#there's other stuff on the menu i want to try as well so i'm excited!

[regular-lord-reckoner]

in my pursuit to find a coffee place besides starbucks i've stumbled across a place that not only has my heart because they have asiago bagels (that they put the cream cheese on for me and everything) but they also have something called chai cola?? which is......exactly what it sounds like and it's absolutely delicious!!!

[ashwhowrites]

I know your request are closed, so please feel free to take your time on this one. You are the best at angsty, so I had to come to the queen. Reader and Eddie have never been close friends, but have always been very flirty and soft with one another. After the kids join Hellfire, and Eddie starter hanging out with the crew, they grow closer sometimes hanging out one on one to smoke and stuff. But neither makes a move despite obviously being in love with one another. Eddie has been some what quite, and one night hanging with the crew he shows up with another girl that he met at the hideout. Reader is more quite towards him that evening, and it's killing Eddie because even having another girl he still puts mainly his attention on Reader and can't stop looking at her. You can finish it however you want my love!

Hi! So I did really like this idea so I kept it, but please in the future - keep all requests locked up until my inbox is open :) I'll be happy to write them out once my box is open. I feel more respected that way <3

I hope this is what you were looking for and that you like it :)

All we needed was communication

Y/N wasn't sure where she stood with Eddie. They had a friendship, but they weren't best friends. They didn't have deep conversations and knew everything about each other. They had more of a flirty situation. She found him incredibly attractive, and she voiced that out multiple times. She wasn't afraid to flirt with him, just more afraid to ask what he thought about her. And ask him out.

They hang out alone, they smoke, and watch movies. She thought having that time alone would give Eddie the chance to make a move or just do something. But he never did.

Y/N was with the hellfire group as they waited for Eddie to show up. It was strange for him to be running late to their Friday dinners. Y/N chatted with Gareth as the younger boys suck down their drinks and goof around. She was mid-story when she caught Eddie, but he wasn't alone.

"Hey boys, Y/N." He greeted them with a big smile, sliding into the booth across from her. A girl on his arm, as she slid next to him, across from Gareth. Dustin scooted away in a silent protest when she sat beside him.

The group fell silent upon seeing the new stranger. All for different reasons, or maybe they all knew Y/N's night was ruined.

"This is Hydi, and Hydi this is hellfire!" He greeted me, he sounded so excited and it crushed Y/N. But she put on a small smile and tried her best to welcome the new girl. The rest of the group slowly greeted her and then went back to their conversation.

"So where did you come from?" Gareth asked, a light tone in his voice, as he kicked Eddie from across the table. Eddie flinched and glared.

"Sorry, I was picking up Hydi but her house was harder to find than the other night," Eddie explained, opening his menu as Hyde looked over his shoulder. Y/N was trying not to look and stare. But that girl was close enough to smell his cheap cologne and the smell of his shampoo. She's resting on his leather jacket, her body able to make contact with his. Y/N was jealous and she could taste it on her tongue.

"Well, last time I was there to help." Hydi giggled, and Eddie laughed with her. Like their little inside joke was comedic cold. A smirk on his face as he winked at her, throwing his arm around her. He scooted down in the seat, spreading his legs further apart. Y/N felt herself staring. She always found him attractive. But the way he sat with dominance and confidence wiped her mind clean. She felt herself craving to place her hand on his thigh, imagining sitting next to him. But reality set in when Hydi 's hand made contact with his dick. Y/N jumped and looked away instantly.

She almost felt like she was going to be sick, but didn't need the extra attention on her. Gareth looked at her worriedly, "Y/N, you okay?"

The concern in his voice caused Eddie to snap his eyes at her. The same look as Gareth.

"Yeah! I'm okay." She said, nodding to convince them further. But they weren't convinced. Eddie kept his eyes on her when the table ordered, when everyone was eating, and when the bill came.

She felt squirmy all night. His eyes locked on her so intently was giving her goosebumps. She just didn't know if they were good goosebumps or bad ones. But she knew her heart hurt watching his date. She was gorgeous, and she hated how great she looked on Eddie's arm. Y/N would never look great with him like that.

But her heart raced at the way he was locked on her and just her. Hydi was a lost thought in his head for the rest of the night. Every word went unheard as Eddie stared Y/N down.

She took a deep breath of fresh air when she made it back to her house. Thankful that she could escape from the world.

But it didn't last. Within the next hour, Eddie was at her house and pounding at her window.

She covered herself with a blanket as she walked to her window. She wanted to be selfish and make him leave, but in the end, he didn't do anything wrong.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as he sat on her bed.

"You were a ghost throughout dinner. I wasn't going to just ignore that." Eddie said, his voice stern. "Talk to me."

"I was just caught off by Hydi, but that's all!" She explained she did not want it to be a big deal.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know...I feel like we've been flirting and stuff. Then you showed up with someone." She shrugged

"She isn't anything and she won't be," Eddie explained. "It was dumb to bring her around. I don't have a good reason. I'm sorry for putting that on you. I enjoyed our flirting but I just didn't know if you did it because you liked me or because it was fun. I guess I wanted to see if I could move on and forget about it."

"I enjoyed our flirting too. I was hoping you'd make a move or something. And now I'm confused about how you felt after seeing you with Hydi" She explained

"I still like you, and knowing you like me and have been wanting me to make a move. I wish I knew before I messed it up. I would have kissed you." Eddie admitted. "I'm sorry for not communicating with you and making dumb decisions instead."

"I appreciate your apology. I should have talked to you about how I felt. I think we both messed up a bit." Y/N smiled. She couldn't be mad at him, neither know where they stood.

"But I'd pick you." He said, stepping closer.

"Maybe you can try that kiss now?" Y/N said, stepping into him

Eddie smiled and pressed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shuddered as she felt his arms wrapping around her waist. His hand slipped to land on her ass as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. The kiss got heated fast, and Eddie walked her to the bed. Both fell on it as his tongue worked against hers. His hands went to slip under her shirt, and that's when she stopped him.

"Wait!" She gasped, he pulled back immediately,

"Shit, what's wrong?" He panicked

"Are you and Hydi still a thing?"

"Fuck no. She dumped me the second we left the restaurant. Said it was disrespectful to look at you the way I was." Eddie laughed

"You were staring." She giggled

"shut up." He teased, smashing his lips back on hers.

Tags!

@bmunson86 @mxcheese @ladymunson @michaelfuckinglangdon @z0mbie-blah @biittersweet @mirrorsstuff @somethingvicked @micheledawn1975 @ago-godance @magnificantmermaid @tlclick73 @hargrovesswifee @cityofidek @manyfandomsfanvergentreblogs @silky-luxe @lokiofasgard616 @loving-and-dreaming @eddiemunsonsbitch69 @thegemaqua @ashlynnkennedy @strangerthingsstories5255 @harringt8ns @pleasinghellfire @whoscamila @stusdollface93

[sealofarchives]

Oneshot scenario: Merfolk!reader with the turtles (separate)

Just something for a mermay themed prompt while trying to think of other stuff to write

Warnings: the slight mention of drowning (just a brief topic again nothing too graphic)

(I forgot the exact concept art picture from one of the scrapped episodes where Mikey went all out for a mermaid costume for a distraction but, surprisingly it helped while trying to brainstorm ideas for the other scenarios lol)

Soupful Confessions

In the lair, close to the living room...

You were about take another spoonful of clam chowder soup. While your fish tail sat on one of the steps a surface level in a large aquarium tank filled with water. You placed the soup bowl by the makeshift table beside you. Then swam towards the box shell turtle pacing around a few distance away from the tank.

Before you could ask, Mikey immediately squeaked startled by your sudden appearance.

"Oh (Y/N)! Was the soup okay?"

"Mikey, I'll pretty much eat anything you make. Sorry for scaring you."

"Is something on your mind? You almost made a lap walking around my tank."

"Well... Despite that short-staffed situation during a surf and turf event near the Run of the Mill pizzeria..."

"I'm still excited that I made friends with you and a few other merpeople!"

You winced with a fake smile before going back to the soup filled bowl.

"I mostly tagged along with that group for a discount on seafood pizza."

"I couldn't stomach the idea of eating turtles, let alone ones who were brave enough to serve an angry mob of hungry merpeople."

"Yeah... I still think we were pretty lucky that we based off the menu from a few of dad's old movies. Clam chowder being one of those."

You blinked surprised at the soup then back to Mikey.

"Any clue why he doesn't like talking about clam chowder?"

"Because I tried bringing it up and he just avoids the question with something else."

Mikey only shrugged while playing around with his orange bandana tails.

"He told us only criminals like that movie but, Cassandra turned over a new leaf because of his words of wisdom."

"Maybe, something terrible happened during the making of the movie so, it might have been that..."

You hummed understanding that reasoning. Then held the bowl to drink what's left out of the almost empty soup. Mikey gulped as you perched your arms content with the meal.

"Hopefully its not too weird to ask but, are you free to be a muse?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I had a few sketches for some disguises especially with the mermaid theme in mind but..."

"I didn't want to offend you if some of the designs are in poor taste..."

You couldn't help but, giggle at Mikey as you placed the bowl on his head.

"So you want feedback from me? Sure, I don't bite."

"But, take it easy when you decide to use said distraction in action."

"I wouldn't want that cute face of yours getting hurt."

Mikey blushed as you winked at him and hurried off to get dessert. Unfortunately for him, his brothers also saw the incident and appeared with teasing grins, casually hanging around the kitchen like nothing happened.

Old and New Memories

In the turtle tank...

Donnie spoke up with a sigh.

"You know its impolite to stare at someone for a long period of time..."

"Oh sorry, a while ago, I got stuck with helping one of my classmates for something in Witch Town."

"That place still mentions you-"

"Being the infamous scientist turtle who scoffed at anything magic related and destroyed the center piece statue during an important ceremony."

Donnie felt an imaginary arrow hitting his head as he winced while you continued to talk.

"But still, you made a long way from being stubborn about mystic magic."

"And gained some understanding of it through your way of approaching things."

You fidgeted one of the charms added to the custom made backpack (courtesy of the purple turtle himself) to avoid the tedious process. Carrying a large jug of water when there's no aquarium tank around.

Donnie faked cough now regaining his composure as you looked back at him.

"Accidental destruction of property was the more correct term to describe it..."

"At that time, I was more focused proving April wrong that she didn't need help from those witches."

"Also, there is no way I'm setting foot near that place if they still talk about me in that matter."

"I was already greeted with the angry mob gathering pitchforks and torches when I tried to apologize for my actions."

Donnie crossed his arms as you lightly puffed one of your cheeks.

"On a lighter note, I found out some of my classmates grew up with parents who are big fans of Splinter's movies."

"And..."

You held up a conch shell device and played a recording from its string.

"Do you think we'll turn heads if we change the purple one's wanted poster in a light tone similar to the splitting image of Lou Jitsu?"

"I already heard stories how the former star dedicates his life to raising four turtles and..."

"The purple one can easily get away with anything for having such dashing looks-"

You immediately held the string down with blush surfacing an annoyed look on your face.

"It slowly started an argument on which of you was the best Lou Jitsu look-a-like."

"So the fan club forgot to start the project..."

"But still, at least you have me and a few other fans by your side."

Your fish-fin ears fluttered a bit taking notice of Donnie's smirk.

"While I'm flattered by that girl's comment, I only assume you haven't thought of the idea towards a surprise meet and greet."

"Or you don't like the thought of her dating me..."

The blush deepened your face as you looked away.

"I think she'll be more disappointed that you aren't into pda and hugs."

You felt Donnie's arms pulling you into a hug now sitting on his lap.

"Given the nature of my happy go lucky family members, I just give in to the hugs. However, for you."

"I'm willing to make some amends towards my soon to be partner's needs..." On the back of Donnie's mind was slight panic. With the realization that you look really cute sitting there. And how, he got a closer look at your face.

A Merfolk That Can't Sing?!

Near a rooftop pool close to 10 pm... (Totally not trespassing says the red slider turtle)

Your face sank halfway into the chlorinated water. Attempting to hide the embarrassed feeling as Leo immediately sat up.

"Wait, for eel? I always thought it comes naturally that most merpeople can just lure anyone in by a wonderful singing voice."

You laid on your aquatic back, letting the water glide you across the lightly dimmed pool. With a whine at Leo's fishy oneliners.

"Not me, my parents tried to get help and it didn't even work."

"I already don't like the thought of it being associated with drowning..."

"I almost forgot about that part but, the reason I brought the singing was more towards..."

"Donnie was playing a game where sirens sang during a boss fight."

"I don't know much about metal but, the song surprisingly blends well with the siren singing."

"Okay? I still don't get what you're trying to say."

"I don't want to sound like Dr Feelings but, if you have a favorite song you'd usually like to hum to."

"Maybe try that, since you don't seem happy trying to fit into the scary siren image.

Leo saw you hesitated for a bit but shrugged, now lazily laying on your stomach.

"I'll think about it but, thanks for the brief pep talk."

"Well if you feel up to a small karaoke battle, you know who to call!"

You held back laughing at him in an attempt to hide the blush on your face.

"You almost fell off the turtle taxi proudly winning the previous karaoke battle during a late night beach party."

Leo's confident smile quickly faded into embarrassment. As he immediately placed one of his beach hats on your head. Causing you to sit up to avoid damaging the hat.

"It still counted as a victory for me. We weren't expecting anyone to be up around that time."

"Let alone a surprise visit from a merfolk."

You blushed at the water's reflection, wearing Leo's straw beach hat. A tiny bit of regret deepened the blush as you caught sight of his slow smirk.

"Did my singing actually lure you in?~"

Your fish fin lightly splashed water near his face as you looked away.

"The turtle tank caused a tiny rumor about a turtle with a taxi on its shell"

"I don't think Donnie would be happy about making his prized vehicle open to the public."

Leo wiped the water off his face with a spare towel as he got off the chaise lounge chair.

"I still think I lured you in."

"It just happened to be in good timing, with Donnie making small tests to the turtle tank."

Your fish tail sat by the pool step ladders as you sighed.

"Just don't add any love songs to the playlist or I might curse you for a week."

"I can probably handle whatever hex you throw at me but, I'll still give you dibs on picking the first few songs.

"Just so I have somewhat an idea of what songs you're into."

Ever since he got you to laugh at some of his jokes, the red slider turtle believes you have that merpeople charm in you.

Early Morning Seaside Chit Chat

Close to early sunrise by the Hidden City beach.

The turtle tank was parked a few distance away from the volunteer vendor booth that usually helps with clean up, trash, and protecting wildlife. However, the daily weekend event usually starts in around 9 or 10 am.

Raph could see the groggy eyebags on your face as you struggled to stay awake, resting your arms above the aquarium tank.

"We brought some snacks that should last until lunch."

"So try to eat something so you don't accidentally chomp on a seagull."

You snatched a family sized bag of chips from the snack pile. With a brief thanks as Raph sat across from you.

"I scared off some birds from last year's sea turtle hatching tour."

"I'll be fine."

Raph bit into a piece of jerky as he rolled his eyes.

"That one pink heron almost knocked you into the sea if we didn't step in to help."

"Mikey almost saw a baby turtle getting pecked to death."

"That's the only time I pick fights with any of those birds."

Raph muttered a sigh under his breath as you pouted.

"Okay I'll admit, we didn't want to see that but..."

"I'm surprised how you convinced Donnie and the volunteers to set up a eco friendly barrier for those baby turtles."

You smiled a bit biting into another chip as you spoke.

You guys still helped, spreading the word through cute flyer posters and a tiny fundraiser for a good cause."

Raph lightened up with his toothy grin as he chuckled.

"So, no secret plan to get revenge on that bird."

"I mean Donnie was almost thinking about it, until he got praised with so many compliments displaying his work to the staff."

"Oh, so Donnie didn't have some speech with how cruel nature is and just went with your idea."

You accidentally yawned with an annoyed expression on your face.

"He did but, life is already like that sometimes."

"And not to bring down the mood but, you four would have been just regular turtles if it weren't for Splinter stepping in to protect you guys from being Draxum's super soldiers..."

Raph hummed briefly looking down at the half empty plastic bag.

"I don't think I could fit in with the other alligator snapping turtles."

"I had a lot of weird moments not realizing its a solitary thing and its just not for me."

Raph looked up after hearing you chuckle.

"You could easily win a few over just from your gentle smile."

"Showing off your strength is one thing but, your level of honesty."

"Its almost too sweet that it could blind the competition."

The alligator snapping turtle blushed at your compliments.

"If this is your way of wanting that expensive seafood buffet for lunch, I'm not budging..."

"Awww, but I saved up enough money for a really good couple's discount~..."

Raph eventually caved in to the offer after most of the baby sea turtles safely made it to watery shore. However, to your surprise, the two of you sat in one table alone. With the blush beginning to appear on your face as the waiter took his order.

[jumpthatjump]

wip, spoilers for infinite wealth

Gonna start posting work in progress fics here. I'm hoping it motivates me to finish them.

Title: Hawaii...2! Pairing: Eiji/Ichiban Word Count: 600 Rating: E, for now Part one of ? Summary: The two of them are re-doing a Hawaiian vacation--properly this time. (First thing: getting shave ice)

Notes: This is nice boy Eiji, and maybe a little sad boy Eiji since it's post game. Eiji stared at the shave ice menu, confused. “This is what you wanted to show me?”

Ichiban had been excited on their trip back to Hawaii--a do over, he had said, just the two of them, he had promised. Going around on a real Hawaiian vacation with none of the bad stuff– hopefully, he had added with a sheepish smile. 

And one of the first places they went was Matsumoto's shave ice, to which Ichiban pointed to the ‘Ichiban Special’ being offered. 

“Isn't this cool?” He took out his phone and held it out to him. “Take a picture of me and the menu.” Then his eyes widened like he just got a great idea. “No, wait!” He took Eiji by the shoulder, guiding him to stand next to him. “The both of us!”

Pressed up against the other man's side, Eiji barely managed a passing smile. It still felt awkward how easily Ichiban forgave him for everything, how he would endlessly offer kind, supportive words anytime Eiji felt guilty and protested.

That's why this is a do over, Ichiban had said earlier with a smile, while Eiji had insisted,

That's not how things work!

And Ichiban gave him an easy reply of, Well, it's good enough for me.

Remembering that exchange, Eiji sighed. If Ichiban was going to do all this for him, for them, then he could try as well. 

He shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. “I guess if I saw my name on a restaurant menu, I'd want to try it, too.”

“Exactly.” Ichiban grinned, pleased at being understood. He put his phone away. “What flavor do you want?” The full list was over 30 choices long. “There's so many!”

Eiji glanced at him. Ichiban was squinting, eyes roving over words like Li hing mui, Lilikoi, and Pickled mango. He looked serious. They could only choose one flavor, after all, and he had to make it count, apparently. Eiji looked lower, unable to not get distracted by the other’s attire. Ichiban’s shirt was not the same one from before, this design a simple white sea shell pattern this time, but the rest of it was still a bright vibrant red. 

…What flavor was red?

Ichiban nudged him, an elbow touching his. “Let's get something blue. You like blue, right?”

He did. The shirt under his gray hoodie was plain blue. But he gave him an amused look anyway. 

“I don't think you're supposed to choose based on your favorite color.”

Ichiban’s eyes widened like he had been insulted. “That is exactly how you choose! At least, you know,” he rubbed at his neck, “for the first time you try something new.”

“I hope you’re not thinking about coming back to try every flavor.” Ichiban grinned at him, and Eiji sighed. “You would, wouldn’t you?”

“We gotta get Blue Pineapple.”

There were other blue choices, like Blue Raspberry, even Ramune. “We don’t have to make every choice Hawai’i-related, you know.”

Ichiban shot him such a sad look, that Eiji immediately back peddled, but he tried to sound casual about it. 

“But I can see the appeal. It’s not every day we can do this.”

“I know it’s touristy,” Ichiban said in a way that made it clear that he was enjoying every moment of this. “But there’s a certain charm to it, especially when you share it with those you care about.”

Eiji went quiet at that, because he was not going to get emotional over shave ice, and he nodded in agreement when Ichiban went up to the counter to order. 

[practically-an-x-man]

Genuine ask: What is it that's appealing about Horror? I've never really been into it (Except for reading some Stephen King). Have I just not been exposed to *good* horror?

Long ramble ahead, I'm very passionate about this stuff

Well it's definitely a polarizing genre, there are some people who love it and some people who really can't get into it no matter how much they try. I'm the former, so is my dad, my mother is the latter. She does not enjoy horror and never will, and that's fine.

I find a few things really fun about horror. The first is that I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so the fear and tension in a good horror movie is a similar effect to riding a roller coaster or going skydiving. Some people find it a thrill, others find it terrifying. I find it a thrill.

There's also a psychological phenomenon linked to it, called excitation transfer. Basically, the more intense a scary situation is, the more pleasant the relief feels when it's over. I actually did a whole research project on this! Horror movies present a safe space for experiencing these emotions, since you know you can't really get hurt, and excitation transfer means that even when the fear and anxiety during the movie may be unpleasant, the relief feels really good afterwards. Again, same principle as thrill rides at theme parks - terrifying in the moment, but fun when it's over. Granted, I like roller coasters in the moment too since I actually really like the feeling of flight or falling, but... same principle.

And even outside the thrill perspective of it: horror movies can have some of the best or most interesting practical effects, and I'm an SFX artist myself so I have to appreciate those. And because of how many complicated, intense emotions it presents, it can often involve some of the best acting on top of it. Horror usually presents a greater variety in themes and plot than other genres, since they aren't afraid to go to uncomfortable places. I mean, you watch a romcom and pretty much always expect that the guy gets the girl, you watch an action movie and expect the heroes to come out on top, but with horror it's a lot harder to really guess how something could end, or if it'll be a win for the "good guys" at all. Sometimes the dark ending is just what's right for the story, and horror is more likely to keep that ending while other genres may shy away from it.

And horror can also present as a bit of escapism - you can see yourself as the final girl, or the killer exacting well-deserved vengeance, or whoever else. Everyone has dark fantasies sometimes, and there's almost always a movie to reflect that in a safe space. You daydream about killing your boss at work? Mayhem (2017). Belko Experiment (2016). You want to see spoiled rich brats getting their comeuppance? Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022). The Menu (2021). You like zombies? Vampires? Robots? Demons? Slashers? Mind control? Mundane settings turned terrifying? It's such a versatile genre, there's something for just about anyone as long as they like scary things.

From an academic perspective, too: horror reflects the societal fears of its time period. In the 60s we got Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the Manchurian Candidate because it was the Cold War and people's biggest fear was foreign spies. In the 80s it was a lot of demons and Satanic themes, because the Satanic panic was what had people scared. Lately we've been getting a lot of tech-based horror like Countdown and Host, since technology is usually at the forefront of people's fears. It's neat (to me at least) to see how society's trends reflect themselves in horror.

Plus, I just really like spooky things. Vampires and zombies and creepy mutated creatures and whatever else are my jam! I can get all academic on why horror is a great genre and why people enjoy it, but this stuff also just calls to me. I love it.

[loser4loserswhok1ll]

Matchup maybe possibly? 👀

I'm a 5'1" short king trans guy and I need to wear glasses but I simply Do Not out of spite. My hobbies include eating, drawing, writing, and eating some more, so I'm hefty and hairy like a bear cub. My favourite genres of music are nu metal and alt rock, and I dress like a stereotypical dad with button-ups and cargo shorts. I'm also autistic and my dream job is to be a mortician since medical science is a big special interest of mine!

I hope that's enough to go off of! Have a great day / night!!

You sound so cool tf (true asf with the short king stuff i feel you)

not gonna lie i was fighting for my life choosing this one, so i hope its not god awful

I match you with...

Stu Macher !

He'd never say it out loud, but he is fascinated by you entirely. You guys share similar music tastes, though he indulges in pop / punk rock more than alt rock. Your guys favorite shared bands are korn and slipknot, though he wishes you would indulge in weezer more (hes a loser in my heart of hearts.) He loves how you listen to such heavy music but look like Just Some Dude. Hes the adhd to your autism, good luck. Hes just as blind as you so good luck trying to read menus, both of you are hopeless and sightless. I dont know how either of you are still alive at this point. Loves to feed you also. He has a huge fixation with your mouth. Loves to watch your mouth as you talk, eat, drink, even just resting and dormant. Also hes in LOVE with how hairy you are. One of his strongest fascinations with you is how well your hair grows. Hes incapable of growing any hair basically so he likes that you contradict him. When youre drawing he'll do that annoying thing where he constantly asks stupid questions. "You drew that?" "Can you draw me?" "How'd you do that?" "Do you draw often?" so good luck drawing in peace. He'll ask often if he can dress you, choose your outfits and style you like his personal doll. He also steals your clothes. When you tell him about your dream of becoming a mortician, he kind of thinks its a joke at first. When you solidify that you are serious, he will be so supportive. Calls you smart and a genius and other nicknames in that pattern anytime you infodump or tell him something you know. Will fantasize about you having to work on a body he killed. Its exciting to him how vastly different yet oh so similar your guys interests are :D. He asks you suspicious questions all the time too. "Hey, where would you have to hit if you wanted to keep someone alive but also paralyze them? Like,, with a knife or something." "hey babe, what happens if you accidentally stab through your thigh? do you, like, bleed to death or do you still live?" "Babe, I need to know something. How hard do you have to hit someone in the head with a blunt object for it to kill them? Like, do you have to cave their skull in or can you just keep it in one piece but still kill the person???" If you dont know hes one of the ghostfaces already, he wont tell you for a long time. One time, after he asked a lot of extremely suspicious questions, you made some joke about him being a murderer. He laughed but then his face went blank. "What if i was?" and anyway he told you the truth and was in awe that you didnt leave him. yeah you guys are in love.

hope you like your pairing! sorry for how damn late this was. If you havent seen my post, i was on vacation for a week and had 0 internet so i had to take break. have a wonderful day/night!

[howdy-folks-its-showtime]

It's Showtime! - September 2024 Devlog

Howdy! Cobalt here, this month was a very busy month for me irl. I've been working on stuff like an Ebay I run with my mom, cleaning up our side yard and generally trying to give our house a deep clean since we want to be able to babysit kids for a source of income. That and a lot of driving practice since hopefully soon, I'll be taking my test. So I haven't been focused on game development, however I did get a ton done!

I've both added quite a few important scripts and cleaned up a few existing ones, to try and keep this simple here's a list:

Changed up how the ProgressManager keeps track of which character you are playing as. Mostly so that it can more accurately detect who you should be playing as currently, but also so I can customize freely the possible options of who you're playing as. With this new system it's very easy to add which points in the current level and/or chapter your character is changing.

ProgressManager script is no longer responsible for placing the right items in your inventory according to who you are playing as, that has been moved to be the function of the PauseManager.

Made a script for checking where the player is looking, I can change how close or far it detects the players gaze as well, which is gonna be super helpful for various things. There is another script called VisionManager that turns that one on and off, to make sure it's not running when not necessary.

Made a script for playing audio upon being interacted with and one for playing audio upon being looked at. These have been added to a few objects already and so Henry now has a few placeholder voice lines implemented in the game. With this I also added a function to the ProgressManager to keep track of which voice lines have been played and to make sure the same voice line isn't activated twice.

Tapes are now almost fully implemented programming wise. Upon picking one up, it plays the tape, shows you the name and description and the audioclip is stored in your tape menu. You can't play them from the menu yet and there's a few other things I'd love to implement, but for now I'm very happy to say they're working well.

I've rewritten how both objects that do something upon being interacted with and objects that do something upon being seen work. This method has removed the need for two scripts that made everything more complicated than it had to be and now if I want to add the ability to be interacted with, all I need is to add a word to it's inherited methods and a line of code saying what it does when it's interacted with/in sight. This makes the code much more readable and more simple.

Made the ProgressManager easier to access across different scripts due to how often it has to be accessed. Once again this makes the code more simple and easy to read.

simple door function for closing and opening a door, the animations are acting strangely but currently it is nothing more than a big placeholder rectangle so it works for now.

There's now an AudioManager script that makes sure voice lines and tapes won't play at the same time, it just makes all the objects that would normally play audio pause to let the current audio clip finish. So no overlapping voice lines or Henry speaking over the tapes.

Not a lot here to note honestly, just more drafts of important dialogue to put together and more progress on getting chapter 1 fully written. I've been focused on 3D art and programming way more than writing this month. I'm sure I'll get back to it next month.

A lot of the basic more generic 3D assets are being made currently, here's how a few of them for the first floor are looking;

And here's some for the Music Department.

2D Wise mostly just more Character Designs have been done, hence why most of these assets aren't textured. But soon the studio should be looking a lot more swell and full of props.

Made a really exciting development in terms of figuring out character rigging. Got in contact with someone who has a really swell system for 2D facial animation and if we can work together to figure it out, I'm sure soon I'll have some of the major characters first models done. I've told them a lot of features that would help me if they could figure them out and what I'd like the rig to be capable of and they said they are fairly sure it should be possible and they'd look into it. They have been very kind and helpful for this entire project and I would love if any of you gave them support on their YT Channel and the videos showing off this awesome rig. If they could make a general rig for this sort of thing I'm sure it'd be super helpful to so so many people who make stylized characters in Blender for games. https://youtu.be/0hcZfr4f5cA?si=gb6VYNXi7G12a5iI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_knSIhLEGlw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2rMoFWwYTc

For now, that's all, lots of exciting stuff going on! See you guys next month!

[purplesimmer455]

Chrissy took Luna out a breakfast date to Hogan’s burger bar. I deleted one pile of plates and the restaurant shut down (🥴) but in the meantime Chrissy pulled Luna in for a quick kiss. Luna smiled as she broke away from Chrissy, and said. “This was a great idea, babe.” Chrissy smiled. “Yeah, I figured with our jobs, and our nooboos, we needed some time just for ourselves.” Luna nodded. “Exactly.” She said.

They finally got a table, and sat down. Chrissy grinned and looked lovingly at Luna as she groaned in excitement while checking out the menu. “Oh man, I’m hankering for eggs and toast, Chrissy.” She said as Chrissy snorted. “Hankering? What the heck Lu.” Chrissy said teasingly to her wife. “Hey, it’s a word and it fits how I feel now.” Chrissy nodded. “Well, I’m hankering for pancakes.” She said, and Luna nodded. As they placed their orders, Luna noticed Brytani Cho, a famous comedian, looking at her and Chrissy. She came up to the table, smiling. “Luna, hey!” She said jovially. “Hi.” Luna said politely. “I haven’t heard from your mom in a bit. Is she retired from the acting business?” Brytani asked. “No, she’s just taking a break to spend time with family.” Luna said, and Brytani looked disappointed when she didn’t elaborate. Luna guessed she wanted gossip about her mom. “That’s fine. So, I have a brand launch for Cho Designs, my collection of loungewear, this Saturday and I’d love for you and your wife and kids to attend. We’ll give you the clothes to try for free and you just have to show up in them and post about it. Plus, there’s going to be so many other celebs there.” Luna tried not to look at Chrissy, who would make a face and make her laugh. “Oh, thank you but I think we're busy on that day.” Luna said politely, and Brytani looked disappointed again but nodded.

She left and Chrissy and Luna exchanged a look before grinning “Brytani is nice and all, but I just don’t want to be involved in celebrity drama and promoting things, and I'm definitely not letting Piper or Hamuera be in that kind of environment, my moms let me be a kid and stay off camera so I want the same for them.” Chrissy nodded. “I get that, I think it’s good your moms kept you away from celebrity stuff as a kid.” Luna nodded too, her moms had always said they wanted her to be a kid first and didn’t want her to be like those poor kids on reality shows like Hanging with the Hastings who had cameras in their face 24/7. “Forgetting all that though, I can’t wait for my food to come.” Luna said, grinning. “So, you’re more excited for your food than being with me, huh?” Chrissy teased. “Yes.” Luna said, and she smiled as Chrissy laughed and leaned in to kiss her.

[cidthesquid]

A Quick Update! - Style Savvy Trendsetter #09

[Previous Post]              [First Post]              [Next Post] Hello all! I know many of you may have followed primarily for Style Savvy content, And that's 100% okay! I want everyone to be able to enjoy whatever part of my content they want, however they want!

I would actually start to feel bad if people felt obligated to read my extra ramblings, or check out posts that don't interest them. I make these post for my own enjoyment and journaling my digital fashion journey, across multiple games! So as Iong as I find new experiences I'll keep posting! (Questions/Comments are always welcome!) ----- Style Savvy tendsetter has slowed down quite a bit, so I have not had much to post about, But I feel like it's been long enough to share at least a quick update! First, Chad is getting a little worried about the massive amount of clothes getting sent to my apartment:

He's not very confrontational about it, and it seems like genuine curiosity, and he's a really nice guy, so I won't hold it against him. :) I also ended up entering another fashion contest! I'm still stuck in beginner rank, until the story progresses further. But I think I was able to come up with a cute outfit to match the girly theme:

There's not much challenge at this level, but it's a fun little distraction.

While I'm at least playing a few days a week now, I actually took a break for a while, my adhd just had trouble staying engaged with a game that was this laser focused on one specific activity. It actually being stuck in a waiting room for a doctors appointment, for me to boot it up on my phone again. (don't worry, it was just routine)

Contests don't really give you any money, and only give you a single clothing item for willing, so while replaying them is fun, it's not a great use of your time. I also changed up my outfit for the first time in over a month, I really liked the green kimono, but the pattern was a bit much for wearing around town. So I decided to mix it up a bit:

I found a really nice combination of items that offers a shoulder-less look that I did not think was possible in this game.

Yeah, it's fairly monochromatic, that's pretty much my 'panic play', when trying something new, even if it's not boring, at least it's not messy. haha!

The furniture shop also just opened, so I can now start decorating my character's room!

They seem very excited about it! haha

I decided to go with a mint/pastel purple color scheme, mostly because it's one of the few 3 color matches I could remember at the time for brown/tan, so I figured it would match the flooring well. I'd never want to live here IRL, but I think it looks pretty nice for the game.

Also, fun fact, your apartment's wallpaper will also be applied as your background for the apartment menu. And yeah, that's really it for this update, I'll leave you with one extra screenshot, and those who are interested/comfortable can stick around for the bonus existential stuff! :P

---- /!\ Caution: End of Cute screenshots, Mostly unedited Ramblings beyond this point /!\ Alright, so again, keeping this confined to thoughts I had when playing the game. I've already changed my character's name once, to make them better fit their new identity, and to match the name of the blog. But whenever I see the name 'Cid' printed out in game, It still feels a little weird, Maybe I had just gotten used to the other name as I used it in monster hunter, and other games? It may also because of the masculine connotations from that name, especially since I've been playing a lot of Final Fantasy XIV recently. Because of that and other FF games whenever I see that name, I think of a gruff older man who's also an airship engineer! XD So my initial thoughts would simply be to change it to something similar, like 'Sid', as that could have a more feminine feel that could feel less out of place. And I know most won't relate to this, but this line of thinking often gets me into meta thoughts like: "Why do you feel you NEED to change the name? It's all in your head!", "Is this what YOU really want, or what you think is expected based on others possible perspectives?", "Is this just your way of ignoring your feeling about being a guy playing these games?" So what seems as simple as changing one letter, brings up a whole lot of stuff I'm not currently equipped to unpack. It can be hard to keep track of how you actually feel outside of external pressure. Trying to find my own answers currently, feels like it's starting to unravel some of the stuff I already thought I'd worked through and processed. But it's not a huge deal for now, so I figure I can just focus less on finding a solution, it can take things one at a time, and come back to this idea when I'm better ready to deal with it! [Next Post]

[your-divine-ribs]

The Devil Next Door Part 9

Words: 2.5k

The Devil Next Door Masterlist Main Masterlist

❤️‍🔥 Y/N’s POV ❤️‍🔥

It's a bad idea. You know it is. But still you find yourself agreeing. Just fifteen minutes ago you were fuming with Van, incensed that he was likely sneaking around outside like some kind of creep spying on you and Tom. Now you're actually inviting him to stay, smiling sweetly at him as he implores you to forget about all the past animosity that's built up between the two of you and 'try again'.

You're not normally a soft touch and you can't quite believe how quickly Van's managed to charm you tonight. You're still suspicious about his excuses but for some reason all that annoyance and mistrust seems to be fading away, replaced by a curious excitement that's been steadily escalating ever since you took your seat opposite him in the kitchen to tend to his injury. Maybe it was the alluring warmth in that cheeky smile of his or the piercing depth of his cool blue eyes as his steady gaze had met yours, but your resolve at staying mad at him had dissipated faster than a cloud of smoke on a breezy day.

You'd even caught him blushing at one point for god's sake! That had been quite a sight to behold. You didn't think he was capable of showing that hint of vulnerability with the usual cocky way he strutted about like he was King Shit. Was it actually possible that Van McCann had a soft and sensitive side to him? One carefully hidden away behind that cool rockstar facade?

Of course you knew it was crazy to start exploring that possibility, especially when things were going so well with Tom and you'd both admitted that you liked each other as more than just friends. Tom was caring and dependable, thoughtful and sweet, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous... in fact he was everything that you needed in a man. But was he everything that you wanted?

That was what was really bothering you if you were being completely honest with yourself. The longer that you sat here on the sofa next to Van, so close that each time he fidgeted in his seat his thigh brushed up warm and tempting against yours, the harder it was getting to keep any thoughts of Tom in your head at all.

"So... what do you wanna watch then?" You ask eventually. You've already flicked through the whole Sky planner and you've not even been taking in anything that's on the screen.

You'd been relieved when Van had agreed to your suggestion that you should move into the living room to watch some TV whilst you waited for Bondy to arrive home. You were eager to move away from the proximity that you two had shared in the kitchen, but you hadn't been banking on Van sitting quite so close. You wondered whether he'd ever heard of the concept of personal space at all the way he sat with his legs splayed wide, man-spreading in such a way that you were hemmed in against the arm of the chair.

"Don't suppose you'd fancy watching the match highlights would ya? United played Spurs this afternoon. Thrashed 'em apparently."

You don't even have to answer, Van immediately chuckles as he sees your face scrunch in distaste. "Not a footy fan then I guess?"

"I'd rather dip my eyeballs in acid than watch football," you say dryly, logging into Netflix and bringing up the recommendations menu, starting to scroll through.

"Bit dramatic," he grins. "I suppose you're into chick-flicks or some sappy shit like that, eh?"

You turn to face him then, bristling slightly. Seems like it doesn't take long for the real Van to start showing his true colours, but you suppose he's only teasing. "Stereotype much?" You challenge him.

He looks puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well I'm a girl so I'm obviously going to like rom-coms and Bridget Jones's Diary, right?"

"It's a class film that is!" Van looks genuinely taken aback and you can't help but grin.

"I didn't say it wasn't... and I do actually like rom-coms, but I like loads of other stuff too. Drama, action, thrillers, horror... I really love horror actually. The more frightening the better."

"You like scary stuff then do ya?" He reaches over and plucks the remote control out of your hand, turning his attention back to the screen. "Well you're in luck as it's Halloween tomorrow so there's loads to choose from." He starts flicking through, pausing at a film you'd not heard of before. "Was gonna watch this the other night... Bondy's been banging on about it. It's an old film but it's supposed to be well scary. Nearly got banned when it first came out."

The preview starts to play and you watch on as a scantily-clad woman being chased by a masked man with a vicious looking carving knife lets out a blood-curdling scream. You frown. "Looks a bit tacky to me."

"Nah, it's a proper classic slasher movie this is," Van says and you glance at him, watching his eyes widening as the actress's skimpy top gets ripped from her body during the chase, revealing the largest pair of fake boobs you've ever seen.

"Now I know why you really wanna watch this one!" You giggle, shaking your head.

"It's not all tits I swear!" Van cries, fumbling with the remote to clear the screen, managing to pause it several times instead, each freeze-frame capturing an even clearer shot of the victim's naked chest. "Ah shit!" He curses.

"Oh give it here!" You snort through your laughter, snatching the remote back and pressing play, the opening credits appearing. "Now are you sure you wanna watch this? The guy who's squeamish about a drop of blood wanting to watch a gory slasher film?"

"Course I do, it's only a film innit?" He shifts forward in his seat to take off his jacket, slouching down even further to get comfortable. "It's you I'm worried about. Not sure if it'll freak you out too much. It's supposed to be really bad."

You smile across at him. "Gory stuff doesn't faze me. I'm a nurse working in A and E, remember? I see blood and guts every day... for real."

He returns your smile, wide with a hint of mischievousness that makes your heart race. "Yeah well... we'll see. Don't forget you can snuggle up a bit closer if ya get too frightened. I'll look after ya."

You roll your eyes and giggle, turning your head back to the screen.

❤️‍🔥 Van’s POV ❤️‍🔥

Things are looking up. Y/N seems to have let me off the hook for my appalling behaviour earlier, and in fact I think she's forgotten all about my little white lie. I try to ignore the fact that my front door key is practically burning a hole in the pocket of my jacket as I slip out of it and place it on the sofa next to me.

No harm's really being done after all. Tom gets plenty of opportunity to spend time with Y/N at work, so the fact that I've now got her all to myself for a while seems fair play, even if I did orchestrate it to happen this way. If she just happens to succumb to my charm and we have a moment on the sofa whilst we're watching this film, then so be it. Sometimes you have to play a bit dirty to get what you want, use sneaky tactics to even the playing field. That's just the way life goes. I'm not gonna start feeling guilty about it.

"Oh my god... I thought you said this was a classic? The acting's so wooden! And could the female cast wear any less clothes?"

She's laughing at the screen despite her complaints and I join in too before stealing a glance at her.

"That's probably why Bondy was so keen on watching it!"

The room's dark and her face is all lit up by the glow of the screen. She really does have a gorgeous smile and the sweet sound of her laughter is like music to my ears. I think I could listen to that sound for the rest of my life and never get sick of it.

Fuck... what is this girl doing to me? I'm turning soft.

I try to shift my full focus back to the screen but it's impossible. Before we'd settled down in front of the tele, Y/N had excused herself upstairs to get dressed, saying she'd never get the blood from my cut out of her t-shirt if she didn't soak it straight away. She'd emerged five minutes later, apologising for wearing her pyjamas with a shy smile plastered all over her face and I'd been trying to act like I wasn't in any way affected by her tiny little shorts and cami top combo ever since. That was easier said that done. I couldn't resist snatching glances in her direction every now and again, admiring her sumptuous curves and the way her exposed skin looked unbelievably soft in the gentle glow from the TV. I was well and truly captivated.

"Don't run upstairs!" She suddenly shouts at the screen, prompting me to wrench my attention back once again. "Ughh... they're breaking every horror movie rule in the book in this film. They're so dumb! They all deserve to die!"

"That's the spirit!" I chuckle, flinching as the killer plunges his knife straight through the victim's neck, copious amounts of arterial blood spewing out and decorating the walls. "Fuck me... that's a lot of blood." I feel my gut clenching, my eyes instinctively squeezing shut to block out the gory sight.

"Are you even watching? You've got your eyes closed!"

"They're not! I've just... err... I've just got something in my eye!" I blurt, rubbing my eye for show, ignoring the teasing smile that she's wearing. I turn to stare at the screen, trying to maintain a neutral expression as the killer starts hacking away at the poor girl's neck. It's fucking horrific and it's taking me all my restraint not to pick up a cushion from the sofa beside me and hide behind it. "Christ sake... this is sick! Who dreams up this kinda shit anyway?"

"It's just a film, remember?" She smirks at me.

❤️‍🔥 Y/N’s POV ❤️‍🔥

Van's scared. You know that he is. The amount of times he's flinched and cursed under his breath you're finding it increasingly difficult to hold back the snigger that's bubbling it's way up your throat. Granted the film is extremely graphic, but you're practically immune to this kind of thing. The amount of road traffic accident victims you deal with on a daily basis at work are where the real horrors lie, not some overpaid actors hamming it up on screen, writhing around in their dramatic death throes.

"Sure you don't wanna switch it off?" You ask as a girl on screen gets brutally decapitated and you see Van's hands curl into claws where they're resting on his thighs.

"Nah... nah... I'm all good!" He replies, his voice tight. "Reckon we're getting to the end anyway... Jesus!" His face twists in horror as the psychotic killer starts licking the blood clean off his hands.

"You should see your face!"

You bite back a laugh, half tempted to reach out to place a reassuring hand on top of his, but you really don't want him getting the wrong idea. As much as you find him attractive, he's definitely not boyfriend material and you don't want to encourage him. You simply don't like him in that way. Not at all.

You really don't...

You snatch a surreptitious look at his profile whilst his attention's fixed on the screen. He's not got Tom's boyish and obvious good looks but he really is striking looking. You've never really had a chance to study him up close before and you take advantage of the moment to admire him, the sharp line of his jaw and the gentle slope of his nose, his lashes so long they're casting shadows on his freckled cheeks in the hazy glow emanating from the screen. His lips are full and you watch as he absentmindedly licks at them. You swallow and your throat feels choked up. What would those lips feel like pressed against yours?

"Thank fuck for that... it's over!" He suddenly announces, and it breaks you out of your apparent trance. You quickly look down, feeling a little shaken, your mind reeling.

"S'getting late," you hear him say and you look up again, just in time to see him stifle a dramatic yawn before both hands are raising up into an overly animated stretch above his head. "Reckon Bondy might be on one of his benders, could be out for hours yet... might even be an all-nighter."

As he talks one hand drops back to his lap but not the other. That one falls down to rest draped over the back of the sofa, lingering there just centimetres away from your shoulders which suddenly feel conspicuously bare in your tiny strappy top.

He didn't. He really didn't. Not the old 'pretend to yawn and stretch so you can sneak an arm around a girl's shoulders' trick. You didn't think people actually did that for real. Surely it's just a cheesy cliché move that guys in bad romance movies do... and Van McCann apparently.

He's grinning at you now, eyes glinting with an eagerness that makes your pulse quicken, the featherlight brush of a warm hand skimming the top of your shoulder causing goosebumps to break out. He's so fucking close you swear you can hear his breathing deepen. Too close for comfort.

You react automatically, panic willing your limbs to launch you up and out of your seat in a flash. "Well if you stay you'll have to take the sofa. I don't even have the guest room made up..."

"That's fine, I don't mind. I don't wanna put you to any trouble... and I'm happy to stay up talking with ya if ya like. This is nice... just the two of us."

As he speaks he shifts in his seat, rising up on to his feet too, managing to knock his jacket on to the floor in the process. That's not what catches your attention though. It's the sensation of something small and light falling on to your toe, something metallic which catches in the dull light emitting from the tele as you quickly stoop to pick it up.

It's a key. Van's front door key. It must be.

Realisation hits you quickly and suddenly as you hold out the key in your outstretched hand, watching Van's mouth drop open in shock as his eyes flick between your palm and your face, your own surprise written there clear as day.

"Y/N... I can... I can explain...!"

But this time you're not listening, enraged that he's been so sneaky. You've had enough.

"Just get out Van... NOW!"

[pbandjesse]

I would like another day off. Today needs a do over. I am still so tired. And I am dreading going back to camp and that sucks. That does not feel good. I hope that I can feel more positive when I get there. But today could have been kinder.

I did not sleep well. I really struggled to fall asleep. I was in pain for a while and wasn't feeling good. So it was not the most restful evening.

I woke up at 730 and texted James to make sure the car was on the right side for street sweeping. And took a while to actually get up.

Once I did I got washed and dressed. I really felt cute today. I wore some earrings I haven't worn in a while thG I really like. And I was tired but I was in an alright mood.

James made me an omelet but I only ate half of it. I was feeling weird. It it was fine. We would take a few minutes before we left but pretty quickly we were off to my appointment.

This appointment ended up being very stressful. I brought up that I need a yellow fever vaccine and it turns out that's a live vaccine and so I have to have a 4 week window of no immune suppression drugs. So it is going to be a really quick turn around for getting the vaccine and I will have to skip my medicine next month. Ugh. It's fine. It will be fine. But man. Stressful.

I had a really nice time talking to Sincere but for some reason whenever he does my injection I get crazy bruised or swollen. And this time I would get big lumps on my legs from the medicine sitting under my skin. Which was not and is not comfortable. Like it's been 12 hours and I still have lumps.

But it was fine. I chatted with the nice lady at the desk and she wished me luck on our travel and set me up for my appointment. The whole appointment took over an hour. But James was doing grocery shopping for some of it and calling the doctors to make sure we had the vaccine stuff set up. I still feel bad for making them wait but they say they dont mind. They got coffee and donuts. And I was in a much better head space.

We drove home and the plan was to install the ceiling fan Jess gave us. This did not go well. It did not have the correct bracket for our ceiling and it was heavy and we tried everything we knew what to do but it was just. Not happening. I would try helping but I'm to short and I can't hold my arms up that long. And James was really frustrated that it wasn't working out like they hoped. We tried for almost an hour before we just had to give up.

I went and laid in the other room because I felt dizzy. James pulled the duvet off the bed because it got dust from the ceiling on it.

James asked how we should attack the rest of the day. I requested we go to Mathews for a late lunch and then I would drop them off at the laundry mat and I could go to the thrift store. This was a really nice way to spend the day.

Lunch was fun. I like that the waitress, who I think is named Grace, knows our entire order and just double checks. Doesn't even give us menus anymore. And the food was good but I burnt my lip on very very hot sauce and was literally teary eyed about it! It's still bothering me! But it was still good.

I told James about what I was hoping to get at the thrift. Specifically mules and rain boots. And I would have good luck today.

After our meal we went to the laundry mat and we swapped seats so I was driving. And we said goodbye. And I was off.

I went to value village in Glen Burnie. I had to go through the tunnel to get there but that was fine. There would be traffic on the way back but it was whatever.

I was happy to be there on a weekday. For one it was basically empty. But also they were putting out new carts and there was some treasures to be found.

I was there for shoes mainly. And I found both things I was looking for! I got red ankle rain boots. I want to get insoles for them for they are great. And I found some leather mules that are like Birkenstock but no bucket and a lower profile. And they fit great. I was very excited.

I would also find two more Dear American books. A black cropped T-shirt. Some wall sconces that look like boat helms. And a dress that I think will be a great option for Africa. I also found a pillow that is made of alpaca and looks like a panda and I absolutely did not need it but I thought it was so cool. Maybe Sweetp can use it as a bed.

I was looking at the shirts when James let me know they would be done in approximately 15 minutes. So I went and paid. The woman that directed me to self checkout was super nice and kept calling me honey. Sweetheart.

I had kind of a rough drive to go get James. But it was fine. I just kept ending up in turn lanes that I couldn't get out of and then my phone kept disconnecting and I was overstimulated and wanted to go home. But I got James only a few minutes later then I hoped. And I was happy to see them.

We struggled to get back to the house though. Traffic and many roads having no turn lefts during the times we were on the road. So it took twice the time it should have but we got home and it was fine.

We would bring everything inside. James went to put away laundry and I put away my haul. And eventually we would head to the backyard to finish the catio.

This was mostly a James task with me helping. Attaching the screen was tough and it was very windy. But it's so much closer to being completed. I am going to look into getting an actual screen door for the end and we have to get masonry bits to anchor it to the house. But for now I used bungee cords and it's pretty stable. And I'm really excited that we got it basically completed in two days.

I was tired though. I was bringing in the scraps and things as well finished each panel. Once we were totally done I would make one last piece of wood to close the gap next to the one window. And James would bring in the rest of the wood. We were s good team.

James made us dinner. I had vegan fish fillets and a salad. James had pasta. And once we were done dinner I requested we watch the documentary that just came out about Nickelodeon and we just finished the second episode and it was. Dark. Really upsetting. We are going to save the next two episodes for tomorrow. It was not like shocking that there was abuses on these sets but man the gravity of it all was heavy.

We are all on the couch now. Sweetp is very cuddly. And my allergies are bothering me because of that. So I am going to go take a shower and get ready for bed. And hopefully tomorrow work is great and the dred I am feeling is nothing. I love you all. Goodnight!

[invisibleraven]

Oooohhhh 26 double date, couples of your choice

Julie had to admit, one of the perks of being a rock star was the free stuff. Sure, a lot of brands sent her and the guys stuff hoping they'll promote them, or get caught wearing them, and sometimes Julies does-as long as Flynn thoroughly vets the company first. Swag from places that have values she doesn't agree with go to the trash or donated unopened.

It also made going places a little easier-well, in a way. Sure all she had to do was drop her name and she'd get a reservation right away, but it was always a guessing game if the restaurant would call the paps or help ushered them out the back.

But for this place? Julie was willing to take the chance.

The Silver Spoon was the hottest place in town, booked up for months, and the reviews were raves. And Julie wanted to go.

"Ooh, see if we can come too would ya?" Willie asks, somewhat jokingly. "We can double date!"

"Leave my aroace ass out of it!" Luke yelled. "That place requires sleeves and probably serves tiny portions at exorbitant prices. I'll enjoy a large pizza in peace!"

Reggie looked tempted at the thought of pizza, but smiled at Julie. "A chance to dress up fancy with my best girl and have a night on the town with two of my best buds? Count me in."

Flynn worked her magic, and somehow got them a fourtop in a week's time. "They will probably call the paps," she warned. "But like, the nicer ones, or even the entertainment rags. Might be good publicity."

"Thanks Flynnie," Julie replied with an air kiss. "Surprised that you didn't try to work in a table with you and Carrie."

"Eh, not really my scene, and Carrie is gone vegan this month, so she'd starve there."

Date night came and the four of them dressed smart, in nice suits, and Julie in a slinky gold coloured dress, her hair in a twisted updo, and flushed when Reggie gave a low whistle, spinning her around.

"Looking good darlin', as always."

Julie came and straightened his lapels, pressing a tender kiss to his mouth, then swiping away her lip stain. "You clean up pretty nice yourself."

"Yeah yeah, we all look hot, let's go," Alex grumbled, but he was smiling, so none of them were offended. Luke told them all to have fun, but he was still staying home with his pizza, his murder mystery movies, and his notebooks.

Julie was fairly certain he'd be happier that way, but she was excited to go out to eat.

Thankfully there was no cameras waiting outside the restaurant, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Even more so when the hostess treated them like regular people, professional, but not simpering.

The free bread was delicious, the water sparkling almost as much as the crystal it was served in, and Reggie looked almost afraid to touch anything. "It's like I'm gonna get charged for smudging the silverware," he whispered.

"It is really fancy," Willie admitted. "But super nice. So let's just eat and enjoy ourselves right?"

"Just start the the outside fork and work inwards," Alex said. The other three looked at him and he shrugged. "My parents made me take etiquette lessons."

"That tracks," Julie admitted.

They looked over the menu, which worryingly did not include prices, but they all found something that sounded appetizing. Willie went with a seafood salad, giggling with delight at the tiny octopi in it, even if he said the texture was a bit weird. Alex stuck with a simple ravioli dish, but admitted the truffles were buttery and delicious.

Julie opted for a dish of sole, in a spicy sauce and some glazed vegetables on the side, all of which almost melted in her mouth. She held a forkful up to Reggie who stifled a moan as he ate it, agreeing that she had made an excellent choice.

"How's your filet?" she asked.

"Deadly," he replied, cutting her off a slice and Julie was surprised by the smoky flavour and the softness of the meat.

"Oh wow, that is delicious," she said. "I see why everyone is raving about this place."

"Thanks for bringing us," Willie said, toasting his glass of rosé. "To good food and friends."

They all clicked glasses, devouring the rest of their food, chatting about their latest album, Willie's latest art piece, a few fellow celebrities they spied also eating there, and debating dessert.

"I'm stuffed," Alex said to Willie. "But if you get something, I'll share it."

"You mean eat half?" Willie joked. "Sounds good. I'm getting the tiramisu."

"There's a separate stomach for dessert, don't you know that Lexie?' Reggie joked. "I think I want the bread pudding."

"Can I have some if I get the cheesecake and share?" Julie asked.

"Of course darlin'," Reggie assured her. "My dessert is yours." He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "As is my heart."

"You two are cornballs," Alex said.

"We're not much better," Willie admitted, pulling Alex in with a loud smooch to his cheek. "Right hot dog?"

Alex blushed and grumbled, but he looked so pleased and goofy that they all knew how he felt.

If dinner was good, the desserts were to die for, and Julie almost didn't want to share her cheesecake after the first bite, but grudgingly did, and was pleased by the sweet flavour of Reggie's pudding.

Finally it was time to settle the bill, and Julie was sure her eyes went wide at the price, even for just her and Reggie's portion, but they all admitted, the food was pretty darn good, but this wouldn't be a place they frequented, even with the amount of money they all had. Growing up valuing money had made them a bit more thrifty, despite their fame.

Alex and Willie went off in their own direction as they parted, saying something about a moonlight stroll, and Julie wished them a good night. She and Reggie headed back to the house, where Luke was waiting.

"Hey, good night?" he asked.

"The best," Reggie said. "Yours?"

"Not bad. There's pizza left if you want."

"Maybe for breakfast," Reggie replied, grinning as Julie lead him by his tie towards their room. "Night's not over yet."

"Gross." Luke stuck his tongue out at them and dutifully put on his noise cancelling headphones.

Reggie just laughed, and then scooped Julie up, giggling all the way to bed. They were a bit busy when Alex and Willie got in, but the next morning, over cold pizza and hot coffee, all agreed to many more double dates in the future.

[exlwandering]

Found a writing prompt, it was "How to Perfectly Cook Your Human" took it and ran, gets a little weird and gross so CW for gore. Cannibalism, and misuse of a medical cadaver. Also lots of cooking descriptions. Enjoy 🔪🥩

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How to Cook Perfect Human: A Tutorial

Hey, Im dead. I'm also called cadaver 23. Not my name but who the hell and I to tell the doc what I’m called. Today’s topic of discussion is not how horrible Mr. William Burke is at his job at selling corpses, today we talk about a very viral topic indeed. Can anyone guess it? Well, it’s CANNABILISUM!!! Exciting I know! And today's meal? Me. and tommorows and the day after… Probably for a while honestly im about 180 pounds and people tend to not eat over a pound of meat for like a whole week so… I’ll be on the menu until I go bad, guess he’s stuck with me. But enough about me and how many portions I am, lets talk about the real reason you’re here, to eat. 

Step One:  Get the meat. (This is arguably the easiest step apart from actually eating lol) First you need to find the right person tho, this is done by looking for people like Mr. William Burke, a freelance Broker (somone who sells deep people, aka people not fun at parties, like really dude, so many jobs and you pick seeling dead  dudes… I’m not one to judge tho.) Someone like him is slopy, (I mean it’s not like he has any idea what he’s doing??? He literally took my head off with a chainsaw in his back yard??? xD Guess I am one to judge lol) Any way because he’s got no Idea whats going on, and frankly neither do I, he sells for really cheep. The Rich B**** TM cadavers are worth like 5,000 big bucks for the whole thing, but people like me , ya boy, are like a couple hundo for all of me and like 200 for just a leg (I mean common, talk about a bargain baabaay!!!) After you’ve confirmed that I’m cheep all you gotta do is send some emails! I mean like, he’ll try and sound like he knows what he’s doing so he don’t get sued by a cadavers family but like… It’s not like he doing back round checks or anything so… You know what to do ;)

Step Two: Get Your Ingredients!!!  I suggest, since you’ll be getting me for like a bargain, you totally need to be buying some good spices for me, like rosemary, garlic, (running out of spices here…>:/) you get the gist. You also need to figure out how youll be cooking me! My personal fave would be a pot roast. Before I became a cadaver I lived for a good roast, it was my favorite meal growing up, so obvs you should be cooking me like that! For me!!! My Memory! Ya know, what I would want… Yeah. But. Ya know that’s totally not the only way to cook me. You could make pulled human, I heard human tastes and acts like pork so. You could also grind me up and make human burgers. Or even stake, make me look like an expensive dish! You get the idea, anythings on the table, just don’t burn me… Unless that’s what you want. Then I guess do it. :< It would make a sad tho. 

Step Three: Cook Me. Before we go forward, I wanna make something clear, I never ate human, or cooked it. So I’m not an expert on this part, I am on step one, not so much step two, I could never really buy expensive stuff before being Cadaver 23 so, I don’t know much, but these next steps I’m completely in the dark here. SO >:) From now on I’ll be talking about what I directly experience as I’m cooked. HERE WE GO!!!! The cooking requires some prep, one of the first things I felt happen was the skin being removed and placed aside, while this was happening I hear the guy preparing me talking about how tasty the skin can be when fried, like pork skins! Mmmm, yummy, (TBH one of my most fav road trip snacks). After this My thighs and calves are pried from the bones, said bones maserfally ripped apart from each other. After this, the four biggest bones and are put on a cutting board before being split right down the middle. They did this four excruciating times guys (talk about over kill). He places each bone of a pan with pepper to taste before putting them in the oven to roast the marrow. Both of my claves are cut into medium sized cubes, the exsus being thrown away, like nothing. Each side of my cubes are placed on a frying pan before sauce is put in with me, and I’m left to simmer until thoroughly cooked. One thigh is cut into sizable pieces before being put in a dutch oven with spices and hearty veges like potatoes and carrots and one big thing of garlic to roast us together. When I’m cooked they take forkes to me and pull me apart, mixing in some rosemary and other things that they desired. One thigh is cut into one thick slab before being placed in a cooker with large cut vegies like potatoes and celery and carrots, (woldn’t you know it their making a healthier meal with me than I ever ate before being… yeah. Their meal.) I’m a fancy steak, a pulled human, and most importantly I’m a pot roast now. But that’s not all, like they promised my skin is used, cut into rectangle shapes and placed into a large bowl of boiling oil, my skin bubbles and curls in on itself before becoming translucent and hard, easily snapped. My bones are finally pulled out of the oven, my marrow scooped out with a spoon and placed in a small bowl. I’m finished.

Step four: enjoy. I can feel their teeth. There’s three of them, which explains the three cooking methods. The fork goes through my muscles in one plate, on another I’m scooped up by a fork and pressed down by a partition of cubed potato, and finally on another plate- no a bowl, I’m picked up by a spoon filled with hot broth that burns everywhere it touches. Carrots, potatoes, and celery floats beside my thigh muscles. The slow grinding of my flesh is constant and thruming until I am mush. I crack and squelch between their teeth. My Skin snappeing and mosining and turning to mush and then nothing, only sunsitnace for their bodies. I’m also in the bowl next to the bread, still warm as My Marrow is scooped onto a butter knife and scrapped atop toasted bread slices and once again swallowed. I am in three bowls. I am in two plates. I am in three bellies.

I don’t know much about how to cook a human to perfection, but I do know one thing, I am now a perfectly cooked human. That’s all. Finally. 

[therhythmafterthesummer]

Hiii dear 🫶🏼 hope everything is going well and you're sleeping well and staying hydrated ✨

Today I was bored at work and I had a few thoughts (about wr ofc what else)

1. How is the gingerbin wedding planning going? Do they agree on what they want so far? Any specific preferences from any of them? (Idk if you plan on including something like this in future wr installments if so nevermind djehwkdj)

2. Do the wr couples sometimes go on double dates? Like maybe kitten and minho join gingerbin in their gym dates? Or prettyxchris and Hyunlix and moss go out to eat sometimes? It'd be so cute 🥺 they'd be swooning and teasing each other about their couple habits as if they aren't all huge simps

3. Do they celebrate Christmas too? Because I had the thought of them decorating their apartments or a christmas tree together and I almost collapsed 😭 they'd be so playful and excited and imagine Chris picking pretty up so she can put the star on top of the tree (while holding onto those thighs obvs)

Imagine Chris curled up around her in wolf form so he can keep her extra warm right next to the Christmas tree I- 😭😭😭😭😭

Oh and also, pack family Christmas dinner 💖 I just love them lmao

- 🍒

they're still trying to decide on a traditional-ish wedding and a wedding on the beach. they argue over the menu and flowers sometimes, but they agree on which outfits they'd wear for the two possible settings, as well as some favours they want to gift their loved ones. they're leaning more towards a small wedding (which isn't that difficult considering Changbin is no longer in his family's pack--although his family will be invided-- and considering Autumn has gone no contact with her family bc she defected her former pack). overall, pretty normal stuff :D

i'd like to think they do! although maybe not as often as you might think. it is pretty common for the three alphas and their partners to go places together though (although i'm not sure if they'd consider trips to buy furniture for chris' house "a date"). moss and hyunjin have gone on a few double dates with pretty and chris, whereas moss and felix tend to go with gingerbin to the gym a bit more frequently~

i don't think the wereroomies characters are religious, but i think they do like to celebrate every possible holiday they can together, so i can see them celebrating christmas! imagine how chaotic a secret santa would be in that pack sdfjhskfhdkj (also, 100% chris lets pretty climb on his shoulders to place the star on the tree. it's a win for him). i'm sure they take the cutest seasonal pictures too 🥺 both in wolf and human forms. i'm sure pretty has this pic of her and chris (who shited into his wolf form) sitting by the christmas tree wearing santa hats sdjhfksfhsdkjf

[marlowedobbeart]

Daydream Skies: Devlog #2

HELLO I just wanted to share some progress I've been making on my Gamemaker game I've been chipping away at in my free time :) For those unfamiliar, I've been working on a pirate RPG with a grid-based battle system for almost 1 year (!!!) and it's been a real treat to kind of teach myself coding and do a gamedev thing completely solo! As an artist, I've been trying my best to hold off on doing *too* much art and polish up front. This last year has been mostly me building under-the-hood systems so that I can get to a point where I will be 90% focused on content and 10% focused on functionality. I know that when I get to the art, I can handle it, it's all the other stuff that's new to me! SO since last time we spoke, I've checked off a lot of boxes on my monolithic whiteboard of things I need to make a playable demo. (monolithic whiteboard pictured below)

The thing that took me the longest to implement was a menu system. I couldn't quite find any examples or tutorials on how I wanted my menus to work (mostly had a hard time finding anything with decent scrolling for options) and I more or less conceived of and coded my own menu system, The menus have lots of nice variable definitions :'^) so they're pretty flexible for what I need.

I'll have to do a bit of tweaking later on if and when I need to scroll through options horizontally or need multiple columns of options but that's a problem for later marlowe!!!

Also I perfectly understood everything about the Menu system I created except one line:

After all that math I was surprised to find that it was fairly straightforward to rough out an inventory system and pause screen that allows me to collect and use items (as well as look at player stats!)

Looking at everything I'd done so far it was becoming obvious that my key input handler was not working 100% of the time and was getting pretty messy. I came across Juju Adams Input Library and was able to not only fix my keyboard inputs but also integrate controller support in like 5 minutes. I LOVE when someone else does the work for me :'^) Huge shoutouts to juju for making what felt like a monumental task into something simple. Another unglamorous progression: save files!

ME? CREATING JSONS? I never would have thought. The greatest part is they are completely unencrypted so excuse me while I edit my jsons to give me 99999 HP. AND FINALLY something actually fun to look at: I penciled out Davy's walk animation so I can soon stop using duplicates of Trixie's sprites for him.

I am very excited to be getting close to the point where all I have to do is make content and art and not make a bunch of systems. I'm looking forward to using the Finish Your Game Jam that PIGSquad is hosting on itch in November to polish up the combat system and make a few enemy variations. After that, I think I'll be working on a lot of fun, showy stuff that I can share >:) Watch this space! -Marlowe

[lilliesforya]

Uniqlo in Ginza and Animate in Akihabara

9/20 I went to Tokyo this past Sunday with Katie. It took us like 15 minutes to find each other in Tokyo station. Tokyo station is so large that when my train goes underground to start to pull in, it goes for like 6 minutes at regular speed before it stops at the platform. Afterwards, we walked to a Starbucks that was close by. I went to this exact one 2 weeks prior during my disastrous phone repair sponsored trip to Tokyo, the apple store employee told me where to go. The building it is next to is really big and on the inside there's a large place in the middle for art installations or this time it was various regional omiyage being sold. This time I got a triple espresso iced latte with oat milk and the espresso was so strong I was thrilled. We shared a banana rice milk muffin and an American waffle. Both were good but the waffle was better. I love Starbucks because it feels the same no matter where you are in the world (though the nice cups and plates did make it hard for me to suspend my belief).

I needed shirts for work so we went to the giant Uniqlo in Ginza. It may be the biggest technically but it's vertically big, so when we were going up each escalator to every floor the floors seemed small to me. The Osaka Uniqlo felt bigger to me even though it was only 3 floors if I remember correctly, because it was horizontally larger (than vertically). The store was beautiful and had a lot of winter clothes out and everything was organized well. I needed summer clothes though and so we spent a longer time looking for t-shirts and pants. It's still really hot here and in Tokyo so I'm not sure why the fall/winter clothes are in full swing. I got some work appropriate t-shirts and lounge pants but I couldn't find any work pants that aren't full trousers. I also got a nice dark green sweatshirt for 1990 yen which is crazy because in the US in winter those sweatshirts are like 40/50 dollars.

After Uniqlo we went to the Shake Shack we had passed on the way there. The food was so good it felt like we had been reborn. The seasonal lemonade is mango right now, and it was seriously amazing. We both agreed it would taste really good with vodka too. There's also a black sesame shake on the menu currently and I want to try it despite not being able to. By the grace of god, we got seats just as we were walking back to stand around a table.

I was excited to see the Animate because it's well known for carrying all sorts of anime goods. It was really cool to see as a whole. I was surprised by the lack of escalators for the 7 floors. There was an elevator but only one. I found Bungou Stray Dogs stuff. I'm lucky that season 5 is in the middle of airing right now because that's why there was merch. There wasnt that much to choose from in my opinion but im also devoted to two side characters (technically speaking). I did get a folder with Chuuya on it to hang in my house. There was a lot of Genshin merch. This was so fun to see in person. There were buttons for practically every character and I finally found Ayato (my genshin main) merch! I got cute Ayato themed post-its and a Tartagila plushie/ keychain. I was hoping for any Trigun merch or Honkai Star Rail merch but there was none. The lack of Trigun stuff didn't surprise me because that's more popular in America. But HSR is new and I see ads on the train all the time for it and so I was surprised that there was nothing. Definitely better for my wallet but not my heart.