#the banana one is by far my most favourite of them all

[directdogman]

Commenting on DT fan OCs!

Alright, I'mma take a look at some DT fan OCs! I've been sent quite a few, so I'll try to keep my comments for each one short 'n' sweet!

great name, snappy dresser. diggin' the bowtie! the pins are also a fun accessory!

Another snappy dresser! Tied well to an existing location in-game and the idea to explain the stickers is cute! attire is unique/memorable and the blues/browns compliment each other well. solid design. I do appreciate him!

Yo, this guy was in the last one! what is this, a crossover episode???

the bandage on side of face is a nice touch! digging the pinstripe pants too! graveyard shift at a convenience store is also quite an authentic job for a DT side character to have too! very nicely done.

Solid OC! well-drawn, unique job and her fit's stylish (it probably goes without saying that i'm a sucker for TV heads with dogs on them. that's gotta be a given, right?) The stickers on the back of the head are also a nice addition! well done!

Stanley's a real cad, huh? pizza delivery guy with a novelty pizza phone head is genius - making him flirt with milves on the job is just inspired though. i almost wish i'd come up with this guy, as i can totally imagine people around town talking about him. excellent job!!!

he's aptly named for an arcade dude! dig the fit too, especially the black + purple fingerless long sleeve gloves! the decals on the phone are neat too!

I approve of his activities but the lack of a visible mouth threw me off, since i've seen these old toy phones before, ofc.

i was about to ask "how does he drink ocean water without a mouth", before realizing that id been bamboozled into asking the fandom-favourite question of: 'how does he eat without a mouth?', only to then remember that practically no DT characters have visible mouths.

i hope you know that you've strained my weary brain today. cool OC, though.

banana phone's a fun concept! also, i must say your username's quite fitting. crept up on me from my peripheral as I gazed upon the banana phone, like a bizarre centipede of some sort. well, i'd assume so. in hindsight, most centipedes i've encountered have been pretty straightforward with me. i guess i should be grateful for that.

i like mary's fuzzy phone matching the trim of her dress but martin's really got my attention. cool name, neat quirk (he kills people, that takes moxie. hell, even pizzaz too, dare i say?) The dial being a lil clock is a neat touch since it ties his interest into the design. also quite like the cord tail matching the phone head's colour. solid design!

i like his head-type and the attire/pale skin gives a nice bit of contrast!

hard to say how randy'd feel about him, as someone who's only seen his design and 2 lines of dialogue (as someone's personality dictates randy's opinion on them far more than their appearance.) if you feel they'd get on though, you're probably correct! (randy isn't too picky, after all!)

Funnily enough, one of the earliest sketches for crown has a similar bolted plate stuck to a mostly intact phone head. it was even sticking from one of the sides. or corners. i'd have to dig up the notebook, as it's been like 4 years since I came up with the character. Sorry, just made me remember since the earliest sketches had one too.

Copper phone head's a neat idea. Contrasts well with his attire as well (nice and complimentary.) if only his attempts to deter jesse from the za worked out as well, eh?

Alright, that's it for me! thanks for the submissions, these were real creative! good job, everyone!

[konigsblog]

Hi! This is my first time asking something :D 

Do you do anything, not nsfw? And if so, what would some random könig headcanons you agree with? Like habits and stuff you’d think he’d do? (does that make sense lmao)

If you just do nsfw you could make them nsfw headcanons.. Or just combine both aha

**HII.. i do write for sfw and fluff, as well as angst it's just not really requested as much as smut :) but here, hope you enjoy this!!! 🌙

silly könig headcannons

⭒ mentions of weed use, fluff.. 🌷🎀

⭒könig who prefers cats over dogs. they're quieter and calmer, has a ginger cat called ‘spice’ that's fiesty to new people. he loves the animal to death, and hands it to his oma when he's on deployment.

⭒i've mentioned this before, but i feel like könig was in a band as a kid, just a school one. he played the drums and was pretty emo in his teenager years...

⭒he sleeps in the weirdest positions. he'll either wake up with his body contorted into different ways, his arms above his head and across his chest with his legs intertwined with eachother.

⭒he's an easily jealous person, always top of his classes and getting 100% on his tests. his mother always wanted the best outcome for her son, so she was shocked when he decided to join the kommando spezialkräfte instead of becoming a doctor or a lawyer.

⭒has 100% attempted to get up but fell because his legs were stuck and tangled in his bedsheets.

⭒gets second hand embarrassment far too easily. he's cringing on the inside when someone does/says something stupid.

⭒absolutely hates the summer. it's horrible; everybody's sweaty and stinks, missions make him want to peal his skin off. definitely prefers autumn/winter.

⭒his favourite food to eat whilst sick is soup, a special homemade soup him and his mother made together while growing up. her own special recipe that he only teaches to his closest of friends.

⭒loves late night conversations. they're so deep and understanding, chatting for hours 'til your jaw hurts and the sun his peaking through the curtains.

⭒either drinks black coffee, really bitter. or drinks the most sugary coffee ever, no in-between. (tell me your opinions)

⭒is a morning person. gets up early and has his breakfast, something quick and easy, like toast or porridge (oatmeal), has a morning shower 'nd everything. (i love adding salt to my porridge/oatmeal)

⭒hates when people say germany and austria are the same. will definitely have a whole rant about the differences 'til you understand fully.

⭒smokes weed a lot, pretty much an addict. he says it's to calm his nerves down but he gradually started doing it more and more often. a stoner fs.

⭒enjoys movies, a lot. he loves sitting down with a blanket beside him, covered in orange cat hair. will probably make a bowl of popcorn to eat whilst watching, but ends up eating it all before he's even 30 minutes in.

big, bear hugs. we all know that the big, brute and towering man gives amazing hugs, but he really wants to lay atop of you, to cage you with his warmth.

⭒has a tendency to over share, rants sometimes while pretending to be confident, finding anything to talk about before feeling a bit uncomfortable with what he'd said.

⭒isn't shy. it's my biggest pet peeve when people make könig out to be someone shy, scared, ect.. he's not shy, he's socially anxious, but that doesn't make him quiet. he either puts on a front and pretends to be confident with a cocky, loud personality.

⭒absolutely adores milk. he drinks like a gallon in two days, that's why he's 6’10.

⭒enjoys mint chocolate chip ice cream, hates strawberry, especially if they have chunks. (self projecting)

⭒enjoys doing the dishes, finds it satisfying. until he touches food and gags.

⭒avid banana hater, the texture to the taste, everything about it makes him feel ill.

⭒listens to music for hours, usually something rock or heavy metal, loud music in his ears and the loud explosions gives him some hearing damage.

⭒usually smells woodsy, fresh cut trees and vanilla.

⭒germaphobe. doesn't like being near people when they're sick and will avoid them, probably because he gets sick too easily, despite having a strong immune system.

⭒isn't a very emotional person, he has sympathy for others but can't express it through tears and emotions. he's cold and aggressive to the recruits, blaming them for his issues because he struggles taking blame and fault for situations and needs a punching bag.

⭒owned a fish when he was around 7, cried because it died. turns out it was alive and he saw it swim down the toilet. never got another fish again, traumatized.

⭒doesn't like being told he's in the wrong, will refuse and deny it 'til he's forced to either apologise or end the friendship.

⭒curly ginger, or wavy ginger, you can't change my mind.

⭒doesn't really understand tiktok that much, or instagram. not really something that he's interested in, but occasionally uses twitter for like 5 minutes.

⭒has anemia, or iron deficiency. takes a couple naps a day because he doesn't like taking his supplements.

these are all i could think off 😵‍💫 tell me your personal headcannons!!

banner credit; @cafekitsune

[abooklover]

Lines/things in the red white and royal blue movie that make me scream and laugh hysterically (bear with me cause there’s a lot):

‘an urge I currently share’ (Ellen)

‘Making it was one of the most depressing moments of my career and I once saw Mitch McConnell eating a banana’ (Zahra)

‘You can hate prince Henry all you want but the minute you see a camera you better act like the sun shines out of his ass and you have a vitamin d deficiency’ (made even funnier cause of how literally this turned out) - bonus ‘what if I set myself on fire’ (Alex), ‘we’d ship the ashes to Heathrow’ (Zahra)

‘That’s perfect, you can kill me and I won’t have to go’ (Henry)

‘That’s what makes you so charming. That and your eyelashes.’ (So fucking glad they included at least a reference to this. Taylor’s lashes were working fucking overtime in this movie.)

Henry’s text with the attachment and ‘but we were ever so careful, dear’ (One of my favourite texts in the book and I’m so glad it made it into the movie)

‘Can you think of anything more wasteful’ (Alex), ‘Perhaps this conversation’ (Henry)

Henry’s weird little attempt at dancing while chugging out of a champagne bottle with on fist pumping weakly into the air (he is so me it hurts)

‘He grabbed my hair in a way that made me understand the difference between rugby and football’ (Alex)

‘Princes aren’t allowed to be gay, you should know that’ (Nora)

Alex trying to look cool for when Henry walks into the red room (we love an awkward boy)

Alex and Henry jumping apart to do the most unnatural things (Alex inspecting flowers like it’s his job and Henry perusing the bookshelf) like the idiots they are when Amy walks in on them making out

‘Are you still…’ (Alex) ‘Like Stonehenge’ (Henry), ‘or Big Ben’ (Alex)

‘Henry and I are much happier against walls’ (Alex)

‘Are they known for their homosexual tendencies’ (Alex)

‘And I thought Alex Gabriel Claremont Diaz was a mouthful’ (Alex), ‘He is’ (Henry) - and the fucking looks that followed it (kill me now)

‘I went to an English boarding school dear, trust me you’re in good hands’ (Henry)

‘Once, unsuccessfully’ (Henry)

‘Oh gee kid I’m sorry to interrupt your process of becoming but you’re the one who decided to put your dick into the heir to the British throne’ (Zahra), ‘Technically I’m the spare’ (Henry), ‘Not talking to you sir’ (Zahra)

‘Every time I see you it takes another year off of my life’ (Zahra)

Alex’s ‘Noooo..’ and the little laugh he does

‘If I’d had more warning I could’ve made you a PowerPoint presentation’ (Ellen) - another incredible callback to the book

Oscar Diaz’s affectionate ‘you little shit’

‘I’ve been thinking’ (Alex), ‘I seriously doubt that’ (Henry) and Alex’s mimick of it (absolute gold)

‘Or find herself at the top of the staircase with Phillip around’ (Bea, you literally had no right)

Zahra’s face when Alex starts mooning over Henry after his speech, then Zahra saying ‘oh my god, I just have to do everything round here’ and do not get me started on her whole speech to Shaan (greatest thing ever)

‘You might be lousy at keeping secrets kiddo, but I’m not’ (Zahra), ‘Zahra, I could kiss you’ (Alex), ‘Touch me and die’ (Zahra)

‘They can’t keep you locked away forever’ (Alex), ‘We really need to get you a book on English history’ (Henry)

The way Stephen Fry says ‘homosexual’

‘You still haven’t noticed my tie’ and Henry’s little smile afterward (oh how far we’ve come)

BONUS: ‘Do you think anyone noticed?’ and Henry’s exasperated sigh afterward

[missing-sock-misto]

This is in response to @elita-prime1’s ask, Tumblr ate it when I tried to save my draft 😭.

These asks are based on this ask game.

All of these are more for my human-catboy aus.

They requested 5, 6, 8, 9, and 20 for Tuggoffelees!

5- What’s their sleeping schedule?

Late, the both of them. Misto’s going to bed at 3am and waking up at 9am. No he does not get enough sleep. Tugger tends to sleep till 11, but sometimes he’s out at 8am to do an outing or whatnot. He does not have a schedule, though it’s evened out somewhat after his relationship with Misto.

6- Favorite music?

Tugger- Rock music XD

No but seriously- Tugger loves rock music and has many opinions. He loves all different subgenres, Classic 80’s, glam, symphonic, along with his share of punk. Whatever he’s listening the most to will change depending on his moods, sometimes it’s nothing but Queen for a week, then it’s all Nightwish and metal. But give him a bass line, a sick guitar rift and a fun rhythm and he’s got a good chance of having a good time. But he also loves lyrics. He’s a songwriter, and one of his great joys is clever wordplay and rhymes.

(Fun fact- in my head, the music Tugger plays is most similar to Mäneskin- focused instrumentally (Bass, guitar, drums, voice and that’s it), with a high emphasis on sexual innuendos and debaucherous imagery and words play)

Sometimes he’ll call Misto over to listen to a new song he just found:

Tugger: Sparkles, Sparkles, hey, listen to this!

Misto: Okay [It sounds like a standard rock song to his ears]. Yes?

Tugger: That’s it? Come onnn listen to it! That drum beat- ah, it’s so good! It’s just [he begins imitating the drum beat, miming hitting a drum set as he does.]

Tugger: And just listen to that chord progression on that bass! It’s all- [imitates it while strumming an invisible guitar]. Like it just starts so simple, and then boom- they bring in the guitar, and then the vocals follow the bass line, but it’s offset by a bar, so it’s got this chasing vibe to it and- ugh! It’s so good!

Misto: [Smiling fondly] Oh okay, I can hear it now.

/

Misto’s favourite music is Tugger’s- but he will die before he admits it. To his credit, it is a fluke, Tugger’s one of the few artists with vocals he listens to, much less a genre as intense as rock. The first time he tried listening to it, far before they were a couple, he found it overhyped and tiresome, much like their singer. But, again much like the singer, the songs grew on him, each one a reminder of the tom. He does tend to prefer Tugger’s ballads over his more popular, energetic numbers, but he always smiles when he listens to Tugger’s music.

He rolls his eyes as the singer hits truly ridiculous high notes, able to see the tom preening even through the mic. And songs are accompanied by snippets of memories and stories.

(“See- okay, so we took a sample from “Another One Bites the dust there- but this lyric was in reference to this one night, with this queen who was wild man- and she [launches into a story about a wild night at a bar.]”

[Another song, a different line]

“So one time, when I was singing this bit, someone threw a banana at the stage- a banana! Like- what happened to throwing underw-”

“Tugger- my daughter is present!”

“-Errrrrrwater gear!” he finished lamely, wilting under Demeter’s glare. He chuckled sheepishly, eyes flicking to his young niece. “Sorry Deme.”

She nodded, settling back into the chair.

“... Anyways, so I deep throat the banana-”

“RUM TUM TUGGER DEUTERONOMY!”

“IT’S PART OF THE STORY”

(There are songs about him of course. Tugger’s called Misto his muse on more than one occasion. Lines and lyrics are reminders of time they’ve shared together, the tom’s feelings for him. He knew about these songs before they were ever songs- just Tugger humming melodies and lyrics under his breath as he cooked dinner or drove.)

Besides Tugger’s music- Misto’s more standard music choices are varieties of classical music- both from popular ballets and more lyrical piano/string pieces for dance solos. He has a playlist devoted to ‘demon themed’ classical music: Danse Macabre, the Devil’s Trill, The Mephisto Waltz, Night on Bald Mountain etc etc.

8- It’s movie night, what movie do they pick?

Depends on the mood. Misto gravitates towards space documentaries, very much a Cosmos person. Tugger loves his action flicks of course, can never turn down a good car chase sequence, but he has a surprising fondness for fantasy as well. Misto got him to watch LotR, and at first Tugger was a bit grumpy about it. But slowly he stopped sassing during the movie, becoming drawn into the world and story. He cried when Boromir died.

9- How would they hold up in a pillow war?

Oohhhhh. Hehh, Misto is merciless, and is unafraid to cheat if it means winning. He will come out of this on top, and he doesn’t care who he has to bulldoze to get there. This includes and is not limited to; the love of his life and his sister.

If Tugger were against literally anyone else he’d stand a good chance. But he would like to spend the night in his bed, thank you, and not have to worry about getting electrocuted by a grumpy and bitter magician who’s ass just got kicked in a pillow fight. This is a game you win by not playing, or by tactical surrender.

20- What’s their idea of a perfect vacation?

Misto wants rest, predictability and quiet- a cabin far in the mountains, where he can bundle himself away with a hot drink and cuddle with his boyfriend in front of a fireplace. At night he wants to be able to see the stars, with air so crisp and devoid of light pollution he can see the Milky Way.

Tugger wants adventure- he’s all for a spontaneous trip to Europe or Asia with nothing but his phone, wallet and passport. His motto: “We’ll figure it out when we get there”. As soon as he’s off the plane he’s hitting clubs and hobnobbing with strangers. In his younger days, he wouldn’t even worry about finding a hotel room, he’d just find some pretty thing at a club and spend a night of passion at their place. If Misto has come with him on one of his trips, he does resign himself to hotel rooms, but nothing beats the thrill of making new friends in a strange country.

When they travel as a couple- they have come to a compromise: Misto does the planning months in advance, and then he springs it on Tugger with three days warning or less. After they get off the plane, they check into their hotel/cabin/BnB and Misto can spend the day recovering from the stress of traveling, while Tugger can go off and attempt to befriend everyone at the local night club. Then they do a mix of activities together and separate.

Thanks for the ask! 💜

[wronglennon]

thank uuuu @menlove and @dykebeatles for tagging me mwah writing tag game lets go

how many works do you have on ao3?

cumulatively over both accounts i have 13, but there are a bunch ive deleted over the years so the actual number is unknown lmao

what’s your total word count?

on takomtrmou it’s 109,153 and on saffrontea its 46,451. my other account is primarily anime/podcast stuff and i havent used it in a while but it was a lot more short form. if you like jujutsu kaisen i have a satosugu fic on there i wrote nearly two years ago now which i still stand by i love you satosugu

top five fics by kudos?

something you can hold on to (satosugu)

stop calling (it’s time to let me be) (satosugu)

if you think you can save me, i dare you to try (satosugu)

there’s a kind of music that reminds me of you (oakworthy)

an improvised guide to co-parenting in the workplace (mythic quest, vaguely braddavid)

do you respond to comments? why/why not?

yeah definitely even if it takes me a bit to get round to them sometimes i try to reply to them. partially because i want to say thank you but partially because when they’re sitting in my inbox it doesn’t feel like i can mark them as seen till i reply lol

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

it’s between stop calling and if you think you can save me, but i think probably stop calling, just because i think you can save me is a scene that’s also included in something you can hold onto from a different perspective, and that one ultimately has a happy ending. i was very concerned with making stop calling as despairing and hollow as possible.

what’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

thiss is hard because it’s sort of like what quantifies something being happier than something else if it’s just, they both end well. is it that despite the angst the ending is happy? because if that’s the case it’s definitely something you can hold onto. i like the ending to love is a finder as well because it’s just very sweet and i liked writing it a lot.

do you write crossovers?

no, got nothing against them i just have never found two properties that i would be interested in writing one for.

have you ever received hate on a fic?

nooo not as far as i’m aware

do you write smut, if so what kind?

sure if it fits and i want to. most kinds really. i think the smut ive enjoyed writing most has been the trixie katya stuff ive written over the course of this year, esp dead but delicious.

have you ever had a fic stolen?

noooope

have you ever had a fic translated?

noooope

have you ever co-written a fic before?

nah but i would be up for it if its a concept im really into and someone i enjoy co writing with. the concept of the daemon au was very much a split effort between me and james menlove tho so it definitely wouldn’t exist without him.

what’s your all-time favourite ship?

it changes so frequently but ill always have a special place in my heart for satosugu. tragic friends to enemies will always get me and with kenjaku there’s just another element of pain.

what’s a wip that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

ohhhh banana-split lady i fear. i mean never is a strong word but i worry its not in the foreseeable future just because my passion for it kind of petered out, but i do still really love the concept soo maybe someday. just not someday soon

what are your writing strengths?

i have been told that i evoke scenery and emotion pretty vividly which is always so great to hear. more recently with the beatles my favourite compliment is hearing that i get their voices/banter down accurately because its sooo important to me when im reading a fic and its one of my favourite parts to write.

what are your writing weaknesses?

the planning stage definitely. i have a habit of throwing myself into the bit i want to write and then kind of painting myself into a corner when i realise i dont have any ideas for the wider plot. i’m working on it but yeah im a bigggg offender of just making things up as i go which also can lead to losing interest in a piece lol

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

i suppose i’ve got no issue as long as it’s executed well, and yeah as prev said finding someone who speaks the language is always preferable to just google translating it lmao

what was the first fandom you wrote for?

wrote but not published was doctor who. i was writing self insert doctor who fanfiction from the age of nine. first that i published was voltron and i dont want to talk about that.

what’s a fandom/ship you havent written for yet but want to?

i have a dusty old poison ivy/harley quinn wip that probably i wouldn’t post but definitely piqued my interest in writing them because theyre a lottt of fun.

favourite fic you’ve written?

either something you can hold on to or love is a finder, always! love is a finder is recent but im very proud of how it turned out, and something you can hold onto still stands up remarkably well even tho i think ive changed as a writer quite a lot since i wrote it.

tagging: mmmmm @milfpaul @tritzie @jorkeryuri and whoever else wants to do this lol

[every-aj-needs-an-angel]

Chapter 9!! I genuinely cannot believe I've actually kept up with this 😅 honestly I'm the worst ask every teacher who ever wanted coursework from me 😂 the love and support I've received from everyone who's enjoyed this has been mind-blowing and I'm so grateful to each and every one of you 💖

Betting It All On Love

Robin, surprisingly, took him shopping, which was only surprising because of how much she truly hated it. She hated the crowds and the trends the masses felt a weird compulsion for, and that was before she got on to the whole thing about consumerism. But she knew how much he loved it, knew how a new outfit could bolster his mood, how the hum of voices echoing through the space soothed something deep in his soul.

The one advantage to still having anything to do with his biological parents was that they still paid off the credit card they'd given him when he had gone on a class trip to the zoo in middle school, so on the rare occasion he felt the need to go wild in the aisles, he didn't feel like he had to feel too guilty about using it. Especially when that meant he could buy Robin the plaid coat she hadn't been able to take her eyes off of from the moment they'd walked into the mall.

Especially when she grinned like that at her every reflection as she wore it around the air-conditioned space, which was far too chilly for the tee and shorts combo she'd chosen for the day. Not that Steve was quite sure why there was a surf and ski clothing store in the middle of Nevada, but it didn't matter, he knew the coat would be perfect for when winter came to Indy. It hadn't been quite perfect in the moment, of course, and he was seriously considering giving in and just going into the nearest store to buy her yet another hoodie.

"Steve, I'm hot!" Robin whined as she wandered listlessly by his side.

"So take the coat off," Steve reasoned calmly, shifting the shopping bags in his hands to take some of the pressure off of his tattoo.

"But then I'll be cold!" she countered.

"Truly a cross to bear," Steve muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes to himself as he steered them back towards the souvenir stand; because no way we're they ever going to own another average hoodie, it was going to be the most disgustingly gaudy 'I heart Vegas' glaringly obviously touristy hoodie humanly possible. 

Except as they continued to stroll along their new route, it took them right past the food court, Robin enthusiastically exclaiming "Ice cream!" That was how they ended up crammed into a booth, the amount of bags they'd acquired practically pushing them off their seats, a giant bowl of banana split sitting between them as they both picked their favourite parts out of the dessert.

"So, how's things going with Chris?" Steve asked as he shoved a spoonful of strawberry ice cream into his mouth.

Robin nodded, chewing thoughtfully on the caramel coated banana, "Good," she admitted, blushing deeply and ducking her head. "She's amazing, Steve, I've never met anyone like her. She's like a ray of fucking sunshine, you know? Like the kind cats curl up in. Just joy and warmth and, I don't know, magic, or something," she gushed, waving her hands and her empty spoon around as she talked, saying more about her feelings than what was actually coming out of her mouth.

She bit the inside of her cheek but couldn't keep the lovesick grin off of her face as she stared into the distance, gazing vaguely at the lime green vinyl of the booth seat just over Steve's shoulder, "I swear to God, at Charlie's last night, I was this close," she pinches her finger and thumb together so there's only the tiniest sliver of light between them, "to asking her to marry me! And not just drunken Vegas marrying, like full on, come home and meet my folks, months of planning and white dresses, marrying. That's insane, right?" she asked, finally looking at his face.

Steve wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to respond, part of him was insulted that she thought his marriage was less than because of how it had happened. Part of him was just incredibly proud of her. It was crazy, and it also wasn't crazy at all. Sometimes when you know you just know and given how long they'd all actually spent together, it wasn't like she was just jumping in feet first. Robin had probably spent more hours with Chrissy than she had ever spent with Sammi and that relationship had felt like it was never ending.

Luckily, he was saved from actually answering when, after swallowing another mouthful of partially melted chocolate ice cream, she jabbed her spoon at him and exclaimed, "And oh my god, Steve! In bed! The best I've ever had!" And Robin might've continued to elaborate on that, but Steve had unceremoniously dropped his spoon to cover his ears and “la la la” loudly until her lips stopped moving.

It was a running joke between the two of them, the first guy he'd been on a date with after Billy had been phenomenal. Alex had blown Steve's tiny small-town mind, and even though they’d both agreed that their relationship would only ever be a casual hookup, it hadn’t stopped him from wandering around for three whole days like he was on an actual cloud. Robin had quickly become sick of his permanent grin and had asked him "what the fuck he had to be so happy about?" She hadn't liked the answer and ever since whenever either one of them went into specifics about their love life that was what the other one did.

She laughed, and he did too knowing full well she'd tell him, in intricate and unnecessary detail, all about Chrissy's skills in the bedroom as they finished their shopping spree; they still had to find Dustin’s book after all, and they both knew he would listen while she gushed about what an incredible lover she'd snagged, and he'd try desperately not to be green with envy that she'd found the love of her life and was actually going to get to keep her.

They didn't talk about Eddie, he could tell she wanted to, she kept opening her mouth to ask questions and then just snapping her jaw shut and carrying on, distracting him with pretty things and tasty foods. Part of him was glad. Part of him wanted to talk it through with her. Part of him just wanted to enjoy time spent with his best friend and live in the delusion that everything was fine. He had no doubt there'd be plenty of time to talk about it when they got home, even if Robin and Chrissy immediately moved in together, and he had to learn to talk to Chrissy the same way he talked to Robin (which he honestly didn't think would be that difficult) he had no doubt that they’d make space and time for him to mourn his loss, and maybe even mourn it with him.

At least with Chrissy across the hall, he'd finally have someone to watch sports with again. Chris' taste in sport had so far been Robin's only complaint. She'd been excited to finally find someone she was attracted to who actually liked sports but had been quickly disappointed to find out that Chris preferred watching basketball and the NFL like Steve, which meant that Robin still wouldn't have anyone to watch soccer with.

Even though Steve was always happy to watch it with her, he just didn't share her enthusiasm for it. That was the thing that apparently baffled Robin, because “how could any self-respecting bisexual not enjoy a field full of men in tiny shorts chasing a ball?” And honestly, it was the chasing the ball part that seemed to be the off-putting bit. It kinda felt more like watching golden retrievers in the dog park, and although the whole point of football and basketball was to get a ball in a goal, he was proud that neither were a game a dog could play.

As he was ambling around the bookstore looking for the fantasy section, it occurred to him that it would probably be the last time he’d be asked to do anything like this for the kids. Not that you could really class a bunch of twenty-somethings as kids anymore, but it occured to him somewhat horrifyingly that all of them were about to start going out into the real world. They’d all soon be grown-ups and would soon have to deal with all the problems that came with being an adult that were coming for them thick and fast. Real relationships and jobs and rent, for most of them this summer would probably be their last one at home with their parents.

It might even be the last summer he had a chance to see some of them ever again. Max still wanted to go home to her dad and the chances of him getting an invitation to California were probably slimmer than he’d like to admit. As he picked up the copy of Earthshaker he’d been searching for, he vowed to himself to spend more than one weekend back home before they all headed back to college. Take his camera home, organise a big party, and tell them all how much he loved them. It’d be fine, the summer wasn’t over yet. 

Robin interrupted his rapidly derailing train of thought when she came bounding around the bookshelf, a stack of books cradled to her chest like a newborn. He purposefully didn’t ask, especially when he could see that the one on the top of the stack read ‘Nuclear Medicine In Tropical And Infectious Diseases’. He just grinned knowingly and waved Dustin’s book in the direction of the register, mainly because they both knew full well that given the opportunity, Robin could and would happily spend the rest of their vacation immersed in the endless racks and shelves. 

He did, however, self indulgently snag the latest Jackie Collins novel to add to his growing collection as he passed by the display. Sweet old Mrs Johnson had been the one to get him hooked. She used to read them when she would babysit, at first to herself, but then there’d been a bad storm one weekend when he was six and the electricity had gone out for hours. It was winter so although it had been early in the evening, it was dark and he was scared. But Mrs Johnson had just pulled him into her lap and let him curl into her while she read by candlelight.

He hadn’t really understand the story itself, but she had had a nice voice, and he had liked listening to her read. From then on it had been what they had done on rainy days. In fact, the weekend before she had died, it had been stormy, and they’d spent two whole days curled up in her favourite armchair in his living room while she read to him.

The books had made him mad for a while, after she’d left him, but then when he was older and trying to navigate high school he quickly realised he preferred the salacious crime novels to Shakespeare or Chaucer that were, as far as he was concerned, basically the same thing but written in another language. It hadn’t been until he was older still that he realised that some of the characters in those books had also been vital in helping him create the King Steve persona that kept him safe for four years.

 

Steve hadn’t realised how quickly the day had disappeared until they made it back to the hotel. Not that he minded, his stomach full from the tacos they’d been unable to resist, and he’d had a wonderful day with his best friend.

They’d bought so many things that even in the short walk from the lobby, his fingers had started to take on that distinctive claw shape as the handles had dug into his skin. Sighing heavily in relief as he finally released the bags onto his bed, and again in frustration as Robin cheerfully tried and failed to check their voicemails, nearly making a collect call by accident. He used his one still fully functioning finger to press the necessary buttons, flopping down next to his best friend on her bed.

Beep. “Hi. It’s me. Chrissy,” she paused giggling to herself, “I hope you two are free tonight! Meet by the creepy looking goat statue at six?” she sounded so happy and hopeful, Steve couldn’t keep the endeared smile off of his face. Robin almost cut the message off before Chris had had chance to finish, and he couldn’t help feeling like a bit of a hero when he stopped her movements just in time to hear “Okay, see you soon. I love you!” Beep. 

Robin’s eyes immediately bugged out, if she wasn’t careful it was likely they’d fall out of her head altogether. She glanced franticly between Steve and the phone, her whole demeanour screaming “You heard that, right?” Steve grinned and jostled her playfully, enjoying the deep blush on her cheeks and her silent fluster as she processed what she’d heard.

Not that they really had time for an emotional crisis, “Come on, blushy! If we’re meeting at six, that only gives us half hour,” he reasoned, flipping himself off the bed and heading to his wardrobe to find his black pinstripe shirt and dark jeans. He had no idea what they would be doing, but it’d be a fine outfit for an evening in Vegas.

He was standing over the sink adding some serum to his hair when he heard her mumble from the doorway, “Isn’t it a bit early for ‘I love you’?” She sounded so small and hesitant, he dropped his hands immediately, stepping over to her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders, being extra careful not to get sticky fingers on her fancy blazer.

“Is it ever too early to say how you feel?” he asked, pressing his cheek against the top of her head.

“I don’t know” Robin muttered glumly, grabbing two fistfuls of the back of his shirt and scrunching it between her fingers anxiously. “There’s no way she meant “I love you” right? I mean, she can’t be in love with me, Evie. It doesn’t make any sense! We’ve known each other for what? A few days! There’s no way she could… She must’ve meant “love you” you know? Like in a friend way,” she rambled frenetically; whether she was trying to convince him or herself, he really couldn’t say.

Steve hummed thoughtfully, “Does it feel like love in a friend way?” he asked evenly.

She scoffed harshly like he expected her to, “No! But she wasn’t just talking to me, she was inviting both of us,” she pointed out.

It frustrated him how easily she could convince herself that people couldn’t possibly love her. He sighed heavily trying really hard not to roll his eyes, “She was talking to you,” he affirmed, because he had heard that message, and contrary to popular belief he wasn’t actually stupid, and he’d witnessed with his own eyes how crazy Chrissy was about her, how crazy she was about Chrissy.

Huffing loudly, she removed herself from his hold, so she could look him in the eye “But it’s been days!” she whined, still trying to convince someone that the facts weren’t the facts, probably because she was actually just kinda scared.

Steve just shrugged his shoulders, “Yeah, but how many hours has it been? How many hours did you spend with Mickey? You were in love with her. How is this different?” he asked, rather reasonably considering she was driving him up the wall because how could she not know by now how easy she was to love.

“Does sleep count?” she asked, wincing even as the words fell out of her mouth.

He laughed dryly, “No, Robbie, you can’t count hours you weren’t conscious for!” he deadpanned, tugging her back into his chest before she could start pacing like a caged tiger.

She made a pained sound in the back of her throat as she leaned heavily into him, gripping the sides of his shirt, moving her fingers around as she counted against his ribs. Eventually, after at least three recounts, she huffed the way she always did when he was right for a change.

“Do you think maybe you’re freaking out because you feel that way too?” he asked calmly.

“Maybe,” she muttered sighing heavily like she was holding the weight of the whole world. He knew he’d hit the nail on the head when she huffed a frustrated breath through her teeth and pushed him off, “How would you feel if Eddie said that to you!” she accused, pointing a finger at him.

Steve snorted derisively, too tired to be anything but honest, “Honestly, I’d be fucking delighted. I’m so fucking in love with him, it’s insane!” he admitted, trying desperately to ignore how whiney and pathetic he sounded.

All the fight dissipated out of her as he spoke, her eyebrows scrunching together in sympathy, “Really?” she asked softly, a pained look taking over her face when he nodded solemnly, “Have you told him that?”

Steve snorted a humourless laugh, “No! Jesus, Bobs, I’m not a complete fucking idiot!”

“But you just said--”

“Yeah! Because it’s obvious you feel the same way!” he yelled, not entirely sure why he was shouting. It wasn’t her fault he’d got himself all tangled up in infatuation again, “Sorry,” he muttered.

Robin wasn't fazed though just waved off his apology and raised a singular eyebrow at him, “And it’s not with Eddie?!” she asked condescendingly, folding her arms over her chest.

“No!” Steve exclaimed, because it was very unobvious, thank you very much! Robin didn’t argue with him, just threw her arms in the air like he was being the frustrating one, tutting and heading back into the bedroom to finish getting ready, leaving Steve to deal with the silence and his half serumed hair.

Chrissy, as it turned out, had procured tickets for a boxing match of all things. It wasn't something neither he nor Robin ever would've chosen, but apparently Chris' best friend from her cheerleading days, Beth, was now a ring girl, and she had pulled some strings and got them into a private box. They had their own bar and a balcony view over the proceedings, meaning they could see everything without getting coated in blood, it was different but once-in-a-lifetime experiences were kinda what Vegas was all about.

Robin was leaning with her back against the bar, Chrissy curled into her running her hands up and down the lapels of Robin's jacket, both of them giggling and whispering like schoolgirls. As much as he was glad Robin seemed to have overcome her earlier conflict, he was starting to find it all a bit sickening. It wasn’t their fault, and he wasn't really mad with them at all, he'd just been in a terrible mood since bickering with Robin and the dark cloud hanging over his head had only worsened when Eddie hadn't been waiting with Chrissy in the lobby like he had hoped.

He'd offered to go back to the room, part of him wanting to let them have a night to be together, the other part just wanting to be alone so he could sulk some more, but neither of them would let him. They’d giddily pulled him into their hold, linking their arms with his and practically frog marching him out the front door of the hotel and into the waiting taxi. 

In the seclusion of the private space, however, and with two or three shots in each of them, both girls had dropped all their inhibitions and seemed to have forgotten all about him. Honestly, he’d never been a third wheel before, not even with Tommy and Carol but he was seriously starting to feel like he should go home and call Barb and apologise for every time he and Nancy had made her feel how he was feeling because maybe he was technically married, but he’d never felt more single or more alone.

He sighed heavily, snagging a beer from the bartender and heading out onto the balcony, leaning heavily against the railing surveying the crowd below him. The venue was packed, not a single empty seat to be seen anywhere, which struck him as odd because the match wasn't due to start for at least another twenty minutes, and he'd been to enough ball games in his life to know that normally there was a mad dash to grab your seats before the game actually kicked off; but apparently the ring girls were supposed to be their entertainment, like some sick warm-up act.

The last time he'd seen a crowd as rowdy was at the strip club when he'd been inexplicably invited to Mark's stag do. Mark was his dad's number two, the guy being lined up to take over the company when his old man finally bit the dust. The bloke had spent the whole night weirdly trying to rub it in Steve's face how close he and his dad were, only finally shutting his mouth when after four beers Steve had lost his temper and had casually asked: "So are you sucking his dick, or--?" Mark had blushed furiously, started stuttering and stammering and had quickly disappeared. Steve had just downed the rest of his beer and hailed a cab, heading home to Robin to bemoan a wasted Saturday night.

Robin had whined about how it hadn't been fair that he'd been invited, but she hadn't. Everyone at the company had assumed they were a couple and after their first few jobs together they'd learned to just stop correcting people. Mainly because if they didn't their coworkers wanted to know why there weren't dating and usually "because we're like siblings" wasn't a good enough answer and then they had to deal with months of constant badgering and peer pressure to hook up. Robin had been right, of course, she would have enjoyed the strip club far more than he had. Personally, he thought grown men drooling over a half-naked woman, especially ones young enough to be their daughter, was a little grim.

A petite brunette who he assumed was Beth when she'd bounced up and down waving excitedly to him as she had headed into the ring, and her friend, who were both dressed in nothing but a metallic bikini and high heels, seemed to be enjoying themselves, however, especially when Beth's friend caught the attention of a stag do sitting in the front row. 

The groom-to-be was obviously a high school jock surrounded by his "bros" and by the looks of things, either his father or the father-in-law-to-be who was glancing anywhere but at the ring, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. It made Steve shudder to think that if his life had gone a little differently, if he and Nancy had stayed together, if he'd stuck with Tommy and the team, would that be him now? Would that be his dad? Or worse, poor Ted? 

Thankfully he didn't have more time to dwell on it when Robin appeared next to him bumping purposefully into his side, swapping his empty beer for a cold one with a gentle smile. Chrissy quickly joined them on the balcony carrying a beer and a tray of nachos to share, shouting over the noise of the crowd to explain the rules to Robin when she had asked how they'd know who won.

Steve knew Robin knew the rules of boxing. Mainly because her grandpa had been an Olympic boxer, but he wasn't about to call her out on it. Plus, he liked how patient Chris was with her, he thought it was sweet when he wasn’t busy being a grumpy bastard.

The ring girls left the ring, Beth waving enthusiastically, shooting Chrissy a few hand gestures that Steve didn't understand but made Chrissy belly laugh as she headed out of sight. Then it was time for the match to get started; two gigantic blokes followed by a team of helpers charging into the ring, bouncing on their toes next to the smallest ref Steve had ever seen.

There was a bit of chatter and then the bell dinged, the ref moved, and the giants started to dance around one another, sizing each other up and dodging a few hits before the real action started. One hit, two. The excitement of the crowd and the anticipation were getting Steve's adrenaline pumping. 

That was why he jumped three feet in the air when he felt hands land on his waist (that's what he told himself anyway).

Eddie laughed brightly as Steve spun around, his hands raised placatingly, "It's only me!" he yelled, giggling adorably. He smiled, placing a careful hand on Steve's shoulder and squeezing some of the tension out of his shoulder blade with gentle fingers. Slipping Robin a placating smile as she no doubt glared at him over Steve's shoulder. He elbowed her absentmindedly, giving her a look that said "eyes on your own date!" before turning his full attention to Eddie.

Steve was honestly kind of dumbfounded by Eddie's presence, when Chrissy had been alone in the lobby, he'd just assumed that Eddie wouldn't be joining them at all any more. He wouldn't have been at all surprised to find out that Eddie had packed up and gone back to Indy with Dan, even if he had spent the past half an hour trying desperately not to think about the implications of that. Especially when Chris had deliberately not said anything when Robin had asked the only question that had been on Steve's mind, “Where’s Eddie?” 

Even a foot away Steve could tell something was off, Eddie’s eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and he’d done a terrible job of trying to hide it behind a thick layer of eyeliner. There was a permanent red patch down the side of his nose, like he’d scratched or rubbed at it too many times, bursting the tiny blood vessels. His hair was overly oily at the roots like he’d spent the day running his fingers over his scalp and his fingernails were bitten down to the quick; the skin looked painful to even look at and Steve had no idea how he’d dealt with acetone and nail polish to repaint his nails.

It was the gasp of the crowd reacting to the first real punch landing that brought him back to himself. Steve glanced behind him in time to see blood pour from the slightly taller one's mouth, followed by cheers and screams as the smaller of the two landed a second punch.

Steve shook his head, immediately turning back to Eddie, "Hi," he mumbled in astonishment.

Eddie smiled cautiously, "Hi," he greeted, stepping closer and reaching up to tuck a loose strand behind Steve's ear, "I'm sorry I'm late," Eddie yelled over the roar of the crowd, "Can we talk? After the match?" he asked nervously.

Steve's brain very obviously and very quickly went to the worst case scenario, that Eddie was here to officially ask for a divorce, but his poker face must not be what it once was because Eddie cupped his cheek gently forcing Steve to meet his gaze, "No! Nothing bad, I promise. I just want to tell you about my day, maybe we could go for that dinner we talked about?" he asked hopefully, pulling Steve’s SuperEl shirt out from behind his back and offering it to him.

Steve blinked at the shirt for a second and felt the smile tugging at his cheeks threatening to split his face in two. Hope starting to bloom unchecked in his chest, making his heart skip out of beat. Eddie's hopeful little smile had been the most adorable thing he'd seen since he'd seen him drooling into his pillow that morning.

Eddie beaming back at him when Steve nodded bashfully, nervously tugging the collar of his shirt through his fingers, came in a close third. Eddie’s hand got dislodged from his face when his head automatically flicked back to the action when the crowd let out an elongated "ooh!" as one of the boxers went down hard. 

Steve took the opportunity to take Eddie by the hand and lead him out onto the balcony, leaning against the railing to face the action, waiting for Eddie to mirror him and get absorbed in the match, then turning to watch Eddie react with the most adorable second-hand winces as the smaller boxer tried and failed to get up.

Steve quickly found himself wanting to watch Eddie more than the fight. He tried to stealthily turn his whole body so he was leaning sideways against the railing. The metal bar digging into his ribs a painful reminder that he was here and this was real. That Eddie was with him, and he wanted to go to dinner and talk. That he wanted to tell Steve about his day! Wanted to take him on a proper bonafide date! Because he’d brought Steve his shirt. Honestly, he’d forgotten that he’d even left it in Eddie’s room. The thought that he must’ve hung it up in the closet for him, so it wouldn’t get wrinkled was so sweet it was making his heart want to burst out through his chest. 

He knew he must look like the worlds most lovesick fool stood staring at Eddie's profile like he was the most beautiful man on the planet (which he was) and like he was the luckiest man alive to even be in Eddie’s presence (which he was) but he just couldn't find it in himself to care, he was going to take this moment while he could and store it in his heart forever.

The bell dinged again and Eddie looked over, flicking his eyes down noticing Steve's posture and smirking to himself. Steve felt the blush creeping up his neck and turned back to the action, forcing himself to not push himself too far into Eddie's personal space, but he needn't have worried. As soon as Steve was settled against the railing again, Eddie threw his arm around his shoulders, jostling him lightly and smiling joyfully at him, pressing a gentle kiss into his shoulder.

As the match went on Eddie's arm slowly slipped down his side holding onto his waist, then slipped further down to his hip where Eddie gave up and just hooked his thumb through Steve's belt loop, tucking his chin over his shoulder and pressing the odd kiss to any bit he could reach but just staying as close as he could, curled tightly into Steve side for the rest of the night; until the bigger of the two boxers had been knocked down for the final time, and it was time for the masses to disperse.

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

Part 10

tag list my beloveds @estrellami-1 @gregre369 @adhdsummer @nerdfighteratheart @anaibis @dolphincliffs @hbyrde36 @marinarasarah @deadflowercollector @lunabookworm @a-couchpotato @wonderland-girl143-blog @ddharrington @abstractnaturaldisaster @lololol-1234 @bestwifehaver @steviejeebiez

[azalea-romanoff]

HAPPY AUTISM AWARENESS DAY!

First: happy autism awareness day to all my mun/mods with autism or who have characters with autism. (in my case, it's both!)

So in honour of Autism Awareness Day and month, I'd like to tell you all about my levels of autism <3

Tics and Fidgets: I'm on the spectrum such that I have a lot of tics and fidgets. Usually it's the repititions which feel nice, and it can often annoy others. I have a tendency to: click my tongue, snap my fingers, flap my hands, rock back and forth, and i make popping sounds. the more subtle tics are pulling my hair, picking my fingernails.

Poor Eye contact: Poor eye contact with me is only with people i don't know or during stressful situations. like if i'm in a meeting with Nick Fury, i'll be fine. but if i'm greeting new agents? hell no. (//ooc: i can talk to my class teacher just fine, but with maybe the delivery man, a cashier, i can't look them in the eyes.).

Abnormal Posture: ...as an agent, this is a huge no-no. the only reason i got the job is because my abnormal posture is literally me just keeping my fists clenched at all times, and keeping my left foot a bit more in front of the other. a tense fighting stance if you will. Convenient!

Anxiety: Shockingly, it's low! I only get anxious in places which are too loud or too far from home. loud places make me really anxious because it means i have too many thoughts in my head and too many things to process at a time. and being deaf, too, with hearing aids, it makes it 100x tougher. Sorry, but Azalea Romanoff-Maximoff isn't the girl you take to a party or a club.

Social Difficulty: I have moderately high social difficulty. as in, i have trouble communicating my thoughts when in big groups, and making friends is a bit...daunting as a task. And sometimes i miss on non-verbal cues like sarcasm, subtle joking, even a few metaphors here and there. So iF YOU NEED A SPECIFIC BIRTHDAY GIFT, TELL ME TO MY FACE. DON'T HINT IT-? I WILL LITERALLY NOT GET YOUR POINT.

Noise Sensitivity: ...have you met me? i am VERY sensitive to noise. Vacuum cleaners, power drills, gunshot sounds (//ooc: movies, especially), someone typing loudly on their laptop, so many of these day-to-day sounds drive me to a meltdown sometimes because it's just so annoying.

Abnormal/Flat Speech: Nope. Most people can tell how i'm feeling by my voice, except in situations where i'm confused on how to react. like if someone says they're pregnant, i'll just say 'oh, nice.' like, are you happy or sad or like-? eH???

Fixations: I have plenty. But my biggest ones? Top Three: Animals, History, Space. iF i get bored, i will literally talk about this for hours, and dare you show even an iota of interest in the same, my friend you're gonna be there a WHILE.

Depression: only on sensory overload days, or on days where i randomly get sad. a result of the anxiety, honestly. i think wayyyyy too many 'what if' scenarios.

Aggression: And finally, I'm not a very aggressive person. Only if i'm very overstimulated, if i'm not being heard, or if i'm just having a bad day in general, i might break a pencil or two. maybe throw a few books down a shelf.

BONUS: soooo i hate the colour yellow or anything that is yellow. like, i haven't ever touched a banana. my favourite colour is red, and my favourite animal is the panda. i hate the feeling of shag carpets and i don't like the feeling of nylon on skin. i don't like the scratchiness of yarn and i don't like the sound of chalk on a chalkboard. i do like the hum of an air conditioner though, and looking outside a window helps calm me down.

SO that's all about my autism! I hope i made you all aware! Reach out to any fellow autistic people you may know, and do find out about their fixations, if they're non-verbal or verbal. accept them for who they are, don't try and fix them.

autism isn't a disease. our minds are just wired differently. if you can figure out how a complex video game works within 24 hours, how hard can a person be?

🤟 love you all!

bellow is my autism spectrum evaluation results (mod's) for people who are close to me, like @moongirlwidow @wandabug @supermilkshakebanana @nevaeh-daughterofvalcarol @capt-carter-mostly-official @esmerxyaugusta and @pietro-maximoff-official <3

[rollercoasterwords]

Ok this may come off as ramble-y but i just wanted on come in here gush abt how much I love your fics!! I'm a big fan of atyd so intially that's how i found your work -- through Sirius' perspective -- and i loved that shit (dare i say more than the original,, they're both amazing ofc I'm just biased coz Sirius is my fav character). I come from a super religious/conservative background and I have never related so much to a character with internalised homophobia -- like the resemblance was a little uncanny ngl lol.

But yeah,, than i read 'thtf' becoz i was craving some lesbian fics (coz the marauders' fandom is in a lesbian drought let's be real). And it was so good and i absolutely bawled my eyes out. You're writing i think especially shined in this fic and i remember i would go back an reread pages because they we're so beautifully written lol.

And then i read ur cowboy and zombie au fics (even tho I don't really ship jegulus/marylily) but they were still amazing and so, so fun!!

My favourite fic of yours by far tho is ur most recent fic, 'As the Worm Moon Dies'. I'm a sucker for fics that expand on the world-building/magic of hp because i feel like there is so much missed potential in the og hp series due to jkr neoliberal centrist politics (gag). I loved how u depicted magic in series as more of a spectrum and how every human has the capability for it. I loved how u described the elves and their enslavement becoz holy shit is that a horrible plot point in the og series (dw!! they liked being enslaved!!). Sirius as a death eater is so weird becoz canon sirius would never -- but it also shows just how much of an influence James and subsequently the Potter's had on his life. Ooooh also don't even get me started on the werewolf fighting rings and the hypocrisy of pureblood societies its absolutely so fascinating to me!! Ahh i've reread it so many times already lol. (and obviously, the wolfstar is *chefs kiss*)

I love ur writing so much i actually started reading the captive prince series solely so ic ould read ur fanfics on it lmao. (up to book 2 -- so far very interesting -- and wondering what Laurent's perspective could possibly contain).

Honourable mentions to ur nobleflower and emmary fics because they were awesome and ur characterisation of emmaline as a butch aloof lesbian is now absolutely cannon to me!!

Anyways sorry for rambling so much i just needed to fangirl about ur works!! I just wanted to thank you for all the time you put into them and your services to the marauders fandom. Oh, and if you ever published a book one day i would read it no doubt.

aww thank u 🥹 this is so sweet it’s always crazy 2 remember that there r like…real live actual people out there who r resonating w the things im writing etc so i v much appreciate the kind words 💕 also reading captive prince just 4 the laurent pov fic is crazy lmao but i hope u enjoy the series…book 1 is rough but book 2 will start bringing u back and book 3?? bananas….

[marvelandponder]

💖 🖊? Maybe these can go hand in hand! (Unless you want to keep your favourite parts for when they come out haha)

Fanfic Ask Game! Hehehehe! I was hoping somebody would use the pen! I'll answer the first one in general, then give you a snippet from an upcoming story I just finished revising (off to be illustrated!) 💖 What do you like most about your own writing? Hard to say, but I really love writing and dialogue. I've had to read back so much of my own stuff since I try to edit it to a good point before it goes to Bevin - so I will admit a terrible sin: I laugh at my own jokes. I also cry at my own stories, but I cry easy! 🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP. (let's goooooo!)

Her knuckles clunked against the hardwood, resounding.  Floorboards shifted and sifted dust until a chain lock clocked open, and the door stepped back to let a half-awake, swollen-eyed Timber Spruce work out how to parse the view. “Sunset Shimmer?”

Mud clung to her rain-filled boots as Sunset stood on his covered porch feeling like a wet rat in a sewer drain. “... Hi,” she said, soaked through. “I’m sorry. I know it’s late, and dark, and you probably don’t exactly want to see me…” Over her shoulder, the rain splattered on her motorcycle, pouring off the roof. What’s he supposed to think? Any sense of cool had abandoned her and a chill broke through her layers. “I’ve got something I need to say to you.”

All the sleep loitering his eyes cleared out, and Timber brightened as if a shiny new bus pulled into camp. Chest sitting higher enough for her to notice his musculature, he pulled the door open with all the enthusiasm she got out of Banana or Spike. “Yeah?”

She got one look down at herself. He seemed to do the same, and he elected to join her on the porch. As he did, she reached into the inner pocket⁠ of her jacket and pulled out what she came for: two tickets to the Fall Formal. 

Once he locked eyes with the ticket stubs, the power of his intense brows shrouded over everything, trees fallen on the forest floor. Thunder rumbled somewhere so far off that it could’ve been a bend in the wind. “Oh, no,” Timber said, kind of smiling. “I gave those to Twilight. She should get a chance to use them with someone.”

Sunset only moved to nod. Her leather creaked like the rain.

The firm hold his brows had deepend, gutting a trench between themselves⁠ until suddenly, they let go. 

“Get back together with her,” she said, blacker than the pitch outside of the porch. 

“Sunset⁠—”

“You make her laugh. You’re the same kind of weird. You’re good for her.” She could hear the rasp of her voice working over that one. “Maybe she rolled her eyes a lot and things ended, but I was there. I know she loved you. And I can guess how you feel about her.”

Timber listened to her in the rain in his pajamas and bedhead-hair. 

“I thought if you broke up, she’d be sad but…” Celestia, the sound of how she cried the first night. Twilight’s rawed out voice dragged out into shaking quiet before another blast like each breath was a new wave. Sunset’s hand gripped her own soaked shirt just the same as she’d gripped the shirt on Twilight’s back. Mist crested off the eavesdrops. “I want her to stop hurting,” she said, Timber’s edges blurred. “She’s my best friend in any world.⁠⁠” Dull-eyed, she shook her head, tickets raised. “So? What’s stopping you? Go on and ask her to the dance.” 

The wind changed and Timber shook his overly fluffy head. “... You have to know I’m not going to do that, right? You have to know that.”

Sunset’s ribs cramped, stitches in her sides. She shoved the tickets into his chest. “C’mon! I know you still like her! You crazy kids deserve each other⁠—what’s wrong with you?”

Rubbing the spot where the mushrooms on his shirt distinguished him as a Fungi at Parties, Timber looked down at the tickets at his chest like he was expecting something else to be there. “I don’t know what she told you about our breakup but think about it for a second: You’re talking about Twilight Sparkle.” He turned his chin to slant his look to her. “You really think she’d ever make a big decision without thinking it through?”

[luthordamnvers]

20 questions game

Thank you @fazedlight for the tag!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 10.

2. What’s your total AO3 words count?

196,109 words out at this very moment.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Supergirl. Most notably Supercorp. I've written Dansen, and there is a Rojarias WIP somewhere.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

As you wish (Medieval AU) I don't like that falling feels like flying 'til the bone crush (Post S6, except Kara had an ex-girlfriend) A Battlefield Proposal (takes place in 619) Feeling the weight of the sun (Here we come, blue and green) (DEBS AU) Instead of hate, please pass the scones (S5 fic)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, I try my best to reply to all! Sometimes it takes me a while because I save them for depression hours. The only fic I have not replied to all the comments is "A Battlefield Proposal" and that's because people be asking about a sequel, and Idk how to respond to that...

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't know her.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All my fics have happy endings, it's a necessity.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not so far. I've been very lucky in that sense.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I- tried? Like There are 2 fics when there is smut. Is it good? idk. I know it's that writing smut is FREAKING HARD, and I tip my hat to every smut writer out there.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really? At most I wrote Donna Troy (Wonder Girl) from Titans in a fic. But it was a glorified cameo, for my nefarious purposes. Have I even watched Titans? No. But I needed the vibe.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, as far as I know.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Not yet. But I do plan on bamboozling someone into writing an AU with me, just because they know a lot about the topic.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Listen, I wracked my brain thinking about this. But Supercorp got me back into writing after over a decade. I'm still living with the brainrot, the others ships have faded after a few months. Close second is Korrasami, tho.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I started drafting a fic where Kal confronts Kara for revealing her identity, and how it puts his identity in danger. And how he doesn't trust Lena, and Kara goes bananas because of it. But I don't think I will finish that version of the fic. Maybe another iteration, tho.

16. What are your writing strengths?

No idea, dialogue? Connecting plot? Outlining?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually writing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

English is my another language. So I do that constantly. If have to write any other language, I'll try to ask someone who's a native speaker, after going through a translator.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

...Dramione.

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

As you wish I had SO much fun writing it. And It was a short fic, so I didn't have to wreck my head thinking too much about it. Then, DEBS AU which was the polar opposite. It was long, and I fried my brain trying to translate the movie (one of my favorites) to a story that made sense for the characters, and still felt fresh but still with the essence of both the movie and the show.

Tags, but no pressure: @awaitingrain @hrwinter @innamorament0 @helpbutton95 @nottawriter

[foodandfolklore]

Tools you Do NOT need

I got more things I want to add to my list of recommendations of what to keep on hand as a kitchen witch. But I figured it may be more productive to share my opinion on things most Kitchen Witches don't need. Now, this will be my experience and based on what I've heard from others. And if you have anything listed and love it, don't get rid of it or stop using it! Just if you see some of this stuff on videos or advertised; maybe pass on them.

Silicone Spoon

Silicone is great for a lot of things, and I highly recommend you have a silicone spatula for scraping. But a Silicone spoon is so impractical. It tends to be a plastic form spoon covered in a layer of silicone, so it doesn't have the same flexibility as a silicone spatula when scraping edges. Silicone also tends to be soft, so it's not unusual for it to cut or tear. For a spatula that's fine, because it's a solid piece so it can still work fine with a few nicks. But for a spoon that has a layer of silicone, it means there's a change for moisture to get in-between the layer and cause it to start separating. Not to mention the fact Silicone will melt at high heat. So if you're mixing something that can get very very hot, like oil or sugar, your spoon may melt. Then there's just the fact nothing sticks properly. Which sounds great for cleaning, but can be a pain if you're trying to check if a sauce or custard is done. Stick with a wooden spoon and use a silicone spatula when you want to scrape.

Garlic Press

A controversial one for sure! You see these used all the time in cooking videos. But they are so impractical. All the garlic doesn't even go through the press, and you still need to sever the end from the press. Mincing garlic with a chef knife is far more effective. However, I know not everyone has the dexterity to mince garlic. So, some alternatives: Blend a big batch using a food processor, and freeze portions for later. There's a few videos on ways to do this, but my favourite way I've seen uses a ziplock bag and chopstick. Use a microplane grater. Just grate the gloves using a microplane and you'll easily get the fine pieces you are after. The neat thing is a Microplane can be used for a variety of foods, while a garlic press is limited to just...well garlic.

Egg Separator

These can be really cute and funny and sometimes make fun decore. But, realistically speaking, they don't work any better than just using your hands. Or if you hate touching egg, tipping the yolk back and forth between the cracked shells. Every single fancy egg separator I have seen is just as effective, and yolks have the same break rate (which is low) Save your money, save your space, don't get these. Oh and a quick note about eggs; don't get egg holders. Yeah they're cute, but for something that only has one purpose, they can take up a fair bit of space. Instead, try using standard shot glasses. It's what my parents had us use when we were kids.

Specialty Peelers/Cutters

I'm talking big, turn style apple peelers, pineapple peeler and corer, banana slicers; anything that's for one specific type or size of food. You really don't need it, and it takes up space. Just use your vegetable peeler and knife. If you have trouble cutting evenly, perhaps consider a mandolin. These allow you to slice a variety of foods thinly. Just take great care, as these are very sharp and it can be easy to slice off a finger tip if you are not using proper safety measures.

Turkey Baster

I have one of these in my kitchen drawer since moving in with my SO years ago. Neither of us have ever used it. A baster is used for 1 thing which can be substituted for a ladle or large spoon. Many people still see this as an essential for cooking meat though, so take this with a grain of salt. I'd also add roasting pan; since any time I make a roast now I grab my Crock Pot. But I'm aware a roasting Pan has it's uses for other people.

More Jars and Containers

This might seem weird cause I put glass jars down as a needed must for Kitchen Witchcraft. This is not a PSA for those of you who have just started your collection and have maybe 20 jars. This is to those of us who have accumulated over 200 with realistically only enough space for half that. Stop it. Maybe start giving some of your jars away that you've washed and reused from products. Same goes for plastic containers. I have a habit of saving my large yogurt containers, but they just started taking up too much space. Find a balance is all I'm saying.

I may make an ingredient list later; but that's far more subjective.

[bearsinpotatosacks]

Heroes of the Past - a Slooserole fic

While food shopping for a barbecue, Goose and Slider suggest names for theirs and Carole's baby.

~~~

For a prompt list, this was "A buying B their favourite snack"

Words: 888

"Karl?" Goose suggested, picking up a slightly green bunch of bananas.

"No, makes him sound like a communist."

"What's communism got to do with the name Karl?"

Ron stopped groping watermelons and turned to him. He picked up a stout one with brown on the ends and held it under his arm like he was trying to show off. That wasn't necessary, Goose could already see his muscles bulging in that a-bit-too small shirt.

"Karl Marx?" He said. "Wrote the communist manifesto?"

Goose shook his head, "You've lost me."

"You uncultured fuck,"

He turned around and carried on putting fruit in the shopping trolley. They were having a barbecue as a baby shower, Mav and Ice had gotten the time off, Carole's mum and sister were coming around. Apparently Ron had asked his family but his mum, being the matriarch she was, had said she didn't like the idea of their relationship, said something about sin, so she wasn’t coming, and neither of his sisters were too. He'd tried to hide it but both he and Carole knew he was heartbroken about it.

"Okay, Thomas?" Goose suggested. "Tommy for short?"

"Too formal."

"Your best friend is called Tom!"

Ron turned and threw a sack of potatoes at him. Goose just about caught them.

"And have you seen Ice? He's the most formal guy I know,"

Goose shrugged, "Fair point."

"Pete?"

"No."

"Why not? He's my best friend and it's not too formal?"

Ron rolled his eyes and placed an armful of salad stuff into the trolley, "I'm not having our kid named after that little pipsqueak."

"Pipsqueak?"

"You can't deny he's short,"

Goose tried to argue but knew he couldn’t. Maverick was short for a pilot.

They carried on around the shop, deciding what snacks they needed and stuff for Bradley's lunches. Goose stopped next to the sweets and scanned for something specific. Carole was having a major craving for chewy, gummy fish lately and could go through multiple bags in a day if left unattended. 

"There they are!" He said, spotting them and grabbing a few bags.

"What are?"

"The fish, the ones Carole likes,"

Ron stared at him for a second then said, "We're going to need more than that," before throwing a few more in the trolley.

They carried on. Because she was pregnant, Carole was nesting and had cleaned the entire house multiple times. She’d almost vacuumed Bradley as he came into the house once. So they’d run out of most of their cleaning products.

As Nick reached for the bleach, "How about Daniel?"

No reply. Ron's shoulders began to tense. 

"Aaron?"

He wasn't even turning around now. No jokes or making fun of him. Something was up.

"Michael? Joseph? Joshua?"

"What's with all the biblical names?" Ron finally spat out. 

His tone was different. The way his hand clenched the box of washing powder told him something was wrong. He approached him like he was a tetchy animal, he didn't know if he was going to blow or burst into tears.

"Can't we just stop with the names for a second?" He said. 

"Sure, but we were only having fun-" Goose placed the bleach in the trolley. "-is it not fun anymore?"

"I already have a name picked out! Okay?"

Goose stepped back, shocked. He hadn't told him nor Carole about this. They'd been good with communication so far into their relationship, why the sudden change?

"What name?" He settled on.

"Wilhelm, Will for short," he spat out then added for context. "My Opa was called Wilhelm."

All the pieces fell into place. Ron was a private man when it came to his past, a trait he'd inherited from his grandmother, from what he'd learnt.

"He's the only guy I've ever had to look up to. I mean, getting killed by Nazis to save your family because you were hiding Jews, pretty much the most heroic thing a guy can do, right?"

Goose stroked his face as his strong mask faltered. Ron tried to resist but eventually lent into his touch. Slider tried to appear tough but in reality was just a big puppy.

"Why didn't you tell us? D'ya think we'd be mad?"

"I-I'm just not used to being vulnerable, you know that,"

"Hey, you're learning," Goose assured. "And I'm sure he'd be proud of everything you've done, I know we are."

He smiled, that golden sunshine smile that was one of the reasons he and Carole fell in love with him in the first place. Trying to find things out about Ron had been tricky at first, he was a safe inside another safe, but after a few years, and a pregnancy, they were getting somewhere.

"How about we get these back to Carole?" Goose gestured to the sweets.

Ron nodded. They were past the point of him falling into puddles of tears whenever he got vulnerable but it was still a big moment for him.

As they moved towards the tills he had an idea come into his head, "Hey, we can call him Willy!"

"No we will not!"

"We could, little Willy Bradshaw-Kerner? Sounds good to me."

"You are not desecrating my grandfather's name by calling our kid Willy,"

And that’s when things fell back into place, just as they continued to bicker, all the way to the car.

German Slider! German Slider! German Slider! If you can't guess I hc Slider's of german descent. His grandma (Oma in german) came to the US after fleeing the Nazis, her and her husband, Wilhelm (Ron's Opa or grandad) died. They were helping Jews hide but got found out so fled. Ron's family learnt not to talk about the pain because it was too much which led to some communication issues, and very conservative religious views on his mum's part.

Thanks for reading!

[alyssa-johaan]

NEW YORK

New York was a dream and this time around I got to enjoy the city differently. My first time to NYC was in 2018 with my mum and since it was my first time there I wanted to do all the touristy things and visit iconic movie landmarks. This time around the itinerary was different for my husband and I.

We got to take it a day at a time, visiting landmarks I've saved on my Pinterest and TikTok. We stayed on 42nd St which was directly next to Grand Central in the bustle of the city but my favourite spot from this trip has to be Brooklyn/Williamsburg.

I shared some of my recs via the different neighbourhoods we visited throughout our trip on my Instagram Broadcast channel but listing them all down below for an easier read :)

Coffee chains I visited around the city:

What I ordered -

Blue Bottle - Sweet Coffee

Bluestone Lane - Iced Honey Oat Latte

Brooklyn/Williamsburg:

What I ordered -

L'Appertement 4F - possibly my favourite and most memorable bakery spot ever. There was something about its cozy ambience as your approach their store in Brooklyn. It is the girl bakery dream. We had an Everything croissant and it was so fluffy, flavourful and the perfect type of savoury croissant.

Poppy's Brooklyn - matcha with pistachio milk! my first time trying pistachio milk and enjoyed the mix of matcha and pistachio.

Vinnies Brooklyn - come and stay for their elote pizza and add extra hot sauce ;)

Levain Bakery - a chain so you’ll find this everywhere but we went to the one at Williamsburg! Got the triple chocolate chip cookie yum.

Bakeri Brooklyn - the coziest looking bakery tucked in the midst of Williamsburg - I could imagine a cozy rainy day here. I saw a lot of people getting their soup of the day but we just got their Christmas special triple chocolate peppermint cookie.

East Village:

What I ordered -

From Lucie - oat milk latte with lavender (I’m not going to lie this may have been my favourite coffee so far) and we took away their mini carrot cake with vanilla frosting

Tompkins Square Bagels - everything bagel with cream cheese, the perfect bagel order when you’re not looking for a lot of things!

Katz Deli - some say pastrami, I say where Harry meets Sally. A wide menu to choose from, Ashwyn had their pastrami sandwich (as they’re famous for) and I had the cucumbers and pickles on the side with their house mustard which I loved.

SoHo:

What I ordered -

Eileen's Cheesecake - I don’t like cheesecake so this was for Ashwyn! He loves a good cheesecake anywhere. He got a strawberry tart and he said it was good and crumbly.

Sporty & Rich Cafe - when in SoHo and in NY, I had to… got the Smoothie #1 on their menu which was a mix of berries. It was yum and a large size.

Aime Leon Dore Cafe - also when in NY’s SoHo… known for their Freddo Espresso but we just got a cookie to go! Was caffeinated 2x by the time we got here.

Pop Up Bagels - we took away an Everything bagel and a Salted Poppyseed bagel with a tub of scallion schmear, this was soooo good.

La Cabra Coffee - took away their oat latte and it was divine.

Kips Bay:

What I ordered -

Birch Coffee - An everything croissant (you can tell that we had quite a bit of an “everything” something and all of it has been so good) and an iced honey oat latte + a hot vanilla oat latte.

Bryant Park/5th Avenue:

What I ordered -

Sweet Green - I’ve seen so much about it online, I just had to try it IRL. Loved my kale salad combo - crispy kale, miso glazed salmon, spicy cashew dressing, breadcrumbs, chilli flakes yum.

Suki Japanese Kitchen - a Japanese curry house; we both got the curry rice and tried it at different spice levels. Ashwyn got a 3 and I got a 5 ;)

Baked by Melissa - a city cupcake chain. We tried their mini Christmas sugar cookie, PB&J and cookie dough.

Magnolia Bakery - home of the best banana pudding in town and you know it.

In a New York state of mind x

Fore more of what I’ve been up to:

My Instagram

My TikTok

My YouTube

[perfectpaperbluebirds]

I was wondering what the Tenbusches favourite comfort things are? Do they have favourites foods/movies they need when they’re sick?

It was so strange to receive this when I did, because literally that exact day I was starting to ponder this very question myself in preparation for the upcoming Tenbusch fic. Anon, I think you must be a mindreader lol.

That being said, I really hadn't given this too much thought when you sent this, which is why I took so long to answer. But here is my first go-round with this question after much consideration. I included what they wear, what they eat, what they watch/listen to and other general caregiving things they like when they're sick. Obviously this list will expand as I get to know these characters more over time. In reverse age order this time, since I always make Thad go first lol. (He would say he doesn't mind, though. He's the oldest and used to being the guinea pig).

Answers got long as always, so under the cut they go:

Padma: When she's sick, more often than not it's her nose that gives her the most trouble, and she usually can't go anywhere without tissues in her pocket or in her hand. Her upper lip and septum get chapped and raw quickly, so she experiments with different salves all the time to try to alleviate this. She will immediately gravitate toward her most fluffy robe and slippers as soon as he starts to feel poorly. She also never skimps on things like tissues and medicine when she's sick, only buying the best/nicest/name brand things, wanting to be as comfortable as possible. Her biggest sick day necessity, though, is the kinds of tea she drank growing up in India. American teas would never do for her. As far as movies and things, she isn't really a sick-day TV person, since her eyes are usually achy and puffy from the congestion. She prefers podcasts and audiobooks if anything, but usually she'll just listen to music if she's bored, and again, it will usually be music from her homeland. She is the least needy and most self-sufficient when she's sick, and won't ask much from any caregiver, but she loves having company when she's not feeling well, just someone to sit and talk with her and reassure her that she's not as disgusting as she feels.

Thalia: Prone to migraines as a rule, Thalia can be guaranteed to have a throbbing head whenever she comes down with anything, and this headache usually turns into a migraine sooner or later, so all her sick day rituals center around easing head pain. She keeps lights off and rooms cool and generally stays away from loud noises and strong smells. She's not usually a tactile person, but she desperately craves to be held when she's under the weather, wants to be squeezed and wrapped up tight. If there's no one around to hold her, she'll burrito herself in a weighted blanket instead, needing the pressure sensation. A 90's kid through and through, she loves Disney movies, and these are what she gravitates to when she's sick in bed if her headache allows her to watch TV. She especially loves the ones featuring animals like the Jun/gle Boo/k and 10/1 Dal/mations. However, she swears by audiobooks as the best sick day binge. Even though she knows real orange juice is healthier, she craves the drink Sunny D as her sick day comfort, and tends to subconsciously follow the BRAT (banana, rice, applesauce, toast) diet whenever she's sick, even if it isn't stomach-related sickness, since her parents swore by this diet for all childhood illnesses, and because her migraines often make her nauseous. As far as sick-day attire, she is the proud owner of multiple Snuggies and will wear one of them with fleece-lined leggings for the duration of any illness.

Audra: She is the True Crime junkie of the lot, and this is especially obvious when she's sick. When asked about it once, she said that when her life sucks she likes to watch scary, brutal things to remind her that life could suck a whole lot more. Cri/minal Min/ds is her go-to since she owns the whole series on DVD, but if she's bored of those she'll happily try any of the numerous true crime/serial killer specials that are streaming, or if here eyes hurt too much for TV, she'll listen to true crime podcasts. When she feels like death warmed over, you can almost guarantee she'll be watching or listening to stuff about death. For attire, she will wear her husband's clothes almost exclusively when she's under the weather, and her brother-in-laws' too, when she can get her hands on them. (She's especially fond of Thad's. He is roughly the same height as her, but more muscular, so his clothes are always soft and loose on her.) When she's sick, she goes into sloth mode and doesn't want to move or even stand unless she absolutely has to, so she'll be found lying down the entire time she's feeling poorly. She will cuddle up gladly against anyone who sits near her, though. As far as food and drink, anything warm is what she wants, since nothing bothers her more when she's sick than her throat being sore. Hot tea, hot coffee, hot soup, hot pasta (in temperature as well as spice usually) are her go-tos, but she'll throw in ice cream and popsicles to mix it up if hot things aren't helping her throat for whatever reason.

Theo: As we all know, he is very familiar with being sick, so he has his sick day routine down to a science. Firstly, he always has his trusty water bottle by his side and is always drinking from that or a thermos of tea, because he knows from experience that he'll feel much worse if he gets dehydrated. Secondly, he will immediately don his robe, fleece-lined flannel, and not take it off until he's feeling better. In the midst of his illnesses, if he's not in bed he can usually be found either curled up next to a heat source, or else sitting by a window in the sunlight like a cat. When he's sick, more than anything he wants to be warm, and he firmly believes in the restorative effects of sunlight. Theo's favorite food in the world is pancakes, so when he's especially under the weather, his family will usually make these to cheer him up and help him feel better. He's also a connoisseur of grilled cheese and tomato soup as we've seen, and he has strong opinions about this meal, so his sanctioned brands and ingredients are always stocked in the pantry. As far as media, the romantic and tender-hearted Theo has a huge soft spot for musicals. The rest of his family thinks they're sappy and silly, so they only agree to watch them with him when he's feeling crummy, and he takes full advantage of this. Strangely enough, Christmas-themed musicals are his favorite, so Holiday Inn, Scrooge, and White Christmas are always on rotation, but he also loves to watch Singin' in the Rain, knowing Gene Kelly was ghastly ill when singing the titular song, and in a pinch really any musical will do, as he's seen most of them. Even if he's too sick to actively watch TV, he likes to turn on musicals anyway, because you don't have to watch to understand what's going on usually. But if he's just listening to music, then 90's easy listening is his comfort media.

Thad: That doesn't get sick often, but when he does it hits him fast and hard, and he tends to spike dramatically high fevers when he's sick with anything. His symptoms tend to be very explosive in general, from ear-shattering coughing and sneezing to... anything else. (For this reason and others, Thad is the LAST person that anyone would want to catch a stomach bug.) His preferred seating is beanbag chairs (because they're easiest on his back, which gives him trouble after years of playing contact sports) and there are several scattered around the house, so as soon as he starts feeling poorly he will curl up in one of these and not move until he's better, sleeping and eating there as much as he possibly can. Thad is by far the crabbiest of the family when he's sick, and until he's recovered he actively pushes everyone away except for his partner, from whom he seeks a little extra attention. JB learns over time that Thad does best if he's given a steady supply of gentle attentiveness when he's sick, just being checked on and fussed over in regular, measured doses. Thad has a collection of "I'm not feeling well" cardigans that he likes to wear, and interestingly he'll usually be found in knitted caps as well if he has to leave his nest, especially when his hair starts thinning as he ages. Thad loves peanut butter sandwiches of any kind (with honey, with bananas, with jelly) when he's not feeling well, along with, strangely enough, pickles and frozen pickle juice pops. If he wants hot food, he'll gravitate toward childhood favorites like Spaghetti-O's and cheap, prepackaged Ramen Noodles. He doesn't quit his coffee habit when sick, insisting it's one of the only things that helps him feel better (since he hates tea) but he does keel it back a good deal. He'll even drink decaf if a bad fever has his heart rate up, just as long as he can have the taste and warmth. A self-professed audiophile, Thad listens to a lot of music, and this is especially true when he's sick. Whether it's through his fancy, expensive headphones or fancy, expensive stereo, or fancy, expensive turntable, he always has something playing. He says being feverish actually heightens the experience of listening to music (though it can give him very strange dreams), so he'll often use sick days as a chance to explore artists he hasn't heard yet. He avoids TV as a rule whether he's sick or not, and if he's in a room where one is playing, he insists that someone else picks something he'll find boring so he can fall asleep.

JB: With his huge lung capacity, JB gets the most awful cough with any sort of respiratory ailment, worse even than Theo, loud and harsh and huge and frequent, so easing the coughing is always his biggest goal of any sickness, especially as he gets more prone to bronchitis as he ages. The coughing also tends to make his ribs and chest and abdomen miserably sore, which never fails to radiate out to his extremities, so he's an achy mess whenever he's sick. For this reason, Vick's is always in good supply in their home, as well as IcyHot, Bengay, and all the others, not to mention plenty of heating pads and heated blankets. More than anything, when he's sick he gets utterly exhausted and just wants to sleep. He'll sleep 2/3 or 3/4 of the day if he's able, like a bear in hibernation. Since he's so exhausted, he has minimal appetite whenever he's sick, so food is generally the last thing on his mind. However, he has a special fondness for hot cereals, like Cream of Wheat and oatmeal, with plenty of sugar and cream, and loves fruit juice, so he'll have these as a splurge when he's sick, since he considers them too unhealthy to have under normal circumstances. Because he's so tall and broad (6'5", 250 lbs), for most of his adult life, finding clothes that would be "loose" on him isn't easy without special ordering everything. For that reason, his comfort clothes/sick day attire is mostly comprised of close-fitting thermal wear (think Under Armour, etc) and the occasional pair of fleece or flannel pajama pants. He and Thalia are much alike in that they aren't overly tactile as a rule, but when sick, they love their partner's arms around them and being held close. Eventually, JB also comes to crave a deep massage to help his aches when he's feeling poorly, and Thad takes pride in mastering the technique of massage over time.

Anon, thank you for sending this ask and forcing me to consider this question and write out the answer. It was a lovely exercise and every time I get one of these I feel like I know the characters so much better after! All the best to you, and feel free to send more questions if you have them. The next Tenbusch fic is almost finished and should be out in a few more weeks :) Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

[thewaether]

2023 Plans

What am I DOIMG?

I'm distracted by multiple projects at once and it's all stacking up, AAH! I'm avoiding starting anything new, and I don't even have the urge right now, because I have too much to finish and I'm going to focus on that

BIG 4:

WITCH'S BANANAS

(LINK) me and my brother started making this in 2020 and it's still not finished, it sort of sat where it was for a few years because I burned myself out on it, and then burned myself out on it again in 2021, but we're bringing it back and pushing it over the finish line. why? because we beleive in it, that's why. and also cause we want to have it finished already so we can move on to other things

MUSIC

a long-term project of mine is to produce a music-album, I have like... written songs and everything, I just need to record them to my satisfaction, which I CAN'T. YET. in part because I'm having to play all the instruments myself and it just so happens to be in a genre that requires technical proficiency on all instruments AND as a mixer (heavy metal)

(UNNANOUNCED COMIC)

(LINK) posted about this here and also you can read all of it so far right now if you're subscribed to my pateron. I really like this story and it's personal to me

AMY IN ARTLAND

(LINK) I started this last year, expecting it to go nowhere, and to my surprise it went the opposite of nowhere. it's huge now. OH MY GOD! the bigger it gets doesn't change my anxiety about it. I'm so scared of abandonning it and never finishing it. planning to finish it this year and you'll be able to play it! development is going at a "steady" rate, it's easy to make stuff for it, it's just there's so damn much because it's such a big open game. there's already so much in there it would count for about 12 glorious trainwrecks projects, since I worked on it for a year (during which I can average 12 glorious trainwrecks projects)

...After that, I will FINALLY return to some long-term projects

NIGHT GAMES

(LINK) I'd like to have this finished BEFORE i die and so I want to push it forward and work on it because it's one of my favourite worlds and stories I've ever done. ...I hope you wanna see it too cause it's ALSO been one of the most popular things I've shown off screenshots of. I want it, people want it, so why am I not working on it RIGHT NOW

KATELABS UPDATE

....which will contain a lot of Amy In Artland models for you to use at your leisure and WOW there's a lot of models, it's doubled the amount of models in the game and then some. This will come out a while after Amy In Artland's been released, I won't include big spoilery models, but just the really adaptable ones

SMALL GAMES?

I don't see myself getting back into small games at the rate I did them for 3 years because it is surprisingly stressful work and I wasn't getting as much out of it as I wanted. I want to focus on bigger things right now, or rather- things that have been on the schedule for a long time. if I do make a smaller game or two, it usually comes as a surprise to even myself

[ask-healthy-light]

I posted 807 times in 2022

That's 807 more posts than 2021!

387 posts created (48%)

420 posts reblogged (52%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ask-healthy-light

@jdeck306

@nox-lunarwing

@ask-a-grumpy-melon

@duran301

I tagged 790 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#my little pony - 675 posts

#writing - 671 posts

#oc - 668 posts

#healthy light - 506 posts

#story related - 495 posts

#self reblog - 327 posts

#boomlord - 313 posts

#princess luna - 295 posts

#nox lunarwing - 281 posts

#princess celestia - 260 posts

Longest Tag: 69 characters

#please support your favourite artists! it means a great deal to them!

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Despite it being her day off, Melon can't quite seem to turn off her work brain and simply relax, even with her new staff encouraging her to do so.

Melon's Day Off

Early in the morning on her day off, when Melon awoke and headed to the Inn, planning to be busy the whole day, Selene, behind the front desk, greeted her with a gentle smile, and asked her for her name, to check whether her room was ready for her, to which Melon, who barely had any energy to spare, asked Selene, in an exasperated tone, if she knew who she was.

With a kind voice, Selene apologised, and replied that Melon did not appear to be on the Guest list, and asked her if she wished to stay at the Inn for the day, which Melon, through her confusion and fatigue, begrudgingly accepted, letting Selene lead her to a room, adjacent to one in which a Royal family stayed, after which she returned to the reception, leaving Melon by herself.

After neatly putting away her belongings, she headed to the main café, where a breakfast buffet had been set up by Doc, the head chef at the Inn, of which, she took a small plate of freshly baked bread buns, a cup of coffee, and some pieces of fruit, and took a seat further to the back of the halls, all the while, many more folks walked in as the morning progressed.

Seeing the large quantity of guests walking in, Melon became worried that the chef wouldn't be able to handle everything, so she left her table and headed towards the kitchen, hoping to find a way to help the chef, but to her surprise and relief, looking through the window, she found that Doc was managing well, able to keep up with many different things at the same time.

Slightly reassured, she returned to her seat, going down her list to find anything she could do, for she was getting restless, eager to work, when she remembered that there would always be errands that needed to be run, so she finished her meal and, after clearing her table, headed to the main hall where she put on her coat and grabbed a few bags, preparing to head out for supplies.

Or, at least, she planned to head out, when exactly at that moment, Banana, the errand runner of the Inn, happily bounced back in with a great number of boxes, filled to the brim with supplies of all sorts, hovering right behind him, courtesy of his magic, stunning Melon into silence once again, as this was yet another item on her rapidly shrinking checklist that she had to cross off.

Getting increasingly frustrated, yet feeling slightly calmer in the back of her mind, Melon sighed and walked over to the supply cabinet, for, surely, the Inn would still need to be cleaned, top to bottom, right? However, her question was answered when a blurry figure swiftly raced past her, shooting out of the supply closet, armed with a vacuum cleaner, for Squeaky Clean had arrived.

Feeling defeated, she returned to the main hall and sat at the counter, planting her head, face-down, on the countertop, bored out of her mind and bursting for the chance to work, when Doc walked out and happily greeted the understimulated Melon, asking her how her day off had been so far, now that all of her tasks were completed already, to which Melon gave him a confused look.

Apparently, after constantly watching Melon run around the entire Inn, completing chore after chore, her staff knew it would be only a matter of time before she burnt herself out, but as they remembered from the past, even if she had free time to spare, she would not do anything but work, no matter how much they encouraged her to give herself a break, so they formed a plan to help her.

Whatever she tried, for anything on her list that she had planned to do, from checking in guests, to working in the kitchen, running errands to cleaning the entire building, her staff would beat her to it, as they wanted to make sure that she had no choice but to rest on her day off, and from her stunned reactions, they figured they were quite successful.

Looking back at how her morning has been, Melon agreed that while it was surprising, it was rather pleasant that she was able to take it a bit easier, knowing that all chores had been completed already, so she thanked Doc and ordered a cup of tea, which he made for her with a smile, and as she took a sip and tasted its soothing flavours, looking out of the window, she wondered:

"What else could I do today?"

(Thanks for reading this request story! Hope you enjoyed reading it! If you'd like a story of your own, feel free to send in an ask!)

Featuring: Melon Grumps from @ask-a-grumpy-melon

33 notes - Posted September 9, 2022

#4

Magic

After a well-guided, safe, and fascinating expedition through the Northern Mountains, Tay Relic the Unicorn helped the group rest. They lit a fire, and asked all to gather, while the Sun slowly set.

For now, the group's young ones kept their distance. There was something in the eyes, neither good nor evil, but what it was, they knew not. Tay nodded, gently sat down and began to tell their tale:

"Writing stories, telling tales, everything that I do can be traced back to what I have done, seen, found, and lost. Although, when one captures the reader's imagination, they lose the tale's magic."

"Do not fret, for though the magic is lost, within the mind of the reader, the words, the stories, and the reader themself all come together to create incredible, beautiful and awe-inspiring magic."

"As a storyteller, I aspire to bring beauty, magic, and awe to all who read or hear tales of mine. Foals and adults alike of any race will all discover the many worlds of amazement within my tales."

"However" Tay said, as they shifted their body, "now that you are here, in my presence, I can show you the true beauty of the magic in the stories as it is but a fraction of the magic I can create."

"Everyone, with your consent, I shall show you my tales through my own eyes." Their eyes which held no pupils glowed as they spoke. Though it frightened the young ones, they moved closer, fascinated.

As Tay rose, their eyes blazed with flames, hotter than the campfire in front of which they stood. A moment later, their horn glowed, their voice deepened, and the flames followed their every move.

Every present being sat still, in complete silence, as all were in awe at the beauty of the story they wove. Within the flames that danced with them, it was as if the story itself was contained.

Using their magic, Relic told the group many tales. With their Mind's Eye, everyone saw it in their own way. Afterwards, they took a deep breath, and all was well once again.

No tale told since could match the awe which Relic conjured.

(Thanks for reading this bonus! If you'd like a story of your own, feel free to send a request!)

Featuring: Tay Relic from @ask-tay-relic

34 notes - Posted November 1, 2022

#3

Hello there, I'm Healthy Light.

After having been invited to visit a park, I came across a trap door leading to a dark cellar, the mysteries of which I'm trying to figure out. Do you have any thoughts on the subject, or would you simply like to ask something about me?

Since I'm a storyteller, there will be many long sets of text as I document the tales I discover.

Please feel free to send me an ask, either so I can document it in the story, or to help you understand me and my stories better.

New chapter uploaded every day at 16:00 GMT + 1 - 15:00 GMT - 10:00 EST.

Start at the beginning!

34 notes - Posted April 24, 2022

#2

The Confession

The rain and thunder intensified as the wind blew through the trees outside, the wood in the hearth cracked every so often, and Melon and Light sat closely together, quietly talking with one another.

After they had no more stories to tell, they greatly enjoyed each other's company. Still, Melon was very cautious with Light, for though their wounds were treated, she made sure she didn't hurt them.

To this, Light reassured Melon; they knew she was doing her best, and they trusted her. Even if she did hurt them, they said they knew it was accidental, as they placed their arm around her shoulder.

As Light pulled Melon closer, and sweetly took her hoof, they smiled, and quietly asked her if they could embrace her. A small smile grew on Melon's face as she blushed and leaned into their embrace.

She closed her eyes, laid her head on their shoulder, sighed, and told Light that she was glad they were here. Now Light blushed, and replied they were glad to be back, as they had dearly missed her.

When they realised what they said, Light blushed and chuckled nervously, and apologised. Surprised, Melon looked at Light, who had turned as red as a tomato, and giggled as she turned redder herself.

Both Melon and Light began stuttering, unable to get any words out. But without another word, Melon turned away, as she squeezed Light's hoof, as she had to take a moment to be able to calm her mind.

Eventually, after taking a deep breath, she asked them to wait a moment, after which she trotted to the hall to grab a few blankets. When she returned, Light had put a couple more logs in the hearth.

A grand smile grew on her face when she looked at Light, who lovingly smiled back. They sat down in front of the hearth when Melon draped a blanket over them, something they politely thanked her for.

When Melon sat down facing Light, she realised she could not look at them without laughing sillily. Light gently took her hoof, smiling warmly, and as she grabbed a blanket, they nervously asked her:

"May I... give you a kiss?"

And Melon softly replied:

"You may…!"

(Thanks for reading this bonus! If you'd like a story of your own, feel free to send a request!)

Featuring: Melon Grumps from @ask-a-grumpy-melon

Thanks ever so much to @allyooops for allowing me to write about Melon! It's been absolutely lovely to write such wholesome, gentle scenes, and I'm super glad that she asked to see stories more of Light and Melon together!

35 notes - Posted November 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Duty

Ever since the Lunar Incident, and the following discovery of the Solar Princess, unconscious, with her face stained with tears, we've had to deal with a lot - and I do mean a lot - of fallout.

For one, we had no idea what happened. A couple of weird gems on the ground, broken glass all over, and a head injury. So, we took her back to the Palace and found a safe room, far away from others.

The Doctor treated her as best she could, and told us to make sure she rested a while. It's been a few days, and I've been assigned to night watch, guarding her tower, but she hasn't woken up yet.

Fortunately, it's been quiet. The country doesn't know what happened or why the Moon has changed, but we promised to find out as soon as we could. But rumours started to spread, and fear grew.

Anytime there was a moment of quiet, I heard the other Guards talking about why she banished the Lunar Princess, and how much power it must have cost her. What would happen if she lost control?

I'm worried for her, especially since she's alone, and hurt. I've gone back to the location of the accident to stand guard, but since we found her, the gems we found laying around her have vanished.

Nopony went in or out, so I have no idea where those things are. But now, whenever I fly past her window, I've seen flashes of light in there. If it's those gems, goodness knows how they got there.

But during my flights around the tower, I've seen other Guards leave and head to a camp outside of town. A large group, growing every day. Now, I'm one of the only Guards left to guard the tower.

The plans I heard them discuss are grounds for high treason. I talked with the last few Tower Guards, and we knew the result. They assaulted the tower in the dead of night, trying to get to the Princess.

We stood our ground until the sun rose. By the grace of the Princesses themselves, I was unhurt. The others were not so lucky… This night, she woke up, but there is nopony else. Nopony but us.

I hope she trusts me. Neither of us has any other choice.

(Thanks for reading this bonus! If you'd like a story of your own, feel free to send a request!)

Featuring: Sky Warden from @asklostcelestia

A story about Sky Warden, and my interpretation of what happened before the events we've seen so far. Excited to see where her story goes!

41 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

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