, instead, and Eddie’s eyes roll. Richie’s hand covers the entire bottom half of his face, almost completely covering his nose, too, and making it difficult to breathe, but that’s just as well because he’s pretty sure he’s barely been breathing anyway. Richie seems to stop holding back altogether then, if he even was before, and thrusts into him at a pace bordering on brutal, until Eddie’s sure he’s quite literally bruising his insides. And Eddie tries -- tries -- to keep his hands where Richie wants them, but he’s gone so muscle-weak all over that he just can’t keep them up like that, and his arms slide slowly downwards until he’s clawing at the wall on either side of his chest, and then he’s got one latched onto Richie’s arm, the arm he’s using to keep Eddie quiet with a hand over his mouth, and Richie doesn’t reprimand him, but he does bite down particularly hard on his earlobes and aim a few sharp thrusts right into his prostate, which makes more tears flow out of Eddie’s eyes, and makes breathing that much harder. 

“I’m gonna come inside, baby doll, alright? Can I come inside you? Fill you up good?” he asks, and Eddie’s head is spinning as he chokes on a moan and tries to nod, tries to say please again, even as his whole body goes taut and he shakes apart on Richie’s cock, his own cock still trapped between his stomach and the cold tiles Richie is pinning him against. The hand that isn’t clawing into Richie’s forearm reaches back to tangle in Richie’s hair, twist and pull while Eddie lets out a muffled cry that might have been his name. The warmth of his come coats his stomach and begins dripping down towards his thighs after a moment. And then Richie’s teeth are sinking into the sensitive skin on the back of his neck and he’s snapping his hips forward, the arm around his waist holding so tight it’s painful. There’s a burst of heat deep inside him and Richie’s tense muscles start to go lax as he gives a couple more stuttering thrusts to ride out his orgasm and to force his come deeper.

Eddie thinks he’s been disconnected entirely from his own brain at this point, especially when Richie presses a kiss to his cheek gently enough to contradict the entire last ten or so minutes of his life. Richie’s probably going to leave, now, and Eddie’s going to have to clean up and deal with the aftermath of whatever the fuck just happened, which isn’t anything new, really. He does get around about as much as the rumours say, after all. 

Except Richie just... doesn’t. He peels Eddie off the wall so that he’s leaning back against him, and smooths the hair out of his face as he guides him back under the water flowing from the shower head. “You alright?” he asks, as he picks up the soap and cloth Eddie was using to clean himself, with the hand that isn’t still supporting him. Eddie nods a bit dumbly, still not entirely back to reality. “Do you need to sit, or can you stand?” He doesn’t really have an answer to that (as long as Richie holds him he thinks he’s alright with standing, maybe, but his tongue feels too heavy in his mouth for him to actually form the words) so he just shrugs. Richie starts wiping him down, starting with his neck, shoulders, and chest, then working his way down to the mess on his stomach, then dipping between his thighs to clean up the come that’s leaked out of him. 

“I’m going to leave the rest, okay? Can you keep it inside you? Just as a token of my appreciation.” And Richie winks at him, grinning crookedly, and what the fuck. What the fuck. Did this doofus-ass man seriously just fuck Eddie so good he’s pretty sure it was transcendental? Why is he so attractive even though he’s obviously such a huge dork? Where the hell did this guy go just now?

Seriously, what the fuck?

Eddie’s just staring, but he eventually finds it in himself to nod, and then Richie’s pressing an eager kiss to his forehead and taking his wrists in his hands to examine them, like he’s checking to see if he caused any real damage, and Eddie wouldn’t even know because he doesn’t feel anything except lightheaded and out of his body right now (and satisfied; a bone-deep, comfortably warm feeling). 

He doesn’t even stop there, either. He gets Eddie cleaned up, helps him dry off and dress and pack up his toiletry bag, and then fucking offers to walk him to his dorm, and Eddie’s more confused than he’s ever been in his life, but at least he can talk again now, enough to tell him, “No, that’s okay, I... I can get there on my own.”

“If you’re sure.” Richie’s still dressing, his damp hair sending rivulets of water running down his bare chest, and Eddie cannot, frankly, believe anything that just happened actually happened, but he knows it did because he can feel the load Richie left in him trying desperately to drip down his thigh, losing a battle with gravity.

“I’m sure,” he says, gathering his belongings up in his arms and turning to flee. He pauses long enough to say, “Uh... thank you,” though he isn’t sure for what, exactly, he’s grateful. 

“Anytime, kitten,” Richie calls after him with a lopsided smile and a wink that’s got his heart racing, and Eddie finds himself immediately wishing Richie would call him back over for a second go, but he’s pretty sure he’s not going to be able to function properly for at least another couple hours, and he desperately needs to sleep off... all of that.

But he can’t say that if Richie tried that shit again, he’d put up much of a fight, except to get him to be mean to him. Just for fun.

[taraknowless]

this is so random but what are your favorite make up products/routine? i saw you also got some lisa stuff :)

me internally: my time to be a beauty guru has cooooome

I did!! Got a blush, a gloss and a lipstick! Her glosses are great and her velvets are actually one of my absolute favourites, especially the reds. I almost wear them every day!

Besides that, I currently love the foundation combination of the CYO Lifeproof and the L’Oreal Infallible Pro Glow and I’m so sad they’re both almost empty because I can’t get them in my country (and the CYO one has been discontinued even tho I’ve read that the Soap & Glory one is a good dupe? Might have to try that one.)

I also love the Flawless Filter by Charlotte Tillury for that glow from within.

As for eyeshadow, I heavily fuck with Natasha Denona, ABH and Pat McGrath. I have quite the big collection so I’m really trying not to buy anymore and use up what I have (which will happen in approx. 475 years).

Mascara is kinda whatever works tbh. I love the Hourglass one but it’s also pretty expensive so I’m currently back to a drugstore one.

What do you love, nonnie? ☺️

[desiraypark]

The Weight (Pt. I)

Clyde x Sherri (Non-Linear Series) This entry is in response to @aloneandsleepless​‘ prompt request! The message reads: Hey Desi darling! Can we have a little drama with Clyde and Sherri? Requesting "being physically/emotionally vulnerable" from the Non Sexual Forms of Intimacy list! You're so incredibly creative, I'm sure you'll come up with something amazing! ❤️ First of all, thank you *cries*. Second, I hope this meets your expectations! :) Content: Angsty? | Sadness/depression (denial of depression); impostor’s syndrome; ageism (imposed on self because it’s imposed by society, tbh lol); couple’s spat; spouse approaching the other but the appropriateness and effectiveness of the method might be debatable.  A lil’ bit o’sap. Word Count: 2,402

“The llllittle...boy licks to...likes to b...ah...ck...” “Vroom, vroom...!” Sherri looked away from her pan and glanced in the dining room at the children. Chris’ face was inches away from their homework, and Sid had turned the dining table into a freeway for their toy car. 

“What are your ‘a’ sounds?” Sherri asked.  “Ah, ah...” Chris said.  “And the other one?”  “Ay...” “Did you try the other sound?”  Chris looked back down at the worksheet. “B-ay-kuh...bake...” Sherri looked back at the pan. “Good job. Start it from the beginning.” “The little boy likes to bake...” “Vroooooooooom...” “...he licks...likes...” “Sid?” Sherri called. “Yes?” “Can you play quietly so Chris can concentrate?” “Yes, Mommy. Sorry.” “It’s alright. Thank you.” Sid turned the vocal engine off and drove the car in silence. Suddenly, there was a rumble at the front door. The lock turned and the kids hopped up from the table and ran through the living room. 

“Daddy!” they shouted.

Clyde opened the door and scooped both of the little ones up in his arms. “Arrrgh!” he growled, holding them up.  “What’s goin’ on?” he asked. He planted kisses on both of their foreheads and put them back down.  “Ms. Daniels gave us homework today!” Chris exclaimed. “Oh yeah?” “Long sentences!”  “Well, alright, my lil’ Einstein,” Clyde said.  The trio made their way into the dining room, but the kids sat back at the table. Clyde walked straight for the kitchen and Sherri gave him her cheek to kiss. “Mmm...” he hummed. “Those lips taste as good?” Sherri smirked and faced Clyde so he could give her a peck on the lips. Then another. And another. “Eww!!!” the children said. “Eww?!” Clyde mocked them. “What y’all mean eww?” Sherri and the kids laughed. Then, Clyde rested his hands on Sherri’s protruding belly. He gave it a rub. “Now what you got to say about it, Littlest One?” “It said, please don’t keep mommy up tonight...” Sherri mumbled.  “Well, I can’t make no promises on that...” Clyde whispered in her ear, before giving the lobe a nibble.  “Leave my kitchen, Clyde,” Sherri said giggling. Clyde gave her butt a tap and walked into the dining room. “What’s this homework about?” he asked, sitting beside Chris.  “Different stuff,” the oldest responded. Clyde adjusted his glasses by the hinge and looked over the homework--a sheet full of short sentences. 

“You or Mommy are supposed to draw lines under the stuff I said wrong,” Chris added. “Is that so?” Clyde read the instructions and realized that either he or Sherri had to underline any words Chris had gotten wrong, or didn’t self-correct. So far, only the word “fluffy” had a line under it. Clyde smiled at the sight. “Underline bake, Baby.” Sherri said. Clyde searched the table and noticed the red ink pen resting against the table’s centerpiece. He underlined “bake”.  “Hey, Babygirl...?” Clyde called over his shoulder. “Mm-hmm?” Sherri responded. “A man came into the restaurant this afternoon. He started a non-profit education center. Supposed to help kids with all kinds of needs. I uh...I got his card for you.” Sherri froze for a second, then kept cooking. “For what?” “He’s lookin’ for people to join his team. It’s very new. He wants people from different backgrounds helpin’ him out...”  Sherri didn’t say anything. She turned off the stove and reached into the cupboard for plates. “Okay.” _____________________ Later “What’s this you were telling me about? About this man?” Sherri asked, walking into the bedroom. 

Clyde was already in bed with a book. Sherri grabbed a bottle of cocoa butter lotion from her dresser and sat on the bed.  “He started a non-profit company for kids with special needs. Behavioral, academic. Kids with problems at home, anything. He said he wanted to hire a few reading tutors...” Sherri began to rub the lotion on her belly. The circular motions soothing her emotionally, as well as physically. “He said you didn’t need a formal education. It wouldn’t pay much now, but it would be a great experience.” Sherri let out a wry laugh. “So, you told a stranger in a restaurant that your dropout wife was looking for a low-paying job?” Clyde stared at the back of Sherri’s head with furrowed brows. “No, I said I would tell my wife about it, and see if she’s interested.” Sherri closed the lotion’s cap and put it back on her dresser. “Well, thank you for thinking of me, Baby. But I’m good...”  She yanked back her covers and climbed into the bed.  “But are you, though, Baby?” Clyde asked. Sherri was just about to turn on her side before she glared back at him.  “What do you mean?” she asked. “It ain’t no secret that you regret not settin’ out to be in education, Babygirl. I thought this would be a good way to get you back on track. But I guess I was wrong,” Clyde said. Sherri turned on her side and laid down. “Yeah, you were. I don’t need you job huntin’ for me.” Clyde looked down at his book. He tried to keep reading, but Sherri’s response was eating away at him. He took in a deep breath. “So, you just wanna be a receptionist for the rest of your life, Sherri?” He didn’t have to see her face to know what it looked like. Slowly, Sherri turned on her back and sat completely up.  “What is this about, Clyde? Are you ashamed of me all of a sudden?” she asked. Clyde huffed, then closed his book.  “No...” he answered. “But I know when you’re feeling sad, Baby. And I know you’ve been real sad these last few months.” “First of all, don’t tell me when I’m sad. I’m not sad. I’m not depressed or any of that. And even if I was, that doesn’t have shit to do with my job...”

“Sherri...” Clyde said patiently. “You can deny it all you want to. But you know and I know that you ain’t happy where you are.” “I am happy!” Sherri snapped. “What are you talking about?!” “You like your job, Sherri. But you ain’t happy,” Clyde continued on. “You regret not finishin’ school, Baby. It’s all over your face. You think you’re hidin’ it from me, but you’re not. You never have. And denyin’ it hasn’t made it better.” Sherri scoffed. “Please, Clyde. You don’t know what I’m hidin’ and what I’m not. Whatever the case may be, I’m halfway through my life, now. I’m damn near 40 years old, I’ve got two kids--almost got three. I’ve got to run around after three kids--” “Stop usin’ our kids as a crutch, Sherri.” Sherri’s eyebrows lifted. She was speechless. Clyde wasn’t as mild and meek as people assumed he was, but he’d never drilled into anyone like this before. Especially Sherri. He had the patience of a saint, and Sherri could tell that the patience had suddenly started wearing thin. But so was hers. “You my therapist now, Clyde?” Clyde drew in a deep breath. “No, I’m not. But I am your husband. And I know you better than I know the back of my own hand.”

“And look here. I don’t appreciate you sittin’ up here talkin’ like you the only one takin’ care of our kids...” “That’s not what I said. And it’s not what I meant, either,” Sherri responded.

“Whatever you meant, there ain’t nothin’ stoppin’ you from goin’ back to school, but you. I tell you about a potential job in your field, and you up in here actin’ like I stole somethin’ from you,” Clyde fussed. “I just don’t understand where this is comin’ from. Our life is just fine right now. Since when did you start feelin’ like it wasn’t good enough? Suddenly it’s so bad that you need to go job scoutin’ for me?” “Ain’t nobody say all that, Sherri. Yes, our life is just fine. It’s real nice. But you ain’t no “just fine” kinda girl. You ain’t never been,” Clyde said. 

“Everything about you is excellent, but when it comes to stuff like this--your dream, you start actin’ real cowardly.” 

Sherri stared at Clyde and huffed.  “Look. Whatever the case, Clyde. I don’t need you bein’ my reference. I don’t need you recommendin’ jobs for me. You worry about what you’ve got goin’ on, and I’ll take care of what I’ve got goin’ on.” Clyde nodded. “Alright.” He put his book on the nightstand and took off his bionic arm. He put the arm on his dresser, climbed back in bed, and turned off the lamp on his nightstand. Then, he slid down and pulled the covers over him.

“You ain’t got to worry about me sayin’ another thing,” he added. “Gon’ and pass that impostor’s syndrome down to our baby.” Sherri didn’t give his statement a chance to marinate in the air. 

“I think you should sleep on the couch,” she said without hesitation, or a even a thought. And Clyde didn’t argue. He climbed out of the bed, grabbed his pillows, and walked out of the room with them. He dug through the linen closet for a blanket, and curled into a ball on the little chaise of their sectional.  ____________________ The Next Day As she did every weekday morning, Sherri got up at 4:30AM. The scent of oatmeal soap still strong from last night’s shower, she gave herself a quick wipe down at the sink, then got Sid up. She helped Sid take care of their personal needs, and got them dressed. Per usual, mother and future middle child got a quick bite and made their way to the Busy Bees Daycare. Every week day, Sherri oversaw the front desk of the daycare and helped to keep an eye on all of the children, including her own.  Every week day--even on Mondays when he didn’t work--Clyde woke up and got Chris and himself ready. They too, sat at the table for a quick bite--cereal, usually. Then, Clyde would walk Chris to school. Today was a work day, so he hung out at home for about for about 45 minutes before making the seamless fifteen (or twenty, depending on his mood) minute drive to Strafford’s Kitchen. Today was definitely a “twenty minute drive to work” kind of day. Sherri always got off at 2 o’clock. Her and Sid would head home and hang out until it was time to pick Chris up. They’d walk to the school, chat with Chris’ teacher, and make their way back home to start homework and dinner. When Clyde was off, he would start dinner while Sherri and Sid walked to get the eldest Logan child.  Sherri had spent her day snatching every chance at mental solitude she could find. Clyde didn’t know what he was talking about. She was happy at Busy Bees. Had been for seven years. And more importantly, it was too late for her to consider going back to school. Especially with the cost of tuition nowadays.

“What’s on your mind, Sherri Pie?” Mrs. Barbara asked. She’d snatched Sherri out of a daze. “Hmm?” Sherri asked. “Everything alright?”  Sherri forced a smile and nodded. “Yes, everything is fine.”  Mrs. Barbara raised an eyebrow at her and Sherri laughed. “Me and the husband had a little spat, that’s all.” “Hmm,” Mrs. Barbara said with a nod. “And you know what Mrs. Barbara?” Sherri asked. “What?” she responded. She peeped into the commons space to get a look at the children, then back at Sherri.  “I just might owe that man an apology.” Mrs. Barbara laughed. “Well, wives can be wrong sometimes, believe it or not. What was the argument about? If you don’t mind me asking...” Sherri shook her head and rolled her eyes--at herself, of course. “He started talking to me about going back to school, and things like that...and I got really defensive, I think.” “You think?” Sherri sighed again. “I did.” “Do you want to go back to school?” Mrs. Barbara asked. “It would be nice, but it would just be too much right now. With Sid and Chris, and this one...” “Well, I’m gonna stop you right there, Sherri,” Mrs. Barbara said. “It would be nice sounds like you want to go...” “...yeah, well...” “You’ve got us. You’ve got your neighbors. And from what I know of Clyde, that man would put the world on his shoulders for you if he could. You’ve got more support than a lot of people in this world...” Sherri chuckled to herself. “Clyde said something along those lines.” “Well...” Mrs. Barbara said, peeping into the commons space again. “If Clyde and I mirror each other’s thoughts, then he must be right.” Mrs. Barbara winked and walked back into the commons area. Sherri just smiled to herself.  ____________________ Sherri and Sid returned home at about 2:30. “Can I watch TV, Mommy?” Sid asked. “Sure, baby,” Sherri said. She put her purse on the coffee table, turned on the television and flipped straight to PBS. Then, she made her way to the kitchen to hang her keys on the HOME hook. A familiar greeting card was sitting on the counter. On the front, it said “For You, Just Because. Blood rushed to Sherri’s cheeks, and she opened the card.

Her handwriting was on the right side, and read: Honeybunch, I love you and I appreciate you. Thank you for loving me and taking care of me. I know you’re feeling down now, but I want you to know that I’m always here, and I want to take care of you just as much as you do me. Love You, Sherri New handwriting was on the left side of it: 10/12/2027 Babygirl, I love you with ever fiber of my being. And I’ll never stop taking care you. No matter how much you take on, be it a little or a lot, I’m always going to carry it all with you. I just want you to be happy. And I want you to believe in yourself just as much as I do. If not more.  Love You More, Honeybunch Butterflies fluttered in Sherri’s belly. She gave her little bump a rub and read Clyde’s message one more time before closing the card. Then, she walked into the living room, joined Sid on the sofa, and pulled the raven-haired middle child into her arms.  “Goodness, I can’t believe Arthur is still comin’ on...” she said.  ____________________ TAG LIST @aloneandsleepless​​ @direnightshade​​ @finn-ray-nal-beads​​ @a-true-janian-reply​​ @thegreenmatt​​ @sister-winter73​​ @loewsy55​​​ @mariesackler​​​ @clydes-hole​​​ @sydneyssmut​​​ @kirah36​​ @lovelyyandtired​ @morby​ @tsarinastorm​ @clydes-hole​ Tag List request post