#there was the brand but not the taste i like.... next time I'll ask them if they can get the coffee or chocolate ice cream for me

[harrysfolklore]

charles leclerc simping over his girlfriend: a compilation

MASTERLIST | MY PATREON | charles smau | charles headcanon

PART TWO

No matter where Charles went or what he did, one thing was constant - he simply could not stop talking about his girlfriend.

He was utterly smitten, and it showed through his words and massive smile every time her name came up. Fans quickly noticed Charles' habit of gushing over YN in interviews, on social media, with reporters, and even during casual interactions.

It became such a phenomenon that Formula 1 super-fans began compiling clips of Charles being a total simp for his girl into viral videos.

The most popular one was called "Charles Leclerc simping over his girlfriend: a compilation, and the 15-minute long video compiled some of the most hilarious, heartwarming, and over-the-top examples of the F1 star's borderline obsession with his girlfriend.

It opened with a clip from Charles' interview on Sky Sports before the Monaco Grand Prix. The reporter asked how special it was racing at his home circuit.

"It's amazing driving here where I grew up," Charles said with a huge smile. "But honestly, the best part is having my girlfriend YN here supporting me, this is already such a special race but having her here just adds another layer to it."

"Could you say that you have a good luck charm with you today?" the reporter asked again.

"Definitely, she's always my good luck charm."

The next clip was from Charles and Carlos' music challenge for Ferrari's YouTube channel, they had to guess the song that was playing with just a three second snippet.

"As it was, Harry Styles!" Charles said and rang the small bell that was placed in the middle of them as soon as he heard the first second of the intro.

"You've been practicing," Carlos stated as he pointed at him raising an eyebrow.

"I love this song," Charles said to the camera, "My girlfriend is obsessed with it, she plays it every day."

"And you talk about her every day," Carlos teased, elbowing him.

"I do, I do."

The video moved to show Charles with some fans, he was getting his luggage after a flight and they approached him asking for a picture, one of them filming the whole interaction.

"Of course, no problem at all," Charles replied warmly with a small smile on his face.

As he posed for a picture with the group, Charles noticed that one of the fans was wearing a Taylor Swift shirt. His eyes lit up with recognition and a smile spread across his face.

"I see you're a Taylor Swift fan," Charles remarked, pointing to the shirt. "My girlfriend loves Taylor too. She's always playing her songs around the house and talking about her."

"Wow, that's so cool!" the fan's eyes widened in surprise, "What's her favorite song?" they asked.

"I think her favorite is 'Love Story," Charles chuckled, "She says it reminds her of us."

"That's such a classic! Your girlfriend has great taste," the fan said.

"Thank you, I'll let her know you said that."

The next clip was from Charles' interview promoting his new ice cream brand called LEC, a reporter had asked him how did he come up with the creative names for each flavor.

"It was a teamwork between me and my girlfriend, actually," he replied with a smile, "She played a huge part on this project, everyone knows I could't had come up with Vanillove and Pistachi-on on my own."

The video then cut to a clip from the F1 Grill the Grid challenge, where drivers were playing 'Never Have I Ever", when asked "Have you ever missed a flight?", Charles immediately knew his answer."

"I have, more than once," he said, quickly adding, "But it wasn't my fault, my girlfriend has this long morning routine that she refuses to skip, even though she looks beautiful no matter what."

The video also included footage of Charles during a press conference before the Australia Grand Prix, a reporter asked him about his pre-race rituals.

"Well, I have a few things I like to do before getting into the car," Charles began. "But one thing that's become a bit of a tradition is a phone call with my girlfriend. No matter where we are in the world, we always find time to talk before the race if she's not there."

"What do you two usually talk about?"

"Oh, just the usual stuff," Charles replied with a grin. "She gives me some last-minute words of encouragement, tells me to be safe, that sort of thing. It's nice to hear her voice before such a big moment."

A clip form Charles' 'One week in Los Angeles' was also included, he was playing around at the basketball course shirtless.

"No way!" he said after he missed the basket again, "This is making me look really bad, I need to impress my girl."

The camera panned to her for a moment, and Charles sent a wink her way.

"Are you impressed, love? he asked, throwing the ball and missing once again.

"Very, but not by your basketball skills."

The compilation went on and on, clip after clip of Charles finding any opportunity to mention his girlfriend and proclaim his love for her. From the most casual conversations to the highest-pressure interviews, he just could not help himself from gushing.

As the video ended, the caption displayed: "Get yourself a man who loves you like Charles loves YN."

[coffeeworldsasaki]

Vegan ice cream that uses coconut to replace cream my beloved

[moodymisty]

ℭ𝔬𝔫𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔯𝔲𝔪 𝔒𝔣 𝔄 𝔙𝔦𝔠𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔵

Author's note: I have a few requests left to do but I really wanted to kind of do this sort of thing after a few asks brought it up. And the Victrix Guard designs fucking slap so, here. Part 1 of something maybe? I don't know guess I'll see how people respond.

Summary: Marcellus of the Victrix Guard has a crisis of faith.

Relationships: Marcellus(oc)/Fem!Reader

Warnings: Very vague references to lewd things, Digging into an astartes brain figuratively

"8th Company has requisitioned seven more landraiders, 2nd company needs another thunderhawk,"

Marcellus' ears picked up on your voice quickly this time, as you entered the massive room. Your Ultramarine branded robes are frayed at the bottom but in good shape overall- ornate and fitting of your stature. Unlike other chapters that allow their Administratum members to retain their original clothes, Ultramarines prefer they wear the deep blue that is symbolic of Macragge.

He watched with a bored interest, but as time goes on, the feeling yet again began to rise in him like water boiling in a geyser.

Why does his chest feel like this all of the sudden? He cleared his throat in the direction of the tiled floor.

No change.

He however still continued to watch you from his post as you flutter around, reading and writing papers. Commissars and Ultramarines give you orders, requests for more materials or arms. You shuffle around response times for fleets, combat data; Administraum taxes and tithes.

He watched you do it all with deftness- a grace and dedication- from his post at the entrance, silently.

He's spoken to you a handful of times; Thanking him for allowing you to enter and exit the room. A few times you've dropped things- and once he helped you pick them up, a gesture that made you smile and thank him profusely for the assistance. Your words stumbled off your tongue like they were just falling out, before your scurried away and leaving him with a feeling of, unfulfillment.

That moment is where he's traced this feeling back to. Where it all started. Ever since he crunched your parchments in his gauntlet to hand them to you, which you took with fingers so much smaller than his own and thanked him like he’d saved your very life- there was something in his gut that swirled like nausea.

First, he had tried the apothecary.

'All vitals come back normal, brother. You are in peak shape, as one would expect as a Victrix Guard. But if you are still feeling unsure, perhaps your ailment might be spiritual in nature. A visit to the chaplain would perhaps be your next option."

He had gone to the chaplain next, as suggested, walking through the nave as he approached the brother chaplain at the altar standing in contemplation.

'Brother chaplain. I might be in need of your guidance."

He turned to him, a peculiar and almost amused look on his face.

'Might? An interesting one.'

Marcellus adjusted his jaw and hesitated speaking for a moment; This feeling of unknown, of unsure nature, eats at him like a parasite.

'I feel, wrong. I have already gone to the apothecary and he said nothing is abnormal. He suggested that I, might need your guidance.'

He had listened to the chaplain's words with the utmost vehemence, prayed with him, remembered his vows as an Ultramarine- a Victrix Guard. He spent hours in that chapel the incense burning at his nose, the taste of its smoke coating his mouth- The Emperor’s glow casting over him through the stained glass mural.

He felt better afterwards. He rose from his knees and thanked his brother chaplain before returning to his duties. Perhaps a bit of righting was all he had needed. Doubt had planted its first seed in him and the chaplain was able to pluck it, righting his path back into the brightest of holy lights.

Three days later however, upon seeing you again, the feeling returned.

You nearly stumbled to your knees, a servoskull flying over your head. You quickly scurried to pick up your things and nervously laughed.

I am so sorry my lord, I seem to make a fool of myself in front of you quite a bit.'

Marcellus hummed, it coming out of his helmet with a distorted crackle.

'I suppose we cannot all be as deft and agile as those in Corvus Armor.'

You gave a soft laugh, smiling. When you stop why does he feel, disappointed?

'No I suppose not.'

You seemed like you were going to move on, but he impulsively speaks before he has a chance to catch himself.

'What is your name?'

You had hesitated, before uttering your name with a tilt of nervousness. He gave you his own, for no other reason that it fell off his lips without his control. Whatever his ailment is now coming for his ability to speak next, what in the name of The Emperor is next? His very ability to see?

Throne, what is wrong with him?

As soon as he could, he returned to the apothecary.

Once again, nothing was physically wrong with him. He'd begun to think maybe the apothecary was missing something. But he was the only apothecary aboard, one who’d served for over one hundred years- he throws the doubt of his brother away. That’s what this illness would want of him; To sow doubt.

He considered going to the chaplain again, standing outside of the chapel, but hesitated before making himself know .

If he keeps this up, what if the chaplain begins to suspect corruption? In a Victrix Guard? Even the mere suspicion would bring a stain upon him and his brothers.

He ended up entering despite the hesitation, and prayed in silence and solitude. For whatever was wrong with him to rear its ugly head so he could cut it off.

He returned to his post four hours later, the ash of incense on his armor.

He stood vigilant, though he feels the unconscious squaring of his shoulders as he noticed your approach.

'Greetings, Lord Marcellus.'

He found his eyes drawn to the shape of your lips. The soft skin, the peak of them under your nose, like the double head of his Aquila.

'Greetings.'

You passed by him, and he turned his head to continue following.

The way your hips gently curved was, interesting. You don't have the sharp lines and angles of armor, every part of you is this smooth, soft shape that confuses him. It’s so different, it felt almost unknown.

Marcellus abruptly bit the inside of his cheek, and pushed a sharp exhale through his nose. He doesn't understand why his eyes wander so. Yet again. He is lax in his fortitude- his faith. He is allowing trifling distractions possess his mind-

You're speaking to someone.

He watched you smile at the man. He can hear talk about the frigid air of the ship over other voices and the sounds of rattling pipes, and you laughed when he jokes about them turning to icicles. It's not until after the man leaves, that Marcellus realized how tight his gauntlets had gripped his shield until he loosens them with considerable noise complaint.

Staying stalwart at his post eats at him like a pack of rats, he can see his hearts rising and lowering in beats from the HUD of his helmet. When it is time for him to rotate out, he leaves with no parting words or even glanse.

He rushed to a corner of a random hall, tearing off his ornate helmet and allowing it to tumble across the floor.

His hearts raced in his chest, his throat is tight; His body is hot and his lower stomach is twisted in a knot.

Throne, it's getting worse. But he knows now.

It's you. You're doing something to him.

Anytime you are in his sight or in his mind is when this sickness overtakes him, when his body gets hotter and his hands almost feel like they're- Throne- like they're going to shake. His stomach tightens in knots, his skin feels like his blood is burning; He wants to tear off his armor and cure this indiscernible, throne-forsaken ache that overtakes his lower body.

He's never felt anything like this before. Bloodlust in the heat of battle sometimes felt similar, like fire was running through his veins, his hearts pumping hot blood. But this feeling is so much heavier, and isn't sated by the slaughter.

"Lord Marcellus?"

You let his name slip off your lips so gently, so innocently. He knows better.

You approached cautiously with your arms pulled close to your chest, tentatively looking at him.

"Are... Are you alright? I saw you leave quite quickly and forgive my prying I just, wanted to make sure you were-"

With a speed only an Astartes could muster he grasped your arm with a strength that has you yelping in pain, pulling you closer to him.

"Woman, what is this foul trickery you've placed on me?"

You looked up at him with eyes stricken full of fear, facing the full brunt of an astartes' booming voice. He could hear the fabric of your clothes scratch as you shook like a prey animal.

"Trickery? I, I have no idea what you're talking about!" He leaned inward.

“You know well! I feel this curse take over whenever you are close!”

He could already see the welling of tears in your eyes, shoulders rolled forward meekly.

Throne- damn that- he needs answers!

"I, I am so sorry for what I've done my lord, but I don't know what that is..."

Your arm shook in his grip, crippled by pain that surely radiates throughout your body. You've crumbled under his stare like a wounded animal laying down prepared to die- an expression he finds unfamiliar.

He let go of you. Your hand curled limply as you held it against your chest, unable to flex it without pain in your arm.

"Retrieve my helm."

Your eyes dart around his face for a moment before looking around, scurrying to pick up his golden helm off the ground and tentatively giving it over, while looking at the ground. He could see a few tears had fallen and stained your cheeks.

He took it with one hand, before leaving.

His quarters were the first place he thinks to retreat to. They're close, and he'll have a moment without the risk of prying eyes.

The walk there however is absent of such a mercy. Astartes look at him and the petulant expression on his face- he decided to put his helmet back on halfway there. Only when he reached the confines of his quarters did he remove it once more, hooking it onto his belt before sitting on the bunk as the metal let out a resounding groan of complaint.

His armoring suit felt like a gentle, teasing touch on his chest and back under his heavy armor. With each movement it sends jolts of something through his body as it brushed against his skin. He's never been able to actually feel it against him like this; Normally it feels like nothing. A second skin.

The sensation isn't... bad.

Marcellus shifted his jaw, feeling the muscles in his neck strain. He tries to ignore it, all of this, but time doesn't weather it in the slightest.

He wonders if you’re still crying.

"Lord Marcellus," A voice spoke over vox and interrupted a moment that had haken hold of his senses to a concerning degree. "You're needed on the deck."

Why must everything test him? What did he do, who did he scorn to have his mind fogged and in it for everyone to test his patience? Nothing works- it's only getting worse- his failure for letting the Emperor leave his mind and allowing it to darken.

"…I am on my way."

Marcellus rises to his feet- the mechanics of his armor let out a soft hiss.

He walked there with an overblown show of confidence, hiding his fear of the unknown underneath it.

What eats at him? He intends to find out.

[russellsppttemplates]

Herve, Amelie and Thomas all pitching in together with their allowance to get Charles the latest watch he's been looking at for his birthday!

"Do you have any idea for papa's birthday present?", you asked the kids, genuinely wanting their opinion on the matter. Charles had the possibility to buy himself something he liked, often he was gifted things he liked from the sponsors and brand s he worked with, and while having known him since you were kids was great because you knew his taste better than anyone, it was also meant that you had gifted him every possible type of present known to mankind.

"We saw him looking at a watch the other day", Hervé pointed out, making you think about it for a second. You gifted him a watch for his twenty-first birthday, so it seemed okay to gift him another one since a few years had passed by.

"I think I know which one it is if I look at it", Amélie offered, browsing the website on her iPad until she found the right one, "we also saw it in a shop by grand-mère's house, the one where I got my ears pierced", she informed, scrolling until she found the accessory. "It's this one, yes", Thomas confirmed, pointing at the screen.

"Good job, guys, thanks!", you cheered, "I'll see when I can go to the shop and buy it, maybe tomorrow", you smiled, kissing each kid's head sweetly.

Because Charles would only get home later that night just in time for dinner, you saved some time of your morning to go to the shop, telling the kids as much so they knew where you were headed, "before you go, mama, we have something to help you", Hervé said, getting up and heading to his room before he came back, "myself, Thomas and Amélie what to pitch in for papa's present, here's our contribution", he said, handing you and envelope with some money inside, "we really want to do it, mama", he defended himself and his siblings.

When Thomas gave Charles his present, he immediately blushed and gasped in awe, "how did you guys know I wanted this one? Thank you, mes amours", he smiled, pulling all three children into his embrace, or as much as he could since that now that they had grown up, it was harder to get them all in one place.

When you all retired to your bedrooms, you couldn't help but gush in pride of your kids, "you know, they all pitched in with their pocket money", you said as Charles placed the new watch on his bedside table, "really? Wow", he said, remembering the time Amélie followed Thomas around the house for the whole afternoon until he gave her the change of the ice cream she had lent him money for.

"They insisted they wanted to help and they were so happy with that", you said, patting the spot next to you on the bed so he could lay down and then you could lay on top of his chest, "we did good with them, didn't we?", he mused, "We did, amour", you smiled, kissing his chest.

(Thank you for submitting an ask ✨️)

[fandomfloozy]

Strawberry Mentos

pairing: yuuji itadori x sweet tooth!reader

c/w: fluff, song prompt, based on this post, early relationship, petnames (yuuji and reader call each other baby, reader calls yuuji sweet boy), gn!reader

wc: 1.1k

~°•*~

You chew on those little fuckers all the time. Between meal breaks at work or while out running errands, you're more likely than not macking away at one of the chewy circles from the sweet roll of mints. Either that or you're out buying a whole new roll because you burned through the last one so fast.

You snack on other things, sure. You generally have a penchant for eating a wide variety of sugary sweets, much to the amusement of your boyfriend. Yet there's no doubt about which particular brand and flavor is your go-to.

Today, however, is one of those rare instances where you don't have a pack on you. Different snacks befit tonight's planned events.

It's movie night. Yuuji has invited you over to his place to introduce you to his favorite movie series. He's been gushing about it all week, very clearly and unashamedly excited. While you are as well, you're also anticipant about being at your boyfriend's place with him, alone, for the very first time. You're antsy and giddy the whole time Yuuji is preparing your bowls of popcorn while you sit on the couch, remote in hand.

"Chocolate bunches in yours, right?" Yuuji asks as he places his plain popcorn on the coffee table.

"Yes, please!" you respond. You smile up at him and he can't help but grab at your chin and shake your head affectionately.

"Coming right up, baby." He grins like a lovelorn loser.

You feel warmth bubble up in your cheeks, so you push Yuuji towards the kitchen. "Hurry up already! I wanna press play soon!"

Yuuji laughs as he pretends to run away scared. "Alright, alright! Not my fault you insist on adding candy to your popcorn! I'll be right back."

You rest your chin on your hands, which are covered by the oversized sleeves of Yuuji's hoodie. You hide your face in them and let out a deep exhale.

God, he makes you feel so soft. You know your insides are mushy, but this is ridiculous.

You do your best to compose yourself before your boyfriend comes out holding your popcorn bowl, already chewing before you've gotten the chance to have some.

You gasp. "You better not be eating my popcorn while I've been waiting patiently for you to start the movie."

Yuuji circles the couch, chuckling. "Of course not, wouldn't dream of it."

No sooner does he hand you the bowl that you playfully snatch it away and inspect its contents. It seems untouched and has the same amount of popcorn as his bowl, not including your added topping.

You narrow your eyes at him in scrutiny. He sits smiling and sitting crisscross on the couch like a puppy. The poster child of innocence. You narrow your eyes further. "Alright, I'm satisfied. Thank you, baby."

You lean over and pucker your lips at him, and he meets you halfway in a kiss. "Anytime, baby."

Yuuji grabs his bowl from the table and leans back, relaxedly placing an arm on the back of the couch. He faces the screen, waiting.

And nothing happens.

He turns to the remote in your hand. "You gonna put play, baby?"

He failed to realize that you'd been sitting staring at him unblinkingly. His kiss had given you pause.

You rub your lips together in thought. You put your popcorn bowl to the side. You then lean forward and place the remote next to his thigh, catching his lips in another kiss.

Now it's his turn to be taken aback. He's wide-eyed as you pull away. "Woah, what was that for?"

You furrow your brow lean forward again, taking his jaw into one of your hands and deepening the kiss. There's tongue now. Why is there tongue now? Not that Yuuji is complaining, but he's so lost.

You separate for the last time and you both give each other perplexed expressions. You speak at the same time.

"Baby, I'm so confused--""Why do you taste like strawberries?"

"Huh?"

You lick your lips a little to make sure. You breathe out a laugh. "Yuuji, you definitely taste like strawberries. The artificial flavor kind, anyway. Is that what you were chewing on?"

Yuuji suddenly blushes a deeper shade of red. "M-maybe..."

You let out a laugh at the state of him. "I'm sorry if I caught you off guard, you just don't usually eat this kind of stuff. I was surprised."

"Well..." He rubs at the back of his neck sheepishly. "I know you really like this candy. It's your favorite. And I just thought... I dunno, that you'd like it... for when I kiss you."

You blink at that.

Your favorite candy.

You couldn't tell him.

You couldn't possibly tell him that the reason you loved this particular candy so much, the reason you even picked them out in the first place, was because of how much those little pink pieces of sugar reminded you of him.

After you and Yuuji's very first date, when the inklings of real, true feelings were first beginning to blossom in your chest and in the pit of your stomach, you started to see him in everything.

In the glow of the blushing sky when the sun was setting.

In the rosé of sakura petals falling along sidewalks.

In convenience store candy flavors the very next day after he'd first held your hand.

You only ever reached for your very first roll of Strawberry Mentos because all you'd had on your mind--and all you'd suddenly had an intense craving for--was pink, and pink, and pink, and pink...

"Oh, my sweet, sweet boy." You grab him by both sides of his face and plant a big ol' smooch on his lips. "If you were any sweeter, you'd give me cavities."

He pinches your cheek and grins. "The amount of sweets you eat will do that way before I can."

You pout as he laughs at your expense. You grumble half-heartedly as you snuggle deeper into him, facing the screen. "Just play the movie."

He chest continues to shake in giggles as he wraps his arm around you. He grabs the remote and the movie starts playing. You reach for your bowl of popcorn again and settle in.

He's so kind. He's so stupid. Grabbing a pack of mentos just so you would taste it when he kisses you. Who does that?

You're glad he can't see the way your face heats up while you conjure up the image in your mind. Of him noticing how much you like to snack on strawberry mentos in particular. Of him looking for the pack while he's out shopping. Of him chewing on a few before he sat down to watch a movie with you just for the chance that you'd notice the flavor when your lips met.

So stupid...

...

"Hey, Yuuji?"

"Hm?"

"What's your favorite candy?"

~°•*~

divider via cafekitsune

[alienpossession]

Body a Day 10: Table

"The fuck? Hyunsoo, is that you?" Fan said while looking at his phone and the device tracker in his phone guided him to this massive guy lounging by the beach

"How the fuck do you know it's me?"

"No fucker, the only question that should be answered is how the fuck you gained 100 pounds in a month? Where have you been? And how could you just ditch me working on the assignment on my own? You know I cannot rely on Josh and Brandon,"

Hyunsoo just chuckled for a while before eventually answered

"I asked you to go with me last month for dinner at that Korean BBQ. You said no,"

"Okay, and?? What's the correlation? You know I cannot eat too much meat,"

"That place is the one that get me this,"

"What do you mean?"

----

They head to Koreatown and when inside the taxi, Hyunsoo explained through text how the Korean BBQ place is actually using outer space material for its grilling table. Everything cooked over that specific grill not only tasted more delicious, it's highly nutritious and can boost its user metabolism and even impacted to one's body development. Fan is not necessarily trusting Hyunsoo's explanation, but it's not like he got any other alternative way to explain the anomaly.

When they stepped inside the place, it's so unassuming and empty from any other customer. The place is quite small as it can only hold like 8 person diner max. It's quite odd for a place in a bustling Koreatown to be so quiet, especially if it got some extraterrestrial table that can bless you with muscle gain beyond your wildest imagination. But once again, Fan tried to believe Hyunsoo and just sat down on the table while Hyunsoo ordered the meat.

"How on Earth you know about this place?"

"Luck, literally. The spot I aimed for was packed like crazy so I decided to wander around before hitting this spot. The quietness called me I guess,"

"So you don't even know about the grill until you eat here?"

"Until I woke up the next day and realized that my pecs blocked my view. That's when I freaked out and called the place frantically, and that's when the ahjussi explained everything,"

Fan tried to not look bewildered and just nodded along the way. The built ahjussi then delivered the orders and simply leave

"So.....just putting the meat here and let it sizzle?"

"Precisely,"

Fan put the seasoned meat and flipped it around a couple times while adding more to the grill, Hyunsoo explained in great details about the growth that hit him

"And afraid of being scrutinized or even subjected to weird tests, I simply dipped. Sorry for not texting you or anything though,"

"Hmmmm.....where's your chopstick? Aren't you hungry? You are not just going to drink, right?"

"No no, please eat. The ahjussi said I can only eat here once, actually. He's afraid I'll swell up more,"

"Wait, all that is only from the first visit?"

"Yes, I haven't told you, huh? Well, hurry up, eat and see for yourself,"

----

Hyunsoo never planned to explain to Fan that it's been the plan all along to drag him down to the spot. It's not like the real Hyunsoo existed any longer, his body has simply been overtaken by the extraterrestrial being that latched itself to the grill after 24 hours post-consumption. The ahjussi himself is actually an exiled extraterrestial former general trying to build his own little empire in a faraway planet, in this case, Earth. After making 8 operatives that will protect him at all cost, equipped with super-human built and strength, the former general believed that it's time for them to expand more aggressively through "bait". Fan is the first out of this "bait", built to become not packed with dense, powerful muscle to protect the general, but those muscle were packed in him to lure human as a promiscuous, 24/7 irresistibly horny man where he will store those human DNA that spurted in him, which will be used as a base to create brand new superhuman that is even stronger than the eight operatives which still currently have certain humane limitation due to their base body being a real human that is converted. For trial, Hyunsoo fucked the shit out of the sleeping-yet-growing Fan, who will wake up in the morning as a brand new man

[trinketfairy]

SQUISHMALLOWS/BUM BUMZ ALTERNATIVE MASTERPOST

After posting my warning on Jazwares for supporting Israel, I've been asked time and time again to make my alternative plushies brands available for non-Twitter users, to which I say "absolutely, fuck that site." It's well overdue at this point, so here's my list of plush brands that are way better than Squishmallows and Bum Bumz!

Unfortunately can't provide images due to Tumblr's image limit, but I'll provide websites for you to search through when available.

Complete list is under a readmore for convenience.

Squishables: If you want that same "kawaii" aesthetic and round shapes, Squishables is your best bet. They're great too because a lot of their plush are designed by fans who are given a cut of their sales. Sign up for their email notifications, they have sales very often!

Amuse/Amufun: If you're really into the "kawaii" aesthetic, then it makes sense to look directly towards Japanese brands! You may know them for their Alpacasso line. It can be expensive to get them imported, but I think they're very much worth it.

Jellycat: I can't say I 100% recommend their newer plush anymore considering their steep decline in quality, but their older plush are still so wonderful and full of character. You're bound to find something by them that you like from their catalogue. (Editor's note: This is what my original thread said, but it seems like Jellycat has improved their quality control, so I feel much better with recommending them again!)

Mary Meyer: If JC is too much out of your price range, then Mary Meyer is what I recommend next to them! Their Marshmallow Zoo line is a huge favourite of mine, I love how full of character they are.

Aurora World: Aurora World has plenty of brands under their belt, so there's bound to be something that tickles your fancy. Brands under the Aurora World company include Palm Pals, Eco Nation, Miyoni, and their baby line, Ebba.

Steiff: Ah yes, the OG teddy bear brand, the one that started it all and is still going strong. Be warned that they can get pretty expensive depending on what you're looking at, but I hear that they're so worth every single penny.

Douglas Cuddle Toys: Probably the quintessential plush brand when it comes to realistic plush, especially cats and dogs, but they have tons of other species available too! Pretty affordable too if you're buying them at retail price

Wild Republic: Another one that does more realistic-looking plush, but I think they have a wider selection of species to choose from. If you're looking for a niche animal, Wild Republic (likely) has you covered!

Shinada Morisaka Global: Another plush brand I have yet to get my hands on, but one that I hear fantastic things about. I mean come on, how can you not love these little guys??

Pokemon Center: Jazwares unfortunately holds the license to make Pokemon plush, but that doesn't mean they're your only option when it comes to Pokeplush! TPC has been making their own Pokeplush for ages now, and they have plenty of different lines to suit your tastes.

Sunlemon: They're expensive to get imported but oh my god are they worth it. The quality is truly umatched compared to American plushies, I adore my tanuki to bits. Please get more eyes on their stuff.

Prime Shiba: Definitely a more expensive option, but I think they're cute plushies for every dog lover. Their stuff often goes on sale often so definitely take advantage of them!

Plushie Dreadfuls: You've probably seen one of their mental illness-themed bunnies before, but have you seen their Pride and Zodiac collections too? They also have many generic-looking plush if the personalization isn't up your alley! Ok so this was in my Twitter thread but apparently since then some shit has gone down with the company CEO making some offhand remarks that got misinterpreted but he acted like an ass in response to it, I recommend doing your own research on it before you buy in case that's not something you wanna support.

StrawbunnyCake: Want to go more small business? Consider supporting a fellow disabled creator, StrawbunnyCake! Their stuff is adorable, and you're sure to fall in love with their characters.

Hannimations: Also on the list of small businesses is Hannimator! Easily best known for their Pride-related Colourful Puppies/Kittens plush lines

Paleoplushies: If you're super into dinosaurs and other preshistoric animals, then Paleoplushies is sure to have something you'll like! They're all handmade by a single artist, so please show them your love and kindness

Cirquell Curiosities: Another great small business to support, most known for their high-end demon goat plushies! A lot of their stuff is one of a kind too, so they're the place to go if you're looking for a unique plush.

Snughouls: The unique and elusive Care Weres line by McMadMissile is sure to win over your heart! It originally started as just being the werewolves, but has since expanded to all kinds of demonic creatures from the Kickstarter! There's even some designs waiting to be funded!

Next are a bunch of brands that weren't personally recommended by me, but get my seal of approval:

AfternoonFika

Creep Cat Toy Co.

Weighted Wildlife

Tasty Peach Studios

Bunnies By The Bay

Snoozimals

Smoko

ChottoBonita

Honeylambs

CraftedCuddlez

Cyborutchi

Fluffnest

MarDeLunaArts (+ on Etsy)

Bellzi

B Softies by B Toys

That's all I have to share, but if you have any other brands you think are worth highlighting then by all means I invite you to reblog with your additions. Please remember that this is a collective effort and we're all counting on each other to act. Keep your head up, don't stop talking about Palestine, and remember to prioritize the official BDS brands list. From the river to the sea 🇵🇸🍉🕊️🫒

[schizo-bbgs]

How did you study about military gear? I'm currently trying & searching sources and looking for some tips.

I really like your work btw. Keep going✨️

Hi! Thank you so much, I'm excited to share some knowledge with someone. <3 I tried summing up methods that have helped me the most: 1. lots of research (vids, blogs, magazines, loadout lists,...) 2. store/product photos 3. military photos (not airsoft!) 4. damtoy loadout showcase vids I first started off with doing extensive research on cod operators. Cosplay guides by shadeops21 (DeviantArt) are a huge help with the most accurate loadout lists.

Next step was looking up product photos & studying the functions, shapes, different angles. Store/product photos are my most used refs, they're in high resolution & you'll see every detail thanks to a well lit environment. I also collect military pics in one huge folder, not only for pose refs & inspo, but also as refs on how the gear is used. Product photos will lay flat, worn gear will always look different!

Make sure to learn how to differentiate airsoft from real military pics, airsofters (except for dedicated reenactors/milsimers) tend to have wacky tastes (ugly, black amazon gear and fake, glowing NVGs,...).

The gear of Damtoys is incredibly accurate & precise, watching videos of the dolls being dressed will also give you an idea on how accs (pouches, glow sticks, radio systems, ...) are attached to the equipment.

My strongest interests lay in SOF, so I'll also collect magazines with expert info, insights & loadout descriptions (K-ISOM (German) SPECIAL OPS (Polish)). To my advantage, I do have friends who are either huge military nerds or in active duty, I'll sometimes ask them questions and learn about the features and (dis)advantages of various pieces of gear. It's a life hack, but you'll achieve your goal either way if you're determined!

After you got a feel for the basics, you can start accommodating knowledge. Study drawing/recognizing the most used equipment first, western modern kits are very repetitive (as the products are so good, they don't need to be replaced). Headsets: 3M Peltor ComTac, Sordin, Ops-Core AMP Helmets: Ops-Core, Crye AirFrame, Team Wendy, MICH 2000 Plate carriers: Crye JPC, Crye AVS, First Spear, Lindnerhof, AGILITE, LBT Slick & 6094 Gloves: Oakleys, PIG FDT Alpha, Mechanix, Petzl, Nomex flight gloves, Outdoor Research Ironsight After that you can start looking up more niche or less iconic brands and gear, you'll be a nerd in no time. I hope this is helpful and I'm sorry for the late reply. If you ever need help or info on something, feel free to dm me on Twitter or Tumblr!

[batsplat]

do you have any favorite tennis matches? what's your favorite player and rivalry if you have one?

(note, I will be leaving both agassi + sampras out of this post as they have already been discussed in a fair bit of detail on this blog, though I might at some point make a post specifically about their matches. obviously they'd be pretty high up in all three categories with regards to favourite matches, players, and rivalries)

I have a lot of favourite tennis matches!! I'll throw a few of them under the cut, but honestly give me half a chance and I'll go on forever. my all time favourite tennis match is the 2003 us open semifinal between justine henin and jennifer capriati. it is available in full on youtube and I think you should watch it even if you have only the slightest interest in tennis. this is a match you need to experience for yourself and I will not spoil the result, but it features basically everything you could ask for:

very high stakes, both in terms of being a slam semi and for both players involved. it's an interesting stretch of henin's career, plenty of controversies that season and the potential for a rematch with countrywoman clijsters in the final. capriati during her noughties career revival had FINALLY managed to overcome her issues in late stages of slams and had won three of them... but her home slam at the us open was the one she wanted to win most of all. a history of semifinal choking she was attempting to conquer in front of her home crowd - fighting a woman six years her junior who had already tasted slam success that year

two very different personalities, the cold and calculating henin against the ferocious and passionate capriati... both not strangers to a little bit of gamesmanship, and of course you see that on display in this match too. keep an eye on the poor line judges

two contrasting but similarly engaging playstyles, the boisterous force of capriati coming up against henin's lethally elegant all-court game. henin's one handed backhand better than sex question mark. it's a great stylistic match-up, and produces some excellent tennis across the entire span of the match. just SUCH a great watch, like I really cannot speak highly enough of the level on display

a highly involved crowd who want their home favourite to win SO BADLY and are more than happy to do anything to help her cause. gets a bit wild, like the best us open matches tend to do

some truly insane momentum switches, many prompted by psychology and some prompted by physicality. one player's body starts letting her down in the final set in pretty striking fashion. one player's mind plays havoc with her, possibly even more memorably so. a very dramatic finale

the cruelty of tennis on full display. a match where you suffer for both players, who both want it so badly and are visibly fighting demons on the court. truly, truly brutal for the loser

I love this match so so much. I know it's very on-brand to direct you to a match from over two decades ago, but I promise you. it's worth it. sometimes the old stuff is the best

and do I EVER have a favourite player and rivalry!!!!!!

MY GIRLS. okay, look, they're both extremely retired and had their last match in 2010 BUT it is still my favourite rivalry!!!!!!! here, have another bit of my output for them:

wE hAvE aLwaYs ProTEcTEd tHis iMAge oF friENdShip tHat nEVeR eXistEd istgggggggg NOTHING WAS BROKEN BETWEEN US BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING TO BREAK

if you've ever heard someone be extremely annoying about federer's game, you probably can imagine what I sound like talking about henin. she's got my favourite backhand of all time, I genuinely think it is a work of art. I love how she moves, the way she unleashes on balls on the run, I love how she gets into the court in such a lithe and precise manner to pick up the next ball. I love how effective the serve is despite her height (number one commentating cliché for her lol, she's short we get it). the slices, the gorgeous drop volleys, the laser straight forehand... and again, the backhand. when she takes a swing at that thing and fucking pummels it past her opponent, stretches her wings to make the ball soar, it's just truly my favourite shot of all time. there's a specific backhand crosscourt on-the-run pass she hits in that aforementioned us open semifinal where... yeah. what can you even say. better than sex full stop

and well... okay, look, I am AWARE a lot of fans still hate her and I do get that she won't be everyone's cup of tea. but y'know. sometimes you just have to support women's rights and wrongs, and I do think some of the criticism of her is also a bit overblown. she's a cheater, yes, I won't argue with that. but I think sometimes cheating is interesting!! she really really really really needed to win, she was cold and ruthless about it - but also, I'm sorry, people would NOT have hated her quite so much if she were a man. and I'm also not saying a sad life story justifies cheating etc etc, but I do wish people were a bit more interested in why she needed to win so badly. she also has the number one athlete attribute that makes my brain go crazy - a deeply conflicted relationship with the sport itself. always caught between running towards and running away from tennis... yeah. god

the single best resource in tennis is a website called tennisabstract, it really is fantastic, I've contributed a bit to their match coding project before and definitely will again when my schedule's freed up a bit. I have a lot of time for the guy who runs it, I really do. there's this series he did, tennis 128, where he listed the top 128 players of all time according to his metric and wrote a piece for each of them... and I think they're all very interesting, it's a great project. but. there's a good chance henin got the most negative write-up of the lot, in a way I have to admit I take issue with. some excerpts:

well, tough luck. I don't care. the lgbt community has forgiven justine henin. look at what a cute tomboy she was as a teenager:

look at her holding a bird trophy:

wifey

the other half of that rivalry is her fellow belgian clijsters. very much a case of two narratives haunting each other!! do not separate!! anyhow, she's another player with a game I absolutely adore, these big scything groundstrokes but ALSO plenty of variety, like we're not talking a dull baseline basher here. and the movement!! sliding on a hard court is STILL pretty rare in the women's game, so it's very much seen as something associated with clijsters and clijsters alone:

life changing thighs is what I'll say

clijsters was everything henin was not - warm, popular in the locker room and with fans, a cheery outgoing personality who always had plenty of people rooting for her. she was also seen as too nice to win. and there are few things on this planet that get me going more than a choker. than somebody who just... freezes in the most important matches of her life. which for a while there had a nasty habit of involving henin, because of course they did

clijster's another one with a really fascinating career arc, one that is inextricably linked with henin's story - and thing is, she did get her happy ending. she's the feel-good story, proof that even chokers might be able to make it in the end. she conquered her demons... one of the very, very, very few to do so. she changed the narrative of her career completely. now I DO hate how this kinda... low key gets implicitly used as another stick to thwack henin with, this kind of, ooh!! look!! you can be a good person and be successful too!! which! idk. god forbid we root for a flawed athlete now and again. but I think this does a disservice to clijsters - not least because she WAS pretty nasty about henin in a way she wasn't about basically anyone else. henin and clijsters are more than just sinner and saint... don't let tennis fans tell you otherwise

and yeah, the two of them obviously had a bit of an emotionally tortured rivalry. belgium cooked up two insanely good tennis players born exactly one year and one week apart, the only two players of that stature the country has ever produced. they made each other better and they made each other worse. friends and enemies and something in between... and in the end, fundamentally inseparable. citadels have been built on less

anyway tbh I'm not going to pretend like anyone is summoning up that kind of narrative juice these days, but obviously I still have my faves. as regular blog readers may be aware, my favourite current player is this washed string bean who mostly just loses to more talented players and throws tantrums these days. I'll support him until his time runs up though. medvedev's got this fantastically unorthodox game that I could dissect all day, he's the smartest top player, he's funny as shit. his game should never have worked and he has no right to be as successful as he is. I could hold a lecture series on his forehand. I'm very much a pusher-inclined fan... I like counterpunchers, I like players who run around a lot and defend, and I also like tacticians. I was a pretty early adopter because I love a quirky playstyle and weird technique, which was then affirmed with the miami 2018 debacle (iykyk). but there was a moment I knew I would be his fan for life, and if you are a tennis fan you can probably guess what's coming:

"so I want all of you to know, when you sleep tonight, I won because of you" I fell in love

never ever has he let me down on the drama front. his "oops I did it again" basel 2018 instagram post, his "I think I killed someone? my apologies" from us open 2020, "if I die, who'll take responsibility" from olympics 2021, the "it's easier to enjoy life when you have no brain" paris 2021 monologue, the yawn at turin 2021, stomping on the ground davis cup 2021, the "his father can talk every point" ao 2022 rant, "I'm gonna pee as slow as this court" from iw 2023, when he got rid of the singles stick monte carlo 2023 plus the "look at yourself in the mirror" press conference comment, "vamo vamo vamo" from uso 2023... I could keep going. "shut your fuck up" has become a part of my vocabulary icl. I love his press conferences and watch a lot of them, just consistently a very interesting guy to listen to. he is unfortunately sort of hellish to follow as a fan, but y'know. sometimes it's not just trophies that make the journey worth it (cope)

women's tennis, my actual faves have basically disappeared from the scene this year so I'm not even gonna dignify them by mentioning their names. I am pretty ride-or-die for dasha kasatkina, a useless pusher who's also the wta's highest ranked lesbian and makes a vlog with her girlfriend I definitely recommend. I like her tennis a lot in all its horrendous pushing, she's very sweet and fun and produces an obscene number of cute photos with her girlfriend. beyond that, I suppose I am basically a swiatek and sabalenka fan this year, I find both of them highly engaging in different ways, I love how they're like... actually very good but are also seemingly constantly fighting demons. basically the two most compelling players in the game currently TO ME. I'm really really enjoying their rivalry, my main complaint is that I wish they played more (praying iga's new coach fixes her during the off-season). they produced by far the best match this year, madrid final, which I'd also absolutely recommend. but yeah, I generally vibe with all the top players of the women's game, if to differing extents!! really strong era at the minute that also promises to keep getting better. we pray

anyhow. a few more favourite matches - I'm going to try and hold myself back, because I really could go on forever. a lot of the old matches I watch are from noughties wta, but I'll limit myself because I'm aware this really is probably of interest to nobody and give just a further two - sharapova/henin wta finals 2007 and venus/davenport wimbledon 2005. both pretty normie picks, but sometimes the normie picks are normie picks for a reason

for my sins, I do have a few big three matches in fairly regular rotation, typically on in the background when I'm working. main ones are djokovic/federer us open 2011, djokovic/federer wimbledon 2019, djokovic/federer wimbledon 2014, and djokovic/nadal roland garros 2021. I also have a bunch of murray matches in rotation but I tend to mix it up for him more... my other go-to run is all of leylah fernandez's pre-final us open 2021 matches, which are just consistently bonkers in the best possible way. there's a few other recent-ish matches I really like to revisit, like iga/sublanko madrid 2023, fernandez/osorio monterrey 2022, kerber/juvan strasbourg 2022...

and then, of the more recent-ish men's matches, pretty obvious where my biases lie. medvedev/djokovic cincy 2019, med/wawrinka uso 2019, med/nadal atp finals 2020, med/thiem atp finals 2020, med/djokovic uso 2021, med/sinner atp finals 2021 (conceptually hilarious match), med/faa ao 2022 (go-to flight match, this one), med/tsi ao 2022, rune/djokovic paris 2022 (and honestly that whole rune run), med/zverev monte carlo 2023 (don't feel great about including this but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it), rune/sinner monte carlo 2023, rune/foki madrid 2023, med/alcaraz uso 2023 (I promised I'd sing the american national anthem if he won that match so that's a voice note that still exists out there)... and so on

I could keep going, but I'll cut myself off here. and end things with my personal favourite instagram post tennis has produced. from after the aforementioned rune/foki madrid match:

'personally I hold nothing against the Spanish people' dw king I'll do it for you

[according2thelore]

so like... what do y'all think john winchester assumed had happened when he woke up one night on a dark road in his crying girlfriend's arms with her dead dad right next to them with a stab wound in his belly? d'you think he wondered if he'd had some kind of blackout and killed samuel 'cause john thought he was a threat and reacted the way he was trained to deal with threats in the marines? 'cause I think that's more than plausible. and I think it's deliciously fucked up of mary if she let him go on the rest of their lives thinking he'd killed her daddy. and doubly so if john had to hold his brand new baby boy and ask his wife what she thought they oughta name him and have her fling the name of a man he'd killed back in his face. anyways.. many thoughts on ''in the beginning'' tonight 🥰👍

💜 cilla/mdbp 😈🎉

hello, cilla!!!

GAHHHHHH

because mr. campbell was always kind of an unnerving guy. he'd hated john as long as he and mary were together, and--mary doesn't know this--john went over to her house one time to straighten it out with the old man for mary's sake.

just a friendly conversation about how much he loved mary and would do right by her, probably a precursor to asking for her hand like a good nice boy would do, and john's mother raised him right.

but he answered the door with a knife tucked into his belt and one hand hidden behind the door. john knows the look in his eye. he knows that knife--he has one in the box of his army things under the mattress, one he hasn't opened in years because he can still taste the metal tang of blood when he looks at it. it's wicked and sharp and ridged, made for gutting things.

he didn't get mr. campbell's permission, and he left with his heartbeat in his ears, dazed. i don't want some washed-up, war-fucked civilian mechanic marrying my mary. you're no good for her, kid.

john wakes up in a backwater country lane two months later, mr. campbell gutted on the side of the road next to him. the knife is on the ground. the knife. the knife john has been trained to use in his sleep.

he has episodes, sometimes. he was at work in his first few months back, and a lift had slipped out from a car. it hit the ground with a grind of gears and screech of metal, and the next thing john remembers, it's two hours later and he's holding his friend jack down beneath a table, like he's trying to shield him from enemy fire. he has a wrench in his hand that he holds like a pistol. his buddies are all standing around him and talking to him like he's a spooked horse.

he broke jack's arm. he knows he's capable of committing violence and not remembering a fucking thing. he becomes almost an animal, when he feels threatened.

and here mary is, crying into his hair, and john doesn't remember a thing. he doesn't remember getting up that morning.

did he try to confront mr. campbell again? did mr. campbell find them out here, together, and try to defend mary's honour? did john...did john--

when he asks mary, tremulous, mary's eyes do something strange. resolve settles in the set of her jaw.

"we can't tell anyone, do you hear me? we've got to burn him before my family finds out."

when john wavers, she snaps.

"i'm doing this for you, john." as she starts dragging her father's corpse, still pumping blood, off into the woods.

it's a confirmation about every horrific thing john has ever thought about himself.

john thinks he's the luckiest man in the world, that his now-wife loves him this much. she chose him over her own father, and will hide his sins. she still wants to marry him, still trusts him. she stares at john the entire time the pyre burns, like she can't stand to look at her father.

"i'm so sorry," john says, numbly. he can't believe he was capable of this. killed an innocent man. he prays it was in self-defense, but mary still won't talk about it--she won't, not even when dean and sammy are born. but now, in the moment, he says, "i don't know what happened. i'll do anything to make this up to you, mary. i love you more than anything in the world. i swear on my life i'll do anything to protect you. anything to make you trust me again."

and you just can't buy that kind of devotion. not that mary doesn't love john--she does. but if she's going to get out, all the way out, she needs a man willing to cut all ties and not question any of it.

when his second son is born, john looks down at the face of his little boy, and is in love all over again, dean tugging at his pant leg so he can get a look at "dean's baby." he wants to name him michael, after a friend in the marines that saved his life in 'nam. but mary's face is impassive as she says, "we should name him samuel. after my daddy."

john winchester knows he'll never escape his sins.

he'll never be clean.

he killed his wife's father. he's unclean in the biblical sense.

~~~

@majordemonblockparty this ask made me throw up blood like a consumptive victorian waif <3 thank you so much <3

-lizzy

[ikemen-translations]

Morganatic Idol Prologue 1/10

Just as each star shines differently, each person has a different charm.

I believe that everyone has their own brilliance.

However... sometimes there are stars that emit light many times more intense.

The sparkle is so intense and dazzling...

The light is so strong that it blurs the surrounding stars, attracting everyone, making them yearn for something... and sometimes even giving them the courage to live.

I never knew that there were such overwhelmingly beautiful stars until I met them.

This is my Cinderella Story, guided by those dazzling stars...

Office

The sound of someone typing on a keyboard echoes in the noisy office

(I think this is fine)

After I finished entering the data, I let out a sigh.

(All you have to do is check it and submit it, and all your morning work is done)

Eiko Mori: Mr. Kawanaga, have you done what I asked you to do?

MC: Ah, Mori-san. Yes, please check it

Mori: Then next time, please hurry up more and give me a copy of the document

Interrupting my words, Mori-san quickly placed a stack of materials on the desk

MC: "Oh, I understand..."

I sigh softly as I listen her leaving with the sound of heels clicking.

(Additional work, huh? It can't be helped. let's hurry and get it done!)

This is Aegis Public Holdings, a company located in Tokyo.

It's a major advertising agency that handles a wide range of advertising on TV, magazines, internet, etc.

The department that produces advertisements is the Create Division, I work here as a temporary employee

When I was looking for a job, I went to the final interview at Aegis and unfortunately failed.

(I was really disappointed at that time. Fortunately I was able to get a job offer in another industry...)

I had always dreamed of becoming an advertising planner, and I just couldn't give up on working for Aegis.

That's why I chose to become a temporary employee

(When I think about that, I can't keep whining)

(I've always admired Aegis for a long time. And being able to work in the Create Division is an amazing thing in itself)

Lunch break

As i walked through a nearby park with my lunch in hand, I remembered the materials I had copied earlier.

(If I remember correctly, that was a commercial for drinking water that Mr. Mori worked on)

(That's amazing... I want to do someting big like that someday)

Mr. Mori is a full-time employee and the leader of the team I belong to. She is said to be the ace of the department.

The other employees are all people who have built up their careers through their upbringing.

(Everyone is doing a good job, looks stylish, and is full of confidence)

It's so sparkly and dazzling... I still don't have that kind of confidence...

(I mainly work as an assistant, and I don't have enough experience to be involved in the main work...)

Even in eating lunch , the difference is obvious... I make my own lunch to save money but the full-time employees get a special lunch from a fancy restaurant

(... No, no, no... The bento that I took so much effort to make won't taste as good but It's ok)

I Shake my head to get rid of the dark feeling

(I got into Aegis anyway, so now I'll work steadily and gain solid experience)

And... someday, I want to be promoted to a full-time position, create wonderful advertisements and give dreams to others

Just as I was once encouraged by an advertisement I saw when I was feeling down... that is my dream

(Okey, let's do our best this afternoon too!)

Office

(What is it? It's kind of noisy)

Manager: Everyone, listen please! The sales department has just landed an incredibly large project!

The section manager looks excited and speaks in front of everyone

Manager: It's a commercial for a new perfume from the major French brand "Esance"!

Manager: This product will be rolled out worldwide, and of course the commercial will be aired all over the world!

MC: The whole world!?

(Amazing! But why did such a worldwide project go to a Japanese agency?)

Manager: Actually, this time, Ezans has specified the image character to be used in the commercial

Manager: Exe Creed!

At that moment, the screams of female employees rang out

Exe Creed is a Japanese male idol group that is popular all over the world

Their strength lies in self-production, from song writing, composition and choreography to costume design and stage direction

With their outstanding singing and dancing, they quickly exploded in popularity as soon as they were formed and rose to the top

Their momentum is not limited to Japan, but they are a global group that has topped the American hit charts

(Even I, who don't know anything about idols, know about it)

There is not a day that goes by that I don't see them in the media and I hear that they have many passionate fans all over the world

(I see... The reason Ezans entrusted the commercial to Japan was to use Exe Creed)

(But up until now, famous Hollywood actresses have always done the commercials for Ezans)

(Japanese idol... and It's outrageous that a man is nominated...!?)

Apparently, the advertising agency that will handle this project will be decided through a competition between multiple companies

Manager: We will definitely win, we are putting the prestige of our company on the line!

The enthusiastic manager said something even more surprising

Since the person chosen was a world-famous idol we asked for a wider rang of opinions but in the end, all employees seem to be able to come up with plans, regardless of department or position

(This is a great opportunity! Even as a temporary worker, I might be able to be involved in creating advertisements from the planning stage...!)

My heart pounded violently. The feeling of "I want to try it" overflows

Female employee 1: If I'm selected does that mean I will be able to meet the Exes?

Female employee 2: I'll do it!

Mori: It's amazing that It's on a global scale and It's with Exes, I can't miss it!

While the office is buzzing with excitement, a fire is burning inside my heart. I was thinking of a plan, and I started to feel anxious.

I'll show them what I can do!

(Let's do it. I'll think of a plan and I'll definitely grab this chance!)

Next

[starflungwaddledee]

emoji interview character asks! [x]

part 2! by the time i've answered these i'll be closing this; thanks for everybody who sent them in!! i do think we've just about hit most of them now wow, i really appreciate the interest! for duplicate questions: what i'm going to do now if i get one that i've already done is pick the next closest one i haven't done! gonna try and 100% clear this list in true kirby fashion. all previous answers can be located here, and i'll highlight these duplicate switches in pink.

@moonverc3x 🍓 [STRAWBERRY] How do they feel about 'cute' things? || cute is...... good right? people are often calling her cute and she thinks this is praise. so... good! she likes them! it's a positive adjective so she feels positively about it!! yes? is she right??! (i will say that if she could figure this out, she probably prefers 'pretty' things; sunsets and the sparkling ocean and a glittery fabric. that said i think she would adore hatched chicks and would sit in front of an egg for hours hoping to see one) 🍉 [WATERMELON] What will your OC take to the grave? || someone in particular. 🍌 [BANANA] Have parts of your OC been lost to time (in-universe)? What do they wish they could lose from themselves? || as an amnesiac this is par for the trope, of course. whatever may or may not have happened before she was found in the crater remains absent, despite her and everyone's best efforts. there might be a trigger that could help her get it back, but thus far nothing sane has worked. what she currently wishes she could lose is her weird magical signature, and perhaps even her non-standard appearance; though i think her friends have probably grown to like one or both of these, and might miss them if they were gone. (this would mean a lot to her to hear). 🏵️ [ROSETTE] What flower symbolises your OC best and why? What does the flower mean in floriography? || bouquet 1: amaranth, columbine (purple), indian jasmine. bouquet 2: pear blossom, flowering currant, bay leaf. the funniest one here is the flowering currant; "thy frown will kill me"; perfect for a pathetic little people pleaser 🌵 [CACTUS] How physically resilient is your OC? || startlingly, for a waddle dee! she hasn't been severely injured since her accident, but seems to bounce through things without a scrape most of the time. and while this hasn't been tested on dreamy peaceful popstar, land of plenty where she eats and breathes when she's told to, she can go a surprisingly long time without most necessities 🥛 [MILK] What is your OC's relationship with their biological parents like? What about their relationship with any non-biological parental figures? || this is an interesting one! in my headcanons waddle dees do not have any biological parents or biological family. so this isn't something she feels she's missing from her forgotten past. some dees certainly do form familial attachments by choice, but if she had a bond like this once upon a time, she doesn't remember. probably the concept of a parental figure would confuse her, so it's not something she's seeking or thinking about! she is more concerned with the fact that she doesn't appear to have had a single friend or acquaintance from her past, either.

@trainerbob23 🍮 [CUSTARD] Expensive restaurants or cheap store-brand microwave meals? || any. all. food!!! she's picked this up from kirby, and she likes tasting things, even if it's bad. might take a sneaky bite out of the microwave plastic tray or the champagne flute at the restaurant, just to check. clear sparkly things just look so enticing! 🌱 > 🌴 [PALM TREE] What are the stops on your OC's dream cruise? What boat are they on? || she is on the warp star or, even more ambitiously, the lor starcutter stopping NO WHERE because if they stop there's a chance she'll be kicked off. she would also accept being on the halberd; anything capable of flying or entering space is of great interest to her. a space cruise counts as a cruise, right? 🍧 > 🧁 [CUPCAKE] If you had to describe your OC using flavours, how would you (e.g., 'they're very sweet')? || i think i've described her as a strawberry marshmallow before. this is probably mostly based on colours. i think if you took a bite of her she would be very sweet, but she might taste more like a peach gummy 🎂 [BIRTHDAY CAKE] How does your OC celebrate their birthday? With who, and where? || she celebrated it here on tumblr and got many beautiful gift artworks actually!!! in universe, waddle dees celebrate a communal 'birthday', as many tend to be firstwoken on the same day, and a bigger event at the end of the season to celebrate all dees, new and old. she'd probably attend these if one of her friends took her, but it might take a while before someone (likely kirby) twigged that none of them know her actual birthday date. ultimately, they might celebrate the day she was found after her accident.

@hyperz0ne 🧅 > 🍑 [PEACH] How do they show their kindness? How kind are they truly? || overbearingly. because she's been shown kindness, by king dedede, by kirby, by bandee, even (to the best of their ability) by the waddle dee doctors who treated her, she mimics this back and tries her hardest. she doesn't really understand being mean or rude, as it doesn't have any positive outcomes. she tends to show kindness with enthusiasm for your presence and verbal gratitude, and by being willing to help with/do anything you might need; it's easy to guess where she learned that

@eliastheownerof0axolotls 🌺 [HIBISCUS] What does your OC think is the prettiest name? || she likes the names of constellations! especially when they are long and complicated with lots of letters; they always sound nice when meta knight says them! also, secretly: 'dedede'. would not stop saying this one when she first learned it because it was so fun to say. 🌷 > 🍭 [LOLLIPOP] Would your OC ever share food with someone? || core mechanic of the games 😂 but she much prefers to eat food with friends than alone, and loves to share meals and try lots of different tastes! she really likes going to eat with kirby because he doesn't judge her for thinking the gilded cutlery looks edible. the pair of them voted most likely to 'pocky game' a shish-kebab, skewer and all 🍧 > 🍆 [EGGPLANT] How are they used by others? How easily are they tricked into this? || uhhhhhhhh. thankfully on popstar everyone is pretty nice, for the most part. like i mentioned before she takes things at face value. if you ask her to do something (and she has not been explicitly told not to do it) there's a very high chance she'll just go along with anything you ask of or tell her. however obviously, you'll then have to deal with a really angry bandee and possibly the others, so it might not be worth the risk!!

🥛 > 🥀 [WILTED ROSE] How good is your OC at meeting deadlines? What motivates them? || only if you make it transparently clear. she's very easily distracted and terrible at keeping time (note: the aforementioned hours spent in the clover patch or waiting for an egg to hatch) but if you tell her you are counting on her to do something and will be inconvenienced or worse, upset if she doesn't do it, it'll be done in three minutes or less 🍉 > 🌶️ [HOT PEPPER] Who would your OC declare their sworn enemy if they could meet them? || nobody!! she's friends with everybody!!!! she doesn't want any enemies!!! let's be friends!!! (extremely compelling parallel between this switched out emoji question, btw) 🏵️ > 🍪 [COOKIE] Does your OC prefer things simple or extravagant? || waddle dee sensibilities insist she prefers things simple if she wants to fit in. buuuuuut her first memories are of course of being under the personal care of king dedede in the royal castle, so she does like things a little luxe... 🍋 > 🌽 [CORN] How good are they at hiding and finding their way? || exceptional at the first, and terrible at the latter. actually terrible at the first too, forget that. 🧀 [CHEESE WEDGE] How often does your OC get into situations that rely on pure luck/miracles happening? || on popstar, planet of miracles? very rarely! she's not a trouble maker, and usually if bandee brings her along on any adventures they're the tamer ones. historically? exclusively. 💐 [BOUQUET] If you could send your OC a bouquet, what flowers would make it up and what is the overall message ||

🌿 [HERB] Is your OC religious? What do they believe in? || actually extremely unsure about this one, and it would depend on if there were a religion she was expected to follow. she's rather a blank slate, so again, she'll believe just about anything; but i'd say she doesn't have any existing religious belief system. probably the closest thing to this that exists in my head for the waddle dees is devotion to the great king. 🌵 > 🍵 [GREEN TEA] What's your OC's preferred flavour of tea, if they even drink it? || camomile, mint, milky; she likes them all! mild preference for sweeter tastes than more bitter ones. would probably be a sucker for a thai iced tea with the condensed milk and any number of fancy toppings. i would not personally trust her with something like boba because i think she'd inhale the pearls by accident and start choking and cause a scene 🌸 [CHERRY BLOSSOM] Does your OC believe in legends/myths? || absolutely! fairy tales as well. sometimes she overhears fantastical tales about bandana waddle dee (connected to kirby or independently) and reports them excitedly to him, which he usually downplays-- even if they're real. sometimes she overhears fantastical tales about king dedede and reports them excitedly to him, which he always upsells-- even if they're false. so you can imagine she has something of an inflated opinion of dedede, though this is fairly standard for a wanya 💮 [WHITE FLOWER] Has your OC ever kissed someone? Who, when, and where? || platonic kisses are very common on popstar, especially as a segue to sharing/healing, so she's received quite a few. for what i think this question is asking, "has she experienced intimate or romantic affection" no, not yet... but she'd probably really enjoy it if anyone's offering 🥺👉👈 🎂 > 🍸 [COCKTAIL] When was the first time your OC had an alcoholic beverage? What did they think of it? (not a nearby switch at all!!! getting close to clearing the list...!) || as far as she knows, never. meta knight has banned her from anything stronger than quarter-strength coffee after That One Time.

🍊 > 🥕 [CARROT] How tough is your OC against certain situations? How weak are they against others? || physical situations: stronger than expected. endurance and stamina: stronger than expected. emotional situations: the resilience of wet toilet paper 🍉 > 🍟 [CHIPS/FRIES] How much junk food/sometimes food does your OC eat? Has it affected their health? || no ill effects yet, and this thing's out here eating the drywall if you let her 🧅 > 🌰 [CHESTNUT] What food group does your OC mostly eat (e.g., grains, fruits)? || by circumstance it's raw fruits, steamed vegetable medleys, baked goods, and rices! these are the most common waddle dee quarter foods that she's able to pick up from the castle kitchens. and also packaged things like crackers, pastries, or dried snacks, which keep well in her room or pockets and which she can produce easily if someone tells her it's time to eat.

🌳 [DECIDUOUS] What's your OC's favourite thing to do at the park? || hang out with friends, of course. if she's with friends and being asked to pick it depends on the companion's energy levels. quiet time activities: cloud or critter watching. mid-level activities: swinging, or walking the gardens and learning new things. high energy activities: games, except she's a little scared of hide and seek because she doesn't want to get separated or lost or forgotten 🥑 [AVOCADO] What will they never back down about, even if it makes them seem bad? || exclusively defence of her friends. with everything else, even defence of herself, she has the fortitude of a strawberry éclair. she wants to be good so bad. 🍔 [BURGER] What would your OC put on their burger? || after the pineapple on pizza question she's a bit scared to answer this. she'd put the Right Things on the burger!! only the right things and none of the wrong things. 🧀 > 🍹 [TROPICAL BEVERAGE] If your OC could go anywhere, where would it be? || nebulously, "to the stars". whatever that means. she wants to touch one. on popstar, she'd like to go to nutty noon! it's high up and also looks really soft. 🧇 [WAFFLE] Using shape language, how would you redesign your OC? || 🍑🎀🌟? not sure if i answered this right! 🍍 > 🍕 [PIZZA SLICE] How good is your OC at sharing? How do they share something if there's not enough supply? || super good!! if you want it and she has it, it's yours. with the exception of her friendships; i'd say it's probably the one thing she could be a little jealous over 🥤 > 🍒 [CHERRY] Who is your OC's perfect companion? || little orange guy, blue bandana. maybe you know him? he's pretty famous.

and that's the last one!! phew. we didn't quite get 100% clear, but we got close!! i'm adding this one on myself, because i think it's an important addition after all this talking about her bizzare eating habits:

🥞 [PANCAKES] What's the most your OC can eat in one sitting? At what point do they get sick? || despite her willingness to taste-test anything: from the crunchy leaf on the ground to the spicy curry, what this amounts to is a lack of pickiness. in terms of meal size, she actually isn't a big eater at all. in fact she'd generally prefer not to eat, if left to her own devices, and usually only eats when prompted or in a social setting. eating more than she can handle is a far more frequent cause of tummy aches that eating something that technically isn't supposed to be food

[missmungoe]

Hellooo!

I was wondering is the fic about kid luffy sleeping in the bar and shanks carrying him upstairs in AO3? I mean it probably is not because I have already re-read most of them.

If it is not I think it would be great for download and easy access.

And I have stressful times right now, have lots of exams and work. I have to take my mind out of them a little. Soooo can I ask kindly are there any snippet that you can share? I mean I think I already memorized most of them especially Andromea 😄 WHİCH WAS JUST EPİC. Buggy and my girl Makino what a duo.

And finally thank you for all your amazing stories.💙

Hi! I haven't posted that fic to AO3 (yet) because it's a scene from a longer one-shot. I know it's been a WIP for ages and that I could just post the scene and be done with it, but I also really want to finish this fic, so once I have, I'll post it on AO3 ;)

And I'm so sorry to hear you're having a stressful time! I'm not sure this snippet will make it any less stressful, but here's a sneak peek of my next update, which believe it or not is Bind Me to the Tide - aka, the Soulmate AU I started and then didn't touch for three years (oops). But hey, better late than never!

She ran.

The darkened cottages disappeared as she hurtled past them, half-stumbling in her desperation, her skirt gripped between her hands and her breaths gasping. She didn’t even know where she was going, knew only that she had to run, even as she felt the tug where she’d cut her finger, like an invisible tether, drawing her back towards the bar, and the captain she'd left there.

The look in his eyes was burned into her mind, the moment of recognition she'd feared ever since he'd walked through her doors. Or maybe it was in her soul she felt it, a brand carved as deep as the scars on his face, and a knowledge just as cruel: that there was no running from the truth, or from him, now that he knew what she was.

She ran so hard she tasted blood, her breaths sobbing as she stumbled through the dark, the village behind her as the forest opened up ahead. It was almost too dark to see, nothing but the moon to guide her, the star-strewn sky weighing heavily over the fields where the windmills waited, their sails silent in the still air.

An idea seized her, and before she could second-guess it she’d climbed the fence, nearly falling in her hurry and scraping her palms on the rough planks, too panicked to remember that he’d be able to feel it, but she wasn’t thinking as she ran through the tall grass, her boots slipping in the soft soil as she scrambled for the door to the windmill.

The darkened interior greeted her, the round chamber lit by the shaft of moonlight piercing the mill’s only window. A stack of crates leaned against the far wall, and a ladder climbed up to the level above. As a child, it had been everything from a castle to a pirate ship, climbing the ladder with her imaginary sword, or a book tucked under her arm; had been whatever her imagination had needed it to be at any given moment.

Now Makino needed it to be a hiding place, although it wasn't chores or a scolding she was hiding from, a little girl's worries, back when she'd known no greater fear than her mother's disapproval.

Huddling behind the crates, her knees drawn up to her chest, she tried to be quiet, but even with her brow pressed to her knees, she couldn’t stifle her shivering breaths. Her heart was beating so loud it hurt, and she wondered, terrified, if he could feel that, too.

But even if he felt it, the bond only bound them through their pain; as far as Makino knew, it couldn’t tell him where she was.

Maybe he wouldn’t think to look for her here, if he thought she'd try to lose him in the forest. Maybe he’d even think she’d fled to Goa, and search for her there. If she could just stay hidden long enough, then maybe…

But even thinking it, she couldn’t forget his eyes when he'd looked at her and known, a recognition so vivid she still felt it, like the dull throbbing in her fingertip. And she knew then, in the quiet depths of her soul, that there was no escaping her fate, or the bond. That she could run and hide all she wanted, but that there was no way he would leave her port now that he knew.

No, there was only one thing that would grant her freedom now, the only thing that could sever a soul-bond. Even bound by the Fates’ will, there was one choice she was still free to make, even if it would be her last.

The door to the windmill creaked open, and her breath seized as her eyes flew up.

The pale moon outlined the tall figure in the doorway, his cloak draping from his wide shoulders, as though he'd dragged the night with him. He wasn’t wearing his straw hat, although with the moon behind him, Makino couldn’t see his face, but then she didn’t need to, a hundred nightmares resurfacing, the shadowed figure in her dreams replaced with his features as she knew them now, the high, regal brow and the chiselled jaw, and his breathtaking features warped with the wide, gleeful grin that had been carved into her memory.

Stepping across the threshold, the moonlight illuminated his scars, and she felt the phantom pulse in her own, and Shanks had barely taken a step inside when she moved, snatching the corkscrew she kept at her belt, the polished handle gripped between her white-knuckled fingers and the sharpened tip pressed to the soft underside of her throat where her pulse leaped wildly, her voice lashing from her, sharper than Makino had ever heard it.

“Don’t come any closer!”

[charlesjosephwrites]

Find the Word Tag

Thanks for the tag @honeybewrites!

My words were discover, mercy, wild, and important.

Here are some snippets from my wip The Magician and Ms. Psychic!

discover (I couldn't find this word, so I replaced it with the synonym find)

“Cut the bullshit, Magician.” Ms. Psychic tightened her grip on my jacket to tug me even closer to her. “Tell me where Hermes is or else.” “Or else what?” “You don’t want to know.” I couldn’t help but laugh despite my precarious position. “I would love to see you stoop to my level.” She went infuriatingly silent as she stared down at me. I kept waiting for her to finally cave and do something, but that expectant scowl never wavered from her face. I exhaled sharply. “Tell you what…” I tried to wiggle free again, but her grip was still lock-tight. “I’ll tell you where to find the little shit if you let me go.”

mercy

“Then she sends her sidekick after you, and—” His sentence cut off with a high pitched squeal as I brought my foot up into his crotch as hard as I could. “Bitch.” Max wheezed, stumbling backwards until his hand caught the side of one of the kitchen counters to stop himself from falling flat on his ass. “Can you shut the fuck up for thirty seconds?” I snapped. “I’m being so nice coming here to ask you to back off when I could have just shoved my knife up your nose without that mercy.”

wild

My social media feed was filled with wild guesses about where Shapeshifter Guy was going to strike next, nervous questions about whether Ms. Psychic would ever do more than temporarily chase him off, and assholes screaming about how the cops should just shoot both of them and be done with it. I was mentioned a handful of times among all the discourse by creeps speculating on my relationship with Shapeshifter Guy in such graphic detail I felt like I was going to throw up.

important

“Call me Ms. Psychic.” It took my brain a few seconds longer than I would have liked to process that. “Don't you have telekinesis or whatever?” I asked. “Yeah.” “How does that make you psychic?” She frowned. “How does teleporting make you magic?” “I'm not magic magic,” I said. “It's an aesthetic based on the art of—” “It's just a name,” she interrupted. “It doesn't have to be that deep.” “Just a name?” I scoffed. “How do you expect anyone to take you seriously as a superhero with such piss poor branding?” “I don't think that's what's important here.”

I'll tag @oh-no-another-idea, @mk-writes-stuff, @writinglyra, @enchanted-lightning-aes, and anyone else who sees this and wants to jump in on the game.

Your words are taste, floor, capture, and aware.

[bjfinn]

MOMMY DEAREST

"I Feel Pretty" by Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim, from the musical "West Side Story" (1956), with alterations by me

"So ... my little boy has a new family now, eh? How sweet."

Beej was unable to move. He tried to speak, to scream, to warn the others, but couldn't manage more than a strangled squeak.

"Now, now!" Juno said, blowing smoke from the second mouth in her throat. She shuffled to his bedside. "You don't really want to wake everyone else up, do you? Your precious new family? You know if that happens, I'll have to kill all of them -- and I'll make you watch." She pointed a long, bony finger at him, the wickedly sharp talon glinting in the moonlight coming in through the attic window. "No, you don't want that, do you?"

He was trembling now -- in fear, yes, but also rage. He opened his mouth to speak, and this time he managed a whispered, "How --?"

"How did I get through processing so quickly?" she asked. "I used to run the department -- don't you think I picked up a few tricks during that time? Your father says hello, by the way.

"Now, where was I? Ohhh, yes -- now I remember!" In the blink of an eye, Juno had leapt up and was now sitting on Beej's chest. He struggled for breath, gasping for air. "You're mine! You always will be! I made you, and I can destroy you -- don't ever forget that!"

She got off of him, and he gasped, finally able to breathe again.

Juno leaned over him. "Now give Mama a kiss goodnight." She pressed her ice-cold lips against his forehead -- they burned like a brand, and he gasped again. "Sweet dreams, kiddo."

And with that, she was gone.

Beej lay awake for the rest of the night in a cold sweat, his mother's words ringing in his ears, tears running down his cheeks.

*****

"What shall we do today?" Delia asked.

Beej shrugged listlessly. "I don't know --"

Delia knew that most people thought she was a ditz, a flake for believing in all the New Age stuff, and maybe she was, but the fact was that she was actually sometimes able to read people's auras -- and Beej's aura was turbulent, a swirling cloud of purple and red with wisps of black. Then again, so was his hair, so it wasn't too hard to figure out that something was bothering the demon.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Beej tried to hide it, but she could see the anguish in his eyes.

"Things won't get better if you don't talk about it, Beej."

His eyes welled with tears. "It's my mom -- my ... other mom. She... she came to see me last night."

"You had a dream about her?"

"No!" he shouted. Then, more quietly, "No. It wasn't a dream -- I was awake. She came into my room, and -- and she said that I was hers, and she threatened to kill all of you."

"I thought she was going to be in ... what did you call it -- processing? -- for the next few centuries," Delia said. "How did she get out so quickly?"

"She said she knows 'a few tricks'," Beej replied.

"And you're sure it wasn't a dream?"

Beej shook his head. "It wasn't a dream -- I was wide awake, hadn't fallen asleep yet." He looked at her. "You believe me, right?"

Delia gathered him in her arms. "Of course I do, Beej," she told him. "Of course I believe you."

*****

Beej stayed close to Delia for the rest of the day, following her around like a puppy. She found it a bit unnerving, but she couldn't blame him -- Juno, ultimately, was the reason he was the way he was.

So she let him help as she went about her day.

"Wanna help me bake bread?" Barbara had recently taught her, and she was eager to pass on her new knowledge.

"Sure, okay!"

She showed him how to measure out the ingredients, and let him mix them together in the bowl -- he took extra care not to spill anything. Then she sprinkled flour over the counter and tipped out the dough. Beej reached out a hand and she gently slapped it away.

"I just want a taste!" he protested, rubbing his hand.

"It's not ready yet," she said. "First we have to knead it --"

"I need it, all right? Now let me taste it!"

Delia laughed -- Beej didn't know what the joke was, but her laughter always made him feel good.

"This is how you knead dough," she said, putting the heels of both hands on the mass and pushing forward. She gave it a quarter-turn and repeated the motion. "Now you try."

Beej did as he was shown. Delia took a moment to wipe out the bowl and rub the interior with oil.

"That's great!" Delia said. "Do it a few more times, and then we'll put it back in the bowl to rest and proof."

"You can see me doing it -- what more proof do you need?" he grumbled.

Delia snorted another laugh. "Okay, that's good. Now, back in the bowl so it can rise." She covered the bowl with plastic wrap.

"I can make it rise," Beej said, raising his hands. The bowl of dough trembled and lifted off the table.

Delia grabbed it before it got too high to reach, and set it back down. "It needs to double in size," she explained.

"How long does that take?"

"A couple of hours," she told him, wiping the counter.

"A couple of hours??? " Beej blew out his cheeks in a loud sigh. "Then what?"

"Then we punch it down, put it in some loaf pans, let it rise again and bake it."

His eyes crossed comically. "Seems like a lot of work for bread."

"In the meantime, we can do something else." She thought for a moment. "How about a session? We can do some art therapy, if you want."

Beej nodded. "I like art therapy."

*****

"Now do we get to eat it?" Beej asked when the loaves came out of the oven.

Delia shook her head. "Not yet -- they need to cool down first."

"Ah, come on! You're killing me here!" He breathed in the aroma. "They smell so good." He reached out, but Delia slapped his hand away. He frowned, but said, "Okay, okay -- I'll wait. But it better be worth it!"

*****

That night, Juno came again.

"Are you ready to come back home?" she asked.

"I am home," Beej said, his voice nearly a whisper. "This is my home, and these people are my family -- not you!"

Juno sneered. "I'm the only family you'll ever have, boy. You might've killed me, but I'm back now -- and you're never gonna be rid of me!"

"I killed you once," Beej said. "I can do it again."

Juno nodded thoughtfully. "You could," she acknowledged, "but what would be the point? We both know there's only one way to get rid of me for good -- and if you do it, you'll die, too."

"Get outta here, you ... you dried up old hag!" Beej croaked.

Juno laughed, a cackle that would've chilled the wickedest witch to the bone.

"I am a dried up old hag -- I'm the original dried up old hag!" She said. "But make no mistake -- I'm stronger than you, and I always will be."

*****

"She came again last night," Beej said. "She's not gonna leave me alone."

"Is there anything that'll put a stop to her?" Delia asked. "Anything at all?"

Beej nodded morosely. "There's one thing," he said. "A spell in The Handbook for the Recently Deceased. It's called 'Hands Vermilion'. It's a summoning spell, but only if you know what part to leave out -- if you say the whole thing, it's an exorcism spell. Death for the undead."

"So what's the problem?"

"I need to be there to keep her from killing whoever tries to use the spell," he told her, "but if I'm there ..."

"You die, too," Delia finished.

Beej nodded again. He was almost in tears.

"If we can figure out a way to do it, would you be willing?"

"Yeah, sure!" the demon replied. "I want her outta my life for good! But there's just no way -- I've tried to think of how we can use it on her without me dying, too, but ..." He shrugged. "If I have to sacrifice myself to save you guys --"

Delia held up her hand. "No," she said firmly. "You're not sacrificing yourself."

"But --"

"Let me try to come up with a way." She levelled her gaze at him. "I'm not as dumb as people think I am, you know -- I'll think of something." She smiled at him. "In the meantime, how about I show you how to bake a cake?"

*****

"Think, Dee -- how can you use a spell against one demon without hurting the other?" Delia said aloud. She was sitting in the lotus position on a yoga mat in her studio, trying her best to centre herself and find a solution to what was beginning to seem like an unsolvable riddle.

"There's got to be a way!" she insisted. "Positive thinking -- I will figure this out, for Beej's sake." She straightened her posture, rolled her shoulders and then her neck. "Ommmmmm ..."

Hey, Delia," Lydia said, popping her head in the open doorway. "Umm ... I heard what you were saying."

"Oh, Lydia -- it's Beej," Delia told her. "Juno is back, and she's been --"

Lydia nodded. "I know," she said. "He told me. And he told me about 'Hands Vermilion', too -- that we could use it to get rid of her once and for all."

"The only problem is that Beej has to be there to protect whoever is using the spell, but --"

"But if he's there, it kills him, too."

"Exactly," Delia said despondently.

Lydia tilted her head. "I might have an answer," she said.

"Tell me, please! I'm desperate! "

"It's a spell, so it's spoken, right?"

"Riiight ..."

"So it works by being heard."

"Okaaay ..."

"So all you have to do is find a way to stop Beej from hearing the spell."

"Because if he can't hear it, it can't affect him!" Delia sprung to her feet and hugged Lydia. "Of course! Lydia, you're a genius! "

*****

"What's this?" Beej asked, looking at the small plastic egg Delia had given him.

"Open it," she said. He did, and pulled out a wad of pinkish gray stuff. "It's called Silly Putty," she explained. "We can use it to protect you from the spell."

Beej looked at it dubiously. He sniffed it, gave it a lick. "How?"

"You take a bit of it and stuff it in your ears," she told him. "You won't be able to hear the spell, so it won't affect you."

Beej's eyebrows shot up. "You want me to put this in my ears??? " He sniffed at the putty again. "You're kidding, right?"

"BJ, you put waaay more disgusting stuff in your ears -- and every other orifice -- all the time!" She sighed. "Let's just try it, okay? See if it works."

He pulled off a piece of the putty and stuffed in in one ear, then did the same with the other.

"Can you hear me?" Delia asked.

"What?"

Delia nodded, and began to sing:

I feel pretty

Oh so pretty

I feel pretty, and witty, and bright

And I pity

Any demon who visits tonight!

Beej grinned. "I can't hear anything!" he shouted gleefully. He threw his arms around Delia and spun her around. "This is great -- I'll finally be rid of her forever!"

*****

That evening, Delia headed upstairs to the attic. Beej was alone -- as agreed, Adam and Barbara had gone elsewhere.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Beej swallowed hard. "As ready as I'll ever be," he replied. "If this stuff doesn't work --"

"It will," she reassured him.

"But if it doesn't -- promise me ... promise me that you won't forget me?"

"I could never forget you -- you're my son, Beej." She wiped away his tears. "No one in this house could ever forget you." She kissed his cheek. "But this will work -- just be brave, and Juno will be gone forever, and nobody'll ever try to take you from us again."

Beej nodded and managed a smile.

"Ready?" Delia asked again.

"Ready." He got into bed, and Delia turned off the light, plunging the attic into darkness.

"How long does it usually take for --"

Delia's question was interrupted by the sound of Juno's arrival -- the thump-slide, thump-slide of her prosthetic leg dragging across the floorboards.

Delia flattened herself against the wall, praying that the she-demon wouldn't notice her.

Juno approached Beej's bed. "I'm baaaack! " she sang. "Wakey wakey!"

Beej leapt out of the bed. "I'm already awake," he told her.

She startled. "You trying to give me a heart attack? You should be ashamed of yourself, scaring your poor old mother like that."

"Your heart is in a jar in Bavaria, isn't it?"

"That's not the point." The lit end of her cigarette traced red circles in the darkness as she waved her hand dismissively, and then glowed brightly she took a long drag on it. Smoke blew from her throat as she exhaled.

Delia wrinkled her nose at the smell of the cigarette -- God, that stinks, she thought. It's worse than a cheap cigar.

"Come here and give Mama a hug," Juno said.

Beej didn't move -- he just glared at her, and Delia saw that his eyes were glowing red.

"What's the matter? Aren't you happy to see your mother?"

"You're not my mom," Beej told her.

"Don't be silly -- who else would I be?"

"YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!!!" Beej roared. "You're just the ... the fucking whore that got pregnant with me 'cause she couldn't keep her fucking panties on! No better than a ... a dog in heat! You don't get to call yourself my mother!"

The she-demon's demeanor shifted immediately. "Now you listen to me, you ungrateful little shit! I lost everything because of you! I can't shapeshift any more -- because I had you! I'm stuck looking like this, and it's all your fault!" Juno snarled. "Don't you ever talk to me like that!"

"I'll talk to you any fuckin' way I want!" he told her. "And yeah -- I am ungrateful! Why should I be grateful? You never gave a damn about me!"

Juno's eyes blazed with fury for a moment, but then her expression softened -- once more the loving mother. She smiled at Beej. "I always gave a damn -- but growing up in the Netherworld is hard on a young boy. I had to make sure you were tough enough to survive. I had to be cruel to be kind. But I do love you, son."

Beej swallowed the lump that had come into his throat. "Really?" His face screwed up as he fought the tears that were threatening to fall. "You ... you really love me?"

Juno nodded. "I really do," she told him. "These people aren't your family -- not really. To them you're just a pet, a guard dog -- eventually they'll get tired of having you around and they'll kick you to the curb. Trust me on this -- I know breathers."

She reached up to touch his cheek, but stopped when she saw the look of contempt in his eyes. "Beej? What's wrong, son?"

"You went too hard on the sell," he replied. "You know breathers? How the fuck would you know breathers? You've never been one, you've never spent any time with them. 'I know breathers' -- what a laugh! The only reason you're trying to get me back is 'cause you can't stand the thought of someone else taking what you threw away!"

"They don't have the right to take what's mine!"

"I'M NOT YOURS! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KICKED ME TO THE CURB! NOT THEM! THEY TOOK ME IN WHEN I HAD NO PLACE ELSE TO GO! THEY'RE TEACHING ME HOW TO FIT IN IN THEIR WORLD!"

"They're domesticating you! They're trying to neuter you, de-fang and de-claw you, and then they'll have you doing tricks like a circus monkey! Can't you see that?"

"I DON'T CARE!" Beej roared. "IF THAT'S THE PRICE OF BEING PART OF A REAL FAMILY --"

Delia interrupted him. "No, we're not!" she told Juno. "No one wants to change Beej! He doesn't have to stop being who he is to fit in! We love him just the way he is!"

"Speak when you're spoken to, bitch," Juno hissed, "or you'll get your tongue ripped out!"

At that, a tentacle shot out from Beej's back and coiled itself around Juno's neck, crushing her windpipe. "Don't threaten my family," he said in a low voice as she clawed at the appendage, raking it with her talons. Another tentacle appeared and reached into Juno's mouth, wrapping around the base of her tongue. She gagged, her eyes wide. Suddenly there was a loud, wet, ripping sound. The tentacle retracted, Juno's tongue still in its grip.

Blood poured from the demon bitch's mouth. Beej hauled her close, more tentacles reaching out to immobilise her. "You think I'm weak," he said. "You think I'm still that pathetic little kid that everyone used to bully and kick around. Well, you know what? Your plan to toughen me up worked!"

He took the plastic Silly Putty egg from his jacket pocket, opened it and stuffed some into his ears. He looked at Delia and nodded, and she screamed as loud as she could -- one final test. Beej grinned and gave her a thumb's-up.

"Now you're finally gonna get what's coming to you -- death for the undead!"

He snapped his fingers, and Delia opened the book she was holding -- The Handbook for the Recently Deceased. Turning to page 42, she read the invocation in a loud voice:

Hands vermilion,

Start of five.

Bright cotillion,

Ravens dive.

Nightshade's promise,

Spirits strive.

To the living, let now the dead

Come alive!

As sudden thunder pierces night,

As magic wonder mad affright,

Rise asunder, man's delight.

Our ghost, our corpse,

And we rise to be.

As flies the lizard

Serpent fell,

As goblin gizzard at the spell,

The buried, dead and slain

Rise again!

Juno, still in the grip of Beej's tentacles, began to shake convulsively. Her eyes rolled back in her head. Flames began to lick at her feet, quickly travelling up her body.

Beej released her, and stepped back quickly -- he didn't want to be caught in the conflagration. He watched, grinning, as his mother was consumed by the fire, his arms around Delia, who had clapped her hands to her ears in an attempt to shut out the sound -- Juno might no longer have had a tongue, but she was still screaming.

The she-demon's beehive hairdo caught fire, burning fiercely, her face melting as though she was made of wax. Delia's stomach did a somersault, and she squeezed her eyes shut at the horrific sight.

"Bye, Mom!" Beej said, waving happily.

Juno's head exploded then, and Beej shielded Delia from the shards of skull and wet gobs of brain matter that flew in all directions.

It was finally over.

Beej released Delia, and she said, "Is she gone for good?"

He shook his head, confused. "What? I can't hear you."

Delia grinned. "Take the Silly Putty out of your ears, goofball!"

"I still can't hear you," Beej told her.

Delia pointed at her own ears.

Beej looked even more confused for a moment, and then it dawned on him. He unplugged his ears.

"I couldn't hear you," he said. "I had Silly Putty in my ears."

Delia hugged him. "Is she gone for good?" she asked again.

Beej nodded. "Death for the undead -- there's no coming back from that. She's been eradicated, annihilated, wiped out of existence. Not even a grave for me to spit on." He sighed. "Too bad -- I really wanted to spit on her grave."

He hugged her again, tightly. "You did great, Mom! I'm so proud of you!"

"I -- can't -- breathe!" she gasped.

"What? Oh, sorry!" Beej said, releasing her.

She punched playfully him in the arm.

"Ow!" he said, grinning as he rubbed his bicep. "That hurt!"

"Come on, you big wimp," Delia said, "let's get back downstairs -- we can have some chocolate cake and ice cream to celebrate."

[yamikailyn]

In the forest

Inspired by City of Lights

Short story happening between chapter 27 and 28 under the cut, not beta-ed/edited.

TW: mentions of violence

It wasn't supposed to end like this, deep in the forest stretching across the south of Jena and with enough bodies to start his own organ donation charity.

Jean blinks, gun still in hand. On his right, Floch swings a machete. The wet noise of flesh tearing apart makes Jean's stomach twist. It's not that he isn't used to killing thugs, but tonight it's a bit too much when he just expected to have fun. Specks of blood cover his boots and legs from when he mercy killed one of the guys who tried to murder them.

Jean steps back and slumps against Floch's motorbike, dropping the gun on the ground. Damn it. He just wanted to take the bike out for a test drive. Had dreamed of this since the first time he'd seen it sleeping in Floch's garage. Of course, Floch had been reluctant, even if he never rode it, because being difficult is a lifestyle for him. 'It's ugly, why would you want to be seen on it?' Admittedly, the flashy red body and the green neon lights are ... an acquired taste. But Jean knows the brand well, it's Marleyan. And it uses gas instead of electricity—a rarity these days. But only the promise of visiting the forest had lightened Floch. 'I've never really gone there before,' he muttered, as if confessing a shameful secret.

Fingers snap in front of Jean's face, forcing him back into the present moment. He looks up at Floch, taking in his blood-stained t-shirt, the red plastered all over his skin. That doesn't seem to bother him, but what is surprising? Violence is engraved in his heart.

"Can you drive?"

Jean exhales, a cloud of condensation leaving his mouth and vanishing into the frozen air of February. His heart is still thudding against his rib cage. That was close. Too close. "Not now."

Cold golden eyes narrow but Floch doesn't insist. "Alright. I'll call Marco to pick us up."

Jean winces. "Not Marco."

"Stop coddling him" Floch says with an annoyed roll of his eyes. "I'm calling him now."

Arguing with Floch is useless. Jean leans back against the motorbike, turning his eyes to the sky. Far from the city's lights, the stars shimmer. It's a nice place. Minus the cadavers decorating the clearing.

"Hey." Floch crouches in front of Jean, phone still against his ear. "Meat or veggie?"

"What?"

"I asked him to bring some leftovers. Meat or veggie?"

"I'm not hungry," Jean blurts out.

"He's not hungry," Floch repeats as he gets up and wanders away. "Yes, just the gnocchi. And no meat." He clicks his tongue and his tone turns acidic. "Look, I don't care that you think you know, Bott. No meat. Which also includes fish and seafood, by the way."

Frowning, Jean pushes himself back on his feet. "Oi, don't be an ass. Marco isn't stupid."

Floch gives him a harsh glare, nostrils flaring. Jean tenses like he hasn't since Eren sent him to the hospital for a new year holiday. He can almost hear the cog in Floch's head as he tries to decide if he wants to murder Jean now or wait for Marco to arrive to murder them both and get double the fun. Those past few weeks, Floch seemed to have mellowed. But now, in the darkness of the forest ... Jean isn't so sure. That must be how it feels to handle big cats.

"I'm sorry," Floch suddenly says into the phone, his expression relaxing. "I'll send you the coordinates. Yeah, see you soon. Try not to get lost." He ends the call and raises a brow. "Happy?"

"You can make it so hard to like you," Jean sighs.

"Thanks. I'm trying my best." Floch fishes for a pack of cigarettes in his back pocket. Soon, smoke raises into the night sky. Jean takes a long puff, his mind starting to settle down.

"What did these guys even wanted?"

Floch tilts his head, then gives one of the dead a harsh kick with the tip of his boot. "Looks like some Leichenberg's henchmen who didn't like I cut his head off."

"Next time we go anywhere, how about your past doesn't try to get us killed?"

"I can't promise you anything like this but I can promise you I'll make it hurt for anyone else." Floch smirks before taking a drag and letting the smoke billow up. His gaze goes to the motorbike. A frown creases his forehead. "Y'know, it wasn't bad driving it around, I wouldn't mind doing that again."

"Oh, so now you don't mind the ugliness?" Jean teases.

"The bike is ugly. But also I don't give a shit." Floch pauses. Hesitates. His gaze flicks to the trees. "Truth be told, Leichenberg gifted it to me because he knew I couldn't drive it. He always had to remind me where I came from. And now the bike reminds me I got to have the last laugh."

Jean doesn't say anything at first. Floch doesn't often allude to his childhood in Cité Vive and how he clawed his way out, nor does he talk much about his time as Leichenberg's right hand.

Floch flicks the ashes and shuffles his feet. Maybe he's embarrassed. Maybe he's nostalgic of the day he brought Leichenberg's head in a present box to prove his loyalty to Eren.

"I could teach you how to drive." Jean gauges Floch's reaction. When he presses the cigarette against his lips without saying anything, a sign that he is listening, Jean takes another figurative step forward. "We could bring the bike to Marley, have some paint job done."

"Why Marley?" Floch asks. He hasn't said no yet. Jean doesn't dare hope, though. Floch is good at shooting down ideas and struggles with the notion of having fun, or even any kind of life outside their gang.

"Liberio is nice in summer, and we have friends there. They work on sports cars, I'm sure they can revamp a bike too. And we could have a barbecue on the beach. With meat-free options."

"Alright," Floch simply says.

Jean raises his brow. "Alright?"

"This summer, we go to Liberio." The faintest hint of a genuine smile tugs at Floch's lips.